Natural England to get 47% funding increase amid ‘green recovery’ plans
Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog, is to receive a 47% increase in government funding this year as its role expands to support a “green recovery” and provide environmental scrutiny of the government’s controversial “Project Speed”.
The dramatic funding increase is a boost for wildlife protection and monitoring after a decade of deep cuts which left the agency at “crisis point” and its chairman, Tony Juniper, admitting that it would struggle to reverse declines in biodiversity.
Griffon Vultures are breeding in Morocco after 40-year absence The Griffon Vulture is once again breeding Morocco after 40 years, thanks to a reintroduction program undertaken by the Water and Forestry Department in partnership with GREPOM/BirdLife The first step towards the reintroduction of the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus into the wild in Morocco dates back to 2017, with the release of five vultures by the Water and Forestry Department. Since then, the department, in partnership with GREPOM/BirdLife Maroc, has made tireless efforts which have helped achieve today's success.
NGOs back Maldives’ ambitious plan to save Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna
As the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission begins its 2021 annual meeting, the item at the top of its agenda: how to save the overfished Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) stock from collapse.
The crisis has pitted a group of distant-water fishing nations led by the EU, which hauls in the largest share of yellowfin, against Indian Ocean states like the Maldives, Kenya and South Africa.
Two proposals are currently under discussion, one from the Maldives, backed by coastal states, many of whom are developing countries, and the other from the EU, which enjoys the support of other distant-water fishing nations like South Korea and Japan.
Experts say the Maldives’ plan would result in deeper reductions to catches, a starting point to end overfishing and rebuild the stock, and is more equitable than the EU’s proposal.
Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna (Thunnusalbacares), one of the most profitable fisheries in the world, is just a few years away from collapse. A meeting that began June 7 will be crucial in deciding its fate.
WCS Launches New 10-Year Strategy to Save Imperiled Sharks and Rays
Early success in Gabon gives hope that sharks can be protected from overfishing
On World Oceans Day, WCS is launching a new 10-year strategy to save the oceans’ remaining sharks and rays in 10 unique shark hotspots around the world.
Called the 10x10 Shark Strategy, the effort will focus on 10 countries over the next 10 years that are strongholds for surviving populations of iconic sharks and rays, such as mantas, hammerheads and reef sharks – all of which play key roles in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.
A herder becomes a ranger to save the snow leopard in the Himalayas
The end of the endangered wild cat means the end of mountain meadows, which in turn would adversely affect the human population. A former goat herder is trying to reverse the potential disappearance of the stealthy animal.
As a child, 57-year-old Dr. Ghana S. Gurung grew up herding goats and practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Living in the upper Mustang region at the corner of the Himalayas in Nepal surrounded by trans-Himalayan species, such as the brown bear, lynx and kiang, time moved slowly for him.
Diving into Recovery Efforts for the Giant Manta Ray
A dark shadow emerges under the ocean waves, growing at an alarmingly fast pace as it approaches the surface. As the diamond-shaped body and thin tail begin to come into focus, suddenly, in a burst of water and flapping fins, a giant manta ray breaks through the surface!
This display is certainly awe-inspiring for any human spectators, as the giant manta ray (Manta birostris) is the largest ray species in the world – with a wingspan that averages 23 feet in length. Giant manta rays are extremely intelligent because of their large brain to body ratio, and they actually have the ability to recognize individual divers. Researchers can tell giant manta rays apart, too, because each one has a unique spot pattern on their underside. Matching their striking wingspan, these fish can weigh up to 5,300 pounds as adults. For reference, a Ford Expedition is about 5,500 pounds.
Government pledges to protect a third of seas by 2024
This year’s World Ocean Day was a landmark one for the protection of our seas as minister's pledged to protect 30% of the waters around the UK within three years.
After years of campaigning it’s incredibly encouraging to see Westminster making progress on some of the most pressing issues facing our seas.
Following the release of our MarineunProtectedAreas report in January and our Blue Carbon report in May this year, we’re pleased to see a commitment from Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, to implement byelaws to manage fishing activity in all offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2024 - a key ask in both of our reports.
The Marine unProtected Areas report found bottom trawling is taking place in 98% of the UK’s offshore MPAs intended to protect vital seabed habitats. So, this commitment is a huge win for our seas. But we need to be sure that this means our MPAs are managed properly and that all damaging activities, in particular bottom-towed fishing gear, are excluded from all the sites in the next three years.
UK to trial ‘highly protected marine areas’ in win for ocean campaigners
‘Historic’ move to ban destructive fishing methods in five habitats welcomed, but conservationists say change must come faster.
The UK government has announced plans to increase protection of wildlife and habitats by banning fishing and other damaging activities from a handful of selected marine sites off the coast of England.
More than 97% of British offshore marine protected areas (MPAs), designed to safeguard habitats and biodiversity, are being dredged and bottom trawled, according to data published by the Guardian. They have long been criticised by conservationists as ineffective “paper parks”.
President’s 2022 Fiscal Budget is a Huge Win for Wildlife
“After four years of drastic cuts to funding and attacks on bedrock environmental laws, this budget is a welcome change, and is a much-needed win for wildlife, especially for threatened and endangered species and the places they call home,” said Robert Dewey, Vice President of landscape conservation with Defenders of Wildlife. “At a time when we are losing species faster than ever before, the proposed increases in funding to the Endangered Species Act, science, climate change and national wildlife refuges will greatly help to conserve our nation’s biodiversity.”
Colorado Legislature Unanimously Passes Legislation To Protect Wildlife Corridors
On Friday, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bipartisan resolution to protect the state’s wildlife corridors. The measure would conserve native species while improving road safety and bolstering Colorado’s economy.
The bipartisan resolution was introduced in May of 2021 by state Democratic Senator Jessie Danielson and Republican Representative Perry Will. The Senate and House both unanimously passed the legislation, which marks a monumental step towards preserving Colorado’s rich biodiversity and wildlife heritage for future generations.
Biden administration plans to undo Trump-era curbs to Endangered Species Act protections
The Biden administration announced on Friday plans to review and revise a handful of Trump-era regulations that critics feared rolled back protections for endangered and threatened species.
The reviews, conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, are being cheered by environmental groups, which said the Trump administration rules would have allowed for more oil and gas drilling and limited how much regulators consider the impacts of the climate crisis, in addition to weakening protections on endangered species.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which the National Marine Fisheries Service is a part of, said in Friday's announcement that they will target five specific regulations, and their plan includes recommendations to rescind certain critical habitat regulations, as well as to reinstate some protections for species listed as "threatened" under the act.
Could dumping save the reef? CSIRO finds it’s possible to turn back clock on effects of fossil fuel burning
Tonnes of crushed rocks could help the Great Barrier Reef recover from global warming, but the ‘reckless’ idea comes with ‘unquantified risks’
Continually dumping crushed rocks from a bulk carrier along a Great Barrier Reef shipping route could counteract the acidification of ocean water caused by fossil fuel burning, but would come with unknown side effects on the marine environment and coral reefs, according to a study from Australia’s science agency.
In what is described as a “first order assessment”, scientists at CSIRO found it was theoretically possible to turn back the clock on the effect of decades of fossil fuel burning, but the radical step came with “as yet unquantified risks”.
As well as causing the atmosphere and oceans to warm, increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning has changed the pH of the ocean, making it harder for corals to form their skeletons – a process known as calcification.
The lead scientist in the study, Dr Mathieu Mongin, said researchers were now being forced to consider the viability of radical interventions to save the reef because of a lack of global action on the climate crisis.
Biden Administration Announces It Will Revisit Tongass National Forest Roadless Rule
Today, the Biden administration announced that it will "repeal or replace" a rule and revisit the Roadless Area Conservation Rule on the Tongass National Forest, which was eliminated by the Trump administration.
In October 2020, the U.S. Forest Service released its record of decision that eliminated the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule on the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The Roadless Rule has been in place since 2001 and protects about 9.2 million acres in the Tongass, including old-growth trees and habitat for salmon, Alexander Archipelago wolves and Sitka black-tailed deer, from logging and associated roadbuilding. According to the Forest Service, 96% of commenters on the proposal wanted to see the Roadless Rule remain in place. But despite this overwhelming support for protecting our national forest lands, the Trump administration decided to ignore the public and pave the way for more logging and roadbuilding in the Tongass.
Senate Passes Ban on U.S. Shark Fin Trade on World Oceans Day
Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (S. 1106) — a bill that would ban the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States — as part of a broader legislative package known as the United States Innovation and Competition Act (S. 1260). Similar legislation (H.R. 2811) has been introduced in the House of Representatives and currently has more than 130 bipartisan cosponsors.
“This is a great day for sharks and our oceans,” said Whitney Webber, campaign director at Oceana. “We’re now one step closer to officially removing the United States from the shark fin trade. We applaud Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) for their steadfast leadership in championing this important legislation, and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) for their support of the bill during committee markup last month. The House already showed its support when it passed this bill in the last Congress (310-107), but we’re now calling on them again. The demand for shark fins is decimating shark populations, and the U.S. must do its part to help protect them. The U.S. needs a fin ban now.”
Early indications show wild steelhead rebounding from years of low returns
Wild steelhead abundance data from this year is headed the right direction after a series of poor return years. Each year, Fish and Game biologists monitor adult steelhead returning to a number of Idaho tributaries they were born in so they can estimate how many fish are producing the next generation of wild steelhead. Biologists monitor adult steelhead using PIT tag arrays (Wiring the Potlatch River ) and at weirs (Fish weirs: Old technology is still a crucial tool for today's biologists ).
Since 2015, most drainages in Idaho that are monitored for wild steelhead returns have seen a steady decline in adult steelhead. Fish and Game biologists have been monitoring adult steelhead returns as far back as the early 1990s in some of these places. What continues to encourage biologists about steelhead is how resilient they are because of their diverse life histories and how that allows them to persist despite poor environmental conditions.
Feds outline $647M plan to save declining Pacific salmon
The 5-year program is being touted as the 'largest and most transformative' salmon investment in history
The federal government is touting its new $647 million, five year plan to save collapsing Pacific salmon stocks as the "largest and most transformative" salmon investment in history.
The Pacific Salmon Strategy will put money into four pillars: conservation and stewardship, hatcheries, harvest transformation and integrated management.
Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said the goal is not only to stop the decline, but to grow stocks back to abundance.
The Queensland government will invest a further $270 million in protecting the Great Barrier Reef and regenerating land as part of the state budget next week.
But farmers and stakeholders in the north will wait for the budget to be handed down before assessing the impact it may have.
The multimillion dollar injection is set to build on $400 million already invested in the reef since 2015.
Alaska Native corporation to protect its land, dealing blow to massive gold mine project
The nearly $20 million agreement includes land near Bristol Bay that covers part of the company’s proposed route for transporting ore
Growing up in a small village in southwest Alaska, Sarah Thiele had a childhood defined by sockeye salmon.
Her father caught the silvery-red fish in the summer by the net-full as a commercial fisherman while her mother would cure and cold-smoke hundreds of filets so Thiele and her eight siblings, plus the family’s team of sled dogs, could dine on sockeye year-round.
