By ELI Ocean Program Staff
On Wednesday, January 14, we hosted a webinar on the litigation summarized below. The webinar featured a panel of experts to discuss the status of the litigation and what is next. You can read more about the webinar and view a recording when it is posted here.
The Disaster and the Trial
Fisheries observers serve important roles in fisheries management. From a scientific perspective, they provide independent verification of the amounts and types of fish caught, providing key data for stock assessment. In some fisheries, observers also have an important enforcement function: they report to law enforcement when they witness violations of fisheries regulations. In 2010, I published an article, based on NOAA’s enforcement data, showing that observer reports are a key source of information for understanding fishers’ compliance while at sea.
By ELI Ocean Program Staff
In the Gulf of Mexico region, 89 projects to date have been finalized for restoration and recovery in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These projects are funded under several different mechanisms, including the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. Over the coming years, hundreds if not thousands of projects will be finalized under these mechanisms, the RESTORE Act, and other processes.
It is an invasive species that is one of the most pressing threats to ocean ecosystems in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. And my wife was wearing one on her ear.
My wife had just bought these beautiful earrings, made from the spines of the venomous red lionfish (Pterois volitans), from a studio in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Later that trip, we shared delicious empanadas con pez leon. The jewelry and the food share a common thread—using markets as a tool to control the raging lionfish invasion that is wreaking havoc on Caribbean and Gulf coral reef ecosystems.
In 2006, we launched the Ocean Program at the Environmental Law Institute to tackle pressing ocean and coastal governance challenges.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the Bay's 64,299-square-mile drainage basin, which covers parts of six states (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) and all of Washington, D.C. (the Bay jurisdictions). With its diverse flora and fauna, the Chesapeake Bay is a very important feature for the ecology and economy of these regions.
If you told me years ago that I would be pursuing a degree in statistics and machine learning, I would not have believed you. Even after receiving the 2021 National Wetlands Award and immersing myself in a vibrant and innovative college environment, I have come to more fully appreciate the many ways we can approach wetlands conservation and education efforts.
In one of the most famous speeches in American history, President John F. Kennedy implored his fellow Americans to “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” I’m borrowing JFK’s words to illustrate how I approach restoration: Ask not what the land can do for you—ask what you can do for the land. This maxim evokes something greater than oneself that deserves respect, service, and ethical treatment. For JFK, it was country. For me it is the land, or to be more accurate, an ecosystem.
Having worked to conserve Nebraska’s wetlands over the past 30 years, and in honor of National Wetlands Month, I have been reflecting on what factors make wetland conservation successful. Thanks to the collaboration of many different partners, including landowners, we can be proud of the accomplishments made in wetland research, restoration, and management. To build on these successes, I believe it is important to broaden the network of people who understand wetlands and support their conservation. To do this, we need to expand and improve our outreach and education efforts.
He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kānaka. This frequently spoken ʻōlelo noʻeau, or proverb, succinctly sums up the Hawaiian view on the human relationship to our environment: the land is the chief, and people are the servants. Traditionally, wetlands in particular were revered as agriculturally productive lands where the elder sibling of the Hawaiian people and staple of life, kalo (taro), was grown.
