November 2011 E-Current

Spotted Porcelain Crab (Neopetrolisthes sp.), Myanmar

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E-Current
November 2011

In This Issue: Photo Contest Winner [2] • Coral Reef Conservation Meetings [3] • Creature Feature: Cuttlefish [4] • Sign the Shark Pledge [5]
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Featured Location: Fiji [7]
Shark Campaign Heats Up [8] Momentum to protect sharks in Fiji is building with the official launch of our community awareness campaign! The campaign kickoff event in Suva included a screening of "Shark Hope," a new half-hour documentary, produced by a local film production company in Fiji, about the plight of Fiji's sharks and the importance of protecting them. The launch of this documentary marks the latest development in our partnership with the Pew Environment Group to assist the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries in introducing legal measures that would ban the commercial fishing and trade of sharks and their parts in Fiji. CORAL and Pew have spent months garnering support for a Fiji Shark Sanctuary from traditional leaders across the nation, and recently met with the acting Prime Minister, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Learn more about our shark campaign in Fiji » [9]

Help the Reefs Quick Tip [10]
Show your support for our Fiji shark sanctuary campaign by "liking" the Fiji Shark Defenders Facebook page!
Learn more » [11]

Coral Reefs in the News [12]

Record Fine for VI Firm Caught Trading Protected Coral [13]
Source: AFP

NOAA: Study Says Americans Value Coral Reefs around Main Hawaiian Islands at $33.57B [14]
Source: The Washington Post

UQ Research Proves Deep-Reef Coral Hates the Light, Prefers the Shade [15]
Source: University of Queensland

Seaweed with a Deadly Touch [16]
Source: ScienceNOW

Beneficial Bacteria Can Help Keep Florida Coral Healthy, UF Researchers Report [17]
Source: University of Florida

More News... [18]

Leopard Toadfish (Opsanus pardus), South Florida

Do You Give Thanks for Beautiful, Healthy Coral Reefs? » [19]
We do! And we're confident that future generations will be grateful to you for making sure they stay that way. Help protect our planet's coral reefs by making a gift [20] to CORAL today.

[21]	[22]Photo Contest Winner Announced! [23] Congratulations to William Goodwin from Birmingham, Alabama, who is now a three-time winner of the E-Current Photo Contest! William captured this exceptional portrait of a leopard toadfish (Opsanus pardus) off the coast of South Florida. William writes of his subject: "This unusual foot-long fish is really a character—its benthic habits benefit from the fact that those baby blues rotate so that they can look straight up or out to the side...The males grunt or croak (thus toadfish) quite loudly to attract a mate or intimidate an interloper." Click below to download William's image as your desktop wallpaper and learn more about the photo contest. Download the photo » [24]

[25]	Coral Reef Meetings Target Reef Resilience [26] Back-to-back coral reef meetings in Florida last month gave CORAL the opportunity to share our recent reef resilience to climate change work with the global conservation community. The 26th meeting of the United States Coral Reef Task Force, held in conjunction with the 2nd Reef Resilience Conference, brought together an eminent group of collaborators to strategize how best to protect our planet's coral reefs. Read the story » [27]

[28]	Creature Feature: Meet the Cuttlefish [29] Cuttlefish are some of the most intriguing coral reef creatures. These cephalopods have one of the highest brain-to-body size ratios of any invertebrate, and can rapidly change the color, pattern, and texture of their skin to aid in camouflage, mating, and hunting. When in danger, they can jet away at high speeds, shooting out ink either as a smokescreen cloud or as a mucus-encased bubble that functions as a decoy. Longtime CORAL member Dr. Steve Cohen took this beautiful footage of cuttlefish in Wakatobi, Indonesia. Watch the video » [30]

[31]	[32]Pledge to Support Shark Protection in Fiji [33] Sharks are important for the environment, economy, and culture of Fiji, and they need your support! Become a Fiji Shark Defender and pledge to support policies and initiatives that protect sharks in Fiji and throughout the South Pacific. We'll let you know when you can take action! Sign the pledge [34] » [35]

* Photo Credits and Notes:
Banner Photo: Spotted Porcelain Crab (Neopetrolisthes sp.), Myanmar
Photographer: Doug Richardson
Large Center Photo: Leopard Toadfish (Opsanus pardus), South Florida
Photographer: William Goodwin
Left Side Photo: Staff from CORAL and Pew with Fiji’s acting Prime Minister, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, at the campaign launch event.
Photographer: Photo courtesy of Angelo Villagomez

Links:
[1] http://www.coral.org
[2] http://www.coral.org/node/5663#story1
[3] http://www.coral.org/node/5663#story2
[4] http://www.coral.org/node/5663#story3
[5] http://www.coral.org/node/5663#story4
[6] http://www.coral.org/node/5663#story4
[7] http://www.coral.org/fijisharks
[8] http://www.coral.org/fijisharks
[9] http://www.coral.org/fijisharks
[10] http://www.facebook.com/FijiSharkDefenders?sk=app_4949752878
[11] http://www.facebook.com/FijiSharkDefenders?sk=app_4949752878
[12] http://www.coral.org/news/headlines
[13] http://www.coral.org/node/5661
[14] http://www.coral.org/node/5657
[15] http://www.coral.org/node/5648
[16] http://www.coral.org/node/5646
[17] http://www.coral.org/node/5640
[18] http://www.coral.org/news/from_the_media
[19] http://www.coral.org/donate
[20] http://www.coral.org/donate
[21] http://www.coral.org/wallpaper
[22] http://www.coral.org/wallpaper
[23] http://www.coral.org/wallpaper
[24] http://www.coral.org/wallpaper
[25] http://www.coral.org/node/5659
[26] http://www.coral.org/node/5659
[27] http://www.coral.org/node/5659
[28] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK87hZcTF1Q
[29] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK87hZcTF1Q
[30] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK87hZcTF1Q
[31] http://www.coral.org/fiji-shark-pledge
[32] http://www.coral.org/node/5409
[33] http://www.coral.org/fiji-shark-pledge
[34] http://www.coral.org/fiji-shark-pledge
[35] http://www.coral.org/fiji-shark-pledge