Everyone is talking about the salmon, but almost no one about the interests of the fish themselves BELLINGHAM, Washington––Thousands of people around the Salish Sea have been talking about the Great Salmon Escape since August 20, 2017, when an estimated 162,000 hatchery-bred Atlantic salmon made a jailbreak from a ruptured sea pen at Cypress Island in […]
Hurricanes: most famous fatality was Molly the dolphin
Molly’s life was microcosm of marine mammal captivity history MARATHON, Florida––Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria killed more than 200-and-counting humans among them, from Barbuda to the southern end of the Coastal Bend region of Texas, but the best-known victim so far was apparently a dolphin, Molly, who was among the oldest dolphins on record. Molly […]
Hurricane Harvey hits hunters & fishers harder than wildlife
Shrimp, sea turtles, “sport fish,” teal & doves all get a break HOUSTON, Texas––As hard as Hurricane Harvey hit humans, pets, livestock, and some of the most vulnerable wildlife along the Gulf Coast of Texas and adjacent part of Louisiana, especially big birds who could not escape from the wind, early damage assessments indicate that […]
Exhibitionist shark-draggers upstaged by “reality TV” star friend
“Look, ma! No decency!” MIAMI, Florida––Long seeking social media notice by posting images of himself and friends torturing animals, Michael Robert Wenzel, 21, of Palmetto, Florida, for a few days appeared to have at last achieved the notoriety he wanted with a video posted on July 24, 2017 showing himself and pals Robert Lee “Bo” […]
Fish Feel––and even Donald Trump once said so
Concern for fish suffering rises worldwide SILVER SPRING, Maryland––Suddenly voices are rising on behalf of fish, including one of the most surprising of all. Yes, that was the voice of U.S. President Donald Trump, rarely known to express concern or compassion for anyone who doesn’t support him, discussing a People for the Ethical Treatment […]
Fishers’ riot may hasten extinction of the vaquita porpoise
Rioters damaged marine law enforcement capacity throughout the Sea of Cortez GOLFO DE SANTA CLARA, Sonora, Mexico––Wall or no wall along the Mexican border, the furious rejection of environmental regulation characterizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s first six weeks in office appears to be shared by some of the violent lawbreakers whom […]
Which are more deadly, balloons or alligators?
Editorial by Merritt Clifton Readers who troll my wife Beth’s personal Facebook page have probably seen a collage image she posted last summer showing me jogging along an embankment littered with alligators, stepping over their heads as I go, trailing a leaky helium balloon behind me. Obviously I didn’t really go hopping past alligators: the […]
“Salmon farming is an environmental disaster”
by John F. Robins, Animal Concern Scotland About thirty years ago an Animal Concern Director and I attended one of the first annual conferences of the Scottish fish farming industry. It was held in a wee hall in Oban and there were perhaps a hundred people attending. A student from University of Stirling gave a […]
Sharkwater maker Rob Stewart, 37, saved five million sharks’ lives
Died after videotaping sharks around wreck of former Canadian flagship KEY WEST, Florida––Sharkwater documentary series filmmaker Rob Stewart, 37, died on January 31, 2017 after his third deep dive of the day to the wreck of the Queen of Nassau, near Alligator Reef off Islamorada, Florida. “Stewart and a small group of divers were […]
When the cats are away, the mice will play––and the rats & rabbits
Purging cats from South Atlantic islands often harms birds more than helps them (Part I of a two-part series. See also What if an island has no cats?) LONDON, U.K.––Fourteen years after declaring victory over feral cats on remote Ascension Island, on behalf of sooty terns, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds […]