The village of Ericeira, mailand Portugal, is now officially a World Surfing Reserve (WSR), becoming the second WSR overall and the first in Europe.

The Ericeira World Surfing Reserve was officially endorsed on October 14 by Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva and was acknowledged in the Portuguese National Assembly.

The President acknowledged the significance of preserving the surfing coastline for not only the thousands of Portuguese surfers, but also for the vitality of Portugal’s economy, the health of the coastal and marine environment, and maintaining a high quality of life for residents.

“When we talk of surfing at our beaches, we are talking about much more than a sport: we are evoking a lifestyle and a relationship with the sea that is very Portuguese, a relationship that is natural and ancestral,” the President stated. “The designation of Ericeira as a World Surfing Reserve should serve as an example to stimulate everyone to aspire to a more environmentally healthy country with an excellent standard of living.” He said.

read more at portuguese-american-journal.com

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is now home to the world’s largest shark sanctuary. The Nitijela, the Marshallese parliament, unanimously passed legislation this week that ends commercial fishing of sharks in all 1,990,530 square kilometers (768,547 square miles) of the central Pacific country’s waters, an ocean area four times the landmass of California.

“We salute the Republic of the Marshall Islands for enacting the strongest legislation to protect sharks that we have seen,” said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, which is spearheading efforts to establish shark sanctuaries, where targeted fishing for these species is prohibited. “As leaders recognize the importance of healthy shark populations to our oceans, the momentum for protecting these animals continues to spread across the globe.”

read more at pewenvironment.org

Giant squid – some weighing as much as 20 pounds – have been washing up on beaches in Orange County the past few days delighting (or perhaps horrifying) locals.

There are hundreds of squid carcasses washed up on beaches all over San Clemente and Oceanside.

While people walking on beaches might not be fond of stepping on the squid, or trying to dodge them, fisherman in Newport Beach couldn’t be happier with their catch of the day.

“They’re hauling in bagfuls of jumbo squid,” reports KCBS correspondent Michele Gile.

One sports fishing expedition on Wednesday came back with 990 of the large creatures.

read more at cbs news