Clipmarks | papananook's clips

Scientists: Warmer Seas, Over-Fishing Spell Disaster for Oceans

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:27:45 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: And it's official--no commercial salmon fishin on the Oregon and Cali coast this season due to depleted salmon stocks. Limited Sport fishin on reserved holidays.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

HANOI - The future food security of millions of people is at risk because over-fishing, climate change and pollution are inflicting massive damage on the world’s oceans, marine scientists warned this week.

The two-thirds of the planet covered by seas provide one fifth of the world’s protein — but 75 percent of fish stocks are now fully exploited or depleted, a Hanoi conference that ended Friday was told.

Warming seas are bleaching corals, feeding algal blooms and changing ocean currents that impact the weather, and rising sea levels could in future threaten coastal areas from Bangladesh to New York, experts said.

“People think the ocean is a place apart,” said Peter Neill, head of the World Ocean Observatory. “In fact it’s the thing that connects us — through trade, transportation, natural systems, weather patterns and everything we depend on for survival.”

“There is a race to fish, but in wild capture fisheries right now we can catch no more,”

Seven Ridiculously Practical Recommendations For Curbing America's Addiction To War

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:58:29 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Go to the site to read excelent article by David Michael Green

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

Seeing John McCain and David Petraeus talking about the Iraq debacle this week is a frightening reminder of how easily we Americans are able to slip into war. And how frequently we do. And how hard it is to get out once we’re in. Assuming, of course, we even want to get out.

Recently, [click here I catalogued the unfortunately ample, and the amply unfortunate, evidence that America has a serious jones for war. It would be nice if this were not so. Then again, it would be nice if George W. Bush was not sitting in the White House right now, too. But sometimes you just have to face difficult truths, no matter how unpleasant they are, and both of these are, verdad, muy mal.

Indeed, I see seven ridiculously practical recommendations that, if adopted, would dramatically reduce American proclivities toward institutionalized violence, which is a fancy way of saying that they would cut or eliminate entirely the number of our wars.

Stop the Canadian Seal Slaughter

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:30:32 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

During the previous three years, the government of Canada delivered the death sentence to over one million baby harp seals.

Sea Shepherd continues to oppose this annual obscenity called a "hunt." It is not a hunt because the sealers simply walk up to the seals (who have no means of escaping or hiding) and bash the seals on the head or shoot them.

Sea Shepherd believes the following about the Canadian seal slaughter:

The slaughter of seals is incredibly cruel (a post mortem survey has shown that 42% of these babies are skinned alive)

It is a threat to the survival of the species

It is a threat to the survival of cod

It is a slaughter done mainly for unessential, vanity, and luxury items, and therefore, is unnecessary

It is unethical to slaughter newborn seal pups (About 95% of the seals to be slaughtered are babies less than four weeks old)

Another phase of our seal defense campaign – the Seal of Approval Campaign – is in full swing. The boycott of Canadian seafood is being promoted

Farley Mowat Attacked by Mob of Angry Fishermen

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:18:30 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship, the Farley Mowat, was attacked this morning by a mob of 30-40 angry fishermen. The attack took place while berthed in the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. The Farley Mowat was berthed in St. Pierre to transfer video footage of the Canadian seal slaughter onto shore and await the resumption of the slaughter, which was temporarily suspended after the death of four sealers.

Tensions quickly escalated in St. Pierre as the growing mob hurled rocks, threats, and insults at crew members of the Farley Mowat. Cameraman Simeon Houtman was assaulted by an axe-wielding fisherman after stepping onshore to film the incident. “The fisherman raised the axe above his head with one arm and tried to knock Simeon back with his other. Simeon jumped back onto the ship just before the mob threw our gangplank into the water,” said Peter Hammarstedt, First Officer of the Farley Mowat.

Farley Mowat Continues to Shadow Sealing Ships

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:14:57 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

The sealers of the Magdalen Islands are not having a very good year. Four of them have died in a tragic accident when the Coast Guard Icebreaker Sir William Alexander caused the sealing vessel they were towing to capsize.

So far they have killed 3100 seals, far fewer than normal and they are having a difficult time navigating their unsuitable vessels through thick ice and thicker fog. “This is an unusually low number for this time of year,” said Phil Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The radio patter has sealers sounding disheartened and they are talking about going home and calling it quits for the year, and that translates into good news for the seals. The Newfoundland sealers were scheduled to hit the ice on the 11th of April but they have been set back a day to the 12th of April.

The Canadian government has once again threatened the crew of the Farley Mowat with arrest and has demanded that the ship leaves Canadian waters.

Eyewitnesses to baby seal slaughter

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:09:04 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Canadian cowards cop to greed

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

Nothing prepared me for this, no video or previous encounter with the sealers on the ice. I watched in horror and disgust as two murderers clammered from their small boat, club in hand, and smashed in the skull of a baby harp seal. For an hour or so my memories are fuzzy with blood, abuse and worst of all the cries of seals as they are brutally killed. We will do whatever we can to expose this unnecessary, disgusting slaughter of life. Canada can not continue to censor its dirty secret any longer.

It is untrue to say that killing these seals is being done humanely. Today we have seen sealers shooting the baby seals to wound them so they can't flee, beating them with wooden clubs then killing them by cutting the
arteries under their flippers. The seals die slowly and in pain. It is ahorrible thing to see.
- Dr Merryn Redenbach, Australia

The Farley Mowat will continue to document the atrocities of the sealers and the incompetence of the Canadian Coast Guard.