Soul Planet, Oceana, Dolphin Outlook, A Whale of a Week, 16th Annual International Ocean Film Fest is this weekend, National Aquarium's CEO Plans to Relocate Captive Dolphins, Coastal Opposition to Offshore Drilling, SMASS and WDC Marine Forum 2019, Iceland authorizes 2K Whales to be killed, Beluga whale sanctuary, TUI & SeaWorld!
Soul Planet" from Phish's New Year's Eve show at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Download the entire show now or stream via LivePhish+ at livephi.sh/ph171231
16th Annual International Ocean Film Fest!
Attention all ocean lovers! The 16th annual International Ocean Film Festival will be held in San Francisco, California, on March 7-10, 2019.
The IOFF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the ocean one film at a time. Their mission is to increase public awareness of the environmental, social and cultural importance of marine ecosystems and foster a spirit of ocean stewardship. See the 2019 IOFF schedule here.
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Stop this Attack on Whales, Dolphins. President Trump and his administration gave oil exploration companies the green light to harass and even potentially kill marine mammals with seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic. We must take a strong stance that seismic airgun blasting simply is not acceptable. Your members of Congress speak for you – please let them know where you stand and to oppose the administration’s reckless and dangerous actions. Email your member of Congress RIGHT NOW, and tell them to oppose potentially deadly seismic airgun blasting and new offshore drilling
Oceana Investigation Keeps One of the World’s Largest Fish Factory Vessels on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing List
Following an investigation by Oceana, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management. Organization decided to keep the fish factory vessel Damanzaihao (now named Vladivostok 2000) on its list of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels, and issued warnings to China, Panama and Cook Islands for providing assistance to the vessel.
Oceana Investigation Keeps One of the World’s Largest Fish Factory Vessels on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing List. China, Panama, Cook Islands Found Non-Compliant. Following an investigation by Oceana, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) decided to keep the fish factory vessel Damanzaihao (now named Vladivostok 2000) on its list of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels, and issued warnings to China, Panama and Cook Islands for providing assistance to the vessel. The SPRFMO’s Compliance and Technical Committee found that these three countries were not in compliance with conservation and management measures to combat IUU fishing and issued them a “priority non-compliance” status, which reflects violations to SPRFMO regulations.
“Oceana applauds SPRFMO’s decision and views this as an important example of how transparency at sea can help enforce rules that combat IUU fishing,” said Beth Lowell, deputy vice president of U.S. campaigns at Oceana. “With the help of technology, we can see what vessels are doing beyond the horizon and take steps--like Oceana did--to hold the responsible parties accountable.”
Oceana investigated the Damanzaihao’s movements using Global Fishing Watch’s mapping platform, which harnesses cutting-edge technology to empower anyone to investigate global fishing* activity in near real-time, for free.
“If we didn’t have Global Fishing Watch’s technology, we wouldn’t have been able to track this vessel and share this information, and it would have continued operating,” explained Liesbeth van der Meer, executive director of Oceana Chile. “This would have been a huge risk to marine ecosystems not only because of the vessel’s huge capacity, but also because of its track record of being on the SPRFMO IUU List and changing names and flags.”
The Vladivostok 2000 (formerly named Damanzaihao), currently flagged to Moldova, is one of the world’s largest vessels with a history of changing names and reflagging to different countries. Originally designed as an oil tanker measuring 228 meters, the vessel was rebuilt to function as a one-stop-shop fish processor, with the ability to store, freeze, process and transfer fish. According to a New York Times article, the vessel (named Lafayette and flying a Russian flag when the article was published in 2012) can process up to 547,000 metric tons of fish each year “if it operated every day.”
Timeline of Likely Vessel Activities Based on Oceana’s Review of Global Fishing Watch Data and SPRFMO Sources
- February 6, 2015: Damanzaihao is listed on the SPRFMO IUU List.
- July 6, 2018: Using the Global Fishing Watch platform, Oceana tracked the Damanzaihao leaving Peruvian waters and likely meeting with Cook Islands oil tanker ship Hai Soon 26 on the high seas. According to the SPRFMO meeting report, the two vessels “engaged in transfer activities” as the Damanzaihao was “without adequate fuel.” Also in the report, members noted that this refueling involved “a clear breach” of SPRFMO’s Conservation and Management Measures.
- SPRFMO regulations say that member country vessels should not assist in any way vessels on its IUU List
- July 13, 2018: Based on Oceana’s analysis using the Global Fishing Watch platform, the Damanzaihao entered Panama’s exclusive economic zone, where it remained for three days and according to the SPRFMO meeting report, “received port services in Balboa, Panama.” According to Panama’s comments cited in the report, “a private company working inside the harbor refueled the vessel without authorization by the Port Authorities...”
- SPRFMO regulations say that members and cooperating parties such as Panama should prohibit the entry of vessels on the IUU List into their ports and their vessels should not assist in any way
- September 12, 2018: Based on Oceana’s information obtained from the Global Fishing Watch platform, Damanzaihao arrived at Port of Dalian in China, and SPRFMO’s meeting report similarly noted that this vessel traveled to Dalian, China.
- SPRFMO regulations say that members should prohibit the entry of vessels on the IUU List into their ports
- December 2018: Oceana Chile sent information showing potentially suspicious activities surrounding the Damanzaihao to the SPRFMO.
- January 19-21, 2019: SPRFMO’s 6th Compliance and Technical Committee Meeting was held in The Hague, where the SPRFMO reviewed all information surrounding the Damanzaihao. The SPRFMO decided to keep the fish factory vessel Damanzaihao (now named Vladivostok 2000) on its IUU List. SPRFMO also found that China, Panama and Cook Islands were not in compliance with conservation and management measures to combat IUU fishing and issued them a “priority non-compliance” status, which reflects violations to SPRFMO regulations.
*Any and all references to “fishing” should be understood in the context of Global Fishing Watch’s fishing detection algorithm, which is a best effort to determine “apparent fishing effort” based on vessel speed and direction data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) collected via satellites and terrestrial receivers. As AIS data varies in completeness, accuracy and quality, it is possible that some fishing effort is not identified and conversely, that some fishing effort identified is not fishing. For these reasons, Global Fishing Watch qualifies all designations of vessel fishing effort, including synonyms of the term “fishing effort,” such as “fishing” or “fishing activity,” as “apparent,” rather than certain. Any/all Global Fishing Watch information about “apparent fishing effort” should be considered an estimate and must be relied upon solely at your own risk. Global Fishing Watch is taking steps to make sure fishing effort designations are as accurate as possible.
The potential health effects of our exposure to plastics have been unclear, but that is starting to change. The release of the first-ever life-cycle analysis of the human-health impacts of plastic, titled “Plastic and Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet,” marks a turning point in our understanding of plastic’s direct risk to our bodies.
New Report Reveals Plastic’s Risks to Human Health, Solidifying Need to Reduce Its Use
The potential health effects of our exposure to plastics have been unclear, but that is starting to change. Today’s release of the first-ever life-cycle analysis of the human-health impacts of plastic, titled “Plastic and Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet,” marks a turning point in our understanding of plastic’s direct risk to our bodies.
The new report — authored by Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Earthworks, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), IPEN, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.), University of Exeter and UPSTREAM — shows that plastic is in fact affecting human health.
Oceana’s chief policy officer, Jacqueline Savitz, released this statement following today’s announcement:
“Plastic has now permeated our air, our soil, our water and our bodies, and the consequences cannot be ignored. Companies cannot continue hiding behind waste-management solutions like recycling, which will not be enough unless they also dramatically reduce plastic use and switch to alternative delivery systems.
This new report provides further evidence of plastic’s detrimental effects on a global scale — and it’s more personal than ever. Plastic is impacting human health through every single stage of its life cycle, from extraction and production to consumer use, and it is entering our food chain. The risks to human health begin long before plastic even makes it onto store shelves, providing yet another reason why waste-management efforts alone can’t reverse this crisis.
We need companies to take responsibility for plastic’s effects on our health and the environment, stop wasting time with false solutions and turn to sustainable alternatives to plastic before it’s too late.”
To learn more about Oceana’s new campaign to stop plastic pollution, please visit www.oceana.org/plastics.
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 Iceland has authorized the murder of 2,000 innocent whales, despite international objection.Only 3% of the historical whale population is still alive today. If countries like Iceland continue to allow these massive hunts, we could lose whales for good. It’s clear that if we want to protect whales from extinction, we have to act. Iceland isn’t the only country to allow the extreme slaughter of whales. Countries across the world are hunting them into extinction. Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission, which means they can slaughter whales without discretion. And the Trump administration legalized the use of seismic blasts for offshore oil drilling, which is fatal to whales across the Atlantic. Poaching isn’t the only threat whales face: 18 billion pounds of waste end up in our oceans each year. [2] And thanks to that waste, over 100,000 marine animals die from plastic entanglement every single year. If we don’t do something immediately to protect and preserve the remaining whale population, whales could go extinct before our eyes. Your donation will help us protect our oceans and save the amazing species that call them home. Thanks to supporters like you, we’ve lobbied for whale protections across the United States and protested whale hunts across the world. Innocent whales are counting on us to save them from brutal hunts. They’re counting on us to save them from choking on plastic and pollution.
95,000
people and counting have told TUI that endorsing such cruelty is appalling and
unacceptable. Every single message makes a difference and helps us keep
the pressure on the company. Will you join us in asking the travel provider to cut ties with SeaWorld immediately?
Kayla
was hauled from park to park by SeaWorld, made to perform tricks in chemically
treated water, and forcibly impregnated by artificial insemination. She
miscarried one calf and had another who died. She's finally free from this
misery – but orcas, other dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, penguins, and many
other animals are still imprisoned there and suffering in the name of
entertainment.
This
must be the last time an orca dies at the marine abusement park. Please send a message asking TUI to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld. Thanks
for helping the animals trapped at SeaWorld.
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Media Contact: New Report Reveals Plastic’s Risks to Human Health, Solidifying Need to Reduce Its Use
Press Release Date
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Location: Washington, D.C.
Contacts: Melissa Valliant: mvalliant@oceana.org 410.829.0726
Dustin Cranor: dcranor@Oceana.org 954.348.1314
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Media Contact: Oceana Investigation Keeps One of the World’s Largest Fish Factory Vessels on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing List - China, Panama, Cook Islands Found Non-Compliant
Press Release Date
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact: Megan Jordan: mjordan@oceana.org +1.202.868.4061
[1] California Coastal Commission | The Problem With Marine Debris
[2] Ocean Crusaders | Plastic Statistics
[2] Ocean Crusaders | Plastic Statistics
Don Lichterman
Sunset Corporation of America (SCA)
Sunset TV
Sunset Television Network
Sustainable Action Network (SAN)