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Help Protect Polar Bears from Oil Drilling Disaster in the Arctic, and Get Us on Track to a Clean Energy Future

2012-02-07T19:19:36Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Credit: The Toronto Zoo

A cuddly ball of white fur is rolling around the Toronto Zoo this week, as zoo keepers introduced their new polar bear cub to the public on Friday. The cub—which was born prematurely and rejected by its mother—has recently learned to walk and play, spreading smiles across the faces of zoo visitors. While this adorable cub seems happy enough, we must do more to protect polar bears in their natural home, the Arctic, where they are battling a range of threats—from warming temperatures to overhunting. Adding to these threats, the Obama Administration’s new plan to allow new offshore oil drilling in the Arctic could be catastrophic for polar bears and many other rare and sensitive ocean creatures.

The Administration has prepared a five-year plan for offshore oil and gas activities that would open the pristine Arctic and more of the Gulf of Mexico to offshore drilling, creating the serious risk of more devastating oil spills. This plan could be disastrous for polar bears, other wildlife, and the communities that depend on clean and healthy marine resources. Under this plan, drilling would take place in the Arctic’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, which are home to many of the world’s polar bears, as well as in the embattled Gulf of Mexico, a region still struggling to recover from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill.

Currently, only 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears are left in the world. These massive creatures are strong swimmers, but they need hard sheets of sea ice so they can hunt seals, sleep, and find mates. With our climate warming at an alarming rate, scientists predict the Arctic could be ice-free during the summer by the middle of this century.

That means that in the next few decades, polar bears might not be able to hunt or mate—or survive. In fact, I recently wrote about a terrible story in which a polar bear mother was forced to swim for nine days straight to find sea ice on which to hunt. Her cub drowned while trying to keep up with her.

This fragile species – and so many others—can’t afford any more threats to their survival. Meanwhile, plans for risky offshore oil drilling in the Arctic move closer to becoming reality.

The icy waters, hurricane-strength storms, and blinding fog in the Arctic would make it exceptionally difficult – if not impossible -- to contain and clean up a major oil spill. The nearest Coast Guard facilities are 1,000 miles away, impeding a successful quick response. Even if ships were able to make their way through the ice-covered seas, it has never been demonstrated that oil can be cleaned up in broken ice and one study that showed that there is often wave action that would prevent cleanup activities from working. Polar bears, bowhead whales, walruses, seals, and other treasured species would be the victims of such a spill.

To make matters worse, oil companies are still using the same kind of blowout preventer that failed during the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In the two years since the Gulf oil spill, Congress has failed to pass a single law to better protect the environment or oil rig workers. We also need substantial additional science and proven response techniques before proceeding with any drilling in the Arctic.

Rather than investing in backwards 19th-century fuels that put our workers, communities, and wildlife at risk, we must focus on clean energy that will create jobs and repower America. Offshore drilling is a dangerous gamble that won’t reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and will only increase the effects of climate change we’re already seeing from pole to pole.

Our leaders must ramp up investment in clean, safe energy sources—including energy efficiency and offshore sources like wind power—that will create new jobs here at home, while protecting our precious ecosystems. That’s a future we can all support.

Credit: The Toronto Zoo

Take action today to tell the Administration to protect polar bears and other vulnerable wildlife from dangerous offshore drilling.

With the Administration taking public comments on its drilling plan through this Thursday, February 9th, we (and polar bears!) need your voice. Tell the Obama Administration that you want clean, safe energy, not a leg up for oil companies that sacrifice our wildlife and ecosystems in the name of billion-dollar profits.

Reflecting on 2011 and Ready to Fight for Healthier Oceans in 2012

2012-01-05T06:50:27Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

From stopping offshore oil spills to saving sharks; from protecting the oceans most special places to tackling ocean trash: 2011 was a busy year in the fight to protect the world’s cceans. Reflecting on some of the major ocean events of last year, we can look forward to more ocean protection progress in 2012. Our ongoing marine conservation efforts will be marked by special events in 2012, perhaps most notably “Rio+ 20”, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, a landmark opportunity for global leaders to commit to meaningful action to address some of Earth’s greatest challenges, including protecting the oceans.

Offshore Oil and Gas Accidents are Inevitable: Ask the President to Change Course in 2012

2011 marked the one year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which spewed 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf (and at 42 gallons per barrel, that’s over 170 million gallons spilled). Over the year, a parade of horrible spills marched across headlines: Brazil banned Chevron from drilling in its country after the company reported spilling 2,400 barrels of oil into the Atlantic Ocean; in Nigeria, Shell estimated that 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled 75 miles off the coast of the Niger Delta; Conoco-Phillips receive a fierce reprise, including a lawsuit from Chinese fishermen, for mishandling the response to a spill of 700 barrels of oil and 2,500 barrels of oil-based drilling mud into Bohai Bay.

The more we learn about the impacts of oil spills to fish, habitats, and humans, the grimmer the picture becomes. A new study by the National Academy of Sciences showed that a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay Area killed massive numbers of herring, which are a key building block of the food chain, feeding seabirds, whales, and the bay’s last commercial fishery.

Despite these harrowing accidents, 2011 also featured plans to expand dangerous new offshore drilling into the fragile Arctic and the embattled Gulf of Mexico. The Russian government signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil to explore for offshore oil in the Arctic, though the peril of drilling in frigid northern waters was illustrated when the Russian Rig Kolskaya sank in the Sea of Okhotsk and only 14 of the 67 crew were recovered. Cuba’s plans to work with Spain and China to engage in new exploratory offshore drilling raised concerns about the implications of a spill for the Florida Keys.

Finally, the Obama administration ended 2011 with release of a new 5 Year Program for offshore oil and gas leasing that flouts the lessons of the BP Deepwater Horizon, proposing 3 new lease sales in the pristine Arctic Ocean and 12 more lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico before necessary oversight and safety improvements have been made and key scientific studies completed. The first call to action for ocean lovers in 2012 is to click here to send a message, before the February 8th comment deadline, telling the Obama administration to keep the Arctic off limits to drilling and not to increase drilling in the Gulf of Mexico until vital safety and environmental reforms are adopted.

2011 was a Big Year for Sharks, but they still need help

2011 could be called the year of the shark: public awareness grew about the shark fin trade – which drives the killing of tens of millions of sharks are finned every year -- with high profile events like an attack on famous chef Gordon Ramsay while he attempted to document illegal finning and harassment of a Costa Rican biologist while investigating illegal shark fin trading at the same port. The Washington Post investigated a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Report that estimated 50,000 sharks are poached from the U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico. In July, scientists at Oregon State University released a study, showing that removal of apex predators like sharks from the oceans can cause disastrous trophic cascades, negative impacts that ripple through the ecosystems.

To stem the supply of fins, the Bahamas, Honduras, and Chile each outlawed shark finning in their waters. Speaking to the UN General Assembly in September, President Toribiong of Palau -- the first nation to set its entire Exclusive Economic Zone off-limits to shark fishing – applauded these actions and also called for an end to destructive fishing practices and action on climate change. Although there has been significant confusion about whether Mexico plans to ban shark finning in its waters, Mexico joined an 8-nation coalition to develop shark sanctuaries. Taiwan also announced a plan to ban the practice of finning waters, and the Marshall Islands created the world’s largest shark sanctuary, covering 750,000 square miles of ocean.

While finning bans are an important step forward if they are enforced, there are still many places in the world where sharks are finned and poached. The reality is that there are not enough sharks in the ocean to meet human demand for their fins. Important progress to reduce demand for fins was made in 2011 -- we hope this will continue in 2012. A poll in Hong Kong showed growing awareness of the peril sharks face and nearly 80% of respondents said it was acceptable or very acceptable to not serve shark fin soup at weddings. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, part of the prestigious Peninsula Hotels, announced they would stop serving shark fins in 2012. Following Hawai’i’s lead the previous year, in 2011 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Tokelau, Washington, Oregon, California, Toronto and other Canadian Cities all outlawed the possession and sale of shark fins.

One thing is clear: the world is on alert about the plight of these giant, ancient predators. We look forward to more exciting shark conservation actions in 2012.

Underwater Parks and Innovative projects make important progress

One proven tool for protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems is with underwater parks, and 2011 was full of good news about marine protected areas. In California, South Coast marine protected areas were added to the nearly complete statewide network on New Year’s day. Namibia announced the creation of Dorob National Park, which protects its entire 976 mile coast. This is the largest park of its kind in Africa and the eighth largest globally. And after reports emerged that marine reserves were great for the tourism economy, Australia proposed a new protected area which, at 990,000 square kilometers, would be the largest on Earth.

Nature Magazine described the importance of properly designing marine protected areas so they are effective. When they are well designed, they can do worlds of good. For example, a ten year study of the Cabo Pulmo no-take reserve off Baja California found a 463% increase in biomass inside the protected area. In just two years, valuable species in Scotland’s first marine reserve are already growing more numerous.

2012 is the year – especially with the Rio +20 Earth Summit – to create marine protected areas on the high seas protecting fragile ecosystems from devastating bottom trawling and other misuse.

Keeping Plastic Out of the Oceans

Important victories were won in in reducing single-use plastics that so often end up as trash in our seas. In California, the counties of Santa Clara, Marin and Los Angeles all placed or expanded existing restrictions on single-use plastic bag while also requiring that paper bags meet recycled content standards. The Hilex Poly lawsuit against reusable bag maker and advocate Chico Bag was certainly a low point of the year. Unfazed by the bag industry’s threats, the Cities of Long Beach, Seattle and Portland, also passed controls on single-use bags.

Beyond bags, Europeans unveiled a creative plan to pay fishermen to fish plastic from the ocean, thereby giving fishermen jobs, reduce pressure on fish stocks, AND cleaning up the ocean. The difficulty of keeping plastic out of the water was illustrated with news that plastic particles from home washing machines are finding their way into the ocean. No doubt we’ll see creative, committed people continuing to work in 2012 to stem the tide of marine plastic pollution.

Photo, James Leichter/Marine Photobank

Stop Plastic Pollution & End Shark Finning: Two Powerful Ocean Actions for the Earth Summit 2012

2011-11-04T02:25:11Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

NRDC just formally submitted its views to the United Nations Secretariat for next year’s Rio+20 Earth Summit. We asked that the gathering of world leaders in Rio de Janeiro next June produce concrete results: “Rio+20 should generate real actions on the part of governments at every level, as well as by businesses and civil society groups, to immediately deliver the necessary actions to put us all on a more sustainable path.”

From growing the green economy, to tackling climate change, protecting human health, and saving our oceans, NRDC is dedicated to inspiring the public and creating the political will over the next seven months in our “Race to Rio” to generate specific commitments to immediately tackle the huge challenges we face. Everyone can get involved by focusing on those matters of most importance to them, and calling on every country, corporation, and community to take action.

When it comes to protecting Earth’s embattled oceans, two results we hope to see from the Earth Summit are commitments to stop plastic pollution and to end the harvest, sale and trade of shark fins.

NRDC joined members of the Catto Fellowship Program at the Aspen Institute and 24 other organizations in calling for the international community to stop talking and to start reducing the enormous quantities of plastic waste that has contributed to a vast plastic soup, concentrated in the 5 largest gyres of our oceans. This plastic pollution has grave consequences for marine life and it persists in the oceans for hundreds, if not thousands of years. We need immediate action to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans, including by banning or taxing single-use plastics, supporting the use of recycled plastics in new products, and holding manufacturers responsible for plastics through their entire life cycle. Hundreds of nations, states, and cities around the world have already taken action to control single-use plastic bags, a prevalent and harmful type of plastic pollution around the world.

Similarly we need to get serious about protecting sharks. Sharks are declining rapidly worldwide as a result of the demand for shark fins. An estimated 26-73 million sharks are killed every year for their fins; and one-third of open-ocean sharks are threatened with extinction. There are simply not enough sharks to meet the demand for shark fins. Sharks are extremely vulnerable to overfishing because they can take a decade or more to reach reproductive maturity and bear just a few young during their lifetime. Chile, Palau, Guam, The Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, and the City of Toronto, have all recently taken bold action to protect sharks by either banning the practice of finning or the sale and trade of shark fins. With more awareness about the toll finning takes on shark populations, view on eating shark fin soup are changing. In a recent poll in Hong Kong 78% of respondents felt it was acceptable to not serve shark fin soup at wedding banquets; 85% expressed strong or moderate support for a ban on the importation of shark fins. We are calling on individual nations, businesses, and the public to do their part to end the harvest, sale and trade of shark fins before sharks disappear from our seas.

Other important ocean protections NRDC calls for at the Rio+20 Earth Summit:

Establish and monitor marine protected areas on the high seas and protect vulnerable marine ecosystems within national waters.
Integrate assessment and management of the various uses of ocean resources (wildlife migration routes, fishing grounds, fossil fuel operations, shipping lanes, etc) using marine spatial planning techniques.
Reduce and control ocean noise pollution by incorporating noise into the design and management of marine protected areas and marine spatial plans, and by requiring use of best available noise-reduction technologies in commercial and industrial activities, including oil and gas exploration.
Stop “ghost fishing” – fishing gear lost or abandoned at sea that destroys fragile habitats and catches fish and mammals for decades after it is lost – by improving fishing technologies and providing incentives to prevent loss of gear and return old fishing equipment to shore for recycling.
Establish an international monitoring network for ocean acidification to enable the identification of vulnerable regions and industries and to provide an early warning system for industries already experiencing harm.
Designate the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean as a zone for international scientific cooperation, where extractive and polluting activities are suspended until we have a better understanding of the area and the potential effects of such activities.

We all have a great opportunity to demand an end to talk and immediate action to protect the Planet and the People and ecosystem it supports. Stay tuned to the Switchboard Earth Summit 2012posts for more updates and action alerts.

Photo: Nasa

VICTORY!! California Governor Brown Signs Landmark Shark Conservation Bill

2011-10-07T20:05:01Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Today, Governor Brown used the power of his pen to protect sharks and our oceans. We could not be more excited and grateful to the Governor, the sponsors of Assembly Bill 376 -- Assembly Members Paul Fong and Jared Huffman -- and the many other legislators from both parties, whose strong leadership made it possible to ban the sale and trade of shark fins in California.

Sharks have swum in our oceans for over 400 million years – since before the time of dinosaurs – yet globally, but many species are at risk of vanishing due to extreme fishing pressure, driven by demand for shark fins. In his statement, Governor Brown said: “The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans,” said Governor Brown. “Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

(Freediver William Winram, Reaching out to Tiger Shark; Photo by Fred Buyle)

Governor Brown’s decisive action will end California’s contribution to the fin trade that drives the killing of between 26 –73 million sharks each year just for their fins. The Governor heard the voices of many thousands of Californians– including Asian Pacific American community leaders, scientists, fishermen, and celebrities – who agree that we must do more to protect sharks, before it’s too late. This bill was supported by a fantastic coalition of organizations and experts including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Wild Aid, the Humane Society of the U.S., NRDC Honorary Trustee Sylvia Earle, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and dozens more.

Our most sincere thanks to all the NRDC members and activists who took action to save sharks – we could not have done it without you.

See more photos on our Facebook Page.

Take Action: Ask the Governor to Protect Sharks and Our Oceans by Signing AB 376 into Law

2011-09-14T18:47:21Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Last week, I reported that the state legislature took a huge step towards protecting sharks and our ocean ecosystems by passing AB 376, which will ban the sale and trade of shark fins in California. Now, the bill is on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk -- we need your help to urge him to sign this important bill into law.

Sharks are critical to the health of our oceans: as apex predators, they are key to keeping ecosystems in balance. Yet, the demand for sharks’ fins, which are harvested and sold at astronomically high prices for use in shark fin soup, is driving shark populations around the world into serious decline. Between 26 – 73 million sharks are killed each year just for their fins. AB 376 bans sale and trade in shark fins because it is the value of fins that drives shark killing. A single shark fin can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars -- a basking shark fin can fetch up to $50,000 USD -- while the rest of the entire shark is worth pennies per pound or nothing at all.

The U.S. and California have already banned the wasteful practice of “finning” (slicing off sharks’ fins and discarding the remainder of the animal) in our waters. But this does not address the heart of the problem, which is the sale and trade of shark fins, most of which are imported after being caught in fisheries around the world. AB 376 will put an end to our state’s contribution to the shark fin trade that drives overfishing, poaching, and waste. Without better legal protections, the demand for fins will drive sharks to extinction.

Combined with similar bans recently passed in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and a number of coastal nations, AB 376 will help protect sharks and the health of our ocean by reducing the demand for fins that drives the slaughter of sharks. Sponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance, the bill has received tremendous and diverse support from California’s Asian Pacific leaders, (see AB 376 Coalition Governor Support, 9_7_11.pdf), celebrities, chefs, and thousands of Californians who care of about the health of oceans and its ecosystem.

A poll of Chinese Americans commissioned by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and conducted by a nationally recognized polling research firm showed that 70 percent of Chinese Americans interviewed support the proposed legislation banning shark fin.

Also, several California’s newspapers have editorialized supporting AB 376, including the San Diego Union Tribune (Pass the ban on shark fins, September 1, 2011), the Los Angeles Times (Take shark fins off the menu, August 25, 2011), the San Gabriel Tribune (Our View, Shark finning must become extinct, April 21, 2011), and the San Francisco Chronicle (Pass ban on shark fins, stop the slaughter, February 17, 2011).

Sharks need the protection that AB 376 will provide, and they need it now, so please click here to ask Governor Brown to sign this bill.

If you'd like to learn more, I've written a number of blogs about sharks and this bill:

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lmonroe/huge_victory_for_sharks_califo.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lmonroe/shark_protection_is_going_glob.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lmonroe/join_leonardo_di_caprio_yao_mi.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lmonroe/fins_arent_worth_it_in_califor.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lmonroe/breath_hold_diver_goes_nose-to.html

Whale Shark, photo courtesy of Trodel via Flickr

Huge Victory for Sharks: California Legislature Passes Bill to Ban Shark Fin Trade!

2011-09-07T00:13:04Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

I’m not sure how sharks celebrate, but if these endangered creatures knew that California’s State Senate just voted to pass Assembly Bill 376, no doubt they’d break out a toothy grin or blow some party bubbles.

This hugely important victory in the California legislature comes not a moment too soon. With sharks being killed by the tens of millions every year just for their fins, scientists, many Asian Pacific American leaders, and jurisdictions around the country and world agree: the very best way to protect sharks from disappearing from our oceans forever is to ban the sale and trade of shark fins.

This afternoon, the 25 Ayes overcame the 9 dissenting votes to pass the bill off the Senate Floor. Now, the bill will go to Governor Brown’s desk, where he will decide whether to sign it into law.

California is one of the largest markets for shark fins outside of Asia and the largest importer of shark fins in the U.S. While we need to do much more to protect sharks around the world, California’s leadership is essential in this effort because our ban will reduce the demand for fins that drives finning in international waters.

The bills authors, Assembly Members Paul Fong (D- Mountain View) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), showed tremendous leadership in shepherding this bill through the legislature. They were joined by many other Assembly Members and Senators who did careful research, then agreed that sharks are so important for the health of our oceans, they must be better protected. Sponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance, the bill was also supported hundreds of California’s community and Asian Pacific leaders, dozens of organizations, celebrities, Aquariums, chefs, and thousands of Californians who care of about the health of oceans and its ecosystem.

Our sincere thanks to all of NRDC’s members, activists and concerned citizens who have taken the time to call or email their legislators to encourage them to pass AB 376. Now, Governor Brown has a chance to be a champion -- for sharks and for the oceans.

Curious Tiger Shark. Diver, William Winram; Photo Fred Buyle.

It's a Great Week to Help Save Sharks

2011-08-03T17:23:40Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

It’s Shark Week again over at the Discovery Channel, but this year the excitement is accompanied by a tidal wave of attention around the need to protect these fascinating – and critically important – creatures.

The truth is that humans are a far greater threat to sharks than they are to us. As a result, many activists are stepping up to raise awareness about one particular practice that is causing shark populations worldwide to plummet: shark finning.

As I’ve highlighted in a number of recent blog posts, sharks around the world are seriously threatened by the global trade in their fins, which drives the killing of 26-73 million sharks every year, just for their fins. The practice of finning is as gruesome as anything Hollywood could dream up: sharks’ fins are sliced off and the (often living) shark bodies are thrown overboard as waste. Without fins, sharks drown or are eaten by other animals. With more than 1/3 of shark species threatened with extinction as a result of the international shark fin trade, and some populations declined by 99%, sharks desperately need a break before they disappear altogether.

Finned shark, (c) Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank

The very best way to save sharks is to reduce the demand for their fins. That’s exactly what NRDC and our partners are working to do in California with Assembly Bill (AB) 376. This bill has already cleared the State Assembly, and, if it passes the State Senate when the legislature returns, California will joining a growing global effort to save sharks.

Shark lovers everywhere can help and celebrate this week by taking action to help save them. Here’s a list of things you can do to help out:

Support California’s bill to make it illegal to sell and trade shark fins in the state by signing this petition (you don’t have to live there to sign it!).
If you do live in California, send your State Senator a letter to urge them to help stop deadly shark finning.
Sign the petition asking the Food Network to stop featuring recipes that include shark meat
If you live in the Bay Area, head to the Aquarium of the Bay for special shark activities this week, like the “Sleep with Sharks” event.
Bid in the Shark Celebrity Auction, which supports the Shark Research Institute
If you love professional hockey, sign this petition to ask the San Jose Sharks to support AB 376 and protect their endangered mascot, Sharkie.

Grey reef shark patrolling, Stacy Jupiter/Marine Photobank

Shark Freediver William Winram Visits San Francisco to Support Shark Protection

2011-07-26T00:10:02Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

World-renowned freediver and “shark whisperer” William Winram is a guest at an exciting event this Thursday at San Francisco’s Aquarium of the Bay. Traveling all the way from Switzerland, he will show astonishing footage and share his experiences swimming with and tagging sharks. William has observed during his years of freediving that sharks have dispositions vastly different from the vicious man-eaters portrayed in Hollywood fiction. He also travels in the company of skilled underwater videographers and photographers like Fred Buyle, who snap photos and videos of William’s interactions with the sharks. The results are unreal.

William’s experiences with sharks—and the unique understanding of the animals that emerged from such adventures—have led him to become a passionate voice in the global movement for their protection. Between 26 and 73 million sharks are killed globally each year— largely through a brutal process called “finning” wherein the animals are hauled out of the water just long enough for fishermen to slice off their fins. The remaining 98% of the animal is then dumped unceremoniously back into the water, where it will almost certainly drown, bleed or starve to death. Finning has massively depleted shark populations, and the loss of these apex predators could wreak havoc on marine food webs. Fortunately, the movement to restrict finning and establish marine sanctuaries is gaining traction worldwide. Here in California, AB 376 passed the state assembly with a resounding and bipartisan majority and is currently working its way through the state senate. The bill would ban all possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fin, and if signed into law would serve as a landmark victory in the global struggle to protect sharks.

Freediver, William Winram; Photo, Fred Buyle

We are fortunate to have the expertise of a freediver like William Winram to remind us that sharks are not only vital components of ocean ecosystems, but complex, curious and majestic animals animals.

The event starts this Thursday at 6pm. Suggested donation is $10. Please RSVP to kati@bay.org or visit the facebook page for the event.

Jellyfish Stings & the Trophic Blues

2011-07-21T19:04:21Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Lately I’ve been blogging a lot about saving sharks, but now it’s time for an interlude to touch on challenges at the other end of the marine food web. While conditions deteriorate for many of Earth’s salty denizens, jellyfish are thriving. This is due at least in part to the reduced number of natural predators (big fish) caused by overfishing, and the resultant unchecked proliferation of the jellies can have serious and unexpected consequences. For example, in two separate incidents this month, thousands of jellyfish were sucked into the water intakes of coastal power plants (one of them nuclear!) in Europe, causing coolant systems to go offline and forcing the plants to shut down. Meanwhile in Florida, swarms of sea nettles and cannonball jellies continued to wash ashore, stinging beachgoers and adding unwelcome excitement to beach holidays. Some scientists note that large jellyfish “blooms” have become more frequent in recent years both in the U.S. and locations around the world. In addition to causing an uptick in stings and doing economic harm to Oceanside industry, the jellyfish population boom hurts marine food webs.

Flickr/Stacy Blackman

So where are all these slimy invaders coming from? Studies show that overfishing (which has drastically diminished the number and prominence of the jellies’ predators) and warming global waters are allowing these simple creatures to assemble and propagate with a squishy, stinging fervor. Indeed, a study published in this month’s issue of Science highlights the consequences of the pressure that we have placed on the apex carnivores (like sharks and tuna) in the food chains. Because we have reduced the number of large predators, the web of life in our oceans is changing, becoming wider at the bottom and providing a most welcoming environment for the translucent, venomous jellies.

Corals, whose colorful colonies form the backbone of all reef ecosystems, are not nearly as lucky as the jellyfish. Marine biologists across the globe continue to report that coral reefs are “bleaching” due to a combination of ocean acidification, water temperature increase, and the global decline of plankton, which are critical food source. As if this weren’t bad enough, coral poaching remains a serious problem. In addition to being pretty to look at, corals are the keystone species of many marine environments, and the damage that their disappearance would do to the marine food web is incalculable. Some scientists think that loss of biodiversity – evidenced by the explosion of jellyfish populations – could cause the complete collapse of marine ecosystems, leaving vast expanses of ocean uninhabited for millions of years.

NOAA Photo Library/Linda Wade

So what can you do? Start by taking the little steps. Reduce your carbon footprint wherever you can – ride your bike, walk when possible, and drive a fuel-efficient vehicle. Anthropogenic (man-made) carbon dioxide is the primary cause of ocean acidification, so even if for some reason you don’t believe in global warming, it’s a good idea to be carbon-conscious. You can also commit to only eating seafood that is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch “green list”. Support the creation of marine protected areas (“MPAs” for short), which have been shown to not only provide a refuge for marine life within their boundaries, but also to aid in the recovery of depleted fish stocks by “re-seeding” overfished areas of ocean nearby. If fish populations recover, the booming jellyfish populations, which compete with coral for plankton, will be brought back into check, so your grandkids won’t get stung nearly as often when they snorkel at any of the beautiful, healthy coral reefs, which, thanks to your efforts, will have survived.

Shark Protection is Going Global

2011-07-08T00:20:06Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Governments around the world are taking action to protect sharks. This is because sharks are often worth more alive than dead. Sharks are valuable because they keep ecosystems healthy, and shark-viewing tourism is becoming a major industry in many places. This value is squandered when sharks are killed for short-term gain from the sale of their fins. Although 26-73 million sharks are killed every year, just for their fins, there’s been lots of good news for sharks lately: many states and nations around the world have recently taken bold action to stop the wasteful “finning” of sharks.

The Chilean National Congress just passed legislation that completely bans shark finning in Chilean waters. This is a great step, because Chile had become a major exporter of shark fins that are used for soup.

A few days ago, the Bahama’s banned commercial shark finning in 243,000 square miles of water surrounding the island nation. The Bahamas join Honduras, the Maldives and Palau in outlawing shark fishing.

To protect shark species around the world that are being threatened with extinction, it is critically important to ban the practice of finning. But many places, like Hawaii, and now Fiji, have realized that because sharks swim into unprotected waters, and because the demand for fins that drives this practice, banning the sale and trade of fins is the best things that can be done to protect sharks.

China Daily reported yesterday that the island nation of Fiji is considering the ban of all shark meat and products in Fiji, especially the trade of shark fins. The state of California is working on a similar approach.

In one year, leaders of the world will go to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In the lead up to the meeting, NRDC is calling on nations to do what they can to stop shark finning -- whether by putting an end to finning in their waters or by stopping the trade of fins in their country. NRDC will also call for nations to help protect the oceans by reducing plastic consumption, creating marine protected areas, and monitoring ocean acidification -- all of this will all help secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.

As many developing nations are discovering, live sharks generate significant income for sustainable tourism, and sharks keep essential ocean ecosystems healthy. Sharks have survived on Earth since the time of dinosaurs. Between now and the Earth Summit we hope to see even more action around the world to save sharks from going the way of dinosaurs.

Photo: (c) Terry Goss 2008/Marine Photobank

California is One Big Step Closer to Protecting Sharks & Our Oceans

2011-06-28T19:38:59Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

This afternoon, California came one important step closer to banning the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins. Assembly Bill 376 passed out of the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee with the support of Senators Pavley, LaMalfa, Evans, Kehoe, Padilla, Wolk, and Simitian. This bill will help protect the estimated 26 – 73 million sharks killed each year for their fins, which are used to meet the exploding demand for shark fin soup. The bill's next stop is the Senate Appropriations Committee.

California is one of the largest markets for shark fins outside of Asia; the ban will deter finning in international waters by ending the fin trade here. More than 1/3 of shark species are threatened with extinction as a result of the international shark fin trade, with some populations declined by 99%. This morning, the Sacramento Bee carried an excellent article about the importance of this bill, discussing how the opposition critiques are misguided and inaccurate.

Photo by Justin Henry, via Flickr

Thanks to all our supporters in California who spoke out for sharks, sending thousands of emails and calling their state senators. NRDC, Wild Aid, and the Humane Society joined forces with dozens of other organizations, a host of celebrities, including Leonardo Di Caprio, Yao Ming, Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, Anthony Keidis, Flea, Scarlett Johansson, Ian Somerhalder, and many more to ask for support of the bill. Thanks to everyone who took the time to speak out for these amazing ocean predators!

Clearing this Committee is one of the multiple hurdles the bill faces, but if it passes, California will be among the leaders in the global campaign to protect sharks. In May, Washington joined Hawaii and passed a bill that bans the sale, trade or distribution of shark fins or derivative products in Washington. Around the world, coastal communities are realizing that sharks play an important role in keeping our oceans healthy. Palau,Guam and The Northern Mariana Islands have taken action to protect sharks because they recognize the value of these large predators to their economies, which are closely tied to healthy oceans and benefit from shark tourism.

Awareness of shark finning and illegal poaching is growing and so is outrage over the misuse and abuse of our ocean resources. We will need our supporters to stay involved to help fight back against the opposition who is trying to weaken it, and look out for Action Alerts as the bill advances. Now is also the time to insist that our leaders go to the Earth Summit next year in Rio and take action to protect sharks around the world and preserve the health of our oceans.

Join Leonardo Di Caprio, Yao Ming, Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, and Dozens of Celebs to Save Sharks from Hot Water

2011-06-24T18:21:35Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

This morning, 34 actors, directors, musicians and other celebrities joined NRDC, Wild Aid, and the Humane Society of the U.S. to stand up for Sharks. Read this letter -- from Leonardo Di Caprio, Yao Ming, Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, Anthony Keidis, Flea, Scarlett Johansson, Ian Somerhalder, and many more -- supporting California’s Assembly Bill 376 which would protect sharks from being killed just for their fins.

With movies like Jaws, Open Water and Deep Blue Sea, Hollywood gave sharks a bad reputation. Now, Hollywood is coming to the rescue to help the estimated 26 – 73 million sharks killed each year for their fins, which are used to meet the exploding demand for shark fin soup.

Photo: Nancy Boucha, www.scubasystems.org 2005/Marine Photobank

Sharks are in serious trouble. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines shark finning as “the removal and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the rest of the carcass.” This wasteful practice uses only 2-5% of shark bodies and is threatening sharks around the world -- more than 1/3 of shark species are threatened with extinction. As a result of the international shark fin trade, with some populations declined by 99%.

Join these celebrities and take action: tell your California Senator that you support protecting sharks by banning the trade and sale of shark fins.

You can also make a big difference if you live in the districts of one these Senators: please call them before Tuesday, 6/28/2011, when they will be voting on this bill in the Senate Natural Resources Committee:

Senator Alex Padilla, (Los Angeles), 916-651-4020
Senator Lois Wolk, (Davis, Fairfield, Manteca, Stockton, Tracy, Vacaville, West Sacramento), 916-651-4005
Senator Doug LaMalfa, (Butte, Colusa, Del norte, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba), 916-651-4004
Senator Anthony Cannella, (Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, Stanislaus),916-651-401
Senator Jean Fuller, (Inyo, Kern, San Bernadino, Tulare), 916-651-4018

In addition to these do-gooder celebs, check out this long list of supporters, including hundreds of Asian Pacific Americans leaders and organizations that have supported this bill.

California needs to follow the lead of Hawaii and Washington to ban the sale, trade or distribution of shark fins. Banning the shark fin trade is the best way to save sharks from the pressures of finning because poaching for their fins will continue as long as fins are allowed on the market. No shark fishery is recognized as "sustainable" anywhere in the world. The impact of the California bill goes well beyond our state: it will deter finning in international waters by ending the fin trade here.

Photo, Fred Buyle; Diver, William Winram

Hey California! Millions of Sharks Need Your Help Today

2011-06-10T21:09:03Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Sharks are in serious trouble as a result of the international shark fin trade, with some populations declined by 99%. Why should you care? Because sharks are amazing creatures – they are more clever, curious, and intelligent than Jaws would have you believe – and they play an important role in keeping our ocean ecosystems working.

Scientists estimate that 26 – 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, which are used to meet the exploding demand for shark fin soup. This is probably an underestimate, because much of the shark finning goes unreported.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines shark finning as “the removal and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the rest of the carcass.” The wasteful practice of finning and discarding shark bodies (using ony 2-5% of their bodies) is threatening sharks around the world. IUCN reports that more than 1/3 of shark species are threatened with extinction and multiple recent, peer-reviewed scientific reports show that populations worldwide have suffered dramatic declines.

California needs to pass Assembly Bill 376, which follows the lead of Hawaii and Washington to ban the sale, trade or distribution of shark fins or derivative products.

Take Action Here to tell your California Senator that you support Assembly Bill 376, which will protect sharks by banning the trade and sale of shark fins.

If you live in the jurisdiction of one these Senators, please call them before Tuesday June 28 [the vote was postponed], when they will be voting on this bill in the Natural Resources Committee:

Senator Fran Pavley, (Los Angeles, Ventura), 916-651-4023
Senator Doug LaMalfa, (Butte, Colusa, Del norte, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba), 916-651-4004
Senator Anthony Cannella, (Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, Stanislaus),916-651-4012
Senator Noreen Evans, (Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma), 916-651-4002
Senator Jean Fuller, (Inyo, Kern, San Bernardino, Tulare), 916-651-4018
Senator Christine Kehoe, (San Diego), 916-651-4039
Senator Alex Padilla, (Los Angeles), 916-651-4020
Senator Joe Simitian, (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz), 916-651-4011
Senator Lois Wolk, (Davis, Fairfield, Manteca, Stockton, Tracy, Vacaville, West Sacramento), 916-651-4005

Banning the shark fin trade is the best way to save sharks from the pressures of finning because poaching for their fins will continue as long as fins are allowed on the market. No shark fishery is recognized as "sustainable" anywhere in the world. The impact of the California bill goes well beyond our state: it will deter finning in international waters by ending the fin trade here.

Check out this amazing list of supporters (AB 376 Supporters, 5_11.pdf), including hundreds of Asian Pacific Americans leaders and organizations that have supported this bill.

To Stop Plastic Pollution in the Ocean, Act Locally, Think Globally and Get Excited for Earth Summit 2012

2011-06-07T00:02:00Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

In one year, government, business, and citizen leaders from around the world will turn their attention to Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit 2012. As we get ready for the Earth Summit, we must generate real actions on the part of governments at every level, as well as by businesses and civil society groups, to immediately put us all on a more sustainable path.

Plastic pollution in the ocean has serious consequences for marine life, local and global economies, and potentially for human health. Earlier this year I blogged about an international meeting focusing on how the world can solve the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. Whether you are an individual making daily choices at the grocery store, a large company deciding how to deliver product to millions of customers, or a government official, developing laws and regulations: there are many opportunities to help solve this problem. Alternatively, inaction at any of these levels means the problem will continue to get worse.

Plastic pollution on a Caribean beach, Courtesy of Fabi Fliervoet, via Flickr

Over the next year, we’ll be working with partners of all kinds to advance solutions to the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. For now, we’ve identified these priority areas where governments, industry, and individuals can act, now:

1) Take Responsibility: Whether you represent yourself, a corporation, or a government, know how much you are contributing to the problem of plastic pollution.

Conduct a waste audit and share the information.
Set specific goals to reduce or eliminate your waste generation.

2) Start a Reusable Revolution: Marine plastic pollution shows us that we cannot really throw anything “away”. We have the power and the opportunity to stop this problem at its source by embracing conspicuous conservation.

Banish the bag! We need legislation that uses fees and other controls to restrict the types of plastic packaging most prevalent in marine debris, especially single-use bags and polystyrene.
Choose re-usable items wherever possible. Support producers of reusable alternatives and stop using “throw-away” plastics, because there is no “away”.
Commit to buying recycled content plastics. Specifying recycled content in purchases, whether in government procurement policies or in purchases made by businesses and individuals, helps ensure markets for recovered plastics, and reduces the need to source virgin materials to make new products. And, of course, always recycle.

3) Extend Plastic Producers’ Responsibility: With a nudge from an Extended Producer Responsibility framework, producers will find innovative ways to design better and less packaging that can be more fully recovered and recycled when it has reached the end of its useful life.

This will help shift responsibility to producers for end-of-life management of plastic packaging.
Producer responsibility allows for market innovation and flexibility – producers can get creative in finding ways to meet standards.

4) Stop Ghost Fishing: Innovation and public-private partnerships are needed to stop the vast quantity of lost or “derelict” fishing gear that destroys fragile habitat and catches fish and mammals for decades after it is lost.

New technology such as beacons, or identifiable characteristics like knots, can help track and recover lost gear. Tracking capability can also help enforce anti-dumping restrictions.
Industry partnerships, bonds, or gear registration can create incentives for return of gear back to port. Funds gathered from these sources can fund essential port reception facilities to collect gear that is properly returned to port.

Sharks Win 65-8 in the California Assembly!

2011-05-24T18:14:08Z

Leila Monroe, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco

Yesterday, California’s State Assembly showed overwhelming bi-partisan support for protecting sharks by voting 65-8* in favor of AB 376, which would ban the sale, possession and trade of shark fins in the Golden State. Assembly lawmakers who voted for the bill were aligned with Californians of all ages and backgrounds. A recent study found that 76% of Californians surveyed support AB 376, and 70% of Chinese Californians surveyed support it too.

The bill now moves on to the State Senate. I'm hopeful that California will soon join Hawai'i and Washington in standing up for the millions of sharks that are killed every year, just for their fins.

* Note: the initial vote count was 62-8, then up to 64-8, but the final vote was a fantastic 65-8 because some members changed from No to Aye!