October, 08 2009, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Miyoko Sakashita, (510) 845-6703 (cell) or miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org
Dustin Cranor, (202) 467-1917, (202) 341-2267 (cell) or dcranor@oceana.org
Teri Shore, (415) 663-8590 x 104 or tshore@tirn.net
Settlement Reached in Sea Turtle Lawsuit
Study Says World's Loggerhead Population Urgently Needs Help
WASHINGTON
The Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, and the Turtle Island
Restoration Network today reached an agreement with the federal
government in a lawsuit over violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Specifically, the government failed to meet the 12-month legal deadline
for responding to three separate petitions focusing on two sea turtle
species in U.S. waters off the east and west coasts.
The
National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service
have agreed to respond to the groups' petitions for increased
protections for both leatherbacks in the waters off California and Oregon as well as North Pacific and western North Atlantic loggerheads by December 4, 2009, and February 19, 2010, respectively.
"Sea
turtles have been swimming the oceans since before the time of the
dinosaurs, yet without more protection, loggerhead and leatherback sea
turtles could face extinction within this century," said Miyoko
Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological
Diversity. "Today's agreement represents an important step toward
securing the future of these magnificent animals."
Today's
announcement follows on the heels of the Fisheries Service's new status
review of loggerheads worldwide. The analysis was conducted by the
loggerhead biological review team, which is made up of 13 top U.S. sea
turtle experts. The review identifies nine discrete population segments
and assesses their status. Both Northwest Atlantic and North Pacific
loggerheads were labeled as "currently at risk of extinction." To read
the full report, please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/statusreviews.htm.
"The
evidence in NMFS' new status review of loggerheads is compelling," said
Eric Bilsky, assistant general counsel and senior litigator at Oceana.
"Currently at risk of extinction and 'endangered' are one and the same.
Strong protections must be established as soon as possible if these sea
turtle populations are to have any chance of recovery."
The
state of Florida recently released preliminary data showing 2009 to be
one of the worst sea-turtle nesting years on record. It also shows that
nesting numbers from 2008, slightly higher than dismal 2007 levels,
were merely part of the natural flux in nesting females rather than the
beginning of a population rebound.
"We must hold the
line on the capture of sea turtles by fishing fleets until stronger
protections are considered and put into place," said Teri Shore,
program director at the Turtle Island Restoration Network. "Fisheries
are a primary reason for the sea turtle's decline and the situation is
too dire to delay action any longer."
In addition
to demanding that the Fisheries Service protect sea turtles and their
habitat under existing law, the groups are calling for comprehensive
legislation that would protect U.S. sea turtles in ocean waters as well
as on land.
About the Petitions:
Two
of the three petitions focus on populations of loggerheads in the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The groups are urging the Fisheries
Service to designate the North Pacific and Western North Atlantic
loggerheads as distinct population segments and to change their status
from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The
petitions also call for increased protections in the loggerheads' key
nesting beaches and marine habitats.
Loggerhead
sea turtles have declined by at least 80 percent in the North Pacific
and could become functionally extinct by the mid-21st century if
additional protections are not put into place. Florida beaches, thought
to host the second-largest loggerhead nesting population in the world,
have seen a decline in nesting of more than 40 percent over the past
decade.
The third petition urges the Fisheries
Service to protect key migratory and foraging habitat for leatherbacks
in the waters off California and Oregon by designating the area as
critical habitat. Critically endangered leatherbacks migrate more than
6,000 miles from nesting beaches in Indonesia to feed on abundant
jellyfish in these waters.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
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Mar 28, 2024
Video footage broadcast Wednesday by Al Jazeera shows Israeli soldiers gunning down two Palestinians on the coast of northern Gaza, even as one of them waves what appears to be a piece of white fabric.
The footage shows one of the men walking in the direction of an Israeli military vehicle with both hands raised. Despite the absence of any clear evidence that the man posed a threat, Israeli forces shot him from a short distance away. Another man is seen on the ground not far behind.
Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum said the killings took place near where World Central Kitchen recently dropped off food aid.
The video then shows Israeli soldiers burying the bodies with a bulldozer.
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Watch:
مشاهد حصرية للجزيرة لإعدام جنود إسرائيليين مدنيين فلسطينيين أثناء محاولتهم العودة لشمال قطاع غزة#الأخبار #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/QER98mv2n6
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) March 27, 2024
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"The eyes and ears of the world have been assaulted in real-time by this form of genocidal behavior," said Falk. "It is a shocking reality that there has been no adverse reaction from the liberal democracies in the West. It is a shameful moment."
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, whose board Falk chairs, has documented numerous examples of Israeli soldiers conducting close-range field executions in Gaza since October 7, when Israel launched its latest assault following a Hamas-led attack.
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The video footage emerged just days after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The U.S., Israel's leading arms supplier, abstained from the vote and falsely claimed the measure was "nonbinding."
The Israeli government, for its part, immediately signaled that it would disregard the resolution, just as it has ignored orders from the International Court of Justice.
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He was far from alone in highlighting the two defining positions.
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Journalist Jon Schwarz pointed out that Lieberman continued to lie about the WMDs long after the claims were debunked.
FormerMSNBC host Mehdi Hasan noted that Lieberman declined an opportunity to apologize for the disastrous war, sharing a clip from his on-camera interview with the ex-senator in 2021.
And please don\u2019t give me this \u2018don\u2019t speak ill of the dead\u2019 stuff - 1) I\u2019m not speaking ill, I\u2019m stating facts, and 2) public figures are public figures, and their obits reflect their legacies and so we should be honest in our accounts of their legacies. Not offensive but honest— (@)
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Citing Israel's "blatant" human rights violations in Gaza, Ireland's second-highest-ranking official said Wednesday that the country will join the South Africa-led genocide case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Irish Tánaiste Micheál Martin—the equivalent of a deputy prime minister in other parliamentary nations—said that Ireland decided to intervene in the case after analyzing the "legal and policy issues" pertaining to the case under review by the United Nations' top court.
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Martin continued:
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