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Plastic bags kill up to one million sea creatures every year
"You can't leave the ocean to take care of itself," says a surfer interviewed in the remarkable film "Hawaii: Message in the Waves".
"One of the saddest signs of the times for me is seeing what the dolphins are playing with."
The toys that she is talking about are the detritus of our consumer society; the plastic bags, briefly used, thrown away and now clogging up our oceans.
Across the world more than 13 billion bags are issued every year to shoppers -- that's about 220 per person. On average they are used for 12 minutes before being discarded, but then they remain in the environment for thousands of years.
In Hawaii, due to the action of tides and currents, the bags congregate in the coastal waters, and "Message in the Waves" shows the horrendous consequences of our throwaway culture for the wildlife -- the turtles, sea birds, whales and dolphins tangled up and choking on the trash we throw away.
The world awash with plastic bags
Environment California estimate that plastic bags kill up to one million sea creatures every year, and the British Antarctic Survey have found them floating far north of the Arctic Circle, and as far south as the Falkland Islands.
In June 2006 a United Nations Environmental Program report estimated that there is an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris in every square mile of ocean.
There is an area of the Pacific the size of Texas known as the "trash vortex" or "plastic soup" where gyrating currents hold an estimated six kilos of plastic for every kilo of plankton, according to Greenpeace.
In April 2002 a dead minke whale was washed up on the coast of Normandy, France, with nearly a kilogram of plastic bags in her stomach that she had mistaken for food. The plastic also acts as a chemical sponge absorbing some of the worst pollutants in the sea and increasing its toxicity when swallowed.
"You can't leave the ocean to take care of itself," says a surfer interviewed in the remarkable film "Hawaii: Message in the Waves". ... more -
Dead dolphin found in garden, half a mile from the sea!
Two British men were 'surprised' to find the body of a 3ft dolphin in their back garden.
Gary Harvey, 23, said that he woke up to find "what appeared to be a dolphin", and that a closer look "confirmed it".
It is assumed that the dolphin must have been dumped there: The animal was observed to have "two puncture wounds in its stomach, as if it had been speared." Two British men were 'surprised' to find the body of a 3ft dolphin in their back garden. ... more -
Dolphin Gets Artificial Fin
Fuji the 37 year-old dolphin is the proud owner of the world's first artificial fin.
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Bisphenol A - starts in plastic, ends up in your body
all sorts of disorders and diseases caused by the chemicals in our plastics,
too many to list here.
We have to do something.
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this video is the extra interview to a 12 part series of videos about the Northwest Gyre, a.k.a. Eastern Garbage Patch, a.k.a. Garbage Island. It's a shocking and disugsting look at how we've affected the ocean.
WARNING: you may never want to eat fish again. all sorts of disorders and diseases caused by the chemicals in our plastics, too many to list here. We have to do something. ... more -
Navy v. dolphins: Supreme Court to hear battle over sonar
The Supreme Court will settle a fight that pits Southern California dolphins against the U.S. military.
In a closely watched case involving national security and the natural environment, the court agreed to review restrictions on the Navy's use of sonar off the California coast. The Bush administration contends that the sonar rules, meant to protect marine mammals, hinder military preparedness.
"The chief of naval operations determined ... that those restrictions unacceptably risk naval training, the timely deployment of (naval) strike groups and national security," Acting Solicitor General Gregory Garre said in a legal filing.
The California Coastal Commission and environmental groups worry about sonar's potentially destructive impact in a 120,000-square-nautical-mile training area that extends from Santa Catalina Island in the north to Mexico's Guadalupe Island in the south. A federal judge agreed and imposed the strict rules that the Bush administration now is challenging.
One rule requires the Navy to shut down its sonar when a marine mammal comes within 2,200 yards of a sonar source. Another requires the Navy to reduce sonar power during certain ocean conditions. The active sonar also is banned within 12 miles off the California coast.
"The imposition of these measures is not likely to prevent effective training," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in February, adding that "irreparable harm to marine mammals will almost certainly result should the Navy be permitted to conduct its remaining exercises without appropriate mitigation measures."
The Supreme Court's decision to take up the case, announced Monday, means that at least four justices agreed to review the lower court's decision. That's notably good news for the Bush administration.
The court, dominated by Republican appointees, often defers to the Pentagon's judgment on military matters. The court is also in the habit of overturning the 9th Circuit. The Supreme Court has reversed the 9th Circuit in seven cases and upheld it only once this year, according to statistics compiled by scotusblog.com.
The Supreme Court will settle a fight that pits Southern California dolphins against the U.S. military. ... more -
Save the Dolphins from the "floating graveyard"
In Japan, for six months of every year, thousands of dolphins are hunted and chased into a cove known as the "floating graveyard" near the village of Taiji. Once entrapped in this cove, the dolphins are brutally slaughtered. The water runs red with their blood and their screams fill the air and the surrounding ocean. (...continued in article...) In Japan, for six months of every year, thousands of dolphins are hunted and chased into a cove known as the "floating graveyard" near... more
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Dolphin Mass Suicide?
The dolphins that died after becoming beached in Cornwall had ingested debris and mud, leading one of the scientists who examined some of the corpses to compare their deaths to a "mass suicide". The dolphins that died after becoming beached in Cornwall had ingested debris and mud, leading one of the scientists who examined some... more
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Mercury contamination found in dolphins
Monash University research into heavy metal contaminant levels in dolphins from Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes has revealed high mercury levels may be a contributing factor to dolphin deaths
Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences have confirmed levels of mercury found in the dolphins were within a range considered to cause negative health and mental effects and were higher than mercury levels found in populations around the world.
Supervisory researcher Dr Ross Thompson said the mercury concentrations in 20 live and eight dolphins which died after becoming stranded, collected over the last two years, were measured by Honours student Alissa Monk. Levels in the dead dolphins averaged 3.45 milligrams of mercury per kilogram of tissue compared to 1.32 mg/kg in living dolphins.
"Mercury levels detected are sufficient to cause significant health impacts and were comparable to those found in areas of the world that are considered highly polluted, including the Mediterranean Sea," Dr Thompson said.
Mercury has been shown in previous national studies to bioaccumulate in dolphins, but this is the first study to find particularly high levels in stranded animals in coastal Victoria. Bioaccumulation is the food chain process whereby smaller fish containing mercury are eaten by larger mercury contaminated fish, which are then consumed by dolphins, who can consume up to ten kilograms of fish a day. Mercury levels found in fish were considered low (<0.5 mg/kg) and were fine for human consumption.
"Dolphins may be becoming stranded as a direct consequence of mercury contamination which damages their neurological system. They become potentially confused and disorientated, and strand themselves. Even the apparently healthy dolphins had high levels of mercury which put them at risk of future health complications," Dr Thompson said.
Monash University research into heavy metal contaminant levels in dolphins from Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes has revealed ... more -
Pacific Ocean dolphin populations improving
The numbers of Northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are increasing after being severely depleted because of accidental death in the tuna purse-seine fishery between 1960 and 1990, according to biologists from NOAA's Fisheries Service.
Between 1960 and 1990, the northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphin populations dropped to 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of their pre-fishery levels when dolphins were caught and died in tuna purse-seine nets. Since the early 1990s, however, the number of reported dolphin deaths has been very low because of severe restrictions on the fishery.
Researchers emphasize the need to continue to monitor dolphin populations at sea through comprehensive ecosystem research cruises, and to conduct an updated dolphin stock assessment that will include not only these most recent abundance estimates, but also additional information on dolphin life history, fishery mortality, and the ecosystem. This assessment will enable a more definitive interpretation of whether these abundance estimates indicate Eastern Tropical Pacific dolphins are recovering and the degree to which the fishery and other factors affect the conservation of these stocks.
Today's report stems from a series of research cruises conducted since 1986. It presents new estimates of abundance for 10 dolphin stocks for each survey year between 1986 and 2006. The numbers of Northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are increasing after b... more -
Sharky, Seaworld's beloved dolphin, dies in freak accident
An investigation was under way at a theme park in Florida yesterday after a captive dolphin was injured fatally while performing an aerial stunt for tourists.
Sharky suffered head injuries when she collided mid-air with a younger dolphin as they jumped and flipped in front of visitors at Discovery Cove in Orlando. She died soon afterwards... An investigation was under way at a theme park in Florida yesterday after a captive dolphin was injured fatally while performing an ae... more -
Activist filmmakers and surfers bring issue to forefront!
This is a clip from a HD shoot I was on last November. The feature length project will be released sometime this fall. You can visit http://www.opsociety.org for more info on the project. This is a clip from a HD shoot I was on last November. The feature length project will be released sometime this fall. You can visit ... more
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Dolphin harassment lands pair in court
Two men who swam in the sea with a dolphin after a night out have been found guilty of harassing the animal on the south coast of England.
Dover magistrates heard Michael Jukes, 27, and Daniel Buck, 26, had "touched and stroked Dave The Dolphin", which had become something of a tourist attraction, and were busted for I crime I didn't know existed: "intentionally or recklessly disturbing a wild animal".
And as if that ordeal wasn't bad enough, it appears Dave was actually a female all along.
He-She is gonna get a complex if this continues.
Two men who swam in the sea with a dolphin after a night out have been found guilty of harassing the animal on the south coast of Engl... more -
Dangerous Tuna
Wish your tuna was just a little bit more extreme? Try Dangerous Tuna!
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Where do YOU stand on Whaling?!?
The image displayed is the Nantucket flag. But I'm confused, I thought "we" realized the brutality of whaling decades ago.
I can say nothing other than this video infuriates me to no end. I cannot believe that this sort of practice carries on.
Check out http://www.seashepherd.org/ to learn more. The image displayed is the Nantucket flag. But I'm confused, I thought "we" realized the brutality of whaling decades ago. ... more -
If Dolphins Play And Talk Like Humans, Should They Have Rights Like Us Too?
By Nicole
It seems dolphins not only enjoy making bubbles as much as human children (see video), but they also have a "word" that's equivalent to the gleeful sound humans make while at play.
Liz Hawkins, a scientist from the Whale Research Centre at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia, spent three years listening in to dolphin gossip. Her team recorded 1,647 whistles from 51 different pods in Byron Bay, New South Wales. By comparing the frequency and duration of these whistles she identified 186 distinct types, with a subgroup of 20 being most the commonly used "words" in the dolphins' vocabulary.
As the dolphins rode the wave created by the team's boat, they would make a flat-toned whistle, which Hawkins believes is similar in meaning to a child on a slide shouting "wheeee." Hawkins thinks another whistle commonly made by lonesome dolphins could mean "I'm here, where is everyone?'"
"This communication is highly complex and it is contextual, so in a sense it could be termed a language," says Hawkins in an interview with New Scientist magazine.
If dolphins, along with other highly sentient animals, are capable of such complex human-like communication, many scientists are now arguing that we should extend human-like rights to such creatures. Though this may ultimately lead to more controversy as we argue about which species these rights are extended to, it is becoming increasingly clear that humans no longer have the monopoly on what we perceive as humanity.
http://www.dailymantra.com
By Nicole ... more -
Whale Watching In San Ignacio
Apart from the weather this trip was amazing and well worth seeing. We got to whales and dolphins. It is amazing to think that that whale is only baby. I have more footage of this and i will try and get it to you Apart from the weather this trip was amazing and well worth seeing. We got to whales and dolphins. It is amazing to think that that wh... more
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What should you do when you see a new animal you've never seen before?
Beat it to death, of course! Or at least that's apparently the thinking in Bangladesh where fisherman beat an endangered Ganges River dolphin to death. After the men were unable to sell the dolphin as a rare fish, they either dumped it in front of a museum or took it to a visitor center (same thing?) where it is being prepared for display ("this is what a bruised dolphin looks like, kids!" huh?!). There are fewer than 5,000 of the mammals left, and there are bound to be fewer than that if everyone who's never seen the rare creature before decides to bash it to death... Beat it to death, of course! Or at least that's apparently the thinking in Bangladesh where fisherman beat an endangered Ganges River... more
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Dolphin Zen
Now, with bubbles. I especially like the infinity bubble at :50. How they do that????
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Dolphins invent the wheel
Whats more adorable than dolphins playing with rings of air? The answer? Nothing!
"Dolphins have been observed to create bubble rings by exhaling air... More» carefully in the middle of the vortices caused by the motion of their fins through the water, among other techniques. Besides being nice to look at (and a neat demonstration of fluid mechanics), this phenomenon also might throw some light on dolphin cognition, since the skill to create the rings is a bit subtle and tends to be taught from one dolphin to the next via careful observation and practice. I'm also intrigued by the report that they seem to be using sonar to locate the vortex in the water, since that would be a fairly amazing bit of audio analysis."
Maybe Douglas Adams was right about these guys all along. Whats more adorable than dolphins playing with rings of air? The answer? Nothing! ... more
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