SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Yesterday, the California Attorney General sued three of the biggest canned tuna companies under Proposition 65, California’s consumer right-to-know law. The lawsuit was filed in the San Francisco Superior Court lawsuit against Tri-Union Seafoods, maker of Chicken of the Sea; Del Monte Foods, maker of Starkist; and Bumble Bee Seafoods, maker of Bumble Bee.
The Ocean Conservancy has worked successfully to ensure the recent passage of the Marine Turtle Conservation Act (H.R.3378), in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Championed by Maryland Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-1st), the bi-partisan bill authorizes $5 million a year for international conservation projects protecting nesting sea turtles and their habitat, and will help to thwart illegal trade in sea turtle shell, meat and eggs. A similar bill passed the Senate in October of 2003. The bill now goes to President Bush to sign into law.
Jean Berensmeir, a San Geronimo Valley resident since 1962, hoisted an enlarged color photograph above her head during a public meeting this week that depicted a 10 million-gallon water tank…
Marin County has dropped its appeal of a court ruling that upheld environmental protection of creeks and streams by limiting the building of homes within 100 feet of the waterways….
Celebrate World Environment Day in NYC
To celebrate UN Environmental Programme World Environment Day, “Wanted Seas and Oceans Dead or Alive” a coalition of marine conservation organizations will sponsor a free documentary film screening and panel discussion about endangered leatherback sea turtles and marine mammals at the American Museum of Natural History’s Linder Theatre at Central Park West at 79th Street, New York City Saturday, June 5 from 2:00-4:30.
HRH Princess Ann announced the six winners of the UK’s top conservation prize – the Whitley Awards – to a packed audience at the Royal Geographical Society in London last night (29 April).
Forest Knolls, CA – The recent discovery of a nine inch long non-native spiny softshell turtle in Marin’s Lagunitas Creek Watershed has caused environmental groups and state agencies to warn of the potential harmful impact on native species, especially coho salmon and steelhead trout. This recent discovery adds to a growing list of alien species ranging from channel catfish to bullfrogs to large mouth bass. Groups are calling on the public to not release non-native species, such as unwanted exotic pets, into the wild and remind them that such releases are illegal
Seattle–The Seattle District Court has denied a motion to suspend its January 2004 injunction prohibiting the spraying of certain pesticides near salmon streams in California, Oregon and Washington. The pesticide industry group CropLife and grower groups had requested a stay that would remove safeguards for salmon while they appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
San Francisco, CA – Today, in Hawai`i, the industry-dominated Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries held a press conference to announce the reopening of a fishery that NOAA Fisheries had previously closed because the fishery was killing enough Pacific leatherbacks to put them on a direct path towards extinction.
San Francisco, CA– According to its own data, the FDA’s new consumer advisory released today will actually put women and children at serious risk from mercury poisoning. The FDA advisory specifically suggests that it is safe “to eat up to 6 ounces of albacore tuna per week, which, by its own data, is known to contain three times as much mercury on average as chunk light tuna. Environmentalists are calling on the FDA to remove albacore tuna from the list of safe seafood and to require warning signs at seafood counters across the country.
