Category Archives: ENGO
Are right whales big business for nonprofits?
Forget the green economy, the deep blue economy has it beat by a nautical mile. Ever wonder how much money is spent trying to protect the North Atlantic right whale? Ask any of the non-profit corporations that participate in funding to save them. Here in Maine, at least nine non-profit organizations support right whale conservation efforts, in addition to state agencies and the University of Maine. Nationally, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium shows 47 environmental organizations it identifies as “partners” on its website. Another 37 environmental groups signed a PEW charitable trust letter to Congress last March, critical of what it believed to be too little funding to protect the species. more, >>click to read<< by Jane Carpenter 08:36
The most abhorrent occupation in the world?
Magnus Johnson, a marine scientist at the University of Hull, published this observation on his blog almost a decade ago, as many readers with good memories may recall, but it remains just as pertinent today. It is reprinted here with a new introduction, in which he reflects on how little has changed in the intervening decade. “Almost 10 years ago, I published this article on my blog. (We posted it on May 18, 2013) It was at a time when it felt like fishing was being vilified through a co-ordinated effort by the NGO industry. In recent times I’ve thought ‘here we go again’ as I read complete untruths about North Sea cod being fished to extinction, the theft of the commons by the industrialization of the sea as wind farms march across it, and clamour for generic exclusion of fishers from traditional grounds in Scottish waters by NGOs. >click to read< 08:06
Who is the real Saudi Arabia of Wind? By David Goethel
I read the February 16th article by Teddy Rosenbluth, “New Hampshire is blowing its chance at offshore wind”, from the Concord Monitor, with interest and wished to offer some comment, both to the media covering New Hampshire, and the readers. By way of introduction, I am a research biologist and 54-year fisherman, both recreational and commercial, in the Gulf of Maine. First, I want to publicly thank both Governor Sununu and his energy spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of NH Dept. of Environmental Services, Mark Sanborn for taking a wise stand on collecting biological, ecological, economic and social implications of offshore wind development before leasing vast tracts of the Gulf of Maine. This stand is in marked contrast to other coastal governors and the Biden Administration, as well as European states, which have adopted a stance of build first and study later. >click to read< 20:18
Repeating the agenda “talking points”: Advocates say NH is blowing its chance at offshore wind – The Gulf of Maine, an area with strong and reliably blowing winds, is what Sen. David Watters called the “Saudi Arabia of wind.” >click to read<
National: Legal Petition Seeks Federal Ropeless Rule to Save Whales, Turtles From Fishing Gear
The Center for Biological Diversity formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to require crab, lobster and other trap fisheries to convert to new ropeless or “pop-up” gear within the next five years. The petition requests that the agency prioritize the transition in national marine sanctuaries.,, The proposed change would protect whales and other animals from entanglements in California’s Dungeness crab fishery, New England’s lobster fishery, the stone crab fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, and others. >click to read< 07:17
No Matter How One Connects the ‘Green Energy’ Dots, America Needs Pebble’s Copper
If President Biden sees electric vehicles in everyone’s future, he ironically will have to rely on copper mines to get there. Consider the current bipartisan infrastructure package, a $1.2 trillion mishmash of boondoggles and eco-centric priorities ostensibly designed to alleviate the “climate crisis,”,, If the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package doesn’t grind your gears, the accompanying $3.5 trillion budget bill surely will. This monstrosity includes another laundry list of ‘green energy’ projects and demand. The simple fact is for every one of those projects, priorities, regulations, jobs and traditional energy transition plans, America will need to have copper. And it just so happens that my home state of Alaska has plenty of copper to support those initiatives, if Biden would just move forward with the Pebble Mine Project. By Rick Whitbeck >click to read< 13:54
“Sea Otters To End West Coast Fishing” Huh! fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job?
For decades, Julie Packard has spearheaded a campaign to curtail fishing under the guise of “conservation.” As this campaign has evolved, it has become a tale of precaution. The campaign started as a need to save the sea otter. Did otters really need “saving?” That is entirely debatable, and was, extensively. The result was clearly non-scientific and summarized as a “choice” between fishing or sea otters. Friends Of The Sea Otter shill Steve Schmeck was quoted saying fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job.” The California urchin divers took issue and were represented by Pacific Legal Foundation in litigation. USFWS cited inability to manage the otter population. The result was USFWS having zero oversight and getting away with lying and breaking the law.,,, Fast forward to today: The Monterey Bay Aquarium & Julie Packard have infiltrated the government and the economic chain. The money, influence and placement of persons in nonprofits, universities and government positions has created an oligarchy and a serious ethics problem. This is a big read with links and information from California Sea Urchin Diver Jeff Crumley. > Click to read< 22:01
Wind farms: Where are all of the ocean saviors?
The precautionary principle has deep roots finding expression in sayings such as ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ or ‘better safe than sorry’. The use of the precautionary principle in ecosystem management is especially important,,, Repeated failures of management highlighted by the collapse of northern cod off Canada, the California sardine fishery, and herring, sandeels, blue whiting and capelin stocks in the North Sea have demonstrated the need for this approach in order to help address scientific uncertainty. Yet when it comes to protecting huge swaths of ocean,,, Clog 
our near shore and offshore waters with hulking (approaching 1,000 feet tall today, who knows what’s in store for tomorrow?) structures supporting huge rotors with tips moving through the air at velocities approaching 200 miles per hour? So what? Festoon our sea beds with electrical cables carrying huge amounts of electricity, And what of undersea server farms,,, >click to read< 15:43 Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet USA. © 2021 Nils E. Stolpe, July 31
The“30 X 30 Plan” – The Biden Administration’s Latest Eco Con Job
Via yet another decree (Executive Order 14008), President Biden has ordered government agencies to “permanently protect” at least 30 percent of all US lands and waters by 2030. This “30 X 30 Plan” appears to presume that any areas not designated as park, refuge, or wilderness are not “protected,” even though the vast majority of federal lands are already effectively off-limits to mining, drilling, timber harvesting, and even grazing, by virtue of policies heavily tilted toward preservation and against any development.,,, But matters get truly interesting when we examine Team Biden’s plans to eradicate the 80 percent of US energy that now comes from fossil fuels and replace it with pseudo-renewable wind, solar, and battery power. >click to read< 12:20
The bird people are willing to let them die for Offshore Wind Farms. The responsible wind farms, that is!
There is no shame when it comes to ignorance! “Renewable energy sources, including wind power, are essential to saving the lives of countless birds, in addition to saving our coasts.” – As the country takes stock of the first months of the Biden Administration, the waters of New England are playing host to the epicenter of one of the major climate commitments made shortly after the president took office. The largest U.S. offshore wind project to date, Vineyard Wind, has received the green light to start building off the coast of Massachusetts, promising to deliver 800 megawatts of energy to over 800,000 homes. As conservation organizations that are committed to the protection of birds and the ecosystems,,, >click to read< 08:42
A Letter to NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver about the resumption of Observer coverage
Mr. Oliver. Recently you sent out an announcement about the resumption of Observer coverage set to begin on August 14th in fisheries where coverage had been suspended due to the Corona virus outbreak for the last 5 months. Personally I find your reasons for the resumption of observer coverage to be not only reckless, but dangerous to the health and safety of the American fishermen who make their living from the sea.,, Yet you, in your infinite bureaucratic knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, think that at this time it is vitally important that observers be placed on fishing vessels where they can endanger the health of not only the crewmen but their families. Interestingly, you have not put your own employees at risk. You have cancelled trawl survey’s for the remainder of this year so as not to risk their exposure to this lethal disease. This despite the fact that the NOAA trawl survey vessels are state of the art, and their crew could actually be quarantined before a trip to assure their safety. I’m sure they would be happy to collect two weeks of pay for sitting around watching TV somewhere. >click to read< 15:05
Lawsuit Challenges Trump OK of Commercial Fishing in Atlantic Marine Monument
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C. by the Conservation Law Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity and Zack Klyver, lead naturalist with the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company in Maine. “Trump’s order was illegal because he can’t just declare commercial fishing is allowed in a protected marine monument,” said Kristen Monsell, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Seamounts monument was created to permanently safeguard this amazing ecosystem and vulnerable species like the endangered sperm whale. Presidents can’t be allowed to gut protections by decree as a favor to commercial fishermen.” >click to read< 11:40
Have you had enough?
Since its inception in 1976, the agency charged with managing our fisheries, the NMFS, has overseen their decline, a decline which in most cases was a product of their own machinations.Usually most ideas the government has for managing our lives are well intended but terribly executed, this was a prime example. NMFS, for all that it was intended to be and do for our fisheries, has failed and in some cases, this wasn’t by mistake, but by design. By John Rice, >click to read< , and the comment venue is open there! 13:37
Zinke tells greens he’ll make ‘grand pivot’ to conservation
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke yesterday huddled with more than two dozen conservation group leaders, including some of his staunchest critics, in his latest bid to generate both ideas and support for his ambitious departmental reorganization plans. He got an earful, and may have gained some goodwill. During a get-together at Interior headquarters that lasted nearly two hours, the conservationists and sportsmen started talking reorganization and branched out from there. >click to read<10:35
Fisheries Act must include legal duty to rebuild stocks: Oceana Canada
For the first time since the Fisheries Act was created in 1868, there are provisions within it that focus on the rebuilding of fish stocks. But as they’re currently worded, they fall short of what international experience has shown is required to actually help a stock rebuild. Simply, they must mandate that the federal government respond, not just consider responding. That was the word from Josh Laughren, executive director of Oceana Canada, at the House fisheries committee earlier today. He said the language contained in Bill C-68 will also have to go further if it’s going to fulfil Canada’s international agreements and ensure this country’s laws are commensurate with other nations. >click to read<16:06
Enviro group concerned about decline in capelin abundance in N.L.
A national conservation organization is expressing concerns about what it says is a 70 per cent decline in capelin abundance over the last two years in Newfoundland and Labrador. A news release from WWF Canada says that while environmental factors are driving the decline, it cannot rule out fishing as another factor. It says due to limitations with its surveys, the Fisheries Department cannot accurately estimate the total number of capelin in the water, and therefore cannot conclude with certainty the impact fishing has had on the stock. >click to read<11:23
Listing the Bearded Seal as Threatened: A Disturbing Victory for Untestable Hypotheses and Flawed Models.
The Center for Biological Diversity also petitioned to list thriving populations of Bearded Seals as threatened or endangered by melting sea ice. In response to their petition, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) assembled a Bearded Seal Biological Review Team (BRT). The BRT’s report can be read here. Oddly, despite promoting a threatened designation, the BRT reports Bearded Seals have existed for over 1-2 million years, surviving far greater bouts of climate change as the earth bounced between several ice ages and warmer interglacials. An interesting (click here) read by Jim Steele 18:25:37
EDF to partner with Philippine bureau of fisheries to implement fishing reforms
In a dramatic step forward for Asia-Pacific and global ocean conservation, the Philippines has begun implementing sustainable fishing reforms with Environmental Defense Fund serving as a partner to provide critical support on science and policy. The commitment was highlighted at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta, where the Philippines announced it would establish these reforms for its major commercial fisheries by 2022. click here to read the press release 16:58
What Happened to the Armchair Environmentalists and Climate Alarmists When the Hurricanes Hit?
There are two ways to get ahead. Pull yourself up or push other people down. There are few better exponents of the pushdown option than the environmental groups and their supporters. They are, for the most part, urban guerrillas, useless people who do little or nothing except undermine the lives of others. They are the green bullies who tell others how to live, yet, hypocritically, live in similar lifestyles.,, Where was Greenpeace during the recent hurricanes?,,, I learned a great deal about these urban guerrillas over forty years of working with primary producers like farmers, foresters, and fishermen. No, I won’t be politically correct and call them fishers. Then, there’s the seal hunt! click here to read the story 11:14
Trump Admin Won’t List Non-Endangered Tuna As An Endangered Species
The Trump administration declined a petition to list the Pacific bluefin tuna as “endangered” Tuesday after the Department of Commerce (DOC) found that the fish was not facing any significant threat of extinction. A petition from the Center of Biological Diversity to list the fish under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) triggered the Commerce Department’s review. The review began under former President Barack Obama, and lasted for 12 months before the DOC’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its findings, according to the notice published in the Federal Register. The Center for Biological Diversity claimed the tuna was at risk of extinction, based on findings by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). click here to read the story 20:01
The latest weapon in the fight against illegal fishing? Artificial intelligence
Facial recognition software is most commonly known as a tool to help police identify a suspected criminal by using machine learning algorithms to analyze his or her face against a database of thousands or millions of other faces. The larger the database, with a greater variety of facial features, the smarter and more successful the software becomes – effectively learning from its mistakes to improve its accuracy. Now, this type of artificial intelligence is starting to be used in fighting a specific but pervasive type of crime – illegal fishing. Rather than picking out faces, the software tracks the movement of fishing boats to root out illegal behavior. And soon, using a twist on facial recognition, it may be able to recognize when a boat’s haul includes endangered and protected fish. The latest effort to use artificial intelligence to fight illegal fishing is coming from New York-based The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which launched a contest on Kaggle – a crowdsourcing site based in San Francisco that uses competitions to advance data science –earlier this week. TNC hopes the winning team will write software to identify specific species of fish. The program will run on cameras, called electronic monitors, which are installed on fishing boats,,, Read the rest here 15:32Oceana going overboard on fish fraud with “misleading hyperbole”, distorts its findings by design
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is calling into question both the findings and motives of the latest fish fraud study by Oceana, a global environmental group. The action marks a break between the two groups since they previously were largely in sync with one another over the worldwide problem of fish fraud, which is where lesser-value species are marketed as higher-value ones. NFI claims that by finding 20 percent of all seafood mislabeled globally, Oceana’s latest report is both overstating the problem and unnecessarily calling for an expanded regulatory bureaucracy when enforcement of existing laws is all that is needed. NFI, a trade association representing the seafood industry with a core mission of sustainability, charges that the environmental group has turned to “misleading hyperbole.” “Oceana’s focus on the most often mislabeled species distorts its findings by design. It is a common technique that ironically perpetuates a fraud on the readers of these reports,” the NFI statement adds. Read the story here 16:56
Queensland Seafood industry critical of WWF license grab, Every fisherman should be
Queensland Seafood Industry Association chief executive Eric Perez says the WWF is meddling in a heavily regulated industry that focuses on sustainable fishing. “They don’t have a point. They are trying to interfere with fisheries management by stealth,” Mr Perez told AAP. “They can’t force their way into regulating the industry the way they want to, so they get cashed up individuals with a green tinge or bent … which is a way to undermining us.” Mr Perez said the purchase of one, or even two, of the licences was not going to have an impact but if the WWF bought up more then eventually there would be repercussions. He said family businesses and micro businesses would be affected and Queenslander retailers would either have to buy fish from interstate or import more. Read the rest here 08:06
WWF Australia buys $100,000 shark net licence to stop it ending up in hands of fishers
Conservation group WWF Australia has bought a commercial shark fishing licence in an unusual move to protect the predators in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and beyond. Conservation director Gilly Llewellyn said the licence cost $100,000, which includes a 1.2 kilometre net. “We’re going to take it out of the water and make sure it doesn’t go fishing,” she said. “This is a shot across the bow to the management authorities and to the Australian Government that we believe they should be protected,” she said. The WWF’s fishing licence has not been used since 2004, prompting questions about whether the move will make a difference. However, Ms Llewellyn said it was a worthwhile purchase. WWF Australia is hoping donations will pay for the net fishing licence. Read the story here 08:06
Speaking of Greenpeace, Even in fish science, payers may sway players
Many scientists, conservationists and policy makers who’ve been perplexed and vexed by Hilborn’s industry-friendly advocacy in debates about reauthorizing our federal fisheries law, or California’s process to create a network of marine protected areas, or seafood sustainability, have been surprised—but maybe not too surprised—to learn the extent of Hilborn’s industry ties. – Yesterday Carl Safina, and John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director for Greenpeace USA put up an op-ed on NatGeo, referencing research funding specifically relating to UW fisheries biologist Ray Hilborn. The premise is that Hilborn didn’t disclose funding sources for some of his research, which seems to be a sticking point for the doom and gloomers that receive funding from Pew Charitable Trust to push Pews anti-fishing agenda. Read Even in fish science, payers may sway players, click here While we’re at it, lets look at some of Carl’s funding, click here No need to look at Greenpeace funding because, Greenpeace has been working to protect people and planet since 1971. The organization does not accept corporate or government funding. Wink! 12:27
Enviro’s spar with Obama administration over fish catches!
A proposed federal rule that would give regional councils more say in setting catch limits on fish has sparked rare friction between the Obama administration and environmental groups. The proposal, years in the making, could take effect this summer. It would provide the eight councils “additional clarity and potential flexibility” to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. Groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earth Justice say the change could roll back nearly a decade of progress in rescuing once-overfished populations. Read the rest here 20:58
The ENGO Eye’s in the Sky will be watching you.
Sky Truth has partnered with Google and Oceana to launch a global fishing watch project to bring more transparency and accountability to the commercial fishing industry around the world. Because the fishing industry everywhere must be held accountable, and its up to them, google, Oceans, and Pew to watch over all fishermen, honest or not. All your tows will be seen, stripping away generational proprietary information (if they don’t have it already). Read this article and tell me this is a good thing. I say its bunk. 15:42
WWF calls for end to harassment and worse of fisheries observers
With World Fisheries Day being celebrated today, WWF is calling upon fishery managers to urgently address the increasing assaults and intimidations targeted at fisheries observers and to immediately take measures to ensure their health and safety onboard fishing vessels. WWF is shocked about the number of disappearances of observers on fishing vessels: marine biologist Keith Davis disappeared at sea in September working as an observer in MRAG Americas’ IATTC Trans-shipment Observer Programme. Charlie Lasisi, another observer,,, Read the rest here 09:35
Europeche accuses Pew of defending the ideas of “false and contrary” to the weight and impact science discussion forums, advisory councils and ideas.
As fishermen provide more and more data and reap the benefits of their efforts to curb by-catches and fish more sustainably through technical methods so the big NGOs will respond in ever more aggressive ways as the evidence begins to undermine their attempts to indirectly and directly influence legislators – in this instance they have upset Europeche who have accused the Pew Foundation (an American charity like the Oak Foundation which sees fit to fund many anti-fishing activities here in Europe – High Fearnley-Whittingstall’s infamous FishFight being one to the tune of,,, Read the rest here 15:00
The Donors Behind Greenpeace’s Ridiculous Ideas About Seafood Sustainability
It’s from 2013, but, some things never change. Greenpeace relies on major donations from distinguished foundations like Tides and Packard, groups that use florid language to set forth high-minded goals. But Greenpeace’s unserious and self-indulgent actions rarely live up to their sponsors’ idealistic rhetoric. Tides was founded by philanthropist Drummond Pike out of “a need to facilitate the giving of philanthropists who were concerned with building a better future for individuals and communities all over the world.” How? Read the rest and watch here! 15:53
Environmentalism is Dead?
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