Our Ocean, a statewide coalition of Oregon conservationists, scientists, ocean users, local and businesses leaders expressed support today for the state legislature’s action to designate three marine reserves and protected areas off Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, and Cape Perpetua. 

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(Los Angeles Times) One of the last significant hurdles to offshore oil drilling in the Arctic has been cleared with approval of a plan for dealing with a nightmare scenario — an oil spill at the top of the world. The Obama administration on Friday approved Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc.'s plan for responding to an accident should it occur in the Chukchi Sea.

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(New York Times) In an important step toward ultimate approval of new oil drilling off the North Slope of Alaska, the Interior Department on Friday tentatively approved Shell’s plans for responding to a potential spill in the frigid Arctic waters. Shell still needs to cross several additional regulatory barriers before it will be permitted to begin drilling as many as six exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea starting in July. But the green light from the Interior Department on its oil spill response plan is a clear sign that the Obama administration is disposed to allow the drilling when it believes adequate safeguards are in place.

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(Radio Australia) More than 300 scientists from around the world have signed a consensus statement warning the Australian government that its proposed marine reserve in the Coral Sea has some serious shortcomings.

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(Auckland Now) "Wakey wakey" blasts over the loud speakers every morning to raise the nine South Pacific artists on board a navy frigate steaming north-east from New Zealand. They're heading for the unspoilt and untouched Kermadec Island group and as Ponsonby resident John Reynolds discovers the voyage really is an awakening.

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Nearly the size of the continental U.S., the Sargasso Sea was named after Sargassum. Some of the marine species relying on this habitat have evolved unique shapes and color patterns that camouflage them among the plants. The Sargasso Sea is set off from the surrounding Atlantic by four ocean currents—some of the strongest in the world.

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(New Zealand Herald) A trip to the Kermadecs by nine artists on the HMNZS Otago has spawned a touring art exhibition which underpins efforts to protect the region.

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In 2010, the Pew Environment Group commissioned Oil Spill Prevention and Response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, a comprehensive study of the challenges and potential consequences of oil and gas exploration and production in the U.S. Arctic Ocean. The study examined what might happen if a catastrophic spill occurred in the Arctic.

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The Obama Administration is moving forward with its National Ocean Policy, and we need your help to make sure it is implemented effectively. Please send your comments and ask for a robust, conservation-oriented National Ocean Policy. The future of America’s oceans is at stake.

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(BBC) A huge crustacean has been found lurking 7km down in the waters off the coast of New Zealand.

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The Beaufort and Chukchi seas off northern Alaska make up America’s portion of the Arctic Ocean, a spectacular and unique marine ecosystem in the United States. Bowhead whales, walrus, ice seals, polar bears, and millions of migratory birds thrive here. While these Arctic marine mammals are uniquely adapted to living on and around sea ice, their world is changing rapidly. 

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(Nature) “The race is on for positions in the new oil provinces.” That starting-gun quote was fired last week by Tim Dodson, executive vice-president of the Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil.

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More than 500 distinguished scientists signed a letter urging the Obama administration to use science to guide decision making on oil and gas activities in the remote and fragile U.S. Arctic Ocean.

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(BBC) I'm not sure whether logically you can have such a thing as a footprint in water... but if you can, then the footprints of human fishermen now cover much more of the world's oceans than half a century ago.

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(Greenwire) A group of 573 scientists today released a letter to President Obama asking him to stop oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic waters until experts can study the proposed oil development's impacts on sensitive Arctic ecosystems and native subsistence activities.

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