Making Waves: Sea Save's Week in Review - May 16, 2014

Sea Save Foundation BLOG

1. Sustainable Seaweed Harvesting
2. Plenty More Fish in the Sea – Maybe not!
3. Groupon Caught Selling “Pills of Extinction”
4. Boy Presents Toys to Save Sharks
5. Proposal to Ban All Types of Driftnets in EU

1. Sustainable Seaweed Harvesting

When people think of sustainability, generally bluefin tuna or sharks come to mind, but seaweed is an important part of the ocean as well and needs to be considered in sustainability programs. Seaweeds are a harvestable marine resource, but they also serve as habitat for other sea life and are an important component of the marine ecosystem that deserve more attention and protection.

The Marine Stewardship Council has presented a new global certification program that aims to protect wild seaweeds from overfishing. These seaweeds serve not only as a crop but a habitat for hundreds of other ocean species. This program would be the first to set a global standard for seaweed fisheries and farms that enforces sustainability.

2. Plenty More Fish in the Sea – Maybe not!

Researchers from AZTI-Tecnalia, a Spanish-based technology center specializing in marine and food research, report in the journal “Global Change Biology” that marine life could be dramatically affected as climate change threatens to increase. Researchers theorize that global warming may be responsible for the severe reduction of plankton, a key source of nutrients to several species in the ocean.

Phytoplankton are the single-celled plants that are the basic building blocks of most marine life. In particular, they sustain zooplankton, tiny krill-like animals that are eaten in turn by fish. Sea surface temperature is predicted to increase by 2º C on average globally by 2080 – 2100. The consequences of this increase will include changes in ocean circulation and higher water column stratification, where water of different densities creates distinct layers instead of mixing – affecting the availability of nutrients.

3. Groupon Caught Selling “Pills of Extinction”

In 2011, the global discount shopping organization known as Groupon made an agreement with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to stop selling shark products —specifically shark cartilage pills. But earlier this week, Groupon betrayed this promise and posted a promotion for “Blue Shark Cartileae” pills.

The health supplement industry is quietly slaughtering massive numbers of sharks and riding the coattails of destruction caused by the shark finning industry and just “picking up the scraps,” as they’d have you believe. Practitioners of traditional medicine still believe that shark cartilage has magical healing powers, and because of this, entire populations of blue sharks are being decimated.

Sign this Petition urging Groupon to remove the products immediately.

4. Boy Presents Toys to Save Sharks

Sean Lesniak, a 9-year-old boy from Lowell, Massachusetts, spoke to lawmakers about his legislation to protect endangered species. He handed out shark plushies trying to convince legislators to back a bill that would ban the practice of buying or selling shark fins in Massachusetts.

“These are animals that help support our coral reefs,” he said. “We need them to keep the fish population in order and our seal population in order and all that.”

5. Proposal to Ban All Types of Driftnets in EU

The European Commission has announced its proposal to ban all types of driftnets from operating in European waters. The measure is aimed at eliminating alleged loopholes that allow illegal fishing with driftnets to continue.

Oceana is concerned that the measures proposed by the European Commission could penalize thousands of sustainable artisanal fishing boats and open once again the potential for massive subsidies fraud rather than targeting the few vessels that have continued illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities and that should have been officially blacklisted years ago.

Original Articles
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/help-for-kelp-seaweed-slashers-see-harvesting-cuts-coming
http://womennewsnetwork.net/2014/05/12/ocean-acidification-fish
http://www.globalanimal.org/2014/05/13/jumping-the-shark-groupon-caught-selling-pills-of-extinction
http://www.wcvb.com/news/lowell-boy-hands-out-toys-to-help-save-sharks/25985750#ixzz31oiebDlY
http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/23183/oceana-says-eu-should-act-against-true-walls-of-death#sthash.9kcJFlxM.dpuf