Dams being demolished to help fish

The largest dam removal in the Pacific Northwest in 40 years is under way, with 4,000 pounds of explosives used Tuesday to blast the top level of one structure into oblivion.

When the two dams are fully removed, one this summer and the other next summer, the Sandy River will be a free-flowing river for the first time in nearly a century — and no longer a hindrance to steelhead and salmon returning to spawn.

Eight feet of the 47-foot-tall Marmot Dam was removed Tuesday and over the next two months there will be five more blasts, along with jackhammers working daily, according to the dams' owner, Portland General Electric.

Portland General Electric, the biggest utility in Oregon, is spending $17 million to remove the two dams in coordination with 23 environmental, governmental and civic organizations.

"Today, this partnership took a great step toward restoring a breathtaking river for fish, wildlife and people," Portland General Electric CEO and President Peggy Fowler said in a statement. "We celebrate the future of a watershed that will provide unimpeded salmon and steelhead passage from the slopes of Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean." (General Electric is the parent company of NBC, which is a partner in the joint venture that operates MSNBC.com.)

"It's incredibly significant for the entire Sandy River Basin; it's going to breath new life into the basin and it's going to provide new recreational and fishing opportunities," added Amy Kober, a spokeswoman for American Rivers, a conservation group. "This was a region that was built by dams, but we are realizing the benefits of healthy rivers. We are getting back into balance."

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Panel Votes To Ban Bottom Trawling in Northern Bering Sea

An advisory fisheries panel voted Sunday to put 180,000 square miles (466,200 square kilometers) of the northern Bering Sea off-limits to bottom trawling, a form of fishing that conservation groups say is destructive to vulnerable habitat for numerous species.



The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which advises the federal government on fisheries in federal waters off Alaska, made its unanimous decision Sunday at a meeting in Sitka after asking the public to weigh in with options for about 330,000 square miles (854,700 square kilometers) of the entire Bering Sea. Options adopted now go through the regulatory process with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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Aquarium fish 'threaten biodiversity'

Read the full story Aquarium fish 'threaten biodiversity'



The millions of exotic fish imported each year to fill Australia's aquaria and ornamental ponds are a ticking time bomb for the continent's biodiversity, say some experts.

And they say Australia will find it hard to protect itself unless international trade laws are reformed.

"There is no doubt that aquarium fish that are being imported into Australia every week carry pathogens that have the potential to cause severe ecological impacts," says the University of Sydney's Professor Richard Whittington, a specialist in the health of aquatic animals.


Read the full story: Aquarium fish 'threaten biodiversity'