Excellent article in the @mainemorningstar.com about the @golden.house.gov bill to delay #rightwhale protections until 2035 "The Maine Lobstermen’s Association celebrated the bill’s passage." ."..Executive Director Patrice McCarron called it a “major step forward for Maine lobstermen.”" 🐳🌍🦑 1/4

Lobstermen buoyed by US House passage of Golden bill to pause right whale protections until 2035 • Maine Morning Star

The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed a bill to extend the pause on federal lobster rules in a 219-196 vote.  If passed by the Senate, the bill — introduced by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) ...

mainemorningstar.com

This is unfortunate "...American fishermen just want to fish, and they need their government to clear the bureaucratic barriers standing in their way." For #rightwhales "NOAA Fisheries will not mandate the use of ropeless gear." The fishing industry's desires, fulfulled 🐳🌍🦑

Advancing Agency-Level Reforms to Restore American Seafood Competitiveness

NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler announces prioritized agency actions in support of the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.

fisheries.noaa.gov

@birmo.bsky.social demonstrating the importance of changing the frame of environmental discussion "This was not the act of some vengeful god. Look into the truth of this, and you will find names, org charts and KPIs" "It fell because the reckoning is here."

The Reckoning

That imagery of the Himalayan tsunami smashing into the multi-story building in Nepal was horrifying, but then murder always is, isn’t it?

aliensideboob.substack.com

More frightening H5 news - it's now been detected in a dead dolphin in South Australia By @wardagius.bsky.social on @news.abc.net.au h/t @euanritchie.bsky.social 🐳🌍🦑

Breaking: First H5N1 bird flu detection confirmed in Australian dolphin

South Australian authorities confirm the country's first H5N1 bird flu in a common dolphin, which was found dead on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

abc.net.au

Disheartening. Piece by Johnny Sturgeon in @insideclimatenews.org E.g. for ropeless gear & #rightwhales "While NOAA has claimed it will continue to promote and research such gear inventions, it is pushing to make implementation optional for fishermen or even halt the program altogether" 🐳🌍🦑

NOAA’s New Priorities Put Profits Ahead of Marine Protections - Inside Climate News

The agency directed the nation’s regional fisheries councils to scrap certain marine protected areas, remove species from conservation lists and expand commercial fishing operations.

insideclimatenews.org

Interesting article by @joshbernstein.bsky.social & @carmenpaun.bsky.social in @politico.com The charge is *conspiracy* not to keep records, not a charge of *failing* to keep records. This is similar to an issue I raised inside @fisheries.noaa.gov back in November 2017... 1/🧵

Former Fauci aide pleads guilty to dodging federal public records laws

David Morens’ former boss, Anthony Fauci, has said he did not participate in a scheme to hide emails about a controversial researcher’s funding.

politico.com

On #whaling: Intriguing documentary on the Norwegian industry Featuring @jromanvt.bsky.social being wise, as usual. At 49:17, Norwegian whaling explained by Lars Walløe: "a kind of self determination" Made by: the Endangered Species Protection Agency: www.speciesprotection.com 🐳🌍🦑

Watch the film

Whale Wash is an investigative documentary film exploring the modern Norwegian whaling industry and why whaling still exists in the 21st century.

whalewashfilm.com

I've had a new paper published on shipping collisions with North Atlantic #rightwhale, based on analysis of strikes on several whale species. In @esr-ir.bsky.social www.int-res.com/articles/esr... The work was supported by @peer.org TL;DR - huge vessels matter. A lot. 🐳🌍🦑🧪

Fun @nationalgeographic.bsky.social piece by Melissa Hobson on how #rightwhale mums turn upside-down to regulate their calf's nursing. From a paper by Renae van Noort, @katesprogis.bsky.social , Barbara Stewart & Fredrik Christiansen: @uwaoceans.bsky.social & @marinemammalsau.bsky.social 🐳🌍🦑🧪

Scientists finally have an explanation for this weird whale behavior

Mother right whales were captured in a rare video with their bellies up. It could be a sign they need a break.

nationalgeographic.com

A cool fun science story - Southern right whale mums regulate their calves' nursing by lying upside-down. Great work by Renae van Noort, @katesprogis.bsky.social, Barbara Stewart and Fredrik Christiansen from @uwaoceans.bsky.social & @marinemammalsau.bsky.social 🐳🌍🦑🧪 🧵1/2

Energy-conserving behavioural strategies in southern right whale mother-calf pairs during early lactation - Mammalian Biology

As capital breeders, baleen whale mothers fast while on the calving grounds, relying on finite energy reserves to give birth and support the rapid growth of their calves. Whereas maternal size and con...

link.springer.com

Great article in @australia.theguardian.com on shark attacks Includes comments & a photoshoot of @robharcourt.bsky.social Classic quote from @conservbytes.bsky.social on shark nets "They’re an environmental catastrophe and there is no evidence that they reduce the incidence of shark bites" 🐳🌍🦑

Guardian Australia@australia.theguardian.com · 2mo ago

A spate of shark bites has Australian ocean lovers on edge. People want to know why they’re rising

#Whaling in #Iceland resumed Thursday 🐳🌍🦑

Whaling Vessels Return to Sea After Two-Year Pause

ling vessels Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9 departed for hunting grounds at around 10 pm on Thursday, marking the resumption of fin whale hunting after a two-year hiatus. In 2024, then Minister of Food, Agricu...

icelandreview.com

Article by @readfearn.bsky.social & @petrastock.bsky.social in @australia.theguardian.com quote @robharcourt.bsky.social re Tony Abbott on shark culls "Tony Abbott doesn’t understand risk, he does not understand climate change, and he doesn’t understand the science when he calls for a cull" 👏 🌍🦑🧪

Shark expert says Tony Abbott ‘doesn’t understand the science’ after former PM calls for cull

Another expert says drone technology may have prevented shark attack at Coogee beach on Saturday

theguardian.com

Good news Papua New Guinea announces a big no-take #MPA in the Bismark Sea, the Western Manus Marine Protected Area. >200,000 square km, 9% of PNG's EEZ. Almost the size of the UK 🐳🌍🦑

Papua New Guinea announces largest MPA in its history - Oceanographic

Papua New Guinea has announced the Western Manus Marine Protected Area - a no-take zone covering 200,000 km² of the Pacific Ocean.

oceanographicmagazine.com

Nice to see someone who stood up for their principles and lost their job get coverage from @sulliview.bsky.social in @theguardian.com Shame about all the rest of us who aren't famous And Pelley was " able to do what his more vulnerable colleagues cannot"? Solidarity's not a thing anymore ffs

Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · 3mo ago

"Something Weiss apparently doesn’t understand is that a newsroom...is a living organism with a culture all its own. That culture doesn’t function based only on commands from above," writes @sulliview.bsky.social.

Japanese fisheries agency releases this year's Total Allowable Catch for Japanese #whaling from www.jfa.maff.go.jp/e/whale/atta... 🐳🌍🦑

Hey @news.abc.net.au how about conflicts of interest? Dr Hellyer is also "'Director of Strategy at C2 Robotics" from his bio C2 make the Spearfish submarine LUUV: c2robotics.com.au/products/spe... that *according to the ADF* is part of #AUKUS www.defence.gov.au/news-events/...

About Strategic Analysis Australia

Strategic Analysis Australia exists to provide policy insights into national security, defence and international relations challenges.

strategicanalysis.org

ABC News Australia@news.abc.net.au · 3mo ago

The impact of Australia only buying second-hand US submarines under AUKUS

New piece by @catrineinhorn.bsky.social in @nytimes.com on upcoming changes to vessel strike rules for #rightwhales in US waters Tech to the rescue? 2 quick points: 1. Satellite tagging enough whales to make a difference to vessel strikes? Scale problem. Logistics? Cost? 🐳🌍🦑🧪 1/🧵

Could New Tech Help Save Some Very Rare Whales?

nytimes.com

Will Kristján Loftsson's whaling vessels head back whaling this summer? Are they ready for sea? #whaling #Iceland 🐳🌍🦑

Activists Call for Immediate Halt to Whaling in Iceland

An environmental organisation has urged the Icelandic government to suspend whaling operations until the country’s legal obligations are clarified, mbl.is reports. In a letter to the Minister of Indus...

icelandreview.com

Interesting piece by Prof Karen Stockin in @aunz.theconversation.com on the reaction to Timmy the whale's plight. What would be most useful if the empathy shown by so many could be focused on addressing the impact that created his problems in the first place - entanglement in fishing gear 🐳🌍🦑🧪

The Conversation AUNZ@aunz.theconversation.com · 4mo ago

Timmy, the humpback whale repeatedly restranding in shallow waters in the Baltic Sea, has reignited a heated debate about when to intervene and when not to. 👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/whale-s...

Wait until Emma Beddington learns that US military & former military sign off emails with v/r Abbreviation for Very Respectfully Irony, lost? I always responded to v/r with mvh, Norwegian abbreviation for med vennlig hilsen No-one ever asked me what it meant

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 5mo ago

How can you tell if your boss has a big ego? Their email habits are a definite tell | Emma Beddington

Piece in the @sydmorningherald.bsky.social on whales off Sydney, and how to deal with vessel strike. In 2018 when I led @fisheries.noaa.gov Northeast whale team, we won a US Public Sector Innovation Award for taking bleeding edge tech & making it simple to use for mitigating ship strike 🐳🌍🦑🧪 1/🧵

More whales are visiting Sydney out of season. Scientists debate why

The first whales swimming north for the winter have already been spotted off the coast of Sydney, while artificial intelligence is helping reduce one of the marine mammals’ deadliest direct threats.

smh.com.au

Many pieces appearing on the US decision to remove protections for Balaenoptera ricei, the whale endemic to the Gulf of Mexico. All still call it Rice's Whale, the name given it by NOAA scientists. For example, this good piece by @tjwebber.bsky.social Rice's whale? The American whale. 1/🧵 🐳🌍🦑🧪

Things to know about Rice's whale, a rare species at risk from Trump plans for more Gulf drilling

One of the world’s rarest whales, the Rice's whale, is in the way of the Trump administration's desire to expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

apnews.com

Good article in @gardenandgun.com @alaskaraven.bsky.social - “They should all be living this long and calving into their fifties, sixties, and seventies.” "Ghost" has only ever had one entanglement. What really makes her rare is that she doesn't live off the east coast of North America 1/🧵

Ghost the Right Whale Had Her Ninth Calf at Age 50. Why Is She So Rare?

Her longevity hints at a century-long lifespan most of her species will never reach

gardenandgun.com

Intriguing how messages conveyed by the drone strikes on the ports at Duqm and Salalah appear not to have sunk in. Certainly not to the media. Or the commentariat? Just reports, like this one from @reuters.com Now, let's see this post disappear without a trace...

Drone hits fuel tank at Oman's Duqm port

A fuel tank at Oman’s Duqm commercial port ​was hit on Tuesday when the facility came under ‌attack from several unmanned aircraft, the state news agency said, citing a security source, on the fourth ...

reuters.com

This looks bad @fisheries.noaa.gov Amendments to the North Atlantic #RightWhale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule "The goal of this initiative is to reduce unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens on the regulated community by replacing current seasonal speed restrictions with... 🐳🌍🦑🧪 1/2

Amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule

NOAA Fisheries has announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking considering possible deregulatory action to modify the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule.

fisheries.noaa.gov

Good piece by @attackerman.bsky.social in @thenation.com Problems with US JSOC "Special operations must be reconfigured under one that can be trusted to obey the law" At one point the chief of ISR for SOCAFRICA was working for a major #conservation org *while chief of SOCAFRICA ISR* 🌍 1/2

The War on Terror Paved the Way for Trump’s Rise—Now He’s Making It His Own

Only the total abolition of the DHS can restore freedom.

thenation.com

Amusing that in this piece, @rbreich.bsky.social appears to be under the impression that #kristinoem understands what a possessive pronoun is.

Dear Kristi Noem: you’re tracking down ICE critics? I’m one of them | Robert Reich

The homeland security department is reportedly seeking information on critical social media accounts. Look no further

theguardian.com

Interesting piece by @petrastock.bsky.social in @theguardian.com on the slowdown of calving in the Southern #rightwhales at the Head of the Bight, South Australia. From a new scientific paper led by Claire Charlton Open Access link in the article. 🐳🌍🦑🧪

Climate crisis linked to fall in southern right whale birth rates as researchers raise ‘warning signal’

Lead author of Australian study says breeding slowdown is linked to climate-driven changes in ‘magnificent’ whale’s foraging grounds

theguardian.com

As mentioned in the article, the #IWC turned 80 this year. The whaling moratorium turned 40 So, for the first half its existence it was a whalers' club. For the second half it's been driven by the moratorium, which has minimized commercial whaling. What comes next? 🐳🌍🦑

Mongabay@mongabay.com · 7mo ago

The global ban on commercial whaling just turned 40 — widely credited with saving great whales from extinction. Today, the biggest threats aren’t harpoons but fishing gear and ship strikes, which kill 300,000+ whales and dolphins each year.