"The wasteful practice of throwing away healthy and edible fish at sea will be ended in Europe, for the first time in four decades, in a partial victory for environmental campaigners who have viewed a discards ban as the key step to preserving fish stocks. But -- crucially -- the date when such a ban will come into force is still in question, raising fears that it may be implemented too late to save some species."

"Whether or not fishermen should be permitted to throw away healthy fish at sea instead of selling them to consumers will come to a head at a crunch meeting of Europe's fisheries ministers on Tuesday."

"There is a 50 percent chance the feared El Nino weather pattern which can trigger droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in South America may strike later this year, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center warned on Thursday."

"In its strongest prediction so far that El Nino could emerge, the CPC said conditions are still expected to be neutral between June and August, but there is a 50 percent likelihood that El Nino will develop in the remainder of the year.

"A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to threaten Mexico with cuts in economic assistance if the southern neighbor continues to pursue a trade case that has put U.S. 'dolphin-safe' tuna labels at risk."

"BOISE, Idaho -- Sockeye entered the Columbia River in recent weeks, beginning a 900-mile migration that very nearly ended 20 years ago."

"VANCOUVER -- Atlantic salmon farms around Vancouver Island have begun testing and formed a special outbreak management team after a virus outbreak at one farm led to a site quarantine and the cull of more than half a million fish."

"Quota checks allegedly being compromised aboard Northwest Atlantic Fishery boats, as observers report surveillance and theft."

"The international trade court has effectively outlawed the sale of dolphin-friendly canned tuna in American supermarkets, ruling such labels were unfair to Mexican fishermen."

"More people on the East Coast are acquiring a taste for snakehead, an exotic fish that's moved here from Asia. But the fish are still multiplying and spreading."

"A trial to assign blame and damages that could total tens of billions of dollars for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been put off until January, in a setback for the U.S. government, which wanted to try its case this summer."

"The Interior Department's inspector general appears likely to join the growing scrutiny over whether the National Park Service falsified data in an environmental review of a California oyster farm."

"Shrimp processors have asked a federal judge to delay preliminary approval of BP Plc's proposed settlement of economic damage claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, arguing that it is unfair to parts of the shrimp industry."

"The American Shrimp Processors Association said the accord, which calls for BP to pay $2.3 billion in seafood claims, favors shrimp harvesters and boat captains at the expense of shrimp docks, processors and others it represents.

"Seafood counters used to be simpler places, where a fish was labeled with its name and price. Nowadays, it carries more information than a used-car listing. Where did it swim? Was it farm-raised? Was it ever frozen? How much harm was done to the ocean by fishing it? Many retailers tout the environmental credentials of their seafood, but a growing number of scientists have begun to question whether these certification systems deliver on their promises. The labels give customers a false impression that purchasing certain products helps the ocean more than it really does, some researchers say."

"New research shows that killer whales are inhaling bacteria, fungi and viruses once believed to be found only on land. Some of the pathogens are highly virulent. And some are even antibiotic-resistant."

"KOMODO ISLAND, Indonesia — Coral gardens that were among Asia’s most spectacular, teeming with colorful sea life just a few months ago, have been transformed into desolate gray moonscapes by illegal fishermen who use explosives or cyanide to kill or stun their prey."