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Sarah Bedolfe
Dispersant made Deepwater Horizon spill 52 times more toxic; EU Parliament closes loopholes in sharkfinning ban; and other ocean news!

Dive into the latest edition of The Weekly Dive, where we bring you the big ocean news!

Dispersant made Deepwater Horizon spill 52 times more toxic. The addition of two million gallons of Corexit to the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled increased the spill’s toxicity, as shown by an ecotoxicology study which tested the compounds’ effects on rotifers, underlining how poorly understood these approved dispersants are. [Science Daily]    

Petition to end fatal ship strikes for blue whales. When shipping lanes overlie cetacean feeding grounds, there is a high rate of death for whales due to collisions with ships. Sign this petition to support legislation that would move the shipping lanes off of California out of the danger zone for whales. [The Great Whale Conservancy] 

EU Parliament closes loopholes in sharkfinning ban. While the EU had officially banned shark finning in 2003, major exceptions remained. Finally, the Parliament voted to require all sharks to be landed with fins naturally attached. The law will go into effect once endorsed by EU fisheries ministers. [PEW Environment] 

Japan using tsunami relief funds to support whaling fleet. Japan has admitted to using some funds intended for tsunami reconstruction efforts to bolster the whaling fleet with security vessels, arguing that this will help revive coastal whaling towns. [Discovery] 

Ice sheet loss at north and south poles accelerating. In the most comprehensive study to date, combining the rates of decreases in the ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctic, a study by NASA and ESA found both are losing ice, with two thirds of the loss coming from Greenland and one third from Antarctica. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA]    

Mislabeled seafood still prevalent in Boston area stores and restaurants. A year ago, DNA testing by the Boston Globe found seafood mislabeling in Massachusetts to be prevalent; this year’s repeat of the study shows regulation is still lacking with 76% of the samples misidentified by the purveyor. [Boston.com]  

Cordell Bank: A Sound Investment. In this beautiful hand-drawn animation, a krill in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary shares his story. 

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