UN treaty would protect high seas from over exploitation

By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent

The first significant steps towards legally protecting the high seas are to take place at the UN in New York.

These waters, defined as the open ocean far from coastlines, are threatened by deep-sea mining, over-fishing and the patenting of marine genetic resources.

Over the next two years, government representatives aim to hammer out a binding agreement to protect them against over-exploitation.

But several nations, including the US, are lukewarm towards the proposals.

Experts believe that the oceans of the world are vital for a number of reasons. Scientists say they capture around 90% of the extra heat and about 26% of the excess carbon dioxide created by humans through the burning of fossil fuels and other activities.

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Protection for dolphins and seabirds ‘weaker under Brexit plans’

Michael Gove’s plan does not oblige fishing industry to eliminate bycatch, where boats accidentally net sea species

James Tapper

Sun 22 Jul 2018 06.00 BST

Protection for dolphins and seabirds will be weaker under government plans for Brexit than if Britain stayed in the EU, according to a new analysis by environmental groups.

Under the EU’s Seabird Plan of Action, the fishing industry is obliged to eliminate “bycatch”, where boats accidentally catch seabirds, dolphins and other species. Under laws set out in environment secretary Michael Gove’s white paper on fisheries, they would need only to implement “practical and effective risk-based mitigation”.

An analysis by Greener UK, which represents 13 major organisations including the RSPB and WWF, welcomed ministers’ commitments to sustainable fishing and a pledge to consider fish stocks as a public asset. But it said the details in the white paper fell short of the government’s ambitions.

More than 300,000 whales, dolphins, porpoises and other cetaceans and 300,000 birds die worldwide every year by getting trapped in fishing nets. UK fishing fleets are among the best at avoiding bycatch, which may put them at a competitive disadvantage against those from other member states which do not take the rules as seriously.

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Drought spurs extreme measures to protect West's wild horses

July 23, 2018 by Julian Hattem

Harsh drought conditions in parts of the American West are pushing wild horses to the brink and spurring extreme measures to protect them.

For what they say is the first time, volunteer groups in Arizona and Colorado are hauling thousands of gallons of water and truckloads of food to remote grazing grounds where springs have run dry and vegetation has disappeared.

Federal land managers also have begun emergency roundups in desert areas of Utah and Nevada.

"We've never seen it like this," said Simone Netherlands, president of the Arizona-based Salt River Wild Horse Management Group. In May, dozens of horses were found dead on the edge of a dried-up watering hole in northeastern Arizona.

As spring turned to summer, drought conditions turned from bad to worse, Netherlands said.

Parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico are under the most severe category of drought, though extreme conditions are present from California to Missouri, government analysts say. Parts of the region have witnessed some of the driest conditions on record, amid a cycle of high temperatures and low snowmelt that appears to be getting worse, National Weather Service hydrologist Brian McInerney said.

The dry conditions have fed wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of buildings across the West. This month, a firefighter was killed battling a blaze near California's Yosemite National Park.

The federal Bureau of Land Management—which oversees vast expanses of public land, mostly in the West—says the problem facing wild horses stems from overpopulation aggravated by severe drought. The region is home to roughly 67,000 wild horses.

"You're always going to have drought issues. That's a common thing out on the range," agency spokesman Jason Lutterman said. "What really exacerbates things is when we're already over population, because then you already have resource issues."

The agency's emergency roundup in western Utah began a week ago, aiming to remove roughly 250 wild horses from a population of approximately 670. The operation is expected to take several weeks.

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A long-running research and conservation project is helping save an at-risk species of turtle. Research helps protect loggerhead turtles - via Herp Digest

Date: January 13, 2017

Source: University of Exeter

Work to protect loggerhead turtles in and around Greece has been undertaken for over 30 years by local NGO ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, and as part of the project scientists from the University of Exeter have tagged and tracked hundreds of turtles in the Amvrakikos Gulf.

Loggerheads were officially listed as "endangered" until last year, when the species was given the lower threat level of "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"The situation of loggerheads has improved thanks to concerted conservation efforts, but there's more work to do if we want to see continued improvement," said Dr Alan Rees, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

"Previous studies have generally involved tagging female turtles on nesting beaches, but that method doesn't give us information on males and juveniles.

"For this research we studied turtles in their foraging area and used flipper tagging, satellite tracking and genetics to establish where they had come from and where they go when moving from where we found them.”

The results of the research, published in the journal Marine Biology, show most of the 700 loggerheads observed in the Amvrakikos Gulf came from nesting populations within 125 miles (200km).

But the scientists were surprised when one female travelled ten times as far, swimming well over 1,000 miles -- first to Syria and then to Turkey to breed.

"The thing that baffles me is that they generally migrate in the spring but this turtle moved in the summer," said Dr Rees, who also works for ARCHELON.

"It arrived in Turkey in the autumn, stayed over winter then moved to the nearby breeding area the next year.

"Perhaps it left nine months early to make sure it arrived in time for breeding, which was probably sensible as its original journey took it hundreds of miles out of its way.”

Mediterranean loggerheads, most of which nest in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Libya, are one of ten sub-populations of the species worldwide.

Many loggerheads travel far away from where they hatch, but they return to that area to breed.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Exeter. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1 Alan F. Rees, Carlos Carreras, Annette C. Broderick, Dimitris Margaritoulis, Thomas B. Stringell, Brendan J. Godley. Linking loggerhead locations: using multiple methods to determine the origin of sea turtles in feeding grounds. Marine Biology, 2017; 164 (2) DOI: 10.1007/s00227-016-3055-z

Cite This Page:

University of Exeter. "Research helps protect loggerhead turtles." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170113155445.htm>.

Why Some Countries Don't Want to Do More to Protect Elephants

What to do about the African elephant poaching crisis looms large ahead of next month’s major international wildlife trade meeting.

By Adam Cruise

PUBLISHED AUGUST 24, 2016

That African elephants are in deep trouble has been widely publicized in recent years. They’re being poached at an unsustainable rate, and their numbers have dropped from 600,000 a decade ago to some 400,000 today.

That’s why next month’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is critical. CITES is the treaty signed by 182 countries that regulates wildlife trade across borders. In 1990 CITES banned the international trade in elephant ivory in an attempt to stem poaching, but the slaughter continues unabated.

At the upcoming meeting, known as the Conference of the Parties, or CoP 17, representatives from each member country will get together in Johannesburg to decide how best to manage Africa’s elephants. Two proposals would bring back the ivory trade, while a third would give all of Africa’s elephants the highest level of protection, which would preclude any chance of ivory sales. The battle over these proposals promises to be heated.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s most comprehensive inventory of how well or badly species are doing, the status of the African elephant “varies considerably across the species' range.” The southern African countries of Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana, for instance, have tens of thousands of elephants.

Under CITES, species are assigned to one of three appendices, which strongly reflect the IUCN’s threat levels. Species in Appendix I are most endangered, and their commercial trade is prohibited. For Appendix II and III species, which have lower threat levels, trade is allowed but controlled. The CITES Secretariat agreed to divide Africa’s elephants between Appendix I (generally East, central, and West Africa) and Appendix II (southern Africa).

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U.S. Finalizes Trade Protections for Four Freshwater Turtle Species on World Turtle Day-Unsustainable and illegal trade threatens the future of native turtles (Common snapping turtle, Florida Softshell Turtle, Smooth Softshell Turtle and Spiny Softshell Turtle ) – via Herp Digest

Press Release, May 23, 2018, 

Contact(s): Laury Parramore, 703-358-2541 laury_parrramore@fws.gov

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today celebrates World Turtle Day by addressing the growing threat of unsustainable and illegal trade in native freshwater turtles through a final rule that will bring four native freshwater turtle species under the protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The listing of the common snapping, Florida softshell, smooth softshell and spiny softshell turtles under CITES will require exporters to obtain a permit before shipping turtles overseas, helping the United States better control trade to ensure it is legal. 

“World Turtle Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world and to focus on stopping illegal trade in these species, which are threatened by unsustainable trade and wildlife trafficking. In 2013, we collaborated with international partners to adopt CITES protections for Asian freshwater turtles. Our own native species face the same global demand, so it is critical we protect them under CITES as well,” said Bryan Arroyo, the Service’s Assistant Director of International Affairs. “We will work closely with state wildlife agencies to protect native species and ensure trade is legal and sustainable, particularly for species at greatest risk of over-exploitation.”

Freshwater turtles and tortoises are collected, traded and utilized in overwhelming numbers. The Service supports a strategic, global approach to freshwater turtle conservation, as evidence shows that when protections for freshwater turtles are strengthened in one region, demand in other regions for unprotected species may increase. 

“U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement investigations have documented illegally exported softshell turtles to markets in Asia,” said Ed Grace, the Service’s Deputy Chief of Law Enforcement.  “Listing these species under CITES will help engage our international partners to assist our special agents and wildlife inspectors in the fight against the illegal turtle trade, including investigating the criminals who profit from it.”

Trade in turtles is most common in East Asia, principally in China, with supplier countries feeding well-established legal and illegal trade networks. Turtles are used primarily as food and in traditional medicines, although a growing pet trade across the region and in other parts of the world is increasingly impacting a number of threatened species.

CITES is an international agreement signed by more than 180 governments that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Species are listed under one of three appendices depending on the severity of the threat presented by trade. Listed species may be traded internationally only when accompanied by permits.

The Appendix-III listings of the common snapping turtle and three North American softshell turtles follow the successful sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to CITES, where the United States collaborated with China and Viet Nam to increase protections for a number of Asian freshwater turtles. In total, three native turtle species and 44 species of Asian freshwater turtles received increased CITES protection at CoP16. Increased protections for freshwater turtles will continue to be a priority for the Service at the upcoming CoP17, which will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2016.

For more information on CITES and how it operates, including Appendix-III listings, visit: www.fws.gov/international/cites/how-cites-works.html. 

The final rule will publish in the Federal Register May 24, 2016. The listing will be effective Nov. 21, 2016.

African lions likely to gain enhanced protection status

African lions are set to gain greater international protection this year in the wake of the killing of Cecil by an American dentist in Zimbabwe in 2015.

Tough new US regulations on the importation of lion trophies will come into force on 22 January.

Separately, the global body that governs trade in species also expects moves to enhance the status of lions in 2016.

The number of lions in Africa has declined by half since the 1990s.

Global attention was focused on the plight of the African lion after Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil, who had been lured from Zimbabwe's Hwange national park, last July.

In December, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that lions from central and western Africa would be classified as endangered while those from southern and eastern Africa would be seen as threatened.

The move will make it significantly more difficult to import lion heads, paws or skins from all parts of the continent.

Campaigners welcomed the move and believe it could see the end of "canned" hunting, the practice of rearing lions in captivity who are then shot by hunters who pay huge sums for the privilege.

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Beneficial self-harming: Sea slugs protect themselves by self-cutting

Date:January 4, 2016

Source:Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)

In the seagrass beds of the eastern Pacific Ocean, a strange game of cat and mouse unfolds. The otherworldly, jellyfish-like hooded sea slug, Melibe leonina, sits on a blade of eelgrass and unfurls its tentacled oral hood. It sucks in a small planktonic shrimp, closing its oral hood like a Venus flytrap and propelling the shrimp down its digestive tract.

Unbeknownst to the sea slug, a crab approaches and reaches out a wicked claw to grab one of the many plate-like appendages running along the slug's back. A snap of a claw and the plate comes free -- not torn away by the crab, but rather cut free by the sea slug itself, as it swims away completely unscathed.

This is a scenario studied by University of Victoria developmental biologist Louise Page, who has been fascinated by this process of self-cutting, or autotomy, in the hooded sea slug ever since she was a master's student. A colleague was culturing these odd creatures at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory, and Page was so taken with their unique anatomy and behaviors, studying them became a focus of her career.

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Salamanders living in the state (North Carolina) need better protection – via Herp Digest

The Daily Tar Heel - Op-Ed 11/2/15

North Carolina is home to over 56 different types of salamanders, giving the state one of the most diverse salamander populations in the world. Some of these species live in incredibly small habitats in remote parts of the western part of the state. Sadly, due to deforestation and other anthropogenic causes, populations are on the decline. Some of these species uniquely exist within this state and it is the job of all living within its borders, especially policymakers, to protect these super cool creatures. One such species is the green salamander, which lives in very small pockets in the western part of the state. This species is highly reclusive. The green salamander is about five inches long and can live up to 10 years. It also uses camouflage to blend into its surroundings. It is typically nocturnal, preferring to venture out during the cooler parts of each day to look for food.

Angola signs historic agreement to protect its lions

The African lion has been awarded new protection in Angola with the signing of a significant conservation agreement between the government of Angola and Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation.

Angola’s Minister of the Environment, Fátima Jardim, presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Panthera’s Senior Lion Program Director, Dr Paul Funston, and the Director General of the Angolan Ministry of the Environment’s National Institute of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas, Dr Helidoro Abambres.

Through this agreement, both parties have committed to collaboratively undertake conservation initiatives to map the presence of lions in Angola and assess the size and condition of the country’s existing lion populations.

“This is a huge milestone for the lions of Angola,” says Dr Funston. “The KAZA (Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) region is home to one of Africa’s largest lion populations and is therefore crucial in our work to save the lion.

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Predators might not be dazzled by stripes

Date: August 11, 2015

Source: BioMed Central

Summary: Stripes might not offer protection for animals living in groups, such as zebra, as previously thought, according to research. Humans playing a computer game captured striped targets more easily than uniform grey targets when multiple targets were present. This rebukes assumptions that stripes evolved to make it difficult to capture animals moving in a group.

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How to protect yourself from a shark: Part 1 and Part 2

July 7, 2015

Dundundundun. Fear of sharks, or more accurately the fear of a shark attack, has terrified people throughout the ages.

A millennia or so ago, there wasn’t much available to protect a swimmer from a shark. A couple of options were essentially just talismans: it was believed either pearls or an actual shark’s tooth, worn as an amulet, would protect a diver. Fortunately now we have an array of methods at our disposal, be they physical, chemical, biochemical, camouflage, or electronic.

1. Barriers

For protection of beach-goers, there are a couple of options. The first is the use of drumlines out in deeper water. A float, usually an empty drum (hence “drumline”) is deployed with a baited hook, while the drum is anchored to the sea floor. Drumlines have been used in Australia and Brazil, where shark attacks have been reduced 97%. Drumlines have an advantage in that they target primarily larger sharks that are more dangerous to humans, like bulls, tigers, and great white sharks.

The second barrier is termed “shark netting.” In use in Hong Kong, South Africa, and Australia, these function as the name implies: a long, floating net is deployed around a beach, and anchored against drift. Designed to stop larger sharks, these nets can still let sharks in, as they often float several meters below the surface to avoid entangling motorboats. That said, in New South Wales Australia, there has only been one fatal attack on netted beaches since the program began in 1937; before the program there was an average of one per year. Nets have been criticized for also catching dolphins and whales, but the use of acoustic “pingers” helps deter these mammals, and the nets are removed during whale migration season.

Read more at

How to protect yourself from a shark: Part 2

July 8, 2015

Mark Lee Rollins for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A millennia or so ago, there wasn’t much available to protect a swimmer from a shark. A couple of options were essentially just talismans: it was believed either pearls or an actual shark’s tooth, worn as an amulet, would protect a diver. Fortunately now we have an array of methods at our disposal, be they physical, chemical, biochemical, camouflage, or electronic.

In Part 1, we mention a few ways to help prevent a shark attack including barriers and chemicals. Here are a few more ways to stay safe out there:

3. Biological Deterrents

There are several biochemical repellents that have shown promise during initial testing. Dr. Eugenie Clark, an ichthyologist who came to be known as “Shark Lady,” became the first person to discover a natural shark repellent: a milky secretion from the pores of the Moses sole. Dr. Clark described the effect it had as it stopped predatory fish, including sharks. This substance was called pardaxin, a peptide that paralyzes the mouth and gills of anything exposed to it. Unfortunately, paradaxin only remains effective less than 24 hours at room temperature; if frozen, its effectiveness plummets.

Some marine sponges produce compounds that could deter sharks. Extracts of the Caribbean red sponge (containing halitoxin) were dosed to two captive sharks. One shark began “active body thrashing” in 7 seconds, while the second shark “appeared dead” after 20 minutes. However, both sharks recovered. Halitoxin extracts were tested on blue sharks in the wild, stimulated to feed with baits. The lack of deterrence was presumed to be due to the relatively high effective concentration needed in the open ocean.

Read more at

UK among worst in wildlife league

By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst

20 May 2015 

From the section Science & Environment

The UK is among the worst countries in the EU for protecting its wildlife habitats, says an official report.

Britain, Belgium and Denmark report around 70% of habitats are in unfavourable or bad condition.

Holland registered just 4% of its habitats in good condition; environmentalists say the figures are unacceptable.

The report by the European Environment Agency and the European Commission is based on data from member states.

It says EU laws designed to protect wildlife and habitats appear to be working - but only in a patchy way.

The document, State of Nature 2015, comes after the European President Jean-Claude Juncker has launched a review into the fitness of the wildlife and birds directives.

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Australian government seeks to opt out of protection of five shark species

Oliver Milman

Tuesday 20 January 2015 02.08 GMT

The Australian government has been accused of an unprecedented reversal of its international conservation obligations by seeking to opt out of the protection of five shark species.

The government is submitting a “reservation” against three species of thresher shark and two species of hammerhead shark listed as protected migratory species under the UN-administered convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals.

The five types of shark were among 31 species granted new protection status at a convention summit in November. A record 21 species of shark, ray and sawfish were included, along with polar bears, whales and gazelles.

Although Australia did not object to the listings in November, it is now seeking to opt out of the commitment to cooperate with other countries to ensure the five migratory shark species do not become extinct. The expanded list is due to come into effect on 8 February.

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New protection for endangered jaguars in Nicaragua

The jaguar, American continent’s largest wild cat, has been awarded new protection with the recent signing of a conservation agreement between the government of Nicaragua and Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation.

The Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Panthera’s CEO, Dr Alan Rabinowitz.

Through this agreement, both parties have committed to undertake conservation initiatives to identify jaguar distribution and travel corridors in Nicaragua, allowing for the connection and protection of the species and its habitats.

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Group to sue feds for reptile, amphibian protections - via Herp Digest

By Jim Waymer, USA TODAY, December 10, 2014

A conservation group threatens to sue unless the feds step up reptile and amphibian protections.

The Center for Biological Diversity sent a notice Wednesday to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,threatening to sue within 60 days if the agency failed to move forward to protect 17 rare reptiles and amphibians in the southeast, 11 of them in Florida.

They are among 53 reptiles and amphibians the Arizona-based non-profit group wants the federal government to protect under theEndangered Species Act. And they represent some of America's most imperiled species of toads, salamanders, lizards, turtles and snakes, the group says.

"All these species are facing threats," said Collette Adkins Giese, a biologist and lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Ultimately, if we got these species listed, there would be protection of their habitat."

Prohibitions on collecting the rare reptile and amphibian species for the pet trade also could result, she said.

The group had formally asked the federal government to protect the 53 species in a July 2012 petition — the largest of its kind ever filed focusing only on amphibians and reptiles. The species include seven snakes, six turtles, two toads, four frogs, 10 lizards and 24 salamanders.

But more than two years later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to determine whether the species require more protection.

The 450-page petition details the threats to the 53 species in 45 states. It cites habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species and climate change among the main threats.

Eleven of the species on the list live in Florida, including the alligator snapping turtle, the key ringneck snake and the Florida scrub lizard.

Scientists estimate 25% of the nation's amphibians and reptiles are at risk of extinction, the petition notes. But only 67 of about 1,400 species in America protected under the Endangered Species Act are amphibians or reptiles.

One of the species on the group's petition list, the alligator snapping turtle, once thrived throughout the southeastern United States, including Florida. But recent population surveys show the turtles are now likely extirpated in Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, with declines up to 95% over much their historic range from too much harvest and unchecked habitat degradation. Hunters still look to feed thriving world markets for the exhibition and consumption of the turtles.

"We'll move forward with a lawsuit unless they comply," Adkins Giese said. "We're hoping to get them Endangered Species Act Protection, so they'll be around for all of us to enjoy."

Florida species group wants federally protected

1. Alligator snapping turtle

2. Spotted turtle

3. Apalachicola kingsnake

4. Florida pine snake

5. Key ringneck snake

6. Rim rock crowned snake

7. Short-tailed snake

8. Southern hog-nosed snake

9. Carolina gopher frog

10. Cedar key mole skink

1. Florida scrub lizard

Snapping turtles to get added protection - Herp Digest

 By Kate Elizabeth Queram / Halifax Media Services

Published: Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 05:53 PM

The Federal Fish and Wildlife is proposing additional protective measures for several species of freshwater turtles, including the snapping turtle, which resides in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties. The measures would help monitor the foreign turtle trade, as snapping turtles are frequently exported for use in food, medicine and other commodities.

.In response to population threats from increased demand overseas, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking protective measures for snapping turtles, a freshwater reptile that resides in all 100 counties in North Carolina.

“A number of Asian countries eat a lot of turtles, and use them in medicines and things like that,” said Jeff Hall, a Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “North America in the last couple of decades has been targeted pretty well in terms of harvesting animals from here to be shipped there. Right now we don’t have a lot of good information about how many animals are shipped, but (this change) would allow Fish and Wildlife to track the animal.”

The snapping turtle is one of four that would be protected under the new rules, proposed two weeks ago. The Florida softshell turtle, the smooth softshell turtle and the spiny softshell turtle are also included in the measure. Two sub-species of the spiny softshell turtle reside in North Carolina, in the Piedmont region and the mountains, but none of the others live here.

None of the four are in danger of extinction, but their long-term survival could be threatened if turtle exports continue unchecked. According to the federal agency, 811,717 live snapping turtles were exported from 2009 to 2011, the most recent year that data was available. Exports of snapping turtle meat also increased during that same time period. Those numbers, pulled from U.S. export records, are likely low, as exporters aren’t currently required to declare turtle shipments by species.

“What we’re trying to do is monitor the trade as a way of preventing the species from becoming endangered,” said Bruce Weissgold, an international trade expert with the federal agency.

It’s also not clear how many exported turtles are caught in the wild, which is permitted in most states, including North Carolina.

“If you want to catch more than four snapping turtles, you need a wildlife collection license, which costs $5,” Hall said. “That allows the person to collect as many as 10 per day, up to 100 per year. We have seen an increase in the number of people applying for that license, and in the number of people out there trapping turtles.”

Snapping turtles reside in freshwater and brackish marshes and rivers throughout the state. They’re brown-grey and large, between 10 and 20 inches long, and live the majority of their lives in the water, though they’re occasionally found on land while moving from place to place.

“If you happen upon a snapping turtle on land, it’s because they are moving from one wetland to another, or it’s a female that’s coming to lay her eggs,” Hall said. “Their defense is kind of to turn and face their attacker and gape their mouth. Speed is not their ally when they’re out on land.”

The proposed protective measure would list the turtles in a special appendix under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which aims to protect species vulnerable to over-harvesting through international trade. Once the turtles are listed, trading them internationally requires a permit that specifies that the animal was caught in a way that’s allowable under state law, and that it’s shipped overseas humanely. That process will give federal officials more information about how many wild turtles are being exported each year, which could help manage their populations.

“Beyond collecting data on exports, this listing also allows us to essentially request the help of other CITES parties in monitoring the trade of these species, because customs control is generally done at the importing end,” Weissgold said. “They’ll be more closely scrutinized on the receiving end, which will give us greater confidence that illegal trade is not occurring.”

For more information or to comment on the proposal, visit 1.usa.gov/1sJcrLm. The comments period ends on Dec. 29.

Little-Known Porbeagle Shark May Soon Get Protection (Op-Ed)

Nicole Paquette, The Humane Society of the United States | November 28, 2014 06:29pm 

Nicole Paquette is the vice president of wildlife protection at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Following a recent decision by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the federal government must now reconsider protecting porbeagle sharks in the Northwest Atlantic. According to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), populations of the shark in those waters have declined 90 percent during the last 50 years as a result of commercial fishing.

The court rejected a decision by the NMFS to deny listing those sharks under the Endangered Species Act, a ruling that may led to better protection for these imperiled fish.

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We need better protection of our World Heritage Sites say NGOs

If our World Heritage sites are to remain undisturbed from mining and other extractive activities they urgently need to have better protection measures say conservationists from nine leading NGOs.

World Heritage sites are recognised as areas of outstanding universal value to humanity for their natural or cultural values, and often protect areas of outstanding natural beauty and habitats for endangered species.

Sadly, despite their legally-protected status, many of these sites face serious threats. Mining, infrastructure development, poaching, illegal logging, climate change and agricultural encroachment threaten to damage the habitats and species that make these places so special.

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Environmental groups sue to protect walruses

Six environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service in an attempt to protect the Chukchi Sea Walrus population in Alaska from the damaging effects of oil exploration. 

Alaska Wilderness League, Centre for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands claim that the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s rule that permits oil companies to drill in an area that could cause harm to walruses. 

Preliminary drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC has already taken place in a region that is an important feeding area for the mammals, Hannah Shoal, and they could return next year to continue exploration for oil. 

Hanna Shoal is a 9,500-square mile critical feeding area for the walrus colony, which gather here in ever-larger numbers as sea ice recedes further due to global warming. 

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