National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chief, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, speaks with the Associated Press in Boston Monday, July 20, 2009, after she delivered the keynote address at Coastal Zone 2009, an annual conference of coastal zone scientists, managers, state officials and coastal non-government groups. New pressures being put on the nation’s ocean waters, including wind turbines and fish farming, are sparking conflicts with more traditional activities and show the need for better planning.BOSTON — New pressures on the nation’s oceans, from wind turbines to fish farms, are increasingly sparking conflicts with more traditional activities such as shipping and recreational boating and show the need for better planning, the head of the agency overseeing federal ocean research services said Monday.
More planning urged for ocean use
The Associated Press
BOSTON – New pressures on the nation’s oceans, from wind turbines to fish farms, are increasingly sparking conflicts with more traditional activities such as shipping and recreational boating and show the need for better planning, the head of the agency overseeing federal ocean research services said Monday.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said the nation should take cues from Massachusetts.
It has become the first state to create a comprehensive planning map for its ocean waters.
Chasing the wind
By Beth Daley
Globe Staff / July 20, 2009
Aesthetic concerns have stalled the Cape Wind project, which would erect 130 turbines 5 to 13 miles from Cape Cod and Nantucket. But technological advances in recent years are allowing developers elsewhere to consider building wind turbines farther from shore, where they would be less visible.
Last month, the US Department of the Interior granted the nation’s first ocean leases for exploring the feasibility of large wind farms, with most of the sites 12 to 18 miles off New Jersey and Delaware. New York power companies are exploring the possibility of a vast wind farm 13 miles off the Rockaways. And a 120-turbine farm has been proposed 48 miles off New Bedford.
British journalists arrested while documenting seal hunt
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Two journalists were convicted of entering a protected marine area without a permit in Namibia while filming the clubbing of seals, the Washington Post has learnt.
After appearing in a magistrates court in the coastal town of Swakopmund, they were given the choice of 12 months in jail or fine of 10,000 Namibian dollars each – about $1,200, along with a six-month suspended sentence, said Nomibian police spokesman Angula Amulungu.
According to the Washington Post, their employer, the British investigative agency Ecostorm, has agreed to pay the fine, said spokesman Andrew Wasley.
Cellphones and anonymous tips as tools for community-based MPA enforcement
(From MPA News Vo. 11, No. 1 July-August 2009, with figures added)
In the Philippine province of Bohol, enforcement of the dozens of community-based MPAs there is a challenge. The small MPAs are scattered and distant from enforcement centers, and enforcement manpower is too limited to have staff on site at all times. With incidents of violence by illegal fishers and even corruption by some enforcement staff, few community members have been willing to participate actively in reporting MPA violations.