News

Inter-Institutional Tension in the Galapagos Marine Reserve Mounts

March 21, 2007

Recently, two isolated incidents occurred on the island of Baltra, Galapagos Islands that warrant dissemination to the international community and must be addressed by the President of Ecuador.

On March 14th, the Ecuadorian Navy arrested two Park Wardens in Baltra who were investigating a denouncement made by PetroEcuador. A single hulled tanker was illegally transferring and selling diesel fuel to a foreign yacht in a highly sensitive area.

Exotic dishes face Olympian chop

March 14, 2007

Chinese officials should ensure that shark's fin, swallow's nest, bear's paw, snake and other dishes that might "upset" foreigners are removed from restaurants before the 2008 Olympics, state media on Wednesday quoted a local lawmaker as saying.

"Serving shark's fin to foreign guests during the Olympic Games could greatly hurt China's image, and officials should start removing the dish from the dining tables right now," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xu Zhihong, a Beijing deputy to the National People's Congress, as saying.

Operation Charm: Dying for a Cure - MET Tackles Wildlife Crime

November 17, 2006

A major Metropolitan Police initiative against the illegal sale of endangered species in London's Chinese medicine shops is launched today with the support of the Chinese community and Britain's leading wildlife charities. The new initiative will see a tough new focus on Chinese medicine practitioners selling goods that are made from, or even claim to be made from, endangered species. The launch takes place at New Scotland Yard at 11am today, and is run under the banner of Operation Charm, by the MET's Wildlife Crime Unit.

Chinese and International Experts Make Recommendations at International Shark Conservation Meeting

November 10, 2006

In Beijing, on November 7th, 2006, experts on shark conservation, research and management from Australia, China, Singapore, United States and United Kingdom, participated in the International Shark Conservation Meeting in Beijing, China. After discussion, The experts reached the following consensus:

Environmentalists Warn of Shark Troubles

November 8, 2006

Many species of shark are facing a serious threat to their existence because of worldwide fishing trends, environmentalists said Wednesday.

Fishermen "used to cut the lines and let sharks go," said Pete Kinghts, executive director of WildAid, a San Francisco-based conservation group, told a shark conservation conference. In recent years, however, fishermen have kept the sharks to sell their lucrative fins.

One-third of the more than 500 shark species are threatened with extinction or are close to being threatened, said Sarah Fowler of the World Conservation Union.

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