Monthly Archives for July 2011

1000 Kids Pledge to Save Sharks in Hong Kong

July 9, 2011

Dr. Sylvia Earle Joins Kids in Hong Kong for Shark Pledge

The 1000 Kids, One Message! project brought together shark loving kids and a distinguished list of ocean heroes in Hong Kong to make a special pledge.

“I am the future! I won’t eat shark fins!”

It’s hoped that the children’s message from the hot zone of the shark fin trade will echo loud and clear through national and international media, as nation after nation bans the brutal and unsustainable practice of shark finning.

The underlying premise of the project is clear – children are the future. The Ocean Geographic Society is calling on kids around the world to step up as the next generation of young ambassadors for sharks. 

Kids attending this event have been officially named Shark Ambassadors. Kids have the initiative and passion to save sharks from extinction and are the ocean’s best hope. 

“Sharks are beautiful animals and if you’re lucky enough to see lots of them that means that you’re in a healthy ocean,” says Dr. Sylvia Earle. “You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don’t see sharks.  That means the ocean is in trouble, and if the ocean is in trouble we’re in trouble.”

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That evening, Rolex in collaboration with Ocean Geographic Society (OceanNEnvironment), Cyberport and the Energy Saving and Environment Concern Alliance (ESECA), presented “An Unforgettable Evening,”  celebrating the mystique of the underwater world through photos and films.

With a focus on Antarctica, the tropical oceans, marine animals and climate change issues, featured appearances included oceanographer extraordinaire Dr. Sylvia Earle, founder of Energy Saving Concern Alliance Elizabeth Quat, and renowned photographers David Doubilet, Jennifer Hayes and Michael AW.  Read more about the dynamic team of ocean luminaries who took part in this event here.

Funds raised at these events will go to Ocean Geographic’s Shark Campaign.

Written by Deb Castellana

Photographs Courtesy of Vincent Tong

Bahamas Turns Nearly 250,000 Sq Miles Of Ocean Into Permanent Shark Sanctuary

The Bahamas is the latest in a string of countries that are putting shark conservation at the top of the priority list. The Bahamas have converted 243,244 square miles of the country’s waters into a shark sanctuary, prohibiting any commercial fishing of the animals.

“2011 is fast becoming the year of the shark,” said Jill Hepp, manager of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group in a press release. It certainly feels that way after all the news lately of more countries recognizing the importance of sharks — just last week Honduras announced its new shark sanctuary, and before that was the Maldives in 2010 and Palau in 2009. It’s no small wonder, as studies have shown how much more valuable to an economy sharks are when they’re alive than when they’re fished.

According to the press release, “The Bahamian sanctuary was created by adding an amendment to the Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Act (Chapter 244) to prohibit commercial shark fishing along with the sale, importation and export of shark products.”

“Today’s announcement permanently protects more than 40 shark species in Bahamian waters,” states Hepp. “We applaud the people and government of The Bahamas for being bold leaders in marine conservation.”

With the Bahamas declaring nearly a quarter million square miles a sanctuary for shark, the total is up to 926, 645 square miles of ocean where commercial shark fishing is prohibited. It’s wonderful news — but only if the bans are enforced. This part of the equation is more difficult than creating the sanctuary itself. Illegal shark catches are unfortunately all too common, and with demand for shark fins still high in the world market, countries instituting bans on commercial fishing will have to put in the effort to ensure the bans are followed.

Humpback Whales and more in the Atlantic!

Cape Cod, Massachusetts
2011 July

Special Report from Dr. Bonny Schumaker, On Wings of Care

With special thanks to Jake Levenson from IFAW.

We’re here for the week in Cape Cod, to find humpback whales for scientists who will study, track, and tag some of them with GPS transmitters for further study.  We arrived this afternoon and did a quick reconnaissance flight — and did we ever wish we had had a real camera with us! The rest of the week should be quite exciting, if today was any sign.  In less than one hour, and not even 24 miles from our ‘home’ airport of Plymouth, MA, we spotted at least a dozen humpbacks — typically alone, but in one case there were two adults and a juvenile, and in another case many adults came together to hunt cooperatively by making a “bubble net.” We also saw several Minke whales, one large fin whale, a basking shark, one large leatherback turtle, and several large schools of tuna!  Much of this was within just a few miles of the shores of Provincetown, Cape Cod, in an area of the sea known as Little Stellwagon Basin.

We grabbed our emergency “point-and-shoot” camera from the side pocket of the airplane and snapped a few photos and even one short video, shown below.  We hope to have many more photos and video of much better quality before this week is through! Weather looks good for tomorrow, a bit iffy the next day, so we’re planning a very early morning start.  Stay tuned!
Here is a short video of quite a long show that one humpback whale put on for us, as she or he put a great deal of energy into slapping the water repeatedly with one fin, making noise and waves that travelled for a very long way.

Time to Jump Another Hurdle For Sharks in California

July 11th will be the next crucial hurdle for AB 376 in Sacramento as it faces the The Senate Appropriations Committee – if we get past this, the vote goes to the Senate Floor. If it passes there, it goes to the Governor Brown’s office for his signature, and then it becomes the law!

There has been pressure from some members of the Senate to add provisions to AB 376 to allow for the sale of fins taken during legally allowed shark fishing. Perhaps the biggest problem with this is that it makes AM 376 – the bill to ban the sale of shark fins in CA virtually unenforcable. Who will be able to tell the difference between a shark fin taken off a legally caught leopard shark in San Francisco Bay from one illegally imported, taken from a shark whose body was thrown overboard from a shark finning vessel? This provision is a tricky way to make AB 376 a VERY expensive bill for the State to enforce – one that the Appropriations Committee might find too expensive to pass in this time of severe fiscal crisis.

Please take a few minutes to call the following Senators, who are on the Appropriations Committee to ask them to support AB 376 without provisions for shark fishing.

Shark Finning - A Bloody Business

Senator Christine Kehoe (Chair): (916) 651-4039 senator.kehoe@sen.ca.gov

Senator Mimi Walters (Vice Chair): (916) 651-4033 senator.walters@sen.ca.gov

Senator Elaine Alquist: (916) 651-4013 senator.alquist@sen.ca.gov

Senator Bill Emmerson: (916) 651-4037 senator.emmerson@sen.ca.gov

Senator Ted W. Lieu: (916) 651-4028 senator.lieu@sen.ca.gov

Senator Fran Pavley: (916) 651-4023 senator.pavley@sen.ca.gov

Senator Curren Price: (916) 651-4026 senator.price@sen.ca.gov

Senator Sharon Runner: (916) 651-4017 senator.runner@sen.ca.gov

Senator Darrell Steinberg: (916) 651-4006 senator.steinberg@sen.ca.gov

Large Slick Clearly Sighted on July 1 Gulf Flyover – Leaking since 2004

Jonathan Henderson – Coastal Resiliency Coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network reports to us from the skies over the Gulf.

This morning, Scott Eustis, GRN’s Coastal Wetland Specialist, and I boarded a small Cessna aircraft at Lakefront Airport in New Orleans and headed out on a 4 hour flight path. I was invited by Bonny Schumaker, the pilot for On Wings of Care to help document Whale sharks in the Gulf that had been tagged the week before. We also set out to revisit the Taylor Energy leak just a few miles off the tip of the Bird’s Foot Delta at N298 56.328; W88 58.049. You may recall that radar satellite images taken in June 2010 showed continuing leakage from a well about 40 miles from the leaking Macondo well that was the source of the BP drilling disaster. More on that in a minute.

Unfortunately, we were unable to spot any whale sharks today, even though at least one of the sharks–named Bessy (after Bonny’s plane) had been recently tagged. Even though conditions were perfect for spotting from the air today, the massive sharks remained elusive. We were able to see sea turtles and hammerhead sharks. Yet, strangely not one of us was ever able to spot a dolphin. Normally, the area around Ewing Bank would be teeming with dolphins. Anyway, we did not spot any Whale sharks so I won’t spend any more time on that.

We did, unfortunately, find success in the other part of today’s mission which was to document leaking oil. Yes, oil is STILL leaking from the site of Taylor Energy platform (Platform 23051) that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The ongoing leak gained national attention during the BP disaster after the government released detailed satellite images of the Gulf’s surface. Skytruth, a watchdog group that uses satellite images to monitor environmental problems, first called attention to the ongoing spill. You may recall reading their reports calling attention to the leak, which also received some media coverage from the Press-Register, NPR, and others. However, other than scant media coverage, since last year, little or nothing has been done to address this continuing problem. When you look at the images from today, you will notice that there is not one rig or platform in any of the shots. You won’t find any work boats or skimmers. In fact, the only thing you will find at the site today is a buoy marking the location and an oil slick that stretches for about 10 miles. See for yourself.

At different times over the last year there was a rig, the Ocean Saratoga, in the vicinity allegedly working to plug the leak. Not today. Where did the Saratoga go? Obviously there is still a problem. Many questions about this leak remain unanswered. Today when I returned I asked one of our legal interns to file a Freedom of Information Act Request to find out what the heck is going on. Why is it still leaking? Can it be stopped? Is there a timeline on stopping it? Has Taylor energy been fined for violating the Clean Water Act? If not, why not? Stay tuned for the answer to these questions. In the meantime, take action today by sending a letter to your member of Congress demanding that they take meaningful action to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico. Click here to send a letter today.