Rock The Vote!

Angelo over on Saipan shot me a heads-up that his local paper, the Saipan Tribune, is running an unscientific poll to gauge public support for the proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.

If you recall, a few weeks back the CNMI Legislature adopted a resolution opposing the proposed monument citing, among other lame reasons, a lack of community support. Strangely enough, that goes against what appears to be common sense and overwhelming public interest and support for the monument. Early results of the support are evident in the screen shot of poll results from this afternoon.

You're welcome to vote however you wish, but it sure seems like a no-brainer to me that the CNMI should recognize the importance of marine protection for the future generations of residents (locals or not). So head over and join the democratic process. The poll is in a box at the bottom of the homepage.

But the poll I'd really like to see is, "Do you think WESPAC should be publicly pilloried for tampering with local island politics and interests to accomodate their greed-driven agenda?"

That's A Moray Monday: The Miriam Goldstein Edition

As some of you ocean science blog types may know, one of my colleagues--Miriam Goldstein (one-half of the oomph behind the utterly fantastic blog The Oyster's Garter)--has been in Curaçao for the past few weeks tormenting reef invertebrates, killing helpless fish, and likely grinding defenseless coral polyps under foot conducting research.

Shortly after arriving in Curaçao, Miriam reported being afflicted by a mystery sting on her hand. So painful was it that it caused her to entirely miss on a guest post at Coral Week at DSN, thus trumping my own lame-ass excuse for not guest posting on Coral Week due to an international speaking engagement and an inordinate fondness for drinking rum when not working.

This being Miriam's first foray into tropical reefs, she learned the hard way that tropical marine ecosystems are home to an evolutionary arms race of self-defense systems. She summed things up nicely with,

The moral of this story? Looky, no touchy is BY FAR the best way to hang out on a reef. Collecting tunicate samples is way more harrowing than I thought it would be. On top of the fireworm, I almost got nailed by an extraordinarily attractive and extraordinarily toothy Golden Moray yesterday. (Rick would be…so proud. Scroll down for his That’s a Moray Monday series with all the moray goodness you can handle. Except for the golden moray. Rick, do you take requests?)

Why yes I do, Miriam. Thanks for asking! But coming-up with an answer wasn't straight-forward.

The nightmare of common names left me with a few possible directions to pursue. Google-ing her initial ID, "Golden Moray," came-up with only 10 hits. The closest match was Gymnothorax melatremus which goes by the common name "Golden Moray" but also "Dwarf Moray" on Fish Base. But I ruled this species out as soon as I noticed its range seemed limited to the Indo-Pacific (Indonesia specifically). Well that's not close to Curaçao.

Turning to my bookshelf, I next did what any marine ecologist trained in systematics, cladistics, and the use of dichotomous keys would do: With a beer in hand I leafed through pretty pictures until I found a yellowish-golden moray eel. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas by Paul Humann lists two candidate eels that might be Miriam's sighting. The first golden-colored eel was Gymnothorax saxicola, the "Honeycomb Moray," (see image at left). Typical coloration is shades of cream to yellow, yellow-brown, or brown. Check! Constantly opens and closes a mouth filled with needle-sharp teeth. Check! But wait, the Honeycomb moray's range rarely extends south of Bermuda. Also, it's preferred habitat is turtle grass beds, not coral reefs.

Which leaves me with the only other Caribbean, golden-colored, reef-dwelling suspect eel and the star of this week's Moray Monday.

Goldentail Moray
Gymnothorax miliaris

Goldentail?! Goldstein?! Wait a minute... I smell a set-up! Be that as it may, this is a doozy of a moray and I'm delighted Miriam's close encounter brought it to my attention.

From what I can tell from the color variation in photographed specimens on Fish Base, the Goldentail moray either has several color morphs or it is decidedly more yellowish in color as a juvenile. For comparison, here's one image of Gymnothorax miliaris from its taxonomic description:

Here's another from the same page:

They almost look like different species. Either of these resemble your stalker, Miriam?

The Goldentail moray reaches a maximum length of about 70 cm (2.3 ft). It ranges from the Western Atlantic (Bermuda and southern Florida) to the Antilles (can you say Curaçao?) and southeast Brazil. In the Eastern Atlantic it has been documented in St. Paul's Rocks, Cape Verde, Ascension and St. Helena islands as well as the Azores.

A benthic and solitary species, the Goldentail moray inhabits reefs and rocky shorelines usually to depths of 60 meters but prefers shallow to mid-range coral reefs. It is active during the day and sometimes seen hunting together with other reef predators. As troublesome as it was to initially ID, Paul Humann considers it to be one of the most common and easily recognized morays of West Indian reefs.

Despite a menacing appearance, the Goldentail moray is considered non-aggressive (like most morays). It's gaping-mouth appearance has more to do with respiration than threat posturing. Though I must again flaunt my morbid side by saying that since she denied us all a peek at her swollen, mystery-stung hand, the very least Miriam could do is bring back pictures of a moray bite to satisfy us ghouls. It doesn't have to be her own hand. That's what dive buddies are for!

Well, Miriam, I hope you enjoyed this tribute post. Just know that henceforth, Gymnothorax miliaris will always be fondly known to me as the "Goldenstein-tail moray." What it lacks in euphony it exceeds in mirth.

Palau Continues To Lead The Pacific In Marine Protection

Palau’s President Tommy Remengesau Jr. has signed into law the Protected Area Network (PAN) which endorses and supports the Micronesia Challenge. The resulting law further solidifies Palau's leadership and commitment to marine conservation since the declaration of the Micronesian Challenge and establishes financial provisions for funding the protected areas network with a US$30 environmental “green fee” departure fee. This new levy is in addition to the current $20 departure fee and takes effect October 1, 2008.

Established in 2005 by President Remengesau, the Micronesian Challenge is a call for Pacific island nations to conserve at least 30% of near-shore marine and 20% of forest resources across Micronesia by 2020.

The PAN (Protected Area Network) of marine parks offers a concrete tool to improve nature protection by sustainable tourism development, and offering economic opportunity for marine parks and their surrounding areas. The network unites marine protected area managers, local authorities, and local and international tourism businesses on both a local and international level.

Through President Remengesau's actions, Palau also satisfies the conditions of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for financial assistance and may now have access to the new funding for coral reef conservation that I reported on last week.

Want God's Love? Can't Wear A Glove! or Spot The Real Scumbag

Rather than working to keep allegedly celibate Catholic priests hands off altar boys, Pope Palpatine Benedict marked the 40th anniversary of the church's condemnation of contraception by declaring a jihad on rubbers. "What was true yesterday remains true even today," reminded the Holy Father while flashing some of the scariest eyes ever seen on a clergy.

Going off-script, the Pope then launched into a long, snicker-inducing Papal list of banned condom euphemisms that included: love socks, love glove, the goalie, jimmy-hat, willie-hat, domers, willie warmers, dobbers, hats, party hats, johnnies, poshies, rubber johnnies, sheaths, rubbers, nodding socks, raincoats, french letters, cock socks, johnny bags, gentleman’s jerkins, and scumbags.

Strangely enough coming from a life-long celibate, the Pope also warned that, "Sex could transform itself into a drug." By the volume and frequency of sexual abuse cases leveled against the Catholic church from those willing to come forward with abuse charges, I'm certainly willing to entertain that hypothesis. But is it the sex or the sexual repression?

Not content to stop there, the Pope went on to cast further insult on reproductively challenged individuals whose only recourse to fertility might be found in artificial insemination. "No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that two married people exchange as a sign of a greater mystery," Benedict said in his speech. Mechanical? Like with batteries? There goes that repressed sexual mind again.

It's all, of course, further evidence for how the Catholic church is out of touch with reality.

According to the World Health Organization, condoms work. Condoms are the only contraceptive method proven to reduce the risk of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. They can be used as a dual-purpose method, both for prevention of pregnancy and protection against STIs.

Seems like plain English to me. But if bulleted lists are your thing, they provide one as well:

• Condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV infection;
• Condoms are effective in preventing some STIs;
• Condoms are effective in reducing risk for HPV and cervical cancer;
• Condoms are effective in preventing unintended or unwanted pregnancy;
• Condoms are effective barriers;
• Condom availability programs increase condom use.

Whenever I'm in Papua New Guinea, I'm reminded of the sheer ass-backwards position on contraception by the church and its profound impact on PNG's people. The patterns of HIV/AIDS infection rates in PNG mirror those in Africa. The disease is being spread mainly through heterosexual contact and social conventions of promiscuity. Current projections from groups such as AusAID estimate that the infection rate could be 18% by 2010, and 25% by 2020, which could see up to one-third of the population dying by 2027.

PNG is a predominantly Christian nation. The pulpit has a tremendous influence on daily life there. Numerous Catholic missions in urban and rural areas could help stem the tide of infection with simple instructions in safer sex and a condom distribution program. Yet young men I have spoken to in PNG consider condoms a "sin" and refuse to consider using them. This from men who have unprotected sex with multiple partners and then bring potential infection back to their wives and children.

At the heart of PNG's inability to stop the spread of HIV is the church and government's failure to acknowledge the actual and potential dimensions of the spread of HIV/AIDS and its effects on the future. The Pope's statements today speak less to the church as a beacon of hope but instead as a death sentence to millions.

Assessing Risk First: A Novel Approach

If you've been following the posts here and at Deep Sea News about the seafloor mining activities by Nautilus Minerals in Papua New Guinea, you know that both Craig and I have been calling for a precautionary approach to deep sea mining. In particular, when the long-term effects on nearby ecosystems and human communities from such new activities like deep seafloor mining are either poorly understood or uncertain.

So it's rather serendipitous that a recent news release caught my eye and may have bearing on similar activities into the future. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is leading a review of the role of environmental impact assessments in the Pacific region. A decade has passed since the last such review was held, so it's hoped that the report will establish a clear baseline of where the Pacific island countries and territories can strengthen and improve their assessment capacities.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment, and present the predictions and options to decision makers. By using EIA, both environmental and economic benefits can be achieved, such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design, and avoided treatment/clean-up costs and impacts of laws and regulations.

The key elements include scoping to identify key issues and concerns of interested parties; a screening process to decide whether an EIA is required based on information collected; identifying and evaluating alternative sites and techniques and the impacts of each; mitigating measures dealing with uncertainty to prevent or minimize the potential adverse effects of the project; and issuing environmental reports of the findings of the EIA.

To be fair, Nautilus Minerals claims to be conducting ongoing EIA of their deep sea mining work. They proudly list researchers from James Cook University in Australia, the University of Toronto, Canada, and William and Mary in Virginia as on-board staff and consultants during exploration. I don't necessarily accept university creds as indicative of above-board corporate environmental policy. And after all, Exxon Mobil has similar laundry lists of scientists on the dole. But here's the thing: with such novel environmental modification such as deep vent mining, which has never been attempted before, how do you know that you are operating sustainably and with minimal impact?

Hopefully, SPREP's review can bring greater attention and adherence to meaningful environmental risk assessment.

The Signs Are Hard To Ignore On Maui

I've been all over the planet with posts today. I started in Mexico. Moved on to Papua New Guinea. Now I'm in Hawaii with great news that our first shipment of 20 coral reef educational signs are being installed all over the Island of Maui. Two big players in making this dream a reality are in the image at the top: CORAL Hawaii Field Manager Liz Foote and State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources Education Specialist, Russell Sparks.

Installation underwriting for the signs is being sponsored by businesses, organizations, hotels, resorts, and concerned individuals across Maui. And word on the ground is that the Big Island and Oahu are green with envy and are looking to have our signs installed at popular tourist destinations on those islands as well. Yee-haw!

Here are a few snaps sent to me of the Maui signs:

Wailea Beach Sign
Russell admiring Wailea Beach sign
Installation at Kamaole Beach Park III getting the approval and "shaka's" from the lifeguards. From left to right they are Josh Edlao, Kaipo Chong, and Keola Brown.

Honolua Bay Signage
Tourists Already Using Honolua Bay Sign
Sign Sponsored by Kihei Community Association
Sign Sponsored by Pacific Whale Foundation
Sign Sponsored by Wailea Community Association

Nautilus Minerals Moves Into New Phase of Seafloor Mining Exploration In PNG

According to a press release today, Nautilus Minerals has completed the first phase of its offshore mining exploration program in Papua New Guinea. Phase One was completed on Tuesday May 6, 2008 and involved a 28-day bathymetric mapping program (pre- and post-mapping seafloor bathymetry images above) within the territorial waters of PNG that was designed to define targets for subsequent sampling and eventual mining and extraction.

Nautilus Minerals is operating in a joint venture to mine seafloor massive sulfide deposits in PNG and beyond with Canadian mining company, Teck Cominco Limited. Teck Cominco holds over 3,000,000 common shares of the Nautilus Minerals company for a total of US$52 million investment. As part of this deal, Teck Cominco agreed to conduct and manage the recently completed ship-based exploration in Papua New Guinea as well as in sites in Tonga and New Zealand.

Curiously, while the just-completed exploration is within the exclusive economic zone of PNG, the proposed mining sites (or "tenements" as they are called in the trade) are 100% owned by Nautilus. Now this is certainly not the first time PNG has allowed it's natural resources to be stripped and exploited. Timber, terrestrial minerals, and other resources have been extracted for decades. But PNG has made terrestrial lumber and mining operations pay, and pay dearly, for leasing the land and subsequent extraction rights. And traditional Melanesian resource owners, the local communities, have been compensated for this use.

But Nautilus "owns" their seafloor mining sites. And resource owners in coastal villages adjacent to the seafloor mining operation in Madang Province have apparently received absolutely nothing, diddly, squat, zip, zilch, nada, bupkis to have their traditionally owned seafloor stripped. Why this disparity between terrestrial and seafloor extraction practices? Because Nautilus' operations are invisible in 1,600 meters of water. Out of sight, out of mind.

The Nautilus Minerals saga is a long and winding tale of dollar signs trumping precautionary logic. I've written about it here, and Craig at Deep Sea News has spent considerable energy documenting it here and here. And sadly, the tale continues to relegate PNG's people, children, and future to be sidelined as the nation's resources are stripped and the profit collects in government pockets and Canadian mining bank accounts.

500 Mexican Cab Drivers Can't Be Wrong

CORAL Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Program Manager, Rich Wilson, just sent me these images of the long-awaited outcome from a microgrant we awarded to a community-based reef conservation project on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. To increase saturation of coral reef conservation messaging throughout the island, CORAL funded the production of over 500 seat-back covers for taxi cabs across Cozumel. The message reads Arrecifes Cozumel: Conoce y respeta tu herencia (Cozumel Reefs: Understand and respect your heritage).

These PSA's join a growing list of other outreach and awareness tools we have launched in this tremendously popular coral reef destination in the Caribbean. This particular message targets local Cozumel residents in an effort to spike greater understanding of the importance of protecting local reefs as well as the role of the marine protected area (Cozumel Marine Park).

Great work Rich (pasty-white bald guy in front row with beard and glasses) and Cozumel team!

Gimme A Dozen!

Good things often come in dozens. Eggs, Krispy Kremes, boxes of wine, bagels, roses... you get the picture. And Carnival of the Blue 12 is no exception. From so modest a beginning, COB now racks-up its twelfth month and has evolved into an entertaining and informative synthesis of the best that blogs have to offer focused on the ocean. From ocean science to ocean art and everything in-between. Thanks, Mark Powell, for the great idea in the first place. And tune-in to blogfish next month for the COB birthday bash!

But for this month, the always great Island of Doubt is where COB 12 calls home. One thing I have no doubt about is that James Hrynyshyn is a terrific thinker and writer. Head on over and get your ocean on. And somebody please tell me how to pronounce Hrynyshyn!

GEF Commits $63 Million To Coral Triangle Conservation

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Asian Development Bank have joined together to support the preservation of Asia’s Coral Triangle, with the GEF committing $63 million to fund conservation of this area.

The Coral Triangle, which crosses Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and East Timor, is recognized as the epicenter for coral reef biodiversity on the planet, with more coral, coral reef fish, and marine invertebrate species than anywhere else. As I've commented here before, overfishing and destructive fishing methods, including the use of cyanide and dynamite, have destroyed large areas of coral reef and depleted marine productivity. The impacts of global warming such as sea level rise and increases in ocean temperatures and acidity levels may hasten the damage.

GEF funds, which will be distributed primarily as grants to local and international biodiversity conservation agencies, will cover activities to preserve the region’s coastal and marine ecosystems and develop measures to help the environmentally rich area adapt to climate change. Special priority will also be given to projects that directly address conservation issues in international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, persistent organic pollutants, and destructive fishing practices.