Tag: life onboard

Says Greenpeace Greenpeace says that new Government guidelines for seismic oil exploration will fail to protect New Zealand marine life.The Government's Code of Conduct for minimising impacts of seismic testing were announced late this afternoon.Seismic testing is known to cause harm to whales and dolphins. The acoustic noise from seismic testing can injure or kill marine life when in close proximity. The sound can be detected up to 3000 kilometres away. Seismic testing also has an impact on marine migration, feeding, communication and reproduction.Greenpeace New Zealand Political Advisor Nathan Argent said it was likely seismic testing would continue in ecologically sensitive areas regardless of the Government's guidelines."Greenpeace has deep reservations about the effectiveness of the Code of Conduct as it's a voluntary scheme. In other countries such as the UK and Australia, they are mandatory," he said.Under the Code there are no requirements to conduct environmental impact assessments or to inform local communities before exploration work starts. Despite the known effects that seismic testing can have on whale, dolphin and fish populations, there are no provisions to establish liability or to levy fines.The Government has proposed that the Code be incorporated under the proposed EEZ Bill, which has been widely ...

Tropical plankton invade Arctic waters

BP Oil Spill May Have Contributed To High Mortality Rate

First seabed sonar to measure marine energy effect on environment and wildlife

Coral Triangle Reefs Threatened At Rate Above Global Average

Additional Research Needed, Particularly on Subsurface and Arctic Applications The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on oil dispersants. It found that progress has been made regarding dispersants, but that additional research is necessary, particularly on subsurface and Arctic applications. It also recommends that interagency coordination be improved.On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire onboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, releasing approximately 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf over a period of nearly 3 months. When an oil spill occurs in coastal waters of the United States, responders have several options for managing the environmental impacts of the spill, including the use of chemical dispersants. Dispersants do not reduce the total amount of oil entering the environment;rather, they help break down oil into small droplets that can more easily mix into the water below the surface, increasing biodegradation rates and potentially decreasing the impact of spilled oil on the shoreline. However, because chemical dispersants promote the movement of oil below the surface, their use exposes the underwater environment and the ocean floor to more of the spilled oil, where it may also ...

New stdy shows that there may be cause for optimism The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill temporarily worsened existing human-made problems in Louisiana's salt marshes such as erosion, but there may be cause for optimism, according to a new study.A study appearing online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found the 2010 spill killed off salt marsh plants 15 to 30 feet from the shoreline and this plant die off resulted in a more-than-doubled rate of erosion along the marsh edge and subsequent permanent marsh habitat loss. Vegetation farther from shore was relatively untouched by the incoming oil."Louisiana is already losing about a football field worth of wetlands every hour, and that was before the spill," said Brian Silliman, a University of Florida biologist and lead author of the study. "When grasses die from heavy oiling, their roots, that hold the marsh sediment together, also often die. By killing grasses on the marsh shoreline, the spill pushed erosion rates on the marsh edge to more than double what they were before. Because Louisiana was already experiencing significant erosive marsh loss due to the channelization of the Mississippi, this is a big example of how multiple human stressors ...

AUSREP - Changes to come into effect on July 1st The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a notice announcing changes to the Australian Ship Reporting System (AUSREP). The changes incorporate the Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology into AUSREP and come into effect on 1 JulyThe purpose of this Marine Notice is to tell mariners about changes to the Australian Ship Reporting System (AUSREP) established by Marine Order 63(AUSREP) (MO 63) to take effect on 1 July 2012.AUSREPAUSREP is a ship reporting system designed to contribute to safety of life at sea and is operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) through the Australian Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) in Canberra. Consistent with Australia's obligations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), MO 63 provides a system for the reporting of the movement, or intended movement, of ships within the Australian ship reporting area (AUSREP area).Amendments to AUSREP AMSA is in transition from AUSREP to a Modernised Australian Ship Tracking and Reporting System (MASTREP) through Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology, which automates ships' positional reporting, increasing the timeliness and accuracy of data, covering a much larger area and numberof ships operating within the Australian ...

Animation video from Pew Environment Group and the Zoological Society of London

To protect ocean life, with limits placed on fishing and oil and gas exploration off the coast Australia announced plans to create the world's largest network of marine parks to protect ocean life, with limits placed on fishing and oil and gas exploration off the coast.The new reserves would cover 3.1 million square kilometres or more than one-third of Australian waters, taking in significant breeding and feeding grounds.The announcement, after years of planning and consultation, came ahead of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development next week in Brazil, which Environment Minister Tony Burke and Prime Minister Julia Gillard will attend."It's time for the world to turn a corner on protection of our oceans," Burke said in the lead-up to the conference, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit that declared the environment a priority."And Australia today is leading that next step." he added."This new network of marine reserves will help ensure that Australia's diverse marine environment, and the life it supports, remain healthy, productive and resilient for future generations."The network will boost the number of reserves from 27 to 60, expanding protection of creatures such as the blue whale, green turtle, critically endangered populations of grey nurse sharks, ...