marine environment

Canada announces $1.6 million to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales

As part of its measures to protect endangered whale populations, Transport Canada will be working with multiple partners on the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) program which is looking at ways to reduce underwater noise in key areas where there are Southern Resident Killer Whales.

This builds on an announcement by the Government of Canada in June 2018 of the $167.4 million Whales Initiative that increases Transport Canada’s research and...

https://safety4sea.com/canada-announces-1-6-million-to-protect-southern-resident-killer-whales/

Underwater noise problems come on the surface

The ocean is full with sound, with many animals depending on it to survive. By using sound, many marine organisms can communicate underwater and understand information about their environment. However, underwater noise deriving from human activity, produces sounds that interfere with the ability of marine animals to hear the natural sounds in the ocean, concluding on a major and often deadly menace to ocean wildlife.

Cetaceans such as whales are using mostly sound to survive in their...

https://safety4sea.com/cm-underwater-noise-problems-come-on-the-surface/

IMO Addresses Marine Plastic Litter From Ships – Action Plan Adopted

IMO Addresses Marine litter

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has pledged to address the significant problem posed by plastics to the marine environment, with the adoption of an action plan which aims to enhance existing regulations and introduce new supporting measures to reduce marine plastic litter from ships.

IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) adopted (on 26 October) the action plan, to contribute to the global solution for preventing marine plastic litter entering the oceans through...

https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/imo-addresses-marine-plastic-litter-from-ships-action-plan-adopted/

52 Fishing Aggregating Devices found in UNESCO-listed Aeolian Islands

Sea Shepherd and the Aeolian Islands Preservation Fund joined forces to tackle Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in Italy’s Aeolian Archipelago. Sea Shepherd’s vessel ‘Sam Simon’ together with Lipari’s Coast Guard, Milazzo’s Revenue and Customs Authorities, and with the collaboration of artisanal fishermen, confiscated 52 Fishing Aggregating Devices (FADs) and 100 km of polypropylene line in the Aeolian Islands in 178 hours.

The Sam Simon carried out an undercover operation in...

https://safety4sea.com/52-fishing-aggregating-devices-found-in-unesco-listed-aeolian-islands/

Study: Oil dispersant was toxic for oysters after Deepwater Horizon spill

The oil dispersant that was used to clean up the oil after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill had likely toxic effects for oysters, according to Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of Connecticut. The team determined this by comparing the low levels of toxicity of oil, the dispersant and a mixture of the two on Eastern oysters.

There’s an unfortunate trade-off to using dispersants like this. They may prevent giant oil spills from washing ashore and damaging wetlands, but...

https://safety4sea.com/study-oil-dispersant-was-toxic-for-oysters-after-deepwater-horizon-spill/

Watch: A look into the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

The video, published by the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), focuses on one of the objectives of the Strategy – Save the Sea, aiming to address threats to marine biodiversity and food web structures, such as eutrophication, invasive species and hazardous substances.

The EUSBSR, approved by the European Council in 2009 following a communication from the European Commission, is the first Macro-regional Strategy in Europe. The Strategy is divided into three objectives,...

https://safety4sea.com/watch-a-look-into-the-eu-strategy-for-the-baltic-sea-region/

Australia plans to block shark drumlines photography

As part of its Shark Control program, Australia’s government of Queensland is set to implement legislation to criminalise close proximity to shark control equipment, to prevent any photography of lethal drumlines and shark nets.

As part of a suite of amendments to the QLD Fisheries Act, the Government is proposing implementing exclusion zones of 20 metres around shark control equipment, making it almost impossible to independently capture photography and videos of sharks and other marine...

https://safety4sea.com/australia-plans-to-block-shark-drumlines-photography/

Sea Shepherd offers Faroe Islands EUR 1 million to end whaling

In the last decade, a total of 7,744 small cetaceans of five different species (58,897 cetaceans of at least six species over the last 50 years) have lost their lives in the Faroe Islands whaling hunts, locally called ‘grindadráp’. In response, marine conservation charity Sea Shepherd UK proposed a financial incentive to the Faroe Islands of EUR 1,000,000 in total over the next 10 years, to bring to an end grindadráp, as part of its efforts to protect marine wildlife.

Whaling in the Faroe...

https://safety4sea.com/sea-shepherd-offers-faroe-islands-eur-1-million-to-end-whaling/

Vessel busted in Africa for shark finning ‘under the guise of tuna license’

As part of the Operation Albacore III, Central African authorities seized a Senegalese-flagged, but Spanish-linked, long-line fishing vessel over fishing a large quantity of blue sharks that are classified as ‘near-threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), although the long-liner was licensed to fish for ‘tuna and similar species’.

According to data provided by Sea Shepherd, on 22 September, local authorities from the Central African island state of São Tomé and...

https://safety4sea.com/vessel-busted-in-africa-for-shark-finning-under-the-guise-of-tuna-license/

Canada announces more funds for shipwrecks removal

As part of its earlier announced efforts to address the problem of abandoned boats across Canadian coastlines, the Government of Canada announced the most recent applicants to receive funding under the Abandoned Boats Program. This program provides money to support the assessment, removal, and disposal of abandoned boats in Canadian waters.

A total of $31,346 will be provided to remove six boats that litter the shores of British Columbia. Recipients are:

  • Bowen Island Municipality (Bowen Island)...

https://safety4sea.com/canada-announces-more-funds-for-shipwrecks-removal/

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