Articles by Andrew Sharpless

Tuna populations are in decline

Bluefin tuna have a lot of admirers. Marine biologists are intrigued by their size and speed, they're a noteworthy source of revenue for many fishermen, and many sushi lovers are willing to spend a little more for their favorite tuna roll. In fact, this fish is so important to so many, that it warrants a five-day meeting of the world's five biggest tuna fisheries -- accounting for 77 countries and regions.

Animals on diet and exercise regime

The number one new year's resolution for Americans is to lose weight, which is no surprise considering that 60 million of us are obese. But 16 days into this year, chances are many of us have already traded in our granola for Krispy Kremes or asked for our movie popcorn with extra butter.

Such is not the case at Sea World, where walruses, dogs, manatees, and pigs are counting calories and doing crunches. See for yourself.

Of course, the best weight-loss regimen would be living in the wild oceans. But that might be difficult for the dogs and the pigs.

UN Declares ’07 Year of the Dolphin

Happy New Year! As you may have heard, the Chinese have confirmed 2007 as the Year of the Pig and Newsweek has coined it the Year of the Widget. But my personal favorite designation comes from the United Nations, which has declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin.

We've got our work cut out for us over at Oceana to do justice to this special year. In 2006, we stopped Congress from weakening the Marine Mammal Protection Act, thanks to a little help from our friends on the right. Some members of Congress tried to eliminate the "Dolphin Deadline," a key provision of the Act that sets the timeline to reduce the death and injury of marine mammals by commercial fishing operations to insignificant levels. Hopefully, this year we'll be able to do even more to protect the dolphins.

Ted Danson, Leo DiCaprio fight for oceans

New England fishermen, frustrated by how hard it is to catch a boatful off the once-abundant New England coast, are pointing fingers at those clearly responsible for dwindling fish populations: A-list celebrities. According to one source quoted in the article published Monday in South Coast Today, "I don't think they're [that's the celebrities] cognizant of the harm that they're actually causing." Hollywood's got some nerve.

The article focuses on my group, Oceana, as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), citing our opposition to provisions Rep. Frank proposed as part of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) that would weaken the government's ability to rebuild threatened fish populations. The new MSA, which passed a few weeks ago, enables local administrators to set more scientifically appropriate catch limits and targets to start rebuilding the long list of collapsed or nearly collapsed fish species in New England and around the country.