U.S. backs international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna

Via the Washington Post:

The U.S. government announced Wednesday that it supports prohibiting international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a move that could lead to the most sweeping trade restrictions ever imposed on the highly prized fish.

The Obama administration's decision to back Monaco's proposal "could be a real game changer for the species," said Susan Lieberman, director of international policy at the Pew Environment Group. "Other governments can either join Monaco and the United States in boldly supporting the conservation of bluefin tuna, sharks and other marine species, or they can yield to commercial fishing interests that focus more on short-term profits than a sustainable future for both fish and local fishing communities."

Read the entire story here.
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House NRC Subcommittee On Insular Affairs, Oceans And Wildlife Legislative Hearing On H.R. 3511 And H.R. 4493

House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife
Legislative Hearing on H.R. 3511 and H.R. 4493

Thursday, February 25, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.

Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building

LIVE WEBCAST

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

* H.R. 3511 (Sablan): To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish and operate a visitor facility to fulfill the purposes of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, and for other purposes. "Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Visitor Facility Authorization Act of 2009"

* H.R. 4493(Bordallo): To provide for the enhancement of visitor services, fish and wildlife research, and marine and coastal resource management on Guam related to the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, and for other purposes. "Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Enhancement Act of 2010"

Further details at The House Natural Resources Committee web page.


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Senate EPW “Joint Hearing on the Legislative Approaches to Protecting, Preserving, and Restoring Great Water Bodies.”

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Full Committee and Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife Joint Hearing entitled, "“Joint Hearing on the Legislative Approaches to Protecting, Preserving, and Restoring Great Water Bodies.”
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
09:30 AM EST
EPW Hearing Room - 406 Dirksen

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, will convene a joint hearing to examine legislative approaches to protecting, preserving, and restoring great water bodies. The Committee will hear expert views on legislation to help restore Lake Tahoe, S. 2724 the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, and to restore the Puget Sound, S. 2739 the Puget Sound Recovery Act. It also will look at legislative approaches Congress might take to facilitate the restoration of three other treasured waters: the Long Island Sound, the Columbia River Basin and the Great Lakes. Each of these vast water bodies is special and iconic, yet each is threatened by degraded water quality.

See more details at The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works web page.

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USCG Publishes Loran-C Termination

Wow. The end of an era. I remember wrestling with the Loran-A receivers, keeping the oscilloscope waves aligned and manually ticking off the microseconds on the way to the wreck. Automated Loran-C seemed like black magic... now it's gone
USCG Publishes Loran-C Termination

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will post a notice in the Federal Register tomorrow (February 7) [sic] certifying that termination of the Loran-C signal will not adversely affect the safety of maritime navigation and that decommission will begin on February 8 with all Loran stations expected to cease transmitting the Loran-C signal by October 1, 2010.
And here is the rest of it.

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Ilya last sighted in the Kill Van Kull

NJ.com is reporting a manatee sighting in the Kill Van Kull offshore of Bayone NJ.
Fearing chilly end for manatee seen in Kill Van Kull

Animal rescuers fear for the welfare of a sea cow that was last reported in the Kill Van Kull near the Atlas Yacht Club in Bayonne on Monday, several hundred miles north of its native Florida waters, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

Read the story at NJ.com
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Hope fades for missing manatee

Via NJ.com:
N.J. wildlife officials worry for Ilya, the missing manatee

LINDEN -- The manatee that took refuge in a creek outside a Linden oil refinery last week disappeared in stormy weather Friday afternoon. Now an expert who had hoped to return the sea cow to Florida fears the worst.

Read the entire story at NJ.com
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Havre de Grace manatee in trouble

Ilya, the manatee that was spotted off the coast of Havre de Grace this past July is reportedly in trouble in New Jersey, trapped by cold water after traveling as far north as Cape Cod this past summer. According to the Associated Press, he was spotted on Friday, "huddling near an outfall pipe at an oil refinery in Linden, the only place he could find warm water." Bad weather is hampering rescue attempts and would be rescuers have now lost track of his whereabouts.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A rescue attempt is being planned for Ilya, a Florida manatee stuck near an oil refinery in New Jersey where plunging temperatures and a lack of food are endangering his life.

The gentle sea cow has been known to marine scientists for 10 years as he made his way up and down the East Coast. He has recently been spotted in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland.

Read the AP story at Fox News
More details via the Miami Herald
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