The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

	Dear Daniel, It’s only been three weeks, but it feels like a lifetime ago that I stepped off Oceana’s catamaran, The Ranger, just outside of Rome. I was lucky enough to spend three weeks onboard as Oceana’s Video Specialist for part of our 2006 expedition. My experience was incredible, but after I left to return to Oceana’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., things got even more exciting for the crew. Right now, The Ranger is sailing in the area around Sardinia searching for illegal driftnetters. Driftnets are large nets that indiscriminately catch massive amounts of fish and other creatures - like dolphins and whales. In the past few weeks, The Ranger has had multiple confrontations with these illegal Italian fishing vessels. Fully aware that they were violating EU legislation and we were there to document them in the act, these boats attempted to ram The Ranger. They even harassed our crew by hurling objects onboard. Their ammunition…illegally caught fish! Their antics were unsuccessful, and our partnership with the Italian Coast Guard has resulted in the arrest of several boats and the confiscation of hundreds of kilometers of driftnets. You can learn more about these successes and follow the journey by checking out The Ranger blog. As for me, I’m sifting through the 4,000+ photos I captured, and the 10-15 hours of video footage. I’ll be sharing these with you in the coming months, but you can get a taste of what is to come by checking out this photo gallery. For the oceans, Cory Wilson Video Specialist	>From the Ranger Blog It’s 5:30 a.m. and my companions, Sole and Juan, have just woken me to tell me that there is an illegal driftnet vessel nearby. Still half asleep I get the video camera ready to catch the moment on film; a “moment” that lasts some three hours as several kilometers of nets are pulled in. The whole crew saw how five swordfish, two ocean sunfish and several members of the carangidae family showed up in the so-called “death net.” Just when we thought our investigative voyage would come to a close without any further surprises, at sundown, we intercepted another boat with driftnets a few miles off Cetraro Marina. Enrique Talledo Diver and underwater videographer
	Major Victory in the Pacific! Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closed more than 370,000 square miles of the Aleutians to bottom trawling. This closure establishes the largest protected area in U.S. waters, and the third largest such area in the world. This victory was the result of five years of intense work by Oceana and others, including nearly 20,000 WaveMakers that contacted NOAA asking for protection. Congratulations on a job well done! >> Learn More Green List Update! In the two weeks since we launched our Green List campaign, we’ve gotten thousands of WaveMakers to sign the pledge in support of supermarkets that are posting the FDA warning signs. If your supermarket didn’t make the Green List, tell your grocer to inform consumers of the risks they face from seafood contaminated with mercury. Not sure about the supermarket in your neighborhood? Check out the Green List here. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family how they can protect their health. >> Learn more about the Green List
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