Fish & Fisheries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has decided that the declining Atlantic populations of the bluefin tuna do not warrant endangered species protection for now.

"The states of Oregon and Washington agreed on Wednesday to suspend euthanizing sea lions caught feasting on endangered Columbia River salmon until September while the courts consider a lawsuit challenging such killings."

"U.S. seafood fraud -- where farmed, imported or endangered fish is sold as wild, local and sustainably-managed -- is hurting efforts to preserve ocean diversity, conservation advocates said on Wednesday."

"The Food and Drug Administration is doing a poor job ensuring that imported seafood doesn't pose health risks to Americans, failing to properly assess foreign producers and inspect the products they ship to the U.S., according to a congressional research report released Monday."

"For the crime of snacking on endangered salmon, dozens of sea lions have been sentenced to die."

"Despite the reports of diseased fish that are circulating among some commercial anglers and within scientific circles, Alabama researchers fishing within 15 miles of Dauphin Island Thursday caught more than 300 red snapper and found no sign of infection."

"Sockeye salmon are exposed to a soup of chemicals in the Fraser River, and some of the ingredients are accumulating to potentially lethal levels in eggs, while others may be disrupting the sexual function of fish, according to a scientific review conducted for the Cohen Commission."