Oceana North America Blog: The Beacon

Last Chance to Register for the World Oceans Summit

Emily Fisher — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:26:03 +0000

Happy Friday, all!

We just wanted to remind you about the The Economist's fast-approaching World Oceans Summit where 200 global leaders, including our CEO Andy Sharpless, will discuss the future of our oceans.

The summit, which takes place in Singapore from Feb. 22-24, will offer a robust examination of the future of the seas, the importance of the sustainable use of the oceans, and what this means for business.

Featured speakers include:

Robert Zoellick, President, World Bank (Keynote speaker)
John Micklethwait, Editor-in-chief, The Economist; and Chairman, World Oceans Summit
Anote Tong, President, Republic of Kiribati
Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Government of Singapore
Andrew Sharpless, Chief Executive Officer, Oceana
David Miliband, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-residence, National Geographic Society
Philippe Lacamp, Head of Sustainable Development, John Swire & Sons (H.K.)
Tim Smith, Chief Executive Officer, North Asia, Maersk Line
Malcolm Preston, Global Head of Sustainability and Climate Change, Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Abyd Karmali, Global Head of Carbon Marks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

There are only a handful of seats left, and as an Oceana supporter, you are entitled to a special 20% discount off the standard ticket price – simply enter the code OCEANA to enjoy the special rate.

Register here, and if you have any questions or require further information, contact Alice Wong at (+852) 2585 3312 or alicewong@economist.com.

What’s Scarier Than a Shark? Lots of Things.

Cassandra Ornell — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:37:57 +0000

This stonefish is far scarier than your average shark.

If you think that sharks are the scariest creatures in the sea, this post may surprise you.

As we've discussed in the past, the majority of shark attacks are caused by only three species (white, tiger, and bull), yet there are more than 500 species that swim the world’s oceans. So next time you’re swimming in the sea, you may want to keep an eye out for these other, seemingly harmless ocean-dwellers as well.

Did you know that there are over 1,200 species of venomous fish on Earth? They vary in the level of harm they can cause to a human who comes into contact with them, but the stonefish is the deadliest of them all. This fish is found in reef habitats in the Indo-Pacific region, and is called a stonefish because it is able to camouflage itself perfectly among the corals, where it lies in wait for an unsuspecting passing fish. Stonefish have 13 venomous spines that, if stepped on by a human, could be deadly.

There are other marine animals besides fish that can be dangerous as well. The sea wasp, also known as the box jellyfish, is one of the most dangerous jellies, and can be found in the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii, the Philippines, and Australia. Their tentacles can grow up to 10 feet long, and each one has about half a million stinging cells!

Sea wasps use their stinging tentacles to paralyze fish prey, but if they make contact with a human, they can cause paralysis and even death in a matter of minutes. Surprisingly, even a dead sea wasp washed up on a beach can be harmful, because their cells are still able to sting. If you are ever stung by a sea wasp, pour vinegar on the affected area to lessen the effects of the venom.

And remember, terrestrial animals can be just as dangerous as marine ones. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and International Shark Attack File reported that between 2003 and 2008, 108 people in the U.S. were killed by cows. That is 27 times higher than the four people killed by sharks during the same period, according to the International Shark Attack File.

This blog post is not meant to scare you from ever going outside again, but rather to draw attention to the fact that there are other potentially dangerous animals in the ocean (and on land), but that sharks always get a bad rap in the media ever since the movie Jaws.

What do you think is scarier than a shark? Tell us in the comments.

Sperm Whales Prefer Squid to Plastic Bags

Piper Wallingford — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:10:32 +0000

Plastic is one of the most common pollutants that end up in the ocean, but the properties that make it ideal for shopping make it deadly to marine life.

Plastics are durable and do not decompose easily, which means they can stay in the ocean for decades. And because they are so lightweight, plastics can float in the ocean where sea turtles and marine birds can get entangled or even ingest them by mistake. For example, plastic bags in the ocean closely resemble jellyfish, which are a common food for sea turtles.

Plastic can also have serious effects on marine mammals, including sperm whales which are some of the world’s smartest animals – possessing the largest brain of any known species.

Sperm whales typically feed on squid, sometimes diving more than a mile below the ocean’s surface to find food. But plastic trash is becoming more and more a part of the whales’ diets. Each year, sperm whales eat more than 100 million tons of seafood using suction, which makes them more vulnerable to ingesting plastic. And because sperm whales are at the top of the food chain, they are the most likely to be affected by pollution.

Oregon Senate Passes Bill to Create Marine Reserves

wrace — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:03:16 +0000

Oregon's Otter Rock. © Oceana/Will Race

Today the Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 1510, which brings Oregon’s first network of marine reserves and marine protected areas off the Oregon coast one step closer to implementation.

An ecologically significant network of marine reserves and protected areas would make the entire Oregon near-shore ecosystem more healthy and resilient to increasing pressures from overfishing, habitat damage, and changing ocean conditions from global warming and ocean acidification.

The bill will now have to pass the House before heading to the Governor’s desk for signing. If it does, Oregon’s marine reserve and protected area sites will total 118 square miles and make up less than 10 percent of the Pacific Ocean waters in the state’s jurisdiction. (See a map here.) We see this as a great start, but we hope Oregon will continue to identify all of its important ecological areas and ultimately build an ecologically significant network of protected areas and reserves for the full coast.

More than 100 Dolphins Beached in Cape Cod

RProkop — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:52:47 +0000

More than 100 dolphins have beached themselves in Cape Cod, Massachusetts this winter, and no one knows why.

In the northeastern United States, it’s normal for about 230 animals to beach themselves over the course of a year. But this year, 129 common dolphins have been found on Cape Cod beaches in the past month.

Examinations of the dolphins haven’t found any sign of illness or injury, adding to the mystery. Beaching or “stranding” happens when an animal gets trapped in shallow water and can’t swim back out to the ocean. This can be caused by disorientation from an unfamiliar landscape, loud noises, illness, or more. Because dolphins form strong bonds, they may follow each other and become stranded in groups.

One factor in Cape Cod might be an unseasonably warm winter, which kept the harbor free from ice and open to wandering dolphins. Combined with the geography of the Cape Cod harbor area—much shallower and confined than the open ocean—and dolphins’ habits of sticking close to their family members, these dolphins could easily find themselves in trouble.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare has been working to save the stranded dolphins and discover the cause of the mass stranding. To date they have been able to release 37 of the stranded dolphins back into the water.

Mass strandings are mysterious events. We may never know the cause, but we hope it comes to an end soon.

Marine Monday: Antarctic Krill

RProkop — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:43:16 +0000

What do blue whales, penguins and salmon have in common?

They all have the same diet. Much of the ocean is fed by a two-inch crustacean: krill. Antarctic krill congregate in huge masses in the Southern Ocean, dense enough to fill the belly of a blue whale, the world’s largest animal.

Penguins will march hundreds of miles to feast on krill, building up blubber that will help them survive their cold months on land. Even flying seabirds will dive in and partake of the abundance.

Without this tiny creature, the ocean would starve. But like so much else in the ocean, krill’s future is in danger. It is also a popular food for salmon, giving the fish’s meat that distinctive pink color. When humans build fish farms for predatory fish like salmon, we need to feed them. And that means that humans are now fishing krill to feed our farms, taking away potential meals from whales, penguins, and other wild creatures.

Oceana is working to prevent the overfishing of krill and the other small creatures that keep the oceans’ food chain going. To learn more about marine animals like Antarctic krill, visit our marine wildlife encyclopedia.

Belize Government Rejects 8,000 Anti-drilling Signatures

Emily Fisher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:23:59 +0000

Last year, our colleagues in Belize traversed the small Caribbean nation to gather more than 20,000 signatures on a petition against offshore oil drilling off Belize’s coast and beautiful protected areas. They discovered that almost everyone they spoke to was against allowing oil rigs to invade Belize’s crystal blue waters.

According to Belizean law, those signatures should be sufficient to trigger a national referendum on the issue. But this week, the government threw a wrench in the works by rejecting more than 8,000 of the signatures. According to Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai, the signatures were turned down primarily because of poor penmanship.

Oceana’s Vice President for Belize, Audrey Matura-Shepherd, spoke to a local radio station about the news:

“At the moment what I feel is that Belizeans should just come out to the streets and protest. Belizeans need to get more agitated. They need to realize that their voices are being shut down…But not only that, we need to organize and make a mass movement. To set the agenda as it pertains to our resources, especially as it relates to our marine resources.”

Oceana is not backing down in the fight to stop offshore drilling from ruining Belize’s incredible marine heritage. Stay tuned!

Maryland Introduces Shark Fin Trade Ban

Emily Fisher — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:50:16 +0000

The West Coast shark fin trade bans we celebrated last year may be catching on here on the East Coast.

Maryland lawmakers introduced bills Tuesday in both the House and Senate that would outlaw the sale, trade, distribution or possession of shark fins, with violations punishable by fines ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

As Oceana's Campaign Director Beth Lowell told the Baltimore Sun’s Green blog, there's been no dried shark fin shipped into or out of the port of Baltimore, but U.S. Customs data show exports of shark products, mainly dogfish, exported from Washington and Norfolk.

Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed for their fins, mostly to make shark fin soup. In this wasteful and cruel practice, a shark’s fins are sliced off while at sea and the remainder of the animal is thrown back into the water to die. Without fins, sharks bleed to death, drown, or are eaten by other species.

Shark finning is illegal in the U.S., but fins are imported from countries with weak or nonexistent protections. In recent decades some shark populations have declined by as much as 99%.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this legislation and we’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Watch 'Big Miracle' and Help the Oceans

Emily Fisher — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:17:41 +0000

Last week we had a great time at the Washington, DC premiere of “Big Miracle,” the true story of an activist who spearheads an international effort to save three gray whales trapped in the ice in northern Alaska.

The film stars Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski (“The Office”) and Oceana board member Ted Danson also makes an appearance as – get this – an an oil executive.

The movie comes out this Friday, Feb. 3, and we’re excited to be included in the film’s promotion. Starting today, for every two or more tickets you purchase on Fandango, Big Miracle and Universal Pictures will donate $1 to Oceana – up to $10,000!

So get your tickets to “Big Miracle” and also be sure to check out the cool whale infographics on the movie’s site.

Marine Monday: Tasseled Wobbegong

RProkop — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:17:37 +0000

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Some sharks are fearsome predators, all sharp teeth and angular fins. These are the sharks that inspire epic monster movies and give the word “shark” its fearsome connotations.

And then there are sharks that look like a pile of seaweed. The tasseled wobbegong is a flat reef-dwelling shark with leafy tentacles and a name that’s just as ridiculous as its appearance.

But appearances can be deceiving. The tasseled wobbegong settles down on a rock or reef, blending in perfectly with the sand and seaweed. When a tasty fish swims by, the shark comes to life, opening its jaws full of sharp, respectable teeth and snapping the poor swimmer up. Its tasseled face may look rather silly, but this shark is just as efficient a predator as its more fearsome brethren.

Sadly, we don’t know much about the tasseled wobbegong, but we do know that this sneaky hunter is in trouble thanks to overfishing and the destruction of the reefs it depends on.

Oceana is committed to protecting the habitats of tasseled wobbegongs and all the other strange and mysterious creatures of the deep.