Shell’s US Arctic drilling will harass thousands of whales and seals
Rose Hackman in New York
Exploratory drilling, seismic testing and ice-breaking activities threaten to expose whales to damaging sounds, and ‘a deaf whale is a dead whale’.
Royal Dutch Shell’s plans for exploratory drilling in the US Arctic this summer will involve the harassment of whales and seals by the thousands, an application ( www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/i… ) document filed by Shell to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reveals.
Most notably, Shell estimates its Arctic ( www.theguardian.com/world/arct… ) activities will expose more than 2,500 bowhead whales, more than 2,500 gray whales and more than 50,000 ringed seals to continuous sounds and pulsed sounds, deemed damaging enough to constitute harassment …
The Guardian – Friday 5 June 2015 17.46 BST
www.theguardian.com/world/2015…
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Population of Maui’s dolphins slips below 50
Rebecca Kessler
Maui’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) are edging closer to extinction. Strikingly marked, with a dark, rounded dorsal fin that has been likened to a Mickey Mouse ear, the dolphins max out at just four and a half feet long.
A pair of new papers highlight the dolphins’ plight and present data showing their population has reached a new low, with fewer than 47 individuals remaining alive. The papers were presented at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) Scientific Committee in San Diego, which ended earlier this week …
Mongabay.com – June 05, 2015
news.mongabay.com/2015/0605-ke…
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Can Sea Shepherd survive its own success?
Caty Enders
With a new $12m ship on the way and the Japanese whaling fleet on the retreat, the conservation organization is having a banner year – provided the Whale Wars stars can navigate a rising tide of multimillion-dollar lawsuits.
In 2010, the world watched a $3m eco-action boat called the Ady Gil sink off Antarctica after being run through by a Japanese whaling ship. In many ways, it was a moment that defined the last five years for Sea Shepherd, the vigilante conservation group to which the trimaran belonged. With the sinking came renewed public support for their mission to do anything necessary to stop whaling.
The collision is likely to make headlines again this summer, as three separate multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ( SSCS – www.theguardian.com/world/sea-… ) come to a head …
The Guardian – Friday 5 June 2015 14.46 BST
www.theguardian.com/environmen…
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Published by „the fellbeißer“© (June 05, 2015)
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