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