Posted by jhocevar on 09/22/2005 3:18 pm

"How can we break the f**king law, when there is no f**king law", the captain of the trawler called Murtosa screamed at us as we sat on the fishing net onboard his ship.

That is exactly our point. As slim as our chances are that we'll be able to protect ocean life under existing regulatory agreements and management regimes, these chances rapidly approach zero when modern day pirates are allowed to exploit loopholes.

Greenpeace has been confronting pirate fishing in the northern Atlantic in recent months, both on the Grand Banks and in the Barents Sea.

In the Barents Sea, a pristine area north of Norway, Greenpeace is working to establish a marine reserve and to protect the world's last healthy cod population. Factory trawlers like the Murtosa are part of a pirate fleet that the Norwegian Coast Guard estimates takes more than 100.000 tons of cod illegally each year in the Barents Sea. Check out this short video of actions taken this week.

Our work on the Grand Banks, an area off the coast of Canada that is one of the most biologically productive in the world, highlighted the failure of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to protect deepwater corals and other fragile habitats from bottom trawling. NAFO is perhaps most infamous for overseeing the collapse of Canada's cod fishery in 1992. To make matters worse, today NAFO is turning a blind eye to pirate fishing vessels that are scooping up what little there is left of the spawning stock that provides the only hope for the fishery's recovery.

Over the next two months, the United Nations General Assembly will be discussing what to do about pirate fishing (known in international law circles as IUU fishing, or fishing that is illegal, unreported and unregulated). Will the UN finally impose a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling? Will they begin the process of creating high seas marine reserves? Will the US do more to protect our oceans than they did at the UN last year?

If we had a few more heros and a few less Neros out there, I'd be a bit more optimistic - but for now, most bureaucrats seem to be happy with their fiddles.

Posted by jhocevar on 09/14/2005 9:10 pm

The Bahamas have long been one of the jewels of the Caribbean. A unique culture, spectacular coral reefs, abundant sharks and sea turtles, and dazzling beaches attract visitors from all over the world. Unfortunately, nothing is forever. The laid back atmosphere and rich biodiversity of the Bahamas may be about to go the way of the dinosaurs. And, as is often the case, local residents have little say in the matter.

The Discovery Land Company, a California-based development corporation, wants to build a golf course on Guana Cay. Discovery appears to pride itself on being a good steward of the land, and embracing the local culture. According to CEO Michael Meldman, "Anyone can build houses, roads and golf courses. All that takes is money. You cannot, however, recreate the natural beauty of the environment with any amount of money. The value is always in the land."

It is difficult to reconcile these words with the fact that Guana Cay residents strongly oppose the development, or that scientists are concerned that building a golf course on the edge of a coral reef would be a disaster. Too often, people get caught up in discussions about industry best practices or mitigation schemes, and lose sight of the fact that some types of development are just not appropriate for all locations. It may be a modern golf course, and it may even be a model golf course - but the reality is that no matter how nicely Discovery dresses this up, it is going to damage the reef and change the character of the island.

What makes this even more tragic is that the Guana Cay development is just one of a thousand similar mistakes taking place all over the Caribbean. Again and again, greed and power politics have trumped the wishes of the majority of people who recognize that unchecked development is jeopardizing the health of coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Globally, one-third of the world’s reefs have already been severely damaged and at least half of them are expected to be gone by 2035. In the Florida Keys, 80% of the living coral has been lost in the last 40 years.

Even slight increases in nutrient levels from sewage or fertilizer runoff can feed algae growth and choke corals, a problem that has been heightened by overfishing of parrotfish and other species that graze on algae. Pesticides have been linked to coral disease. Removal of coastal vegetation combined with the enormous amount of fresh water required to sustain a golf course can change the salinity in nearshore waters. And then there's the problems with dredging, not to mention the waste, erosion, noise, and oil and gas spillage associated with bringing thousands of people and their boats each year to one small area.

Local residents have taken their fight to the Supreme Court, but so far things are not going well. They hope to hear the results of their appeal in the next month or two. In the meantime, construction has already begun. To get the whole story - and to get involved - visit www.saveguanacayreef.com or www.notesfromtheroad.com/WestIndies/bakers_bay_intro.htm.

For another example of how unsustainable development is killing the Bahamas, visit
www.miami.edu/sharklab/news.html.

Posted by jhocevar on 09/09/2005 08:42 am

First, I hope your friends and family are ok.

I just got back from a meeting in Europe, where news coverage toggled between horror at the human suffering caused by Katrina and fingers pointed at President Bush and other architects of the policies that left the residents of the region - human and otherwise - unnecessarily vulnerable. Now that I'm back home in Texas, where we are hosting 250,000 displaced people, it is hard to save much energy for outrage when we are surrounded by so many people with immediate, basic needs. If you can, contribute to relief efforts.

Greenpeace is helping raise money and recruit volunteers. We are also compiling information for the media on the emerging problems associated with oil, gas, and chemical spills.

Meanwhile, industry is taking the opportunity to point out lessons we should learn from this disaster. What lessons, you may ask? Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which feed global warming and brew extreme weather events? Decrease use of toxic chemicals? Improve safety and security around high-risk plants? Abandon dangerous off-shore oil and gas platforms?

No. Industry's answer is that we need to scrap the moratorium on offshore drilling. Yesterday, about 100 corporations and front groups sent a joint letter urging Congress to "reduce the nation's vulnerability to sudden energy shocks by expanding our sources and supplies of energy -- especially in our coastal waters."

[Expletive deleted]!!!

Are they really saying that what we need to do is to take the unacceptable risks that were forced on the people of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama and extend them to the rest of the country?

Unbelievable.

Be safe -

John H