Pirates threaten Christmas shopping

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British consumers are being warned they could face shortages of everything from clothes to fuel unless effective action is taken to stop pirates hijacking ships off the coast of Somalia.

The effects could become apparent in the run-up to Christmas, says the British Chamber of Shipping. Michael Buchanan reports.

So far this year, more than 30 ships have been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, with hundreds of crew members taken hostage.

The rate at which ships are being taken has led the British Chamber of Shipping to warn customers that all supplies that come to the UK and other western European countries from Asia could be put at risk.

Long way round

Gavin Simmonds, head of international policy at the chamber, says: "Car carriers with vehicles for the UK, foodstuffs from Asia, textiles and clothing, dare I say it in time for the Christmas market, will not be arriving on time if they have to [go round South Africa]. We could begin to see shortages within the next few weeks."

Of the ships pirated this year, most attention has focussed on MV Faina, the Ukrainian vessel carrying tanks and heavy weaponry.

But the majority of ships sailing through the Gulf carry supplies vital to the running of the global economy. Goods as diverse as oil, gas, cars, textiles and electronics travel past Somalia on their way to Britain.

The alternative route, going round the Cape of Good Hope, would add up to three weeks to the average journey.

However, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says that two companies have already given their captains the permission to go the long way round and others are considering following suit.

Some action is now being attempted to thwart the pirates, whose actions are also disrupting shipments of aid supplies to the war-torn Somali mainland.

A flotilla of naval vessels from 10 Nato nations is now heading for the Gulf of Aden, and two UN Security Council resolutions have been passed condemning the piracy, and urging coordinated action to stop the attacks.

The issue is also being discussed in the European Parliament.

But despite this there is a distinct lack of urgency to address the problem, say some experts.

The ICS argues that if commercial airlines were being attacked as often as ships, the reaction of governments would be very different.

"It's taken a very long time to get politicians aware of it and to get real military action under way," says Peter Hinchcliffe from the ICS.

Hijacked

"And whilst all these discussions are going on and whilst the pirates continue to hold ships to ransom, there is a very real possibility that cargos will be held up and deliveries will be delayed."

Insurance companies are increasingly concerned by the dangers. Speciality insurer Hiscox says some of its clients have had their vessels hijacked.

While he acknowledges the frustration within the shipping industry at the lack of attention to the piracy issue, Guillaume Bonnissent from Hiscox doubts that ships will actually start to avoid the Gulf of Aden.

"I don't think we are going to see shortages. I think we are more likely to see ship owners charging higher prices [to cover the increased insurance premiums] which may have repercussions for the consumer."

You can hear Michael Buchanan's report on Somali piracy on PM on Radio 4 1700-1800 on Thursday 23rd October. ..
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By Michael Buchanan BBC News

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Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have been surging

I'd like to put this guy on a few menus. Write him and tell him what you think of him.

Contact details

Please use the details below:

The Seafood Restaurant
Riverside
Padstow
Cornwall
PL28 8BY

TEL: 01841 532700
FAX: 01841 532942

Email: reservations@rickstein.com

Rick Stein vows to continue using endangered fish in his restaurants

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:31 PM on 14th October 2008

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Defiant: Rick Stein said he would lose 80 per cent of his menus if he followed government and fishery guidelines

Rick Stein, Britain's top seafood chef, has vowed to go on using endangered species of fish in his acclaimed restaurants despite warnings of over-fishing.

The 61-year-old claimed following government and fishery guidelines would lose him 80 per cent of his menus and he would not be able to keep his four restaurants in Padstow going.

And, controversially, he questioned whether the fish stocks situation is really as bad as the government and marine conservationists are saying.

'I don't know how to say this without people getting very stroppy with me,' he told fans at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

'If I was going to stick to what they (government bodies) want, it would wipe out about 80 per cent of the species I use.

'I would be left with pollock, lots of mackerel, and herring. I couldn't run a menu with it.

'There are lots of fish which are endangered and which we are told we should not be touching - hake, cod, brill, monkfish.

'All these fish the Marine Conservation Society says we should not be using.'

But he said there is now evidence that many species are recovering as a result of fishing boats around Europe being bought up and decommissioned.

There were signs of improvement but official bodies were still saying things are going wrong rather than acknowledging they could now be going right, he said.

'I am not going to go to the newspapers and say this is what's now happening because someone will clobber me but I would say that in a limited area like this it is not all bad,' he said.

'It is certainly not all bad in Cornwall.'

Asked if he thought the government and fishery chiefs were worrying too much he said 'I do'.

'Padstein': Stein has been accused of spoiling the Cornish village of Padstow where he runs four restaurants

'There is a lot of overfishing, I don't deny that, he said. 'But I don't think we are really prepared to look at signs that things are getting better. I almost think we don't want to, really.

'Journalists tell us we are eating far too much fish and we shouldn't be eating this, that and the other and we like to believe that.'

Rick also admitted that as well as using fish from the endangered list he also uses farmed fish - although not in his best known and most expensive establishment, the Sea Food Restaurant.

'At the end of the day I have got a business to run. A small (farmed) bass or sea bream is still quite a nice fish to eat. I'm just being honest.

'I do do my best. I won't sell swordfish or blue tuna and monkfish if it is clear there are none around.

'But with a lot of these fish, like monkfish, the quota is going up. I think it is not all what it appears in the newspapers.'

Rick also acknowledged that there are people in Padstow who do not like the way his business has expanded in the town - leading some to dub it 'Padstein' because so many of the eateries, hotels, shops and delicatessens are his.

He said: 'I think a lot of what I call real locals who were born in Padstow like us to be there. We bring money into the community. And we do try to spend locally whenever we can.'

Life imitating art--Is "Saving the Whales" happening for real?

We don't have a pirate submarine or Bwana Doc, but the Somalian pirates have certainly gotten our attention. Kidnapping a ship laden with tanks and other armaments and surrounded by U.S. Navy vessels, the confrontation could have been lifted right out of "Saving the Whales". Modern day pirates are a real problem and we're not doing enough about them. Marine insurance rates are rising and interdiction by the world's navies is a sporadic and usually after the fact matter. The U.S. Navy's new littoral combat ships like the USS Freedom and the USS Independence would be great for the job of rooting out these brigands--just like they were used in "Saving the Whales!" Fast, with a shallow draft and impressive surveillance electronics and helicopter assault capabilities they could take out the modern day equivalent of Poolom Pannarang in no time.


To read more about this great ships check out this link. http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/littoral/

Polar Bears Resort to Cannabalism

From CNN

Summer is over in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another chilling season for researchers who study Arctic sea ice.

"It's definitely a bad report. We did pick up little bit from last year, but this is over 30 percent below what used to be normal," said Walt Meier, a research scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

This past summer, the Arctic sea ice dwindled to its second lowest level. Arctic sea ice is usually 1 to 3 meters, or as much as 9 feet thick. It grows during autumn and winter and shrinks in the spring and summer.

Scientists have monitored sea ice conditions for about 50 years with the help of satellites. Changes in the past decade have been alarming to climate researchers and oceanographers.

"It is the second lowest on record. ... If anything, it is reinforcing the long-term trend. We are still losing the ice cover at a rate of 10 percent per decade now, and that is quite an increase from five years ago," Meier said. "We are still heading toward an ice cover that is going to melt completely in the summertime in the Arctic."

Arctic ice helps regulate and temper the climate in many other parts of the world. The less ice there is, the more dramatic the impact. Huge sheets of ice reflect solar radiation, keeping our planet cool. When that ice melts, huge expanses of darker, open ocean water absorb the heat instead, warming things up.

Although few humans live in the Arctic, the disappearance of this ice cover can have effects far beyond the few residents and the wildlife of this harsh region. Ice cover loss can influence winds and precipitation on other continents, possibly leading to less rain in the western United States and creating more in Europe....

"The Arctic sea ice melt is a disaster for the polar bears," according to Kassie Siegel, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "They are dependent on the Arctic sea ice for all of their essential behaviors, and as the ice melts and global warming transforms the Arctic, polar bears are starving, drowning, even resorting to cannibalism because they don't have access to their usual food sources."

Scientists have noticed increasing reports of starving Arctic polar bears attacking and feeding on one another in recent years. In one documented 2004 incident in northern Alaska, a male bear broke into a female's den and killed her.

In May, the U.S. Department of Interior listed the polar bear as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. In a news release, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne stated, "loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species."

What is the future for Arctic sea ice? Some scientists believe that in just five years, the Arctic may be ice-free during the summer.

Read the full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html

The Plight of the Sharks of Cocos Island

Email from Richard Dunn--Report--Sharks of Cocos Islands

Quoting Richard Dunn : Greetings
We just returned from Cocos Island. out 3rd trip.

In 2000 there were hundreds of sharks on each dive.

In 2005 there were less than 50% of the sharks we saw on our first trip.
and on the way out we passed 42 long line boats.

In 2008 there is such a dramatic loss of sharks, we have made our last trip.
It is so sad the Goverment and the rangers have turned a blind eye
to this slaughter.

Just wanted to express this to you.
thanks
Richard

Robert De Niro's Restaurant Chain Sells Endangered Bluefin Tuna

Robert De Niro's restaurant chain sells endangered tuna

From Telegraph.co.uk

By Charles Clover

Last Updated: 9:01pm BST 06/09/2008

A Michelin-starred restaurant chain part-owned by the actor Robert De Niro is serving endangered bluefin tuna at its London outlets without telling customers, DNA tests have shown.

US calls for total ban on bluefin tuna fishing EU bluefin tuna fishing ban for Mediterranean Dolphin-friendly tuna may not be environmentally friendly Undercover investigators targeted the Nobu chain, which has 21 restaurants on four continents and is the haunt of celebrities such as Madonna, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Nobu restaurant, Old Park Lane, London At three Nobu restaurants in London, investigators from the environmental group Greenpeace ordered tuna dishes described on the menu only by Japanese terms for the cut of the fish they were from. They asked staff to identify the tuna species used. Samples were later tested to determine the type. Dishes from all three were Atlantic bluefin. The distinction is important because the Atlantic bluefin and the southern bluefin are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List because of overfishing. Most sushi eaten in Britain is from less endangered species such as yellowfin, but Japanese chefs are known to consider bluefin the most delicious. Nobu does not specify on its menus which species of tuna it serves. Requests for the information by campaigners have been met for several years with a terse "no comment". Although it is not illegal to serve Atlantic bluefin, also known as northern bluefin, many chefs, including Gordon Ramsay, have dropped it because of concern that fishing is at higher levels than stocks can withstand. At Nobu Berkeley St, which has one Michelin star, investigators asked for Atlantic bluefin (hon maguro in Japanese) but staff told them the restaurant did not stock it. However, DNA tests proved that the fish they were given was indeed Atlantic bluefin. At Ubon, Canary Wharf, also owned by Nobu, investigators ordered Atlantic bluefin and were served a dish that did not test conclusively either way. However, a second dish they ordered, described only as "o-toro", the fattiest belly meat, was Atlantic bluefin. At Nobu London, a waitress told the investigators that a dish on the menu was hon maguro. The fish that was served tested positive as Atlantic bluefin. The lack of clear information about the species of tuna on sale at Nobu could land the restaurants in trouble. A spokesman for Westminster city council said that falsely describing food was an offence. Dr Sergi Tudela, of WWF Mediterranean, said: "It is scandalous for a restaurant chain as globally famous as Nobu not to be clear about what it sells - and misleading to the discerning consumer who is trying to do the right thing. "The accurate traceability of seafood products is essential to avoid the overexploitation of fragile species." Willie Mackenzie of Greenpeace said: "Nobu and Robert De Niro are clearly making a great deal of money serving up endangered fish and they were reported this year as trying to sell a controlling share of their restaurant chain at a valuation of $400 million. "Now it turns out that Nobu's celebrity clientele are unwittingly pushing bluefin tuna towards extinction, and they should demand that the restaurant stop serving it up immediately. "If you were served up something labelled as 'steak' in a restaurant, and only found out later that you had eaten tiger or rhinoceros meat, you would be outraged." Findings of the investigation will be highlighted in a feature-length documentary film entitled The End of the Line, to be released next year. The restaurant declined to comment.

Sixty-nine Nations Adopt Guidelines to Protect Fish Species

Sixty-nine Nations Adopt Guidelines To Protect Fish Species; 'A Breakthrough'

Underwatertimes.com News Service

September 3, 2008 18:36 EST

Deep sea fish species like the morid cod have low resilience to intensive fishing

New York, New York -- Two years of negotiations have resulted in the adoption of new international guidelines to limit the impact of fishing on fragile deep sea fish species and habitats, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today.

Managing deep sea fisheries in high seas areas outside of countries’ exclusive economic zones has always been difficult, according to FAO, since it requires multilateral solutions involving not only nations whose vessels are engaged in deep sea fisheries but other interested countries as well.

“Until now, there really hasn’t been an international framework for tackling this issue,” said Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director General of FAO’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“These guidelines represent one of the few practical instruments of this nature, and are a breakthrough in that they address both environmental and fisheries management concerns in an integrated manner,” he added.

Stating that all fishing activity in deep sea areas should be “rigorously managed,” the guidelines contain measures to be taken to identify and protect vulnerable ecosystems and provide guidance on the sustainable use of marine living resources in deep-sea areas.

They also recommend that fishing nations assess the deep sea fishing being undertaken by their fleets to determine if any significant adverse impacts are involved, and if there are adverse impacts, the fishing activity should stop.

The guidelines also set out steps for improving information on the location and status of vulnerable marine ecosystems and deep sea fisheries.

Because deep sea fishing is a relatively new activity and requires considerable resources in terms of investment and technology, few countries have so far developed policies and plans specifically related to managing it, even in their own waters, according to FAO

Bwana Doc for President!

Bwana Doc Runs for President

With all the hoopla over John, Hillary and Barack, Bwana Doc thought he'd throw his hat in the ring.

Energy:

Begin building a nationwide network of high speed electric trains connecting all cities in the United States over 50,000 people. Build the cars for these trains out of the aluminum from scrapped airliners.

Begin building 50 nuclear power plants. Yes, there is a problem with their waste-recycle what we can and find out what to do with the rest. There is a solution—we can find it. There is poor evidence that modern plants are dangerous and certainly they emit less radiation than coal fired plants. If European countries can use nuclear power, why can’t we? Continue subsidies for wind, solar, tidal power and biofuels, including biogenic natural gas. Subsidize the conversion of vehicles to natural gas and hydrogen power as well as electric. Tax imported oil to supply the money for these subsidies.

Drill for oil wherever a state will allow it to be done. Let the people decide where they want their oil wells. If the citizens of a state decide they don’t want them—that’s fine too. Many states have done quite well with lots of oil wells—think about it.

Tax new construction in the U.S. that does not meet high standards for energy efficiency.

Tax cars that don't meet a high mpg standard.

Civil Law:

One man, one vote will be abolished. Veterans will get two votes. Combat Veterans will get three. Veterans awarded the Purple Heart will get five. Teachers will get five votes.

Medical doctors and nurses will get five votes. Policemen, Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians will get five votes. Single Parents will get two votes. Insurance, Bank and Mortgage company employees will get 0.5 votes.

A nationwide program to give every homeless person a place to live by 2015. Every animal has a place to live—how come we can’t do as well as animals?

Establish a nationwide program to give illegal aliens citizenship after paying a fine. A criterium for citizenship will be a working knowledge of English. Continue building the wall on the border. Build one on the Canadian border as well. Good fences make good neighbors. Establish a bracero program so that people can come from Mexico, work here legally and go back. Create laws protecting the rights of migrant workers in the U.S. and give enforcement priority and tough penalties. End sanctuary city programs for illegals.

Citizenship in the United States will no longer be by whether you are born here, but it will be a voluntary act when you reach the age of 18. You will have to pass a test that you know basic civics. You have to be able to speak English to be a citizen. You can speak whatever else you want, but you have to be able to speak English.

No corporation or individual will be allowed to contribute more than $100 to any political campaign.

Healthcare:

Establish a program for a basic level of healthcare to be available for all citizens. Non citizens are not eligible.

War on Terror:

We will catch Osama Bin Laden. Once we catch him, we will try him and convict him. He will be given life without the possibility of parole. He will then be exhibited in New York and Washington D.C. so that the citizens can taunt him if they want. Afterwards he will be placed in maximum security and allowed only the basic educational materials of American civilization. These will the following books: a Bible, a Book of Mormon, Dr. Seuss books, The Book of Virtues and the Winnie the Pooh books. As far as video entertainment, “Sesame Street”, reruns of “Mr. Rogers”, and the movie “Delta Force” will be allowed once a week. EWTN will be available 24/7.

We will keep fighting the war until they quit. We will close Guantanamo and end torture of prisoners immediately.

Environmental:

All fines for violation of environmental laws will be increased 1000X. For example, an oil spill now may draw a fine of $50,000. The fine will be increased to $50,000,000.

The money will be spent on wildlife habitat preservation and alternative energy.

There will a ban on shark fishing and a ban on the importation of shark meat to the United States.

The Endangered Species act will be continued and strengthened.

The Adventure Begins!

With the publication of "Saving the Whales" and the launch of the website and this blog, we take off a life of environmental adventure. At least 14 more Bwana Doc (trademark) Adventures are planned. This blog will be a more personal record of my journey on this new path as we explore the inadequacy of government regulation in protecting the environment and the often ineffective protests of environmental organizations. Maybe Bwana Doc's way is the way to solve environmental problems. We'll probably chronicle a few dive adventures in here along the way and maybe some real life environmental cleanups.