By Todd Steiner

A new study out of Harvard and the University of Delaware published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2405898121) document that industrial fishing supplies 70% of poisonous methylmercury consumed by the public. The highest level of methylmercury is found in tuna and other large fish from tropical and subtropical waters, the target species of industrial fishing.

Methylmercury is a neurotoxicant that impairs development in fetuses in utero and infants (through seafood eaten by their mom’s during pregnancy), or children directly eating tuna and other fish.  It is also known to impact cardiovascular health in adults.

Mercury makes its way into the food chain through of coal-fired power plants, waste-incineration, industrial processes, and mining, and is bio-accumulated in large, long-lived predatory fish.  Large-scale industrial fisheries target these top predators that occur in warm tropical waters where methylmercury levels are highest.

The researchers also noted that the healthy micronutrients found in fish, like omega-3 fatty acids, are lowest in seafood harvested in these warm waters, now being exacerbated by climate disruption causing warmer ocean temperatures.

The study also noted that poor subsistence small-scale fishing communities are paying the price of pollution created by the industrialized world, and these communities are likely to exceed methylmercury exposure thresholds recommended by the World Health Organization and FDA because of their reliance on fish in their diet.

If you do eat fish and want to protect your health, scientists recommend eating small fish, such as sardines, anchovies and herring, which have much lower concentrations of methylmercury and are much higher in omega-3 fatty acids.

To calculate your mercury exposure from eating fish, use TIRN’s  free mercury calculator found at https://seaturtles.org/whats-the-catch-calculator/

New Species of Hammerhead Shark Discovered in the Caribbean and the Southwest Atlantic.

The small shark, known as a bonnethead was believed to be a single species, but morphometric and DNA analysis have revealed there are actually two separate species.

The authors of the study of the newly discovered species have proposed it be known as the Shovelbill Shark (Sphyrna alleni).

It is found in coastal waters, estuaries, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand bottoms in the Caribbean in Belize, Panama, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and in the southwestern Atlantic in Brazil.

Bonnetheads are considered  Globally ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  The new data suggests that the bonnethead species assemblage may be more endangered and this new species may warrant a “highly threatened” designation, as it is heavily fished and poorly managed. A population collapse of bonnetheads in Brazil and throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific has been reported.  Gillnets and trawls are responsible for most catches of this coastal species.

The paper describing this new species can be found at https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5512.4.2

Project 2025 Would Be a Disaster for Our National Marine Sanctuaries & Ocean Ecosystems

By Todd Steiner

According to a new article, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025-would-be-a-disaster-for-national-marine-sanctuaries/, the extreme conservative blueprint from the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 would put oceans in peril by weakening protections and prioritizing industry desires over conservation.

New analysis from the Center for American Progress reports if Project 2025 were implemented, it would expose 1,370,350 square miles of ocean and freshwater habitat to new threats, including our National Marine Sanctuaries.

There are currently 16 National Marine Sanctuaries, stretching from the Florida Keys to Hawaii, which protect 600,000 square miles of habitat, and several new Sanctuaries are under consideration. All National Marine Sanctuaries ban all extraction of minerals and fossil fuels within their boundaries.

Project 2025 would threaten new and proposed sanctuaries by:

• Opening opportunities for mineral extraction in existing sanctuaries;
• Pausing creation of any new national marine sanctuaries; and
• Radically restructuring the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency that manages the National Marine Sanctuary program.

Project 2025 prioritizes extractive industry and giveaways, especially to the fossil fuel industry. A list of additional threats posed by Project 2025 to current US policies that protect environmental and human health can be found here:

https://www.americanprogress.org/?s=project+2025

By Todd Steiner

When the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) allowed the sablefish fishery to expand into designated critical habitat for leatherback sea turtles, Turtle Island and Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) went into action and filed a federal lawsuit challenging the opening of nearly 2,000 square miles of leatherback sea turtle critical habitat to sablefish pot fishing.

The legal action, filed August 14, 2024 challenges the unlawful issuance of a regulation to allow sablefish pot fishing in nearshore waters off the West Coast that threaten this critically endangered species. The motion seeks summary judgment on their Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and asks the Judge to vacate the sablefish pot fishery Reopening Rule.

The West Coast pot fishery for the bottom-dwelling sablefish — also known as butterfish or black cod — strings 15 to 50 fish pots on the seafloor to a surface buoy.  Leatherbacks and whales can get tangled in the lines that attached the pots to the buoys leading to serious injury and death. The new rule expanded fishing in new areas including crucial feeding areas off California’s central coast in the Cordell Bank, Greater Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.  

A simple solution to this problem could be accomplished with a new regulation requiring to convert to new ropeless or “pop-up” fishing gear, see https://seaturtles.org/ropeless-gear-can-help-save-the-lives-of-whales-and-sea-turtles/. The groups are asking the court to vacate the sablefish pot fishery Reopening Rule.

Turtle Island and CBD now await the decision of Federal Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.

Read the summary judgement here: https://seaturtles.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/46-Pls-MSJ-2024-08-14.pdf

Learn more about the lawsuit and sablefish pot fishery threat to leatherbacks here: https://seaturtles.org/lawsuit-aims-to-protect-pacific-sea-turtles-from-fishing-gear/

Traditional pot fishery gear used for catching lobsters, crabs and some finfish like sablefish, consists of a baited trap set on the bottom floor with a long rope connected to a floating surface buoy allowing fishers to find and their retrieve their traps.  Depending on the fishery, the traps may be left on the bottom for several days before being checked, or worse, the traps are lost and are never retrieved.

There are literally millions of traps with their buoy lines in US waters, and they create a major threat to sea turtles and whales which can become entangled in the ropes and suffer serious injury or death.

Ropeless gear, also called on-demand gear, can eliminate the threat of entanglement and save the lives of thousands of sea turtles and whales.

Here is how it works.

Pop-Up Buoy– The buoy and line are attached to the trap on the bottom, but are released on a signal sent from the boat to the gear, releasing the buoy to float to the surface and be immediately retrieved by the fisher.

Inflatable Lift Bag—A deflated lift bag is attached to the traps on the bottom that inflates from a signal sent from the boat filling the bag and lifting the trap to the surface for retrieval.

Turtle Island is promoting new regulations to require ropeless gear, while promoting less fishing effort to protect all marine wildlife.  Once this is widely adopted in the US, we can promote its use internationally.

Read more about this gear at:

by Todd Steiner

A recent study of shark meat and fins being sold highlighted the dangers that come with the practice and consumption of these products. A team of scientists from the United States and Hong Kong assessed the risks of shark products, and most of the products tested had mercury levels higher than local legal safety limits.

In addition, certain species posed a greater threat to humans than others. In the study, hammerhead sharks were cited as having higher mercury levels than other species. The study showed the importance of treating mercury levels in the market with a serious lens, and to be exact in their labeling.

Shark finning is the brutal and ecologically devastating practice of cutting the fin off a shark and throwing the animal back into the ocean to die slowly. Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global shark fin trade every year, including many endangered species. 

Sharks are apex predators whose survival affects all other marine species and entire ocean ecosystems. Additionally, there are adverse effects that are passed on to humans when participating in the shark finning industry. Sharks have extremely high levels of mercury and may be passed on to humans when ingested.

At elevated levels it can be harmful to the developing nervous systems of unborn babies and young children, affecting cognitive, motor, and sensory functions. The more methylmercury that accumulates in a person’s bloodstream, the longer the exposure time, and the younger in age of the person, the more severe the effects may be.

To learn more about mercury exposure, you can find information on our website.

The holiday’s are just around the corner and if you are like me you are starting to think about what gifts to give to loved ones during winter celebrations.

This year, as you prepare your gift list, consider making purchases online from smile.amazon.com.

Doing so will not only make your life easier, i.e. no dreaded trips to the crowded mall or sitting in traffic, it will also allow you to easily (and without added cost) give back to our world’s oceans and marine wildlife!

► One great way to support Turtle Island Restoration Network is to shop online using AmazonSmile.  Once you are signed up, Turtle Island Island Restoration Network will receive half a percent of the price of all your purchases on Amazon – at no cost to you!

If all our members and supporters use this on all their Amazon purchases, it will really add up. To sign up, go to AmazonSmile.

Get Started

1. Visit smile.amazon.com.

2. Search for “Turtle Island Restoration Network” and click the  gray ‘search’ button.

3. Click the yellow ‘select’ button..

Now, when you shop on smile.amazon.com, every purchase you make will also be a gift for the worlds oceans and marine wildlife.

Turtle Island Restoration Network encourages simple living in a sustainable manner that does not harm our environment, a goal that is important to hold in mind during this consumerism-focused holiday season.

If you are going to buy gifts this year, doing so online from Amazon Smile is a step in the right direction, as your gifts will help fund our campaigns to save endangered sea turtles, salmon, sharks and other marine wildlife species worldwide.

(Cabo San Lucas) – Este mes, dos ONG internacionales lanzaron una campaña en Baja California, México para advertir a los consumidores de pescado y mariscos acerca de los riesgos para la salud al consumir pescado con alta concentración en mercurio, especialmente carne de tiburón.

En México, se consumen anualmente 23.000 toneladas de carne de tiburón, a pesar de que la carne de tiburón es alta en mercurio, una neurotoxina que puede causar graves problemas de salud. Además de desarrollar recursos de educación para el público y una aplicación para teléfonos móviles, estas ONGs harán pruebas en tiburones comúnmente vendidos en supermercados y restaurantes y compartirán los resultados con el público.

“La gente tiene derecho a saber sobre lo que está consumiendo y a tener la información que necesita para tomar la decisión más saludable para su familia”, dijo Peter Fugazzotto, Director de Programas Estratégicos de Turtle Island Restoration Network. “Debido a sus altos niveles de mercurio, nunca le daría de comer tiburón a mi familia”.

La carne de tiburón es ampliamente vendida en los supermercados en todo el país, pero es etiquetada como “filete de tiburón” o “cazón”. Debido a esto, los consumidores mexicanos pueden no estar conscientes de que están comiendo tiburón en absoluto, esto sin mencionar los riesgos para la salud asociados con el consumo de estos productos.

“El mensaje es sencillo”, dijo Regi Domingo de Nakawe Project quien está coordinando el proyecto en México. “No comemos tiburón. No comemos mercurio.”

Para abordar el tema del consumo de carne de tiburón en México, Nakawe Project y Turtle Island Restoration Network están lanzando la campaña “Got Mercury?”, campaña inspirada en un exitoso programa puesto en práctica en los Estados Unidos.

El objetivo principal de este proyecto en conjunto es educar a los ciudadanos mexicanos sobre los riesgos para la salud asociados con el consumo de tiburón y otros peces con alto contenido de mercurio. Al acercarse a los ciudadanos mexicanos y proporcionarles la educación y las herramientas para entender las toxinas que contiene la carne de tiburón, esperamos reducir la cantidad de carne de tiburón consumida en México.

Los mexicanos pueden utilizar la aplicación gratis y fácil de usar en línea para calcular la cantidad de mercurio al que pueden estar expuestos. La calculadora de mercurio se encuentra en: http://seaturtles.org/gotmercury_html/espanol/