Neptune LNG, LLC has requested a one-year authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to potentially disturb or injure marine mammals as the company completes construction and begins commercial operation of its LNG deepwater port. The notice of the application and request for public comments, available in today's Federal Register, notes that NMFS currently is considering regulations to provide for authorization for similar incidental harassment for a term of five years.

From LNGLawBlog

Post written by Patrick Ramage, IFAW's Global Whale Program Director

Many people think commercial hunting of whales ended in the 1980s. Sadly, this is not the case! More than 30,000 whales have been killed since the 1986 commercial whaling ban and Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to slaughter whales for products that nobody needs. The Government of Japan leads this effort and its factory ship and fleet are killing whales right now in the waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary around Antarctica!

Whales face more threats today than at any time in history -- from marine pollution and habitat destruction, to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with high-speed vessels. New and emerging threats such as global warming and ocean noise pollution are also threatening the ways whales breed, feed and migrate across our oceans

For more than two decades, IFAW has been giving hands-on-help to whales around the world. Not just on the water or on the beach but also in the halls of government. IFAW is a leader in the fight to protect our planet's great whales at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the global body charged with protecting whales and managing whale stocks. On Sunday, January 25th, the Washington Post broke the news of a secret Bush administration plan to allow the Government of Japan to kill more whales.

Read the Post story and join our campaign to encourage governments worldwide, including the Governments of Japan, Iceland and Norway to put down the harpoon, pick up the camera and join the emerging global consensus for whale conservation in the 21st century!

Join our fight to protect whales - take action today at www.stopwhaling.org

This note about a recent victory for whales was sent by Beth Algood, the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Program Manager in our Washington D.C. office.

The Natural Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC), IFAW and other plaintiffs settled a Mid-Frequency Active sonar lawsuit on Friday, concluding IFAW’s participation in litigation against the Navy.  Among the terms of the settlement, the Navy has agreed to publicly disclose previously classified information, provide funding of almost $15 million in new marine mammal research, and has made assurances that the Navy will abide by federal environmental protection laws.  Earlier this year NRDC and IFAW successfully settled a Low-Frequency Active Sonar case and litigated the Southern California Mid-Frequency Active Sonar lawsuit decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The news was also posted to the Environmental Magazines web site.

The mass stranding of at least one hundred melon-headed whales were reported  in the mangrove of Antsohihy Bay (Northwest region of Madagascar) this past friday. The incident occured shortly after Exxon conducted seismic surveys in the area. Staff from IFAW's Cape Cod Stranding Network are on scene, however  details are sketcy at this early hour.  However, a blogger from Global Voices.org witnessed the stranding first hand and wrote about it here.