Hasta La Vista, Climate

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that our governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has been spending nearly every night in his Brentwood mansion, shuttling between Sacramento and Southern California in his private jet. While the governor uses his own money to pay for his Gulfstream flights, which price out at about $10,000 an hour, what about the cost to the environment? That's a lot of greenhouse gases, not to mention particulates and smog-forming compounds they spew into the air. Isn't this a little contrary and hypocritical for Newsweek's environmental coverboy from last year? No worries, the green-leaning governor's staff says he purchases "carbon credits."

Et tu, Arnold?

"I just don't have a home in Sacramento," Schwarzenegger said to the Times. "The question is how can I be with my family, because that is extremely important, to be with my kids. They are all growing up. They are in their teens. They need their father around. … I felt it took a toll on my family not being at home every day. So what I am trying to do is find that balance between the family and running the state."

Button up your shirt, Mr Governor, your heart is falling out. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that property costs in Sacramento are not beyond the reach of the combined wealth of Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver. Hey, they can lease a place till the end of his term and then donate the place for low income or homeless housing. There's a thought.

Polar Bear Suit

No, not that kind.

Last Friday, President Bush's own Inspector General announced that he is investigating the reason why the administration illegally delayed protection for polar bears while expediting the lease of oil drilling rights in the bear's shrinking arctic habitat. And yesterday, three conservation groups (the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and the Natural Resources Defense Council) filed suit nailing the Department of the Interior for missing a deadline on a decision to list polar bears as threatened because of the loss of Arctic sea ice. A decision was due Jan. 9, one year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the animals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Agency Director Dale Hall said in January that officials needed a few more weeks to make a decision. But two months later, no decision has been announced.

“The Bush administration seems intent on slamming shut the narrow window of opportunity we have to save polar bears,” said Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity and lead author of the 2005 petition seeking the Endangered Species Act listing. “We simply will not sit back and passively allow the administration to condemn polar bears to extinction.”

Suspense Swells Over Salmon Season Shutdown

Unless an emergency exception is granted, salmon fishing in California and Oregon will have to be shut down completely this year by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. It would mark the first time ever that the federal agency created 22 years ago to manage the Pacific Coast fishery canceled the coast's traditional salmon fishing season from April to mid-November. Salmon counts in rivers and streams throughout the affected area are at historic lows.

Such a move would jeopardize the livelihoods of close to 1,000 commercial fishermen from Santa Barbara to Washington State and would significantly drive up the price of West Coast wild salmon. A decision to shut down the fishery also would kill recreational salmon fishing for some 2.4 million anglers in California, an activity that the American Sportfishing Association has estimated is worth $4 billion.

The council is expected to make a recommendation in April to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will make the final decision about what to do about the collapsing salmon fishery.

That's A Moray Monday

Don't you just love it when a common name accurately describes a species? Such is the case with this week's moray, a pale beauty all the way from the Western Pacific.

Whitemargin Moray
Gymnothorax albimarginatus


Even the Linnaean name for the species (albimarginatus--"white margin") tells you just what you're dealing with. Found along coastal tropical reef sand slopes in Japan and Taiwan, the Whitemargin moray is a delicate-bodied species with pronounced counter-shading (darker on dorsal surface, lighter on belly) and a defined white margin running the entire edge of the dorsal fin. The species reaches a maximum length of approximately 100 cm. (3.3 feet).

Secretive during the day, the Whitemargin moray is quite active at night foraging over sand patches to hunt. The eel feeds on small crustaceans and fish.

Deep Thoughts On Color

The above image is of a Flame angelfish (Centropyge loricula) photographed in full daylight near the suface of the water.

Now take a look at the same image, only this time with simulated lighting that might be experienced at about 20 meters (60 feet) of water.


It's not just darker. There's clearly filtering of the red and orange wavelengths of light taking place. Without those wavelengths to reflect off the fishes body, those bright colors now appear dark blue to black. This is a basic property of water to filter (or attenuate) certain wavelengths of light by depth. It's always a fascinating phenomenon but sometimes hard to explain.

But I found a cool Java feature this afternoon on the online fish database, FishBase, that allows you to see how certain fish might appear at depth without the aid of artificial light. Instant understanding why a lot of deeper water fish are often reddish-orange in color. It makes for good camouflage.

Try playing around with different species of fish. I particularly like the sliding depth bar that allows you to go from surface to absolute abyss. And the simulated flashlight is fun too. Why wasn't optics this much fun when I was a kid?

And Now A Self-Serving Plug To Leave This Site

Bora over on A Blog Around The Clock has posted an interview with yours truly. Head on over and give the poor guy some traffic... he only gets like 100,000 hits a day so can use the spike with my 20 or so faithful readers. Then head back here later for That's a Moray Monday.

A Letter To The Editors At Maui News

There was a lot of chatter and concern on Maui last week about the impacts of potential new county regulations on the future of coastal tourism business there. You can read the cover story from last Sunday's edition of the Maui News that framed the current situation. Following the story, several concerned letters and editorials were also published (some with dubious authorship) on both sides of the issue. I've submitted my own response to the editors of Maui News, but just in case they don't choose to run it I thought I'd use my own bloggy bullhorn as well:

Letter to the Editor/ViewPoint:

People want to protect coral reefs for a multitude of reasons. Some simply because of their innate beauty and a sense of responsibility toward nature. Others have a much more practical outlook. Many people, especially those in the tourism sector, are dependent upon coral reefs for their livelihood. So for them, the continued health of coral reefs—particularly the ones right outside their door—is a very important and practical matter.

Those responsible for running tourism-related businesses, while not uncaring, have as their first duty keeping their doors open. To them, everything else must be a secondary consideration. While environmentalists, businessmen and resource managers may have the common interest of protecting coral reefs, the lens through which they each view the world can be vastly different. This is neither good nor bad; it’s simply a fact that we must understand and factor into any conservation effort aimed at coral reefs.

Traditionally, people have viewed conservation and business as incompatible; one progresses only at the expense of the other. But this view is counterproductive, as well as basically wrong. The truth is that there can be no marine tourism without a healthy resource. Therefore, taking steps to assure that local coral reefs are as healthy as possible is perhaps the most important step that any marine tourism business can take to succeed. Conservation and business are not contradictory but complimentary. Without healthy reefs there can be no business; but without healthy businesses, a primary motivation and mechanism for conservation cannot exist.

Conservation shouldn’t be viewed by entrepreneurs as something you do solely for the “greater good” because, when marketed properly, a conservation ethic can be as important to the success of a tourism business as anything else done to bring in customers. No conservation program or goal is achievable unless it’s economically viable; and the voluntary marine recreation standards development process underway on Maui is designed to show the nexus between protecting Hawaiian reefs, enhancing business success, and demonstrating social responsibility to the broader community. A triple bottom line that spells success for all stakeholders.

Tiger Sharks Are Just Starved For Attention

So there I was, just chilling in a shiny school of Pacific jacks, and enjoying some quality Hawaiian midday sun. But then there's always a photo hogging Tiger shark that just has to stick his mug into the frame and spoil a perfectly arranged shot.

Or at least that's how I like to imagine telling this photo's story to friends. Here are a few other faves.



I visited the Maui Ocean Center on my last full day on the island yesterday and captured all these shots. The place does a pretty good job of exhibiting reef and other local Hawaiian marine life for those not inclined to stick their face in the water. But what's up with the $25 adult admission? Ouch!

The world class Monterey Bay Aquarium is $18 last time I checked. My only other gripe is that the facility touts itself as driven by an educational mission, yet it's a for-profit entity. Tell you what Maui Ocean Center? Go non-profit and it will make the $25 entry feel a little less painful and a lot more like Aloha.

The Many Faces Of Fish Feeding In Hawaii

Nobody claims to be selling or promoting fish feeding in dive and snorkel shops in Hawaii, but you wouldn't know it after a walk through several shops on Maui and the Big Island. The collection of images in this post are from two weeks of snooping around dive shops as well as convenience stores in Kona, Hawaii, and Kihei and Lahaina, Maui. Sometimes the food was marketed near the snorkels and dive masks. Other stores placed it next to the Sex Wax. If I didn't see the food on shelves, I'd ask a clerk if they sold food. At one shop I was told that not only did they not sell fish food, but none of the other chains did either. A walk down the street to the next franchise proved otherwise.





The packaged food is taken into the water by snorkelers or divers interested in attracting aggregations of hungry fish habituated to human feeding. The unintended results from this activity are increased frequency of bites from overly aggressive species as well as reduced herbivory of algal growth on reefs in some areas.

What is it about the need to feed wildlife? The smart choice as a consumer (for your safety and those of reef fish) is to not buy fish food. It's entirely unnecessary for experiencing an already amazing spectacle of vibrant and healthy reef fish. And as a business, don't even present the consumer with a choice in the first place. And while you're at it, feel good about your sustainable marketing and join the growing collection of businesses and individuals who have taken the pledge to end fish feeding of reef fish through our Take a Bite Out of Fish Feeding Campaign. It's an opportunity to do the right thing, and receive some positive recognition for the effort.

That's A Moray Monday

As I round the curve on the last few days of my Hawaiian field work, I was looking for another cool Hawaiian endemic or native moray to feature. Then I came across the image of the moray at the top of the post. It's a rare Hawaiian native, simply badass in appearance, and hands-down deserves to be this week's Moray Monday.

Y-Patterned Moray
Gymnothorax berndti



The Y-Patterned moray range includes the western Indian Ocean, from the Maldives to Mauritius. In the Pacific Ocean, the species can be found in the Chesterfield Islands, Japan, Taiwan, to Hawaii. Reaching a length of 100 cm. (3.3 ft.), the species most distinctive feature is the irregular Y-shaped, reddish-brown markings against a pale gray to cream colored body.

Though reef associated, the Y-Patterned moray prefers deep waters from 30 to 300 meters. As a result, divers rarely get a chance to see this species as its depth range exceeds safe recreational depths. Little web-based information could be found regarding the typical diet of the Y-Patterned moray, though I would expect a diet in keeping with typical Gymnothorax eels: small fish, crustaceans, and octopus.