endangered species
Posted by Willie — 11 February 2011 at 12:23pm
-
Celebrity-favourite sushi restaurant Nobu serves endangered bluefin tuna
This
weekend Nobu Matsuhisa, the eponymous chef behind the celebrity-favourite
restaurant Nobu, will
be in London. For a mere
£260 you could enjoy a unique dining experience, apparently. I wonder
what’s on the menu. Delicious black rhino, perhaps? Or tasty Amur tiger? Maybe
some melt-in-the-mouth mountain gorilla?
Posted by jamie — 1 February 2011 at 7:10pm
-
Bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific. Princes claims to use bigeye tuna from the Indian Ocean
Yesterday, some of my colleagues
met with executives from Princes to discuss the problems with their tinned
tuna. It was the first meeting for several months and certainly since Princes
came bottom of our league table. Needless to say, there was a lot to discuss.
Posted by Willie — 21 June 2010 at 11:53am
-
As the International Whaling Commission (IWC)'s annual meeting begins in Morocco, there has been a flurry of media coverage over a possible 'deal' or 'compromise'. Often the details, and sometimes the central points, can get lost as things are translated, edited, reworked and re-edited for the media, so I wanted to take the opportunity here to spell out just what Greenpeace's position is.
This meeting is causing a stir because there is the possibility of some sort of deal to address the future of the IWC. Reform has been a long time coming, and everyone agrees that the IWC needs an overhaul. The current deadlock means that the Commission is effectively stymied from taking on the serious conservation work that is so desperately needed. And, of course, we have the deplorable situation of a global ban on commercial whaling being flouted by Japan, Norway and Iceland.
Posted by Willie — 29 March 2010 at 6:11pm
-
I've tried several times to write a 'wrap-up' blog for this year's CITES meeting. But usually I end up just banging my head against the keyboard in despair.
This CITES meeting was a turning point – the governments in the room decided that they weren't there to restrict trade to protect species, but rather there to protect trade as best they could. Nowhere was that more evident than the marine proposals.
Sharks were shafted, corals crushed, and bluefin obliterated, as the assembled governments played politics, and wrung their hands earnestly over the adverse economic effects of actually protecting any of these endangered species. Conveniently ignoring the fact that it's their inability to restrain trade which endangered them in the first place...
Posted by Willie — 21 March 2010 at 7:39pm
-
As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally
up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as
the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.
Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the
world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of
their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters,
and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t
worry, I checked, it’s fake).
Posted by Willie — 19 March 2010 at 2:55pm
-
A Steller's sea cow skeleton - first spotted by Europeans in 1741, they were driven to extinction within 30 years © CC Funkmonk
International co-operation is vital if we want to protect the plants and (particularly) animals that we share the planet with. They don't all have a very quantifiable value, and often those most at risk live in countries in the developing world where it is hard to balance the growing needs of the population with effective conservation measures. It's also, of course, rather rich to be lectured by the developed West/North on how to look after your flora and fauna when we have been so remiss ourselves.
Posted by Willie — 17 March 2010 at 3:01pm
-
Spiny dogfish - renamed rock salmon for the fish and chip trade. Image © Creative Commons
In the UK fish and chips is an institution. We have other institutions too, of course, like the Royal family, and in Britain if you make it to your 100th birthday, the momentous occasion is marked by getting a telegram from the Queen.
But how would you feel if the fish in your fish and chips was eligible for such a telegram?
Because, it just might be.
Posted by Willie — 19 January 2010 at 4:22pm
-
Charismatic megafauna at play. Did we get your attention?
The word 'biodiversity' is often bandied about as shorthand for 'lots of lovely animals
and plants'. We probably think of African plains teeming with herds of
antelopes, zebra and wildebeest, a jungle cacophonous with crickets, monkeys and
birds, or perhaps a coral reef that looks like a still from Finding Nemo.
But that's
because most of us are a little shallow when it comes to the species we
co-inhabit this planet with. We get overexcited by the big things, the cuddly
things, and the wow! things.
Posted by Willie — 14 July 2009 at 1:02pm
-
*Bluefin sushi will only be available for a limited period because bluefin will soon be extinct. © Ultimate Holding Company / Greenpeace
Bluefin
tuna is an endangered species, and it's the oceanic equivalent of a tiger,
rhino, or panda - yet it is still being served up as expensive sushi in
restaurants. In London alone, there are dozens of venues serving up bluefin,
although the celebrity hang-out Nobu is probably the most high-profile culprit.
Our
politicians have failed on bluefin tuna, they ignore the scientific warnings,
and continue to set quotas that are then ignored by the fishermen.
If we want
to stop bluefin from becoming extinct in
just a few years then we need to take action now.