Archive 2009

 

Coastal habitats may sequester 50 times more carbon than tropical forests by area

16 November, Mongabay.com ( USA )

Highly endangered coastal habitats are incredibly effective in sequestering carbon and locking it away in soil, according to a new paper in a report by the IUCN. The paper attests that coastal habitats—such as mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marhses—sequester as much as 50 times the amount of carbon in their soil per hectare as tropical forest.

"The key difference between these coastal habitats and forests is that mangroves, seagrasses and the plants in salt marshes are extremely efficient at burying carbon in the sediment below them where it can stay for centuries or even millennia. Tropical forests are not as effective at transferring carbon into the soil below them, instead storing most carbon in the living plants and litter," explains the paper's author and Conservation International’s Marine Climate Change Director, Dr. Emily Pidgeon. "But coastal ecosystems keep sequestering large amounts of carbon throughout their life cycle. Equally, the majority of carbon stays locked away in the soil rather than the plant, so only a relatively small amount is released when the plant dies."

This capacity for coastal environments to lock away carbon for thousands of years has largely been ignored in accounts of the global carbon cycle, according to the paper, even though the amount of carbon they are responsible for storing is very high.

Coastal habitats with vegetation "[contribute] about half of the total carbon sequestration in ocean sediments even though they account for less than 2 percent of the ocean surface,” Pidgeon writes, explaining that much of this is capacity is due to the fact that coastal vegetation usually spreads deeper below ground than it grows above with some plants going as deep as eight meters.

According to Pidgeon, salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses store ten times more carbon in their soils per hectare than temperate forests and fifty times more than tropical forests.

"The simple implication of this is that the longterm sequestration of carbon by one square kilometer of mangrove area is equivalent to that occurring in fifty square kilometers of tropical forest. Hence, while relatively small in area, coastal habitats are extremely valuable for their longterm carbon sequestration capacity," Pidgeon writes in the paper.

Pidgeon believes that even these remarkable figures may be underestimations, since the accumulation rates do not take into account tidal pumps that move carbon from coastal environments into the open ocean. No studies have yet determined just how much of an affect these tidal pumps have on the carbon cycle.

However, according to Pidgeon, these findings should not diminish the importance of preserving forests in mitigating climate change.

"The sheer size of the world’s forests makes them essential for carbon sequestration. However, the immense carbon sequestration capacity of these coastal habitats has been almost completely ignored and may also be a vital component in global efforts to mitigate climate change," she says.

Yet, coastal habitats are vanishing with incredible speed. According to the paper, 20 percent of mangroves have been lost in the past thirty years. In total, seagrasses have lost 29 percent of their historical distribution. These ecosystems are being converted for agriculture, aquaculture (such as shrimp farming), development, and tourism. The massive and continuing conversion of these ecosystems is having a big impact on our planet.

"The total annual loss of mangroves and seagrasses has the longterm carbon sequestration capacity of a tropical forest area similar to the annual deforestation rate in the Amazon," writes Pidgeon.

Coastal environments are not just important for carbon sequestration. Mangroves provide a number of vital ecosystem services, according to Pidgeon, such as protection from extreme weather and natural disasters like tsunamis and important habitat for natural fish nurseries, providing an important source of food for local communities.

"Not only do these ecosystems help us to remove carbon from the atmosphere, but they are also very important as an adaptation tool to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," writes Pidgeon. "It is imperative that we take steps to protect them immediately."

Download report from http://earthmind.net/wetcarbon/docs/iucn-2009-management-natural-coastal-carbon-sinks.pdf

For more on Carbon: seagrass, sequestration & stewardship, read Issue Seagrass-Watch Issue 36 March 2009

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Loss of Ocean Seagrass Beds Accelerating Due to Human Activity

14 November 2009, Natural News.com (Phoenix,AZ, USA)

As critical for ocean life as coral reefs but less well known, seagrass beds around the planet are also in sharp decline, according to a study conducted by researchers from Australia, Spain and the United States, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Seagrass beds are at least as economically and ecologically important as tropical forests or coral reefs," said co-author James Fourqurean of Florida International University.

Seagrass meadows provide important habitat and nurseries for large numbers of shellfish and fish, which in turn draws larger marine life to these areas to feed. They also help prevent coastal erosion by stabilizing sediments on the ocean bottom, and filter out many of the wastes that flow into the ocean from the land.

Yet according to the study, the rate of annual seagrass decline has leaped from 1 percent per year before 1940 to 7 percent per year today. An estimated 58 percent of all seagrass meadows around the world are currently in a state of decline. Since 1879, a full 29 percent, or 19,690 square miles, of the meadows have disappeared.

"Globally, we lose a seagrass meadow the size of a soccer field every thirty minutes," said co-author William Dennison of the University of Maryland.

Development has been the primary driving force behind sea grass destruction. Forty-five percent of the world's population lives along the coast, and the industrial revolution led directly to sea grass declines in North America and Europe due to water pollution and outright dredging of sea grass meadows. The major areas of sea grass decline are now along coasts of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

"Seagrasses are disappearing because they live in the same kind of environments that attract people," Fourqurean said. "They live in shallow areas protected from large storm waves, and they are especially prevalent in bays and around river mouths."

Global warming is expected to exacerbate sea grass decline due to ocean warming and rising sea levels.

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

 

Qld approves new 'putrid' Barrier Reef run-off laws

09 October 2009, ABC online( Australia)

Queensland's Parliament has passed legislation last night to reduce run-off from farming land on to the Great Barrier Reef.

The State Government wants to halve the amount of fertiliser and pesticides entering the reef in four years requiring some landholders to change their practices. Those who do not cooperate face a maximum fine of $30,000. The Opposition was angry that earlier parliamentary debate was guillotined and fought unsuccessfully to amend the Bill until late last night.

Queensland Sustainability Minister Kate Jones says the legislation will be phased in from January. "I will now allow them [farmers] - in regard to chemical application - to have an extra nine months to get that in place," she said.

But Liberal National Party (LNP) MP Rob Messenger says it is a deal with the green lobby. "If there was ever proof of an unprecedented level of corruption, it is this putrid piece of legislation," he said.

North Queensland MP Shane Knuth says farmers have been demonised. "This issue of nutrients of farmers that are killing the Great Barrier Reef - the evidence of the scientists proves that it's just a fable, it's a myth," he said. "The Bligh Government's approach in demonising farmers to seek to reward the radical green extremists."

However, Labor MP Jason O'Brien told Parliament that the State Government values agriculture. "We are not saying that farmers have not been stewards of the land adjoining the Great Barrier Reef for generations and have not managed that land responsibly and diligently," he said. "It is the farmers themselves who acknowledge that not all farmers apply the same sustainable techniques."

Read more Reef Rescue MMP results in Issue 35 Seagrass-Watch News: Click Here

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Blue Carbon Report to Highlight the Importance of Healthy Oceans

06 October 2009 , United Nations Environment Programme (Cape Town)

The world's oceans, seas and marine ecosystems, such as seagrass, salt marshes and coastal wetlands, are daily absorbing and removing large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. They are a crucial - and perhaps overlooked - natural ally in strategies to combat climate change.

On Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 10.30am, a report will be launched at the Cape Town International Conference Centre, South Africa that illustrates how the ocean's carbon capture and storage systems are being undermined by human activity, thereby harming their ability to 'sequester' greenhouse gas emissions.

The Blue Carbon report, compiled in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), puts some hard figures on the carbon capturing potential of the marine environment and on the impact of marine degradation on climate change.

It also outlines the way markets might begin paying developing countries for conserving and enhancing the marine environment's carbon capture and storage services (CCS) and the links between healthy oceans and adaptation to climate change.

Currently, several developed countries are considering spending billions of dollar on CCS at power stations while the CCS services of natural systems, such as the seas and oceans, are tested and probably more cost effective.

The report is launched some 60 days ahead of the crucial UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen.

For more on Carbon: seagrass, sequestration & stewardship, read Issue Seagrass-Watch Issue 36 March 2009

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Call to ban dugong hunting

28 August 2009, Brisbane Times (Brisbane,Queensland,Australia)

A leading Aboriginal figure has called for traditional owners to ban the controversial practice of dugong hunting.

North Queensland Land Council chairman Terry O'Shane has urged traditional owners to impose a total ban on hunting the endangered species and place restrictions on turtle hunting.

His comments come after reports members of the Yarrabah community, south of Cairns, had been selling dugong and turtle meat on the black market for up to $50 a kilogram.

Mr O'Shane said although traditional owners had the right to hunt both species, they had a responsibility to protect the environment.

"What I'm talking to the mobs about is developing a responsible response to those rights," he told AAP.

"We need to protect the eco-system.

"Dugong is an endangered species and we have to recognise that too."

He said he would meet with clan groups across north Queensland in the next few weeks to encourage them to impose management plans for traditional hunting.

"If they say no they're not happy about that that's ok but I need to put that on the table, it needs to be part of the discussion."

Mr O'Shane said his tribal group, the Yalanji clan, had banned dugong hunting in its traditional area north of Cairns and had imposed tough restrictions on turtle hunting.

Traditional owners in the area were issued with traditional hunting licenses and those who defied the ban were punished, he said.

"We have people that go out and do the wrong thing and it's up to us to pull them into line, and we do."

Mr O'Shane will meet with community leaders at Yarrabah, south of Cairns, to discuss allegations of profiteering from the traditional hunting rights.

"If it is happening, it's not for people to come along and start to profiteer from people's native title rights," he said.

"You can't sell it, they shouldn't be doing it, they should be prosecuted."

Source and article: Click Here

Image courtesy of GBRMPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss of coastal seagrass habitat accelerating globally

29 June 2009, PhysOrg.com (Evergreen,VA,USA)

An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass observations and found that 58 percent of world's seagrass meadows are currently declining.

The assessment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows an acceleration of annual seagrass loss from less than 1 percent per year before 1940 to 7 percent per year since 1990. Based on more than 215 studies and 1,800 observations dating back to 1879, the assessment shows that seagrasses are disappearing at rates similar to coral reefs and tropical rainforests.

The team estimates that seagrasses have been disappearing at the rate of 110 square-kilometers (42.4 square-miles) per year since 1980 and cites two primary causes for the decline: direct impacts from coastal development and dredging activities, and indirect impacts of declining water quality.

"A recurring case of 'coastal syndrome' is causing the loss of seagrasses worldwide," said co-author Dr. William Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "The combination of growing urban centers, artificially hardened shorelines and declining natural resources has pushed coastal ecosystems out of balance. Globally, we lose a seagrass meadow the size of a soccer field every thirty minutes."

"While the loss of seagrasses in coastal ecosystems is daunting, the rate of this loss is even more so," said co-author Dr. Robert Orth of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary. "With the loss of each meadow, we also lose the ecosystem services they provide to the fish and shellfish relying on these areas for nursery habitat. The consequences of continuing losses also extend far beyond the areas where seagrasses grow, as they export energy in the form of biomass and animals to other ecosystems including marshes and coral reefs."

"With 45 percent of the world's population living on the 5 percent of land adjacent to the coast, pressures on remaining coastal seagrass meadows are extremely intense," said co-author Dr. Tim Carruthers of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "As more and more people move to coastal areas, conditions only get tougher for seagrass meadows that remain."

Seagrasses profoundly influence the physical, chemical and biological environments of coastal waters. A unique group of submerged flowering plants, seagrasses provide critical habitat for aquatic life, alter water flow and can help mitigate the impact of nutrient and sediment pollution.

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Villagers back project

18 June Fiji Times (Fiji)

A dairo (sandfish) rearing project in Vanua Levu achieved a major milestone recently, with the release of hatchery-bred juveniles into the sea at Natuvu Village, Wailevu. The project which is the first of its kind in Fiji was introduced last year to address the problem of diminishing stocks of dairo.

Dairo are an economically valuable (and tasty) marine product, which are near and dear to the hearts of Fijian people. Its larvae and very small juveniles were reared in Savusavu but at the time they were too small to be released into the wild. The juveniles were bred in the J Hunter Pearls hatchery at Wina, outside Savusavu Town, from broodstock sourced from Savusavu Bay.

This Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research funded study is supported by the Fiji Government and private sectors, university, NGO and community stakeholders. Their collaborative effort to address the problem of diminishing stocks of dairo is proving to be a powerful tool in research into aquaculture in Fiji.

Recently, 500 juveniles, each weighing between 1 and 10 grams, were released into experimental pens in the seagrass bed in front of Natuvu Village.  This is a pilot release at this stage and none have been released into the seagrass beds for sea ranching yet. The pilot study will look at the relative survival and growth of two different size groups to determine which perform best in the wild after release. The two size groups are small (1-3g) and large (greater than 3g).

Project co-ordinator Cathy Hair said overseas research suggested dairo less than 3 grams in size, which is a bit smaller than a little finger, did not survive well when released into the wild.  The Fiji research will confirm whether this holds true for the seagrass bed in Wailevu because their performance may depend on the particular habitat they are released into.

The week before the release, a hard-working contingent from the Natuvu community, led by Fisheries officer John Vonokula and USP student Laisiasa Cavakiqali constructed sea pens in the seagrass beds in front of the village. The pens are to hold a number of dairo for scientific monitoring purposes explained USP-FLMMA representative for Cakaudrove Semisi Meo.

He said any future sea ranching programs would not fence the dairo, they would be able to move around freely throughout the seagrass bed and beyond.

The release festivities commenced with a kava ceremony and a speech by Fisheries officer Joji Vakawaletabua. After that, everyone headed out into the sea to collect the dairo from nets where they had been left overnight to recover from the stress of their trip from the hatchery the previous day. While special guests watched from a dinghy, the team transferred the small dairo into buckets for distribution to the four pens.

The pastor blessed the initiative and the baby slugs before the first animal went in to the sea.  The young dairo were "planted" in the sea by digging a small trench with a finger, then placing them in it. They were checked a couple of hours after release and most had buried themselves in the sand.

The dairo will be monitored by Cavakiqali an ACIAR scholarship student from USP, studying for his Masters degree on this project. Along with Vonokula and the local fish wardens, he will be responsible for field sampling. He will further investigate ways to improve dairo juvenile survival and production in sea ranching systems.

Cavakiqali said it was encouraging to observe this normal behaviour from animals which had been raised in plastic tanks and had never lived in the sea. Village women supported the project by providing morning tea and lunch. The villagers were happy to provide a base for the dairo project in their qoliqoli and hoped it would be successful in providing future opportunities for involvement in community sea ranching.

In addition to protecting the area around the pens from harvest of dairo, the Natuvu community has provided field assistants to help look after the sea pens, spread community awareness and help with monitoring when project staff, conduct field trips to the sea pen site.

Monitoring will consist of regular visits to the site to observe behaviour of the juveniles and sampling to estimate survival and growth. The dairo were marked with a special dye to distinguish them from local wild dairo. The dye is only visible under a special "epifluorescent" microscope and small skin samples will be processed for checking. This is to ensure that information collected from the pens is actually from the project dairo. On sampling trips the released dairo within the pens will be counted to calculate survival, record their size, take a skin sample (to confirm that they are hatchery juveniles) and then leave them alone until the next sample.

Further spawning and rearing of juveniles is planned for October this year and onwards for more to be released in 2010. Experience gained from the study will be invaluable in making future work more successful.

Meo said, "if results showed high survival and growth, it is a positive sign for the success of the sea ranching techniques."

This would also benefit people in Fiji and those in the Pacific Island region, many of whom are being adversely affected by dwindling stocks of dairo. It is hoped the project will broaden awareness on marine culture opportunities, assist to restore dairo stocks in our qoliqoli, enhance income earning capacities and to supplement for our social needs.

The project partners include the project leader Cathy Hair who is the ACIAR representative of the project through James Cook University (Queensland, Australia), Fiji Fisheries, J Hunter Pearls, Fiji Locally Marine Managed Area Network (FLMMA)/University of the South Pacific (USP), Cakaudrove Yabula Management Support Team (CYMST) and the Natuvu Community

 

Related article: Click Here

Images courtesy of USP Fiji and Fiji Times

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World Oceans Day: “one ocean, one climate, one future”

The UN General Assembly “Resolves that, as from 2009, the United Nations will designate 8 June as World Oceans Day.”

This great success is the result of the joint worldwide effort of all of us over the last years.
"World Ocean Day" was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and endorsed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO after 1998 International Year of the Ocean.

On June 8th, World Ocean Day is a true festival of the sea to raise public awareness about our future on the Blue Planet and to propose actions for better management of the Ocean and its resources.

Over 200 organisations in more than 50 countries around the globe
encourage the public to become Citizen of the Ocean and care for the Blue Planet…

Take part in World Ocean Day activities in 2009 and help to protect our oceans for future generations.

This year: an umbrella theme of the ocean as the life support system on Earth
and especially as our climate regulator: “one ocean, one climate, one future”

More information visit : www.gdrc.org/oceans/oceans-day.html

 

 

Partnership improves species management on Great Barrier Reef

06 June 2009, Power Boat - World (Sydney,New South Wales,Australia)

Dugongs and marine turtles in the Cape York area will be better protected thanks to an innovative partnership between marine managers, Traditional Owners and researchers.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), in conjunction with James Cook University (JCU) and the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF), are holding a three-day spatial closures workshop in Cairns with Traditional Owners from the east coast of Cape York.

James Cook University dugong expert Professor Helene Marsh said the Cape York Turtle and Dugong Spatial Closures Workshop aimed to work with Traditional Owners to map out a clear way forward for protecting dugongs and turtles in the area.

'Harnessing the expertise of scientific researchers and Indigenous local experts will play a key role in helping protect turtles and dugongs in the Cape York region,' she said.

'We hope to get a really good picture of the current status of dugong and turtle populations in the area and use scientific and traditional knowledge to help develop effective strategies to protect and manage these animals.'

The Traditional Owner groups represented at the meeting are from the east coast of Cape York and include Gudang, Yadhaigana, Wuthathi, Kuuku Ya’u, Kanthanumpun, Uutaalgnunu Umpila, Guugu Yimithirr, Kuku Yalanji and Kaurareg.

GBRMPA Chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said the workshop would bring together key stakeholders to discuss the benefits and challenges associated with using spatial closures as a management tool.

'We're delighted to be involved in this project that's looking to protect some very iconic and important species in the Great Barrier Reef,' he said.

'Traditional Owners have a wealth of knowledge about their sea country and it's fantastic to be able to tap in to this knowledge and combine it with scientific research to assist with helping protect these species.

'Spatial closures are one of many possible tools used for managing turtle species and dugong. Good management requires government and communities to work in collaboration.'

Sheriden Morris from the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility said the workshop demonstrated the importance of collaborative relationships to help protect the marine environment.

'This is a great partnership between Traditional Owners, scientific researchers and management bodies towards a common goal of protecting threatened species. We're pleased to be part of a project that is delivering meaningful outcomes.'

This project is supported by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country and the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, James Cook University and the Christensen Foundation.

Source and article: Click Here

 

Bleached seagrass washing ashore, perplexing scientists

05 June 2009 Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Sarasota,FL,USA)

Unprecedented amounts of dead, bleached seagrass, resembling vermicelli noodles or soft white straw, are washing ashore in clumps from Siesta Key south to Naples.

The phenomenon baffles scientists, who speculate that turbulent weather several weeks ago broke the grasses loose from the bottom of the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico. The blades then likely circulated in a gyre for weeks, getting bleached white by the mixture of sun and salt.

No one knows why so much grass accumulated and scientists who keep tabs on seagrass happenings around the globe said they could think of no similar event elsewhere.

Seagrass blades commonly wash ashore, along with seaweed, egg casings, tiny crustaceans, and other debris. But usually they wash ashore green and in rather small quantities.

The grasses are harmless and so bleached that they do not produce an odor. No roots are present among the grass blades, indicating that a mass die-off of seagrass is unlikely.

“A lot of the beds as they produce new leaves the old ones sort of float to the surface,” said Loren Coen, lab director at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, which first identified the grasses on Monday as manatee grass, also known as Syringodium. “Unless somewhere there are large areas of syringodium that are completely gone, we’re assuming it’s just turnover.”

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

 

 

Killing the Ocean

27 May 2009, Solomon Times Online (Honiara,Solomon Islands)

World Ocean Conference and Coral Triangle Initiative participants should urgently consider nutrient pollution is killing coral as photographic evidence indicates, not CO2 induced climate change. Wrong diagnosis can be fatal. 

World Wildlife Fund and recent Indonesia CTI conference effort must focus on sanitation and proper sewage treatment to overcome nutrient pollution that is feeding algae that in turn is suffocating coral polyps.

Raw sewage is categorically being dumped in uncontrolled and unprecedented quantity into ocean food web nursery waters. Human sewage nutrients are adding to natural nutrient load, the total sometimes forming destructive nutrient pollution. Nutrients are bonded to fresh water that as fresher salt water is being transported in streaming patches within wind-driven ocean surface current. Coastal alongshore current is concentrating and streaming the dumped nutrients over vast distance to other waters, then sometimes nation to nation. Streams and clouds of fresher water with bonded nutrients in the ocean are travelling similar to how moisture clings together in streaks and patches of clouds blown by wind in the sky. The nutrients, like rain, are not always a problem. When heavily polluted fresher salt water saturates an area the over-supply of nutrients feeds and proliferate algae that smothers and kills coral and seagrass food web nursery.

Whole reefs are being smothered with invasive algae killing numerous corals in a single event. Nutrient pollution is also killing individual coral amongst healthy coral that survives until more pollution arrives. New coral sometimes grows in previously devastated areas. Destructive algae growth appears to switch on and off according to nutrient load presence.

Alga thrives in warm water. Without knowledge of nutrient pollution, some scientists see coral bleaching or whitening a result of global warming.

News about coral thriving in one area can be confusing but explained by understanding different water currents, natural nutrient runoff and human population density locations. Coral generally worldwide is not thriving. An estimated 80% of coral has already been lost from the Caribbean, 40% in the 'triangle', and considerable remaining coral looks very sick.

For some unexplained reason the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef and damage there is not included in the CTI. Australian interim conservation status for the GBR is not enough. There is need for whole-of-ecosystem science and solutions. Triangles involve geometry, not biology. Politics involves lack of common sense however the CTI is a brilliant initiative.

SW Pacific 2009 photographic evidence clearly shows algae in a green line between dead and healthy coral (see photo above). When algae moves further into live polyps or dies, bacteria takes over until only lime skeleton remains. Photographs of algae on coral need to be closely examined like a doctor examines an x-ray. Close examination shows green or red algae or bacteria or dead coral where healthy polyps with zooanthellae alga should live. Invasive algae appears to smother and quickly suffocate the essential zooanthellae algae that feeds the coral building animal.

Nutrient pollution is also proliferating algae and epiphyte growth that is smothering absolutely vital estuary and bay and lagoon seagrass on which baitfish and other ocean animals depend. Older people can indicate where seagrass no longer exists amongst mangroves and in bays. Once thriving long seagrass habitat area is now just mud. Seagrass generally is devastated. Seagrass and the devastation and baitfish have been virtually ignored however some studies in the Mediterranean have indicated 400 square meters of seagrass can support 2,000 tonnes of fish annually. Some 'seagrass watching' is now occurring but the science is years behind. Seagrass often depends on coral for sheltered lagoon habitat.

Baitfish are seagrass dependent. Baitfish catches for indigenous islander staple food consumption and for commercial fishing bait have not been measured, recorded or managed. Baitfish are vitally important but do not even appear on government agency fish species posters. Knowledge is essential but relevant resources are lacking.

Seagrass and coral is naturally rare considering size of the entire world ocean. Seagrass is found only in estuaries bays and lagoons. Seagrass is absolutely important like lining in a womb supplying a placenta to feed life. Pilchards, herring, anchovies and other baitfish including some squid depend on seagrass. Seagrass is the nursery for post-larval baitfish. Tuna and even baleen plankton-feeding whales and other ocean animals depend on baitfish. Unprecedented mass starvation of seabirds has been occurring. Evidence indicates some whale stranding may be due to primary starvation, weakness, a mammal's fear of drowning and instinct to find shallower water. Only one or a few may be weak but panic and cry brings in the pod.

Evidence of nutrient pollution feeding algae already killing and devastating coral and seagrass is substantiated with stronger evidence than evidence of CO2 causing climate change. Priority is apparent and becomes obvious with consideration of already occurring and rapidly worsening impact of world ocean protein food devastation.

In Solomon Islands there has been a recent 69% increase in maternal mortality and the modern day increase coincides with development of traditional fish staple depletion and impact including chronic poverty, malnutrition and anaemia. Many people who used to eat free fresh fish 3 times daily every day if desired, now eat fish only 3-4 times monthly. Many people worldwide can no longer afford fish. Cost of fish has increased due to depletion. Fish depletion is an unacknowledged cause of inflation worldwide.

Empirical fact evidence indicates traditional available fish resource devastation in Solomon Islands has resulted in fundamental collapse of subsistence barter trade leading to anger, argument, fights, recrimination, civil unrest, coup and riot. Fiji political problems are linked to fish depletion and associated poverty. Fish devastation-linked malnutrition amongst river and coastal people in PNG, Philippines and throughout Asia Pacific islands has consequences that burden people and government. Amongst it all, Solomon Islands is one of only two nations with the most diverse marine species that even form a last natural ecotourism attraction of the world.

United States of America security intelligence and/or other lead nations must embrace nutrient pollution impact and consequences involving world food supply unrest that is threatening peace. Urgent solutions are essential. Hunger drives anger that drives unrest and even terrorism. Prosperity preventing unrest is obviously better than war. Economists must consider and realize there is not enough spare arable land to grow food to feed aquaculture to replace economically available, entire ocean fish supply. Aquaculture can not viably sustain supply of large quantities of low cost food the majority of people need.

The United Nations must embrace education about the whole marine environment and associated economics of world food supply solutions, including worldwide sanitation and proper sewage treatment.

Dynamite and logging and 'overfishing' are not the problem because when these activities stop the fish stocks do not usually recover. American Indian Billy Frank Jr knows well about importance of water habitat, his non scientific but indigenous insistence helping recovery of north Pacific salmon. This man could inspire sustainability of SI and world ocean fisheries.

Priority of problems and solutions must be urgently assessed. CO2 aggravated global warming is not the cause of coral or seagrass or fish devastation and History must never record otherwise. The Hokkaido herring fishery collapsed by the early 1920's and the Californian sardine fishery finished by 1962.

Coral devastation must be urgently seen as a symptom of catastrophe involving entire ocean food devastation that must be reversed immediately to prevent protein famine and disease and unrest and war. Consequence of food and land shortage is known.

For more information on Seagrass-Watch in the Solomons: Click Here

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Conservation Leadership Programme announces awards

21 May 2009, BirdLife International (UK)

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) has announced the winners of the 2009 Team Conservation Awards. This year, the Programme granted 29 awards to research teams in 12 different countries with support totalling $500,000 (£327,000).

"The awards offered by the CLP provide a launching pad for young professionals who are just beginning a career in the field of environmental conservation", said Robyn Dalzen, CLP Executive Manager. "Through this programme, we are building the capabilities of future leaders and providing them with knowledge, skills and experience to address the most pressing conservation issues of our time."

The CLP supports the vital work of a new generation of rising conservation professionals who are leading a number of diverse, practical projects – from developing an education centre promoting the conservation of important bird areas in Brazil, to protecting freshwater turtles in China, community-based conservation of an endangered tree species in Egypt, and dugong conservation in the Comoros and Madagascar. The programme is a partnership between BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International, BP, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

As part of this year's award, winning teams are invited to send a representative to Beijing, China to attend an introductory training course that will be held in conjunction with the Society for Conservation Biology's Annual Meeting. The training and conference will run from 27 June to 16 July.

CLP Achievements so far

* Over 300 teams of young conservationists supported since 1985
* 96% of these have gone on to have careers which influence biodiversity conservation, with many entering leadership roles
* Many local conservation NGOs have been established by CLP alumni
* More than 85% of projects continue beyond CLP funding
* More than 90% of projects meet all their project objectives, contributing valuable scientific knowledge & delivering conservation outcomes
* Over 100 new species have been discovered (& rediscovered) in the past 19 years, with lots of new records for countries
* Important habitats have been protected, with many sites being designated as international sites of conservation importance
* As a result of CLP projects many local communities are now engaging with the conservation of their neighbouring areas

Read more on C3 in Issues 33 and 35 of Seagrass-Watch News magazine: Click Here

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Seagrass to be shifted

21 May 2009, Busselton Dunsborough Mail ( Western Australia, Australia)

THE Environmental Protection Authority has given approval for the removal of most of the accumulated seagrass on the western part of Port Geographe beach.

“The seagrass will potentially be used for agricultural or viticultural purposes and its removal will come as good news to local residents who have been concerned about odour impacts,” the Minister for Environment, Donna Faragher said.

Vasse MLA Troy Buswell, who had made the suggestion to move the seaweed inland, welcomed the decision.

“We had been pushing for some time for a positive step forward and moving seaweed from the beach will address one of the issues,” he said. “But a lot more work still needs to be done.”

Mrs Faragher said 75 per cent of the seagrass would be utilised, while the remaining seagrass wrack would remain as habitat for birds and to prevent erosion.

She said that in winter up to 100,000m3 of seagrass and sand accumulated on the western breakwater at Port Geographe from decomposing seagrass.

Seagrass and sand bypassing works in late spring created noise, dust and odour issues.

In 2006, the developer of the Port Geographe canal development prepared a ‘Four Year Works Program’ to manage amenity, noise, odour and complaints from sand and seagrass bypassing. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) and the Shire of Busselton approved the program, which concludes at the end of this year.

“The developer has proposed a two-year trial of seagrass wrack harvesting,” Mrs Faragher said.

“I am supportive of this proposal and consider that it will assist in improving local air quality and reducing odour emissions currently being experienced by the local community.”

A seagrass and sand movement study in Geographe Bay being undertaken by DPI, through The University of Western Australia, is due for completion in January.

The results of the study will provide base data upon which long-term options for the locality can be prepared.

“Resolution of these issues is a complex and difficult issue and the seagrass and sand movement study is required to consider viable options for a long term solution,” Mrs Faragher said.

Planning Minister John Day has established a consultative forum to improve community involvement in managing these issues. The forum is chaired by South West MLC Barry House.

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Learning and living with nature

21 May 2009, The Cairns Post, edited by David Sexton

Seagrass meadows and teaching school age students all about it, is the aim of a new booklet distributed in Torres Strait communities.

The booklet explains the role of seagrass meadows and the many forms of life they support.

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries officer Jane Mellors contributed to the booklet and oversees the Seagrass-Watch program in Torres Strait.

"We want to raise awareness and appreciation of the diversity of our living environment, which in turn will encourage students to care for the future of these natural resources," she said.

"While the reader is written in English, traditional names (both Kala Lagaw Ya and Meriam Mer) are also used.

"The booklet encourages students to explore local marine habitats using the knowledge they may have already gained from traditional storytelling or dance, and the hunting and fishing they do in their spare time."

Head of the Mabuiag campus of Tagai College, Ken Treasure said it was exciting for students to read about things they recognised from their own wanderings on the beach.

"The use of Kala Lagaw Ya and Meriam Mer language names throughout this book is extremely timely as Torres Strait island communities are consciously trying to maintain their traditional languages - an initiative supported by Tagai College."

Image: Study and reward: Frank Loban, co-author of the seagrass meadows booklet, collects invaluable data.

 

 

Seagrass to be used in harvesting trial

19 May 2009, The West Australian  (Perth,Western Australia,Australia)

Tonnes of seagrass on the western side of Port Geographe Beach will be removed and used in a seagrass wrack harvesting trial.

Environment Minister Donna Faragher said the seagrass would potentially be used for agricultural or viticultural purposes and its removal will be a relief to local residents who have been concerned about seagrass odour.

A portion of seagrass will remain as habitat for birds and to prevent erosion, while 75 per cent would be utilised in the trial as per Environmental Protection Authority approval.

In winter, up to 100,000 cubic metres of seagrass and sand accumulates on the western breakwater at Port Geographe from decomposing seagrass.

Seagrass and sand bypassing works in late spring create noise, dust and odour issues.

Three years ago, the developer of the Port Geographe canal development prepared a four year works program to manage amenity, noise, odour and complaints from sand and seagrass bypassing.

The program concludes at the end of this year and the developer proposed the two-year trial of seagrass wrack harvesting.

Meanwhile, a seagrass and sand movement study in Geographe Bay is being completed by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, through the University of WA.

The results of the study, scheduled to be complete by January, will provide base data upon which long term options for the area can be prepared.

“Resolution of these issues is a complex and difficult issue and the seagrass and sand movement study is required to consider viable options for a long term solution,” Mrs Faragher said.

17 June 2008 Busselton Dunsborough Times Article " Weed study underway" (JPEG, 44.9kb)

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Florida Bay proposals would restrict boaters

17 May 2009, Los Angeles Times (CA,USA)

Everglades National Park officials say powerboats have damaged seagrass that supports animal life. The fishing community is concerned the measures go too far.

Concerned that powerboats are tearing up seagrass in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park has proposed a range of possible restrictions on boaters to protect a vast, shallow estuary that supports sea turtles, fish and wading birds.

The proposals have generated deep concern among South Florida's recreational fishing community, where many people worry that the most drastic alternatives could shut them out of most of the bay and hurt the tourism industry.

But park officials say boats have carved at least 325 miles of scars into the bay, with the damage accelerating in an era of bigger boats, more powerful engines and tough stainless-steel propellers that enable boaters to penetrate shallow, difficult-to-navigate areas.

"People . . . just feel they can power over whatever they come across," said David King, the park's Florida Bay District ranger. "Florida Bay has the potential to be one of the phenomenal natural areas of the world. It's not that today. It's been beat up."

In the forest-green carpet of seagrass along the bay bottom, light-green streaks indicate areas where propellers have stripped bare the vegetation. Seagrass provides food for fish, manatees and sea turtles and serves as a nursery and hunting grounds for marine creatures.

All the park’s proposals include mandatory permits and boater education, but they vary in how much they would restrict powerboats. The most severe would create huge zones in which boaters could use only push-poles or low-speed electric motors. The park expects to announce a preferred alternative this fall and implement the plan in 2011.

Despite its vast expanse, Florida Bay is extremely shallow, with an average depth of 3 feet - treacherous for boaters. It's not unusual to see a heron or egret standing in water hundreds of yards from land.

Capt. Tad Burke, head of the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Assn., said the guides had drawn up an alternative that would emphasize a thorough and mandatory education program before boaters could enter Florida Bay, which he called "one of the most difficult bodies of water to navigate." The guides strongly oppose creating huge pole-and-troll zones, which he said would effectively close off much of the bay.

"We want to protect the environment," he said. "But we also want to protect the economic value of Everglades National Park. How can you close off massive areas of the park?"

Environmental groups generally support the tougher restrictions, arguing that the park's first duty is to protect natural resources.

"No one likes more regulations, but the boating traffic has gone up 2 1/2 times in the last 30 years," said Brian Scherf of the Florida Biodiversity Project. "These seagrass areas are so important for juvenile fish habitat, food supply, hunting grounds for other fish. If you don't have healthy seagrass, you won't have great fishing."

Ted Perron, organizer of the Palm Beach Water Yaks kayaking club, supports the strictest limits on boats but said he doesn't want them evicted.

"It's not to exclude the boaters," he said. "It's to protect the Everglades."

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UQ & Sea World team up on groundbreaking dugong research

15 May 2009, UQ News (Brisbane,Queensland, Australia)

Biologists from the University of Queensland have teamed up with Sea World and Sydney Aquarium to assess the health and reproductive status of wild dugongs in Moreton Bay this week.

Leader of the UQ Dugong Research Team, Dr Janet Lanyon from UQ's School of Biological Sciences, said determining reproductive status of individuals was one of the most important factors for population modelling and effective management of a vulnerable species.

Dr Lanyon said the short-term goal of the study was to determine the most reliable method for indicating hormone levels in the dugong, while the long term goal was to determine critical reproductive parameters in wild dugong populations.

“Once we understand seasonality and timing of reproductive patterns, we will be able to develop useful models of population dynamics for vulnerable dugongs,” she said.

“Assessing the health of these animals is a valuable tool in determining the fitness of wildlife populations; and marine mammals such as dugongs may be used as sentinels for emerging threats to coastal seagrass ecosystems."

The team of researchers are out in the field in Moreton Bay this week sampling a selection of dugongs, which are representative of both sexes and from adult, sub-adult and juvenile size classes. The plan is to capture up to 17 dugongs over seven days taking approximately 30-40 minutes to sample each animal.

Researchers are collecting blood to look at haematology, blood bio chemistry, immune factors as well as screen for disease. Urine and faecal samples are also being collected to be cultured for microbes and screened for parasites and zoonotic disease.

Dr Lanyon said blood and urine sampled from this study was important because it has been shown to represent active circulating hormone levels in other species such as Florida manatees.

She said the aim of the research was to validate the use of blood, faecal, urine, vaginal mucus, tears and exhaled air samples to measure reproductive hormone concentrations and blood parameters in dugongs.

As well as collecting samples, comprehensive medical examinations by biologists and vets are being carried out to assess the body condition of the animals, including girth and weight measurements.

“The hormone data will be used along with gender, body size and social association data gathered during mark-recapture studies, to determine the reproductive status of individual Dugongs,” she said.

Sea World Director of Marine Sciences, Trevor Long said the sampling involves lifting wild dugongs out of the water to take a comprehensive series of tissue and excreta samples to measure reproductive hormones plus an abdominal ultrasound to confirm reproductive state.

Mr Long said a specially designed stretcher is used to hoist the animals from the water onto the deck of research vessel Sea World One.

“This is a very exciting study, and allows us to capture data that will help to establish reference blood parameters for the species”, he said.

Mr Long said the dugong was a major conservation priority for Sea World.

“The Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation's work in past years has resulted in the rescue and rehabilitation of dugongs Pig and Wuru, who now reside at the Sydney Aquarium," he said.

"Along with Sydney Aquarium, a partnership with dugong experts such as Dr Lanyon and the University of Queensland is an ongoing priority for Sea World."

Sea World and the Sydney Aquarium this year provided generous support to the UQ Dugong research team. Sea World also provided the use of Sea World One as the main research vessel and base in Moreton Bay this week.

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Nakheel responds to claims over waste

15 May 2009, Construction Week Online (Dubai,United Arab Emirates )

The Gulf has been littered by more than 200,000 tonnes of waste as a result of coastal property development in Dubai, the president of Emirates Marine Environmental Group (Emeg) has said.

The group has been working closely with Nakheel in the Waterfront and Palm Jebel Ali areas to assist with monitoring the effects of the developer’s coastal projects on the Gulf.

Nakheel is funding the work. “In Waterfront and Jebel Ali we have pulled more than 200,000 tonnes of waste from the water, most of which we recycle,” Emeg president Ali Saqar Al Suweidin told Construction Week. “We have help from Nakheel which educates its sub-developers,” he added.

A Nakheel spokesperson said, “Controlling waste is the responsibility of every person across all phases of our projects.

“Our construction contractors are totally committed to minimising and sorting their waste, as well as re-using or recycling materials wherever and whenever possible.”

Al Suweidi also said that dredging work had covered large sections of seagrass on the ocean bed, a favoured food of the green turtle, an endangered species.

Emeg has been called in to deal with around 50 cases of green turtles being washed ashore along the coast of Dubai through fatigue.

The group’s marine programme director Rima Jabado agreed that the loss of seagrass due to sedimentation was a threat to the health of the green turtle population.

“It’s affecting them in terms of feeding,” she said. “It’s reducing the amount that they have to feed on.” The turtle’s nesting beaches, which are located along an area of natural coastline near Nakheel’s Waterfront development, are also under threat.

“We just have to hope that they can find somewhere else to go,” Jabado said.

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UK Seahorse tagging project at Studland Bay in Dorset

14 May 2009 Wildlife Extra (Hereford,England,UK)

The Seahorse Trust has been surveying British Seahorses since 1994 through its British Seahorse Survey and in early 2008 we achieved the full named protection of both native species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981 schedule 5). This monumental break through took six years to obtain and it also included the protection of the habitat Seahorses are found in, which was a major bonus to the legislation.

Two species of Seahorse in British waters- Short Snouted & the Spiny Seahorse
The British Seahorse Survey would not be possible without the community involvement we receive through the hundreds of sightings per annum from divers, fishermen and the general public. Its this very community involvement that made it possible to get the two species; the Short Snouted Seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) and the Spiny Seahorse (H.guttulatus) protected under the wildlife and Countryside Act as named species and has meant that hundreds of people have given up their time and energy to go out looking for Seahorses and reporting them into us. This amazing influx of information has allowed us to build up a picture of the unique lives these two species we have in our coastal waters.

British Seahorse Survey
The British Seahorse Survey was set up in 1994 and is the longest running continuous survey of its kind in the world; it's this longevity that has allowed us to gain a greater insight into the world of two of the British Isles most enigmatic fish species.

Studland Bay - Site of International importance
The Seahorse Tust has been monitoring a number of sites around the UK, one of which is in Studland Bay in Dorset which has turned out to be a site of International importance. Our coordinators for Dorset, Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher, discovered Seahorses on the site in 2005 and since then we have made a number of amazing discoveries about British Seahorses and particularly this site.

Despite the longevity of the survey and the amount of knowledge we have already gained we need to know more about these very elusive animals and their secretive lives and Studland Bay gives us a unique opportunity to do this.

Habitat under threat
It is vital to learn more about Seahorses and their ecology in the wild so that we can put management plans into place for their protection and to preserve the habitat they live in, which is under imminent threat from development and overuse; to do this we need to identify individual Seahorses over long periods of time which is quite difficult to do underwater

Tagging and monitoring the Seahorses
Over several we have learned to tag Seahorses with a small ‘floy' tag that is non intrusive and does not affect the lives of the seahorses. We now propose to tag the Seahorses at Studland Bay so that we are able to identify individual Seahorses. During the tagging process we will take notes of measurements, identifying marks, GPS location, sex and photographs to allow us to build up a database of individuals on the site, all of which will be updated as and when these individuals are spotted and recorded again.

Weekly dives
Our aim is to dive at least once a week on the site every week throughout the year to gather ongoing data and information allowing us to know more about the unique residents of the bay and by diving throughout the year we will begin to understand a great deal more about their seasonal movements, ecology and habits.

These dives will allow us to check on existing tagged Seahorses and to tag new ones, as part of this tagging process the exact location of each animal will be taken by GPS, ascertaining if they do in fact set up territories, which has been previously thought.

The tagging project is expected to be ongoing for a number of years (a minimum of three), allowing us to build a greater picture of what is going on in the wild; as Studland is very unique in having a large population of Seahorses and it is easily accessible for diving it is ideal for doing this sort of research. We are hoping that the study of the Seahorses in Studland will be ongoing and will include the local community in helping us with our work; this we hope will instil local pride in this very special area.

The data we gather will allow us to put together with interested parties such as Natural England, The National Trust, Crown estates, a large number of concerned individuals and Dorset Wildlife Trust a management plan to protect the site which will include public information schemes seagrass bed regeneration plans and offset areas.

Studland Bay - Highest density of Seahorses in the world!
Since the discovery of Seahorses at Studland Bay, the site has proven to be internationally important and has thrown up some amazing surprises. The bay has a surprising concentration of Seahorses; with more than 40 in recorded in 2008. This density has made it a site of international importance as nowhere else in the British Isles, or indeed for that matter in the world; except the Rio Formosa in Portugal is there this concentration of Seahorses.

Pleasure craft destroying Seahorse Studland Bay habitat
The bay is under major threat of damage due the large number of pleasure craft that use it, particularly during the summer months. The pleasure craft anchor in the seagrass meadow, causing serious damage, as well the seemingly endless amount of litter and rubbish they dump into the bay. We need to gather as much data as we can in as short a time as possible to allow us to put together a management plan.

Studland Bay is made up of a large Seagrass meadow that has a number of species resident in it and is a major nursery site for commercial species such as Bass and Mullet, as well as being a unique site for Seahorses.

Seagrass meadows
Seagrass meadows are a crucial undersea habitat and one that takes a long time to establish but a very short time to destroy, and once it has gone it is very difficult for it to recover.

The erosion of the Seagrass meadow will have a negative impact on the area; not only will it destabilise the seabed leading to coastal erosion, but it will also lead to the loss of this important nursery area for these commercial species, leading to further loses in fish stocks and loss of employment in the local fishing industry. Seagrass meadows also trap CO2 helping to alleviate global warming, making Seagrass beds as valuable as Rain Forests.

Urgent need for mooring restrictions

There is an urgent need to put some environmentally friendly moorings into the site, and to get boat users to moor up to those rather than anchor into the seagrass. However it appears that Natural England and Crown Estates are dragging their heels and undertaking an expensive and unecessary survey when the money would be better used used for the moorings.

At the moment there are some 40 illegal moorings on the seagrass beds; if nothing is done soon then we will run the risk of loosing the seagrass bed, the seahorses and all the commercial fish that benefit from it.

Volunteers
The British Seahorse Survey, and more importantly the protection of both British Seahorses, would not be possible without the help and devotion of volunteers, not just divers but fishermen and members of the public out walking on beaches and rockpooling and crabbing as well. This involvement of the public has not only allowed us to survey a much larger area but we have also received more information than could have been achieved with an in house survey.

We plan to use volunteers further in the Tagging project; they will be taught and trained to survey the area with us, how to measure and photograph the Seahorses and also as time goes on trained to tag the Seahorses. Without them this project would not be as successful as we envisage and we estimate to have on average 3 volunteers a week working with us.

Raise money for THE SEAHORSE TRUST with Everyclick.com - http://www.everyclick.com/theseahorsetrust

Visit Seahorse trust : http://www.theseahorsetrust.org/

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Govt rejects ocean dumping plan

04 May 2009, ABC online (Australia)

The Queensland Government has refused plans to allow the dumping of dredge waste back into the ocean at Port Hinchinbrook, near Cardwell in north Queensland.

Developers of the Port Hinchinbrook resort and marina had applied for permission to dump the waste back into the ocean as they dredge to allow better access for boaties. Sustainability Minister Kate Jones rejected the plan, saying the area was too environmentally sensitive.

The Alliance to Save Hinchinbrook's spokeswoman, Margaret Moorhouse, has welcomed the news. "Sea dumping is a very, very dirty activity and this is in an area where the seagrass meadows are the livelihood of the dugongs in particularly, but many other sea creatures as well," she said.

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Herbicide drainage harms reef

13 April 2009, Science Alert (Australia)

A comprehensive research program investigating pesticide residue run-off has revealed a suite of herbicides in rivers and creeks and in marine waters within the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

The runoff of pesticide residues were monitored in the Tully-Murray, Burdekin-Townsville and Mackay Whitsunday Regions over four wet seasons (2005-2008), with a focus on key land uses within these regions.  The land uses include sugar cane, grazing, horticulture, urban and natural/conservation.

Dr Stephen Lewis from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research (ACTFR) at James Cook University (JCU) said that the results show that a suite of herbicides including diuron, atrazine, ametryn and hexazinone have been commonly detected in waterways draining sugar cane lands. “Concentrations of diuron and atrazine residues often exceeded Australian freshwater guidelines for species protection. Lower concentrations of diuron were also commonly detected in waters draining urban lands,” he said.

“Tebuthiuron residues have also been detected in rivers draining grazing lands. “Diuron, atrazine, hexazinone and tebuthiuron residues were also measured in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon directly offshore from these regions within river water flood plumes.  “Some concentrations exceeded either locally-derived marine water quality trigger values for species protection or laboratory-based lowest observable effect levels for marine plants including coral zoozanthellae and seagrass,” Dr Lewis said.

Mr Jon Brodie, principal research officer at JCU’s ACTFR, said that the results from the study have been presented to growers and graziers across the regions over the past three years.  “Research staff have been working with growers, graziers, industry groups, the regional natural resource management bodies of each region and government to establish best management practices for each industry to suit localised catchment conditions,” he said.

These best management practices for sugar and grazing industries have now been developed within each region through the Federal Government’s Water Quality Improvement Plan process.

Mr Brodie said that a considerable number of farmers have already implemented farm management plans and improved management practices to enhance water quality through the Australian Government’s Reef Rescue Program. “Reef Rescue incentive grants to support the adoption of these improved management practices are currently being rolled out across the Great Barrier Reef catchments,” Mr Brodie said.

The research has been published in the peer-reviewed online scientific journal, Environmental Pollution.

The researchers noted that a full assessment of the risk of herbicide runoff to the Great Barrier Reef was complicated by a limited number of ecotoxicological studies on relevant species, and the possibility of additive or enhanced effects by the combination of these herbicides as well as with elevated suspended sediments and nutrients also being transported in river runoff.

“However,” Mr Brodie said, “the results show that herbicide runoff from agricultural lands are of concern to marine ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef and are sometimes at concentrations which would directly affect seagrass and coral reef species, at least temporarily.”

The Australian Government’s $40 million Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility funds research that aims to help increase the sustainability of use and management of north Queensland’s key environmental assets – the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments, the Wet Tropics rainforests, and the Torres Strait.

Read more Reef Rescue MMP results in Issue 35 Seagrass-Watch News: Click Here

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Big Year head for Seagrass-Watch in Torres Strait

18-24 March 2009 Torres News

2009 is shaping up to be a big year for Seagrass-Watch in the Torres Strait. Torres project coordinator Jane Mellors said that, in addition to continuing the regular monitoring at Battery Point, Front Beach, Thursday Island and sites at Horn Island and Hammond Island, Seagrass-Watch will expand to Mabiaug Island.

Seagrass-Watch currently boasts regular participation from Tagai College, who give their time to monitor the spread of seagrass at sites around Thursday Island. Seagrass is vital to sustain the growth of fisheries resources, and is a good indicator of ocean health.

On Mabiaug, Seagrass-Watch will be working closely with Rangers and Dugong and Turtle Project Officers, while continuing the program’s close partnership with Tagai College.

“To ensure that the Seagrass-Watch data is being collected correctly, the rangers, ranger mentors, students and teachers will be attending a training session in early March,” Dr Mellors said. “This will ensure that Seagrass-Watchers are familiar and comfortable with the techniques required to monitor seagrass habitat under Seagrass-Watch protocols. Following these protocols will ensure that the data collected stands up to rigorous Quality Assurance, Quality Control scrutiny.

“By passing the QAQC data can be used in confidence to inform marine managers of the health and condition of the seagrass-meadows being monitored. “The data that is submitted to Seagrass-Watch HQ remains the property of the people who collected it. Seagrass-Watch HQ is only the custodian of any data submitted.”

Dr Mellors said an exciting trial would occur later in the year, with the introduction of underwater cameras for monitoring.

“Once we have our intertidal sites up and running on Mabiaug, we are looking at trialling a subtidal monitoring methodology using underwater cameras. This monitoring methodology will be assessed by the Mabiaug Rangers for its practicality in maintaining a long-term subtidal Seagrass-Watch site.”

The selection of a suitable seagrass site for the underwater camera trial will be determined during a survey that DPI&F are undertaking on behalf the Torres Strait Regional Authority Land and Sea Unit surveying marine habitats in the Torres Strait that are at greatest risk from Shipping accidents and oil spills.

“This mapping exercise survey will build on the work that was undertaken in early 2008 and will include the Warrior Reefs, Darnley Island and surrounding reefs and the intertidal reefs from Kircaldie Reef to Zaigai Island,” Dr Mellors said.

Source:  Torres News 18-24 March 2009, Pg 15

 

 

 

Sea rangers part of world turtle project

08 March 2009, Torres News ( Torres Strait, Australia)

Indigenous Sea Rangers from northern Australia, including a contingent from the Torres Strait Islands, impressed international delegates at the 29th Sea Turtle Symposium held in Brisbane.

The Dugong and Marine Turtle Project is the first of its kind, striving to manage marine turtles on a regional scale that matches the animal’s large migratory range.

The project aims to conserve the species across northern Australia, one of the world’s few remaining strongholds for the animals; and is coordinated by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance - a partnership comprising the Kimberley Land Council, Northern Land Council, Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation and the Torres Strait Regional Authority.

NAILSMA chief executive officer Joe Morrison said: "Indigenous land and sea managers across northern Australia are world-leaders in many regards; combining traditional knowledge with modern science to manage marine turtles in Australia."

Kaurareg traditional owner Pearson Wigness said the community-based management plans developed by Torres Strait Islanders had raised a lot of interest at the symposium.

"They were impressed by the way we have integrated traditional law with the needs of other stakeholders like the government and the scientific community, to manage turtle and dugong in our region. And they want to learn from our example."

TSRA Alternate Debuty Chair Kenny Bedford, who also attended the symposium, described the event as a valuable opportunity to share experiences and achievements with other indigenous people, conservationists and scientists from around Australia and the world.

"Through this process our people and community efforts in this management area are being recognised and praised internationally," he said.

"The importance of our region in the global management of sea turtles is also being acknowledged."

Attending the symposium were Mr Bedford, Charles David (Iama Project Officer) and Damian Miley (Land and Sea Management Unit, TSRA).

Image: Attending the symposium were (from left): Lachlan Sutherland (former coordinator), Pearson Wigness (Ngarupai), Moses Wailu (Mer), Mariana Fuentes (JCU) and Ishmael Gibuma (Boigu). Photo courtesy Kenny Bedford.

Read more on Seagrass-Watch in Torres Strait: Click Here

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Thailand's dugong population under threat from commercial fishing

05 March 2009, Thai News Agency MCOT (Bangkok,Thailand)

Thailand’s dugong population is now under threat. Trawling and fishing by push net has caused a dramatic and continuous decline in the marine animal’s population. According to official statistics, more than 10 dugongs have died over the past 4 months as a result of commercial fishing.

The autopsy of a 40-year-old male dugong in Thailand’s Satun province clearly showed the animal did not die from illness or infection. Instead, the oedema in its chest helped confirm the dugong had struggled to survive so hard it was finally died of shock.

A marine biologist at Phuket Marine Biological Centre, who performed an autopsy for this dugong, believed fishing tools were the culprit.

“Although there’s no wound on its body caused by a fishing tool, there are traces inside the body, which indicate the dugong suffered a serious shock. For instance, an oedema in pericardium and a blood clot in the torso. These traces were believed to be from a fishing tool,” said Phaothep Cherdsukjai, a marine biologist.

Phuket Marine Biological Centre Commercial fishing, namely by trawler and push net, is directly resulting in a sharp drop in the dugong population, as well as other endangered species such as sea turtles.

Illegal fishing within restricted area of 3,000 metres from the shoreline causes the large animals to be trapped in a net, unable to push themselves up to breathe on the sea’s surface, which finally ends in their death.

“If illegal fishing persists, within the next 10 to 20 years, endangered marine species including dugongs and sea turtles would become extinct in the Thai ocean,” said Phaothep.

Construction of wharves, owing to growth of the tourism business, is also impacting on the survival of seagrass which is the dugong’s source of food.
If no immediate measures are taken by the government, the dugong might become a thing of the past in Thai waters.

Read more on Dugong and research in Thailand in Seagrass-Watch News: Issue 35

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Dead dugong likely killed by fishing equipment

03 March 2009, Phuket Gazette (Phuket,Thailand)

AO PANWA, PHUKET: An examination of a dead dugong found floating in Phang Nga Bay late last month suggests it died suddenly of injuries sustained though contact with fishing equipment, a leading marine biologist has revealed.

A ferry found the female dugong on February 27 and its crew brought the 1.6-meter, 86-kilogram carcass to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) for examination.

The examination, which took place this afternoon, revealed that the dugong appeared to have been in a healthy condition right up to the moment of death.

Veterinarian Sontaya Manawattana told the Gazette that “seagrass was still left in her mouth, proving that the dugong was eating food only moments before she died. This indicates that she was healthy.”

It is suspected that the mammal died as the result of an encounter with fishing equipment.

This latest discovery marks the eighth recorded dugong death since October, 2008.

“The dugong population numbers about 250 in the Andaman Sea and around 50 in the Gulf of Thailand. They are in danger of disappearing from the Andaman Sea altogether, so they need to be protected,” said Dr Sontaya.

Read more on Dugong and research in Thailand in Seagrass-Watch News: Issue 35

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Farm group questions reef protection measures

30 January 2009, ABC News Online

The Queensland Farmers Federation is remaining sceptical about State Government plans to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday announced that some pesticides and farming practices, including over-grazing, will be restricted under legislation by June.

It is part of a project worth $175 million over five years.

The federation's Dan Galligan says farmers understand the value of the reef, but regulations are not necessarily the solution.

"We've been saying for sometime to the State Government that we'd much prefer that, rather than investing money and time into scouting around into regulating individual practices, they would better in investigating ... encouraging farmers to adopt in improved practices as many are already doing, investing in that," he said.

Mr Galligan says details about which pesticides remain scant, and the Federal Government's reef rescue program is a better initiative.

"We support a valued reef and want to protect it as much as we can. That's what we've pursued the reef rescue arrangements," he said.

"What we're not sure about, is how the State Government would even attempt to regulate farm practices to deliver that."

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

 

Town classifies marine protected areas; enhancing its protection

29 January 2009, Negros Chronicle ( Dumaguete City,Negros Oriental, Philippines)

AYUNGON, Negros Oriental- Mayor Erwin Agustino here has embarked on further classifying marine protected areas as well as enhancing its protection for the benefit of the local fisherfolks.

The move also was collaborated by the town’s local legislature headed by Vice Mayor Edsel Enardecido who himself was the town’s immediate mayor by coming up with an ordinance, he being the presiding officer.

Mayor Agustino said that in their town, protected marine areas here includes mangrove reserves, coral reef areas and sea grass sanctuaries.

Among the identified areas are the mangrove reserves in barangays Anibong, Calagcalag, Tampocon 1, Tampcon II, Tiguib.

While coral reefs in Brgy. Awaan is also protected by the town government.

Mayor Agustino said that the establishment of the marine protected areas shall be reserved for protection, rehabilitation and replenishment of fish and fishery/aquatic resources.

The mayor also emphasized that with the establishment of marine protected areas, all types of fishing, anchoring and passing of large boats and collection or gathering of items are strictly prohibited.

While in seagrass areas, entry of people and boats are prohibited except when approved for research purposes.

In mangrove areas, cutting and destroying any products which causes destruction including the disposal of trash, rubbish or any thing that will also destroy the area.

He added that the move also aims to rehabilitate and protect the mangrove areas as well as develop and enhance community participation towards environmental protection.

“This is also one way of providing fihserfolks withalternative livelihood projects” stressed the mayor in a separate interview with the members of the media.

Source and article: Click Here

 

Dept recognises importance of seagrass

21 January 2009, Malaysia Star - Malaysia

WE refer to the letter Seagrass site of great value (The Star, Jan 1, see below) by Mah Hong Seng on his suggestion to the Department of Fisheries to gazette the Merambong seagrass site located close to Sungai Pulai (Gelang Patah), Johor.

The department has jointly with the Malaysian National Seagrass Committee published a book entitled National Seagrass Report Of Malaysia.

The report is the outcome of a project collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Program-GEF conducted during 2003-2006.

About 30ha of seagrass are estimated at the Merambong site. We fully agree that the seagrass ecosystem is a very important habitat for many commercially important species of fishes, shrimps and shellfish.

In fact, seagrass is recognised as essential food for dugongs, sea horses and sea turtles.

At the moment, the seagrass is partly protected in marine parks, state parks, fisheries protected areas (i.e. Pulau Talang Talang, Sarawak), mangrove forest reserves and also a Ramsar site (i.e. Sungai Pulai).

The department fully supported the idea of gazetting these areas as marine protected areas. Apart from encouraging the development of the fishing and aquaculture industry, the department will always be aware of the responsibility to protect ecosystems that support the fisheries sector.

Halijah Mat Sin,
Public Relations Officer,
For the Director-General,
Department of Fisheries Malaysia.

Seagrass site of great value

01 January 2009, Malaysia Star

JOHOR is endowed with amazing biodiversity and has much to offer everyone, be it the tourist, naturalist or researcher.

It has the Panti bird sanctuary, the fabled Mt Ledang, Endau Rompin, several beautiful islands and now the amazing Merambong sea grass located close to the estuary of Sungai Pulai (Gelang Patah), which is the biggest in Malaysia and boasts a rich assortment of biota, including the sea cow or dugong and sea horse (hippocampus). These are species vulnerable to extinction.

The sea grass beds are the nursery of many fishes, shrimps and shellfish, which provide a perfect natural sanctuary for them to thrive and grow.

But sadly, we Malaysians only know about migration of birds when there is so much of migratory fishes plying between the Malacca Straits and the Riau Archipelago which we are ignorant of. This is unpublished research which needs to be pursued further.

I sincerely urge the Fisheries Department to play a proactive role in conserving this valuable site along with the neighbouring sea grasses and work with Taman Laut and other statutory bodies to gazette this site.

They have a good overview of the sea grass community, having done several similar studies in the South China Sea.

Presently, it is perceived that the Fisheries Department is only interested in commercial farming and aqua culture.

Its role is supposed to be much wider and diverse. A balance is imperative as this would be vital to long-term conservation and promulgation efforts.

Without preservation of such habitats, we would not have enough of fish, which is a source of valuable protein.

I strongly urge the Fisheries Department to act fast before our natural resources are depleted beyond sustainability.

Besides the gazetting of the valuable sea grass, more research and crucial work need to be undertaken on habitat preservation and fish migration in collaboration with our universities and also our Asean partner nations which has a stake in this migratory flow of fishes.

Understanding their flow cycle and habitats would assist us in conserving their nurseries more professionally.

Perhaps the Fisheries Department should immediately take an inventory of the area and determine the extent of pollution where these sea grasses are located and establish buffer zones in view of the rapid development of the adjacent areas earmarked for industrial development.

An integrated plan is needed to integrate the coral reefs of Pulau Merambong, the mangroves and sea grass holistically as they form a vital ecosystem in the conservation process.

The future of this rich biodiversity legacy and living heritage (sea grass meadows) of Johor needs urgent attention, more so as this area is close to the Iskandar Development region.

Perhaps the Iskandar Develop­ment authorities should also take an interest in this area as it is part of the natural green lungs of this integrated development region and will be scrutinised by the investors on how much we really care for our environment.

MAH HONG SENG,
Kuala Lumpur.

Seagrass-Watch is a partner of SOS Malaysia. Since September 2005, SOS volunteers have used Seagrass-Watch monitoring techniques to monitor the seagrass meadows located between Malaysia and Singapore. Click Here

 

 

Trouble stalks grass

15 January 2009, page 20, The Cairns Post

Seagrass meadows in Cairns' Trinity Bay and the Hinchinbrook Channel: off Cardwell, have been named among three likely trouble spots in Queensland for the marine plants.

Researchers monitoring seagrass have identified the two Far Northern areas and Townsville’s Cleveland Bay as the spots most under threat.

The plant, which is eaten by dugongs and green turtles and provides a habitat for many small marine creatures, has been studied for more than a year in both Cairns and Townsville’s harbours.

Reef and Rainforest Research Centre chief executive officer Sheriden Morris said the latest monitoring suggested seagrasses in the Cairns harbour were “relatively healthy" but in Townsville’s harbour they showed signs of decline.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Seagrass-Watch leader Len McKenzie said the Cairns results had been a welcome surprise.

"We have a number of monitoring programs there and the grasses have not been majorly impacted by hazards from dredging and runoff to port development in the past 12 months,” he said. "But it will keep being monitored. "

"In Townsville, the intertidal meadows have not fared so well over the year. But there are large seed reserves."

The Hinchinbrook Channel, off Cardwell, south of Tully, also needs to be heavily monitored after deterioration at the mouth of the Herbert River, he said.  A major monitoring program was not in place yet.

People can volunteer to help with inspections in their district through the Seagrass-Watch program, which began in Australia 10 years ago and now involves 18 countries.

To volunteer, log on to www.seagrasswatch.org/register.html

To view

Cairns results: Click Here

Townsville results: Click Here

 

 

Scientists say long-term monitoring has identified three high risk areas for seagrass - two of them in far north Queensland.

13 January 2009, ABC Newsonline

The Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) says seagrass in Trinity Bay in Cairns, the Hinchinbrook Channel and in Cleveland Bay, near Townsville, is under considerable pressure.

RRRC chief executive Sheridan Morris says urban and agricultural run-off is having a big impact on these areas - which are important breeding grounds for numerous marine species.

She says the seagrasses are expected to recover, but they are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

"When water temperatures - particularly in shallow areas - rise above 43 degrees Celsius, we know the seagrasses will just die," Ms Morris said.

"Even when it rises to around 40 [degrees] - which it can do in these shallow areas - it puts the seagrass under a lot of pressure."

Source and article: Click Here

Image: Burnt leaves of Cymodocea rotundata (1-2 m depth) recorded at Green Island May 2003 (Len McKenzie ,Seagrass-Watch HQ)

 

 

Our seagrass region's worst

09 January 2009, Townsville Bulletin

TOWNSVILLE'S seagrass meadows are among the worst in North Queensland - not helped in the slightest by Mother  Nature.

A study has identified the shallow seagrass meadows in Cleveland Bay as one of three likely trouble spots for seagrass - the primary food source for dugongs. Other high risk areas include the Hinchinbrook Channel near Cardwell and Trinity Bay near Cairns.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Seagrass-Watch program leader Len McKenzie said of all the meadows assessed in North Queensland, the Townsville meadows showed the most decline through a combination of natural and human impacts such as dredging.

"What we are finding are some of the coastal meadows, the ones around Pallarenda and Bushland Beach, they are showing declines," Mr McKenzie said.

"Part of that is a lot of natural disturbance, because they're on areas that are exposed to a lot of wave action, those sort of things.

"But it also looks like the Burdekin flood, which you had early last year, may have also impacted on that area as well." Mr McKenzie said the situation could worsen if there was more flooding this year, or prolonged south-easterly winds.

"A lot of these things are climatic things, not necessarily human-induced," he said. The constant battering from Mother Nature meant the meadows were especially susceptible towards human impacts, Mr McKenzie said.

"Because of these natural things going on, the last thing you want is something that people do which would exacerbate the problem," he said.

"So if it is struggling a bit for some natural reason, don't make it more difficult by having bad management practices on the land."

Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) CEO Sheriden Morris said the study and a seagrass monitoring program were important components of ensuring the seagrass meadows were used and managed sustainably.

"Ongoing longterm monitoring programs are essential because they allow managers to detect changes in the health of the resource' - in this case, seagrasses - and then, if necessary, adapt management practices to improve health," Ms Morris said.

While seagrasses would face increasing problems as the climate changed, previous research and monitoring strategies helped put Queensland's meadows in a better position than most regions of world.

 

 

Seagrass meadows monitored

07 January 2009, RRRC Media Release

Shallow seagrass meadows in Trinity Bay, off the coast of Cairns, have been identified as one of three likely trouble spots in Queensland for these important marine plants.

Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) chief executive officer Sheriden Morris said that a recent preliminary study and a seagrass monitoring program were important components of ensuring that the seagrass meadows were used and managed sustainably.

“Ongoing long-term monitoring programs are essential because they allow managers to detect changes in the health of the resource – in this case, seagrasses – and then, if necessary, adapt management practices to improve health,” Sheriden said.

The Australian Government’s $40 million Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF), which is managed by RRRC, has identified three areas as suffering considerable pressure due to localised negative impacts caused by poor water quality flowing out of rivers and urban and industrial development.

Trinity Bay near Cairns, the Hinchinbrook Channel near Cardwell and Cleveland Bay near Townsville had all been identified as high risk areas for seagrasses.

Sheriden said seagrasses will face increasing problems as the climate changes but previous regional investment in research and monitoring, as well as sensible management, had generally put Queensland in a good position compared to most regions of the world.

“This ongoing investment has bought us a chance to monitor some of the effects of climate change on our marine ecosystems and the businesses that depend on them,” Sheriden said.

The state Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Seagrass-Watch program leader Mr Len McKenzie said monitoring results indicate that seagrasses in the Cairns region are relatively healthy, however in locations such as Townsville the intertidal seagrasses have declined - a possible a consequence of poor water quality and disturbance.

“We do expect these seagrasses to recover in the near future because they have large seed reserves and an improving reproductive effort, Mr McKenzie said.

“More research and monitoring are needed if we are to understand the complex relationships between pollutants, nutrients and natural variations in seagrass health,” he said.

Seagrasses play an important role in the health of the ecosystem of Queensland’s coastal waters. These flowering plants provide a habitat for many small marine animals, including commercially important creatures such as prawns and fish, and are the main diet of dugongs and green turtles.

“Seagrass-Watch monitoring efforts are vital to assist with tracking global patterns in seagrass health, and assess the impact of threats like poor land use practices, inappropriate coastal development, overfishing and climate change.”

Members of the public are invited to become volunteers in Seagrass-Watch which is the largest scientific, non-destructive seagrass assessment and monitoring program in the world. For more information contact www.seagrasswatch.org

Source and article: Click here

 

 

‘Mermaid’ rescued in Philippines

06 January 2009, WWF New Centre

Two brave fishermen from the Philippines began the year by saving the life of a trapped dugong or sea cow, the ancient sea mammal generally credited with being the origin of the mermaid myth.

On the afternoon of 1 January Henry Barlas, from the coastal barangay of Maruyogon in Puerto Princesa, noticed something unusual as he gazed at the shallow lagoon fronting his home. Less than 10 metres from shore a 2.6m long dugong lay trapped and weakened by the tide, clearly fighting for life.

Without hesitation he called his colleague Paquito Abia and with the aid of volunteers pushed the refrigerator-sized animal to safety. Since the creature was too weak to fight the ebb tide, the two fishermen fastened a rope around its midriff - it was to survive the swells that drove it ashore the animal needed to recuperate in waist-high water.

In the morning Barlas immediately notified both local officials and WWF-Philippines of the stranding before heading off to check on the dugong. When WWF assessed that the animal was fit enough for release, its ropes were untied and the animal was gradually coaxed out of the lagoon. Cheering onlookers flocked ashore to bid farewell to the wondrous creature brought in by the tide.

WWF Project Manager Mavic Matillano said: “The best part was that we barely needed to do anything. Both Henry and Paquito acted out of instinct and for this we are doubly proud. It seems that the long years of conducting dugong awareness campaigns have once again paid off.”

Trapped under similar conditions, another dugong was rescued by a 15-year old boy in 2007. “Marine mammal strandings are uncommon occurrences but they do happen,” said resident WWF dugong expert Sheila Albasin. “Fortunately it seems people know what to do when a stranding does take place.”

The gentle dugong or sea cow inhabits shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, wherever seagrass is most abundant. It is the fourth member of the order Sirenia, alongside the three manatee species. A fifth, the gigantic eight-metre long steller’s sea cow, was completely wiped out in 1768, just 30 years after being discovered.

Sizeable herds of dugong - the source of popular mermaid lore - once plied the Philippine archipelago until hunting and habitat degradation reduced overall numbers. When seen from above, the top half of a dugong can appear like that of a human woman. Coupled with the tail fin, this produced an image of what mariners often mistook for an aquatic human.

Thriving populations are now protected in Isabela, Southern Mindanao and Palawan, keeping seagrass meadows cropped, healthy and productive. Dugongs are thought to live up to 70 years, but give birth to a only single calf every three to five years. They are classified by the IUCN as vulnerable and it is one of the flagship species that WWF protects in the Philippines.

In the last decade WWF helped establish a Roxas-based marine-mammal rescue network which has been monitoring strandings and spearheading rescues of dugongs accidentally entangled in fishing gear. Awareness drives to protect not just dugongs, but dolphins and whales, are still conducted regularly.

Image: Courtesy of World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines, shows residents of Barangay Maruyogon in Palawan pushing ‘Enero,’ an eight-foot-long dugong, into deeper water as the mammal was released back to the sea.

Source and article: Click Here

Read more on Dugong and research in Seagrass-Watch News: Issues 35, 23, 17,15,10 and 7

 

 

 

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Correct citation: McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL. & Coles, RG. (2006 - 2010). Seagrass-Watch. www.seagrasswatch.org. 228pp. Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Queensland Government. Website designed by McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL.