April, 11 2016, 11:45am EDT
Launch of Scientific Expedition Brings Hope to Threatened Marine Life in the Sound
MADRID
Today, Oceana launches a research expedition in the Sound to document its fragile marine habitats and species and reveal the effects of the human activities threatening this biodiversity. Located between Sweden and Denmark, the Sound connects the brackish Baltic Sea to the saltier North Sea, creating a key area for a unique set of declining marine species and habitats in need of protection.
The three-week expedition funded by a generous grant from the Swedish Postcode Foundation will gather data using Oceana's state-of-the-art ROV (remotely operated vehicle) capable of filming life on the sea floor in full HD. Additional data will collected by Oceana's professional divers and through bottom sampling. Oceana has visited the Sound during 2011, 2012, and 2013 expeditions of the Baltic Sea and Kattegat and the 2016 expedition will build on those efforts by focusing exclusively on this important strait and gathering data critical for advancing the area's marine management and protection.
"The Sound is a prime candidate for marine protection. It's densely populated on both sides and is subject to a constant barrage of human activity that threatens the area's rich biodiversity, and local economies that depend on it,"explains Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe. "Marine habitats and species don't recognise political borders so a transboundary MPA encompassing the entire Sound is the only way to ensure real protection in the region. The data gathered by Oceana will be critical for achieving this."
Marine habitats such as Haploops and horse mussel communities are in decline in the Sound. Many of its sandbanks, which serve as fish spawning and feeding grounds, have also been destroyed largely by dredging. The lack of protection of these important anchors for marine ecosystems not only threatens biodiversity but also the future of local industries that rely on a healthy marine environment. Local fisheries, leisure and tourism all provide vital jobs and income to a region populated by 3.8 million people, where multiple human threats - including maritime traffic, sand dredging, land reclamation and pollution - threaten marine life.
During the 2016 Sound expedition, Oceana will be supported by the Swedish marine knowledge centre SEA-U Marint Kunskapscenter.
Oceana is the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organization. Oceana works to protect and restore the world's oceans through targeted policy campaigns.
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Despite 100% Pentagon Audit Failure Rate, House Passes $883.7 Billion NDAA
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Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, unveiled by congressional negotiators this past Saturday, still needs approval from the Senate, which is expected to vote next week. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he plans to vote no and spoke out against the military-industrial complex.
The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex with even more unaccountable funds," they continued. "After a seventh failed audit in a row, it's disappointing that our amendment to hold the Pentagon accountable by penalizing the DOD's budget by 0.5% for each failed audit was stripped out of the final bill. It's time Congress demanded accountability from the Pentagon."
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Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
Taking aim at the GOP's push to deny gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the congresswoman said that "I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth, and for that reason, I voted NO."
As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
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Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who voted against the NDAA, directed attention to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), set to be run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
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The Massachusetts Democrat introduced the Accountable Capitalism Act, explaining that for much of U.S. history, corporations reinvested more than half of their profits back into their companies, working in the interest of employees, customers, business partners, and shareholders.
In the 1980s, said Warren corporations began placing the latter group above all, adopting "the belief that their only legitimate and legal purpose was 'maximizing shareholder value.'"
That view was further cemented in 1997 when the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents chief executives across the country, declared that the "principal objective of a business enterprise is to generate economic returns to its owners."
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