Namibia on-board with BirdLife to end seabird bycatch in world’s…

Surfbirds.com 20 March 2015 “Namibia stands at the threshold of moving, in very short time, from being the worst country in the world for seabird bycatch, to the very best”, said Oliver Yates, BirdLife International’s Global Albatross Task Force Coordinator.” In Namibian waters alone, more than approximately 30,000 seabirds are estimated killed every year due to long-line and trawl Read More…

Mekong Delta enters into bong lau fish season

VietNamNet Bridge 13 March 2015 Year in, year out, throngs of fishermen head for the lower reaches of Tien and Hau rivers in the Mekong Delta around the beginning of year for the harvest season of bong lau (Pangasius krempfi) fish because this freshwater catfish only appear in large volume in the delta for around three months. On a spring afternoon, fisherman Nam Sach at Tra On ferry Read More…

Tram Chim, a bird paradise

Thanh Nien News 18 March 2015 For many tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and beyond, the Tram Chim National Park is an increasingly popular weekend getaway where they can go through melaleuca forests on boats, enjoy the fresh air and see birds sitting on treetops and meadows near lotus swamps. Located in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, Tram Chim (literally melaleuca (and) bird) is Read More…

Professor rallies to save sea life

Bankok Post 18 March 2015 When Asst Prof Thon Thamrongnawasawat comes out to speak, you know that marine life is in clear and present danger. In the last two weeks, his name returned to the spotlight after he posted an open letter online lamenting the environmental degradation of Similan National Marine Park in the Andaman Sea, especially the condition of the coral reefs and marine Read More…

U.S. Announces Plan to Combat Illegal Fishing

The Washington Post 16 March 2015 WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has announced a plan to crack down on the multibillion-dollar global black market in seafood, an effort that would try to trace a fish’s story from where it was caught to how it was shipped. Officials said that the unregulated part of the fishing industry, which could be worth up to $20 billion annually, Read More…

4 dolphins found dead this year, WWF says

Phnom Penh Post 17 March 2015 As the Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin population steadily declines, conservation groups have voiced concern that the critically endangered species may be swimming toward extinction if drastic measures are not soon taken to protect them. The numbers tell a depressing tale: From 2011 to 2014, 23 dolphins were recorded dead. But, already, in the first months of 2015, Read More…

Forests disappear, seas depleted: MONRE report

VietNamNet Bridge 16 March 2015 Vietnam’s economic development has heavily relied on natural resources, adversely affecting biodiversity due to unsustainable exploitation, according to a report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). Disappearing species Vietnam ranks 16th in the world in terms of biodiversity. It is one of 10 of the world's most diversified Read More…

Shark eDNA study could be conservation ‘game-changer’

BBC News 17 March 2015 Conservationists are eagerly awaiting the results of a UK study into whether it is possible to track endangered sharks via environmental DNA (eDNA). If successful, it could result in scientists being able to create global maps of life beneath the waves. Current methods are costly and labour intensive, requiring teams to spend long periods at sea with no guarantee Read More…

Villagers sitting on a ticking pollution time bomb

VietNamNet Bridge 15 March 2015 A sudden downpour on a sunny spring day sends Nguyen Mot scurrying into his house. But he is not trying to escape the rain. He darts about, shutting all the doors and windows in a vain bid to keep out the noxious odour that comes up with vapour sent up by the sudden rain. "Pesticides," he says, ruefully. Mot is a resident of Trieu Phong District in the Read More…

This massive stingray might be the largest freshwater fish ever caught

Washington Post 14 March 2015 The catch took about five hours, and the fishermen had to rotate in shifts to give respites from the back-breaking work. Using a classic rod-and-wheel set-up and aboard a simple, long boat, the scientists and fishermen managed to capture the giant freshwater stingray in Thailand’s Mae Klong River last week. Then, they measured it: At 14 feet long and 8 feet Read More…