by Editor on January 11, 2010
A dolphin-loving American consumer would have to look awfully hard these days to find a can of tuna that was not technically “dolphin safe.” In fact, less than 2 percent of of all canned tuna sold in the US is caught by chasing and intentionally netting combined groups of yellowfin tuna and dolphins. The bad news is that the main “dolphin-safe” fishing method is responsible for killing a lot of other sea life—as well as at least a few dolphins.
What Exactly Is Safe About it?
BY PAUL GUERNSEY
It has been a habit of mine for years: Whenever I buy a can of tuna in the supermarket, I conscientiously search the label for the “dolphin-safe” logo. Upon locating the emblemized image of the world’s most popular sea mammal and its accompanying handful of reassuring words, I invariably feel a little flash of relief followed by a brief glow of virtue. Then it’s on to the dressing aisle to get that jar of mayonnaise. . . .
Unfortunately, in the wake of some recent research into what the term “dolphin-safe” actually means, my enjoyment of a tuna sandwich—I like mine on rye, with lettuce and sliced Spanish olives—is now surrounded by a great deal more ambiguity than it used to be. This is not because I think the large, multi-national tuna fleet that operates off the western coasts of the Americas is still killing 130,000 dolphins every year the way it did before widespread public horror and a US consumer tuna boycott in the late 1980’s led to sweeping changes in the fishery. By all accounts, it’s not—although some dolphins do continue to suffer unintentional drownings in purse-seine fishing nets.
Rather, most of my reservations now have to do with the “dolphin-safe” part of the tuna industry. And while it is possible that fishermen using “dolphin-safe” methods off the coasts of western North and South America may be under-reporting the number of dolphins they kill—most “dolphin-safe” boats are too small to require observers aboard—it is not even primarily dolphins that I and many other conservationists are concerned about.
What bothers me—and should concern every environmentally conscious US consumer of canned tuna—is the tremendous number of fish, including sharks and other marine species, that are killed and discarded as “by-catch” by fishermen using the most widely employed “dolphin-safe” fishing technique—a collateral-damage problem that, ironically, the still-sizable contingent of non-dolphin-safe fishermen manages for the most part to avoid.
According to an estimate by the Environmental Justice Foundation, each dolphin spared by switching from “non-dolphin-safe” fishing techniques to the most widely employed alternative costs the lives of 25,824 small tuna (these are discarded, not kept and utilized), 27 sharks and rays, 382 mahi mahi (also known as “dolphin fish”), 188 wahoo, 82 yellowtail and other large fish, 1 billfish such as a marlin or sailfish and 1,193 triggerfish and other small fish.
Dr. Martin Hall, principal scientist for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)—the regulatory body that oversees tuna fishing on the American side of the Pacific—offers estimates that, while still horrific, are somewhat lower, most notably, in the number of small tuna inadvertently killed per dolphin spared (15,620) as well as a smaller number of triggerfish and other small fish.
Of special concern to conservationists is the number of sharks caught as by-catch, because many species of these marine predators are under intense fishing pressure worldwide, and an increasing number of them have been appearing on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
US consumers have been purchasing tuna labeled as dolphin-safe since 1990. [click to continue…]
by Editor on December 17, 2009
The Arctic Fox Is One Of Nine Animals the IUCN Says Is Threatened By Global Warming. Photo:USFWS
Global Climate Change Threatens A Host Of Animals Other Than Just Polar Bears
We have mentioned in other places on this site that the the world contains thousands of vulnerable, threatened and endangered species, and that lists of the “most threatened” animals often say as much about the people making the lists as they do about either the listed animals or the specific threats facing them. In other words, the makeup of the list depends on the message that a particular lister is trying to communicate to anyone who might read that list. The personal preferences, and even prejudices, of the lister might also play a role.
That’s not to say, however, that lists are not useful. In the last week, two conservation organizations have stepped forward with lists that they hope will serve to remind people that, while global climate change has been causing some much publicized problems for polar bears, there are a lot of other creatures as well that are likely to suffer because of global warming.
The two lists, not surprisingly, have very different animals on them. The Species and Climate Change list, published last week by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), profiles 9 animals, mostly from the Arctic but also from elsewhere, as well as one plant, in order to illustrate several of the many environmental problems that befall living things when their climate changes. The IUCN, by the way, is the international organization that maintains the complete lists of the world’s thousands of endangered, threatened and vulnerable species.
Meanwhile, the Wilderness Conservation Society last week published its own list of Species Facing the Heat as a way to draw attention to some “unsung” animals that are being threatened by global climate change.
The IUCN List Includes: [click to continue…]
by Editor on December 15, 2009
An Octopus Species Is The First Invertebrate Documented As One Of A Growing Number Of Animals That Use Tools. Photo:Nick Hobgood
Octopus Carries And Uses Coconut-Shell “Armor;” Critically Endangered Gorillas Launch “Weapons” At People
It used to be that we humans believed tool use was one of the main things that separated us from the rest of the animals.
Then the famed chimpanzee researcher Dr. Jane Goodall came along in the 1960’s and documented tool use among chimpanzees: She witnessed chimps modifying tree branches and then poking them into termite mounds in order to harvest a snack of termites.
The shock of Dr. Goodall’s discovery soon faded, however, as humans discussed it and finally concluded that, since chimps are our closest animals relatives and actually quite a bit like us in many ways, tool use among them probably should not have taken us by such surprise. But of course, tool use among any other species would be extremely unlikely . . .
Since then, however, species after species has been revealed by animal behaviorists to be makers and users of tools—and, unlike chimps, some of them are very unlike us. For instance, crows and other birds have been proven to use sticks to manipulate food and other objects in their environment.
Meanwhile, some monkey species as well as all the other species of great apes aside from chimps have shown themselves to be tool users. Orangutans fashion rain hats and build shelters out of leaves, while gorillas have been witnessed using using sticks to test the depth of streams before crossing them. [click to continue…]
by Editor on December 14, 2009
Bat Affected By Fatal Fungal Illness. Photo:USFWS
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) plans to take steps this winter to prevent the spread of white-nose disease, a fatal fungal illness that strikes bats in the their hibernation caves in the eastern US. USFWS thinks people may be unwittingly spreading the illness.
Not To The Bat Cave
The US Fish & Wildlife Services thinks it’s best if people in the eastern US stay out of caves and mines where bats are hibernating this winter. A set of new rules proposed by the federal wildlife agency are not for the protection of people; they’re an attempt to keep thousands more bats from dying of a fast-spreading fatal disease.
A fungal illness called white-nose disease has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the eastern US since it was first discovered in 2006. Bats that have succumbed to the disease include up to one-third of the Northeast’s population of Indiana bats, which are are listed as a US endangered species. White-nose disease is named for its most prominent symptom: A patch of white fungus that appears on the faces of hibernating bats that have been infected. Other symptoms include unusual behavior among the bats, including flying during daylight hours, flying during the winter when they are usually hibernating and when there are no insects available, roosting in the coldest parts of a cave, and excessive grooming.
There is no cure for the disease, and wildlife biologists are seeking ways to prevent it from spreading. Although bats are thought to contract white-nose disease from other bats, scientists are also concerned that the fungus may hitch a ride on humans who travel from an infected bat roost to an uninfected one.
As a precaution, USFWS is proposing to ban human access to many infected bat lairs, and to reduce access to many others.
White-nose disease first appeared in the Northeast, where it has devastated bat populations. It is now affecting bat colonies from New York, Vermont and New Hampshire south to Virginia, and has been spreading further toward the Southeast and to the Midwest.
by Editor on December 9, 2009
An Australian Gecko In Its Native Habitat. Photo:Calistemon
Federal authorities report that they arrested an arriving passenger at Los Angeles International Airport after they discovered that his clothing concealed a money belt in which he had allegedly stuffed 15 lizards from Australia, including two monitor lizards that are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The Smuggling Of Wild Birds And Animals For Sale In The Pet Trade Is A Form Of Poaching
A money belt found around the torso of a California man returning from Australia to the US via Los Angeles International Airport was allegedly packed with lizards from Down Under. According the the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the 15 smuggled reptiles, including 11 skinks, 2 geckos and two monitor lizards have a value of $8,500 in the US pet market.
The two monitor lizards are protected under CITES, the Convention on international Trade in Endangered Species. The other 13 creatures are protected by Australian law, which requires an export license for all native reptiles leaving the country. The suspect, 40 year old Michael Plank, of Lomita, California, allegedly lacked those export licenses.
Plank, whose arrest occurred in late November, could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the felony counts with which he has been charged.
The capture of vulnerable wildlife for sale in the pet trade is a crime every bit as serious as the illegal killing of wild animals for their body parts. In some cases, the illegal pet trade has the potential to push threatened or endangered species closer to the brink of extinction.
Read more about endangered species and the pet trade.
by Editor on December 2, 2009
Newly Discovered Chameleon. Photo: University of York
The conceit that the natural world has already been fully explored is nothing but an illusion. In fact, science is constantly discovering new species of animals in environments ranging from rainforests to deserts. Starting today, All About Wildlife.com will be keeping a running list of new species. We will also run photos of these species if and when they are available to us. To see our frequent updates, just click “New Species” in the navigation bar.
The New Chameleon
Tanzania—specifically the Udzungu Moutains National Park region in that East African country—is home to one of the newest vertebrate species known to science. The new chameleon species, Kinyongia magomberae, the males of which sport a single blade-like horn on their snouts, was first observed by Dr. Andrew Marshall of the University of York in the UK. Dr. Marshall’s first encounter with the chameleon took place when he spotted one unfortunate member of the species in the process of being devoured by a snake. Live specimens were subsequently collected.
Prior to the discovery there were approximately 160 chameleon species worldwide. Now, apparently, there are approximately 161. 12/2/09
A ‘Brand-New’ Monkey
Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society turned up a ‘brand-new’ monkey species in northwestern Brazil earlier this year. The tiny (less than 3/4-pound, or 340-gram) Mura’s saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) was discovered living in the Purus and Madeira river basins in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. The primate is already considered to be under threat by development in its rainforest habitat. 12/2/09
Fearsome Fanged Frog
A large, bird-eating frog with fangs was just one of 163 new species discovered by World Wildlife Fund scientists working in Thailand’s Mekong River region. Males of the new frog species, Limnonectes megastomias, apparently use their fangs for fighting, as the researchers found several apparent combatants that bore scars, and some that were even missing limbs. Scientists know that the species preys on birds, because they found feathers in their feces. Would you like to see a quick slide show of some of these new Southeast Asian species? 12/2/09 [click to continue…]
by Editor on November 19, 2009
Sumatran Tiger. Photo:Merbabu
I t has been politically correct to say that the world’s remaining tigers are being illegally slaughtered so their body parts can be used to make “Asian folk medicines.” But the truth is that China comprises almost the entire market for tiger parts, and the decision concerning whether the tiger goes extinct in the wild rests solely on the Chinese government.
The Tiger’s Story: China Could Be the Hero—Or The Villain—For All Eternity
BY PAUL GUERNSEY
Tigers in the wild are sliding toward becoming extinct within as few as 10 years. But the Chinese government could prevent their extinction almost single-handedly.
As evidence, international tiger conservationist Judy Mills points to the effectiveness—ruthlessness might be a better term—with which the Chinese rescued the giant panda from the brink of extinction. During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, when it became clear that the illegal hunting of pandas and the trafficking of their parts was about to push China’s most emblematic animal off the face of the earth, the country’s government did two things. First, it launched a massive public-education campaign to teach the Chinese people about the importance of the panda, and to make it socially unacceptable to purchase panda products. Secondly, the government cracked down on panda poachers and traffickers—and it cracked down hard. A few people were even executed for panda-connected offenses.
The result was that the illegal killing of pandas was effectively eliminated, leaving critical habitat loss as the panda’s main roadblock to recovery as a species.
“They practice speed-breeding,” Mills said. “The baby tigers are suckled on pigs and dogs so that the mother can be bred again more quickly.”
Mills, who coordinates the International Tiger Coalition, said in an interview with All About Wildlife.com that tigers don’t have the same habitat problems as pandas; in fact, she said, while there are just above 3,000 tigers remaining in the wild throughout all of Asia, there probably exists sufficient, suitable habitat for 20,000 of the animals in India alone.
“There’s plenty of habitat, and they breed like cats,” said Mills, whose group comprises an alliance of 40 organizations dedicated to halting the trafficking of tigers and their parts. “What we need to do is to stop poaching tigers and their prey.” [click to continue…]
