Archive: 2010

 

 

 

 

New Report Outlines Restoration Activities to Speed Seagrass Recovery in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

15 December 2010, NOAA

Seagrass. The scrape injury feature was               caused by the grounding of                  the N-Control vessel.

Results of a five-year monitoring effort to repair seagrass damaged in a boat grounding incident suggest that restoration techniques such as replanting seagrass can speed recovery time.  The finding is included in a new report released today by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The National Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series report, “N-Control Seagrass Restoration Monitoring Report Monitoring Events 2003-2008,” presents results of efforts to repair a nearly 1,000-square-foot (92.8-square-meter) swath of seagrass that was damaged on May 29, 2001, when a 45-foot power boat, the N-Control, grounded in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Seagrass beds are an important habitat in the sanctuary. They provide nurseries and homes for numerous species of fish and invertebrates and serve as storm surge buffers for the low-lying Florida Keys. However, shallow seagrass beds in the Florida Keys are being damaged by vessel groundings. In 2007, an estimated 217 reported boat groundings occurred in the sanctuary, with approximately 80 percent occurring on seagrass beds. Vessel groundings damage seagrass, leaving barren areas where marine life once flourished.

Restoration techniques at the N-Control grounding site included replanting seagrass and installing stakes for birds to roost on. The use of stakes to attract birds provides a natural way to fertilize seagrass beds as bird feces are high in nutrients needed by the growing seagrass. Among the key findings in the report:

• After five years, the damaged area is gaining seagrass and coral coverage, though it hasn’t reached pre-grounding baseline levels.
• Rather than leaving the site to recover on its own, restoration activities have significantly reduced the amount of time required for damaged seagrass beds in the monitoring area to recover.

“This report highlights the critical science needed to understand and restore our sensitive marine habitats,” said Sean Morton, superintendent, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. “It’s also an important reminder that boaters need to know where they are going before heading out on the water to prevent groundings in the first place. Make sure you have up-to-date NOAA nautical charts, and always pay attention to the signs, channel markers and informational buoys.”

Currently, more than 30 seagrass restoration projects are underway at the sanctuary.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat, including coral reef, hard bottom, seagrass meadow, mangrove communities and sand flats. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary.

The full report can be found online: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/ncontrol.html

Source: Click Here

All images : NOAA

 

 

Launch inquiry or I will name and shame

25 November 2010, The Cairns Post

THE names and addresses of people poaching dugongs in the Far North and selling the meat have been given to the State Government and police by the State Opposition.  It comes amid reports that a daily flight from the Torres Strait has been arriving in Cairns with packaged dugong meat .

The Cairns Post has also discovered that customers at an Innisfail hotel have allegedly been offered the illegal meat.  Opposition sustainability spokesman Glen Elmes said he would name and shame those involved in the black-market trade if the Government did not act.

He said, while traditional owners had permission to hunt dugongs, he had proof that some were breaking the law.  "To hunt the animals for traditional purposes is fine, but when you are poaching and onselling the meat for profit that is when it is against the law," Mr Elmes said.

He said he had the names and addresses of two suspects and had forwarded them to police and the Government.  Mr Elmes said a flight arrived at Cairns airport every day at 5pm from Horn Island with packaged dugong meat. "This is not a secret in the north. I have asked for an urgent investigation," he said.

"If that is not forthcoming, I will use the opportunity at the next sitting of this parliament in February to name theindividuals."

Two customers at the Crown Hotel in Innisfail told The Cairns Post they were approached by strangers asking them if they would like to buy dugong and turtle meat.

One said he followed the pair to a vehicle outside the pub where he was offered bags of dugong meat that ranged in price from $30 to $40 while turtle meat was $25 a kilogram.

Hotel manager Peter O'Toole said he knew nothing about the illegal meat being offered for sale in his premises.
"No one has ever approached me," he said. "The thought of killing endangered animals for meat disgusts me and I will be more than happy to try to find the culprits on CCTV."

Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said: "I hope there is something substantial in the information provided, so if illegal activities have taken place they can be investigated and the offenders brought to justice."

Calls for a crackdown on illegal dugong killing in the Far North have been growing since the bodies of three of the endangered creatures were discovered near Cairns in April.

Should all dugong hunting be banned?

Source:  Click Here

 

 

 

Calls to protect dugongs

27 October 2010, The Cairns Post

TRADITIONAL owners are putting their boats between illegal hunters and dugongs in an effort to stop the endangered animals being driven to extinction.

While some traditional owners are allowed to hunt the animal for cultural reasons, hunters who do not hold this right are abusing the resource.

Mandubarra Land and Sea Corporation spokesman James Epong said the situation had become so bad in some parts of the Far North that traditional owners feared dugongs may become extinct.

"Between Mossman and Innisfail, (dugong) are going to be extinct in these areas, because of indigenous people and Islander people moving into a town and just freely going out and taking what they want," Mr Epong said.

"The traditional owners of the land, we’re up in arms.

"We even put our boats in between the dugong and the hunters if we don’t know who they are."

It has been estimated about 200 dugongs are killed in Far Northern waters each year.

In Federal Parliament on Monday, the Opposition called for bipartisan support for a national dugong and sea turtle protection plan.

But Environment Minister Tony Burke failed to respond to questions from The Cairns Post yesterday about whether the Government would support the move.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said there needed to be a crackdown on illegal dugong hunting.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch also backed the call, saying dugong were hunted to local extinction in Mauritius and Taiwan.

"It is going to happen in this area unless something is done at the national level, because the threats and the challenges to these magnificent species mean that we may have another Tasmanian tiger on our hands," Mr Entsch said.

Source: Click Here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental fears over US base plan

07 October 2010, BBC New Asia-Pacific

Japan and the US want to move Futenma airbase from central Okinawa to the tiny village of Henoko - but local residents are doing everything they can to thwart the plan.

Man-chan's mother was born in a cave in northern Okinawa during the final months of World War II.  She says this as she steers a boat round the sea wall at Henoko port towards Camp Schwab, a US Marine base.

She stops the boat off a tiny island with sandy coves about 300m from Camp Schwab. Two US soldiers are spear-fishing in the clear seas nearby. Man-chan driving the protesters' boat off Camp Schwab Man-chan has been protesting in Henoko for several years

She gestures towards the far side of the bay. "That's where the dugongs feed," she says, referring to the manatee-like creatures that are critically endangered in Japan

"And this is where the runways would be. How can you build a base in a beautiful place like this?"  Man-chan, whose full name is Michuru Sakai, is a protester from the Henoko sit-in camp.

Local residents began protesting in 1997, a year after a proposal emerged to close Futenma airbase and replace it with a new offshore facility in Henoko.

The camp is the most prominent symbol of opposition to the plan.

But there is support from environmentalists who say the base would devastate marine life and destroy one of the last feeding grounds of the Okinawa dugong.

So too from local lawmakers. "A new base would have a considerable impact on the lifestyle and culture of the local area, and also on sea life," says Mayor Susumu Inamine.

"The people who are sitting-in at Henoko, the people who oppose the base are not political - they are there because their lifestyle is threatened."

'Dangerous base'

Everyone agrees that closing Futenma airbase is a good idea.  It sits in Ginowan city in central Okinawa, surrounded by tightly-packed houses, schools and businesses.

Residents complain of aircraft noise and fear accidents. There has already been one, when a helicopter crashed into a local university in 2004 - no-one was killed.

Donald Rumsfeld, flying over Futenma in 2003, is said to have called it the "world's most dangerous base".

Fifteen years ago, amid outrage over the gang-rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl, the US and Japan started work on a deal to reduce the US presence in Okinawa.

Eight thousand US marines would move to Guam, Futenma would be closed and the land returned. A replacement facility would be built in Henoko.

The current plan is for land to be reclaimed off Camp Schwab to support either one or two 2km-runways.

On paper, it makes sense. The area has high unemployment and - near the base site - few residents. Supporters say the base will provide jobs while impacting on far fewer people.

But many residents oppose the plan.

Environmentalists say the proposed landfill would harm rare marine life - turtles, coral - in the area.

They say it will directly affect the last known feeding ground of the Okinawa dugong.

Dugongs feed on sea grasses that grow in the clear, sun-lit waters around the Henoko area. Their feeding trenches - dugongs leave empty channels as they eat their way along the sea bed - are monitored in two bays about 4 km from the planned base.

Taro Hosokawa of the Dugong Network Okinawa says the whole area should be given special protection.

"Of course the base will have an effect," he says, citing problems like aircraft noise, pollution and damage to sea grasses caused by the landfill.

"Looking at the current situation, even if they don't make the base, the Okinawa dugong will become extinct. But if they build the base, it will happen faster."

Residents have other concerns, such as base-related crime. They also believe there will be no way to prevent the base plan expanding once approved. Already it has grown from a small heliport in 1996 to a large two-runway airfield in 2010.

The US Consul-General in Okinawa, Raymond Greene, says planners studied numerous options as they looked for an operationally effective site with an acceptable impact level on the environment and local residents.

"Henoko was the only place that we found that had that combination of minimally acceptable levels in each of those categories," he said. "We think it is the best plan given the constraints we were facing."

He says if the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - which is being conducted by the Japanese government - finds issues that must be addressed then the US will "co-operate as appropriate".

This process could take some time. The Okinawa prefectural government has so far raised more than 300 questions relating to the initial EIA.

A legal challenge - Okinawa Dugong v Rumsfeld - is also going through a US court.

Money politics

In recent months local lawmakers have also become a potent opposition force - a significant shift.

Henoko is part of Nago city, and in 1997 Nago residents rejected the base plan in a referendum. The mayor at the time, Higa Tetsuya, however, accepted the plan and the sizeable subsidies that came with it on behalf of the city nonetheless.
Pensioner at the Henoko sit-in camp This pensioner is one of a group who have been protesting for 13 years

Evidence of the investment is clear, in grand civic halls dotted round the area. But opponents say that the subsidies, while benefiting the construction sector and keeping pro-base lawmakers in power, failed to deliver a substantive economic boost.

Mr Inamine was elected mayor on an anti-base platform in January 2010 amid a wave of optimism that Tokyo would move the base out of Okinawa altogether.

He says it is time to develop the eco-tourism and agriculture sectors rather than relying on base-linked subsidies.

Ahead of local elections on 12 September, base opponents helped marshal support for anti-base candidates. Sixteen were elected, giving Mr Inamine a clear majority in the 27-seat city council.

"A mountain has moved," wrote the Ryukyu Shinpo. The two governments should respect the democratic process and "make a decision that respects the will of the people of Henoko".

Mr Inamine hopes that local voices will now start to be heard.

"The Japanese government has considerable power and legally we have little power. But the people who live here have roots, history - and to protect what we have we are working together," he said.

Around Futenma, some think the people of Nago are being selfish. "People think: 'This base here is dangerous, so why are you prioritising the sea over people's lives?'" said one lady living near the base.

But the entrenched opposition in Henoko is something that - to the dismay of Tokyo and Washington - is not going away.

 

Source and article: Click Here

 

Dugongs at risk from toxic algae

16 September 2010, Australian Geographic

OFF THE COAST OF BROOME, snaking trails are visible at low tide through glistening seagrass meadows. The pathways are a sign that a family of dugongs has swum through the area, pushing through the grassy seabed and grazing on a smorgasbord of tender shoots and roots.

Thriving seagrass meadows are vital for these hefty aquatic mammals, which can eat up to 40 kg of plant matter a day. Fiona Bishop, coordinator of the Broome Community Seagrass Monitoring Project, says dugongs (Dugong dugon) are regular visitors to Broome's Roebuck Bay, a Ramsar-listed wetland with extensive seagrass beds.

"We're lucky to have such low tides so we can walk out and see dugong trails everywhere, sometimes zigzagging back and forth. Two of the dugongs' favourite species of seagrass grow here, and they eat the whole plant, roots, flowers and seeds."

As well as 'mowing' the grass, the dugongs help disperse the seed widely when they expel their waste into the water

Toxic spread

But the health of seagrass is this year threatened by an outbreak of toxic blue-green algae, called Lyngbya majuscula, which scientists say they will study in coming weeks to establish whether Roebuck Bay's dugongs, famous migratory bird flocks and marine invertebrates are affected.

Andrew Storey, adjunct associate professor in the School of Animal Biology at UWA, is leading a $140,000 study of Broome's seagrass beds off the coast of Western Australia. While the algae is a naturally occurring plant, in certain conditions it can grow in matted profusion and literally smother the seagrass beds that dugongs feed on, he says.

Several bays around the Australian coast are plagued by Lyngbya outbreaks, with Moreton Bay in Queensland worst affected. Land-based pollutants like sewage leaching into the bay are thought to be the "triggering element" for these outbreaks.

"Compared to outbreaks in Moreton Bay, the Roebuck Bay blooms are relatively small, but they are increasing with every Wet season," Andrew told Australian Geographic. "It's hard to pinpoint, but we think that nutrient enrichment from groundwater runoff in Broome may have caused it."

Biodiversity incubators

The worst outbreaks occurred in the most recent Wet season, which ended in April this year.

Seagrass habitats are incubators of biodiversity; about 40 times as many animal species live in seagrass meadows than live on bare sand. Worms, sponges, shrimp, starfish, crabs, sea urchins and anemones thrive amid their shady fronds - unless the slime-like alga forms a light-smothering blanket.

Fiona says volunteers walking out at low tide are stunned by the beauty of seagrass: "it's glossy, green and like a wet golf course."

The combined research by scientists and volunteers, supported by Seagrass-Watch - the world's largest scientific seagrass monitoring and assessment program - will hopefully build up a detailed picture of Broome's seagrass habitat. "It's an early warning system about the health of the entire bay," Fiona says.

Source and article: Click Here

Read more on Lyngbya outbreak in WA in Issue 40 of Seagrass-Watch News : Click Here

 

Expert passes on Knowledge

16 September 2010, Broome Advertiser

BARDI Jawi ranger Chris Sampi was in Broome last week taking part in a training workshop for seagrass monitoring which his ranger group at One Arm Point has been undertaking for the last 12 months.

“The seagrass is important to us,” he said. “The dugong eat it, it’s a habitat for fish and we eat the dugong and the fish. It’s an important part of the food chain.”
The training workshop was attended by 30 Broome residents including Bardi Jawi, Nyul Nyuland Djarindjin rangers from communities on the Dampier Peninsula.
The workshop was delivered by Dr Len McKenzie, one of Australia’s leading experts on seagrass and principal scientist with Seagrass-Watch, the world’s largest scientific seagrass monitoring and assessment program.

Dr McKenzie said seagrass monitoring was restricted in Western Australia compared to Queensland, where he is based. He said it was good to see community interest in the seagrass project, which is managed locally through the Department of Environment and Conservation and Environs Kimberley.

Mr McKenzie said there was a huge amount of information not known about seagrass in the Kimberley, however, Broome and One Arm Point monitoring projects were providing valuable data on the health of the important seagrass meadows. “The data these projects gather will be used to help inform government agencies on managing seagrass,” he said. Mr Sampi said the seagrass monitoring tied in well with the Bardi Jawi rangers turtle and dugong monitoring projects around One Arm Point. Broome Community Seagrass Monitoring Project co-ordinator Fiona Bishop said Mr Sampi and fellow ranger Kevin George were taking part in a level two course which covered, among other subjects, information on data collection and threats to seagrass.

 

 

Cow of a job among dugongs

18 June 2010, Courier Mail (Australia)

ROPING a bull on land is hard enough but corralling a sea cow takes some real skill.

Scientists have spent the week collecting data from Moreton Bay's wild dugong population and have discovered the colony to be in good health.

While the news is welcome, catching and lifting the big half-tonne mammals out of the water takes quite a bit of effort.

Small boats track dugongs feeding on shallow seagrass meadows, allowing scientists wearing footy helmets to leap out and grab them by the tail while making sure their head is above water.

The pug-nosed creatures are wrestled into a sling and then taken to a nearby mother ship where samples are gathered.

The information is critical in determining how healthy the vulnerable species is and will help managers determine ways to ensure their safety.

The Australian-first research is being conducted by University of Queensland, Sea World, Sydney Aquarium and Western Plains Zoo scientists.

Of about 6000 dugongs in Queensland, 1000 live in the bay off Brisbane.

UQ team leader Janet Lanyon said once the dugongs were captured, their vital signs were constantly monitored and they were returned to the water as soon as possible.

Seaworld director of marine sciences Trevor Long said it was a stressful experience so pressure was on to work fast.

"It's the first time these animals feel the weight of their bodies on their lungs and ribs, so you want them back in the water as quickly as possible," he said.

Twenty dugong have been caught, studied and tagged over six days.

Mr Long said the slow-breeding population appeared healthy but about one a month was killed by speed boats.

"The Government's done a good job putting in go-slow zones but you need policing," Mr Long said.

"We see boats speeding through here all the time."

Source and article: Click Here

Related article: Click Here

 

 

Farmers step up for reef rescue effort

08 June 2010, ABC online (Australia)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says the Federal Government's Reef Rescue program is going to plan, with more than 500,000 hectares of catchment land now operating under new guidelines.

The Federal Government assigned $200 million over five years for north Queensland farms to improve the quality of run-off into the Great Barrier Reef.

WWF spokesman Nick Heath says it will still take some time before the reef begins to feel the benefits.

"There'll be some immediate improvements in the sense of fertiliser and pesticide are easily washed off to the reef," he said.

"But in some other areas relating to erosion and mud pollution there are bigger lag effects so we may not see the improvement out on the reef for some years."

Mr Heath says the fund is impressed with the number of north Queensland farmers joining the effort.

He says many farmers are putting their own money into improving the quality of industrial run-off.

"It's incredible some of the individual stories and we really like to celebrate farmers who are often with their own money added in," Mr Heath said.

"There's a figure going around that for every dollar they're getting from the Commonwealth, they're putting two of their own dollars in."

Source and article: Click Here

Read more Reef Rescue MMP results in Issue 39 Seagrass-Watch News: Click Here

 

 

No moratorium on dugong hunting

08 June 2010, Brisbane Times (Australia)

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett will not support a moratorium on killing dugongs, believing better policing and education will stop the gentle animals being hunted to extinction.

Mr Garrett was in Cairns today to commit $15 million to measure water quality improvements made through a federal program that supports farmers to cut the amount of nutrients that leave their farms and flow into the Great Barrier Reef.

Calls for a crackdown on illegal dugong netting in far north Queensland have been growing since the bodies of three of the endangered creatures were discovered near Cairns in April.

Only one could be saved.

Former federal Liberal MP Warren Entsch, who is contesting the next election, believes indigenous people have taken advantage of laws that allow them to hunt dugong and have set up a lucrative dugong meat industry.

stu

Traditional owners can hunt the animals using traditional means, but netting is banned.

Conservationist Bob Irwin, father of the late "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin, is calling for a moratorium.

But Mr Garrett said it was unnecessary at this point.

Compliance officers and training programs to ensure dugongs were hunted in sustainable numbers would take time to have an effect, he said.

"I am confident that if we put those measures in place and see them through then it's an issue that can be properly addressed without a moratorium," Mr Garrett told reporters.

Traditional land owners would welcome the support, Mr Garrett said.

"We recognise that some indigenous people have specific rights, they are cultural rights, they are not commercial rights," he said.

"It is just a question of making sure that everybody understands what their rights and responsibilities are and make sure that they put them into practice."

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Aborigines plead for dugong hunting say

08 June 2010, ABC Online (Australia)

An Aboriginal spokesman is calling for Indigenous people to have greater input into how dugong hunting is managed in far north Queensland.

Five dugongs have been found dead in nets off the far north Queensland coast over the past two months, including two found off Yarrabah, south of Cairns, last week.

Animal activists are calling for a moratorium on dugong hunting.

But Kuku Yalanji people's spokesman at Mossman, Linc Walker, says hunting is an important part of Aboriginal culture.

"It's not an activity that is to be taken lightly. It's a pretty dangerous activity," he said.

"People don't just go out there for fun - it's not a fun activity - you can get seriously injured hunting. You actually have to put up with a lot of emotional scarring as well as the physical scarring that could happen to you."

Mr Walker says people at Mossman say Indigenous people have a right to hunt dugongs and should be given more of a say on how the practice is managed.

"They have the right to hunt in their country, other people don't," he said.

"So when it comes down to it, those people have to be empowered to manage the resources from their country and then the problems with the over-hunting and the people hunting in other places should cease."

Source and article: Click Here

PBR modelling for dugong harvest in the Torres Strait

 

 

Yarrabah patrol uncovers dead dugongs in nets

07 June 2010, The Cairns Post (Australia)

THE death of two dugongs found in illegal nets has prompted calls for more rangers to be deployed to catch poachers

The incident near Yarrabah last Thursday comes less than two months after three dugongs were found dead in nets about 3.5 nautical miles off Cairns. The State and Federal governments are facing increasing pressure to scrap laws which allow traditional land owners to hunt dugongs and turtles using nets with a permit.

Aboriginal elders say the practice is an insult to traditional hunting heritage and that it fuels an illegal meat trade where dugong can fetch $150 a kilo. Commercial gains from hunting the animal breaches Commonwealth law. The incident has sparked fresh calls for more rangers with greater powers to be deployed in areas prone to poaching. Yarrabah Mayor Percy Neal said his council had rejected requests from dugong hunters to support the use of netting . "Our people need to hunt the traditional way using 14ft (4.2m)wooden boats with special spears, it’s fair game then," he said. "It’s not traditional hunting and it shouldn’t be tolerated … but we can’t do anything about it because people have permits from the State Government."

Federal Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said rangers should be given more power to prosecute poachers while the Government needed to regulate the practice. "Immediately, we need additional resources for indigenous rangers and more support for inspectors of the illegal dugong and turtle meat trade and their ability to prosecute," Mr Hunt said. "The slaughtering of dugongs is out of control because of poachers. There is an epidemic of poaching."

Animal activist Colin Riddell, who is heading a campaign to overturn hunting laws, said a moratorium on dugong killing had to be introduced so the numbers could be monitored. "No one knows how the dugong population has been affected by this," he said. "Most of these hunters don’t have permits, it’s just open slather."

A spokesman for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which is investigating the latest dugong deaths, confirmed the incident. "The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority found a set net as part of a patrol of the Yarrabah area which had two dead dugongs in it," he said.

Source and article: Click Here

Related article: Click Here

 

 

World Ocean Day: 8th June

2010 Theme - “Our oceans: opportunities and challenges”

The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171). Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

World Ocean Day is an opportunity every year to honor the world's ocean, celebrate the products the ocean provides, such as seafood, as well as marine life itself for aquariums, pets, and also a time to appreciate its own intrinsic value. The ocean also provides sea-lanes for international trade. Global pollution and over-consumption of fish have resulted in drastically dwindling population of the majority of species.

World Ocean Day provides an opportunity to get directly involved in protecting our future, through a new mindset and personal and community action and involvement – beach cleanups, educational programs, art contests, film festivals, sustainable seafood events, and other planned activities help to raise consciousness of how our lives depend on the ocean.

More information: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/worldoceansday.htm

 

 

 

 

Okinawan dugong swim against US tide

29 May 2010, FT.com (Japan)

Fat, gentle and rarely seen, ocean-dwelling dugong were once mistaken for mermaids or revered as storm-warning messengers from the gods.

Now, a handful of the endangered marine mammals are, at least in the eyes of the law, taking on the US defence department, in a case that has complicated the fraught effort to relocate a US military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Dugong et al v Robert Gates , a lawsuit that has been playing out in a San Francisco court since 2003, gained fresh importance yesterday after Japan's government agreed to build a replacement for the Futenma marine air station in Henoko bay, a pristine dugong feeding ground.

The lawsuit, brought by a coalition of Japanese and American environmental groups, alleges the Pentagon violated the US National Historic Preservation Act by failing to consider the effect of the Henoko base on the dugong.

Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's left-leaning prime minister, had earlier opposed the relocation plan - agreed by a previous government - and promised to try to find another site off Okinawa.

His reversal under US pressure angered environmentalists, who are seeking to revive public concern over the dugong, revered in Okinawan culture.

The Save the Dugong Campaign Centre, a pressure group, yesterday submitted a 30,000-signature anti-base petition to the Japanese foreign and environment ministries. "We want to expand this issue from an environmental one to a form of political pressure," said Yoshiaki Ninagawa, director of the group.

As many as 50 of the grey-skinned, sumo-wrestler-sized creatures are thought to frequent the bay. Ironically, some naturalists thought Okinawa's dugong population extinct until military surveyors examining Henoko's suitability as a base in the 1990s spotted some.

The base's most controversial element is a proposal for two 1,800-metre runways. Environmentalists say these would destroy coral reefs and the seagrasses on which dugong feed, and have been unswayed by the idea that they could be made less damaging by building them on pilings, not landfill.

The NHPA requires US government agencies to apply the law's protections of registered cultural assets to projects carried out under their jurisdiction overseas as well as within the US. In Japan, the dugong - closely related to the manatee - are protected as "natural monuments".

So far the dugong have come out ahead in the case. In January 2008, the San Francisco court ruled that the defence department had not met the NHPA's standard for protecting foreign cultural assets and ordered it "to actively participate and co-ordinate with Japan" in assessing the planned base's environmental effect.

The Pentagon said it had been co-operating in Japan's own three-year environmental assessment, whose preliminary conclusions have been favourable to the base. But whether that will satisfy its NHPA obligations is a question the US court will likely have to decide, lawyers said.

Experts said the case was more likely to delay construction at Henoko than to scuttle it. "The law isn't intended to stop any project that affects a historic property. Most projects eventually go ahead after some kind of adjustment," said a US lawyer who has studied the dugong case.

Source and article: Click Here

 

 

Boat moorings make haloes in the seagrass

18 May 2010, UQ News (Australia)

An aerial view of a typical boat-mooring area in Moreton Bay reveals dozens of bare haloes, patches of sand surrounded by seagrass.

Associate Professor Greg Skilleter from UQ's Marine & Estuarine Ecology Unit in the School of Biological Sciences is leading the team that is doing the ecological assessments of the suitability of three mooring types — the Seagrass-Friendly Mooring System, the Ezy-Rider Mooring and the SeaFlex Mooring - for the conditions in Moreton Bay.

Boat anchors and chains are responsible for a significant proportion of lost seagrass habitat within the Moreton Bay Marine Park causing haloes which might be up to 1000 m2 in area where the vegetation has been stripped away.

“Moorings within Moreton Bay Marine Park range from purpose-built concrete blocks to old and rusting engine blocks and rail sleepers,” Associate Professor Skilleter said.

“The blocks do not cause the loss of the seagrass, it is the heavy anchor chain linking the block to the boat on the surface. As the boat swings in the breezes, the chain drags across the seafloor and pull the seagrass out.

“There are alternatives to these typical boat moorings that are more environmentally friendly and available on the market."

The Marine & Estuarine Ecology Unit is trialling these new mooring types in the Marine Park and success will be based on how well they reduce damage to the seagrass and the communities of animals that live in this habitat.

The moorings are being trialled over two years in four different areas of the Moreton Bay Marine Park, Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island, One Mile on North Stradbroke Island, Point Halloran near Victoria Point and Dalpura Bay on Macleay Island.

“The waters in these boat mooring areas are murky and the divers are often working in near zero visibility, so a team of two works in close coordination with each other and with their boat-based lookout," Dr Skilleter said.

The work is tiring, moving dozens of heavy samples through the water while trying hard to not disturb the fine mud in which the seagrass is growing.

The focus of the Marine & Estuarine Ecology Unit is to understand how human activities modify coastal habitats and how this impacts on marine biodiversity.

Their approach is to take concepts and theory from fundamental ecology and use them to address significant environmental problems in collaboration with industry and government agency partners.

The study is a partnership with Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, the Department of Environment and Resource Management, SEQ Catchments, Maritime Safety Queensland, Seagrass-Watch and the Federal Government's Caring for our Country Community Coastcare grants scheme.

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Dead dugong not netted by fishermen

30 April 2010, North Qld Register (Austraila)

THREE dugong found dead in a net near Cairns were not caught by professional fishermen according to the Queensland Seafood Industry Association QSIA). Industry spokesman Michael Gardner said he wanted to make it very clear that the net with two dugongs trapped had nothing whatsoever to do with com-mercial fishermen.

The net was spotted and picked up by the Navy's landing vessel, HMAS Labuan, while on its way from Cairns Harbour to Cooktown to take part in the ANZAC Day service.

"I think most people in the Cairns region probably realise what's going on with the deliberate killing of dugong but, whenever an incident like this involves a net, commercial fishermen can still suffer some collateral damage," he said. "I want to make sure the reputation of local commercial fishermen is not harmed by the deaths of these dugong. This was not done by commercial fishermen."

LNP environment spokesman Glen Elmes called on the State Government to produce the net saying that the State Environment Minister, Kate Jones has made a habit of brushing aside widespread community concern and anger over dugong killings.

"The net picked up by the Navy appears to be black cotton of the type used in the illegal trade of dugong meat. That net needs to be produced and examined by local experts who will be able to tell who made it and where it came from," Mr Elmes said. He said it appeared the commercial fishing industry was being blamed unfairly - especially as the net had not been properly identified.

Mr Gardner, president of the QSIA, called on authorities to take action on the deliberate netting of dugong. He said local fishermen had confirmed the net involved was not a type used by commercial fishermen. "Apparently, this is a net made to catch and kill dugong. There is no excuse for this type of killing of dugong. This wasteful, untargeted killing makes a mockery of State and Federal Government attempts to protect the species. "It is also an insult to commercial fishermen who have been banned from working in a number of productive fishing grounds, had nets restricted and accepted a range of onerous fishing rules to reduce the risk of accidentally catching even a single dugong in a net anywhere in the State."

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Queensland authorities are investigating the origins of a net used to trap and kill three dugong off Cairns.

25 April 2010, Nine MSN ( Australia)

Sailors aboard HMAS Labuan discovered the net and trapped dugongs on Friday. They released one live dugong and brought the three dead ones ashore.

Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said several government departments were attempting to trace the origins of the net. "The investigation into the incident is continuing with a number of government agencies involved," Ms Jones told AAP. "If there is any evidence that there is a breach of the legislation then we will be using the full force of the law to take action. "The investigation includes analysing the net and testing the dugongs as well."

Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Michael Gardiner said the net did not belong to commercial or professional fishermen. "I want to make it very clear that this net and these dugong have nothing whatsoever to do with commercial fishermen," Mr Gardner said. "I think most people in the Cairns region probably realise what's going on with the deliberate killing of dugong, but whenever an incident like this involves a net, commercial fishermen can still suffer some collateral damage." He said local fishermen had confirmed the net was not of a type used by commercial fishermen and had been made specifically to catch dugong."

State opposition environment spokesman Glen Elmes said the illegal trade in dugong and turtles was rife.

 

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Coral Triangle in Big Trouble

06 April 2010, Island Business (Fiji)

It covers a huge area of roughly 6.8 million square kilometres in the waters of six countries in South East Asia and the Pacific—the eastern half of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands—where there are over 18,500 islands and 132,800 kilometres of coastline.

It sustains more than 100 million coastal people, supports multi-million dollar tuna, fishing and tourism industries and is home to 76 percent of the world’s reef-building corals, over 35 percent of the world’s coral reef fish species and six of the world’s seven different marine turtles.

It’s the Coral Triangle—the richest place on our planet in terms of biodiversity. But it’s in trouble—big trouble.

There is no single problem facing the triangle; more a whole raft of problems. Everything from coastal deforestation and coastal reclamation, declining water quality, pollution and sewage to destructive fishing and over-exploitation of marine life.

Coastal ecosystems are deteriorating badly and 40 percent of reefs and mangroves have already been lost during the past 40 years.

To make matters worse, climate change is beginning to take its toll.

“Changing weather patterns are causing floods, landslides and severe storms in some areas and crippling droughts in others,” according to the executive summary of a sobering WWF-commissioned study entitled The Coral Triangle And Climate Change: Ecosystems, People And Societies At Risk. The study investigated the conclusions of more than 300 published studies and consulted over 20 experts on various aspects of the Coral Triangle’s future.

The findings and conclusions of the study, written by top climate and coral expert Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the University of Queensland, were presented to the World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia.

“Rising sea levels are putting pressure on coastal communities through storm surges and inundation of fresh water supplies,” the summary goes on.

Stark warning: The stark warning is that many parts of the Coral Triangle will be largely uninhabitable by the end of this century “under our present trajectory of unfettered growth in greenhouse gas emissions.”

Distinguished 19th century biologist Alfred Russel Wallace—one of the first people to recognise the global importance of the triangle’s biodiversity—was fascinated by the wealth of wildlife in the region.
Today, no fewer than four of the world’s 25 terrestrial biodiversity hotspots lie within the Triangle. “The Coral Triangle bubbles with life like an evolutionary cauldron.”

Coral reefs embrace 100,000 square kilometres of the Triangle—roughly one-third of the world’s total. Responsible for creating the calcium carbonate fabric of these reefs are the all-important reef-building corals.

It is estimated that coral reefs are home to anything between one and nine million species of plants and animals, many of them as yet unknown to science.

Mangrove forests and seagrass beds are “often under-appreciated components” of the Coral Triangle’s coastal ecosystems. They provide shelter for all manner of organisms, as well as resources vital to fisheries, coastal processes and people.

Many commercially important fish species spend some of their life within seagrass meadows and mangrove ecosystems.

Large animals like dugongs and sea turtles “are wholly dependent on the presence of healthy seagrass meadows for survival.”

The summary says the Coral Triangle’s proportion of global marine biodiversity is “nothing short of astounding,” for it boasts one third of all coral reefs and includes 11 distinct eco-regions and 32 functional seascapes.

Overall, the triangle harbours 605 reef-building corals (76 percent of the global total) and 52 percent of Indo-Pacific reef fishes (37 percent of the world’s reef species).

Molluscs, soft corals, crustaceans and many other types of organisms “have their highest concentration of biodiversity within the Coral Triangle.”

However, it is not only wildlife that is threatened by climate change and other environmental problems. Of the 150 million people who live inside the Coral Triangle, around 100 million are directly dependent on the resources of coastal ecosystems.

These systems, says the summary, are “crucial for human survival” in the region. Coastal ecosystems provide not only daily food and a means of earning a living for millions of people but also “a huge range of other services.”

Commercial fisheries are an important source of income for individuals and regional governments alike, while coral reefs serve as barriers to protect people, infrastructure and cities from wave and storm damage.

Mangroves and seagrass beds stabilise sediments and provide habitats for young fish and invertebrates.

Coastal ecosystems are especially important as filters, trapping sediments and nutrients and absorbing pollutants flowing into the sea.

“Together with coral reefs, these ecosystems are critically important to the stability and health of coastal environments.”

Deterioration of coastal ecosystems is often associated with poverty and hardship among people who live in and depend on them. When such ecosystems falter, people suffer.

Sometimes environmental changes lead to further poverty and may even force people to move to cities and towns “where they join already disenfranchised people in large, sprawling settlements. This breaks up families, disrupts communities and destroys cultures.”

Preserving the Coral Triangle is not, therefore, just about maintaining biodiversity but also about “securing the resources that allow tens of millions of people to live sustainably and continue to engage in vibrant local economies.”

Fisheries are a vital source of income in triangle countries, exports being worth more than US$9 million annually. Destruction of coastal ecosystems “will have dire consequences for fisheries”.

Tourism also depends heavily on coastal ecosystems in the form of clean beaches, clear water for swimming and healthy reef communities for boating, scuba diving and snorkelling.

The Philippines, which forms the apex of the Coral Triangle, includes “some of the most awe-inspiring marine environments on Earth, some of which have been compared to the Amazon rainforest or the Congo Basin in terms of their abundance of species,” says report author Professor Hoegh-Guldberg.

Food security threat: Among the wealth of wildlife in the Philippines are 330 freshwater and 2,995 marine and 330 freshwater fish species, from the fingernail-sized dwarf pygmy goby to the bus-sized whale shark.

“But at stake are more than just some of the most remarkable creatures and seascapes on the planet. Over 40 million Filipinos depend on the sea for food and livelihood, and the loss of these marine resources is a daunting food security threat.

“In one world scenario, we continue along our current climate trajectory and do little to protect coastal environments from the onslaught of local threats.

“Here, people see the biological treasures of the Philippines and the other Coral Triangle countries destroyed over the course of the century by rapid increases in ocean temperature, acidity and sea levels, while coastal habitat resilience declines under faltering coastal management.

“Poverty increases, food security plummets, economies suffer and more coastal people migrate to urban areas.”
In another scenario, the international community curbs the emission of greenhouse gases and Coral Triangle countries tackle environmental problems.

“This leads to a Coral Triangle climate scenario which is challenging but manageable and which responds well to regional action to reduce local environmental stresses from over-fishing, pollution and declining coastal water quality and health.”

WWF-International director general James Leape warned that even in the best case scenario, “communities will still face loss of coral, seal level rise, increased storm activity, severe droughts, saltwater intrusion and reduce food availability from coastal fisheries.

“A key difference, however, is that communities will remain reasonably intact and more resilient in the face of these hardships. Furthermore, there is a greater chance for environmental, economic and social recovery.”

In May last year, the presidents and prime ministers of the six Coral Triangle countries pledged to work together to try to solve the problems spotlighted in the WWF-commissioned report by adopting a 10-year regional plan of action to safeguard marine wildlife and ecosystems and secure the incomes, livelihoods and food supplies of the millions of people who live in the triangle.

Conservation International chairman and chief executive officer, Peter Seligmann said he had never seen anything like it in 30 years of conservation work—“six leaders signing a commitment to protect their marine resources for the well-being of their citizens and future generations.”

It must be hoped for everyone’s sake that actions really do speak louder than words.

 

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Impacts of the Shen Neng 1 grounding on the Great Barrier Reef

05 April 2010, Press Release, GBRMPA (Australia)

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has been working closely with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Maritime Safety Queensland under the National Oil Spill Response Plan, since the Chinese registered bulk carrier, Shen Neng 1, ran aground on Douglas Shoals late Saturday.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said the incident poses a significant threat to parts of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

"We have observed damage to the Reef from the grounding incident itself, as evidenced by the plume of coral sediment that can be seen around the ship," he said.

"As soon as it is safe we will conduct a full assessment to determine just how affected the environment around the site is but at the moment the damage is mostly contained to the seabed around the ship.

"There has been some oil that has escaped the vessel and we have used dispersants both yesterday and today to help breakdown the oil and help mitigate any potential impacts on the environment.

"Fortunately the amount of spillage from the ship appears to still be relatively small and is visible as a thin sheen rather than an oily slick. There is not yet a precise estimate of the total amount spilled but estimates of one to four tonnes have been quoted."

"It is critical now that there is a successful salvage with no further damage to the ship and no loss of oil or its cargo of coal."

Dr Reichelt said although the Douglas Shoals are submerged reefs, the broad region in which the grounding has occurred include sensitive shallow reefs that are very high in biodiversity.

"Many of these reefs are still recovering from the impact of Cyclone Hamish in early 2009.

"Any further risk to the coral reefs in the region must be removed as quickly and as safely possible.

"In the area of the grounding there are deep shoals and reefs with diverse benthic communities including hard and soft corals, gorgonians and sea whips."

Dr Reichelt said although the Douglas Shoals are submerged reefs, the broad region in which the grounding has occurred include sensitive shallow reefs that are very high in biodiversity.

"Many of these reefs are still recovering from the impact of Cyclone Hamish in early 2009.

"Any further risk to the coral reefs in the region must be removed as quickly and as safely possible.

"In the area of the grounding there are deep shoals and reefs with diverse benthic communities including hard and soft corals, gorgonians and sea whips."

Dr Reichelt said that planning is underway for all eventualities, including the risk that if more oil escapes, it could come ashore at sensitive sites along the coast such as Cape Clinton. This is a sensitive national park area near Shoalwater Bay, with internationally recognised wetlands, seagrass meadows, mangroves, a large green turtle and dugong population and migratory birds.

“It is still relatively early days in terms of assessing any environmental damage. We will know more about any potential damage to the Reef in coming days and weeks."

The Environment Protection Minister the Peter Garrett announced today the formation of a Scientific Panel to assess any environmental damage caused by the Shen Neng 1.

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Related links:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/04/world/main6362376.shtml

http://www.rockhampton-revealed.com.au/story/2010/04/05/reef-danger-as-oil-leaks/

http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/About-us/Msq-headlines/Great-Barrier-Reef-grounding.aspx

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/06/2865487.htm?section=justin

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_sc/as_australia_coal_carrier

http://dailycaller.com/2010/04/04/salvage-operation-could-take-weeks-on-barrier-reef/

 

Dredging threatens dugongs

01 April 2010, The Australian (Australia)

UP to 55 million cubic metres of dredge spoil will be dumped on seagrass beds in Gladstone harbour to allow the development of the LNG export industry, despite the risks to the region's dugong population.

With Curtis Island, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, already declared the site of planned LNG terminals and wharves, the Bligh government yesterday released maps to indicate the proposed dredging and land reclamation works.

The government investigated several sites for dumping the dredge spoils and settled on an extension of Fisherman's Landing.

Seagrass grows in that area - Gladstone is the only dugong feeding place in the region - and the reclamation site will need to be set back 40m from the foreshore to maintain mangroves. Given the space restrictions, and the fact that the site only provides storage for 29 million cubic metres of the estimated 55 million cubic metres of spoil needing to be dumped, not only will the seagrass be buried but a 50-70m high mound of soil will be visible above the waterline.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday said the Port of Gladstone was one of the largest mining export facilities on Australia's east coast and one of three major ports in Queensland. "Last week we witnessed a historic $60 billion LNG agreement and this will present massive opportunities and also many challenges for Gladstone," she said.

Greens Senate candidate Larissa Waters said the government was "willing to trade off the health of the residents and the wildlife of Gladstone for royalties".

"Expanding dirty industries on the shores of the southern Great Barrier Reef exposes the state government's contempt for our most profitable tourism icon," Ms Waters said.

"Instead of supporting job-rich clean renewable energy, the state government's fossil fuel obsession is selling out our reef and Queensland's environment.

"From dumping dredge spoil on dugong feeding grounds to facilitating industries which spew out greenhouse gas emissions, this is bad news for the 63,000 people who rely on the reef for employment, and bad news for future generations."

Seagrass-Watch currently monitors seagrass in Gladstone

 

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Correct citation: McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL. & Coles, RG. (2006 - 2012). 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.