By Rebecca Bowe

Jan. 7 (GNT) — Industrial fishing in all US waters north of the Bering Strait is banned until further notice, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council ruled in a unanimous vote on Feb. 5. The precautionary measure aims to protect Arctic marine ecosystems, which are in a precarious position due to the destabilizing effects of global climate change.

Walrus are among the key species threatened by lose of sea ice. Commercial fishing in the Arctic could further effect walrus populations. Photo courtesy of US FWS.

Spanning some 200,000 square miles north of Alaska, the protected area encompasses US waters of the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea. Since commercial fishing has never existed in this region, which is frozen for much of the year, the ban signifies a rare move to preserve uncharted territory before industry moves in, rather than after the fact.

“The cumulative effect of commercial fishing and shipping, as well as open-ended oil and gas development, could be devastating to this highly fragile system if not done correctly,” said Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group. “Rarely are we given a chance to put an area’s value as an ecosystem ahead of its commercial potential. Too often we get it wrong by depleting resources first and then backpedaling to return a place to its former grandeur.”

Global climate change has caused the Arctic to warm twice as fast as the rest of the planet, resulting in an unprecedented 40 percent loss of summer sea-ice cover. To commercial fishing interests, the suddenly ice-free waters present a new economic opportunity, especially with northward migrations of fish populations suited for warmer waters. But opening the gates to commercial fishing couldn’t come at a worse time, scientists argue, as the effects of climate change are already crippling fragile Arctic ecosystems.

For marine mammals such as polar bears, walrus and ice seals, the shrinking platforms of sea ice translate to a loss of critical habitat. Scientists and policy makers fear that commercial fishing could put food pressure on these already troubled species. The disappearance of these key species could, in turn, disrupt the entire food chain, leaving more species vulnerable. According to a letter to the NPFMC drafted by a team of marine scientists, “Recent sea ice losses threaten to fundamentally transform marine food webs in the Arctic.”

Nor are marine creatures the only ones who would be affected by expansion of commercial fishing into the Arctic. Subsistence fishing is central to the economy and culture of indigenous communities living along Alaska’s northern coast, and commercial fishing in the region could devastate traditional fishing areas.

Conservation organizations, including Audubon Alaska, Oceana, the Ocean Conservancy and the Pew Environment Group applauded the Council’s move to protect the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

“Today’s decision signals a new day in the Arctic, where science comes first and where we think about the consequences of our actions before we take them,” said Janis Searles Jones, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy. “This proactive decision by the Council removes one source of additional stress, giving the Arctic, its peoples and animals a better chance to adapt to the changes.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to approve the Arctic commercial-fishing ban and issue final regulations to protect the Arctic later this year. However, because the ban was approved in part because of a lack of in-depth information about Arctic marine fish stocks and potential ecosystem effects, it could be lifted at some point in the future if new information is produced showing a viable way to conduct commercial fishing there.

Meanwhile, the 200,000 miles under U.S. control represents just a small portion of Arctic waters. So far, no other nations have taken such preventative steps to protect marine life from overexploitation in light of the debilitating effects of climate change.

Some species found in the Arctic, including the polar bear, bowhead whale and spectacled eider (a kind of sea bird) are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

According to a report issued for the United Nations-led World Summit on Sustainable Development, 75 percent of the major marine fish stocks are either depleted, overexploited or being fished at their biological limit.

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The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin collides with the stern of the Japanese whaling vessel the Yushin Maru No. 2 on Jan. 5. The collision was one of two in the past two days involving the Steve Irwin and a Japanese whaling vessel. Nobody was injured in either collision. Photo courtesy of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

By Shawn Gaynor

Feb. 6 (GNT) — Japanese whaling vessels and a conservation group ship have collided for the second time in two days as diplomatic efforts to end Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters leave all sides unhappy.

At 6:00 p.m. local time Feb. 6, the Steve Irwin, a Dutch registered ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and the Yushin Maru No. 3, a Japanese harpoon boat, collided in the rough waters of the Rose Sea.

The Yushin Maru No. 3 and another Japanese harpoon boat, the Yushin Maru No.1, were attempting to pass by the Steve Irwin to transfer their cargo of whales to the Japanese factory ship the Nisshin Maru when the collision took place.

The Steve Irwin had been blocking access to the Nisshin Maru and attempting to prevent the transfer of whales between harpoon boats and the factory ship in an effort to frustrate Japanese whaling operations.

The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research, which oversees Japanese whaling, characterized the collision as an attack by the Sea Shepherds. But the Sea Shepherds claimed it was the Japanese ships that instigated the collision, and said they were unable to avoid the Yushin Maru No. 3.

The Steve Irwin’s Captain, Paul Watson, said that disorientation caused by the LRAD acoustic weapons that the whalers were using on the conservationists contributed to the collision.

“I was dazed by the sonic blasts being used on us at close range,” said Captain Watson. “I have to admit it was difficult to concentrate with that device being focused on us.”

The Sea Shepherds first claimed the Japanese use of the military-grade sound weapon several days ago, and Japanese officials have admitted to the use of a sound device.

“I’ve never felt anything quite like it,” said Emily Hunter from Toronto, Canada. “It penetrates the body and you can feel your muscles vibrating. It made me dizzy and left me somewhat dazed.”

The Japanese fleet reported the stern of the Yushin Maru No. 3 was lightly damaged in the collision, while the Sea Shepherds reported the Steve Irwin suffered no noticeable damage. There were no injuries on either ship.

The collision was the second in as many days. On Jan. 5, the Steve Irwin collided with the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru No. 2.

“We were in the process of blocking the transfer from the Yushin Maru No.2 when the Yushin Maru No. 1 moved directly in front of the bow to block us,” said Captain Watson. “I could not turn to starboard without hitting the Yushin Maru No. 1. I tried to back down but the movement of the Yushin Maru No. 2 made the collision unavoidable.”

Hunting whales was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission after evidence that the world’s largest mammals were being driven towards extinction.

Japan continues to hunt whales every year under the guise of scientific research, but the nearly 1,000 whales that Japan hopes to harvest this year are destined to be sold as meat to Japanese consumers.

Conservationists insist the Japanese hunt is illegal both due to the commercial result of the “scientific whaling program” and because the annual hunt takes place in an internationally designated whale sanctuary.

IWC Chairman William Hogarth proposed a compromise agreement on Feb. 2 that would either phase out Japan’s annual Southern Ocean whale hunt over the next five years in exchange for opening whaling in Japanese waters, or would allow the “scientific whaling” program in the Southern Ocean to continue under IWC, not Japanese, annual limitations.

Conservation groups have stood together in saying the deal is too lenient on Japanese whalers.

Perhaps the most polite response from conservationist came from Dr. Susan Lieberman, director of WWF International’s Species Program who stated, “World Wildlife Fund is glad to see the IWC taking steps toward ending the deadlock on commercial whaling, and to ending commercial whaling under the guise of science once and for all, but these compromise packages give too much to the whalers and not enough to whale conservation.”

“What is needed is a plan to put an immediate halt to all scientific whaling, which simply has no place in the 21st Century,” added Lieberman.

Most conservation groups commenting on the issue have been afraid that the plan would open the door to renewed commercial whaling by allowing the Japanese to whale commercially in their own waters.

The Japanese have also been cold on the plan. On Feb. 3 Japan’s Fisheries Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, ruled out any compromise that terminated what he called Japan’s scientific whaling in the Antarctic and North Pacific.

“We cannot accept a proposal that would end our research whaling program,” he said.

In the meantime, the Sea Shepherds and the Japanese whaling fleet play out their tense chase across the Rose Sea.

“I wish we did not have to be down here in this dangerous situation,” said Watson. “Because international law is not being enforced, we have no choice but to do what we can with the resources available to us to defend these endangered whales.”

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By Shawn Gaynor

Three glass frogs of the Nymphargus, Cochranella and Centrolene genera are among the 60 species of amphibians identified by scientists during a three-week expedition in Colombia. Photo by Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

Feb. 3 (GNT) — A team of scientists exploring Columbia’s Darien region announced the discovery of ten new amphibian species today.

The expedition, a three-week long project in this remote region near the Panama boarder, was undertaken by Conservation International as part of its Rapid Assessment Program, and was aided by the local indigenous Emberá community of Eyakera.

The newly recorded species include three glass frogs of the Nymphargus, Cochranella and Centrolene genus; three poison dart frogs of the Dendrobatidae family (Colostethus, Ranitomeya and Anomaloglossus genera), one harlequin frog of the Atelopus genus, two species of rain frogs of the Pristimantis genera and one salamander of the Bolitoglossa genus.

Two species of rain frogs (Pristimantis genus) potentially new to science were discovered in an expedition in the hills of Tacarcuna, a mountainous area of the Darien in the border limit of Colombia with Panama. Photo Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

Salamander (Bolitoglossa taylori) potentially new to science discovered in Colombia. The country is home to over 754 species of amphibians-one of the highest in the world. Photo by Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

According to Conservation International, Columbia is one of the worlds most biologically diverse countries in the world, with one of every 10 species of animals and plants found there.

“This region is a true Noah’s Ark. The high number of new amphibian species found is a sign of hope, even with the serious threat of extinction that this animal group faces in many other regions of the country and the world,” said Jose Vicente Rodriguez-Mahecha, Scientific Director of Conservation International-Colombia.

In reaction to the new discoveries, Colombia’s Minister of Environment Juan Lozano said, “Without a doubt this discovery represents a great milestone for science and human health.”

Worldwide amphibians have suffered declining numbers, due to their sensitivity to pollution. With porous, absorbent skin, they are particularly sensitive to acid rain, heavy metals, and agricultural chemicals.

Too little is known about the new species to label them as endangered or threatened, however the Darien region is undergoing rapid changes as this relatively pristine area faces expanded logging, mining, and cattle ranching. Between ¼ and 1/3 of the area is threatened by deforestation.

Over the last five years, Columbia has been participating in a Debt-for-nature swap. In return for strengthening its protection of critical habitat, Columbia receives some relief from its debt to the US.

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