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Ranger

sets silor the Cry Isls

Oceana.

OFF THE HOOK

LOggERHEadSPROTECTEdFROm LOngLInES

actress Kte Wlsh jois Oce i the htto sve se turtles

| Fall 2009

BOaRd OF dIRECTORS

Keith Addis, ChairDr. Kristian Parker, Vice ChairJames Sandler, TreasurerSimon Sidamon-Eristo, SecretaryHerbert M. Bedole, IIITed DansonCésar GaviriaMaría Eugenia GirónStephen P. McAllisterMichael NorthropDr. Daniel PaulySally-Christine RodgersSam WaterstonValarie Whiting

EdITORIaL STaFF

Senior Editor

Suzannah Evans

Online Editor

Emily Fisher

Graphic Design

Lindsay Orlowski

OCEana

Chie Executive Ofcer

Andrew Sharpless

Executive Vice President& General Counsel

James Simon

Senior Vice President,North American Oceans & ChieScientist

Michael Hirsheld, Ph.D.

Vice President, European Oceansand Seas

Xavier Pastor

Vice President, South AmericanOceans & Antarctica

Alex Muñoz

Vice President, Belize

Audrey Matura-Shepherd

Vice President, Pacifc / SeniorAdvisor

Jim Ayers

Vice President, StrategicMarketing & Communications

Matthew Littlejohn

Vice President, Global Development

Bettina Alonso

Director, Pacifc

Susan Murray

maKIng WaVES

COVER PHOTO:

Actress Kate Walsh views sea turtle hatch-lings on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Photo © Tim Calver

Oceana played a key role in unveiling antibiotic abusein Chile’s troubled salmon aquaculture industry, whichthreatens to create a public health hazard in the larg-est source or armed salmon sold in the U.S. UsingChile’s Act or Access to Public Inormation, Oceanacompelled the government to release previously unpub-licized inormation about the level o antibiotic use atsalmon arms in July.As a result, the world learned that Chile uses 600 timesthe amount o antibiotics used by Norway, the onlycountry that produces more armed salmon. The antibi-otics are intended to control diseases caused and eas-ily spread by the crowded and unsanitary conditions inChilean salmon pens.

Oce ucovers tibiotic buse i ChileSe turtles protecte ro botto lolies

maKE WaVES:

community.oceana.org/act

In July, the United States banned shing or krill in thePacic Ocean in an action that culminates years o ad-vocacy by Oceana and others, including scientists, con-servationists, shermen and local communities.No krill shing currently takes place in the U.S. Paci-ic, which extends rom three to 200 miles o the WestCoast. The new rule prevents krill shing rom occur-ring in the uture. This preventative step is crucial tomaintaining the marine ecosystem, which counts onkrill as a bedrock species.Tiny translucent creatures ound in all the world’soceans, krill orm the oundation o the marine ecosys-tem by providing critical nutrition or salmon, whales,seabirds and many other animals. These shrimp-like

Krill shi be i U.S. Pcic

crustaceans are heavily pursued by commercial shingvessels in the Southern Ocean, with more than 100,000metric tons o krill caught every year primarily to eedarmed and aquarium sh. As krill are shed out romthe Southern Ocean, the industry will be orced to moveinto previously untouched waters. Thanks to the newmeasures, krill in the U.S. Pacic will not be subject toovershing.The proactive ban on krill shing in the U.S. Pacicmirrors other Oceana initiatives to protect ecosystemsbeore the introduction o industrialized shing. In Feb-ruary, Oceana accomplished its goal o closing 150,000square miles o the U.S. Arctic Ocean to industrial sh-ing beore large boats ollow melting sea ice into newly-opened Arctic waters.In a move critical to saving threatened loggerhead seaturtles, the Gul o Mexico Fishery Management Councilapproved new restrictions on bottom longline shingo the west coast o Florida that will save hundreds osea turtles each year.The measures, i adopted by National Marine FisheriesService, would reduce the number o vessels eligible tosh with bottom longline gear by 80 percent and banbottom longline shing rom June to August in watersup to about 210 eet deep. In addition, the council alsoestablished a per-vessel limit o 1,000 hooks on boardand 750 hooks set up to sh during any shing trip. Thebottom longlines are used to catch ree sh like grouper,but also catch nearly 400 sea turtles every year on aver-age. This is approximately ten times the number o seaturtles that the shery is currently authorized to takeunder the Endangered Species Act. The vast majorityo the sea turtles caught by the bottom longlines o theshery are loggerheads, a species listed as threatenedby extinction under the Endangered Species Act. Thewestern Florida shel – where the bottom longlines arecatching loggerheads – is an important loggerhead seaturtle eeding area.Sea turtle nesting in Florida has been on a severedownward trajectory since 1998, and this year has beenone o the worst sea turtle nesting years on record. Theloggerhead population has dropped by over 40 percentin the last decade.The National Marine Fisheries Service will now con-sider the new longline regulations to determine i thenew restrictions are sucient to prevent the bottomlongline shery rom jeopardizing the uture o thisthreatened population o loggerhead sea turtles. Theederal agency can also supplement the plan with ad-ditional turtle protections.

OCEan COUnCIL

Susan Cohn Rockeeller, ChairLea Haratani, Vice ChairAnne Alexander RowleyDr. Andrew BevacquaPierce BrosnanDeborah BuckDan and Beth CortAndrew and Sydney DavisKelsey GrammerHardy JonesJ. Stephen and Angela KilcullenLarry KopaldCarolyn Marks BlackwoodNicole PolizoisMark E. RyavecVictoria StackPeter StrangerAnnett WolNicole Woody

According to the government data, Chile used 716,355pounds o antibiotics in 2008, down rom 848,397 poundsin 2007. Approximately a third o the antibiotics werequinolones, which are not permitted or use in livestockin some countries that import Chilean salmon, includ-ing the United States. The World Health Organizationrecommends that quinolones be reserved or humanuse to preserve their ecacy.Earlier this year, Chile adopted a plan or the rationaluse and management o antibiotics in salmon arming,which included several Oceana recommendations – ex-cept or a total ban on quinolone use. Oceana continuesto campaign or a quinolone ban.

oceana.org

maKIng WaVES

In August, Oceana’s

Ranger

set sail or its 2009 missionto the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. This year’sexpedition is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation.For two months, Oceana’s

Ranger

and its crew o re-searchers and campaigners will document the seabedand seamounts surrounding the islands. Proessionaldivers will photograph and lm the area up to 40 meters’depth; beyond that, the

Ranger’s

remote-operated vehi-cle will explore down to 500 meters. Little is known aboutthe ocean foor surrounding the islands.Since 2005, the

Ranger

has explored marine habitats inthe Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Atlantic, docu-menting previously unseen species as well as illegalshing. In 2007, the catamaran was attacked by Frenchboats using illegal dritnets. The ensuing attentionhelped Oceana draw attention to the illegal nets andgive the nal push or vigorous enorcement o the banon this wasteul shing gear.The U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity requiresthat 10 percent o the global marine environment be pro-tected by 2012. Less than 3 percent o European watersis currently protected.To read updates rom the crew members, visit

community.oceana.org

Ranger

sets sil or Cry Isls

Ies ro the Cry Isls lo

Ranger

’s jourey to et there.Clockwise ro top: Isl e Lobos;O the shol o Ply gre bech;Sebe  the ree le, PutEtis-El Sbir, alerí, Spi.Photos

OCEana | Crlos miuell