Puerto Rico preserves beach from development

From an Associated Press story on MSNBC:

LUQUILLO, Puerto Rico - Against the backdrop of a pristine coastline, Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila signed an order Thursday to preserve a white-sand beach fringed with tropical forest where proposals for hotel resorts sparked widespread protests.

The 3,240 acres of public and private land, including a gently sloping beach used as a nesting area by endangered leatherback sea turtles, will become a nature reserve with the possibility for small-scale ecotourism ventures.

"We recognize the ecological and ecotourism value of the area," Acevedo said.

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Nominate an "unsung hero" of reef research or conservation

From: Jim Hendee
Subject: [Coral-List] "Unsung Heroes" of Coral Reef Research and/or Conservation
To: Coral-List Subscribers

I would like to put together a Web presence for the "unsung heroes" of coral reef research and/or conservation, in time for the International Year of the Reef in 2008. Ideally, the various nominees...

1) ...represent a person or group that you feel has contributed significantly to preserving coral reef ecology, but who has not received much recognition (whether or not they feel they deserve or want it).
2) ...all together would represent coral reef areas that are both remote, as well as heavily visited, in all three oceans.
3) ...don't mind sharing pictures of themselves as well as their endeavors!

If you have such people or groups in mind, please send me a paragraph describing why you think they are an unsung hero, what their accomplishments are, and a photo or two, or links to such photos. If you can have such a person or group include a note stating to the effect that they don't mind sharing their picture(s), that would certainly be helpful. When you send these materials, please include "unsung hero" in the subject heading so I can keep it better organized.

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Sea water temperature tests to see impact on turtle population

From an article by Apinya Wipatayotin in the Bangkok Post as posted on Ocean Conserve:

The Marine and Coastal Resources Department is monitoring sea water temperatures at five major turtle nesting grounds to study the impact of global warming on their population. The targeted areas are Koh Surin, the Similan islands, Tai Maung beach and Prathong beach in Phangnga, and Koh Kram in Chon Buri province.

The move comes after international marine biologists recently found evidence that a rise of just one degree Celsius in sea water temperatures can stop the development of male turtles.

Unlike mammals, including humans, where sex determination is chromosomal, turtles' and crocodiles' sex is determined by genes which react to the temperature during the incubation stage of their eggs.

Marine biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, said the optimum temperature for turtle hatching is 29.5C.

''Only at this temperature can we hope to see the same number of male and female turtles hatch in the same nest.''

A study of the impact of rising sea temperatures on sea turtles in Malaysia suggested that the warmer climate has led to a sharp reduction in the male sea turtle population, said Mr Kongkiat.

As a result, fewer female turtles come to nest.

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CORAL seeks communications manager

From The Coral Reef Alliance:

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is the only international organization working exclusively to save the Earth’s coral reefs and life forms and cultures dependant upon them. . . .

As our Communications Manager, your mission will be to help in creating awareness of the plight of coral reefs and to help change human behavior in order to save coral reefs and the cultures and life forms dependent upon them. This is a vitally important job that requires a passionate commitment to CORAL’s mission.

We are seeking a very dynamic and creative Communications Manager to join our professional team in our San Francisco Financial District headquarters. This is a newly created full-time position that reports to the Director of External Relations and is responsible for the communications and public relations program. This position is being created to help facilitate the dynamic growth mandated by our new five-year strategic plan. If you have corporate or nonprofit experience that would assure success in running your own communications program, we wish to speak with you.

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Bahamian treatment of marine turtles criticized

A story by N. Thomas-Brown from The Nassau Guardian:

The brutal treatment of a Loggerhead turtle in front of horrified Bahamians and tourists on Arawak Cay has placed renewed focus on a petition to the Bahamas government, that demands a ban on the catching, possession and slaughtering of the gentle sea creatures.

The petition is posted on the website thepetitionsite.com by animal rights activists who are hoping to get 3,000 signatures. Up to press time, 2,638 supporters from The Bahamas, Italy and other countries had signed.

"I was horrified to learn that The Bahamas' fisheries laws allow the catching and killing of of these turtles, despite The Bahamas being a party to CITES, which lists all marine turtles as endangered or threatened," reads the petition that is addressed to the prime minister, minister of fisheries and minister of tourism.

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The petition also expressed shock at the way the animals were treated by their captors. "I was further horrified to learn of the usual method employed by Bahamians of keeping these turtles captive while awaiting a buyer. They are flipped upside down, rendering them helpless and unable to move, and often left in the sun for days in this manner, which results in dehydration and tremendous suffering. They are then killed by either decapitation or slitting their throats."

Sign the petition.

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Employment: Pedro Bank Project, Jamaica

From the Coral-List@coral.aoml.noaa.gov:

. . .there is an opening with The Nature Conservancy Jamaica Office for the Pedro Bank Project. Please follow this link if interested or please feel free to pass it on to any qualified candidates you might know or on any relevant list serves.

Nathalie Zenny,Marine Programme Manager
Jamaica Office, Southeast Caribbean Programme

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Auction to name fish nets $2 million USD

From a story by Juliet Eilperin in The Washington Post:

MONTE CARLO, Monaco, Sept. 20 -- An auction of rights to name 10 newly discovered species of fish raised more than $2 million for conservation efforts in eastern Indonesia on Thursday night, setting a record for an event of its type.

The black-tie soiree, hosted by Prince Albert II and sponsored by Conservation International and the Monaco-Asia Society, featured species found last year in the Bird's Head Seascape, an area in the northwest corner of Indonesian Papua. Prices for the naming rights ranged from $500,000 for a Hemiscyllium shark from Cendrawasih Bay to $50,000 for the Pseudanthias fairy basslet. The identities of the winning bidders, and the names they chose, were not immediately disclosed.

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