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Despite vocal opposition from some beachgoers, the South Coast Air Quality Management District board Friday approved restrictions on fire pits on Southland beaches. 
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Yale Environment 360: Marine biologist's expedition to coast rich in fish, birds, and other wildlife unearthed tonnes of trash along remote shores
PIRatE Lab's insight:
I like the "this is adult trash" line.
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Talks to decide on the establishment of huge marine reserves in Antarctica have failed to reach a consensus.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Disappointing, very disappointing.
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From
www
Sharp decline in fish exports FIS "Anchovy consumption is spreading but it is also necessary to consider other seafood such as squid, horse mackerel, mackerel, dolphinfish; and aquaculture, such as shrimp, trout, tilapia, paiche, among others," he... Via Global Aqua Link
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Serial depletion, here we go again....
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Extreme weather, rising sea levels and degraded coastal ecosystems place people and property at greater risk from ocean waters, which is why a group at Stanford University have put together a map of the nation depicting where natural habitats most...
PIRatE Lab's insight:
InVEST has had too many problems getting launched to name, particularly for their GIS plug in tools. But the overall idea and the ultimate product is great and spot on. This is now yet another in a growing chorus of evidence that is highlighting coastal vulnerabilities. Here is hoping that one day, one of these tools/lines of evidence will get people's attention.
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The final phase of a $40 million recycled water pipeline in Camarillo remains at a standstill because of the nearby death of an endangered steelhead trout.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
This is somewhat misleading, but the fact remains the creek is potential steelhead habitat.
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This report examines the latest research into the impacts of underwater noise on marine life, including physical damage, hunting and communication disturbances and habitat displacement. Strategies to reduce these impacts are also explored and key knowledge gaps identified.
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In March 2004, an attorney for Southern California Edison sat before state utility regulators to propose what seemed like a great deal.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
A good overview of the timeline of events that culminated in the decision to shut down SONGS (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station).
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July 4, 2013 (Vancouver, B.C.) Beginning in October 2011, Dr. Fred Kibenge’s lab at the Atlantic Veterinary College located at the University of Prince Edward island (UPEI) has found that some wild British Columbia salmon and a number of Atlantic farm salmon are testing positive for segments of the Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISAv), a lethal salmon virus associated with salmon farming worldwide.
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Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to an increased prostate cancer risk and childhood allergies, according to two new studies. Via Global Aqua Link
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Interesting,
We must always take such studies with a grain of salt and see if we get a weight of evidence over time, but it is particulalry important given the marketing weight that has been put behind promoting omega-2s in the seafood community.
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Homeowners insurance is becoming more costly along the Atlantic Coast and coverage is changing, especially for wind damage. Some see this as a result of insurance companies responding to the first indications of human-caused climate change, showing up as extreme weather events along the shoreline. If true, these insurance changes could be used to encourage people to adapt to climate change.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Interesting that we are finally seeing some movement (first with the FEMA flood insurance changes and now this).
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GROSSETO, Italy (AP) — The trial of the captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner began Tuesday in a theater converted into a courtroom in Tuscany to accommodate all the survivors and relatives of the 32 victims who want to see...
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The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) carried out an unannounced audit at the Narong Seafood Co. Ltd. shrimp processing plant in Samutsakorn, Thailand, in mid-June. As a result of the audit, the organization recommends that the plant maintain its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. The BAP third-party certification program has a rigorous grievances procedure in place. Allegations of non-compliance can trigger an unannounced audit after an annual audit is conducted. In a June 6 report, Warehouse Workers United and the International Labor Rights Forum alleged that Narong Seafood mistreated its workers. Two auditors were dispatched to inspect the Narong Seafood plant between June 14 and 17. During daytime and nighttime hours, the auditors interviewed dozens of employees to attain first-hand knowledge of the working conditions, checked the company’s records back to January 2012 and gathered more than 300 pages of objective evidence. Via Global Aqua Link
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PIRatE Lab's insight:
On July 10, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) rejected a finding of federal consistency for the Encinitas-Solana Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project. The project has been worked on by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the state Department of Boating and Waterways (now the Division of Boating and Waterways within the state Department of Parks and Recreation), and the cities of Encinitas and Solana Beach for more than a decade. A letter from CCC staff to the USACE which explains the CCC's decision is available is in this link. The project may be considered by the CCC again at its August meeting in Santa Cruz. I suspect if the city/Corps adjusts their proposal to be small and run for less than 50 years it will get approved in August.
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Inspired by Nelson Minar's map of US rivers, Mike Bostock demonstrates how to generate your own TopoJSON from the same river data. As indicated by the name, the file format is a way to encode topology, and it does so in a compact way. Casey Thomas then forked Mike's code to make TopoJSON from TIGER/Line files, which is essentially data supplied by the Census Bureau that represents the roads in the United States.
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Twenty Five Lusk, Hog Island Oyster Co., Fog Harbor Fish House, and Pier 23 Cafe are among the first local restaurants to participate in the America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project awareness campaign to promote ocean-friendly seafood among... Via Global Aqua Link
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Good(not great)...at least this part of the sustainable seafood messaging is making some slight traction amongst the ultra rich...but I don't want to even begin to tell you what the results of our audits of these "certified" restaurants have been.
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Waterfront-property owners are watching their sands erode at alarming rates. William D. Cohan and Vanessa Grigoriadis with a bi-coastal report.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Our friends in Malibu are an interesting lot. I don't want to speak out of school, but many folks are the first to appear in PETA ads, donate money to high-profile environmental causes, etc. But when they actually have to restore their lagoon, get off of septic systems, allow overnight camping in their parks (i.e. let the poor folks in), or are told they should not install coastal armoring along their bluff top properties you frequently get an answer that is (shall we say) inconsistent with their public faces.
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Reefs, dunes and marshes are key to protecting lives and property against storm surges and long-term sea-level rise.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
All coastlines benefit from healthy, unfragmented, coastal ecosystems. While my university here in California certainly benefits from the land between it and the nearby breakers, so too does almost every other human activity from Lousiana to Rio.
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Scuba divers have discovered a primeval underwater forest off the coast of Alabama. Via clare wormald
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It’s difficult to talk about Louisiana seafood these days without the BP oil spill working its way into the conversation. It wasn’t that long ago, after all, that television screens were filled with high-def images of fouled coastal marsh and...
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Good overview. But as always, we are approcahing this topic with a VERY short-term view of the world. The big problem in Louisiana with oyster leases is that they are a discrete geographic spot. Productivity of oysters can shift (and has histroically shifted). The issue here is that fishermen have a particular lease. They only think of productivity in their little slice of the world. In many instances it is the oystermen who are FIGHTING WETLAND RESTORATION efforts such as diversions as that will negatively impact their little, tiny piece of the world. They (more often than not, I am sad to say) do not seem to see the big picture. A key question here would be what the oyster production was in these regions BEFORE we leveed the Mississippi and screwed with the ecology and pre-disturbance dynamics of this floodplain.
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Americans say Shrimp, while Aussies and Brits say Prawn, but are these really two names for the same thing or is there a differance? Those who use both terms might say thet prawns are big ones and shrimps are the small ones. Wrong, actually shrimps and prawns are differant species. Via Global Aqua Link
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From
laist
In parts of California lately, it's been hot. So hot, in fact, that officials at Death Valley National Park have had to ask visitors to stop frying eggs on the ground.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
It never amazes me the things that we have to tell the public. Such as: clean up after yourself in our Protected Areas.
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A National Park Service volunteer died this week after falling and hitting his head on Anacapa Island, park officials said Thursday.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
An unfortuante event. But at least Joe left a legacy of giving and volunteering to help those who have not fully experienced the National Parks a taste of what they are like.
He will be missed.
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The Harper government has missed another self-imposed deadline to bring into force the controversial Fisheries Act amendments passed last year.
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Boulders will be used to try and stop water coming so close to street. - Video taken in or around Ventura, California
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Why we need healhy littoral sand cells. This is a silly waste of moeny and time. At best such activities should be stop-gap, emergency endeavors. Not scheduled on an annual basis.
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Wow, a very tight vote. I can't beleive that this passed. Apparently it is cool to burn fossile fuels in your fire pits, drive to the beach in your car, or burn any old stuff in fire pits designed for handicapped folks...but otherwise no emissions close (within 700') to high-end Newport Beach houses. We wouldn't want those folks to have to breath "smoke."
Decisions like thse are the reason many feel environmental regulations are silly and not about protecting the environment per se.