SeaWeb Fellows Portal

FOND FAREWELLS

Dear Friends,
In the four months since we have left Alotau, I've seen really exciting and thought-provoking pieces appearing under our fellows' bylines. I was lucky enough to see a few of you in Fiji, and I am always so happy when I see your names pop up in my email inbox.
This blog was an experiment, and I am very pleased with how it went. I hope my successor can pick it up (or perhaps one of you will?) and help it grow.
As you all know, I am moving to a new position with COMPASS, where I will be the new assistant director of science outreach. My contact information is not changing for now, and I hope you will each continue to include me in your lives and your work.
I wish you all the best,
Sincerely,
Liz

08 January, 2008

Calling all authors

Dear friends and fellows, as we enter a new year, please remember to forward your articles to us whenever you write about ocean and environment stories! We are proud of your work and like to keep track of what you have been up to. I will continue featuring your latest bylines on this website, and I hope we can continue expanding this resource.
Read more!

New Year, New Focus

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS!!

I hope that you are each returning from your holidays refreshed and ready to plunge into 2008. As you can see from the blog headers, we have a new focus topic for the month of January - corals!

If you remember your trivia, you already know that corals are animals, and that there are roughly 5000 species, though only some of them form reefs. You also know how critically important corals are to the ocean ecosystem and to the people of our island nations.

But did you know that not all corals are found in clear, tropical waters? In fact, more than 2 out of every 3 known species of corals are found in the cold, dark depths of the ocean. Some are found as deep as 4500+ meters below the surface!

All corals, shallow and deep, are facing unprecedented threats from overfishing, climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction. I hope you enjoy joining the discussions this month that focus on why we need to act now, and how we can change our ways to save these precious resources. Read more!

01 January, 2008

Photo of the Week - 1st week January

If you had to guess what the bottom of the ocean looked like, would you have imagined this? Photo Credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer
Original caption: MIDNIGHT GARDEN—A deep coral community grows on volcanic rock in the New England Seamount chain. It includes an abundance of invertebrate animals, including pink, white, and orange soft corals, red-orange sea stars, and a multitude of different light-colored sponges. Via the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution magazine Oceanus.

Read more!

Latest Fellow's Bylines

KIRIBATI DECLARES PHOENIX ISLANDS AS MARINE PROTECTED AREA

By MAKERETA KOMAI
31 JANUARY 2008, SUVA, FIJI
PACNEWS

Kiribati says it has officially declared the Phoenix Islands to become the world’s largest protected area to ensure its biological diversity and sustainability, reports Radio New Zealand International.

The protection zone, which is halfway between Hawaii and Fiji, will be 185,000 square kilometers and will consist of underwater mountains, coral reefs and more than 520 species of fish.

Kiribati’s minister for environment, Tetapo Nakara said the government wants to ensure a viable use of its resources. “Certain areas of the Phoenix Islands will be declared a marine protected area. In March, we’ll going to have the negotiation with the potential donors and after that we’ll determine the timeframe. The main reason for this is part of the government’s commitment to conserve the place and the biological diversity.”

Mr Nakara said it hopes to fully establish the area as a protected zone by the end of the year. He also expected that the site would attract many tourists.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace has welcomed Kiribati’s decision to declare the Phoenix Islands as the world’s largest protected area.

Greenpeace’s Pacific Oceans teamleader, Nilesh Goundar said there’s a wide range of threats facing the Pacific Ocean and protecting areas like the Phoenix Islands is very important. “Marine reserves are a way of ensuring that we have fish for all the future generations to come. Overfishing is the largest threat to our oceanic ecosystem.,” Mr Goundar said

The group, Friends of the Earth, in New Zealand supports Kiribati’s decision to declare the Phoenix Islands as the world’s largest protected area. The organisations co-director, Bob Tait said Kiribati made the right decision. “We think that’s great. There’s been a lot of fish stock depletion around the Pacific and marine reserves, that’s well established, that they provide a spawning ground and it’s a way back for restore their fish stock in the region. it’ll mean less reliance on imported processed products if the locals are still able to fish around the reserve.”