Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Take action - Thank Gov. Crist and FWC for postponing manatee downlisting






The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) had planned to downlist manatees from “Endangered” to “Threatened” on Florida’s Imperiled Species List. Ocean Conservancy and its partners have been fighting to prevent the manatee downlisting since it was first proposed by local fishing groups. At issue is way Florida defines the terms “threatened” and “endangered” -- the classification system is based on listing/delisting rule language that is flawed and has been criticized by environmental groups and scientists worldwide.

Following a request by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the FWC voted recently to postpone the decision to reclassify manatees. Calling the manatee one of Florida’s beloved natural resources, Governor Crist issued a letter on September 10th to Rodney Barreto, Chair of the FWC, asking the Commission to postpone the vote on whether to downlist the species. "I believe a more prudent course of action at this time would be to postpone consideration of the proposed change in the status of this species,” Crist said in his letter. Chairman Barreto and the rest of the Commissioners honored this request and voted to postpone a decision.

View the full text of Governor Crist’s letter (pdf).



Ocean Conservancy applauds Governor Crist, Commission Chairman Barreto, and the Commissioners for their action. Please contact Governor Crist and Chairman Barreto and thank them for postponing the dowlisitng of Florida’s manatees. In addition, ask them to use the extra time granted to take another critical look at the classification system and address the concerns repeatedly expressed by the environmental community. Get a summary of the state downlisting issue (PDF).

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Jessica Koelsch
Marine Wildlife Manager
Ocean Conservancy




As announced at the August, 2007 meeting, I am stepping down as Chapter Chair of the Sebastian Inlet Chapter. There are other board positions open. Elections for new board members will be held during the October 11, 2007 meeting being held at the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame and Museum at 7:30 p.m.

A generally accepted practice for Surfrider is to have interested activists self-nominate themselves for board positions (in lieu of the alternative practice of having one person nominate another).

The board positions are Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Event Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator.

If you are interested in any of these positions, please email me at sebastianinlet@surfrider.org, and call me at 321.779.0279 to confirm that your nomination has been received.

If you know of someone who may be interested, and they may have not received this email, please pass the information along.

Thank you.



Rick Hayes
Chapter Chairman
Surfrider Foundation
Sebastian Inlet Chapter
surfridersi@yahoo.com
321.779.0279 h
321.652.2024 c

What's the State of Your Beach?





The Surfrider Foundation's 2007 State of the Beach report has been released! You can read this comprehensive and informative report on the health of our beaches at http://www.surfrider.org/stateofthebeach.

Although the core audience for this report is coastal managers across the US, the State of the Beach report also empowers concerned beach users like you by providing detailed information to take action on behalf of your coast.
The report evaluates the status of 9 Beach Health Indicators: beach access, surf zone water quality, erosion data, erosion response, beach fill, shoreline structures, beach ecology, surfing areas and website for 25 coastal states and territories.

The featured indicator this year is surf zone water quality. Water quality at our beaches continues to be impaired by both non-point source pollution and episodic sewer spills threatening the health of beach goers, surfers and ocean wildlife.

The sections of each state report provide numerous links to easily access additional information, data and reports produced by state agencies, academic institutions and other organizations.

You can also view bonus State of the Beach report sections including:
The Bad and the Rad - factoids highlighting information on what's wrong and what's right along our coasts.


Perspectives - articles by Surfrider foundation staff, activists and other environmentalists regarding the state of our beaches and coastal waters.


Our Beach Manifesto - Surfrider Foundation's goals for coastal conditions and coastal management policy.


Please take a look at the State of the Beach report. If you would like a printed executive summary of this report, have questions or would like to give us feedback, feel free to contact us at stateofthebeach@surfrider.org.





The award-winning film Sharkwater is coming to a theatre near you at a pivotal time for shark conservation. Sharkwater chronicles shark finning off Central America and enlightens audiences as to the plight of these misunderstood animals. At the same time, government proposals to conserve sharks off Florida and end shark finning in U.S. Atlantic waters need public support. Please take action before October 11 to endorse proposed restrictions to stop overfishing and waste of these vulnerable species.



The Problem

As revealed in Sharkwater, sharks are in serious peril from overfishing. Species off Florida have been sought for decades for sport and for their valuable parts. Shark fins are particularly valuable for use in an expensive Asian soup. Disparity between meat and fin value creates an incentive for “finning”—the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea. Sharks generally grow slowly and are especially susceptible to depletion while restrictions on shark fishing have been lax. As a result, populations of many Atlantic sharks, including the sandbar shark, have declined seriously and need decades to recover. Some species, like the porbeagle shark, are already considered at risk for extinction. Many depleted shark species are still subject to targeted fishing. The U.S. has banned shark finning, but the measure relies on a complicated fin-to-body weight ratio that is hard to enforce.

The Solution

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently proposed a number of improvements to Atlantic shark fisheries management, including an end to targeted fishing of depleted sandbar sharks and protection for porbeagles. NMFS has also proposed prohibiting removal of shark fins at sea which would greatly improve compliance with the finning ban and enhance collection of catch data. Together, these measures can help rebuild Atlantic sharks and position the U.S. to champion similar shark conservation measures internationally.

The shark proposals face strong industry opposition and support from the concerned public is key to their success. Please take action before October 11 by sending a letter of support for these measures to the NMFS Highly Migratory Species Division to help ensure measures are finalized and these slow-growing species start on the long road to recovery.



Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Sonja Fordham
Shark Conservation Program Director
Ocean Conservancy

Japan Ups Dolphin Kill Quotas-Opposition Grows





Opposition to Dolphin Hunt Grows September 2007


As Japan ups quotas for dolphins in both Taiji and Futo, and expands the slaughterhouse in Taiji, opposition to consuming dolphin meat grows. Two Taiji city councilmen have broken the Japanese code of silence and labeled meat from dolphins "toxic waste" due to its high mercury content. They have demanded dolphin meat be withdrawn from the school lunch program. This is a huge step in generating local opposition to the dolphin hunt.


BlueVoice has long reported that dolphin and whale meat sold in Japan contains both toxic levels of mercury and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs and Dioxins.

Watch our interview with Dr. Tetsuya Endo of Hokkaido University on mercury contamination in dolphins.


Quota Expanded, Hunt Begins Early

The dolphin killers at Taiji began the hunt one month early with special permission from the government. So far they have killed at least 95 dolphins, including 45 Risso's Dolphins, 18 bottlenose and 32 pilot whales. Your contribution will put our team in the field documenting the slaughter, raising international protest and bringing facts about contamination to the Japanese people.
Dolphins awaiting slaughter - Photo by Nigel Barker

Your support is crucial. Please donate now.


Japan Dolphin Day

September 25 has been designated a day to focus protest on the dolphin kill in Japan. Please call or write or fax or personally visit the Japanese embassy or consulate nearest you demanding an end to this atrocity.

Japanese Embassy, Washington DC : Phone 202-238-6700

For a list of Japanese Embassies in other locations, click here

Mothers' Milk Contaminated by Pollutants

Overwhelming evidence mounts that whale and dolphin meat is not safe to eat. A recent study by Japanese scientists shows that Japanese women who eat large quantities of fish have high levels of PCBs (a carcinogen and estrogen imitator) in the milk they feed their babies. WHALES AND DOLPHINS ARE NOT FOOD.


Two Girls for Every Boy Born to Inuit Mothers in Arctic Who Eat Marine Mammals

Coastal Inuits are at particular risk of ingesting contaminants because they eat seals, dolphins and whales. Pollution concentrates in the blubber of marine mammals, part of the traditional Inuit diet.

By publicizing these facts we hope to shut down demand for dolphin meat in Japan and thus the incentive for hunting dolphins. We will publish a fact sheet covering this information in Japanese for distribution in Taiji and Futo when we return to Japan next month.

What a tragic irony it is that we have to use this kind of information to stop the killing of dolphins.

Read the Times article


For the dolphins and whales,

Hardy Jones,
Executive Director

Paddle 4 Clean Water at the Cape


Hope to see you there.....
September 23rd - Our Annual Paddle for Clean Water, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. This is your chance to join other watermen and women who love the ocean. We will be paddling out past the jetty to form a circle of friendship, joining to protest against those who pollute our coastline. Surfers, bodyboarders, paddle boarders, kayakers, rafters, boaters, fishermen, beachgoers all can join us. To encourage more attendees, Cocoa Beach Kayaking (784-4545) and Space Coast Kayaking (784-2452) have both offered the use of some of their kayaks for free. Just be sure to call them to reserve your space. Healthy snacks and drinks will be provided for paddlers, and t-shirts will be available. (There is a $5 entrance to the park) I need someone to help bring up the 12 boxes of SOBE vitamin water 12 packs that are in Cocoa Beach and also we need some volunteers who can bring just coolers with ice. No word on boats that want to carry protest signs. BTW - have you made your sign yet? We have a few, but your expressions make it colorful.The event this year focuses on curbing cruise ship pollution at the passage of the Beach Protection Act, which at the national level, which insures better monitoring and enforcing of current dumping restrictions. At the state level we will be working to create a stronger version of the Clean Ocean Act. We will also have brochures on how to keep the ocean clean for beachgoers and boaters, explaining how each of us has a part in preventing pollution.
October 11th - Monthly Meeting at the Cocoa Beach Surf Museum (north side of Ron Jons in Cocoa Beach) - 6:30 p.m. (come early for goodies!) This is the big one - elections of new Surfrider officers - Chairman and Secretary. If you want to elect our new leaders, you need to be at this meeting.
If you would like to bring in dish, please feel free to. We'll bring the utensils, cups, and plates. Rick HayesChapter ChairmanSurfrider FoundationSebastian Inlet Chaptersurfridersi@yahoo.com321.779.0279 h321.652.2024 c

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

What if we could see beneath the surface of the ocean?





Look beneath this beautiful ocean scene and you might find cigarettes and cigarette filters, food wrappers and containers, plastic bottles, glass bottles, beverage cans, abandoned fishing line and nets, rope, syringes, and worse — all caused by human carelessness. Help Ocean Conservancy clean up our beaches and waterways. Donate Now.


If we could see beneath the surface of the ocean, I believe no one would ever again carelessly toss trash on the ground, or in the ocean. If they did, they would see that in one form or another, everything we toss ends up in our waterways, and then the ocean.

But we cannot see beneath the ocean’s surface, and humans are the cause of the 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles killed each year due to entanglement in discarded fishing line and nets. Will you please help us reverse this deadly trend?

Ocean Conservancy is cleaning up trash and debris from the world’s beaches and waterways, and we’re also attacking marine debris at its sources. Your contribution today will support our efforts to identify the sources of marine debris, and change the behaviors that cause pollution.



Please send your most generous contribution to Ocean Conservancy today, and support real change, for the better, for our ocean.

For the ocean,


Vikki N. Spruill
President and CEO
Ocean Conservancy

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Protect Historical Lake Worth Public Beach





The Town of Palm Beach is at it again to dredge and fill Kreusler Park and Lake Worth Beach. The Town of Palm Beach is currently seeking a permit from the DEP and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) for the Reach 8 Dredge and Fill Project (from approximately the Par 3 Golf Course in Palm Beach, to about one third mile south of the Lake Worth Pier).



The Palm Beach County Chapter needs your help to stop the project that would ultimately decimate the surfing, fishing, diving, and snorkeling at this beach.

Dont let this happen to this beach...

Please take action by send your comments to the Department of Environmental Protection and the District Legislators.

Every letter is going to count!
TO TAKE ACTION IN THIS ALERT PLEASE GO TO THE
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION ACTION ALERT HOMEPAGE


If you want become more involved in the Lake Worth Campaign please email: news@surfriderpbc.

Stop outdated factories from polluting your seafood




As summer "unofficially" comes to a close, things are heating up in Washington, DC with Congress rolling back into town and Oceana kicking the mercury campaign into gear.

First order of business - stop the use of mercury in outdated chlorine factories. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) recently introduced the Missing Mercury in Manufacturing Monitoring and Mitigation Act (S.1818). The bill would stop outdated chlorine manufacturing plants from using and releasing tons of mercury each year - mercury that once released into the environment can build up in our seafood and end up on our dinner plates. Due to the many pressing issues facing our nation, this bill needs wide support to make it through Congress.

>> Take Action: Ask your Senators to co-sponsor


Take Action Tell a Friend Support Us


Having your Senators co-sponsor this legislation will put their stamp of approval on eliminating thousands of pounds of mercury pollution every year. A small number of outdated chlorine manufacturing plants have managed to stay out of the spotlight and get away with releasing a large amount of mercury pollution. On average, each of these plants releases four times the amount of mercury that the average power plant does.

Oceana has shined a spotlight on these plants with numerous reports about the tons of mercury pollution they release and the numerous benefits to the environment and business of mercury-free technology. Help us get them to switch to mercury-free technology once and for all by asking your Senators to co-sponsor this bill.
For the oceans,
Beth Kemler
Seafood Campaign Organizer
Oceana

PS - If you would like more information about the Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination, check out our website or email me at mercury@oceana.org.
ASK YOUR SENATORS TO CO-SPONSOR!
Urge your senators to co-sponsor Senator Obama's Mercury Bill.

Take Action



THE MERCURY CYCLE
Mercury released to the air from chlorine factories and other sources is deposited on land and water as reactive mercury. This form of mercury can be converted to the more toxic form, methylmercury, by naturally occurring bacteria. Methylmercury then bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains and contaminates the fish we eat.

Learn More >>




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Surfrider Sept. Newsletter




I hope you got to visit us at our tent at the National Kidney Foundation contest over Labor Day Weekend. It was great to see new faces and a few of the crew from the Central Florida chapter. Rick and Debbie were awesome for setting up and breaking down the tent. And once again, the Salick brothers put on an incredible local event to help out a worthy cause.

September 11th - Join your friends and family for an event of sharing memories of those who are gone, but not forgotton. Please come and honor victims of 9/11, military heroes and close friends who are no longer with us. We have so much to be thankful for and many people we should remember with honor, pride, and love. - 6:30 p.m. at Pelican Beach Park, 1525 Hwy A1A in Satellite Beach (from www.2ndlight.com)

September 13th - Come join us at Bunky's in Satellite Beach for our monthly meeting out on the deck. 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., where you can share your views, ideas, and find out how to get involved with our upcoming events.

September 15th - International Coastal Cleanup - Our local chapter is hosting the cleanup location at Howard Futch Park at Paradise Beach, 8 a.m. until Noon. Enjoy the refreshments, glove and bags will also be provided.

September 15th & 16th - Look for our volunteers from around the state at the Surfrider Booth at the Surf Expo at the Orange County Convention Center. Get caught up on what we're doing statewide as "Keepers of the Coast".

September 23rd - Our Annual Paddle for Clean Water, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. This is your chance to join other watermen and women who love the ocean. We will be paddling out past the jetty to form a circle of friendship, joining to protest against those who pollute our coastline. Surfers, bodyboarders, paddle boarders, kayakers, rafters, boaters, fishermen, beachgoers all can join us. To encourage more attendees, Cocoa Beach Kayaking (784-4545) and Space Coast Kayaking (784-2452) have both offered the use of some of their kayaks for free. Just be sure to call them to reserve your space. Healthy snacks and drinks will be provided for paddlers, and t-shirts will be available. (There is a $5 entrance to the park)

The event this year focuses on curbing cruise ship pollution at the passage of the Beach Protection Act, which at the national level, which insures better monitoring and enforcing of current dumping restrictions. At the state level we will be working to create a stronger version of the Clean Ocean Act. We will also have brochures on how to keep the ocean clean for beachgoers and boaters, explaining how each of us has a part in preventing pollution.

October 11th - Monthly Meeting at the Cocoa Beach Surf Museum (north side of Ron Jons in Cocoa Beach) - 6:30 p.m. (come early for goodies!) This is the big one - elections of new Surfrider officers - Chairman and Secretary. If you want to elect our new leaders, you need to be at this meeting.

** Special Thanks to Balsa Bills Surf Shop who organized a beachin' paddleboard contest and raised $470 for our chapter and matched it for the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame. Also the Island Attitude donated $100 for the paddle out, and Alliance Mortgage signed up as a Friend of our chapter. Most importantly, thanks to all the volunteer hours donated by our members who come out to events and meetings. Remember - Tom Neilson will shape one lucky member their dream surfboard. For a chance to win it, just be a Surfrider member and participate - www.surfrider.org/join .

News from the Orlando Sentinel -

Gambling ship to fight pollution
August 21, 2007
CAPE CANAVERAL
Sterling Casino Lines plans to unveil what it calls Florida's first "no pumping, no dumping" gambling ship during a news conference today in Cape Canaveral.

Sterling's Ambassador II, the largest casino boat docked at Port Canaveral, has been equipped with a new wastewater-treatment system that eliminates the discharge of sewage into the ocean, company officials said Monday.

With flushing and treatment capabilities, the Dragonfly System acts like a miniature water-reclamation plant to effectively treat and sterilize wastewater, according to its developers, AJT & Associates Inc. of Cape Canaveral.

In recent years, the cruise industry, which paid hefty fines for illegal dumping during the 1990s and early 2000s, has taken some steps to reduce pollution.

Florida's gaming ships have typically followed the minimum state standards, dumping hundreds of gallons of human waste daily three miles from shore.

"The revolutionary system is the answer to keeping Florida's beaches and waterways environmentally safe by doing away with vessel sewage discharges into the ocean and the ship's need to utilize pump-out stations," Sterling officials said in a statement.

Henry Pierson Curtis, Roger Moore, Robert Perez, Denise-Marie Balona, Laurin Sellers and Susan Jacobson and Rachael Jackson of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
And news from Palm Beach -

Lake Worth abandons plan for ocean outfall

Lake Worth, September 4 - City commissioners unanimously denied a request to hire a lobbyist to negotiate with a state agency for a permit that would allow the city to dump 4 million gallons of reverse osmosis concentrate near a pristine coral reef.


Although the FDEP has not announced its decision on the final permit, Utility Director Samy Faried told commissioners that the permit to use an old 92-foot deep sewage outfall pipe has been denied.


Earlier this year, the FDEP issued a draft permit that, if approved, would have allowed the city to use the sewage outfall pipe that extends about a mile off Lake Worth Beach. But divers, scientists and environmentalists flooded the FDEP with objections. The Lake Worth mayor credits these efforts with saving the Horseshoe Reef.

Palm Beach Post: Lobbyists nixed in Lake Worth


To the many hundreds of you who sent in permit objection emails; pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. Thank you to Dr. Mike Risk and Dr. Tom Goreau who flew to Florida and volunteered their time providing expert testimony before the FDEP and Lake Worth city commissioners.

For the surf,

Greg Gordon

Surfrider Foundation

Sebastian Inlet Chapter

www.surfrider.org/sebastianinlet

321.868.7897

surfrider@cfl.rr.com

Ocean Conservancy Newsletter Fall





Discarded plastic fishing gear and other plastic marine debris kill more than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles each year. These defenseless animals become entangled in the gear and many drown or starve as a result. Help Ocean Conservancy clean up our beaches and waterways. Donate Now.


Dear Shanti,

Even though it’s not officially fall yet, it feels like fall. Kids are back in school. Summer vacations are over. Trees are beginning to let their leaves fall.

Fall for the ocean is different, though. The ocean is constant. Waves still roll, fish still swim, and sadly, plastic and debris still entangles the marine creatures we love best. I’m writing today to ask you to do something about it.

Donate now to help Ocean Conservancy eliminate the causes of marine debris that wrecks our beaches and kills our marine life.

Ocean Conservancy is cleaning up trash and debris from the world’s beaches and waterways, and we’re also attacking marine debris at its sources. Your contribution today will support our efforts to identify the sources of marine debris, and change the behaviors that cause pollution.



Seasons change, and our ocean is changing, too. I have dedicated my professional life to reversing the changes that threaten to turn our ocean into a garbage dump, but I need your support to be successful. Please send your most generous contribution to Ocean Conservancy today, and support real change for our ocean.

For the ocean,


Vikki N. Spruill
President and CEO
Ocean Conservancy


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Coastal Cleanup





Ways to Get Involved


Sign up for the International Coastal Cleanup

Learn about our volunteer programs

Join the Ocean Action Network

International Coastal Cleanup Lead Sponsor

The Coca-Cola Company
Blue Planet Sponsors

Phillip Morris USA

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Ocean Sponsors

Oracle

Bank of America

DOW Chemical Company

Glad
Beach Sponsors

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Endangered Species Chocolate

SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund

Ernest F. Hollings Ocean Awareness Trust Fund/NMSF

MARPAT Foundation

Brunswick Public Foundation
Waterway Sponsors

Alexander & Baldwin Foundation

PMI



August 31, 2007
Dear Shanti,

Calling all volunteers to participate in Ocean Conservancy’s 22nd annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)!
The ICC will be held on Saturday, September 15 across the globe. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers will descend upon beaches, rivers, lakes and streams to remove trash and debris polluting our shorelines and inland waterways. You, too, can be part of this global effort by registering for a Cleanup in your local community at coastalcleanup.org.

Ocean Conservancy establishes international partnership with UNEP
Ocean Conservancy will be partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Seas Programme on the International Coastal Cleanup this year. The ICC provides a vehicle for outreach and education in support of UNEP’s regional marine litter initiative. UNEP has endorsed the ICC as a component of their Marine Litter Initiative within the Regional Seas Programme. As a result, the ICC team is communicating with regional representatives from the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the East Asian Sea and the Caribbean to position the ICC as part of this initiative.

Tutta Bella and Burgerville join the 2007 ICC
Ocean Conservancy will partner with two restaurants, Tutta Bella and Burgerville in Washington and Oregon, on a new in-restaurant marketing promotion of the 2007 ICC. The existing ICC event poster will include the name of the restaurant and its logo along with the Coca-Cola logo, which will personalize the invitation as coming from the local chain. The posters will be displayed at the participating chains to encourage teams from the restaurants to participate in the local cleanups. Tutta Bella (http://www.tuttabella.com/) has several outlets in Seattle that we will tap into and Burgerville (http://www.burgerville.com/html) will add an additional 39 outlets in Oregon and Washington to promote the ICC.

South Skyway Pier Project
Ocean Conservancy has launched a long-term project in Tampa Bay, Florida, to address marine wildlife entanglement. The South Skyway Pier Project is designed to remove entangling marine debris at the South Skyway Fishing Pier, one of the most popular destinations for anglers in Tampa Bay. The first phase of the program involved surveying anglers about their fishing practices, including how they dispose of fishing line and how they interact with the many dolphins that also enjoy fishing at the pier. This first phase also included several weekly monofilament cleanups along the one-and-a-half mile pier. Fishing line was not only collected but cleaned and weighed to provide a baseline to quantify the amount of monofilament debris currently at the pier.

We are now moving into phase two and have recruited volunteers to remove underwater as well as shoreline debris during the International Coastal Cleanup on September 15th. After the Cleanup, we will be posting fishing line recycling bins, signs, and information on “Best Fishing Practices” (for minimizing wildlife interactions), as well as speaking one-on-one with anglers on the pier to prevent or minimize the re-accumulation of monofilament line (and, in turn, minimize future entanglements of marine wildlife).

For more information about this program, please visit: www.oceanconservancy.org/florida-action

The 11th Hour
Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Scientist, Wallace “J” Nichols, will be appearing in Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental documentary film, “The 11th Hour,” to inform the film’s content on the issues of climate change and the ocean. Dr. Nichols joins an esteemed group of thought leaders, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai in the film. “The 11th Hour” documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of ocean habitats are all addressed. “The 11th Hour” opened August 17th in New York and Los Angeles and on August 24th and beyond in cities across the country. For more information on the movie and when it will come to a theater near you, visit www.oceanconservancy.org/11thhour or http://www.11thhouraction.com/.

Thank you for your continued support of Ocean Conservancy and the International Coastal Cleanup.

Sincerely,



Sonya Besteiro
International Coastal Cleanup Manager


================================

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Unique Views into the Dolphin Universe




July 2007



Unique Views into the Dolphin Universe

Twenty-two members of BlueVoice just concluded two trips to the Little Bahama Banks to continue our relationship with a school of spotted dolphins we've known since 1978. This school has been the subject of the recent film "The Dolphin Defender" and other BlueVoice productions.


DOLPHINS SHOW HAMMERHEAD SHARK WHO'S BOSS

During a late afternoon dive we observed four spotted dolphins swimming directly over a massive hammerhead, pinning it to the bottom. The spotters were obviously in control of this huge predator.

For details of this and other astonishing events from the trip read Hardy's blog


San Juan Killer Whale Population Falls

Our friends at the OrcaNetwork in the San Juan Islands report that five members of the beloved resident pods which spend much of the year in the San Juan Islands area failed to return from their wintering grounds. Their deaths are probably due to starvation compounded by PCB contamination. Gone are K28 (Raven), a 12 year-old mother, plus her four month-old calf; L43 (Jellyroll), a 34 year-old mother of three; L71 (Hugo), a 20 year-old male; and K41, a calf first seen in August, 2006.

Can the San Juan Orcas survive being the most contaminated mammals on earth?

BlueVoice is currently engaged in a worldwide study of the relationship between high toxic levels in marine mammals such as these orca and clusters of cancer in humans.

Link Between Ocean Toxins and Human Cancer

Brazilian Fishermen Kill 83 Dolphins and Laugh!

The Brazilian Environmental Protection Agency has obtained undercover video of Brazilian fishermen killing 83 dolphins and joking about their illegal haul.

The video obtained by an undercover researcher and broadcast on national television shows the dolphins, trapped in a net and suffocating because they could not surface to breathe.

As the dolphins were hauled from the sea and piled on the boat's deck, fishermen on board laughed after someone said, "Everyone's going to jail after this filming!" No one has been charged or fined because authorities were still trying to identify the fishermen caught on video.

To urge the Brazilian government to pursue this atrocity vigorously please email:

consular@brasilemb.org; visitbrazil@braziltourism.org



For the dolphins and whales,

Hardy Jones,
Executive Director


A Note From Hardy Jones

BlueVoice needs your financial support. We will soon be returning to Japan to continue our work to end the slaughter of dolphins.

We also need funding to gather information on the correlation between high toxic levels in marine mammals and cancer clusters in human beings. Perhaps revelations of this kind will provide the urgency necessary to halt the mindless dumping of toxic chemicals into the marine environment.

Thank you for your help.

Hardy

Please Donate to support BlueVoice's work.



Experience being amidst a pod of spotted dolphins.

View video - Japan Orca Capture

BlueVoice.org Home Page



Join our mailing list!


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web: http://www.bluevoice.org