Stakes in the seas are high, but in at least one case, an interest in ocean health can lead to cooperation between unlikely teammates …
… the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution held an international conference on the possibility of mitigating global warming by seeding the ocean with iron, a controversial procedure which would theoretically boost phytoplankton populations …
… meanwhile, the scientist behind the theory that the earth is a living organism suggested installing a series of giant pipes in the oceans to circulate water, creating algae blooms, under the theory that the algae would consume carbon dioxide and promote cloud production …
… a corals watchdog group said that just five percent of Philippine coral reefs are still in pristine condition due to overfishing and coral bleaching …
… the island nation of Palau was noted for its conservation efforts, which fueled tourism, as its coral reefs are among the best in the world for diving …
… a leaked internal report prepared for the European Union by outside experts called European fisheries "poor," with one author noting that the last 25 years had seen "an unparalleled period of decline" …
… Israelis and Jordanians joined forces to build an artificial reef in the Red Sea …
… a Russian engineering firm launched satellite monitoring of a bay where oil is harvested, and which is also the home to grey whales, among the rarest creatures on earth with just 100 to 300 estimated left in the western Pacific …
… four Philippine fishing ships were caught poaching in Indonesian waters …
… the Sierra Leone patrol navy stymied an attempted raid on two Chinese fishing ships by eight armed Guinean pirates …
… the British government expressed interest in expanding its claims on the ocean surrounding the Falkland Islands from a 200-mile perimeter to 350 miles. An international boundaries researcher said, "Some states might ask why a big power is entitled to huge stretches of the ocean’s resources thousands of miles away from its land, but that’s the way the laws" …
… scientists at the University of Arizona created maps that displayed what landmass would be flooded by a one-meter rise in sea levels, noting that it would inundate many American historic sites …
… and the Bangladeshi head of state said a one-meter rise would displace 25 to 30 million of the low-lying country’s population, calling it "climate Armageddon" …
… a new U.S. federal report on sea turtles found that, despite gains in the 1990s, the loggerhead population was now declining …
… the New England Fisheries Management Council voted to protect habitat for juvenile Atlantic cod in 4,500 acres near Plymouth, Mass …
… a third dead blue whale was found floating off the coast of southern California in two weeks …
… and Oceana was named a charity that "deserves your dollars" by business forecaster Kiplinger.
