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Shark and Marine Conservation - Bite-Back

Bune Launches Environment Week

Monday: June 05, 2006

(Fiji Government Online)
The Minister of Environment Poseci Bune today officially launched the National Environment Week (June 5 – 10) in Sigatoka.

In his address, the honorable Minister said “this is my first obligation since becoming the first Minister of Environment and I have been advised that it will not be the last since the promotional activities for the protection of our natural environment have been scheduled throughout the rest of 2006 and as a matter of fact the campaigns for protecting and conserving Fiji’s environment should be on going into the future.”

Mr Bune said Fiji is very fortunate to be part of the United Nations and also being part of various international and regional environmental agreements or conventions and their related protocols which allows us to be part of the global environmental programs.

He said for the various agreements to succeed, it requires the effort of the government, the private sector, academic institutions and local communities.

However, “this calls for the setting aside of differences we have at all levels that is economic, social and even political levels so that the appropriate resources and efforts are channeled during this week towards the protection of Fiji’s natural environment week.”

Fiji now has a legislation in the Environment Management Act of 2005 to establish guiding regulations and standards to comply with and the deterrent penalties for not complying.

Furthermore, the Environment Ministry is putting into place the strategies that would control the generation, use, storage and disposal of all types of waste. Associated with this is the determination of the the appropriate levels of adverse impacts of new development activities on the environment.

The theme for this year’s National Environment Week is “Right to Life” and the sub theme is “The Survival of each species of plants and animals is the only insurance for our own survival.”

Mr Bune said this would set the direction of our thoughts and deeds during this week and hopefully for the rest of the year.

Pacific Magazine: FIJI: Bune Launches Environment Week

Oceana – Protecting the World’s Oceans: Shark Report

Oceana – Protecting the World’s Oceans: Shark Report

The End of the Line?, a new report by Oceana and WildAid, provides an overview of the factors affecting the survival of sharks, as well as a call to action to reduce the demand for shark products and implement solutions as part of the global effort. The consumption of sharks and shark products are driving shark populations to extinction, and this new report serves as a wake-up call to act now.

Download full report here.

EarthTalk Reader's Q&A: Coral Reefs And Hybrid Cars

Love it that someone is actually talking about this in real terms!

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EarthTalk Reader's Q&A: Coral Reefs And Hybrid Cars

Q: I’ve heard about the die-off of coral reefs due to global warming. I’ve also read that coral reefs themselves store carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main global warming gases. So if coral reefs are dying out, isn’t that a double whammy that increases the CO2 in the atmosphere? -- Tom Ozzello, Maplewood, MN

According to marine scientists, the world’s coral reefs—those underwater repositories for biodiversity that play host to some 25 percent of all marine life—are in big trouble as a result of global warming. Data collected by the international environmental group WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) show that 20 percent of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate sign of recovery, while about 50 percent of remaining reefs are under imminent or long-term threat of collapse.

Most scientists now agree that global warming is not a natural phenomenon but a direct result of the continual release of excessive amounts of CO2 and other “greenhouse” gases into the atmosphere by human industrial and transportation activity. And the small but prolonged rises in ocean temperature that result cause coral colonies to expel the symbiotic food-producing algae that sustain them. This process is called “bleaching,” because it turns the reefs white as they die.

But researchers working with the Coral Reef Alliance have found that while coral reefs do store CO2 as part of photosynthesis, they tend to release most of it back into the ocean (so they are not what are known as “carbon sinks”). As such, the release of CO2 from dying coral reefs is not a major concern.

Of course, the ocean itself is a large carbon sink, storing about a quarter of what would otherwise end up in the atmosphere. Landmasses (and their plants) soak up another quarter of all the CO2 emanating from the Earth’s surface, while the rest rises up into the atmosphere where it can wreak havoc with our climate.

Recent findings indicate that the Antarctic Ocean is getting less efficient at storing CO2, and this raises serious questions about the ability of our oceans to handle everything we throw at them. The study’s authors fear that “such weakening of one of the Earth’s major carbon dioxide sinks will lead to higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the long-term.”

Not everyone is forecasting gloom and doom. Some Australian researchers believe that coral reefs around the world could expand in size by up to a third due to increased ocean warming. “Our finding stands in stark contrast to previous predictions that coral reef growth will suffer large, potentially catastrophic, decreases in the future,” says University of New South Wales oceanographer Ben McNeil, who led the controversial 2004 study that was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters. “Our analysis suggests that ocean warming will foster considerably faster future rates of coral reef growth that will eventually exceed pre-industrial rates by as much as 35 per cent by 2100,” he adds.

In spite of such theories, the majority of marine scientists remain pessimistic about the future of coral reefs in a warmer world. One can only hope that the optimists are right.

Short of buying a new hybrid or other “green” car, are there ways I can make my existing vehicle more eco-friendly? I bought my car recently and am not quite ready to give it up. -- Bettie Hilliker, Lansing, MI

Choice of vehicle may well be the biggest factor in determining the environmental impact of your automobile-based travels. But a considerable amount of energy is used—and pollutants emitted—in the production of any new vehicle, including hybrids and other more fuel-efficient options. As a result, many environmentalists believe that practicing good driving habits and performing adequate maintenance on an older car are probably better options for the environment than causing the production of a new vehicle.

According to the website GreenerCars.org, there are many ways to green up one’s driving habits. Obeying speed limits, utilizing cruise control and avoiding jackrabbit starts will maximize fuel economy and minimize tailpipe emissions while also preventing unnecessary wear-and-tear. Staying off roads during rush hours is also advisable, as stop-and-go driving burns excess gasoline and promotes smog. Opening vents and windows to cool off instead of using the air conditioner, an inherently inefficient appliance that consumes more fuel and leads to more emissions, is also good advice.

Drivers can also help minimize their environmental impact by keeping their cars well maintained. According to GreenerCars.org, getting regular tune-ups—where a qualified mechanic changes fluids and checks for and corrects problems such as worn spark plugs, under inflated tires, dragging brakes, misaligned wheels and clogged filters—can significantly improve fuel economy and minimize harmful emissions. GreenerCars.org also recommends seeking out low-rolling-resistance (LRR) replacement tires, which are specifically designed to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy, when the original ones wear out.

Beyond regular maintenance, a handful of small companies now sell green-friendly fuel additives that purport to increase fuel efficiency while reducing emissions. Such products—including Bluestar Environmental’s Omstar D-1280X gas additive and Suntec Bio-Energy’s diesel additive—are normally targeted at fleets of vehicles, but individuals are free to use them as well. Owners beware, though: Use of such products could invalidate automakers’ warranties, so read the fine print in your owner’s manual before pouring anything out-of-the-ordinary into your fuel tank.

Of course, getting out of your car altogether—or most of the time—is a far greener choice than driving even a well-maintained new or old car conscientiously. Some employers now offer federally-subsidized “commuter choice” incentives whereby workers can derive financial benefits by telecommuting (working from home), or by walking, biking, using public transit or carpooling to and from the office.

Another option is to join a car sharing service like Zipcar or Flexcar, whereby you pay a modest monthly membership fee and can then rent cars parked nearby by the hour only when needed. The companies operate on both U.S. coasts, as well as in major Midwestern and Canadian cities.

CONTACTS:

GreenerCars.org “Green Driving Tips,” www.greenercars.org/drivingtips.htm

Bluestar Environmental, www.ablustar.com

Suntec Bio-Energy, www.suntecbioenergy.com

Zipcar, www.zipcar.com

Flexcar, www.flexcar.com

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION?
Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881;
submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/ , or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com

Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php

Egypt Stops Reef Fish Exports

Egypt have cancelled a decree which allowed companies to collect reef fish and export them to Europe and other markets .

According to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), the previous decision had a devastating effect on nature and on the coral reef condition in the whole area. HEPCA launched a huge campaign against this decision and lobbied with other agencies, enthusiastic individuals, and major media representatives.

As a result of the decision HEPCA have ceased legal actions against the Minister's old decree.

Further Reading: http://www.hepca.com/

Bush Sets Record for Denying Protection to Endangered Species

There are currently 279 highly imperiled US species that are designated as candidates for listing as threatened or endangered and that face potential extinction. But the Bush administration has failed to protect any one of them in the last year.

The last species protected by the administration were 12 Hawaiian picture-wing flies listed in a single rule on May 9, 2006. Overall, according to a report released by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Bush administration has listed fewer species under the Endangered Species Act than any other administration since the law was enacted in 1973, to date only listing 57 species compared to 512 under the Clinton administration and 234 under the first Bush administration.

“The Bush administration has killed the program for protecting new species as endangered,” says Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “and in the process has contributed to the extinction of at least two species. This government’s war on science is also a war against wildlife.”

In October of last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Hawaiian plant Haha (Cyanea eleeleensis) is likely extinct and thus is being considered for removal from the candidate list. The summer run of Lake Sammamish Kokonee salmon in Washington state are also believed extinct.

A copy of the Center’s report can be found at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Further reading: Center for Biological Diversity

International Underwater Photo & Video Competition

Under the Blue 2007

Over $20,000 in Prizes!

Next in the series of UnderwaterCompetition.com underwater imagery events, and on the heels of the popular Our World Underwater & DEEP Indonesia competitions, Wetpixel, DivePhotoGuide and the 2007 SCUBA Show are proud to bring you “UNDER THE BLUE 2007”.

Photographers will compete in four still image categories, including a category for images that focus on California’s unique and beautiful underwater environment, and one video category. Winners will share in more than $20,000 in prizes, including premium dive travel, underwater photography and diving equipment! Travel prizes include trips to some of the top photo destinations in the world including Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Australia.

2007 CATEGORIES

1. Majesty of the Oceans
2. The Macro World
3. Man & the Sea
4. California Underwater
5. Video

Shark Alliance send open letter to Commissioner Borg

On March 1st, 2007, the Shark Alliance sent an open letter to Commissioner Joe Borg. The letter calls on Borg to ensure that the European Union (EU) use the occasion of next week’s meeting of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI) to address the plight of the world’s valuable yet vulnerable shark populations.

Commissioner Borg acknowledged last year that a comprehensive set of management measures is required and the Shark Alliance calls on him to set a timeline for plan development and implementation.

Less than 20% of COFI member nations have completed the promised National Plans of Action and no international catch limits for sharks have been adopted. COFI provides a key opportunity for the EU to take the floor during discussions of the FAO International Plans of Action (IPOAs) to report on progress and expected completion of this important goal.

OPEN LETTER TO COMISSIONER BORG
Commissioner Joe Borg
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels

Dear Commissioner Borg:

On behalf of the Shark Alliance, a coalition of 27 non-governmental organizations committed to improving European shark policy, I am writing to urge you to ensure that the European Union (EU) use the occasion of next week’s meeting of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI) to address the plight of the world’s valuable yet vulnerable shark populations. We thank you for recently underscoring the EU commitment to producing a shark action plan, as agreed at the 1999 COFI meeting, and request that the EU take the floor during discussions of the FAO International Plans of Action (IPOAs) to report on progress and expected completion of this important goal.

It has been eight years since global concern over the plight of these slow-growing and under-protected species led to the adoption of the Shark IPOA. Sadly, progress under this agreement has been pitiful. Less than 20% of COFI member nations have completed the promised National Plans of Action and no international catch limits for sharks have been adopted. We believe the EU, given its role and influence in the global fisheries arena, has the responsibility to set a good example and act as a leader in encouraging other fishing countries to conserve sharks on national and regional scales.

Since 1999, scientific warnings of shark depletion have only intensified. The IUCN now considers one third of European sharks (and closely related skates and rays) assessed to be Threatened with extinction. Advice from International Council for Exploration of the Sea scientists to end fishing for severely depleted spiny dogfish and porbeagle sharks, considered Critically Endangered off Europe by the IUCN, has been ignored. Rapid expansion of deepwater shark fisheries has led to disaster for the targeted populations and associated industries. Last week, IUCN experts added shortfin mako and thresher sharks to the IUCN Red List, demonstrating that even the fastest, widest-ranging sharks are vulnerable to serious overfishing.

The Shark Alliance agrees with your assertion during last fall’s European Parliament debate on shark finning that prohibiting the practice is not sufficient to ensuring sustainable shark fisheries and that a more comprehensive set of management measures is required. Whereas we appreciated your commitment to complete such a plan at the earliest possible date, we believe setting a timeline for plan development and implementation is necessary to ensure steady progress and timely completion of this critical task.

Considering that much preliminary work has been done, we believe that the plan can be completed by the end of 2007, provided sharks are given the high priority that is warranted by their biology and status.

Sharks are among the oceans most vulnerable animals. As top predators, they are also vital to marine ecosystems. We believe the upcoming COFI meeting offers the EU a key opportunity to signal a new era of responsible stewardship of these exceptionally imperiled and important species. We hope you will embrace this opportunity by ensuring that the EU delegation details its plans and timeline for shark conservation and calls on other nations to do the same.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Sonja Fordham, Policy Director

Read more about the Shark Alliance HERE

Effort to Catalog Species Tops One Million

April 10, 2007 — By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A worldwide scientific effort to catalog every living species has topped the 1 million milestone.

Six years into the program the total has reached 1,009,000, researchers report. They hope to complete the listing by 2011, reaching an expected total of about 1.75 million species.

Thomas M. Orrell, a biologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said the finished catalog will include all known living organisms, from plants and animals to fungi and microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoa and viruses.

"Many are surprised that, despite over two centuries of work by biologists and the current worldwide interest in biodiversity, there is presently no comprehensive catalog of all known species of organisms on Earth," Orrell said.

The listing does not include fossil species from the past.

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System-Species 2000 Catalog of Life provides access to data maintained by a variety of scientific organizations, each specializing in a certain area.

For example, information on dipteran flies is maintained by the Agriculture Department's Systematic Entomology Laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Natural history museums in London, the Netherlands and New York maintain clothes moth, dragonfly and spider data. Experts in Canada and Paris keep the data on Ichneumon wasps and longhorn beetles.

These lists are peer-reviewed and checked technically, and then integrated into special software for the catalog.

The project, involving some 3,000 biologists, is led by Frank Bisby of the University of Reading in England and Orrell.

"We tidy it up and do a peer review to see which pieces are the best ones to use, like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle," Bisby said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "If you want to do international comparisons, you need a master list. It's a little like if you were running a supermarket, you would have to do an inventory."

Having internationally accepted standards for species' names will help researchers compare the diversity of life in various regions of the world and produce uniform catalogues of germs, packets of seeds or genetic resources, he said.

Only rarely is there competition among names, such as occurred with sea anemones, hard corals and spiders, and occasionally an element of subjective opinion plays a role among the peer reviewers with various taxonomic expertise, Bisby said.

"It can sometimes be very difficult to decide," he said.

Taxonomy, the formal system of naming living things, was launched by the Swedish scientist Karl von Linne -- known as Linnaeus -- in the 1700s and his name still appears in the database.

Look up gray wolf in the ITIS catalog and it produces the scientific name Canis lupus. Go to that listing and find that the wolf was given its scientific name by Linnaeus in 1758 and has two synonyms. Included are the wolf's common names in English, Spanish and French. So, too, its scientific classification and reports where it is distributed.

Confusion occurs when the same plant or animal has many common names in different places. Taxonomists seek to solve that problem with the catalog's use of scientific names along with the various common uses.

The biggest section of the database currently is LepIndex, listing 253,680 species of lepidoptera, which are butterflies and moths.

At the small end of the scale is a database that covers 86 species of krill, the tiny shrimplike creatures that whales eat.

The U.S. Geological Survey's National Biological Information Infrastructure is providing support for the effort.

Associated Press writer John Heilprin contributed to this report.

Catalog of Life: http://www.catalogueoflife.org

Catalog source data: http://tinyurl.com/258ej4

National Biological Information Infrastructure: http://www.nbii.gov

Source: Associated Press

Trawling, Industry Threaten India Turtle Nesting

DEVI, India -- The scattered carcasses of dead turtles bake on the hot sand. Scraps of the white shells of turtle eggs surround a hole where stray dogs have dug up a nest.

Until a decade ago, this beach on India's east coast used to witness one of nature's most spectacular sights -- the mass nesting of tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles on a single night.

Not since 1995 has that happened. These days just a handful of turtles come to the beach at Devi to nest, and its status as one of three main nesting sites for the Olive Ridleys in India's coastal state of Orissa is under threat.

Read the full article on ENN...

Tagging of Pacific Pelagic (TOPP) research project

The Tagging of Pacific Pelagic (TOPP) research project explores the Pacific, using a carefully selected group of animals from its ecosystems to gather data about their world. As a pilot program of the Census of Marine Life (COML), an international endeavor to determine what lives, has lived and will live in the world’s ocean, TOPP scientists will tag individuals from 21 species of marine predators in the Eastern Pacific to obtain an “organism’s eye” view of their world. Jointly run by Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Lab, the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, NOAA’s Pacific Fisheries Ecosystems Lab, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, TOPP also includes team members from several countries.

TOPP tests the effectiveness of using animals to gather biological and environmental data, tracking the individuals’ movements while recording valuable oceanographic and ecosystem data from their immediate surroundings. TOPP tags have collected and returned massive quantities of this data, helping scientists build a rich picture of key travel corridors and “ocean hot spots,” or gathering zones where animals feed and breed. While several projects have tagged limited numbers of individual species, TOPP scientists and engineers lead the animal-tagging research community in building a broad, multi-taxa (group of species), interdisciplinary approach to data collection and sharing.

Read more about this great project here...

Full protection for great white sharks

Sunday, 1 April 2007, 2:38 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government 1 April 2007 Media Statement

Full protection for great white sharks starts today

White pointer sharks will now be fully protected within the 200 nautical miles of water around New Zealand, and from fishing by New Zealand-flagged boats further afield, the Ministers of Conservation and Fisheries announced today.

Conservation Minister Chris Carter said despite the white pointer's reputation as a predator, it was vulnerable to fishing and becoming rarer throughout the world.
"These majestic animals occur naturally in low numbers and, without protection, could be pushed to the brink of extinction. The Wildlife Act provides a strong deterrent against targeting great whites with a $250,000 fine and up to six months imprisonment as a maximum penalty."

Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the white pointer shark was not known to be targeted by commercial fishers but was occasionally taken as by-catch. "However, recreational fishers do occasionally target them because there is some demand for jaws and teeth as fishing trophies.

"No one wants to see an animal hunted to extinction for the sake of a jaw or a few teeth, or to be placed under pressure by accidental catch. Under these new regulations no fisher will be able to profit from taking a white pointer, and any fisher inadvertently catching one will have to return it to the sea, intact, and alive, if possible," Jim Anderton said.

New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton

However, it is still legal to use shark nets to protect swimmers around beaches in Dunedin, and fishers accidentally catching and killing white pointers will not be prosecuted, provided they register the death with authorities.

The Wildlife Act makes it illegal to hunt, kill or harm a white pointer shark within New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ - 200 nautical mile limit around New Zealand). It will also be illegal in New Zealand to possess or trade in any part of a white pointer shark. As well, New Zealand is a signatory to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and has an obligation to prohibit the taking of white pointer sharks.

The species will be further protected on the high seas by the Fisheries Act, under which New Zealand-flagged boats will be prohibited from taking white pointer sharks while fishing outside the EEZ.

Read more at Scoop.co.nz...

Declaration of Reef Rights

Scientists warn that depleted shark populations disrupt marine ecosystems

In research published in the journal Science, scientists have warned that the depletion of shark populations is disrupting marine ecosystems.

The research suggests that overfishing of sharks releases their prey from predation, causing a knock-on effect down the food chain. A team of biologists from Dalhousie University analysed data from the past 35 years, finding that while 11 shark species had dramatically declined in abundance, 12 of the 14 fish species they prey on had increased.

The lead author of the research, Dr. Ransom Myers, a world-renowned fisheries biologist, sadly passed away on March 27, aged 54.

Read more here...

Shark Declines Threaten Shellfish Stocks, Study Says

Dramatic declines of large North Atlantic sharks due to overfishing have upset the balance of entire marine ecosystems, a new study shows. Now scallops, clams, and oysters are paying the price. Smaller sharks, skates, and rays that are normally eaten by the large sharks have become so abundant that they are ravaging shellfish stocks, the researchers say.

Read more at National Geographic...

Dive In To Earth Day 2007

Dive In To Earth Day is an international Earth Day celebration that mobilizes environmentally conscious communities, park managers, dive shops and other marine lovers around the world to take a stand in protecting our endangered water world.

Dive In has become a huge driving force for environmental awareness and has involved thousands of participants in active marine conservation. In the past seven years, Dive In organizers have held 2,000 marine conservation events in 117 countries worldwide, removing trash, educating children and their communities, supporting marine protected areas, and much more.

Sign up their website here...

New Environment Act Targets Conservation Of Natural Resources

Wednesday: September 20, 2006

(GovFIJI PR) - The new Environment Act will look into the conservation of natural resources says Director of Environment Mr Epeli Nasome.

Speaking to the Ministry of Information, Mr. Nasome said there are already existing legislations in place but these do not look at the protection of the environment.

"The Environment Act however looks at the sustainable use of natural resources and it also looks at waste management and pollution control," he said.

Mr. Nasome added the Act puts in place a legal institution like an environment tribunal for cases for non compliant individuals or companies to be taken to task.

And according to the Director, offenders will receive hasher penalties.

"These are what’s in this Act, the appropriate penalties – the penalties that were here before were very low."

Mr. Nasome said with the existing legislation, you could penalize a company up to $400, a very small amount compared to what the company gains.

"With the Environment Act for instance, if someone is found guilty they can be fined up to $250,000 and failing that they have to pay up ‘to $750,000 or face imprisonment for 10years."

Now that the Department of Environment has a full fledged Minister, Mr. Nasome is optimistic the new environment Act will soon be in force with the assistance of their Minister, Mr Pocesi Bone.

"With the Minister in place he will be able to put in place or bring into force a lot of provisions in the Act so we can start the enforcement on people."

The Environment Act will be implemented from 2007 after the Minister for Environment brings these provisions in December this year.

Source: http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/page_7456.shtml