The Beacon: admin's blog
Breaking: Oregon Governor Signs Shark Fin Trade Ban
Great news this shark week! We just got word that Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber will sign a bill this afternoon banning the sale, trade, and possession of shark fins in the state. Oceana was instrumental in the passage of this bill, which passed the State House and Senate with bipartisan support.
The bill’s passage moves the U.S. West Coast closer to a full ban on the trade of shark fins, thereby helping to protect global populations of at-risk shark species that are being targeted in unsustainable and unregulated fisheries worldwide.
While shark finning is illegal in the U.S., current federal laws banning the practice do not address the shark fin trade. As a result, fins are being imported to the U.S. from countries with few or even no shark protections in place.
Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington State signed similar legislation into law on May 12, 2011 and a bill in the California legislature passed the Assembly and is currently under consideration in committee in the Senate.
We commend Governor Kitzhaber for his extraordinary leadership to protect the ocean’s top predators, and congratulate our Pacific colleagues for their work in achieving this victory!
How Might Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Affect the Oceans?
Many of you have inquired via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail about how the Japanese nuclear crisis is affecting the oceans and marine life. There are still a lot of question marks, but here’s what our scientists have to say.
How it could affect marine life in general:
The greatest concern for marine life comes from the radiation from cesium, strontium and radioactive iodine entering the oceans via the smoke and water runoff from the damaged facilities. Small doses of radiation will be spread out over the Pacific Ocean, and monitors on the U.S. West Coast have even picked up slight traces of radiation from the smoke.
Although the levels of cesium and radioactive iodine in the immediate vicinity of the plant have increased and very small amounts of radiation have even been detected in local anchovies (1 percent of acceptable levels), it is not clear whether there will be any long-term or significant impacts on marine life off the coast of Japan or out to sea, according to researchers who studied the marine effects of fallout from nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific and the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
One Woman, One Beach, and One Year of Trash
Earlier this week we heard the latest from one of our 2010 Ocean Heroes, Robin Culler, leader of the Shark Finatics.
Today, another update, this time from Ocean Hero finalist Sara Bayles. Sara was just featured in the Los Angeles Times for her ongoing effort to spend 20 minutes a day for 365 non-consecutive days collecting trash from her Santa Monica beach. She weighs the garbage and keeps a tally on her blog, The Daily Ocean.
We’re glad she’s getting the recognition she deserves. Kudos to you, Sara!
In addition to starting your own beach cleanup like Sara, you can take our pledge to use less plastic if you haven't already.
Day 6: Back to Reality
Here’s your expedition update for today, from Oceana’s senior campaign communications manager Dustin Cranor:
News flash – the oil in the Gulf is not gone.
Although there have been lots of media reports that the oil in the Gulf is "gone," two new scientific studies were released today that give a different -- and less rosy -- picture.
First, independent scientists estimate that as much as 80 percent of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill is still in the Gulf. Even if it's only 50 percent, that’s a lot of oil. Second, and even more disturbing, scientists discovered oil from the spill on the seafloor of Desoto Canyon, which means that oil could be in shallower waters where vulnerable habitats exist.
Oceana believes that the worst of the oil’s impacts are yet to be seen. As part of our effort to document valuable and vulnerable habitats, we took advantage of our location and dove not too far from the same beach that President Obama recently visited in Panama City.
On this nearly 90 foot dive, Oceana’s divers spotted tiny corals, arrow crabs, hermit crabs, flatfish, soapfish and butterflyfish, all species at risk from the effects of oil spills. What many do not realize is that there is simply no effective way to remove oil from coral.
Look at some of the incredible creatures our divers spotted:
Sharks by the Numbers
As shark week comes to a close, we thought we’d hit you with the good stuff: numbers. Here are some of the most revealing statistics about sharks that we could find:
400 million: Approximate number of years that sharks have been on planet Earth.
50: Number of shark species that are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species
138,894: Number of people in the U.S. who suffered ladder-related injuries in 1996.
13: Number who suffered shark-related injuries in the U.S. in 1996.
22 million: Amount, in pounds, of shark fins that were imported into Hong Kong in 2008, making it the world’s largest single market for the product.
Dr. Jeffrey Short: Oil Pollution Expert
Dr. Jeffrey Short, Oceana's Pacific Science Director, recently retired from a 31-year career as a research chemist at NOAA, where he worked primarily on oil pollution and other contaminant issues.
He was the leading chemist for the governments of Alaska and the United States for the natural resource damage assessment and restoration of Exxon Valdez oil spill, and guided numerous studies on the distribution, persistence and effects of the oil.
Factsheet: They Said It Was Safe
For more, check out the PDF of this factsheet.
Representatives from both the oil industry and the U.S. government insisted offshore drilling was safe. They were wrong.
Quotes from the Oil Industry:
“This is the first time the industry has had to confront this issue in this water depth, and there is a lot of real-time learning going on.” Tony Hayward, BP Chief Executive Officer, May 10, 2010
Factsheet: The Timor Sea Oil Spill of 2009
For more, read the PDF of this factsheet.
On August 21, 2009 the Montara oil rig suffered a blowout and began spilling oil. The well was located in 250 ft of water, between East Timor and Australia. It took four attempts over ten weeks to block the leak and it was eventually achieved when mud was pumped into a relief well.
Factsheet: Options for Dealing with an Oil Spill
For more, see the PDF version of this factsheet.
There is no truly effective way of cleaning up an oil spill. All the options available are not fully effective or have negative impacts.
Burning the Slick
Unfortunately, burning the oil is a no-win situation; it creates large, toxic plumes of smoke that can result in respiratory problems and eye, nose, throat and skin irritations in both wildlife and humans. Birds may also become disoriented in the smoke.
Burning may be the lesser of two evils as it removes large amounts of oil that can result in immediate and long-term impacts to wildlife in the area, including skin irritations, organ damage, reproductive failures, developmental abnormalities and death.
Factsheet: The Gulf Spill’s Effect on Fisheries
To read more, click here for the PDF factsheet.
The federal government has closed commercial and recreational fishing in a wide swath of the Gulf as a result of the oil spill, which is a serious economic blow to the region.
