Volunteers with Turtle Island patrolling the Upper Texas Coast for nesting sea turtles have been shocked to find dead sea turtles on the beach. The volunteers have found five dead endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on their routes in Galveston and Surfside. The dead sea turtles bolster ongoing calls for increased actions to limit shrimp trawling and for the building of a sea turtle rehab hospital on the Upper Texas coast.
Turtle Island ’s new report ‘California Driftnet Fishery: The True Costs of a 20th Century Fishery in the 21st Century – Sea Turtle Impacts’ outlines how the California driftnet fishery for swordfish is among the most harmful fisheries in the U.S. to endangered sea turtles.
Today, the Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom and Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) penned a thoughtful op-ed in the Sacramento Bee calling on fisheries managers to phase out deadly driftnets.
On February 10th, the California Coastal Commission for the first time in its 43 year history fired its executive director, Dr. Charles Lester, throwing one of the most powerful governmental agencies in the nation into turmoil by undermining the authority of its independent staff that evaluates coastal development proposals.
Turtle Island welcomes Randall Arauz, a world renowned and award-winning biologist, to our team in the newly created position of International Director.
Turtle Island’s new report, ‘Deadly Water: The Threat of Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels to Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches’ examines the impacts of sea level rise on major sea turtle nesting beaches for the seven species of sea turtles. The report identifies major nesting beaches that are at risk from climate change such as French Frigate Shoals in Hawaii where green sea turtles nest, and Padre Island National Seashore in Texas where Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nest.
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging last-minute exemptions for industries in the new “waters of the United States” rule that could open the door to more pollution of wetlands, streams and other waterways. The rule, finalized in May by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, defines which waterways can be protected against being destroyed, degraded, or polluted without a permit under the Clean Water Act.
fter years of working through United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process, the 27 non-profits that make up the High Seas Alliance finally convinced the United Nations General Assembly to begin work on a treat to better protect the High Seas and its marine biodiversity through a legally-binding treaty. The U.N. member states adopted the historic resolution on Friday, June 19, marking the shift to a new era of increased ocean governance of the High Seas.
On May 1, Marin County released the long-delayed draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the 2007 Countywide Plan Update. The preparation of this new study on the effects of new development on endangered salmon and their habitat was ordered by the Marin Superior Court over two years ago as necessary to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Five years after the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees have announced another milestone in Gulf of Mexico early restoration. The Trustees and BP have identified approximately $134 million in proposed early restoration projects for inclusion in a draft Phase IV Early Restoration Plan.