On Monday morning, after a short ceremony to pray for a bountiful catch and safety at sea, five ships will slip out of a port in northern Japan to hunt whales for profit for the first time in more than 30 years. They will not head to the southern ocean, the controversial hunting ground for […]
Tag: marine conservation
Australia opens vast swaths of famed marine parks to fishing
Australia is known for protecting its sea life in a 3.3 million square kilometer (1.3 million square mile) system of marine parks that covers 36 percent of the country’s oceans. The protection of those parks is now at stake, as the government last week approved five long-awaited management plans covering 44 parks. The new plans open […]
What can you do to help save the great barrier reef?
Even if you are nowhere near Australia you will probably know that the great barrier reef is under incredible pressure to survive, there are many issues negatively affecting coral reefs around the world including pollution (including plastics), unsustainable fishing, climate change, coastal development and invasive species. There are many things that you can do to […]
We should be outraged by Europe slaughtering sea life in the name of ‘science’
One of the biggest jokes in conservation is the Japanese government’s claim to be engaged in “scientific whaling”. All the killing by its harpoon fleet takes place under the guise of “research”, as this is the only justification available, under international rules. According to Joji Morishita, a diplomat representing Japan at the whaling negotiations, this […]
A “Death Sentence” For the Tiniest Dolphins in the World
At just 1.2 to 1.4 meters long and about 110 pounds, Maui’s dolphin is the smallest in the world. It is also found only on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island — and it is critically endangered. A 2012 survey commissioned by the New Zealand government’s Department of Conservation found that there were only […]
Australia censures Japan for ‘scientific’ whaling
Japan is using scientific research as an excuse to conduct commercial whaling in defiance of an international ban, Australia said on Wednesday at the start of a landmark legal bid to put a permanent end to the annual slaughter of almost 1,000 whales in the Southern Ocean. Australia, with the support of New Zealand, has […]
Manta ray tourism worth 28 times more than killing them for Traditional Chinese Medicine
A new study in the open access journal PLoS ONE estimates that manta rays are worth $140 million a year in tourism across 23 countries, significantly outweighing the worth of manta ray gill plates, which have become the newest craze in Traditional Chinese Medicine. “As an example in Indonesia, revenue to fishermen from manta gill […]
Are seagulls killing whales in Patagonia?
It sounds ludicrous, but it could just be true: scientists say seagulls may be responsible for hundreds of southern right whale moralities off the Argentine coastline. Since 2003, scientists have documented the deaths of 605 southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) near Península Valdés which the whales use as a nursery. Notably, 88 percent of these […]