#marine mammal protection act

[rjzimmerman]

A ghost net, entangling 17 deceased sea turtles, was discovered days after a storm off the coast of Bahia, Brazil. Projeto Tamar Brazil/Marine Photobank/Courtesy of World Animal Protection

Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

Conservation groups sued several federal officials and departments today in the U.S. Court of International Trade over their failure to implement the import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The provisions’ purpose is to protect marine mammals from bycatch in foreign fishing gear by holding countries exporting seafood to the United States to the same standards as U.S. fisheries.

The lawsuit was filed by the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Natural Resources Defense Council against the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (and their respective leaders). The suit seeks a court order directing the government to implement the Act’s mandate to ban seafood imports from countries whose fisheries kill too many marine mammals.

“The U.S. government has violated the MMPA for far too long, causing significant harm to marine mammals worldwide,” said Kate O’Connell, senior policy consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Wildlife Program. “It is reprehensible that more than half a century after the MMPA was enacted, Americans are still buying seafood dinners with an invisible side of whale, dolphin, porpoise, or seal. Enough is enough.”

Approximately 70% to 85% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported from over 130 countries, including Canada, Indonesia, Ecuador and Mexico. The United States is the largest seafood importer in the world, with more than $21 billion worth of seafood products imported annually, accounting for more than 15% of the global value of all marine food products in trade.

Congress enacted the law in 1972 and included provisions about protecting marine mammals from bycatch and banning seafood imports from noncompliant fisheries. But NMFS did not adopt a rule to implement these provisions until 2016.

This import rule, as it is known, requires foreign fisheries to provide evidence that their bycatch prevention measures meet U.S. standards. The rule initially included a five-year exemption period to give countries sufficient time to assess marine mammal stocks, estimate bycatch, and develop rules to reduce bycatch. After that time, NMFS was supposed to determine whether countries’ fisheries were meeting U.S. standards and, if they were not, the U.S. government was supposed to ban imports from noncompliant fisheries.

In 2020 the agency extended implementation of the rule by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then it has delayed implementation twice more, and the ban on harmful fishery imports is now on hold until Jan. 1, 2026.

[trump-executive-orders]

Declaring a National Energy Emergency

Issued January 20, 2025.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) ("NEA"), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. The energy and critical minerals ("energy") identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity of the United States are all far too inadequate to meet our Nation's needs. We need a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy to drive our Nation's manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and defense industries, and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness. Caused by the harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration, our Nation's inadequate energy supply and infrastructure causes and makes worse the high energy prices that devastate Americans, particularly those living on low- and fixed-incomes.

This active threat to the American people from high energy prices is exacerbated by our Nation's diminished capacity to insulate itself from hostile foreign actors. Energy security is an increasingly crucial theater of global competition. In an effort to harm the American people, hostile state and non-state foreign actors have targeted our domestic energy infrastructure, weaponized our reliance on foreign energy, and abused their ability to cause dramatic swings within international commodity markets. An affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy is a fundamental requirement for the national and economic security of any nation.

The integrity and expansion of our Nation's energy infrastructure -- from coast to coast -- is an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States' national and economic security. It is imperative that the Federal government puts the physical and economic wellbeing of the American people first.

Moreover, the United States has the potential to use its unrealized energy resources domestically, and to sell to international allies and partners a reliable, diversified, and affordably supply of energy. This would create jobs and economic prosperity for Americans forgotten in the present economy, improve the United States' trade balance, help our country compete with hostile foreign powers, strengthen relations with allies and partners, and support international peace and security. Accordingly, our Nation's dangerous energy situation inflicts unnecessary and perilous constraints on our foreign policy.

The policies of the previous administration have driven our Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action. Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology. The United States' ability to remain at the forefront of technological innovation depends on a reliable supply of energy and the integrity of our Nation's electrical grid. Our Nation's current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States' prosperity and national security.

These numerous problems are most pronounced in our Nation's Northeast and West Coast, where dangerous State and local policies jeopardize our Nation's core national defense and security needs, and devastate the prosperity of not only local residents but the entire United States population. The United States' insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation's economy, national security, and foreign policy. In light of these findings, I hereby declare a national emergency.

Sec. 2. Emergency Approvals. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies ("agencies") shall identify and exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other lawful authorities they may possess, to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands. If an agency assesses that use of either Federal eminent domain authorities or authorities afforded under the Defense Production Act (Public Law 81-774, 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) are necessary to achieve this objective, the agency shall submit recommendations for a course of action to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

(b) Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 7545(c)(4)(C)(ii)(III), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, after consultation with, and concurrence by, the Secretary of Energy, shall consider issuing emergency fuel waivers to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline to meet any projected temporary shortfalls in the supply of gasoline across the Nation.

Sec. 3. Expediting the Delivery of Energy Infrastructure. (a) To facilitate the Nation's energy supply, agencies shall identify and use all relevant lawful emergency and other authorities available to them to expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriated infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects that are within the identified authority of each of the Secretaries to perform or to advance.

(b) To protect the collective national and economic security of the United States, agencies shall identify and use all lawful emergency or other authorities available to them to facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast of the United States, Northeast of the United States, and Alaska.

(c) The Secretaries shall provide such reports regarding activities under this section as may be requested by the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

Sec. 4. Emergency Regulations and Nationwide Permits Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Other Statutes Administered by the Army Corps of Engineers. (a) Within 30 days from the date of this order, the heads of all agencies, as well as the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall:

(i) identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation's energy supply that may be subject to emergency treatment pursuant to the regulations and nationwide permits promulgated by the Corps, or jointly by the Corps and EPA, pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33, U.S.C. 1344, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of March 3, 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403, and section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1413 (collectively, the "emergency Army Corps permitting provisions"); and

(ii) shall provide a summary report, listing such actions, to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB"); the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Such report may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.

(b) Agencies are directed to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions to facilitate the Nation's energy supply.

(c) Within 30 days following the submission of the initial summary report described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section, each department and agency shall provide a status report to the OMB Director; the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; the Director of the National Economic Council; and the Chairman of the CEQ. Each such report shall list actions taken within subsection (a)(i) of this section, shall list the status of any previously reported planned or potential actions, and shall list any new planned or potential actions that fall within subsection (a)(i). Such status reports shall thereafter be provided to these officials at least every 30 days for the duration of the national emergency and may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.

(d) The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, shall be available to consult promptly with agencies and to take other prompt and appropriate action concerning the application of the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions. The Administrator of the EPA shall provide prompt cooperation to the Secretary of the Army and to agencies in connection with the discharge of the responsibilities described in this section.

Sec. 5. Endangered Species Act (ESA) Emergency Consultation Regulations. (a) No later than 30 days from the date of this order, the heads of all agencies tasked in this order shall:

(i) identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation's energy supply that may be subject to the regulation on consultations in emergencies, 50 C.F.R. 402.05, promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; and

(ii) provide a summary report, listing such actions, to the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the OMB Director, the Director of the National Economic Council, and the Chairman of CEQ. Such report may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.

(b) Agencies are directed to use, to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, the ESA regulation on consultations in emergencies, to facilitate the Nation's energy supply.

(c) Within 30 days following the submission of the initial summary report described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section, the head of each agency shall provide a status report to the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the OMB Director, the Director of the National Economic Council, and the Chairman of CEQ. Each such report shall list actions taken within the categories described in subsection (a)(i) of this section, the status of any previously reported planned or potential actions, and any new planned or potential actions, and any new planned or potential actions within these categories. Such status reports shall thereafter be provided to these officials at least every 30 days for the duration of the national emergency and may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order. The OMB Director may grant discretionary exemptions from this reporting requirement.

(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Director's authorized representative, is available to consult promptly with agencies and to take other prompt and appropriate action concerning the application of the ESA's emergency regulations. The Secretary of Commerce shall ensure that the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries for the National Marine Fisheries Service, or the Assistant Administrator's authorized representative, is available for such consultation and to take such other action.

Sec. 6. Convening the Endangered Species Act Committee. (a) In acting as Chairman of the Endangered Species Act Committee, the Secretary of the Interior shall convene the Endangered Species Act Committee not less than quarterly, unless otherwise required by law, to review and consider any lawful applications submitted by an agency, the Governor of a State, or any applicant for a permit or license who submits for exemption from obligations imposed by Section 7 of the ESA.

(b) To the extent practicable under the law, the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure a prompt and efficient review of all submissions described in subsection (a) of this section, to include identification of any legal deficiencies, in order to ensure an initial determination within 20 days of receipt and the ability to convene the Endangered Species Act Committee to resolve the submission within 140 days of such initial determination of eligibility.

(c) In the event that the committee has no pending applications for review, the committee or its designees shall nonetheless convene to identify obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure specifically deriving from implementation of the ESA or Marine Mammal Protection Act, to include regulatory reform efforts, species listings, and other related matters with the aim of developing procedural, regulatory, and interagency improvements.

Sec. 7. Coordinated Infrastructure Assistance. (a) In collaboration with the Secretaries of Interior and Energy, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct an assessment of the Department of Defense's ability to acquire and transport the energy, electricity, or fuels needed to protect the homeland and to conduct operations abroad, and, within 60 days, shall submit this assessment to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. This assessment shall identify specific vulnerabilities, including, but not limited to, potentially insufficient transportation and refining infrastructure across the Nation, with a focus on such vulnerabilities within the Northeast and West Coast regions of the United States. The assessment shall also identify and recommend the requisite authorities and resources to remedy such vulnerabilities, consistent with applicable law.

(b) In accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), the construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, to address any vulnerabilities identified in the assessment mandated by subsection (a). Any such recommended actions shall be submitted to the President for review, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

Sec. 8. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) The term "energy" or "energy resources" means crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals, as defined by 30 U.S.C. 1606 (a)(3).

(b) The term "production" means the extraction or creation of energy.

(c) The term "transportation" means the physical movement of energy, including through, but not limited to, pipelines.

(d) The term "refining" means the physical or chemical change of energy into a form that can be used by consumers or users, including, but not limited to, the creation of gasoline, diesel, ethanol, aviation fuel, or the beneficiation, enrichment, or purification of minerals.

(e) The term "generation" means the use of energy to produce electricity or thermal power and the transmission of electricity from its site of generation.

(f) The term "energy supply" means the production, transportation, refining, and generation of energy.

Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

[naturalresourcestoday]

Biden Administration Says "No" to Right Whale Protection

The Biden administration refused Jan. 20 to extend emergency protections under two federal wildlife protection laws to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. A December 2022 petition sought federal regulatory intervention to prevent ships from striking females of the species and their calves. Specifically, the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Defenders of…

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Currently watching Smallville, and do they realize Arthur Curry probably killed those dolphins he “rescued” from the ocean park by releasing them?

[whaleexpertsanonymous]

The best part? All of this was directed at one of Toki’s trainers.

(I don’t want to defend her pool, it’s atrocious, but it actually is chilled to the same temp as SeaWorld’s orca habitats. And contrary to popular belief, algae growth is a sign of healthy water and also helps reduce glare. Aquariums remove it only because it looks “dirty” to guests).

(Also… her teeth? Are beautiful? The best teeth of any geriatric orca in human care hands down. This lady doesn’t even know what whale she’s talking about).

[reasonsforhope]

Article

As he peered over a secluded cove off the coast of San Francisco, Gerry McChesney couldn’t believe the scene that was unfolding in front of him. 

Fur seal pups — hundreds of them — had taken over the inlet at the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and were bobbing on the surface of the water in a shiny, blubbery mass, likely hiding from great white sharks as they waited for their mothers to return from the sea to nurse. The sight wasn’t exactly unheard of — island biologists at Point Blue Conservation Science had first noticed the older seal pups using the cove as a covert hideout sometime last year, McChesney, a manager for the refuge, told SFGATE. But he was on the island one day in late October when biologist Jim Tietz delivered the news: The seals were back in full force, and in numbers they had never seen before. 

McChesney decided to go take a look for himself.

“I was amazed to see them all piled in there, getting tossed around like they were in a washing machine,” he told SFGATE in an email, adding that he counted 440 in all. “They looked pretty content and like they were having a good ol’ time.”

The video McChesney captured was shared by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on social media earlier this week, garnering thousands of comments on Instagram and Facebook, with users referring to the phenomenon as “seal pup daycare” and “nature’s mosh pit.” 

To the biologists, it’s a sign of “a truly remarkable recovery.” 

The rookery’s history

The Farallon Islands host one of just two fur seal rookeries south of Alaska (the other being San Miguel Island in Santa Barbara County) after the species was completely wiped out from the area in the early 19th century. There was extensive seal hunting between about 1810 and 1838... In the first few years of widespread hunting, he estimates that over 150,000 fur seals were slaughtered (“The rookery must have been huge,” he noted) and soon, no fur seals could be found at the islands at all.

But large-scale market hunting came to an end by the mid-19th century, he said. In 1911, the United States signed the Northern Fur Seal Treaty, banning the hunting of marine mammals at sea. The Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits killing and disturbing animals including seals, was established in 1972, further aiding in the protection of the species. Two years later, 141 acres of the islands were designated the Farallon Wilderness and were closed to the public in an attempt to mitigate human disturbance so the seals could return and “breed unfettered,” McChesney said. Large breeding colonies still persisted on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, and the Commander Islands off eastern Siberia, and in 1996, a female fur seal from a recovered colony on the Channel Islands made her way back to the Farallones, giving birth to the first fur seal pup there after more than 150 years of the species’ absence.

Since then, “the Farallon population has been growing rapidly,” McChesney said. Within 15 years, the local population had boomed to 476 individuals, Bay Nature reported in 2018. Initially, they clustered in one area on the west end of the islands — but now, they’re beginning to expand.

Pictured: A photo of a northern fur seal in Alaska.

A seal surge

Pupping season runs from June to August, with most of the seals born in July and remaining in the breeding colony for a few months before they are weaned, usually by the end of November. Then, the newly independent animals go out to sea on their own. 

Farallon Island biologists from Point Blue Conservation Science have been documenting the population, and this year recorded 2,133 fur seals in total, including 1,276 pups, which McChesney called “the highest pup count yet.” 

“Given that the entire colony can’t be seen, this was a minimal count and there were certainly many more,” he noted.

Pictured: The Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco.

Though Point Blue biologists have never documented white sharks feeding on fur seal pups (they typically go for juvenile northern elephant seals and sea lions) the “threat of shark attacks on the seal pups is certainly there and I’m sure the pups are aware of that,” McChesney said. “The cove where the video was taken provides a secluded spot to swim and play without worrying about the sharks.”

When the mothers return, they find their pups by using a distinctive call. But in the meantime, the pups seem not to mind the hours away in their secret hideout where they can splash and play to their hearts’ content.

“It was so much fun to watch,” McChesney said. “And knowing that the sight represents such an amazing comeback for their population made the sight mean so much more.”

-via SF Gate, December 23, 2024

[sealsdaily]

The asker on that PSA post turned out to be kind of an unsavory type beyond just rudeness, but the general message is important so i'm archiving it here.

The thing about seals is their PR is ideal: they're cute and round and all, there's tons of videos of aquarium workers having fun interacting with them. They're just so cute, it should be fine to get all close and touch one when you see one in the wild, right?

Well...nope. Despite their lack of mobility on land, seals are still Carnivora, and their closest relatives are bears: even the cutest smallest seals have sharp claws and teeth for hunting fish.

One of the top predators in the Antarctic waters is the Leopard seal, and Elephant seals (who tend to live around places humans live, too) can be aggressive and their thick skin and fat help them withstand blows that would pulverize the average human.

However, this isn't just for your safety, but theirs too! As some of you may know, the US has the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which plainly serves to protect the ecosystems of marine mammals such as seals. It prohibits the "taking" of marine mammals, which includes not only killing and displacing the animals but also "harassment", which in turn is defined as behavior that has the potential to either injure said wild mammal or disturb behavioral patterns: breathing, feeding, breeding, migrating, sheltering, nursing. Any US aquarium with seals, or scientists bothering seals for research have received a permit to take them from their natural habitat and harass them. That doesn't mean that once you're outside the US you're free to stick your hand into that Leopard seal's mouth: regulations are written in blood, laws aren't just required but can just be common sense even when they don't apply where you are. A lot of facilities containing seals are rescue centers; the seals have to be there for their own good because of an injury or disease.

This has been a Sealsdaily PSA; please remember that most interactions with seals you see out there are done by professionals who have been permitted and trusted to interact with these animals, and if it's an everyman doing the interacting it can lead to consequences.

Oh i didn't know about seal finger before, but that's also a valid point about taking caution in human-seal interactions.

Technically this one is less "seal puncture leads to disease" and more "seals live in the same area as Mycoplasma bacteria that can infect punctures", but like, again, just, general safety. Seals aren't an outlier; if you see any wild animal it's best to keep your distance

[todropscience]

Altruism is the behavioral assistance of another in need, has ancient origins in mammalian evolution. Recently, marine ecologists has observed for the first time, an act of altruism performed by a male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), when trying to protect a young pup in distress from drowing at high tide at a colony at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

Researchers noted the high tide had pulled the pup into the water and it was yelling for help. The male reacted and entered to the water, it swam to the pup and very gently nudged it to shore, near to where its mother was waiting. Marine ecologists did not report the male attempted to gain an approach or interest in the mother of the pup. Male altruism is rarely seen in marine mammals, as sea lions and elephant seals, and more examples may emerge as more efforts were focused on breeding colony observations.

Photographs: Above: Male helping the pup from drowing. Below: mother and her pup reunited after the event.

Reference (Open Access): Allen et al., 2024. An observation of potential altruism by a male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Marine Mammal Science.

[ms-demeanor]

If while walking along the shore of South Georgia Island and gazing out into the Atlantic, you noticed a Elephant seal pup galumphing in your direction, what would you do?

Run the fuck inland as fast as I can; elephant seals can weigh 80 pounds and be 4 feet long at birth and I do not want to fuck with that nor with the marine mammal protection act, nor with the 10-foot-long, one-ton, pissed-off mama elephant seal.

Basically this:

[brightdarkness-2013]

Chapter 28: And Here It Comes!

Summary: The day of the attempted merge is drawing in.

Several days of what felt like wasted time. Several more days with Prowl making me learn his language rather than the other way around. Several days of Blaster laughing his ass off at me. I was about ready to throw in the towel. Sure I knew that I wouldn’t be gone for long if I did get frustrated enough to walk out, but it would be a great couple of days. I already knew how they would go. I would spend those days ignoring calls, listening to music, playing video games, and eating to my heart's content. Then I would come back and be back to this. But I wasn’t at that point yet. So here I was. Writing and rewriting symbol after symbol. Percy and Jack were having a field day with our notes on what these symbols translated to. I didn’t know exactly what they were doing with them, but I assumed they were trying to find a pattern or compare them to already know symbols and mer mythology or something. Whatever it was they were doing was going to be brought up to some serious big wig scientists and theorists at some point I was sure. Hopefully by then Prowl would be out of here and making a new home out in the ocean somewhere. I would miss him there was no doubt about that, but when it came around I didn’t want him being taken off somewhere and studied. He had already been through enough and he didn’t need anyone else poking and prodding at him.

“Ok. Done. How about we have some fun now, huh? Puzzles are great. Lets put together some puzzles. Or we can eat some candy. I’ll go get one of those mixed packs with kitkats, m&ms, and snickers.”

“Yeah he’s not going for it.” Blaster responded as he just shoved another carved coral piece at me before pointing to the seashell.

“Come on, Prowls. Doesn’t it at least Sound fun?”

“Jazz, your education is far more important than some candy and puzzles.” Blaster scolded mockingly. “You know if you learn enough words or at least get enough of them written down then we could write him a message to get him to understand that we’re trying to teach him Our language. And the more you get down the quicker that’ll happen. So get writing.”

“How about You waste all day writing nonsense and then ya can try and say that again.”

“It’s not nonsense. This is a real language of the sea here. And you’re the first to learn it so you should feel privileged.”

“Oh whatever. Besides as excited as I am that we could eventually speak to Prowl I really don’t want him stuck being interrogated and gawked at by people. I know the media would eat this up as much as some serious people in the scientific and marine fields, but in turn so would the public and… Prowl doesn’t deserve that. He’s been through enough.”

“I wouldn’t worry. Ratchet will keep people away if we can’t.”

“Yeah I suppose you’re right on that.” I laughed softly.

“After all this is a sanctuary for injured and ill mers. This isn’t a zoo you know!” Blaster did his best impression of Ratchet and I had to admit that lifted my spirits quite a bit along with pushing away my worry.

The people here were good. They cared for the mers. No matter how they acted they were worth protecting. No matter how damaged they were worth saving. Even if they seemed like they wouldn’t make it no matter what they did they would at least try. They wouldn’t let anything happen to Prowl. They’d fight it if they pestered him or tried to take Prowl away. I suppose this was why I liked the people here so much. The people here put some of my faith back in humanity. The faith I had lost through the years. What was eighteen years with neglectful and controlling parents compared to what I could do with the rest of my life? Sure most of the friends I would make here would be fish- mammals, but what did that matter in the long run? Maybe one day I could be fluent in Prowls language. At least writing anyway. Being able to talk to mers whenever would be pretty neat.

“So the big days tomorrow.”

“Huh? Oh. Right. I hope Prowl doesn’t rip their heads off or something. He really doesn’t seem to like them from long distance. I can’t imagine how he’s going to like them close up.”

“Eh. Prowl’s pretty level headed. He won’t go and attack them. I really don’t think it will end in violence this time around. I think the odds are good.”

“With how things are going I don’t think they’d hurt him either, but that leaves things up to Prowl and ya know how stubborn Prowl can be. If he says no he Never changes his mind.”

“Bribe him with a few m&ms every once in awhile to be nice and see where it goes.”

“I don’t think that will work out. If anything he’d take them anyway and still say no. He’d think I owe him for putting him in that situation.”

“Oh yeah. Well prepare for the worst and hope for the best then. The sooner he makes nice with one of the other pods here the sooner he gets out. Well after he teaches you how to write.”

“I know how to write.”

“Well he doesn’t think so. And what I mean is if things go well then we might have some more time with him to teach you his language. He’s the only one that’s actually tried or at least been willing to try and teach the language. At least to our knowledge. Maybe there is someone out there speaking and living with the mers or whatever, but this will be the only time it’s documented.”

“Who would have thought my seeing Prowl on a rock back in highschool would lead to this?”

“I know. Life really is something else.”

“The funny thing is I really thought that Prowl was an annoyance back then. I was walking home and then I ended up feeding him because he was too injured to hunt. Now I can’t picture my life without him there.”

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Masterpost

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Infectious disease, captive animals, and the Endangered Species Act

There's been a really interesting development in how the Endangered Species Act relates to captive animals in the United States. I picked up on it last fall and spent most of the early part of this year writing a paper about what happened and what implications it might have in the future - but what I didn't expect was to proved right within a month!

Basically, two different lower court judges have ruled recently that exposing captive endangered animals to an increased risk of infectious disease is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. They don’t actually have to get sick - just the fact that the risk wasn’t prevented qualifies. This has super huge implications for zoos and sanctuaries and anywhere else with an endangered species collection. Both lawsuits (one about a lemur, and one about some of the tiger king lions) resulted in major consequences: the lemurs were seized, and since the lions had already been removed prior to that lawsuit, the guy involved got hit with major penalties and prohibitions for the future.

Where I think this potentially creates the most immediate issue is, of course, SARS-CoV-2. Most zoological facilities are ending their requirements for staff to mask and socially distance around susceptible species (and holy heck, I was not aware how many species can get sick from it). This is especially a huge concern for big cats, since they seem to be the most at risk. The ESA lawsuit from 2020, against Jeff Lowe for his treatment of lion cubs, specifically notes that it was a violation for him to not follow “generally accepted” risk mitigation procedures, specifically, not masking and not distancing. So does that mean that zoos and sanctuaries that are having staff stop masking around tigers and lions and snow leopards are violating the ESA? We don’t know for sure, but it’s entirely possible.

The reason we don’t know is that the scope of the ESA is being changed by the interpretation of the courts. Rather than getting amendments passed, or having FWS choose to consider certain things violations, these judges are basically ruling on what they see as a violation of their understanding of the law. And those precedents can have some pretty serious impacts. Other judges aren’t required to rule the same way on similar topics (as long as they’re not in the same district, and a lower court, than the original ruling) but they often take previous precedents on the topic into pretty serious consideration. So for example, the argument that not masking around the lions was based on a precedent from the previous case, where it was ruled that having a lemur living in a situation that made it more likely to get sick was also a violation. So in the next case, courts could choose to agree with the lion and lemur precedents - or not - and we don’t know for sure until it’s litigated. Sigh.

But here’s the thing: there’s plenty of other zoonotic diseases that captive animals have to be protected from. I wrote my paper originally about SARS-CoV-2, but noted at the end that “While SARS-CoV-2 was the zoonotic disease risk during the [lion] court case, it is important to recognize that the ESA violations identified by the courts in that lawsuit and in [the lemur court case] were on the topic of increased or unmitigated disease risk more generally. This new scope of the ESA captive take provision may be relevant to other circulating zoonotic pathogens; for instance, the H5N1 strain of avian influenza has recently proven to be fatal to tigers, mustelids, and some marine mammal species.” I realized after publication that it could be argued that EEHV - the really deadly elephant hemorrhagic herpes virus - might also fall under the scope of these rulings.

And surprise! A couple days ago, it made the news that the Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary in Georgia was told to change their practices or be sued for violating the ESA. Some of the allegations? That the facility “failed to prevent tigers and a lion from exposure to the potentially deadly Avian Influenza virus.” I expected to see additional claims in ESA lawsuits about infectious disease risk - I just didn’t expect to see them so quickly after I published a big project warning about the possibility.

I don’t have a sense of where this issue will continue to go from here, as each additional court decisions changes how the precedent might have impacts. But I do think it’s going to be important to pay attention to, and might have pretty big impacts on how facilities handle zoonotic disease moving forwards.

A link to the full 13-page paper on the legal precedents - and my concerns about the impact of ending SARS-CoV-2 precautions around endangered animals - is below.

[rjzimmerman]

Biden to block oil drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. waters. (Washington Post)

Excerpt from this Washington Post story:

President Joe Biden will moveMonday to block all future oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of federal waters — equivalent to nearly a quarter of the total land area of the United States, according to two people briefed on the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement is not yet public.

The action underscores how Biden is racing to cement his legacy on climate change and conservation in his last weeks in office. President-elect Donald Trump, who has describedhis energy policy as “drill, baby, drill,” is likely to work with congressional Republicans to challenge the decision.

Biden will issue two memorandums that prohibit future federal oil and gas leasing across large swaths of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the two people said. The oil and gas industry has long prized the eastern Gulf of Mexico in particular, viewing the area as a key part of its offshore production plans.

The move could have the biggest impact in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 14 percent of the country’s crude oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Industry operations there focus on a small sliver of federal waters off Louisiana’s coast.

The decision would have little effect on a stretch of the Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, where no drilling is underway.There is weak industry interest in the region, and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about possible oil spills devastating local beaches and tourism.

In fact, Trump imposed a 10-year moratorium on offshore oil exploration off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina when courting voters there during his 2020 campaign. “This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and it will for a long time to come,” Trump said as he announced the election-year reversal during an appearance at a lighthouse in Florida.

The Northern Bering Sea, off the coast of western Alaska, is home to migrating marine mammals including bowhead and beluga whales, walruses and ice seals, which are hunted by many Alaska Natives. In 2016, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that prohibited oil and gas exploration across more than 112,000 square miles of marine habitat in the Northern Bering Sea and called for tribal comanagement of the protected area.

Biden plans to invoke the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives the president broad powers to withdraw federal waters from future leasing. A federal judge ruled in 2019 that such withdrawals cannot be undone without an act of Congress.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the new chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, suggested that he would seek to overturn the decision using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to nullify an executive action within 60 days of enactment with a simple majority vote.

The expected move is “yet another attempt by the Biden administration to undercut the incoming Trump administration and ignore the will of the American people — who decisively voted to reverse this war on American energy,” Lee said in an emailed statement, adding, “Senate Republicans will push back using every tool at our disposal.”

[idiopath-fic-smile]

uhhhhh e/r beach bum + lifeguard au

from "name an AU and i'll tell you five facts about it" here

this is a lovely prompt and i'm gonna apologize rn bc i will not be able to do it justice due to the fact that i wilt at the slightest hint of sun or sand

grantaire was once a young surfing prodigy who washed out (no pun intended) after an injury and now he sometimes sells popsicles on the beach. he can't bring himself to surf again but he also can't bring himself to totally leave those waves behind. he is making a very patchy living and camping out on the couch of ex-lawyer friend bossuet, who runs a little seaside bar

enjolras is an idealistic lifeguard who really believes in making the beach experience as accessible as possible, not just for wealthy tourists. grantaire starts showing up on days grantaire isn't working just to watch enjolras ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone on the beach

combeferre is a marine biology grad student gathering data on like local seaweed. grantaire feels so bad for this poor nerd who is clearly totallly at sea (no pun intended) that sometimes grantaire helps him accumulate samples without knowing combeferre is enjolras's longterm bff.

there is an Inciting Incident where grantaire is so distracted by the majesty of enjolras like reprimanding some drunk tourists for throwing rocks at sea lions (Marine Mammal Protection Act, motherfuckers) that grantaire forgets to observe proper sun safety rules and gets sunstroke, oof how embarrassing for a local.

enjolras sees grantaire drop to the sand in a half-faint and runs to him with a bottle of water and escorts him to the shade. enjolras crankily (but gently) rubs sunscreen on grantaire's back and lectures him about Slip, Slap, Slop (slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, slop on some sunscreen) and grantaire woozily says "isn't that for Australia?" which it is, it's part of the Australian Cancer Council's messaging and grantaire only knows this because he toured australia when he was a hotshot kid athlete. which is about the time enjolras puts together that grantaire is the same promising young surfing talent who inspired enjolras to get into lifeguarding.

(bonus) they share a popsicle and kiss under a bridge but way later bc there is nothing sexy about sunstroke

[death-mothblog]

idk if this counts as a 'questionable do you have any facts for any seals? :o

Oh so sorry it took so long. I got some stuff to do and now it's time for some seal's facts:

Seals typically sleep on land when they have pups or are searching for warmth. When sleeping in the water, seals are usually in a position called “bottling” where their bodies (except for their snout) remain completely underwater.

Seals and sea lions belong to a group of marine mammals called “pinnipeds.” In Latin, “pinniped” means “fin-” or “flipper-footed.” There are currently 33 different species of seals. The largest seal species is the Southern elephant seal, and the smallest is the ringed seal

Earless seals, including the walrus and leopard seal, don’t look like they have ears at first glance. However, they’re actually hiding underneath the surface of their skin. What’s missing is a pinna (a visible external ear

While not related to dogs, seals share certain traits. They’re known to be curious, playful, and sociable. But remember, seals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act which makes it illegal to harass, pursue, or take animals from their environment.

[wordy-little-witch]

Honestly I'm just gonna infodump on my Buggy AU bc I am a garbage mammal and I have work in like. 50 minutes. And I don't wanna be an adult.

So Buggy is a fae. His island was called Mystique, and he was about 4 when a preliminary approximate to a Buster Call was ordered. By that point, the fair folk of Mystique were considered high commodities to the wealthy and nobles. It was notoriously difficult to get TO the island, let alone get a person collared and smuggled off. The Fae there had many different kinds but all of them had a sort of "magic" that people didn't understand. ((In truth, it's an advanced branch of Observation Haki that kinda sorta mutated in their species to have a higher aptitude for. It's not IMPOSSIBLE to parn, but it's highly unlikely because the methods they use rely on a secondary set of vocal chords.))

To have a Fae collared and under your ownership became synonymous with wealth, prestige and renown.

It only got worse when eventually it was discovered that the wings the Fae had were made of a unique chemical structure which could be used to make a drug. It gave incredible highs, when prepared one way. It made you highly susceptible to persuasion, prepared another. The latter method also seemed to act as something of a super serum to some. It activated the adrenal gland, and the psychogenic effects essentially bypassed the natural inhibitors in your brain. So you can perform feats unfathomable on Fairy Dust, but it also disables your ability to perceive pain, leading to severe injury, often self inflicted. Prolonged use also strains your heart and ner out system, which leads to death.

Fairy Dust became a sought-after drug for a long time before the Marines decided to step in. Under. The Celestial Dragons' thumbs as they are, the plan was to destroy Mystique and collar as many as they could for monitoring and control of the source for the drug ((and also have access to it themselves as needed)).

Buggy, his sibling, and his mother were taken that day.

He spent a good long while in chains, a slave. Covering his back is a tattoo over a brand. He has scarring around his wrists and neck. He was the only survivor of the escape that led him to the sea.

Fae age differently than humans too, btw. They age slowly but also are highly social kinds of people. So on Mystique, the general populace aged slowly, a reflective process due to proximity.

On the Oro Jackson, Buggy ages a bit slower than most, but he's fairly in line with Shanks' development.

Buggy's Haki awakened very early (both by typical and Fae stadards), but his control of the branch of it that his people were known for was lacking. He was originally going to be used as a party trick essentially for the Masters of the house, but when it was announced that he couldn't do the small minor tricks by the other Faes, trying to protect him, there was anger and outrage. He eventually got assigned as a dancer - the youngest of them all.

There was one party when he was about 6-7 ~ where he was put on the spot to do some 'magic'. Buggy quite literally could not say no. So he tries.

He can use the secondary branch. He clstruggles to control it. The range of his Observation is ridiculously high by any means if the word, and so his range of access to the energies is outlandish as well. He simply can't control the amount properly. It's too much for his small body.

The little sparkler trick he tried damn near exploded. Nobody was hurt, but a girl's dress was slightly damaged. Buggy was punished severely for it.

They tore his wings off.

Not even a week after that, a large storm hit the island. There was a fire. There was chaos. Buggy's mother died. He lost his sibling. He escaped, and fell into the sea after tumbling down a muddy slope.

He washed ashore days later and survived.

A few months into his new life on the streets, he tries to pickpocket a giant of a man with a gaudy mustache and even more eye searing clothes. He is caught.

Roger recognizes the way the kid tilts his head with the wind, the way his pupils follow movements usually unseen. He sees what the child sees, he hears what the child hears, and so he does what the child does - he steals.

He just so happens to steal the child.

Buggy is taken to a pirate ship, offered a meal, a bath, a change of clothes, and amidst his vehement denials and bristling defensiveness, a redhaired boy steps out from a small cabin, and they meet eyes.

There's a ringing of bells in three men's ears, one two three. Shanks brightens. Buggy stares. Roger blinks.

Buggy proceeds to then not explain a single thing ever. And life as a pirate begins. It's only a few years later that Buggy explains, half asleep in Roger's bed after the Edd War, what the bells were, why the ones when he met Shanks were different from the ones that reverberated across the Seas before the ocean herself rose to engage as well; why Buggy, still a Devil Fruit User, had been half clinging to the mast, half hunched, looped fingers at his lips as he blew an unheard whistle to the waves, lips moving before and after the silent sound, pupils sharpened diamonds in a sea of glacier blue.

The Seas may entice him to a watery grave, the oceans may be his eternal tomb, but Buggy can hear and request things of the land and sky and sea that mortal men could barely fathom. Bells, he slurred, wedged between his father captain and his best friend, are the sounds of magic.

Outta time now gotta go, if anyone wants to hear more PLZ ASK ME I'M FERAL. SHAKING THE BARS OF MY CAGE

[turnstileskyline]

bouncing on it in a way that violates the marine mammal protection act of 1972