John Roach
NBC News

Fishing traps known as weirs that jut from coastlines may be snaring six times more fish in the Persian Gulf than what is officially reported, according to a new estimate based, in part, on satellite imagery available through Google Earth.

Scientists turned to the Internet search giant's mapping tool as a way to cross-check catch data reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization by six countries in the gulf, a region of the world where marine ecosystems are understudied.

"The first thing we did was survey the coast of the Persian Gulf and just started counting the number of weirs that we saw," Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak, a graduate student in fisheries science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, told NBC News. 

She and colleague Daniel Pauly counted 1,656 weirs along the coast in images from 2005, the most recent year with the greatest coverage of the coast at low tide. Accounting for gaps in coverage and areas with low resolution, they revised the count upward to about 1,900.

Al-Abdulrazzak then spoke with fisheries scientists from the region to estimate daily catch rates for weirs and used that to calculate a total annual haul of more than 34,000 tons. The official reported number was 5,908 tons total for the six countries.

Ancient technology
Weirs have been used to catch fish for at least 3,000 years and are still commonly used throughout the Persian Gulf. "They basically work with differences in the tide," Al-Abdulrazzak explained. 


At high tide, fish come in closer to shore and swim parallel to the coastline. When they hit the long wall of the weir they instinctively swim for deeper waters. When they do, they swim into an enclosure, an entrapment area. 

"Once they are in there and the tide starts receding, they are stuck. … At low tide, the fishermen can just walk out and start collecting the fish," she said.

According to official estimates, weirs account for about 1 percent of the total catch in the Persian Gulf. "My estimate says it is closer to 10 percent," Al-Abdulrazzak said. "So, it is a lot more significant than they are giving these traps credit for."

Informing fisheries management
Fisheries, added Al-Abdulrazzak, are the second most important resource in the Persian Gulf after oil and are a primary source of protein for the region's population. The amount of fish removed by weirs "could have dire consequences for fisheries stock in the long term."


In particular, she noted, weirs are constructed in shallow waters that are preferred by juvenile fish and thus trap young fish that have yet to spawn. 

She hopes that this new data will be used to improve the quality of catch statistics and inform management strategies in the Persian Gulf, such as the establishment of marine protected areas in known nursery zones. 

The new research is the "first example of fisheries catch estimates from space," Al-Abdulrazzak and Pauly write in a paper published Monday in the ICES Journal of Marine Science. 

In the future, they add, such imagery could be used to verify country-reported data and monitor the oceans for illegal fishing activity. 

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News. To learn more about him, visit his website.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/google-earth-spies-unreported-fish-traps-study-reveals-2D11660835

When a marine turtle is incidentally by-caught by a longliner, fishermen try to cut the line —without hauling it on board— and release the turtle into the sea. However, a research published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series alerts that about 40% of post-released turtles die some months later due to the impact of longline fishing. The study is signed by experts Lluís Cardona and Irene Álvarez de Quevedo, from the Department of Animal Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio), and Manu San Félix, from Vellmarí Formentera. It is the first scientific study based on satellite tracking of a group of loggerhead turtles released into the sea after being by-caught by Spanish longliners.

The Mediterranean Sea: a cul-de-sac

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is the most common turtle inhabiting Mediterranean grounds and one of the most threatened species around the world. Its migrations are long; it comes back to sandy beaches to nest. Main nesting areas are located at North-American coast, Brazil, Japan, Oman, Australia, Cape Verde and Eastern Mediterranean (specially, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Libya). To be exact, in Spanish waters there are turtles of Atlantic and Eastern Mediterranean origin.

The Spanish longline fleet has been reported to by-catch around 10,000 turtles in the Mediterranean annually. However, more than 95% of them are still alive when longlines are collected. When looking for food, turtles bite baits and get caught by longliners' hooks. When a turtle is by-caught, fishers cut the line. Therefore, those turtles hooked in the jaw or the mouth and those hooked in the esophagus or the stomach are released into the sea.

It is not the hook, it is the line

Forty per cent of turtles released by fishermen die during the following three months. The problem is not the hook, it is the line. Professor Lluís Cardona, member of the Research Group on Large Marine Vertebrates of the UB, alerts: "The turtle shallows the line, and it goes down the alimentary tract until the end comes out through the cloaca".

"In the case of incidental by-catch —points out the expert—, turtles must be hauled on board, using a brail net, and line must be cut level with the hood. That will reduce incidental mortality by half and the impact on population will be acceptable", points out Cardona.

The Mediterranean is more dangerous for turtles of Atlantic origin

Surface longline fishing in the Mediterranean mainly affects turtles of American origin, which are 7,000 kilometres away. "Due to ocean circulation —explains Cardona—, Atlantic populations are trapped in the Mediterranean for many years. Consequently, they are more at risk of incidental catch". Few turtles of American origin which enter into the Mediterranean are able to go out later.

"Paradoxically —he adds—, the problem is not so serious for turtles of Mediterranean origin, which abandon open sea early in order to settle in the continental shelf, where they are less vulnerable to longline fishing. However, trawling fishing affects them more".

How can incidental by-catch be avoided?

Between 10 and 20% of turtles die every year due to nest destruction, incidental by-catch, collision injuries, etc. To draw more deeply, not to use cephalopods as baits and to modify the design of hooks are changes which can be adopted in order to avoid the incidental catch produced by surface longline fishing. "As turtles have a long life span —highlights Irene Álvarez de Quevedo—, a small variance on mortality rates would have a significant impact on populations".

"There are solutions. They only have to be applied, but that involves a cost", stresses Lluís Cardona. "It is more and more common that worldwide fishing fleets include the figure of the observer, a person who guarantees sustainability. If we want to develop a more effective and sustainable surface longline fishing, it is necessary to introduce some changes that involve extra expenses"

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-11-longline-fishing-endangers-sea-turtles.html#jCp

Source: http://phys.org/news/2013-11-longline-fishing-endangers-sea-turtles.html


More information: "Mortality rates in by-caught loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the Mediterranean Sea and implications for the Atlantic populations." I. Álvarez de Quevedo, M. San Félix, L. Cardona. Vol. 489: 225–234, 2013. DOI: 10.3354/meps10411

One of the largest and longest experiments ever done to test the impact of nutrient loading on coral reefs today confirmed what scientists have long suspected – that this type of pollution from sewage, agricultural practices or other sources can lead to coral disease and bleaching.

A three-year, controlled exposure of corals to elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus at a study site in the Florida Keys, done from 2009-12, showed that the prevalence of disease doubled and the amount of coral bleaching, an early sign of stress, more than tripled.

However, the study also found that once the injection of pollutants was stopped, the corals were able to recover in a surprisingly short time.

"We were shocked to see the rapid increase in disease and bleaching from a level of pollution that's fairly common in areas affected by sewage discharge, or fertilizers from agricultural or urban use," said Rebecca Vega-Thurber, an assistant professor in the College of Science at Oregon State University.

"But what was even more surprising is that corals were able to make a strong recovery within 10 months after the nutrient enrichment was stopped," Vega-Thurber said. "The problems disappeared. This provides real evidence that not only can nutrient overload cause coral problems, but programs to reduce or eliminate this pollution should help restore coral health. This is actually very good news."

The findings were published today in Global Change Biology, and offer a glimmer of hope for addressing at least some of the problems that have crippled coral reefs around the world. In the Caribbean Sea, more than 80 percent of the corals have disappeared in recent decades. These reefs, which host thousands of species of fish and other marine life, are a major component of biodiversity in the tropics.

Researchers have observed for years the decline in coral reef health where sewage outflows or use of fertilizers, in either urban or agricultural areas, have caused an increase in the loading of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. But until now almost no large, long-term experiments have actually been done to pin down the impact of nutrient overloads and separate them from other possible causes of coral reef decline.

This research examined the effect of nutrient pollution on more than 1,200 corals in study plots near Key Largo, Fla., for signs of coral disease and bleaching, and removed other factors such as water depth, salinity or temperature that have complicated some previous surveys. Following regular injections of nutrients at the study sites, levels of coral disease and bleaching surged.

One disease that was particularly common was "dark spot syndrome," found on about 50 percent of diseased individual corals. But researchers also noted that within one year after nutrient injections were stopped at the study site, the level of dark spot syndrome had receded to the same level as control study plots in which no nutrients had been injected.

The exact mechanism by which nutrient overload can affect corals is still unproven, researchers say, although there are theories. The nutrients may add pathogens, may provide the nutrients needed for existing pathogens to grow, may be directly toxic to corals and make them more vulnerable to pathogens – or some combination of these factors.

"A combination of increased stress and a higher level of pathogens is probably the mechanism that affects coral health," Vega-Thurber said. "What's exciting about this research is the clear experimental evidence that stopping the pollution can lead to coral recovery. A lot of people have been hoping for some news like this.

"Some of the corals left in the world are actually among the species that are most hardy," she said. "The others are already dead. We're desperately trying to save what's left, and cleaning up the water may be one mechanism that has the most promise."

Nutrient overloads can increase disease prevalence or severity on many organisms, including plants, amphibians and fish. They've also long been suspected in coral reef problems, along with other factors such as temperature stress, reduced fish abundance, increasing human population, and other concerns.

However, unlike factors such as global warming or human population growth, nutrient loading is something that might be more easily addressed on at least a local basis, Vega-Thurber said. Improved sewage treatment or best-management practices to minimize fertilizer runoff from agricultural or urban use might offer practical approaches to mitigate some coral reef declines, she said.

Source: http://phys.org/news/2013-11-large-pollution-impact-coral-reefsand.html

For decades, the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group has debated the utility and appropriateness of single global listings on the Red List of Threatened Species for widely distributed, long-lived marine turtle species. The main disadvantage of global listings is that they fail to describe and assess wide variations in marine turtle population dynamics, extinction risk, and conservation status across subpopulations, so can lead to misleading and confusing results. Today marks an important breakthrough for marine turtle Red List assessments. The IUCN Red List Authority has published the new leatherback Red List assessments, which, for the first time, include subpopulation-level listings—not simply a global listing. This is the first time that any marine turtle species has been officially assessed, globally, to the subpopulation level, and sets an important precedent for other marine turtle Red List assessments, as well as red listing of other widely distributed, long-lived species, such as sharks, marine mammals, and seabirds.

These assessment results reflected the wide variation in leatherback subpopulation status, accurately highlighting subpopulations that have declined greatly over time, as well as those that are small and /or geographically restricted, and merit Critically Endangered status. These subpopulations require effective protection and reduction of threats to ensure their future existence.

Globally, leatherback status is now Vulnerable. East Pacific, West Pacific, Southwest Atlantic, and Southwest Indian Ocean subpopulations were listed as “Critically Endangered,” Northwest Atlantic leatherbacks were listed as “Least Concern,” and Northeast Indian Ocean and Southeast Atlantic subpopulations were listed as “Data Deficient.”

We are working on Red List updates to several other marine turtle species using this subpopulation approach, as well as other improvements to how we interpret and apply Red List criteria to marine turtle assessments.

Source: http://iucn-mtsg.org/2013/11/26/new-leatherback-red-list-assessments-published/

Author(s) Lee Crockett

Author(s) Description Lee Crockett is director of federal fisheries policy for The Pew Charitable Trusts.

For businesses dependent on high foot traffic, location is everything. It’s much the same out on the water, where finding the right spot can make all the difference for commercial and recreational fishermen alike.

Advances in technology make it easier to target fish more quickly, in deeper water, and more precisely than ever before. This puts new pressures on bottom-dwelling fish that congregate and reproduce only at certain ecological hot spots along the edge of the U.S. continental shelf.

But new technologies also allow us to better understand how marine ecosystems work, giving us the ability to map key spawning areas for marine life. Using these maps, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council recently proposed protections of places where two severely depleted deep-water species—speckled hind and warsaw grouper—live and spawn. An important next step comes in December, when council members are expected to settle on a list of potential marine protected areas that will be the subject of public hearings early next year.

At first glance, speckled hind and warsaw grouper wouldn’t seem to have much in common. The reddish-orange speckled hind, found in waters from North Carolina to the Florida Keys, gets its name from the tiny white spots that cover it from head to tail. Adults can grow to 43 inches and weigh as much as 66 pounds. The warsaw grouper, in contrast, is much bigger: It is one of the largest members of the grouper family. This solitary fish—found from Massachusetts to South America—can grow to eight feet and weigh more than 400 pounds.

Yet despite their distinct differences in appearance and range, these two species share two important ecological traits. They both congregate, feed, and reproduce in deep, rocky offshore areas that can be popular fishing holes. And both species are slow to reach maturity and spawn. This combination makes them especially vulnerable to overfishing.

Rules limiting the catch of warsaw grouper and speckled hind have been in place since 1994, but unfortunately these fish tend to prefer habitat frequented by popular sport and commercial species. As fishermen pursue these more desirable fish—such as vermilion snapper and red porgy—they can accidentally catch the warsaw grouper and speckled hind. This is a problem known as bycatch.

Moreover, when speckled hind or warsaw grouper are unintentionally caught and quickly pulled to the surface, the rapid change in pressure often causes fatal internal injuries, even if they are immediately released.  Such occurrences worsen an already dire situation for these two species.

Although the catch of speckled hind and warsaw grouper has been restricted for 20 years, researchers say the populations have plummeted in the Atlantic waters off the southern U.S., to 6 percent of healthy levels for warsaw grouper and 5 percent for speckled hind. Both species are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and as “Species of Concern” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service.

To more effectively protect the primary locations where these species live and spawn, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is now considering how to redraw eight marine protected areas—roughly 785 square miles—along the edge of the continental shelf from North Carolina to Florida. The areas are currently off limits to deep-water fishing but only protect a small portion of the habitat these species need to recover. The council also is weighing creating new sites—totaling an additional 308 square miles—to protect these two bottom dwellers while benefiting other species, including  red snapper and red grouper, that are recovering from decades of overfishing.

Fishermen have worked for ages to find the best spots to fish. New technologies have made the process easier, leaving fewer places for imperiled fish to hide. But these advances also provide an opportunity to improve conservation. If used wisely, new science and tools can help federal fisheries managers better protect the real estate that seriously depleted ocean fish populations, such as warsaw grouper and speckled hind, need to recover to healthy levels.

- See more at: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/opinions/the-bottom-line-protecting-real-estate-for-fish-85899522275?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium&utm_campaign=fed#sthash.C5D27EjT.dpuf
Advances in technology make it easier to target fish more quickly, in deeper water, and more precisely than ever before. This puts new pressures on bottom-dwelling fish that congregate and reproduce only at certain ecological hot spots along the edge of the U.S. continental shelf.

But new technologies also allow us to better understand how marine ecosystems work, giving us the ability to map key spawning areas for marine life. Using these maps, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council recently proposed protections of places where two severely depleted deep-water species—speckled hind and warsaw grouper—live and spawn. An important next step comes in December, when council members are expected to settle on a list of potential marine protected areas that will be the subject of public hearings early next year.

At first glance, speckled hind and warsaw grouper wouldn’t seem to have much in common. The reddish-orange speckled hind, found in waters from North Carolina to the Florida Keys, gets its name from the tiny white spots that cover it from head to tail. Adults can grow to 43 inches and weigh as much as 66 pounds. The warsaw grouper, in contrast, is much bigger: It is one of the largest members of the grouper family. This solitary fish—found from Massachusetts to South America—can grow to eight feet and weigh more than 400 pounds.

Yet despite their distinct differences in appearance and range, these two species share two important ecological traits. They both congregate, feed, and reproduce in deep, rocky offshore areas that can be popular fishing holes. And both species are slow to reach maturity and spawn. This combination makes them especially vulnerable to overfishing.

Rules limiting the catch of warsaw grouper and speckled hind have been in place since 1994, but unfortunately these fish tend to prefer habitat frequented by popular sport and commercial species. As fishermen pursue these more desirable fish—such as vermilion snapper and red porgy—they can accidentally catch the warsaw grouper and speckled hind. This is a problem known as bycatch.

Moreover, when speckled hind or warsaw grouper are unintentionally caught and quickly pulled to the surface, the rapid change in pressure often causes fatal internal injuries, even if they are immediately released.  Such occurrences worsen an already dire situation for these two species.

Although the catch of speckled hind and warsaw grouper has been restricted for 20 years, researchers say the populations have plummeted in the Atlantic waters off the southern U.S., to 6 percent of healthy levels for warsaw grouper and 5 percent for speckled hind. Both species are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and as “Species of Concern” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service.

- See more at: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/opinions/the-bottom-line-protecting-real-estate-for-fish-85899522275?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium&utm_campaign=fed#sthash.C5D27EjT.dpufSource: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/opinions/the-bottom-line-protecting-real-estate-for-fish-85899522275?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium&utm_campaign=fed

By Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience

Spiny green sea urchins face a new challenge from climate change: As the oceans become more acidic, urchin larvae struggle to digest their food, new research finds.   The study is the first to prove that ocean acidification can cause digestive problems for marine animals, though scientists have long been alarmed at the trend for other reasons. Ocean acidification has threatened oyster farms, slowed coral growth and caused common marine snails to shrink, among other effects.   Earlier studies have focused on calcification, or the process by which marine animals draw minerals from the water to build shells and skeletons, study researcher Meike Stumpp, a former Ph.D. student at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research and the University of Kiel in Germany, said in a statement.   "Other vital processes — such as digestion and gastric pH regulation — were neglected," Stumpp said. Gastric pH is the level of acidity in the digestive system. "We can now demonstrate that they deserve much more attention," she said.   Warming climate, acidifying oceans As levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase — driven by the burning of fossil fuels — the oceans act as a sponge, taking up some of the extra carbon dioxide. The result is carbonic acid, which decreases the overall pH of the oceans. Since the Industrial Revolution, the ocean has become about 25 to 30 percent more acidic, scientists estimate.
Acidification eats away at minerals used by corals to build their skeletons and other animals to build their shells. But Stumpp and her colleagues were concerned with another part of the life cycle. Many marine animals start their lives as larvae, which are very exposed to the ocean environment. In particular, the larvae of the green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) have a digestive system that is bathed in ocean water.   Humans and other mammals have acidic gastric juices with a pH measurement of around 2, similar to the acidity level of lemon juice. Sea-urchin larvae, in contrast, have very basic, or alkaline, digestive juices — about 9.5 on the 14-point pH scale. Historically, ocean pH was about 8.16 on the pH scale, making it slightly less basic than urchin digestive juices.   Digestive problems Stumpp and her colleagues exposed sea-urchin larvae to slightly more acidic seawater, calibrated to be at a pH level of 7.7 and 7.4. On the pH scale, 7 is neutral, so the seawater was still slightly basic.   Because the larval digestive system is exposed to the outside environment, the more acidic water caused a decrease in gastric-juice pH of about 0.3 to 0.5, the researchers report Oct. 20 online in the journal Nature Climate Change.   In the more acidic environment, the enzymes that digest food don't work as well. As a result, the researchers found, urchin larvae in acidic water ate 11 percent to 33 percent more than those in ideal water conditions.   "If the organisms are unable to compensate for extra costs caused by ocean acidification by eating more, they suffer negative consequences in the form of reduced growth and fertility, and in extreme cases, death," study researcher Sam Dupont, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said in a statement.   Green sea urchins are a key species in kelp forests in temperate and subpolar oceans, so their health and survival is crucial for the entire ecosystem, the researchers wrote. More studies of keystone species are needed, they added — especially in the vulnerable larval stage.

Source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/pass-the-tums-global-warming-gives-sea-urchins-indigestion

On November 15 at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) meeting in St. Croix, the U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee (AIC) issued a call to action on their two top priorities. The AIC’s priorities are 1) supporting the reauthorization of the nation’s Coral Reef Conservation Act and 2) expressing the concerns over the NOAA-proposed listing of 66 coral species under the Endangered Species Act.

The AIC jurisdictions—American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—are home to a large percentage of the nation’s ecologically, economically, and culturally important coral reef ecosystems.

Reauthorizing the Coral Reef Conservation Act (2000) would put into place vital measures to protect and manage ecosystems in the U.S. In the AIC jurisdictions, reauthorization would expand and clarify support for conservation and management of coral reefs by leveraging resources and management compliance as well as clarifying the responsibilities of federal agencies to respond to catastrophic events.

“It’s been 13 years since the (Coral Reef Conservation) Act was first passed and our coral reefs need this reauthorization now, more than ever before. It is important that the Task Force support the reauthorization effort,” said AIC Chair, Fran Castro.

The Coral Reef Conservation Act is a strong tool for the protection and management of coral reefs, while the proposed coral listing under the Endangered Species Act will create a great administrative burden with little benefit to improving coral reef health and resilience.

Last November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed to list 66 species of corals under the ESA: 7 in the Caribbean and 59 in the Pacific. ESA is not the right tool to protect these corals, particularly when the primary threat driving the consideration for ESA-listing is global climate change. This listing would put more strain on already limited resources in the jurisdictions, potentially taking away from local conservation, recovery, and management efforts.

Since late 2012 when NOAA held its public hearings, new and significant information on coral species distribution and abundance have been provided as well as a refinement of the certainty of climate change predictions with respect to impacts on corals. This information will greatly improve the data available to evaluate the “risk of extinction,” the principle element in deciding the merit of listing. The AIC requested, through the USCRTF, that NOAA reevaluate their approach and analysis with this new information and use it to determine next steps.

“We hope that by elevating the reauthorization and listing issues to the Task Force, federal and local governments will collaborate extensively to get the best possible outcomes,” said Castro.

The U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee (AIC) represents the combined voice of the coral reef jurisdictions of the U.S. and Affiliates and serves as the collected voice for local governments in the federal process to conserve coral reefs. 

Source: http://allislandscommittee.wordpress.com/

Una semana sin brillo lleva la Bahía Bioluminiscente de Fajardo.

El alcalde de la Ciudad de Los Cariduros, Aníbal Meléndez, denunció que el resplandor que daban unos diminutos organismos, llamados dinoflagelados, se esfumó desde que se realiza la construcción de una planta de bombeo para recoger aguas usadas en el área de Las Croabas.

“Se apagó por completo... hace aproximadamente una semana. Eso nunca se había visto”, detalló el alcalde en entrevista radial (WKAQ - Univision Radio)

Señaló que el municipio contrató a biólogos marinos que han detectado que la turbidez que provoca la construcción ha hecho que los dinoflagelados ya no se vean en la zona.

Meléndez aceptó que la obra que realiza la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA) es necesaria para la zona. Sin embargo, dijo que pudiera ser reubicada para no dañar la bahía.

Comentó, además, que la situación ha provocado pérdidas económicas al sector turístico y que su ciudad no ha quedado bien con los turistas que han acudido a ver el resplandor de la bahía.

“Ante el mundo lucimos mal, porque aquí viene gente de Europa, viene gente de Asia, viene gente de Estados Unidos”, señaló

 Asimismo, el alcalde se quejó de que la secretaria del Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, Carmen Guerrero, o personal de la Junta de Calidad Ambiental no han aparecido en la zona a evaluar la falta de brillantez de la bahía.

 El líder del Partido Nuevo Progresista comentó que su municipio evalúa acciones legales contra la AAA por esta obra de construcción.

Recurso: http://www.elnuevodia.com/seapagalabahiabioluminiscentedefajardo-1646618.html

By By Kimberly Castillo
Story Created: Nov 16, 2013 at 9:13 PM ECT
Story Updated: Nov 16, 2013 at 11:53 PM ECT

TRINIDAD’S leatherback turtle population is in rapid, continuous decline, according to the latest report by leatherback sea turtle expert Dr Scott Eckert from the United States.

In the October 2013 report, Eckert noted that despite strong growth in the population in the ’90s as well as progress in protecting turtles in their nesting beaches, the current status of the Trinidad nesting colony is alarming. 

This rapid downward trend, which has been observed since 2006, can be traced to the high mortality of leatherbacks due to gillnet fishing. 

If gillnet mortality is not eliminated, Trinidad’s leatherback population will continue to decrease, Eckert reports in his latest document, “An Assessment of Population Size and Status of Trinidad’s Leatherback Sea Turtle Nesting Colonies”. 

Eckert based his fin­dings on data collected throughout the ’90s up until 2012.

“The rapid decline trajectory of Trinidad’s nesting population is cause for alarm,” said Eckert, director of Science at the Wider Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST).

WIDECAST is a network of marine experts, conservationists and managers from 40 countries and territories.  

Eckert said all studies indicate the decline in the leatherback population is local to the Trinidad colony, since the North American populations continue to increase. 

Every year, it is estimated that more than 3,000 leatherbacks are caught in gillnets off the coasts of Trinidad.

The impact gillnet fishing has on reproductive turtles is a serious cause of concern—annually more than 1,000 egg-bearing turtles get entangled and drown or are killed while fishermen try to save their nets.

“Particularly alarming about the current population trajectory and the impact of fishing mortality on the population is that the source of mortality is directed at reproductive adult turtles. Reproductive-age sea turtles are the most sensitive component of any population, and their destruction has the greatest impact [on] population stability,” writes Eckert.

If gillnet fishing continues as it is today, the decline in Trinidad’s leatherback population will mirror the destruction of the world’s largest leatherback population in the Eastern Pacific, he warned. 

In 1979, the leatherback population on the pacific coast of Mexico reportedly exceeded 75,000, but by 1995 the number dwindled to 1,000 and is believed to be even lower today. 

Eckert reports the main cause for the decimation of the population was the introduction and deployment of large-scale gillnet fishing for swordfish in the 1980s in areas off Chile and Peru, which were also fora­ging grounds for the leatherback turtles.

In the report, Eckert said there have been efforts since 2005 to have alternative methods employed that can reduce entanglement by 65 to 90 per cent, and mortality by 90 to 100 per cent with no reduction in the fisher income. 

But adoption of these methods has been slow, he reported. 

“In the absence of widespread use of fishing methods that do not kill turtles, high sea turtle mortality within the coastal gillnet fishery will continue, with devastating results to the turtles,” he noted.

People’s National Movement councillor for Toco/Fishing Pond and former fisherman Terry Rondon said considering that the “a la vive” fishing method is one of the most productive fishing methods which does not endanger sea turtles, the Government should assist fishermen in adopting this alternative by supplying the fishers with live bait. 

The availability of live bait is an obstacle to switching to “a la vive” or hook-and-line fishing. 

Failing this, Rondon suggested Government provide incentives to fishermen to keep them out of the water during turtle-nesting months. This includes compensating fishermen for lost income during those months. To prevent fishermen from “outsmarting” this system, Rondon said the Government should establish legislation which would include penalties for those who continue to set nets in sea turtle-foraging grounds during the nesting months.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Trinidads-leatherback-population-in-rapid-decline-232215331.html

By Dyah Ayu Pitaloka

A group of volunteers, some still in their teens, walked up to the shoreline of Kondang Merak beach in Malang district, East Java.

Slowly they rolled up their jeans as small waves pounded their feet. They were each carrying pieces of coral that had been carefully attached to prefabricated wire mesh bearing the volunteers’ names.

The volunteers “donated between Rp 10,000 and Rp 50,000 ($0.88 to $4.40) each for this coral reef repopulation effort. Though there are also those who cannot afford to donate money but are able to give their time and power to plant coral reefs,” Andi Syaifudin said.

Andi is the chairman of Sahabat Alam (Nature’s Friend), which focuses on coral reef, mangrove and sea-turtle conservation around Kondang Merak beach.

The 5-square-kilometer area, located 62 kilometers south of Malang city, was once famous for being one of the most beautiful snorkeling and diving spots off the southern coast of Java.

“We fell in love with Kondang Merak because of its beautiful coral reefs and pristine white sands,” he said.

But since early 2000 the use of fish bombs and cyanide by local fishermen has contributed to the destruction of 80 percent of the local coral population.

With the reefs destroyed, residents in the area have lost their livelihoods, not only from dwindling fish populations but also from the declining number of divers visiting Kondang Merak’s five diving spots.

“Around five to 10 years ago we were able to get 50 kilograms of lobster each time we sailed out to sea,” local fisherman Edi said, adding that he could earn between Rp 400,000 to Rp 750,000 per kilogram.

“Now we consider ourselves lucky to get just 5 kilograms [of lobster],” he said.

Sahabat Alam has been teaching local fishing communities about the importance of coral reefs and how using fish bombs and cyanide in fishing poses a huge threat to their livelihoods.

“Lobsters like to hide in coral reefs and now the reefs have been destroyed,” said Edi, who joined Sahabat Alam’s coral repopulation drive. “Slowly we are realizing that we need to catch lobsters using techniques that will not harm the coral, by diving or using nets.”

The Malang district’s Maritime and Fisheries office noted that there are nine areas in Malang with critically damaged coral reef systems, including Kondang Merak. In these areas, coral reefs will disappear unless something is done.

Coral reefs not only provide a vital food source for the fish but also stop erosion and tidal waves.

At 10 more sites in Malang, coral reefs are considered fairly damaged, which means the reefs will be able to repopulate without human intervention if the damaging activities stop.

Wahyu Hidayat, local head of the Marine and Fisheries Agency, said the government has the necessary funding to repopulate the coral reefs but needs help from groups like Sahabat Alam for human resources and expertise.

“Any community willing to do real work will get our support,” he said.

Zainul Arifin, a Sahabat Alam member, said it is important to engage the local fishing community in conservation efforts.

Coral grows between 2 to 3 centimeters a month and needs to spend at least six months in nursery grounds before it can be planted in open water and survive on its own. During that period, they need constant care to keep sand and mold from getting into their pores and inhibiting their growth. That, Zainal said, is where the fishermen come in.

“A huge percentage of our donors’ money goes to the fishermen for this monitoring process. Without the involvement of the local fishing community it will be all for nothing,” he said.



Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/conservationists-work-with-fishermen-to-save-the-reefs/