Pew Institute for Ocean Science - FryingPanTower.Com

DOLPHINS NAME THEMSELVES WITH SIGNATURE WHISTLES
Some bottlenose dolphin whistles appear to communicate the caller's individual "name" information, which other dolphins can recognize even when the caller's voice features are electronically removed, Scottish and U.S. researchers report. As infants, bottlenose dolphins develop their own signature whistles to use throughout their lifetimes. Signature whistles are individually distinctive signals given by the dolphins. Members of dolphin groups repeat these whistles back during vocal interactions, and researchers have found that the whistles form a system similar to that of human naming. The study's lead author, Dr. Vincent Janik from the University of St. Andrews and his colleagues, studied a group of bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, to investigate whether individual discrimination through signature whistles is independent of voice features, as it is in human naming. This study will be reported in an upcoming issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Source: Environmental New Service 9 May 2006
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2006/2006-05-09-02.asp

CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NEW CRAB

Two researchers from the ChEss (Biogeography of Deep-Water Chemosynthetic Ecosystems) field project have discovered a new species of crab at the hydrothermal vents of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. The creature was discovered during a Census of Marine Life expedition to the Easter Island microplate last summer. Researchers have determined that the crab is new to science and belongs to a new family--Kiwaidae. The hairy, pale crab was named Kiwa hirsuta, after the goddess of shellfish (Kiwa) in Polynesian mythology. A report on the discovery has been published in the journal Zoosystema.

GLOBAL STURGEON CAVIAR TRADE BAN EXTENDED INDEFINITELY

A worldwide embargo on trade in wild sturgeon caviar has been extended to conserve dwindling sturgeon stocks, banning the export of caviar from the Caspian Sea for all countries except Iran. Under the decision, by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) only one Caspian nation--Iran--will be allowed to export a limited amount of Persian sturgeon caviar. The ban follows years of declining sturgeon harvests. CITES, a convention on wildlife trade that 169 countries agree to, does not cover domestic trade, which is "robust," according to a New York Times story on the ban. The Times quotes the Pew Institute's sturgeon scientist Phaedra Doukakis, who co-authored (along with lead author and Pew Institute Director Ellen Pikitch and others) a global survey of the sturgeon declines that was published last year in the journal Fish & Fisheries. "CITES' action isn't going to save this fish or clean up this fishery in and of itself," said Doukakis. "There are all of these other outlets for trade that will be used. But it still is positive. It is still a move in the right direction."

Extension of Global Ban on Most Wild Caviar
Environmentalists commend trade officials for move to protect imperiled wild sturgeon

STATEMENT FROM CAVIAR EMPTOR:

Caviar Emptor applauds the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for its decision to extend the international trade ban on most wild sturgeon caviar for at least the remainder of 2006. It is the first time that CITES has not approved annual caviar export quotas since it began monitoring the trade of threatened wild sturgeon in 1998.

This extension of the temporary trade ban announced by CITES in January means the most popular caviars from the Caspian Sea – beluga, osetra and sevruga – are forbidden from international trade this year, with Iran receiving an export quota for only one species, Persian sturgeon, according to the CITES website and an April 11, 2006 memorandum to its 169 member nations. The Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are banned from exporting all caviars to countries that are parties to the Convention.

The trade ban is good news for sturgeon that are on the brink of extinction, especially the Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon, which has lost 90% of its population in just 20 years due to overfishing for beluga caviar. Other wild sturgeon populations around the world have suffered from overfishing, illegal trade, habitat loss and pollution, making it one of the most endangered fishes on the planet. The ban also applies to sturgeon found in the Amur River in China and Russia.

Caviar Emptor, a coalition of environmentalists and scientists from three leading organizations, is pleased with the tough stance CITES has taken this week. The ban will provide Caspian sturgeon with much-needed relief from global trade pressure, and give this remarkable species a chance for survival.

Caspian nations now must develop a recovery plan for sturgeon. For the most imperiled species, such as beluga sturgeon, a long-term trade ban and fishing moratorium may be its only hope. We salute the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its decision to ban beluga caviar imports last year, which led the way in saving this magnificent species.

Signed by Caviar Emptor partners:

Dawn Martin, Executive Director, SeaWeb, Washington, DC

Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director, Pew Institute for Ocean Science, New York

Lisa Speer, Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York

Note to Editors:

For more than five years, the Caviar Emptor coalition of SeaWeb, Pew Institute for Ocean Science, and the Natural Resources Defense Council has called for a halt to the international trade in beluga caviar and has supported the long-term reduction of export quotas for other Caspian sturgeon. We have encouraged international funding for improved management and enforcement, and have helped start scientific research programs in the Caspian region. Caviar Emptor successfully petitioned the U.S. government to list beluga sturgeon under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, resulting in the U.S. ban on beluga caviar that has been in place since Fall 2005. Caviar Emptor has pointed consumers toward environmentally friendly, farmed caviars as a better choice than eating the eggs of an endangered species.