Susan Murray, Oceana’s Pacific Senior Director, issued the following statement as Oceana joined a petition of the U.S. Environmental Protection... Read More
Despite the Obama administration’s and oil industry’s claims to the contrary, a new Oceana analysis of newly-implemented safety measures concludes... Read More
“The bycatch of threatened eulachon is a major impact to the species that must be stopped through a combination of time and area closures, hard bycatch caps, and gear modifications,” says Enticknap. “It’s also a major source of data showing the location of eulachon at sea that the agency should have used to designate critical habitat.”
Eulachon have historically had great cultural and economic importance in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska. As a small forage fish, they are also of great ecological importance, preyed upon by numerous marine mammals, seabirds, and fish species including green sturgeon, halibut, rockfishes and salmon.
“The decline of the Pacific eulachon highlights the need for comprehensive protections for forage species. Forage fish are highly susceptible to climate change and fishery impacts, but without healthy forage populations, salmon, whales, dolphins and many other species will suffer,” says Enticknap.
The health and biodiversity of the California Current ecosystem depends on how we manage the food web. Oceana will now consider how to proceed with the government on the issue of critical habitat designation for eulachon and measures to ensure the recovery of this species, in addition to working to improve management for all West Coast forage species.
Juneau, AK- Michael LeVine, Oceana’s Pacific Senior Counsel, issued the following statement in response to testifying to defend the National... Read More
Laguna Beach, CA: This weekend, the largest international ocean conservation group Oceana welcomed special guests Diane Lane and Josh Brolin... Read More
