Each year around 650,000 whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are unintentionally caught and killed in fishing gear worldwide. Under the new rule, foreign fishermen must meet the same marine mammal protection standards applied to U.S. fishermen or their fish will be banned from the lucrative American seafood market.
Death by fishing gear entanglement is the most commonly diagnosed cause of death among eight large whale species on the eastern North American Continental shelf.
As early as this week, federal fisheries regulators are expected to propose a new rule so North Atlantic right whales, humpbacks and fin whales will be less likely to get entangled in vertical fishing lines. A team of commercial fishermen,… Read More ›
The western rock lobster industry has had its export licence extended for two years on the condition it takes further steps to reduce whale entanglements. Three whales have been reported as tangled in fishing gear this year on Western Australia’s… Read More ›
From Science Magazine by Paul Gabrielsen On Christmas Day 2010, an aerial team of wildlife spotters saw a whale in distress off the eastern coast of Florida. Her head, mouth, and fins were tangled in 132 meters of commercial fishing… Read More ›
Using a “patient monitoring” device attached to a whale entangled in fishing gear, scientists showed for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale’s diving and swimming behavior. The monitoring revealed how fishing gear hinders whales’ ability to eat… Read More ›
From Cape Cod Online By Mary Ann Bragg mbragg@capecodonline.com May 18, 2013 PROVINCETOWN — A new 50-acre area in Cape Cod Bay off Provincetown and Truro could provide income for shellfish growers. But a popular, floating method for oyster… Read More ›
By Erika Bolstad — McClatchy Washington Bureau, May 15, 2013 WASHINGTON — It’s a beach bummer. Shorelines worldwide are clogged with trash, so much so that during their annual cleanup last year, volunteers with the Ocean Conservancy picked up… Read More ›
From News.com.au, May 13, 2013 Following a 12-month battle with the Government,The Advertiser won an appeal for still images from the videos to be released after complaining about their secret status to the Information Commissioner and agreeing to keep… Read More ›
A Santa Barbara whale watching business, Condor Express, recently reported that they observed, “…a cow-calf pair not too far from SB Harbor. Upon arriving in the area near the two whales, it became apparent that one of them (we still… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 