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"Washington, DC - 03/12/2012 - The Pew Environment Group commended Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Scott Brown (R-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today for introducing the Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (FIRRA). A companion bill is expected in the House by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Frank Guinta (R-NH). This bipartisan legislation would ensure that key programs critical to sustainably managing ocean fish populations, and the fishermen and communities that depend on them, would receive increased and sustained funding. "

"A horrendous slaughter is going on out here," said Peter D. Ward, a biologist from the University of Washington, during a recent census of the marine creature in the Philippines. "They're nearly wiped out." The culprit? Growing sales of jewelry and ornaments derived from the lustrous shell. To satisfy the worldwide demand, fishermen have been killing the nautilus by the millions, scientists fear. Now marine biologists have begun to assess the status of its populations and to consider whether it should be listed as an endangered species to curb the shell trade.