By ERIKA I. RITCHIE | The Orange County Register | Published: May 22, 2021 (Tribune News Service) An environmental group is asking the U.S. Navy to re-examine its operations in the Pacific Ocean following the death of two endangered fin whales that appear to have been struck by an Australian naval destroyer during a joint training exercise off San Diego. One of the whales, which had been towed out to sea after it was dislodged from the ship s hull, washed up Wednesday at Orange County s Bolsa Chica State Beach. In a letter sent this week to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Center for Biological Diversity asks the Navy to look at its three training ranges between Hawaii and Southern California and examine how the service s actions affect marine mammals and how it can further avoid killing or injuring animals.
33 KODIAK, Alaska – In early March, instructors at the Coast Guard North Pacific Regional Fisheries Training Center (NPRFTC) prepared crewmembers of the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton to safeguard Alaska’s living marine resources.
Commissioned in 1995 in Kodiak, the personnel at the NPRFTC provide instruction to surface and aviation law enforcement crews, command personnel and supporting staff to promote maritime safety, protect valuable resources, and maintain a level playing field for the fisheries throughout Alaska, which are considered to be the most abundant and economically significant waters in the U.S.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in 2018, the Alaskan fishing fleet provided 58% of the stock to the U.S. fisheries and seafood industry.
A short boat trip from the California coast brings nature lovers to the Channel Islands where they can see wildlife and wild places, off the grid and unspoiled.
Researchers launch pilot study to learn more about seal population now inhabiting local waters Seals lounging on a rock off the Ram Island Causeway. (Credit: Eleanor P. Labrozzi)
When I first started fishing on Long Island in the early 1980s, observing a marine mammal in the wild was an extremely rare occurrence.
Due to years of unregulated hunting, many populations declined to the point where they faced extinction. In 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was signed into law and many species have since made remarkable comebacks.
Members of one such group, the pinnipeds, are now commonly seen across Long Island from October to March. Pinnipeds are marine mammals that include three families: true seals, eared seals and walruses. Only true seals can be found in our region, with five species potentially being encountered. Harbor seals are the most common, followed by grey seals. On rare occasions, we can also see Arctic species such as harp, ho