Environmental, scientific, sporting and angling organizations from all regions of the country today took concrete steps to further press President Bush, and seven of his Cabinet officers, on global warming…
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New York – May 31, 2005 – On the eve of a critical United Nations meeting to discuss actions to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, a letter signed by more than 1,000 international scientists calling for decisive action has been delivered to the international body. Recent scientific reports have linked industrial fishing, such as longlining, to the decline of sea turtles and other marine species, and have offered marine protected areas as a potential solution. During the UN meeting which begins June 10, Costa Rica will be proposing a plan of action that offers sustainable use marine protected areas as a part of a comprehensive solution for the world’s oceans.
On Monday, June 6th, the new report Striplining the Pacific: The Case for A United Nations Moratorium on High Seas Industrial Longline Fishing will be released at the United Nations Law of the Sea meeting June 6-10th. The new book length report echoes the sentiment of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin’s call on May 1st to end the “pillage” and “rape” of the ocean at an international fisheries conference this week.
Hear STRP’s Robert Ovetz NPR provides a critical report on the new circle hooks that are being used to justify removing protections for sea turtles from dangerous longline fishing.
Forest Knolls, CA – On the eve of a key United Nations meeting relating to the oceans, a growing number of international scientists and non-governmental organizations are actively lobbying their country delegates to address the problem of industrial longline fishing in the Pacific. The scientists and NGOs are also joined in their efforts by members of the New Zealand, Irish and EU parliaments. The lobbying effort echoes the call of more than 800 international scientists and 230 NGOs who are also asking for a moratorium on industrial longline fishing in order to protect endangered leatherback sea turtles, albatross, sharks and other species caught and killed as bycatch by industrial longliners.
Although there have been recent efforts to “mitigate” the devastating impact of industrial pelagic longlines on sea turtles, the problem is not limited to these species. Pelagic longlines are literally wiping out the lions and tigers of the ocean—sharks, billfish and tunas. Industrial longline fishing results in an extensive catch of non-targeted species as “bycatch” creating a global marine biodiversity crisis.
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).
San Francisco, CA –Today, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution encouraging the “banning [of] directed shark fisheries” (Para 48), and “action to reduce or eliminate by-catch…to conserve non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations” (paras 34-35 ) such as sea turtles, marine mammals and other species.
Crime Highlights Need For International Cooperation In Marine Protection
ONE TAIWANESE VESSEL LANDS OVER 30 TONS OF SHARK FINS IN SINGLE TRIP, IN VIOLATION OF COSTA RICA’S SHARK FINNING BAN
An open letter to the President of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco, urging the protection of sharks and other endangered marine species from overfishing by foreign fleets, was published in today’s edition of La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest newspaper.