Coast to Coast and Everything In Between

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SandBar 8:3, October, 2009 Coast to Coast and Everything In Between In July, Mexican officials shut down a hotel beach, alleging that it was composed of stolen sand. Officials claimed that the hotel illegally used pumps to move sand from the sea floor onto the beach and to build a breakwater to retain sand to the detriment of hotels farther down the beach. Tourists at the hotel were angry over the closure, but Mexico’s attorney general for environmental protection noted that the government must restore the city’s beaches in an environmentally responsible way. (Associated Press, July 31, 2009) An ecologist in New Zealand is no longer in hot water for losing his wedding ring at the bottom of a murky harbor while searching for invasive plant species. Sixteen months after the ring fell off his finger, he found it. After losing the ring, he had marked the area with an anchor, but was unable to locate the ring on subsequent dives. However, on the most recent dive he spotted the ring just inches from the anchor. His friends now call him “Lord of the Ring.” (Associated Press, Aug. 20, 2009) After a Louisiana woman ran into a nutria while shopping in Wal-Mart, she filed suit against the company. She alleged that the store employees allowed the rodent (nicknamed “Norman” by the employees) into the store and failed to warn shoppers, leading her to hurt her back and foot when backing away from the animal. The company is investigating the claim. Nutria can weigh up to 18 pounds and are common in Louisiana, multiplying rapidly after fur farmers released the unprofitable animals in the 1930s and ‘40s. (Associated Press, May 7, 2009). Red crab fishermen in Massachusetts became the first East Coast fishery to attain green label certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. The fishery harvested more than 3 million pounds of crab last year. The fishery can now use the Council’s seal to represent that the seafood was not overfished nor did the fishery harm the ocean when harvested. (Associated Press, Sept. 9, 2009).
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SandBar 8:3, October, 2009

In July, Mexican officials shut down a hotel beach, alleging that it was composed of stolen sand. Officials claimed that the hotel illegally used pumps to move sand from the sea floor onto the beach and to build a breakwater to retain sand to the detriment of hotels farther down the beach. Tourists at the hotel were angry over the closure, but Mexico’s attorney general for environmental protection noted that the government must restore the city’s beaches in an environmentally responsible way. (Associated Press, July 31, 2009)

An ecologist in New Zealand is no longer in hot water for losing his wedding ring at the bottom of a murky harbor while searching for invasive plant species. Sixteen months after the ring fell off his finger, he found it. After losing the ring, he had marked the area with an anchor, but was unable to locate the ring on subsequent dives. However, on the most recent dive he spotted the ring just inches from the anchor. His friends now call him “Lord of the Ring.” (Associated Press, Aug. 20, 2009)

After a Louisiana woman ran into a nutria while shopping in Wal-Mart, she filed suit against the company. She alleged that the store employees allowed the rodent (nicknamed “Norman” by the employees) into the store and failed to warn shoppers, leading her to hurt her back and foot when backing away from the animal. The company is investigating the claim. Nutria can weigh up to 18 pounds and are common in Louisiana, multiplying rapidly after fur farmers released the unprofitable animals in the 1930s and ‘40s. (Associated Press, May 7, 2009).

Red crab fishermen in Massachusetts became the first East Coast fishery to attain green label certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. The fishery harvested more than 3 million pounds of crab last year. The fishery can now use the Council’s seal to represent that the seafood was not overfished nor did the fishery harm the ocean when harvested. (Associated Press, Sept. 9, 2009).