Of the 30 cases last year, seven whales were disentangled and released free of lines, seven were found dead, two were observed to self-release and the remaining entangled whales had an unknown fate. Most recent entanglements have occurred with Dungeness crab gear, although lobster and spot prawn gear as well as gillnets have also been identified.
Plastic waste causes $13 billion in damage to marine ecosystems each year, according to the UN Environment Program. California and cities including Chicago, Seattle and Portland have banned single-use plastic bags.
“The implications are obvious and severe,” said Jim Elliott, director of the Center for Birds of Prey, about the discovery of the repellents and retardants in all 27 birds sampled among eagles, hawks and owls. “Who’s next on the (food chain) ladder? It’s us.”
A UC Davis researcher is studying whether tiny bits of plastic used in face washes, toothpaste and other consumer products are accumulating in Sacramento-area rivers and flowing out to the Pacific Ocean. Microbeads are tiny synthetic particles barely noticeable to… Read More ›
Editor’s Note: An environmental news release follows this report. (Reuters) – U.S. fisheries managers on Monday proposed lifting protections for most humpback whales around the globe, including in American waters, based on evidence the mammals have made a strong comeback… Read More ›
Editor’s Note: On April 20, 2010 BP Oil’s Deepwater Horizon gulf oil rig blew. It is considered the worst oil spill in U.S. waters. The stories vary, depending on which interest is reporting the updated news. Neptune 911 lists below… Read More ›
(Reuters) – Five years after the largest oil spill in U.S. history spewed millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, many Louisiana oystermen are fearful that a once-bountiful population of the mollusks may never recover. “My kids… Read More ›
When it comes to the water in the San Francisco Bay, the ocean doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves. At least, that’s the opinion of oceanographer John Largier, who studies the ocean’s complex dance with the Bay. Sure, the… Read More ›
Last month, the Mexican government announced that it would ban gillnets across 5,000 square miles of the upper Gulf of California for two years and compensating the fishermen. The two years will buy time while experts and local fishermen develop nets that are safe for vaquitas.
If you thought the worst extinction event on Earth was the one that killed the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago, think again. A far worse event, the Permo-Triassic Boundary mass extinction event, happened some 252 million years ago, which over the course of about 60,000 years is thought to have wiped out more than two-thirds of land species and more than 90% of marine species on the planet.
