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Subject: SEAGRASS-WATCH BULLETIN - 07 May 2007
SEAGRASS-WATCH E- BULLETIN
07 May 2007
Seagrass-Watch's electronic news service, providing marine and coastal news of international and national interest.
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IN THIS BULLETIN
NEWS
Seagrass Persistent in Zoned areas (Queensland, Australia)
'Act now' to save turtles (Manama,Bahrain)
London firm named to design science museum (Miami,FL,USA)
Plan would reroute Lake O water (Palm Beach,FL,USA)
Trench War: Desal pipeline angers many (Sydney,NSW,Australia))
Stormwater cocktail killing our coastline (Adelaide,South Australia,Australia)
Chesapeake's SAV acreage down 25%; lowest level since 1989 (Seven Valleys,PA,USA)
Saltwater Anglers Can Expect Good Year (Dallas,TX,USA)
Controversial project receives rare rebukes (St. Petersburg,FL,USA)
Seagrasses On Rebound (Tampa,FL,USA)
Foundation undertakes first event (Basseterre,St. Kitts and Nevis)
Money from oil spill to restore seashore (Orlando,FL,USA)
Title to sea bottom poses no threat (Bradenton,FL,USA)
Even after noxious algae dies off, toxins left in seagrasses can kill manatees. (Sarasota,FL,USA)
GALLERY
Noumea (New Caledonia): 01 May 2007
Bowen (Qld): 27 April 2007
Cyrene Reef (Singapore), 21 April 2007
Chek Jawa (Singapore): 22 April 2007
FROM HQ
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NEWS
Seagrass Persistent in Zoned areas (Queensland, Australia)
April 21, 2007, Townsville Bulletin
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Dugongs were the big winners at a reef and rainforest conference, with news that their favourite
food, seagrass, has been virtually unaffected by the introduction of the Great Barrier Reef
marine park zones. A comprehensive study of seagrasses was presented at the inaugural
Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) Synthesis Conference in Townsville
this week.
The study, which looked at the distribution of seagrass before and after the introduction of
zoning, showed the marine plant was a robust survivor of human activities and natural
pressures on the reef. MTSRF managing director Russell Reichelt said the revelation about
seagrass was good news for authorities, who would be able to better manage the main food
source for dugongs. "Seagrasses are the primary source of production...it is good news for
long-term productivity of the reef in terms of fisheries. We now know seagrass is stable over
long period, and robust to the natural variations we've seen in the last 10 years."
Another unique method of monitoring the health of the reef was discussed yesterday, using tiny
marine creatures called Forams, as indicators of water quality. Forams are small white buttons
with natural holes in the middle which wash up on coral beaches. "They vary with different
types of water quality, so people are looking at them as new biological indicators of the health
of the water," Mr Reichelt said. ...more http://www.seagrasswatch.org/news.html
'Act now' to save turtles (Manama,Bahrain)
May 5th 2007, By Rebecca Torr, Gulf Daily News
BAHRAIN must take action now to save its marine turtles before it is too late, says a leading
environmentalist. Marine turtles are losing their habitats because of dredging and reclamation
work on Bahrain's shores and consequently their numbers are declining, Environment Friends
Society (EFS) president Khawla Al Muhannadi told the GDN.
"Fasht Al Adhm is a very important habitat for turtles, but it is at risk," she said. "The island has
sandy beaches where turtles lay their eggs, sea grass which serves as their feeding ground and
a coral reef that acts as an important mating ground. "I was contacted by an environmentalist in
Oman who is tracking turtles by satellite and he said many of them were now in Bahrain's
waters. "But they are at risk in Bahrain because the seagrass they feed on and the coral reef
are both threatened.
The alliance is composed of EFS, National Society for Marine Hobbies and the Fisherman
Union and supported by the Coastguard and Public Commission for the Protection of Marine
Resources, Environment and Wildlife.
Source & full story: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?
Article=181174&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30046
London firm named to design science museum (Miami,FL,USA)
May 02, 2007, bY Daniel Chang, Miami Herald
The architectural competition to design the new, $275 million Miami Science Museum in
Bicentennial Park concluded Wednesday in a near photo finish, with the museum's selection
committee ranking as its first choice the London-based firm of Grimshaw Architects.
Key elements of the science museum include an aquarium spanning three floors, with
mangroves and seagrass at the top, a tropical coral reef in the middle, and large sea creatures
such as sharks and rays on the ground level. Other major features include an rooftop
observatory, a 300-seat planetarium and a wildlife center, all on the also on the roof.
Source & full story: http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/94487.html
Plan would reroute Lake O water (Palm Beach,FL,USA)
May 02, 2007, by Jason Schultz, Palm Beach Post
STUART -- Environmentalists and Martin County commissioners hope the south shall flood
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again - at least the land south of Lake Okeechobee - in order to clean up the St. Lucie River.
Commissioners unanimously endorsed a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal that would
restore a natural flow-way for storm water to drain south out of Lake Okeechobee into the
Everglades instead of being released into the river. Heavy lake releases in recent years have
polluted the St. Lucie River and endangered fish, oysters and seagrass. That plan faces major
hurdles as well. It would require buying 140,000 acres for storing storm water and relocating a
sugar mill in the path of the flow-way.
Source & full story:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2007/05/02/m5b_mclakeo_05
Trench War: Desal pipeline angers many (Sydney,NSW,Australia))
May 1, 2007, By Murray Trembath, The Leader - St. George Sutherland Shire Leader
A four metre-deep trench will be dug across the bottom of Botany Bay from Kurnell to
Kyeemagh to allow twin pipes from the desalination plant to be embedded.
The full effects of the $1.8 billion project, revealed in the report which was released quietly on
Anzac Day, have dismayed residents, environmentalists and council leaders. Dredges will
gouge more than a million cubic metres of sand from the floor of the bay in an eight-kilometre
arc. The base of the trench will be about four metres deep and eight metres wide, with battered
slopes leading to a trench footprint of about 48 metres wide.
The report claims there will be no significant impact on wave patterns, water quality, aquatic
ecology or fishing. ''Construction will impact on 35 hectares, which is 1 per cent of the overall
area of Botany Bay, of which about 32 hectares are unvegetated sand habitat,'' the report said.
'Along the whole route, the total area of seagrass to be removed will be 2.6 hectares. 'This is
less than half of 1 per cent of the existing seagrass along the southern shore (0.45 per cent)
and of all existing seagrass in Botany Bay (0.42 per cent).''
Source & full story: http://www.theleader.com.au/2007/05/trench_war_desal_pipeline_ange.php
Stormwater cocktail killing our coastline (Adelaide,South Australia,Australia)
April 30, 2007, by Clare Peddie, Advertiser Adelaide
THE Environmental Protection Authority water quality guidelines allow stormwater and
wastewater to carry sediment and pollution out to sea. University of Adelaide marine biologist
Associate Professor Sean Connell says "most scientists in this state" consider the current
guidelines inadequate. More sediment and pollution is allowed into the sea here than in other
states.
Our guidelines at least should be equal to, if not lower than, those in other states, he said.
Authority principal water quality adviser, David Duncan, admits the levels are set higher than in
other states but they are "mandatory compliance limits".
The decline of kelp forests and seagrass meadows, meanwhile, has progressed to such an
extent Associate Professor Connell said some areas showed total "ecosystem collapse". "There
are whole swathes of rock out there where there is virtually nothing living on it except very short
weedy species," he said. "Other species haven't replenished themselves. "Fish associated with
the kelp forests are strongly affected and organisms that use kelp forests for the juvenile
stages." Recycling stormwater and wastewater would have benefits for the marine environment
by reducing oversupply of nutrients and sediments, he said.
Source & full story: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21641849-
2682,00.html
Chesapeake's SAV acreage down 25%; lowest level since 1989 (Seven Valleys,PA,USA)
April 26 2007, By Karl Blankenship, The Chesapeake Bay Journal
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The Chesapeake lost a quarter of its underwater grasses last year, with the Baywide acreage
falling to its lowest level since 1989, according to figures from the latest annual survey. The
survey turned up some good news--the Susquehanna Flats, the largest bed in the Bay,
remained intact despite a late June deluge that smothered much of the Bay with sediment.
But many other areas suffered extensive losses. Among the hardest hit were areas in high-
salinity regions dominated by eelgrass, which suffered a massive die-off, apparently triggered
by warm temperatures. Bay grasses in other areas were whipsawed between dry conditions in
the spring and near-record river flows from a long rainy stretch in June.
"The fact is, last year was a year in which a lot of plants just didn't make it," said Bob Orth, a
seagrass expert at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who conducts an annual aerial
survey of the Bay's grass beds.
Overall, the survey counted just 59,090 acres of grasses, down from 78,263 acres in 2005,
That's just a third of the Bay Program's restoration goal of 185,000 acres. The annual Baywide
grass estimate is derived from an analysis of more than 2,000 black-and-white aerial
photographs taken between May and October.
Source & full story: http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3082
Saltwater Anglers Can Expect Good Year (Dallas,TX,USA)
April 24, 2007, by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Lone Star Outdoor News
Fisheries biologists forecast angler success by analyzing the previous year's sampling and
survey data. Sampling is conducted using gill nets, bag seines and trawls; surveys of anglers
are conducted throughout the year.
The resulting data set has been called the largest and best such collection of information on
coastal fisheries in the world and received high marks in an independent scientific review by
scientists from the American Fisheries Society.
"Overall, our data show our inshore saltwater fisheries to be in excellent shape," said Larry
McKinney, Ph.D., director of TPWD's Coastal Fisheries Division. "Texas bays continue to
provide world-class angling opportunities, and we are hopeful that recent changes in
regulations -- including last year's seagrass conservation measure in Redfish Bay and the
upcoming spotted seatrout bag limit change in the lower Laguna -- will help continue that
trend."
Source & full story: http://www.lonestaroutdoornews.com/content/view/86/26/
Controversial project receives rare rebukes (St. Petersburg,FL,USA)
April 24, 2007, By CRAIG PITTMAN, St. Petersburg Times
State and federal permitting agencies rejected a St. Petersburg surgeon's plans for the
Magnolia Bay development in Taylor County and will deny permits unless he makes major
changes.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which issues federal permits for wetland destruction, said it
relied heavily on a conclusion by the state Department of Environmental Protection that Pruitt's
project is "not in the public interest." The plans for turning Boggy Bay into Magnolia Bay call for
filling in more than 100 acres of the wetlands and blasting a channel for the marina 2 miles long
and 100 feet wide through the preserve's seagrass beds.
Pruitt has said the channel is essential to making the development financially feasible, and that
his plan to transplant all the sea grass to other spots is a sign of how environmentally beneficial
the development will be.
Source & full story: http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/24/State/Controversial_project.shtml
Related story: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
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AID=/20070424/LOCAL/70424008/-1/news
Seagrasses On Rebound (Tampa,FL,USA)
April 24, 2007, By MIKE SALINERO The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA - Seagrasses were once an endangered species in Tampa Bay. The aquatic plants that
shelter juvenile fish and shellfish were practically snuffed out during the 1960s and '70s by
poorly treated sewage, industrial waste and dredge-and-fill operations.
Seagrasses have revived, however, and now cover more Bay bottom than at any time since
1950. The latest map completed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District shows
seagrasses increased by 1,275 acres between 2004 and 2006, a gain of nearly 5 percent.
Seagrasses now cover nearly 28,300 acres across the 400-square-mile Bay, the most since
40,400 acres were identified in aerial photographs taken in 1950.
Holly Greening, lead scientist at the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, said the increasing seagrass
acreage is due to clearer water. Like most other plants, seagrasses need sunlight to grow.
Algae blooms, fueled by nutrients such as nitrogen, can block the sunlight, killing the grasses.
Greening said scientists measure water clarity two ways. One is the amount of chlorophyll A, an
indicator of algae, in the water. The other is measuring how deep light penetrates through the
water.
The estuary program has targets for both of these measures that indicate ideal conditions for
seagrass growth. In 2006, all segments of the Bay met both targets, the first time that's
happened since 1975.
Source & full story: http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBDWC2SV0F.html
Foundation undertakes first event (Basseterre,St. Kitts and Nevis)
April 19, 2007, SKNVibes.com
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS, WEST INDIES. Auberge Resorts and partners join The Ocean
Foundation to announce the creation of the St. Kitts Foundation Fund, to be dedicated to
preserving the natural coastal environment of St. Kitts and supporting social and economic
programs of benefit to the community. The partnership is currently master-planning 2,400 acres
on the island's southeast peninsula as a sustainably developed luxury resort community.
Two expert US-based organizations, REEF and Reef Relief, will lead local divers in on-land
trainings and in-water surveys. A third US-based organization, Earth Echo International and its
Executive Director Philippe Cousteau, will be documenting the coral-damaging sediment from
soil erosion and nutrient runoff caused by over-grazing and over-abundance of feral animals
such as goats for Living on Earth, a weekly environmental news and information program
distributed by Public Radio International.
Activities planned and tentative schedule: Training symposium on fish identification and coral
reef disease SCUBA diving surveys from boats (fish counts, reef assessments, seagrass bed
sampling, water testing, mooring placement assessment, underwater video and photography)
Educational presentations in local primary schools on protecting coral reefs The St. Kitts
Foundation's activities will be supervised by an independent advisory committee of members
selected by The Ocean Foundation and will determine charitable initiatives and award grants for
conservation and community-based programs. Mark J. Spalding, J.D., President of The Ocean
Foundation will serve as Executive Director of the St. Kitts Foundation, and Kaya Freeman, an
expert on international marine policy, has been appointed Program Officer for the St. Kitts
Foundation.
Source & full story: http://www.sknvibes.com/News/NewsDetails.cfm/2749
Money from oil spill to restore seashore (Orlando,FL,USA)
April 23, 2007, Central Florida News
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico A fund to compensate Puerto Rico for damages from a 1994 oil spill
will be used to build an artificial reef, create a shoreline nature reserve and restore the walls of
a Spanish colonial fort, trustees said Sunday.
The nearly $10 million for restoration projects was included in a settlement involving those
responsible for a barge that ran aground off the coast of San Juan, spilling 750,000 gallons of
heavy oil. For weeks, the oil slick stained beaches and lagoons around the capital's reef-fringed
coast.
In an effort to restore sea-life habitats, cement modules will be installed in a lagoon one mile
from the grounding site to create a reef. Marine sediment will also be used to fill dredge holes
and boost the recovery of seagrass.
On Jan. 7, 1994, the Morris J. Berman barge spilled half its load of heating oil when it smashed
into a coral reef. Under a 2000 settlement with the U.S. government, the Caribbean Petroleum
Corp. and two insurers had to reimburse federal and local governments for removing the oil
from beaches and Caribbean waters.
Source & full story: http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/83362.html
Related story: http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories/index.php?
action=fullnews&id=99167
Title to sea bottom poses no threat (Bradenton,FL,USA)
April 22, 2007, Bradenton Herald
The Port of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, owns most of Tampa Bay - from the port on the
eastern shore all the way west to Egmont Key, except for a portion on the west owned by
Pinellas County and the area east of the shipping channel serving Port Manatee. The latter is
owned by the state of Florida. A bill in the Legislature plans to transfer ownership of that small
sliver of bottomland, about 585 acres, from the state to Port Manatee for a token sum of $1.
Horror of horrors, the evil port will rape the bottomlands, they claim in denouncing Rep. Ron
Reagan's House bill to facilitate the transfer.
What this transfer would do is give the port some authority to regulate activity in the water in
and around its facilities. That would include power boats traversing the seagrass beds the port
has transplanted at great expanse to mitigate loss of grasses in the recent widening of the
channel and expansion of docks. As any fisherman knows, boat propellers can tear the heck
out of a shallow seagrass flat. Port officials would like to limit boat traffic off their shores to non-
combustion power - rowboats and sailboats.
Currently they have no jurisdiction to do so. The state agencies responsible for protecting
fragile marine environments are thinly stretched over thousands of miles of coastline. The
chances of a Fish & Game agent catching a flat despoiler in the act are slim.
Source & full story: http://www.bradenton.com/196/story/29223.html
Even after noxious algae dies off, toxins left in seagrasses can kill manatees.
(Sarasota,FL,USA)
April 22. 2007, By Kate Spinner, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When 27 manatees died from red tide poisons near the Caloosahatchee River in March and
April, there were no signs of a red tide bloom. But toxins from an earlier bloom settled into
seagrass beds near Fort Myers, and the grasses stayed poisonous for weeks. As the weather
warmed, manatees migrated out of their river wintering grounds and ate the deadly grass.
Because scientists are just beginning to realize that red tide can render seagrass toxic weeks
after a bloom passes, few solutions have been proposed to make spring migration for manatees
less deadly.
Scientists have long suspected that the manatees die from red tide by consuming the toxins.
Years ago, however, they thought manatees got exposed by eating sea squirts, which often
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inhabit grassy areas and accumulate toxins similar to shellfish. Research is showing that the
chemicals either cling to the grasses or become absorbed by them. Sea squirts could still be a
factor.
Source & full story: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20070422/NEWS/704220314
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GALLERY
Noumea (New Caledonia): 01 May 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
In early May, Len McKenzie (Seagrass-Watch HQ) took leave and visited New Caledonia to
attend the GeoHab2007 conference and explore the potential for expanding Seagrass-Watch
into the French territory. A possible long-term monitoring site was examined on the intertidal
reef-flat east of the Le Meridien resort, Anse Vata (Noumea). The site was dominated by
Halodule uninervis and Cymodocea serrulata (minor patches of Thalassia hemprichii and
Halophila ovalis). Epiphyte cover was very high (>80%), and holothurians were abundant. The
reef-flat was also a popular location for fishing and gleaning.
Bowen (Qld): 27 April 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
Jane Mellors (Seagrass-Watch HQ) in collaboration with the Bowen State School established
and monitored a new site at Front Beach, Port Denison (BW1). The site is a mix of Halodule
uninervis and Zostera capricorni which will test the identification skills of the students. There
were also small amounts of Halophila ovalis - all great dugong tucker. The students were
amazed at the number of animals that call this meadow home, they even identified some
dugong feeding trails a first for quite a few of them. This site will be monitored by the Year 7
students as part of their Environmental, Reef Guardianship Program.
Cyrene Reef (Singapore), 21 April 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
Another dawn arrival by the intrepid Team on this submerged reef near Singapore's container
terminal. It was a lean team that landed for the first TeamSeagrass monitoring of this very
grassy reef. The seagrasses are full of life! We spotted a baby Knobbly sea star. At Transect 2,
the seagrasses were crawling with white sea urchins, some gathered together in big piles. It
was hard to walk without stepping on them. These urchins also 'carry' things such as shells, bits
of debris. Text: Team Seagrass-Singapore.
Chek Jawa (Singapore): 22 April 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
TeamSeagrass was back on the shore for an early tide. We gathered at Changi Jetty as dawn
broke, and headed sleepily out to Pulau Ubin. Shortly, we are all ready to monitor. This after
Shufen explains the New and Improved Field boxes for keeping track of equipment. The
seagrasses were certainly doing very well in the area. With lots of healthy Halophila spinulosa.
As well as thickets of other seagrasses like Halophila ovalis and Halodule sp. Siti noted that the
seagrasses on the seaward side were HUGE and were growing thick and lush. There's
certainly lots of food at Chek Jawa for hungry migrating dugongs passing through Singapore.
Text: Team Seagrass-Singapore.
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FROM HQ
Virtual Herbarium http://www.seagrasswatch.org/herbarium.html
8/07/2007
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Giveaways http://www.seagrasswatch.org/shop.html#GIVE1
Seagrasses of Australia
Phytoplankton Guide
Seagrass Biology
Bookmarks
Stickers
Seagrass-Watch Newsletter 28 (hardcopy)
Future sampling dates http://www.seagrasswatch.org/sampling.html
Seagrass-Watch News Issue 28 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/newsletters.html
Handy Seagrass Links http://www.seagrasswatch.org/links.html
************************************************************
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in this bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the
Queensland Government. News articles posted as a free community service for the purposes of non-commercial
education, research and study; review and the reporting of news; and archived for reference of students and researchers
as a 'fair dealing' activity under Australian Copyright Law.
Seagrass-Watch is supported by the Australian Government's Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility
(Department of the Environment and Water Resources) represented in North Queensland by the Reef and Rainforest
Research Centre, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service
(EPA), the Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries and by private donations.
Seagrass-Watch E- Bulletin is compiled by Len McKenzie & Rudi Yoshida.
8/07/2007