Articles by Andrew Sharpless

Iceland resumes commercial whaling

The recent decision by Iceland to resume whaling, and to blatantly ignore the nearly two-decade-old moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), is infuriating and puzzling.

Iceland's Ministry of Fishing justified its decision by arguing that the "catches are clearly sustainable and therefore consistent with the principle of sustainable development," but conveniently left out the fact that the fin whales now on their whaler's list are also on the International Conservation Union's "red list" of endangered species.

Within hours of the decision, the first harpooners were off on their mission of "sustainability," and the first two fin whales have already been caught.

Iceland's actions make the next IWC meeting all the more important. In the meantime, let's tell Iceland to call the fleet back in.

Unbalanced mercury report has green groups in an uproar

Conservation groups are fired up about "Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks," a new report released on Tuesday, by the Institute of Medicine. The report attempts to undermine government advice by downplaying the risks of mercury in seafood, especially with regard to children and America's number one most heavily consumed fish: tuna. On a completely unrelated note, the panel that wrote the report has multiple ties to the food industry, including the tuna industry ...

>>Read the report (if you don't mind paying $55)

>>Check out Oceana's response

Reopening of conservation area threatens sea turtles

Pacific leatherback sea turtles have survived ice ages, major volcanic events, meteor impacts, and most every predator in the sea. But their nearly 100 million years on this planet could come to an end because of a simpler but deadlier foe: string.

Underwater concert sets world record

Katie Melua has two impressive credits in her CV. One: she's the biggest-selling female artist in Britain. Two: she performed the world's deepest underwater concert.

On Monday, Melua and her five-piece band played two gigs for workers on a gas rig nearly 1,000 feet below sea level, an event Melua called "surreal." The concert was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Statoil -- a Norwegian petroleum company -- and was filmed for broadcast on Norwegian TV. In addition to British pop singers, other recent deep-water discoveries include 10 new species of corals and a "treasure trove" of other new marine species.

The concert took place just hours before the re-release of Disney's The Little Mermaid -- a popular film featuring marine life jamming on the ocean floor. Coincidence? I think so.