The Beacon
Oceana’s blog about the latest ocean news, policy and science.
Washington Passes Legislation to Fight Seafood Fraud
Earlier this week, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law House Bill 1200 (HB 1200), which will begin to tackle seafood fraud throughout the state. Seafood fraud switches out the fish consumers intend to purchase with fish that is cheaper, less sustainable, or even dangerous. Oceana’s recent seafood fraud report found that 18 percent of fish sampled and sold in Seattle, WA, was mislabeled. And Washington’s results were better than most – our testing showed that fully one-third of seafood in restaurants and grocery stores throughout the country is mislabeled. Among specific cities and regions of the country, the numbers get even worse: 38 percent of Miami samples were mislabeled, 39 percent of New York City samples were mislabeled, and an incredible 52 percent of samples we tested in Southern California were not what they were labeled.
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Happy World Turtle Day!
Happy World Turtle Day! While World Turtle Day celebrates turtles that roam both the land and the sea, as well as tortoises, we at Oceana would especially like to recognize the magnificent species of sea turtles that roam throughout the world’s oceans. The seven species classified as sea turtles around the world are truly incredible: most undergo incredible long migrations – some as far as 1,400 miles –between their feeding grounds and the beaches where they nest. Some loggerhead sea turtles nest in Japan and migrate to Baja del Sur, Mexico, to forage before swimming across the Pacific Ocean again to return home! Amazingly, female sea turtles even return to the exact beach where they hatched as babies to nest and lay their eggs.
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Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless Discusses His New Book, The Perfect Protein
Nine billion of us are estimated to be on the planet by 2050, and the demand for food will increase by 70 percent above today’s levels. If land and fresh water are already under strain, how in the world are we going to feed a population that grows by 220,000 mouths every day? Well, the ocean conservation measures you champion as an Oceana supporter can, believe it or not, help make a huge difference. You can find out how in my new book, The Perfect Protein, which can be pre-ordered now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indiebound.
Disabled Killer Whale Survives with Help from Its Pod
In one of those incredible-but-true stories that makes you want to give the oceans a giant hug, a disabled killer whale missing two of its fins and unable to hunt to feed itself is able to survive through the help of its family. The young male killer whale, or orca, has no dorsal fin or right-side pectoral fin, leaving it unable to hunt and capture prey for itself. Instead of being abandoned or rejected by its pod and left to die, however, the killer whale appears to have been cared for and supported by the members of its pod, which share food with the young whale.
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Stocks Show Signs of Recovery, But Still Work to Do
Last week, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released its annual report detailing progress toward ending overfishing and recovering overfished stocks. Each year, NMFS reports on the number of stocks where overfishing is occurring (mortality is above sustainable levels), the number of stocks that are overfished (populations have not yet recovered from past overfishing), and the number of stocks that are no longer depleted, or are considered “rebuilt.” In 2012, NMFS reported continued progress, which is good news in light of controversial decisions to follow scientific recommendations to further cut quotas of key New England stocks. According to the report, ten stocks are no longer subject to overfishing, including short-fin mako, Caribbean grouper, and Gulf of Mexico red snapper. Additionally, six stocks are now considered “rebuilt,” including southern Tanner crabs, Washington coast Coho salmon, south Atlantic pink shrimp, and southern New England/Mid-Atlantic windowpane and yellowtail flounder.
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It's Endangered Species Day!
May 17th is the day to show your love for endangered sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and all sorts of marine creatures. Why? Because it’s Endangered Species Day! Today is the day to learn and share information about your favorite endangered animals and rally support around the creatures that need it most.
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Victory! Delaware Becomes Seventh State in U.S. to Ban Shark Fin Trade!
Yesterday, Delaware became the seventh state to prohibit the sale, trade, possession and distribution of shark fins within state borders. By signing House Bill 41, Gov. Jack Markell not only made Delaware the second East Coast state to ban the shark fin trade, but he sent the message that sharks are worth more in the oceans than in a bowl of shark fin soup.
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U.S. Coast Guard Captures Illegal Fishermen in Texas
Following Oceana’s newly released report on the harmful impacts of illegal fishing, one of the questions that I as Oceana's Northeast representative was asked most often was, “Where is this happening?” The short answer: Illegal fishing happens everywhere, from the most distant waters near Antarctica to just off the U.S. coast.
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What Do Historic CO2 Levels Mean for the Oceans?
For the first time in human history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels passed 400 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide at the historic Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This is the same location where Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Charles David Keeling first established the “Keeling Curve,” a famous graph showing that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are increasing rapidly in the atmosphere. CO2 was around 280 ppm before the Industrial Revolution, when humans first began releasing large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. On May 9, the reading was a startling 400.08 ppm for a 24-hour period. But without the help of the oceans, this number would already be much higher.
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An Eventful April for Oceana's Climate and Energy Team
Oceana’s climate and energy campaign had an eventful April. In our ongoing effort to stop East Coast offshore drilling before it starts, we’ve been working hard to prevent the oil industry from taking the first step toward drilling: seismic airguns to explore for oil.
The specifics of seismic airgun testing are worth understanding if only because the oil industry seems to be counting on Americans’ lack of knowledge about this highly specific technology in order to get a foothold in some ocean areas that have been protected from drilling since the Reagan administration.
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