Canada supermarkets curb 'destructively fished' seafood

Yahoo News 2 Jun 10;

OTTAWA (AFP) – Canada's major supermarket chains won unusual praise from Greenpeace on Wednesday for starting to rid their shelves of "destructively fished or farmed" seafood.

In a report, Greenpeace ranked eight major grocery chains on their efforts to help improve the sustainability of the seafood they buy and sell.

It said that "following pressure by environmental organizations and the public," retailers have started adopting sustainability policies for their seafood supply chains, and stopped selling up to 15 "destructively fished or farmed" species.

These species include dredged Atlantic sea scallops and salmon from farms said to contaminate the marine environment.

But more can be done to protect the oceans, Greenpeace said.

"Supermarkets have stopped selling imperiled species such as shark, skates and bluefin tuna, which are not big sellers," said Beth Hunter, Greenpeace oceans campaign coordinator.

"Now retailers need to focus on no longer selling fish that may be consumer favorites, but are still destructively fished or farmed."

Overwaitea, Loblaw, Safeway, Walmart, Metro, Sobeys, Federated Co-operatives and Costco -- in this order -- were ranked from best to worst for their efforts.

Costco received the lowest ranking because it has not indicated any plans to discontinue to the sale of unsustainable fish or develop a seafood policy.

Overwaitea received the highest overall score because it stopped selling species at risk, started implementing a seafood policy and is actively promoting sustainable seafood initiatives to customers and suppliers.

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UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet

Lesser consumption of animal products is necessary to save the world from the worst impacts of climate change, UN report says
Felicity Carus guardian.co.uk 2 Jun 10;

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.

As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.

It says: "Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: "Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels."

The recommendation follows advice last year that a vegetarian diet was better for the planet from Lord Nicholas Stern, former adviser to the Labour government on the economics of climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has also urged people to observe one meat-free day a week to curb carbon emissions.

The panel of experts ranked products, resources, economic activities and transport according to their environmental impacts. Agriculture was on a par with fossil fuel consumption because both rise rapidly with increased economic growth, they said.

Ernst von Weizsaecker, an environmental scientist who co-chaired the panel, said: "Rising affluence is triggering a shift in diets towards meat and dairy products - livestock now consumes much of the world's crops and by inference a great deal of freshwater, fertilisers and pesticides."

Both energy and agriculture need to be "decoupled" from economic growth because environmental impacts rise roughly 80% with a doubling of income, the report found.

Achim Steiner, the UN under-secretary general and executive director of the UNEP, said: "Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments in a world of rising numbers of people, rising incomes, rising consumption demands and the persistent challenge of poverty alleviation."

The panel, which drew on numerous studies including the Millennium ecosystem assessment, cites the following pressures on the environment as priorities for governments around the world: climate change, habitat change, wasteful use of nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilisers, over-exploitation of fisheries, forests and other resources, invasive species, unsafe drinking water and sanitation, lead exposure, urban air pollution and occupational exposure to particulate matter.

Agriculture, particularly meat and dairy products, accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use and 19% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, says the report, which has been launched to coincide with UN World Environment day on Saturday.

Last year the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said that food production would have to increase globally by 70% by 2050 to feed the world's surging population. The panel says that efficiency gains in agriculture will be overwhelmed by the expected population growth.

Prof Hertwich, who is also the director of the industrial ecology programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said that developing countries – where much of this population growth will take place – must not follow the western world's pattern of increasing consumption: "Developing countries should not follow our model. But it's up to us to develop the technologies in, say, renewable energy or irrigation methods."

Go Veggie, Cut Fossil Fuels To Aid Planet: Study
Alister Doyle PlanetArk 3 Jun 10;

An overhaul of world farming and more vegetarianism should be top priorities to protect the environment, along with curbs on fossil fuel use, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday.

The report said food production and fossil fuel use caused pollution, greenhouse gases, diseases and forest destruction.

"How the world is fed and fueled will in large part define development in the 21st century," said the 112-page report by the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management.

"Agricultural production accounts for a staggering 70 percent of the global freshwater consumption, 38 percent of the total land use and 14 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme.

The report said consumers could help by cutting down on meat consumption and use of fossil fuels in heating or travel. "Animal products are important because more than half of the world's crops are used to feed animals, not people," it said.

"A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Researchers said it was no surprise fossil fuels were a top concern.

"More surprising was food production -- agriculture, fishing and pasture," Edgar Hertwich, lead author at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told Reuters.

Reform "will be a titanic task, but one that is essential for our future prosperity and quality of life," Janez Potocnik, European Environment Commissioner, said in a statement.

Increasing wealth in developing nations could mean more damage, such as more demand for meat.

"Meat consumption per capita in China rose by 42 percent over eight years from 1995 to 2003," said Sangwon Suh of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The study also said that the world should focus on improving use of materials such as plastics, iron, steel and aluminum.

Janet Salem of UNEP said the report should remind people in urban areas that clearance of distant forests -- making way for farmland and destroying habitats of animals and plants -- could be traced to their choice of food in supermarkets.

"Faraway environmental impacts are related to people in cities," she said.

Read more!

China 'not very optimistic' on cutting emissions

Yahoo News 3 Jun 10;

BEIJING (AFP) – China, the world's top source of the toxic gases blamed for global warming, said Thursday it was "not very optimistic" that its efforts to slash emissions were working.

Beijing issued a similar warning a month ago, prompting speculation that it could miss its emissions reduction targets.

The country's vice minister for environmental protection, Zhang Lijun, told a press conference that sulphur dioxide emissions had risen by 1.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010 -- the first jump since 2007.

"This sounded the alarm for our emissions reduction work and showed that the prospects of emissions cuts are not very optimistic," Zhang said.

He said a severe drought in southwestern China, increases in the output of high-emissions industries and the "slack mentality" of local governments and firms were complicating China's efforts to slash emissions.

Beijing has pledged to reduce its carbon intensity -- the measure of greenhouse-gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product -- by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 based on 2005 levels.

Last month, Premier Wen Jiabao laid out a series of measures to help tackle the situation, including punishing local authorities that did not achieve their targets.

"Areas that achieve their energy-saving targets must be rewarded, those that haven't must make their main leaders and relevant leaders accountable, and they will be punished accordingly, and might even be dismissed," he said.

The government has already said it will spend 83 billion yuan (12 billion dollars) on promoting emissions cuts in 2010.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 2 Jun 10

A Tinsel Surprise
from Butterflies of Singapore

Have you ever...
from Psychedelic Nature

Coral bleaching on our Southern shores?
from wild shores of singapore

Oil slick from the sky?
from wild shores of singapore

Good job, volunteers, for cleaning up oil slicks on Pulau Ubin
from Lazy Lizard's Tales

Pulau Ubin...Again!
from Crystal and Bryan in Singapore

Survey on another part of Semakau
from Where Discovery Begins

双溪布洛6月6日折纸活动 Origami session on 6th June @ SBWR
from PurpleMangrove

Plant Blindness: What research says
from EcoWalkthetalk

Trail Camera
from Ubin.sgkopi

Admiralty Park the Macro Haven
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Raffles Museum Treasures: Staghorn coral
from Lazy Lizard's Tales

Hatchlings and their parasites
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Read more!

Silence the sand critics

The authorities should take this chance to refute inaccuracies, be proactive
Letter from Eugene Tay Tse Chuan and Letter from Eugene Tay Tse Chuan
Today Online 2 Jun 10;

I refer to "Singapore rebuts NGO report" (May 11).

The report by Global Witness, widely covered in the foreign media, puts Singapore in a bad light.

This is one of the many accusations on Singapore's sand imports and its impact, and it will not be the last if we do not confront the problem properly.

A country that prides itself on its clean and green reputation has to constantly ensure that its supply of raw materials from other countries for nation-building purposes has minimal impact on the environment and people of the source country.

Any misbehaviour by suppliers will affect the country's reputation.

Let us solve this problem in a concrete and transparent manner. It is not enough for the Government to confront negative accusations by insisting that it did nothing wrong and that accusations are not true.

Instead, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and JTC Corporation should arrange a meeting with Global Witness to address the report's accusations, concerns and recommendations.

The agencies should treat this as an opportunity to refute inaccuracies in the report and seek advice in finding a suitable solution to this persistent thorn of sand import accusations.

MND and JTC have to address the following issues: How do they ensure their sand suppliers are not engaging in illegal and corrupt activities? How is this checked and monitored? Who does the monitoring and how frequently?

What are the guidelines for sustainable sourcing of sand from other countries? Is it based on international standards? How is it enforced?

We can prevent future accusations if we take proactive, concrete and transparent steps to ensure that our supply of sand from other countries is responsible.

I refer to "Singapore rebuts NGO report" (May 11).

The report by Global Witness, widely covered in the foreign media, put Singapore in a bad light.

This is one of the many accusations on Singapore's sand imports and its impact, and it will not be the last if we carry on burying our head in the sand, refusing to confront the problem properly.

A country that prides itself on its clean and green reputation has to constantly ensure that its supply of raw materials from other countries for nation-building purposes has minimal impact on the environment and people of the source country.

Any misbehaviour by suppliers will affect the country's reputation.

Let us solve this problem in a concrete and transparent manner. It is not enough for the government to confront negative accusations by insisting that it did nothing wrong and that accusations are not true.

Instead, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and Jurong Town Council (JTC) should arrange a meeting with Global Witness to address the report's accusations, concerns and recommendations.

The agencies should treat this as an opportunity to refute inaccuracies in the report and seek advice in finding a suitable solution to this persistent thorn of sand import accusations.

MND and JTC have to rethink their policies on sand imports and address the following issues:

Are sand suppliers breaking the source country's legal regulations? Are they engaging in illegal and corrupt activities? How is this checked and monitored? Who does the monitoring and how frequent is it done?

What are the guidelines for sustainable sourcing of sand from other countries? Is it based on international standards? How is it enforced?

The damage to Singapore's reputation is already done, but we can prevent future accusations if we take proactive, concrete and transparent steps to ensure that our supply of sand from other countries is responsible.

Read more!

Sand import controls in place: JTC

Govt agency says it will take action if suppliers are found to have brought in sand illegally
Jessica Cheam Straits Times 2 Jun 10;

INDUSTRIAL landlord JTC Corp has pledged to take action if there is evidence that its sand importers have breached their contracts.

The government agency - which oversees Singapore's land reclamation activities - told The Straits Times yesterday that it has 'consistently monitored the sand imports' and 'will take action and investigate (sand suppliers) if there is evidence to show any breach in contract'.

It also said that 'to date, sand vendors have all been able to provide valid documented evidence of clearance from the source countries'.

JTC was responding to queries from The Straits Times on a recent report by environmental group Global Witness which alleged that Singapore was importing Cambodian sand illegally and without regard for the environment.

The report claimed that Cambodia's sand trade is thriving despite a recent sand export ban. At least one Singapore-registered company was named in the report as working with Cambodian dredgers to supply sand to JTC for its land reclamation activities.

The Singapore Government had rejected the report, which was released early last month.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said then that it does not condone the illegal export or smuggling of sand, or any extraction of sand that is in breach of the source countries' laws and rules on environmental protection.

It said in a recent statement to The Straits Times that the Government has 'in place a series of measures to monitor the source of our sand imports'.

'In the case of Cambodia, this includes the official licence document from Cambodia. The licence document stipulates the environmental and other conditions that should be observed in the sand mining activity,' it said.

The London-based Global Witness report had alleged that despite imposing a ban on the export of sea sand, the Cambodian government's actions 'appear to have facilitated, rather than limited, dredging operations'.

These activities have led to the degradation of ecosystems. Fish and crab harvests have also fallen, threatening the livelihood of local communities, it said.

It estimates the annual value of the sand trade at US$28.7 million (S$40 million) in Cambodia and US$248 million in retail value in Singapore.

The Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith also rejected the report in a recent statement.

He said Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had banned sand exports last year, including a ban on 'sand-dredging near islands and eco-tourism areas, deep water regions and in zones with large numbers of fish stock'.

However, 'a small amount of dredging was permitted to serve local demand and allow the passage of ships through over-silted areas', he added.

When contacted, Global Witness said it welcomed the Singapore Government's statement and 'hopes that it signifies the beginning of an open and constructive dialogue'.

But it added that the Government's response 'does not yet answer the main findings of our report', and added that Cambodia's regulatory frameworks are 'woefully inadequate in defending Cambodia's environment against the effects of a sand trade'.

MND yesterday reiterated the strong controls in place regulating sand imports.

Read more!

Oil spill off Changi East: Singapore reports

Oil spill: Beaches may reopen by this weekend
Clean-up work at Changi, East Coast almost over, but people are advised to avoid water activities
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 2 Jun 10;

THE seas off East Coast Park and Changi Beach may be reopened to the public by this weekend as clean-up efforts for an oil spill from last week entered its final stretch.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement yesterday that it had tested samples of seawater from the affected beaches and found no trace of harmful chemicals.

However, it noted that a faint petroleum-like odour and traces of tar balls could still be detected at the edge of the water.

Work is now under way to remove the tar balls from the beaches during low tide.

This work is expected to be completed in the next two to three days, the NEA said, and it is optimistic that the two beaches can be reopened to the public by this weekend.

'Members of the public are still advised to refrain from swimming and engaging in water activities in these areas until further notice,' it added.

The clean-up at Chek Jawa was completed yesterday, and the National Parks Board will remove the oil booms surrounding the area as no new oil slicks have been reported.

Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin is Singapore's last refuge for plants and animals once common on the mainland.

It remains open to visitors, but guided walks have been suspended until June 13.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) also gave the waters around the island a clean bill of health for the second day running, with no patches of oil spotted.

However, it will continue to deploy clean-up vessels at sea to keep a close watch around the clock to deal with any oil patches that may surface.

With the oil spill fully cleared up, the focus now turns to the two ships that caused 2,500 tonnes of oil to be released into the sea last Tuesday.

A Hong Kong-owned bulk carrier had hit the side of an oil tanker owned by AET, a subsidiary of one of Malaysia's largest shipping companies, about 13km off the Changi coast.

How the collision happened is still unclear. An MPA spokesman would say only that its investigations were ongoing.

Legal experts say the investigations will determine, for example, how much of the final clean-up bill will be paid by each party.

The MPA had previously said both ship owners were 'jointly and severally liable for the cost of the clean-up', although under Singapore law, the tab for the clean-up as well as damages that arise from an oil spill must first be covered by the oil tanker's operator.

The Straits Times understands that the bulk carrier and its crew presently fall outside Singapore's legal jurisdiction as the vessel is docked in a port in south Johor.

However, lawyers say both ship owners are likely to accept any punishment meted out.

Apart from the civil claims, which some estimate could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the crew members on board the vessels could also be prosecuted if their negligence caused the collision.

When contacted, AET spokesman Paul Lovell said its 12-year-old tanker, carrying 64,000 tonnes of oil, was travelling along the Singapore Strait on its way to Malacca when it was hit by the other vessel, which he claimed was travelling at a 'substantial speed'.

Lawyers for the bulk carrier's owners, Treasure Maritime, declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

With the oil slick having spread to Malaysian waters and polluting beaches along Johor's coast, Malaysia may also separately claim its own damages.

Mr Lovell said AET was working with both countries to clean up the spill. 'The expectation is it's likely to be an expensive issue.'

Containment & clean-up of oil slick continue to show positive results
Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 1 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE : Containment and clean-up efforts following the oil spill from the collision between MV Bunga Kelana 3 and MV Waily continue to show positive results on the eighth day.

The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said waters in Singapore's port, including the anchorages around Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin, were clear of any oil patches.

Waters from Changi Naval Base to East Coast Park and the Singapore Strait south of Changi remain clear of oil patches.

MPA said it will continue to monitor the waters closely and carry out necessary clean-up efforts. Various craft involved in the containment and clean-up efforts remain deployed at sea to deal with any oil patches that may surface.

MPA said it will also continue to work with the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities.

The public can contact MPA's 24-hour Marine Safety Control Centre at 6325-2489 to report any sighting of oil slick in Singapore's waters or coastlines.

Separately, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said analyses of seawater samples from beaches in the East Coast and Changi showed no traces of any harmful chemicals.

However, a faint petroleum-like odour and traces of tar balls can still be detected on the water edge. NEA said the tar balls will be removed during low tide and this is expected to be completed in the next two to three days.

At Chek Jawa, NParks will be removing the oil booms as no new oil slicks have been reported.

Chek Jawa remains open to visitors, but guided walks have been suspended for two weeks, from May 29 to June 13.

- CNA/al

Read more!

Oil spill off Changi East: Malaysian reports

More pollution at shoreline
Desiree Tresa Gasper The Star 2 Jun 10;

KOTA TINGGI: An additional two kilometres of shoreline at Pengerang here have been polluted by oil spill following a collision between two vessels at the Singapore Strait a week ago, a spokesperson from the Department of Environment (DOE) said.

The polluted shoreline was between Tanjung Pengelih and Tanjung Punggai. However, 74% of the polluted shorelines have been cleared.

“We have not identified any new oil patches as yet but we urge the public to contact us if they locate any new patch,” the spokesperson said yesterday.

She added that a total of 7,290 bags containing oil polluted sand and 19,511 litres of oil have been collected so far. “We also have about 162 workers involved in the clean up efforts. A total of 110 local fishermen are also expected to help out,” she said.

Those involved in the clean up activities would continue their work on the remaining 4.6km polluted coastline.

Members of the public are urged to contact the DOE hotline at 1-800-88-2727.

In Johor Baru, Southern Region Marine Department director Rosnan Fahtlal said a team of four investigating officers had been assigned to determine the cause of the collision between the two vessels.

“Two of the officers have been sent from our headquarters in Kuala Lumpur while the other two are from our office in Tanjung Pengelih,” he said yesterday.

Rosnan added that the investigating officers were now questioning the captain and crew members aboard the bulk carrier MV Waily.

“They have been conducting investigations for the last two days and the team will also be questioning the crewmen from MT Bunga Kelana 3 once they complete investigations of the first vessel,” he said.

The two vessels collided about 13km southeast of Changi East on May 24 causing some 2,000 tonnes of crude oil to spill into the sea.

The oil has since spread and polluted beaches along Singapore and Malaysia. He added that the team was also waiting for the cargo to be transferred from MT Bunga Kelana 3 before conducting investigations there.

Uggah: Oil spill in Singapore Strait has no lasting effect
The Star 2 Jun 10;

KUCHING: The oil spill from the collision of two vessels in the Singapore Strait appears to have no lasting effect on the affected coastal areas, Natural Resources and Envi­ronment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said.

He said he visited the area last Sunday and could see the difference between one spot which had been cleaned up and the areas yet to be cleaned.

“Once the beach has been cleaned, there is no effect and no more odour of oil because the sea current is moving and there is clean water flowing in,” he told reporters at his Gawai open house at Taman BDC here yesterday.

Uggah said the affected areas had to be cleaned as quickly as possible to minimise the damage and prevent it from spreading further.

“About half the area has been cleaned and we hope to be able to complete the cleaning in the next few days,” he said, adding that the clean-up committee had mobilised about 200 people in addition to those employed by the shipping company.

On the fishermen affected by the spill, he said the government would look after their welfare.

“At the moment some of them are employed by the vessel owner to clean the area and they are paid RM50 a day,” he added.

Villagers help in oil spill clean-up
Ahmad Fairuz Othman The New Straits Times, Streets 1 Jun 10;

WHEN Malaysian tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 collided with Grenadines bulk carrier MV Waily in the Singapore Strait last Tuesday, it resulted in an oil spill that affected the coastline of southeast Johor.

The oil spill affected a 30km stretch in Pengerang and Teluk Ramunia.

Among the affected areas were Tanjung Punggai, Sungai Rengit, Langkah Baik, Sungai Buntu, Sungai Kapal and Sungai Musuh.

A massive clean-up exercise led by the Department of Environment was launched in collaboration with the Marine Department, the police's Marine Operation Force and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The collision occurred when the Malaysian tanker was travelling from east to west in the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait, 13km southeast of Changi East, at 6.03am.

About 2,500 tonnes of crude oil leaked from a 10m gash on the double-hulled tanker's port side.

AET Tanker Holdings Sdn Bhd, the owner of MT Bunga Kelana 3, had said in a statement that after the remainder of the Bintulu light grade oil had been transferred to another vessel, an assessment of the ship was conducted.

The DOE set up a response team after the incident.

However, some believe that the operation to clean up the oil sludge should have been done sooner before it affected the beaches in Pengerang.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said the ministry had done all it could to mitigate the effects of the oil spill.

Though he said the ministry had been monitoring the problem from the first day of the incident, he admitted that there were problems with the standard operating procedures of the agencies involved in the monitoring and clean-up efforts.

"During a meeting with several agencies, we discussed the problems," he said after checking on the clean-up exercise in Pengerang recently.

Douglas said the Malaysian authorities had difficulty obtaining permission to use Singapore's air space to conduct surveillance of the oil spill.

He said the matter would be discussed at the government-to-government level.

Singapore's popular east coast beaches were also hit by oil sludge.

Douglas said the DOE was using mitigation methods to prevent the sludge from reaching fish farms at nearby rivers and beach resorts north of Desaru.

During the initial stage of the clean-up exercise, 4,000m of booms and 50 tonnes of chemical dispersants were used to stop the oil sludge from spreading.

Specialists in 15 boats were deployed to the collision site, while hundreds of others joined in the clean-up efforts at beaches along Pengerang.

The additional cleaning crew consisted of Pengerang fishermen, their family members and villagers.

Mastura Abdul Rahim, 24, was among the villagers who were paid between RM40 and RM50 per day to help scoop up oil sludge at the beach.

"I was among the first who saw the sludge when it reached the beach. I lodged a complaint with the DOE branch office here," she said, adding that her fisherman father, Abdul Rahim Bujang, also joined in the clean-up exercise.

Rahim said he lost 18 of his 20 pukat tunda nets at sea last Thursday.

He is among 400 fishermen in Pengerang who have stopped going out to sea following the oil spill.

"The oil sludge damaged my nets, which cost RM150 each, and my boat. I have not gone out to sea since the incident."

Read more!

After the Gulf Oil Spill: New Research Sheds Light on Coral Susceptibility to Environmental Stress

ScienceDaily 1 Jun 10;

Much attention has been paid to the fate of wildlife living on and above the Gulf of Mexico's surface. Now, a new research study published in the June 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal looks toward the seafloor to explain coral susceptibility to disease outbreaks when they encounter environmental stress and to set the stage for understanding exactly what type of undersea environment is necessary to promote coral health and growth after the oil spill cleanup.

In addition, this research also opens doors for the development of new tools that can assess the health of corals, which is important when trying to establish manmade reefs or to save ones that already exist.

"We hope this study will highlight the need to maintain favorable environmental conditions on reefs to maximize the functioning of coral immune mechanisms and avert outbreaks of coral disease and bleaching," said Caroline Palmer, one of the researchers involved in the work who is from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine and Tropical Biology at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. "Otherwise, declining environmental conditions associated with extractive activities, deteriorating water quality and a changing climate will threaten the long term persistence of corals and coral reefs, which support millions of lives worldwide through fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection amongst other functions."

Palmer and colleagues sampled several coral species from the Great Barrier Reef to determine whether a suite of cellular and biochemical mechanisms of immunity were active. Using histological techniques they documented the presence and area of melanin-containing granular cells and the activity of specific enzymes as measures of oxidative damage and repair. Then the scientists investigated the relationship between coral immunity and disease and susceptibility to by analyzing the data on the activity of innate immunity in conjunction with published data on coral species' susceptibilities to oxidative bleaching and disease. Results suggest that different coral species invest different amounts of resources in immunity and defense, which may explain differences in the susceptibility to negative environmental impacts.

"You don't have to be a marine biologist to know that the Gulf oil spill is an environmental disaster of the first order. Stuff leaching from the ocean floor is the worst environmental challenge a coral reef can face," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. "But with luck, and with marine biology to explain how coral reefs survive, we can begin to get the Gulf ecosystems back on track sooner rather than later."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Corals that are spawning at the time of an oil spill can be damaged because the eggs and sperm, which are released into the water at very precise times, remain at shallow water depths for various times before they settle. Thus, in addition to compromising water quality, oil pollution can disrupt the long-term viability and reproductive success of corals, rendering them more vulnerable to other types of disturbances. In western Australia and the Flower Garden Banks of the northern Gulf of Mexico, spawning occurs in late summer or fall."

Read more!

Gulf Oil Spill Effects on Endangered Species May Be 'Mind-Boggling'

LiveScience Yahoo News 1 Jun 10;

The massive oil slick that is spreading throughout the waters of the Gulf of Mexico threatens the existence of a critically endangered sawfish, as well as other already threatened species that dwell there, scientists say.

Louisiana's state bird is among the species that could take a hit from the oil.

"You don't have to be a marine biologist to know that the Gulf oil spill is an environmental disaster of the first order," said Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal, published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology.

The largetooth sawfish, a popular curio item known for its sawlike snout, was proposed as a federally endangered species on May 7, less than three weeks after massive amounts of oil started gushing into Gulf waters, said George Burgess, an ichthyologist and sawfish expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

The fish's already endangered relative, the smalltooth sawfish, is also likely to be impacted by the oil leak, which has been growing for more than a month.

"The oil spill will not only have very dire effects on such highly visible creatures as seabirds and dolphins, but also threatens a multitude of bottom-dwelling organisms including the smalltooth sawfish, which already is in considerable trouble as its range diminished and its numbers dwindled," Burgess said.

While the smalltooth sawfish used to range from New York to Texas, what's left of its population is now confined to the lower peninsula of Florida, Burgess said, with its most important habitat extending from Charlotte Harbor, on the southwestern Gulf coast of Florida, through the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Everglades into Florida Bay and the Keys.

These areas may be exposed to the oil by the effects of the Loop Current, a strong flow of warm water in the Gulf that could funnel some of the oil into the Florida Straits, threatening many species there, including sensitive coral reefs.

"As oil gets caught up in the Loop Current, it will be pulled down into the Gulf Stream, which goes right by Key West on its way up the U.S. East Coast," Burgess said. "The opportunities for serious ecological problems are mind-boggling, with dire implications for what's left of [the sawfish species] in the northwest Atlantic Ocean if the oil reaches critical mangrove habitat."

Corals, pelicans and whales

Many coral reefs in the Gulf and Caribbean are already under stress from warming oceans and diseases. The entrance of oil into their habitat could exacerbate their already tough situation.

"Stuff leaching from the ocean floor is the worst environmental challenge a coral reef can face," Weissmann said.

Oil can particularly affect coral reefs as they are spawning, because the egg and sperm are released by the corals at very precise times, and stay at shallow water depths until settling down to mature - oil can compromise the reproductive success of the corals if it interferes with this cycle, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico spawn in late summer or fall.

Scientists and conservationists are also worried about the potential impact of the oil slick on the brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, which was listed as an endangered species after it was largely wiped out from the use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s.

The deaths of three sperm whales have also been attributed to the oil spill, threatening the small population of the species that is native to the Gulf, said Celine Godard-Codding, an assistant professor at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Godard-Codding also warned that already threatened Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles could face major population decimation as they breathe in toxic fumes and ingest crude oil.

Will historic sawfish return?

The largetooth sawfish, which was most common in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, has not been encountered in decades. The smalltooth sawfish was listed as an endangered species in 2003.

Conservationists had hoped conditions would become favorable for both sawfish species eventually to stage a comeback in Gulf waters, Burgess said. Far more common to South and Central America, the largetooth sawfish migrated up the Central American coast during the summer into the Gulf, the edge of its natural geographic range, he said.

The oil leak could thwart the fish's return.

"If important underwater habitat is destroyed, neither species will have a place to return to," he said. "They can't come back to an underwater desert."

A creature of historic and cultural interest, the sawfish was sometimes depicted as a so-called monster on postcards from the turn of the century, with stories of sawfish catches routinely published in newspapers outside Florida, Burgess said. Today it is not unusual to find the fish's "saw" hanging from the walls of South Florida bars, he said.

The sawfish's fearsome, long, toothy snout is utilized to stun fishes and unearth crustaceans, shellfish and other food buried in the bottom.

It takes longer for sawfish to rebound than other species because of its relatively slow growth rate and its late onset of sexual maturity, Burgess said. He and his colleagues have used their research on the species to develop a recovery plan to help speed its return.

"Our recovery plan covers 100 years, which should give a pretty good indication of how much trouble the animal is in," Burgess said.

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Alleged bear gall bladder seized at Singapore Food Expo

Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 2 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE : Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) said a tip-off from a member of the public resulted in the seizure of an alleged gall bladder at the Singapore Food Expo yesterday.

Bear products have been banned by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which Singapore is a party to.

Investigators from ACRES were told by the seller (recorded on video) that the gall bladder which he's selling for S$700 was from a bear and was brought in from China.

He had only one gall bladder left as he had already sold the rest.

The seller said he could order and have them delivered to Singapore.

ACRES passed on the information to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) whose officers responded immediately and seized the product.

AVA is currently investigating the case.

Previous ACRES undercover investigations in 2001 and 2006 revealed the presence of an illegal trade in alleged bear products in Singapore.

Some 20 per cent of Traditional Chinese Medicine shops surveyed in 2006 sold alleged bear products.

Director of ACRES Wildlife Crime Unit, Anbarasi Boojpal, said this continued trade creates a demand for bear products and fuels the exploitation of bears held in bear farms. - CNA/jy

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India tigress gives new hope for conservation after first-time births

WWF 1 Jun 10;

A few years ago, India’s Panna Tiger Reserve made global headlines when all of its tigers were lost to poachers.

Now Panna is once again in the news, but this time for a very different reason: Three tiger cubs were photographed this spring with their mother, marking the very first time that a translocated tiger has given birth in the wild.

“This is a momentous occasion for tiger conservation in India and indeed the world,” said Diwakar Sharma of WWF India “The new family is a positive sign that tigers are returning in Panna, but our work here is far from over until the cubs reach safely into adulthood.”

Down to zero

In less than a decade, poachers had systematically wiped out every single tiger in Panna Tiger Reserve, which boasted 21 tigers in 1998.

By 2009 reports that Panna had lost all its tigers was making the news and in June last year, the state government of Madhya Pradesh finally admitted there were no tigers left in the reserve.

This raised international concern and galvanized national action. The Indian government immediately put together protective and remedial actions to make Panna a safe haven for tigers once more.

Starting from scratch
Last year, a male tiger from Pench and two females from Bandhavgarh and Kanha Tiger Reserves were translocated to Panna under the expertise of the Wildlife Institute of India. WWF lent technical support to these historic efforts through state-of-the-art radio collars along with remote surveillance systems to monitor the translocated tigers.

The process has not been without incident. A female tiger frequently left the reserve until she marked her territory in the core habitat of the protected area. The lone male travelled over 190 miles until it was captured and brought back to the reserve on December 25, 2009.

Since 2004, WWF has been committed to the long-term support of Panna Tiger Reserve and has worked with the field staff and local communities to strengthen tiger conservation efforts. We are helping educate children from the nomadic Pardi hunting tribe that live around the reserve to ensure that future generations won’t have to rely on illegal activities to earn a livelihood. Pardis are traditional hunters that illegal wildlife traders often use to poach tigers.

“The birth of these cubs shows us that the key rules remain unchanged—first that tigers need undisturbed habitat with enough prey and second, they have to be protected against poaching,” said Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC-India. “With enough protection and the continued commitment of local communities and national bodies, tigers can bounce back even from small populations.”

The new frontier
The success in Panna is vital to tiger conservation as scientists now have initial indications that translocations can work if there is enough prey and protection on the ground.

With wild tiger numbers as lows as 3,200, could this be a viable solution to repopulating tigerlands throughout Asia?

“What we learned from the translocation in India will help inform bold new strategies for tigers in other countries like Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam where wild populations are in peril,” said Dr Barney Long, WWF’s Asian species expert. “The three cubs in Panna are a powerful symbol of what can be done to ensure a future for wild tigers.”

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