Scientists estimate 1,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises drown every day after becoming tangled in fishing nets and other fishing gear, however... in reality, the figures are probably at least 10 times that amount. MarineConnection.orgNASA.gov
An estimated 50,000 critically endangered sea turtles are caught each year as "by-catch". Panda.org article
Turtle Excluder Device's reduce the unwanted "by-catch", that is "normally", killed and tossed overboard, in quantities routinely estimated to be anywhere between 2 and 10 times greater than the "wanted catch". NOAA.GOV OceanConservancy.org
Turn the Tide, and make a positive impact on the environment. Aqua.org
Dolphins use different areas for resting, socializing, feeding, and protection
from predators.When approaching or observing dolphins from a boat, use
slow speeds.The recommended distance is 50 yards and time limit is a half
hour.
If the dolphins are traveling, steer your boat on a parallel course to
the side of the group and avoid being directly in front of, or behind them.
When dolphins are relatively stationary, idle your engine in neutral.Always
maintain a distance of at least 50 yards.
If dolphins approach your vessel while you are at speed, maintain your
speed and course.The dolphins may be catching a free ride in your bow or
stern wake. Intentionally trying to repeatedly initiate this riding behavior
is considered a form of harassment that can disrupt essential resting,
feeding or nursing behaviors, and may result in the dolphins leaving the
immediate area.
Dolphins also may approach idle boats, or fishing piers out of curiosity
or looking for an easy meal. Some dolphins have learned to strip off fish
from hooks or beg for handouts. Bring in your fishing lines if dolphins
approach and do not attempt to reach out and touch dolphins.
Intentionally entering the water to swim with dolphins in the wild is not
recommended, as this activity has the potential to significantly disrupt
the animals’ natural behaviors.
Feeding dolphins is especially dangerous and illegal. Begging dolphins
will bite and seriously injure people when food is not forthcoming. Feeding
brings dolphins closer to boats where they can, and have been, struck by
boat propellers.
Be aware that attempting to swim with, pet, touch or elicit a reaction
from dolphins has the potential to harm or disrupt their behavioral patterns.
Such activities are therefore considered “harassment” as defined by the
Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Scientists estimate 1,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises drown every day after becoming tangled in fishing nets and other fishing gear, however... in reality, the figures are probably at least 10 times that amount. MarineConnection.org
An estimated 50,000 critically endangered sea turtles are caught each year
as "by-catch". Panda.org article
Turtle Excluder Device's reduce the unwanted "by-catch", that is "normally", killed and tossed overboard, in quantities routinely estimated to be anywhere between 2 and 10 times greater than the "wanted catch". NOAA.GOV
Turn the Tide, and make a positive impact on the environment. Aqua.org
Scientists find substance linked to diseases in dolphins
BY JIM WAYMER
FLORIDA TODAY
Scientists have discovered chemicals used to fireproof plastics and products in the blood and blubber of bottlenose dolphin in the Indian River Lagoon.
They don't yet know for certain how the chemicals got there, but they suspect they could be playing a role in the new diseases, such as herpes, that are attacking the marine mammals.
"The data suggests at this point that these flame retardants suppress a part of the immune system that makes antibodies," said Greg Bossart, one of the researchers who made the discovery.
"There's a potential of opening up these animals to a Pandora's box of diseases."
Bossart and his colleagues found flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs in tests of dolphin in the lagoon and in Charleston Harbor, S.C.
They measured mean levels of total PBDEs in lagoon dolphin at about 1,500 parts per billion in fat tissue, more than three times the highest levels found in humans, 500 parts per billion.
A small Green Sea Turtle was found along a
rock wall near the Dive In dive center in Key
Largo, completely covered with thick, black
oil. The baby turtle was rescued, using
mayonnaise (which dissolves the oil without
harming the turtle)
www.TurtleHospital.org
CO2 is now absorbed into the Oceans, causing acidification and potentially toppling food chain domino #1, the plankton.
Ocean "acidification" occurs when chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, sulfur, or nitrogen mix with seawater, a process which lowers the pH and reduces the storage of carbon.
Ocean acidification hampers the ability of marine organisms—such as sea urchins, corals, and certain types of plankton—to harness calcium carbonate for making hard outer shells or "exoskeletons." These organisms provide essential food and habitat to other species, so their demise could affect entire ocean ecosystems.
Earth's rivers polluted with cancinogenic chemicals
Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:11pm EDT
www.reuters.com
PARIS (Reuters) - Rivers in eastern and northern France found to be contaminated with chemicals that have been outlawed since 1987 and are proving very hard to eliminate, the government reported on Wednesday.
The River "Rhone" which runs through the southeastern corner of France (scientists said) contained dangerous levels of polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCB / PCBs ).
The latest report said additional rivers were in an even worse condition because of industrial dumping dating back decades, including the River Seine which runs through Paris.
"It's a huge clean-up job," Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the secretary of state for ecology, told a news conference. Other big rivers in Europe are affected by the same problem, she said.
PCB's were used primarily as a cooling and insulating fluid for electricity transformers and capacitors. It has been banned in France since 1987 after research showed it could cause fertility, growth and cancer in humans.
Kosciusko-Morizet said PCB had been very heavily used in industry since the 1930s and France was suffering the consequences of long-standing pollution.
"Cleaning it up is far from easy. It's very complicated because there are huge amounts of sediment." She said it would be technically and economically impossible to clean up the whole Rhone River... (... what about the Ocean?)
Here is the PCB problem
.... connecting the dots .....
with plastic pollution....
=============-------..-------===============
( text_insert )
"Alguita, the oceanic research vessel from Algalita, just came back from one of its research expeditions in the Pacific Gyre, an area of the Pacific Ocean otherwise known as the Garbage Patch. They collected samples on the surface of the ocean and found evidence of record high concentrations of small plastic particles.
Birds and fish eat the plastic because it mimics the food they eat, zooplankton. Research data from the Algalita Foundation shows plastic particles outnumber zooplankton 6 to 1. Especially concerning is the fact that the plastic pieces can attract and hold hydrophobic elements like PCB and DDT at up to one million times background levels. As a result, this floating plastic is a "poison pill".
... so... the "easy" solution would simply be to get industry to stop
dumping millions of tons of toxins into the rivers/oceans....
( ... going back 50 years or so... )
... then just get the entire world to stop using plastic 'once',
and tossing it into the garbage/oceans....
... that will probably be about as easy as
oh... maybe stopping the use of fossil fuels...
then we can get back to work on that little global warming "issue".... :-)
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