Author Archives

Reporter, journalist and author who has owned and operated a bookstore, a pool and spa full service business, an apple farm, and is now committed to environmental issues. She has written four books: The Gathering Basket, Connection with 48 Natural Contemplations, Seek Beauty, Find Joy: a Companion Journal to Natural Contemplations; and children's book, Isu Learns to Swim.

• State Lawmakers Consider Ban on Orca Capture for Entertainment

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 6, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 (Reuters) – Washington state senators held a hearing on Thursday to consider banning the increasingly controversial capture or holding of killer whales for entertainment. More than half of the approximately 455 orcas taken for captivity originated… Read More ›

• New National Marine Sanctuary to be Reviewed

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 5, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  A large area along California’s Central Coast is now being considered as a National Marine Sanctuary. The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary marks the first time that the public has nominated a stretch of California coast for this designation…. Read More ›

• Technology Looks to Reduce “Pirate” Fishing

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 5, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Washington—The Pew Charitable Trusts launched groundbreaking technology today that will help authorities monitor, detect, and respond to illicit fishing activity across the world’s oceans. The development of Project Eyes on the Seas, as the system is known, furthers a long-term… Read More ›

• Healthy and Unhealthy Chesapeake Bay Report

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 4, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  (Reuters) – The ailing Chesapeake Bay is slowly recovering from pollution and overfishing but still has problems that include a drop by half in a key segment of the blue crab population, a report on the largest U.S. estuary said… Read More ›

• Mercury Level Up in Yellowfin Tuna

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 3, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Mercury levels in yellowfin tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean have been rising at a 3.8% annual rate since 1998, according to a new study. The findings, published online Monday in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, add to evidence… Read More ›

• Sea Lion Strandings Continue for 3rd Year

  By Charmaine Coimbra on February 2, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  This year is shaping up to be a brutal one for the California sea lion — the third year in a row for record numbers of sea lion strandings in the state. Sick, abandoned pups have shown up in alarming… Read More ›

• Acidic Waters Hostile to Shellfish

  By Charmaine Coimbra on January 25, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  WALPOLE, MAINE — In the icy waters of midcoast Maine, Bill Mook has his eyes on his oysters – and how the waters they need to survive are gradually, but clearly, changing. Down the coast near Portland, the issue is… Read More ›

• “…oceans are taking a beating”

  By Charmaine Coimbra on January 25, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  “… the latest pH level readings from the world’s oceans indicate that these ancient pH levels have recently dropped to an average of 8.1. As the ocean becomes more acidic, the life cycles of marine organisms, especially zooplankton primarily found in surface waters and at the lower end of the food chain, could be affected.”

• Gillnet Restriction Possible in California

  By Charmaine Coimbra on January 24, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  State lawmakers want to end a fishing practice that hauls in millions of dollars a year and puts swordfish on restaurant plates – and might be an all-too-efficient killer of dolphin and whales. The culprit is the drift gillnet. A… Read More ›

• Protecting Coral

  By Charmaine Coimbra on January 23, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Visit “Students Take a Vacation Saving Coral” on Neptune 911 for Kids Take out a minute of your day, and watch this new video about deep sea trawling and protecting coral–one of the planet’s most endangered species. “Everywhere we go,… Read More ›