Cocktail Ice Tsunami Anyone?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Far be it for us to suggest how you should get your Margarita ice these days, but may we suggest that getting it from this particular pit stop is hazardous to your health. In fact someone should put up a sign or something:

"Danger Cocktail Ice Is Closer Than You Think"

At least that's the sign we would erect here.

Hat Tip Deep Sea News.


 


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Oceana calls for freeze of unmanaged shark catches

Oceana today echoed management recommendations from scientists of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), who have called for caution in Atlantic fisheries for shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus).

The ICCAT stock assessment report, released today, recommends that fishing for this species should not be permitted to increase until its status is more reliably known in the north and south Atlantic Ocean.

“The message from ICCAT scientists is clear,” stated Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana Europe. “Given the high uncertainty surrounding the current status of Atlantic shortfin mako, and the fact that its biology makes it very vulnerable to overfishing, fisheries should not place any further pressure on this species until the potential impacts can be assessed. It is now up to nations fishing in the Atlantic to follow the scientific advice.”


The shortfin mako is a large (up to 4 m), highly migratory shark which is considered Vulnerable in the Atlantic Ocean. Valued for its meat and fins, it is primarily threatened by overfishing. In 2010, countries within ICCAT reported catching nearly 6 500 000 kg of this species, roughly equivalent to 103 000 shortfin mako sharks.

Mediterranean countries within the Barcelona Convention, the majority of which are also members of ICCAT, have already granted the highest level of protection to this species in the Mediterranean Sea.
Oceana is calling for the adoption of management measures for shortfin mako sharks at the November ICCAT meeting in Agadir, Morocco.

Source: OCEANA

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Sea Shepherd, Paul Watson, and Direct Action on Trial

Paul Watson has fled Germany.

So much for the vaunted Sea Shepherd mantra, "we will do anything for wildlife."

That quote is part of Sea Shepherds media machine or as the rest of the hard working conservation world knows it, the "Donor Dollar Sucking Machine."

Why did Paul Watson flee Germany?

He was about to be arrested, deported, and sent for trial in Latin America. It's part of the world of Direct Action, a conservation policy that says it is o.k to harass and ram vessels and interfere directly with wildlife harvests anywhere in the world - irregardless of treaties, fisheries policies, and or the personal health and well being of the participants on either side of the wildlife issue.

We're all for it, "if" it has long lasting results, like stopping a slaughter completely...and forever.

Unfortunately Direct Action is a failed policy because it stops nothing, from seal harvests, to Bluefin tuna, to whales. One might think that 30 years is enough time to gather a consensus on any policy failed or not.

Direct Action does create great Reality Television moments like this one for Season One of Whale Wars where Paul Watson faked being shot in the chest. It also sucks conservation dollars out of the atmosphere like an out-of-control and cartoonish Hoover vacuum.

And that's the problem with Direct Action. Donor money that could be used by forward thinking conservation entities who have boots on the ground and great conservation programs that actually save wildlife being sucked away by a constant, high profile, and unrelenting Direct Action Buffonery lead by Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson.

30 long years, and now when the chips are finally down for Watson, when it looks like he will have to face some measure of legal reality for his failed conservation policy...he slips away under cover of darkness.

The lawsuit, the extradition, the ensuing media surrounding Paul Watson's trial in Latin America was to be a public airing of Direct Action as a policy by conservationists the world over.

Sadly, because Paul Watson is ultimately a coward who would rather invent death defying moments at sea vis-a-vis his faked assassination moment, we will never get to see Direct Action on trial.

Instead prepare yourself for another 30 years of invented Direct Action moments that fail completely, save for the flow of money leaving the rest of the conservation sphere and into more inventive media moments brought to you by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Run, Paul, Run.

More here.