Radioactive Fish Found In California

Nearly two years after a powerful earthquake triggered a leak at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, the effects of that disaster are still being felt on the other side of the planet.

A report released earlier this month by researchers at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station found that bluefin tuna caught just off the California coast tested positive for radiation stemming from the incident.

Lone Star State Attempts To Ban Shark Fin Sales

• The practice of shark finning is detrimental to the Gulf ecosystem and is inhumane.
• Tens of millions of sharks are killed each year simply to supply the wasteful demand for shark fin soup. Shark populations cannot sustain current slaughter rates.
• Sharks are apex predators whose survival affects all other marine species and our oceans’ ecosystems.
• Unlike other fish species, sharks produce few pups, and thus, many species are endangered and/or threatened due to the fin trade.

Hong Kong Airline Bans The Transport Of Shark Fins

As word has spread of the moral and environmental horrors associated with the shark fin trade, governments throughout the world have begun enacting bans on the sale and possession of that cruel commodity - and now the world’s largest cargo airline is getting in on the act.

In a statement released today, Chinese air freight company Cathay Pacific announced that it would no longer permit the transport of shark products - despite being based in Hong Kong, where the demand for traditional shark fin soup continues to thrive.

Peru Police Seize Thousands Of Dried Seahorses

Police in Peru have seized more than 16,000 dried seahorses which were to be exported illegally to Asian countries. Seahorse powder is used in China, Japan and elsewhere in traditional medicine and for its alleged aphrodisiac uses.

The marine fish, which finds northern Peru’s warmer waters a perfect breeding ground, is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Last year a total of 20 tonnes of dried seahorses were seized across the world - half a tonne in Peru alone.

Opposition To 465-Foot Floating Factory Farm Grows

Greenpeace and several organizations in Australia are speaking out against the FV Margiris - a giant fishing vessel that has a vacuum-like ability to catch and process fish. The vessel’s poor design does not discriminate against larger and often protected marine species like sharks, seals, dolphins, manatees and turtles. These animals can become entangled in trawl nets and are later ejected from the vessel, dead or dying, as “waste products.”

Need Another Reason To Hate Big Oil Companies?

The Apache Alaska Corporation has launched a deafening airgun assault as it explores for oil and gas in Cook Inlet, Alaska - home to a struggling population of 284 endangered beluga whales.  At close range, the intense noise from airguns can cause injury, hearing loss and even death.  Please take a minute of your time to send this email…tell the Obama Administration to withdraw its approval for this devastating onslaught before it pushes the last Cook Inlet belugas one tragic step closer to extinction.

Dolphins May Be Math Geniuses

• The brainy marine mammals could be far more skilled at math than was ever thought possible before.
• Complex, nonlinear math appears to explain a primary dolphin hunting technique.
• The math involves addition, subtraction, multiplication and ratio comparisons.
• It is possible that dolphins possess remarkable inborn math skills.

Shark Fin Ban Challenged As Discriminatory Against Asians In New Lawsuit

The Chinatown Neighborhood Association, a Chinese-American group based in San Francisco, has announced its intention to file a lawsuit challenging the state of California’s ban on the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins.  California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill prohibiting the sale of shark fins last year at the urging of animal rights activists, who argued that shark fin soup, a delicacy in Chinese culture, is cruel to obtain.  Chinese-American groups, on the other hand, have defended shark fins as an important part of their cultural heritage.

GMO Industry Taking Over Farmed Fish Feed

New report details plans by the genetically modified soybean industry to expand its livestock feeding of GMO soybeans to the massive amounts of aquaculture fish raised in open ocean pens located in federal waters.  While soy is already being fed to some farmed fish, if this happens to the scale the industry hopes, it could mean devastating consequences for the world’s oceans.