Posted May 10, 2012 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rescinded vital protections today for two severely depleted deepwater fish species in the South Atlantic, speckled hind and warsaw grouper. These fish are “extremely vulnerable to overfishing,” according to NMFS, as they grow...continued→
Posted May 7, 2012 by David Newman in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans
Whole Foods recently became the first major North American retailer to stop selling unsustainable, or red-listed, seafood. The red listing, as determined by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute, indicates that the fish species is being overfished...continued→
Posted March 21, 2012 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places, U.S. Law and Policy
For the first time in a generation, fish populations are getting healthier – science-based management and rebuilding requirements have led to the recovery of 23 fish species since 2000, according to NOAA Fisheries. This list includes popular fish like New...continued→
Posted January 13, 2012 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, U.S. Law and Policy
The ocean waters under America’s jurisdiction are larger than any other nation. From the Coast of Maine to the Mariana Islands in the Pacific, U.S. marine waters are 23 percent greater than the nation’s entire land area. While impressive, what...continued→
Posted December 15, 2011 by David Newman in Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
There’s good news to report: a recent scientific assessment has confirmed that summer flounder, or fluke as it’s more commonly known, has been restored to a healthy population level after decades of overfishing. The reasons for this success: disciplined...continued→
Posted November 11, 2011 by David Newman in Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places, Solving Global Warming
Coral reefs are likely to become the first ecosystem completely destroyed by humans, predicts Dr. Peter Sale, a leading United Nations ecologist. His new book, Our Dying Planet, explains: “It is not pollution, or overfishing, or mass bleaching, or...continued→
Posted August 17, 2011 by David Newman in Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
Last week, I received a comment on a recent blog accusing me of posting a “factually flawed” and “extremely misleading” report of a new study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the dangers facing global...continued→
Posted August 13, 2011 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
Last week, I reported that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) was on the verge of removing more than three dozen fish species from protective management. Ironically, this short-sighted proposal was in response to a Congressional mandate to set...continued→
Posted August 11, 2011 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
It’s telling of humanity’s insatiable appetite that, even in the Galapagos Islands – Darwin’s inspiration, and a biological haven we’ve chosen to conserve – there remains evidence of our devastating mistreatment of marine ecosystems. Last month, a boat with 379...continued→
Posted August 3, 2011 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places, U.S. Law and Policy
What if, after a string of overloaded passenger elevator failures, a new law was passed requiring stricter weight limits and regulators responded by exempting elevators from all safety requirements, including the new weight limits? You’d probably cry foul. Well, this...continued→
Posted July 6, 2011 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
When it comes to the ocean’s biggest animals, you probably think of whales, or perhaps fast and flashy fish like blue marlin. Well, let me introduce you to the giant groupers. These are massive and amazing fish, but like the...continued→
Posted June 28, 2011 by David Newman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places, U.S. Law and Policy
In 2006, after years of chronic overfishing (see my recent blog on the history of overfishing in the South Atlantic), Congress amended the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to require fishery managers to set science-based annual catch limits by...continued→
Posted June 13, 2011 by David Newman in Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
Here’s something you don’t hear about every day: a fish that catches itself. Well, sort of. The black sea bass lives in reefs, wrecks, and hard-bottom habitats of the Atlantic, where it’s naturally lured to nooks and crannies filled with...continued→
Posted June 7, 2011 by David Newman in Living Sustainably, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
DNA testing recently revealed that fish like tilapia are purposefully mislabeled and sold in grocery markets as pricier options like red snapper – as much as 77 to 90 percent of the time, according to a report by Oceana. What compels...continued→
Posted May 19, 2011 by David Newman in Curbing Pollution, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
NRDC and the Gulf Restoration Network submitted comments this week on the scope of the restoration of natural resources damaged by last year's Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In drafting our comments, I felt a little...continued→
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