Latest News about coral reefs

Corals Seized Outside Punta Engaño Hut

Joanna — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:32:34 -0600

Ferdinand Manus
Source: Cebu Daily News
March 16, 2010

Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines - At least 10 tons of various corals were recovered yesterday from a fisherman's house in sitio Kulo in barangay Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City. Inocencio Mahusay, 63, said he was not involved in harvesting the corals, and that he was paid by a man to bleach them with chlorine and water. Police took custody of the corals and Mahusay pending further investigation.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Losing Biodiversity

Joanna — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:19:12 -0600

Imelda V. Abano
Source: Business Mirror
March 17, 2010

The still lax enforcement of wildlife regulations and uneven endeavors to protect and nurture the ecosystem in Southeast Asian countries will eventually result in the loss of much of its unique biodiversity, according to researchers from the region.

Heat Is On Right Across the Continent

Joanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:40:21 -0600

Source: The Australian
March 15, 2010

Every state and territory in Australia has warmed over the past 50 years, according to a new assessment of the state of the nation's temperature, rainfall, oceans and atmosphere.

Tide May Be Turning on Beach Renourishment Plans

Joanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:39:46 -0600

Source: CBS4
March 14, 2010

Fort Lauderdale, FL - It used to be as regular as the changing tides, storms would erode sections of South Florida beaches and city officials would spend millions and millions of dollars to replace the sand that had washed into the sea.

But in recent years a decline in federal funds and tougher environmental regulations has made these types of renourishment projects more difficult to get approved.

Limits Urged on Use of Coral

Joanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:37:04 -0600

Source: The Herald Tribune
March 14, 2010

Torre del Greco, Italy - The people of this city 10 miles south of Naples have lived off the red coral found in the Mediterranean Sea for more than two millennia. A proposal to list the species as endangered may push the seaside town's $217 million-a-year coral industry into extinction.

Marine Life Trade Tops CITES Agenda

Joanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:34:04 -0600

Source: Al Jazeera
March 14, 2010

Doha, Qatar - An international conference on trade in endangered species has opened in Doha to tackle issues such as a ban on export of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, sharks and polar bear skins.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, that opened in the Qatari capital on Saturday will be discussing 42 proposals during the next two weeks.

E Java Fishermen Arrested for Possessing Explosives

Joanna — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:26:26 -0600

Source: ANTARA News
March 13, 2010

Pamekasan, Indonesia - Policemen in the East Java island of Madura arrested three fishermen for possessing home-made explosives in a sweeping operation on Thursday.

Some See Clean Water Act Settlement Opening New Path to GHG Curbs

Joanna — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:40:16 -0700

Allison Winter
Source: The New York Times
March 12, 2010

U.S. EPA settled a lawsuit yesterday by agreeing to use the Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification, a move that some see as opening a side door to federal curbs on greenhouse gases that scientists link to problems in the marine environment.

Taiwanese Couple Pleads Guilty to Illegally Trading Protected Black Coral

Joanna — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:27:30 -0700

Source: PR Newswire
March 11, 2010

Two Taiwanese nationals pleaded guilty today in federal court in the U.S. Virgin Islands for conspiracy to ship internationally protected black coral into the United States in violation of federal wildlife statutes, the Department of Justice announced.

Endangered Listing Eyed for US Loggerhead Turtles

Joanna — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:46:24 -0700

Jay Lindsay
Source: The Associated Press
March 11, 2010

Boston, MA - The federal government on Wednesday recommended an endangered-species listing for the loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters, a decision that could lead to tighter restrictions on fishing and other maritime trades.

The massive, nomadic sea turtles have been listed since 1978 as threatened, a step below endangered, but federal scientists proposed ratcheting up the designation after reviewing the state of the species.

Coral Reefs Face New El Niño Threat

Joanna — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:39:08 -0700

Ellalyn B. De Vera
Source: The Manila Bulletin
March 11, 2010

Manila, Philippines - An international conservation group warned Thursday that the current El Niño episode may have adverse effects on the recovering corals reefs in the country.

Gregg Yan, information, education and communications officer of the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Philippines), noted that during the 1997-1998 El Niño event, Apo Reef in Occidental Mindoro suffered heavily from increased sea surface temperatures.

Cold Weather Kills Large Swaths of Florida Keys Coral

Joanna — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:27:06 -0700

Cammy Clark
Source: The Miami Herald
March 10, 2010

Miami, FL - January's big chill led to widespread death of corals in many near shore and mid-channel reefs from Biscayne Bay to Summerland Key, but most of the popular offshore diving and fishing reefs in the Florida Keys were spared.

A survey conducted at 78 sites throughout the Florida Reef tract from Martin County to the Keys also found that corals fared well north of Miami and in the Lower Keys west to the Dry Tortugas.

Sharks and Rays Gather in Fish Cleaning Stations

Joanna — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:55:47 -0700

Jennifer Viegas
Source: Discovery News
March 8, 2010

The animated film Shark Tale from a few years ago featured a "car wash" for dirty marine dwellers. Now a new study in the journal Marine & Freshwater Research documents something very similar: fish cleaning stations for sharks and manta rays.

Four Arrested for Aquarium Fish Smuggling in Phuket

Joanna — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:08:44 -0700

Source: The Phuket Gazette
March 8, 2010

Phuket, Thailand - Four residents of a Sea Gypsy community in Rawai were arrested yesterday for smuggling protected marine species.

The suspects, 34-year-old Pichit Bangjak and three minors, were arrested at 11am in a pickup truck parked along Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada, near the Phuket Highways Department Office.

Threatened Corals Provide Underexplored Microbial Habitats

Joanna — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:05:28 -0700

Source: Elites TV
March 5, 2010

Contemporary in-depth sequencing of environmental samples has provided novel insights into microbial community structures, revealing that their diversity had been previously underestimated. Communities in marine environments are commonly composed of a few dominant taxa and a high number of taxonomically diverse, low-abundance organisms.

Japan Says It Won't Comply with Bluefin Tuna Ban

Joanna — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:45:18 -0700

Blaine Harden
Source: The Washington Post
February 5, 2010

Tokyo, Japan - Japan and the United States keep rubbing each other the wrong way. Last fall, it was a quarrel—still unresolved—over the location of a noisy U.S. military airfield in Okinawa. This year, the stormy U.S. reaction to Toyota's recall troubles has been interpreted by many people here as Japan-bashing.

Now, the trouble is fish.

United States Supports Bluefin Tuna Trade Ban

Joanna — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:38:25 -0700

Source: Environment News Service
March 4, 2010

Washington, D.C. - A proposal to ban all international commercial trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna at this month's meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, has the support of the United States, a senior U.S. fisheries official said Wednesday.

U.S. Bars Mexican Shrimp

Joanna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:51:29 -0700

Source: FIS
March 5, 2010

The U.S. Department of State denied Mexico the certification to export wild shrimp to that country in considering that it does not count on protection measures for marine turtles during trawler fishing.

Thus informed the Federal Office of Environment Protection (PROFEPA) and the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (CONAPESCA) in a joint statement.

Scientists Document Cyclone Damage to Reef

Joanna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:46:21 -0700

Helene Hoffman
Source: Australia Network News
March 3, 2010

Moorea, French Polynesia - Scientists say the coral reef surrounding the French Polynesian island of Moorea has been seriously damaged by last month's Category Four Cyclone Ollie.

They have completed their assessment of the reef and say parts of it may never recover and that could seriously affect future tourism on the island.

Thai Customs Seize US$60,000 in Contraband Indonesian Coral

Joanna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:38:30 -0700

Source: MCOT
March 2, 2010

Bangkok, Thailand - Thai Customs Department officials seized more than 800 pieces of rare and protected corals and sea anemones smuggled from Indonesia, worth about Bt2 million (US$60,000 ), a senior official of the Customs Department said on Tuesday.

Customs Department deputy director-general Kornsiri Pinnarut told a news conference that it confiscated 858 corals, sea anemones, giant clams, cowries and sea fans weighing some 300kg altogether.