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| Deep sea life can be saved - if the international community acts now |
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20 March 2006 Pioneering deep-sea scientist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence, Sylvia Dr. Earle explained why she believes deep-sea life must be protected from one of the world’s most destructive fishing practices - deep sea bottom trawling. Listen to the interview More |
| "Fishy Sandwich: hold the mustard...gas!" |
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30 November 2005 Campaigners for an immediate UN moratorium on high seas bottom trawl fishing read with growing alarm the article "Decades of dumping chemical arms leave a risky legacy" by John Bull. More |
| Deepwater sharks in extreme decline: ICES recommends zero catch |
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10 November 2005 The slow and steady life strategy of sharks may have served them well for millions of years, but now these fearsome fish are under serious threat from a combination of destructive fishing practices. More |
| The Lophelia reefs of the Minch |
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14 October 2005 In May 2005, scientists from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) set off onboard a Greenpeace ship to explore ancient corals off the coast of Scotland. Find out more about the history of deep sea exploration in the Minch and how scientists explore deep sea corals today, together with the expedition’s research findings in this article by SAMS scientists, Dr. Davies and Dr. Roberts. More |
| Why we shouldn’t eat the dinosaurs of the deep |
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27 September 2005 She holds the depth record for solo diving to 1000 metres. She has lived underwater for two weeks as head of a team of women aquanauts. She has spent a total of over 6,000 hours under water. Today, renowned US oceanographer and environmentalist, Dr. Sylvia Earle is one of over a thousand scientists calling for urgent action to protect the fragile habitats and life of the deep oceans. More |
| Put humanity before technology |
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8 June 2005 "Einstein once said "Our technology has surpassed our humanity". He was talking of nuclear weapons. The high seas bottom trawl fleets that ply the high seas, constrained only by how much they can catch in these largely unregulated waters, come very close to being a weapon of mass destruction for deep-sea life." Read the full text of Greenpeace oceans policy advisor, Karen Sack's impassioned panel presentation to UNICPOLOS on World Oceans Day. More |
| Such a hard case to make? |
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7 June 2005 It isn't, on the face of it, a hard case to make. In fact, it would seem obvious: dragging bottom trawls, complete with giant steel doors and rollers, across the sea bed is bound to be immensely damaging to the deep sea habitat and the species that live there. More |
| Slow-growing deep-water sponges at risk from bottom trawling |
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9 May 2005 Around the world, large deep-water sponge fields are hotspots of biodiversity. Their three-dimensional structure provides highly varied habitats for a wide range of species. But deep-water sponges are being swept up as by-catch, crushed or scarred by bottom trawlers or clogged by the clouds of sediment churned up by their heavy fishing gear. More |
| Potential cancer cures from the deep sea threatened by high seas bottom trawling |
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2 May 2005 A report released by Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), suggests that deep sea life holds major promise for the treatment of human illnesses. But scientists are increasingly concerned that bottom trawling may be destroying medically beneficial species before they are even discovered. More |
| Christmas tree coral discovery |
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10 March 2005 by Dr. Lance E. Morgan, Marine Conservation Biology Institute
New deep sea discoveries are being made all the time. Several new species of black corals have been discovered this year alone, including a new shrub-like black coral that shines like a pink and white Christmas tree. Yet their delicate structures can be removed with one pass of a bottom dragging net and may take decades to recover. More |
| Protecting the deep seas |
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28 February 2005 "For too long, the world acted as if the oceans were somehow a realm apart - as areas owned by noone, free for all, with little need for care or management... What we need is high-level political commitment for marine conservation and protected areas. I assure you that the United Nations system shares your strong devotion to this effort." Kofi Annan. More |
| Coral gardens in the dark depths |
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23 February 2005 Find out why deep-sea corals can be compared to ancient forests, where they live, the creatures they shelter, what they eat, what they look like, and how scientists are studying them in order to understand and predict how they will respond to and recover from disturbances such as deep sea bottom trawling. More |
| High time for The High Seas - the wild, Wild West of the Oceans |
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11 February 2005 When a nuclear powered submarine owned by a leading world power crashes into a huge undersea mountain that didn't appear on any maps, you have to wonder how much we really know about the deep, dark depths of our planet's oceans. Incredibly, there are more maps of the moon than there are of the deep seabed. More |
| Danson, star of the TV series "Cheers" warns of the threat posed by bottom trawlers |
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4 November 2004 "It's 200 feet wide... and weighs over a ton... it destroys everything in its path in an instant... It destroys the shelter and food that fish need. Once their habitat has gone, the fish will also disappear. We must stop this destruction." In his lesser known role as member of the Board of Directors of coalition member Oceana, Ted Danson, a renowned environmental activist, speaks out against bottom trawling. More |
| Sink or swim for the worlds’ last great ecological frontier |
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4 November 2004 “Peering through the thick glass windows of their submersible, the ocean scientists were greeted by a sight no one on Earth had ever seen before... As the crew of the research vessel Alvin stared in wonder, it probably didn't occur to them that this newly discovered biodiversity at the bottom of the ocean might one day need to be protected from people. More |
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