July 24, 2014
Ocean News: Regulators Propose Whale Sanctuary in the Canary Islands, Harbor Seals Found to Forage around Wind Farms, and More
– A new report warns that U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast states are not prepared for increased storms and flooding brought on by climate change. The report calls for better collaboration between state and federal lawmakers to create policy changes that reduce risk. National Geographic
– Yesterday, the National Marine Fisheries Service opened public comments for regulation that would prohibit Pacific bluefin tuna fishing. This population has dropped by 96 percent since commercial fishing began. Center for Biological Diversity
– New research shows that seals may be visiting areas offshore wind farms to find prey. Scientists outfitted 11 harbor skills with GPS tracking systems and found that they frequently swam around two wind farms in the North Sea, indicating that these animals may be able to adapt to the structures. Grist
– The California Dungeness crab fishery has been downgraded from a “Best Choice” to “Good Alternative” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide. This fishery lacks scientific stock assessments, so it was downgraded to this ranking to match other crustacean fisheries that don’t have scientific stock assessments. Undercurrent News
– The World Wildlife Fund for Nature has called on the Spanish government to adopt a whale and dolphin sanctuary around the Canary Islands, instead of exploring for oil and gas offshore. The region is home to a third of the world’s cetacean species. The Guardian