Seagrass-Watch E-bulletin 27 August 2007
SEAGRASS-WATCH E-BULLETIN
27 August 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.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
Report sheds light on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (Australia)..................................................................................................................1
Firm to work with environs groups (Malaysia) ...........................................................................................................................................................2
Fisheries agency starts to assess Guimaras (Philippines)........................................................................................................................................2
Subcommittee OKs permit application to continue mangrove restoration project (Naples,FL, USA)........................................................................2
Island home planned for lizard species and rescue bid for seagrass (New Zealand) ...............................................................................................2
21 Scientific community pushes for Guimaras rehab funds immediate release (Philippines) ...................................................................................3
GALLERY .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................3
Shelly Beach, Townsville (Qld) : 13 August 2007 .....................................................................................................................................................3
Torres Strait (Qld): 10-13 August 2007 .....................................................................................................................................................................3
TRAINING WORKSHOPS..............................................................................................................................................................................................3
Broome, Western Australia, September 1st - 2nd 2007............................................................................................................................................3
PUBLICATIONS .............................................................................................................................................................................................................3
Broome (WA) workshop proceedings: 1-2 September 2007.....................................................................................................................................3
Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Report 2006...................................................................................................................................................4
FROM HQ.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
NEW Giveaways - Seagrass-Watch bookmarks .......................................................................................................................................................4
Call for articles: Newsletter Issue 30 .........................................................................................................................................................................4
Seagrass-Watch Shop ..............................................................................................................................................................................................4
Virtual Herbarium ......................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Giveaways.................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Future sampling dates...............................................................................................................................................................................................4
Seagrass-Watch News Issue 29 ...............................................................................................................................................................................4
Handy Seagrass Links ..............................................................................................................................................................................................4
Please note: links to sources were active on date of publication. Some sources remove links periodically.
NEWS
Report sheds light on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
August 10, 2007,GBRMPA Press Release
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has emphasised the need for a continued focus on
improving water quality in the Great Barrier Reef. In releasing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority's 2006 Marine Monitoring Annual Report, Executive Director Andrew Skeat said the report
provided a sound baseline by which to judge future improvements in Great Barrier Reef water quality and
ecosystem health.
"Data collected over the first 18 months of the monitoring programme have improved our understanding of
Great Barrier Reef rivers, inshore waters, inshore reefs and seagrass ecosystems. "We all know the
quality of water entering the Reef must be improved and that there will be no quick fix. This report confirms
we have a big job ahead of us.
"The programme is a key action in the Australian and Queensland Government's Reef Water Quality
Protection Plan funded through the Natural Heritage Trust." "The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan
provides the framework for improving land management practices that effect water quality in the Reef
catchment."
more........................http://www.seagrasswatch.org/news.html
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Seagrass-Watch E-bulletin 27 August 2007
Firm to work with environs groups (Malaysia)
Wednesday August 15, 2007, by R. Sittamparam,nst online
JOHOR BARU: The developer of a proposed petrochemical and marine industries estate at the Sungai
Pulai estuary has agreed to work with local environmentalists to assess the impact of the project on the
estuary. It will also abide by Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman's recent order that a detailed
environmental impact assessment (DEIA) be conducted on the project site near the estuary which is home
to the dugong and seahorse.
The spokesman said Seaport Worldwide would carry out the project in the same environmentally-friendly
manner that it had developed the Tanjung Pelepas Port (PTP). "We complied with all the environmental
regulations in developing the port, including helping to preserve the habitat of the seahorse at Pulau
Merabong. "We're now working to monitor the seagrass bed in the area and run environmental awareness
programmes for children."
PTP was bestowed the Partnership in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia award in
recognition of its safety, health and environment systems. The developer's representatives will be meeting
with the Save Our Seahorses action committee chairman Choo Chee Kuang for discussions today. "It is
also encouraging that this time around the developer will be considering the feedback from local
environmental groups."
more......................................http://www.seagrasswatch.org/news.html
Fisheries agency starts to assess Guimaras (Philippines)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007, Manila Times
ILOILO City: Fishermen in Guimaras are still complaining of low fish catch one year after a big oil spill hit
the island province. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is assessing the damage.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council had provided BFAR P65 million for the assessment of fishing,
sea grass and coral reefs conditions in Guimaras. The budget is part of the P863-million rehabilitation fund
for province.
"The assessment would verify if the low fish catch is due to [last year's] oil spill," said Ong-Bayate. "We
have a national fishery resource program which will be used for the assessment in Nueva Valencia, San
Lorenzo and Sibunag." The aquatic assessment could take time, however.
Full story & source: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/aug/15/yehey/prov/20070815pro1.html
Subcommittee OKs permit application to continue mangrove restoration project
(Naples,FL, USA)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007, Naples Daily News
A bid to move a mangrove restoration project at Pelican Bay to its next phase, cleared a hurdle this
morning. The Clam Bay subcommittee of the Pelican Bay Services Division, an arm of county government,
voted to approve an application for an environmental permit to continue the project.
The Corps of Engineers and the DEP approved a permit in 1998 to dredge Clam Bay and to cut tidal
channels through the mangrove forest to improve flushing in hopes of restoring a 50-acre mangrove die-
off. That permit expires in July 2008. The original die-off has shrunk to 7 acres and another 6.5 acres of
new dead mangroves has been found, according to the most recent monitoring report. Another 34 acres of
stressed mangroves has raised some new concerns.
Besides that, other neighborhoods have complained that the mangrove restoration project has ignored a
seagrass die-off in Outer Clam Bay. A 1994 report by Collier County found 10 acres of seagrass in Outer
Clam Bay, but a 2006 monitoring report by Pelican Bay consultants estimated 3 to 4 acres were left. The
permit application approved this morning leaves open the possibility of incorporating the findings of a
county study into the seagrass die-off
Full story & source : http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/aug/15/subcommittee_oks_permit_application_continue_mangr/?breaking_news
Island home planned for lizard species and rescue bid for seagrass (New Zealand)
Monday August 20, 2007, by Tony Gee New Zealand Herald
Eight species of lizards are to be relocated to a local island as part of a plan designed to improve the
health of Whangarei Harbour. The plan, funded by Marsden Pt port owner Northport Ltd through a 10-year,
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Seagrass-Watch E-bulletin 27 August 2007
$500,000 Whangarei Harbour Health Improvement fund, also includes work to restore beds of undersea
grass.
$50,000 from this year's harbour improvement funding will go to an ongoing project testing the best way to
artificially restore seagrass in the harbour. The Northland Regional Council's Bruce Howse says thriving
undersea meadows of seagrass once spread over about 1400ha of Whangarei Harbour before it died off
due to sediment pollution which starved the grass of sunlight it needed to survive. Only small pockets of
seagrass remained in the harbour by the 1970s and it is now scarce.
But research in recent years by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) has
indicated that, with help, the seagrass might be capable of making a comeback.
Full story & source : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10458747
21 Scientific community pushes for Guimaras rehab funds immediate release (Philippines)
Tuesday, August 21 2007, Balita.org
A representative from the scientific community has urged the immediate release of the P863 million
Guimaras rehabilitation fund "to facilitate eventual monitoring of all important aspects, particularly water
quality."
Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology,
College of Sciences at the University of Philippines-Diliman, admitted its "failure in monitoring" due to lack
of funds. He disclosed that the latest monitoring conducted by the University of the Philippines was in
November. Aragones said that there is a need to conduct monitoring for fish catch, mangroves growth and
recovery, and seagrass and coral reefs recovery.
"Guimaras is a small island ecosystem...it has a sensitive and delicate components of the ecosystem," he
added. "All the line agencies and the provincial government must have a one comprehensive rehabilitation
plan to facilitate the release of funds because they only have until December or else the funds will revert
back to the national treasury."
Full story & source : http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070821133248336
GALLERY
Shelly Beach, Townsville (Qld) : 13 August 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
Torres Strait (Qld): 10-13 August 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/gallery.html
Back Beach (TI1) 10 August 2007
Horn Island (HI1) 11 August 2007
Front Beach (TI2) 12 August 2007
Hammond Island (HD1) 13 August 2007
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
Broome, Western Australia, September 1st - 2nd 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/training.html#wrkshop07
Location: Department of Environment and Conservation, 111 Herbert Street, Broome
Participants: Environs Kimberley & Kimberley Land Council
Sponsor: Environs Kimberley, Kimberley Land Council & Seagrass-Watch HQ
Contact: Danielle Bain (08 9192 7741 or 0414 841 519 or email dans_al@westnet.com.au)
Registration: http://www.seagrasswatch.org/training.html#wrkshop07
PUBLICATIONS
Broome (WA) workshop proceedings: 1-2 September 2007 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/training.html#Proceedings
McKenzie, L.J. (2007). Seagrass-Watch: Proceedings of a Workshop for Monitoring Seagrass Habitats in the Kimberley Region,
Western Australia. Department of Environment & Conservation - Kimberley District Office, Broome, 1st 2nd September 2007
(Seagrass-Watch HQ, Cairns). 35pp. (1.27Mb)
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Seagrass-Watch E-bulletin 27 August 2007
Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Report 2006 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/publications.html#gbrmpp_07
This report provides data obtained from monitoring activities undertaken in six catchment areas between December 2004 and April
2006 as part of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. The information contained in this report has been extracted primarily from the
November 2006 Final Report 'Water Quality and Ecosystem Monitoring Program Reef Water Quality Protection Plan', provided by
monitoring contractors (one of which is Seagrass-Watch HQ).
Prange J, Haynes D, Schaffelke B and Waterhouse J. (2007) Great Barrier Reef Water Quility Protection Plan, Annual Marine
Monitoring Report. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville. 115pp. [7.8Mb]
FROM HQ
NEW Giveaways - Seagrass-Watch bookmarks http://www.seagrasswatch.org/shop.html#GIVE1
The 13 new bookmarks feature Seagrass-Watch sites, seagrass species, marine life photographs by Seagrass-Watch
HQ and Ria Tan (Wild Singapore). To make your choice of bookmark(s), download the SELECTION PDF, note the
number of your selected bookmark(s), and send your request (including mailing details) to hq@seagrasswatch.org.
Call for articles: Newsletter Issue 30
We are now calling for articles for Issue 30 of the Seagrass-Watch Newsletter.
Articles are generally 200-250 words long and we would like to include any photos if available. Articles of greater length
are also accepted.
Closing date for articles for the issue is 10 September 2007. We would be grateful if you could send articles sooner, so
we can meet our distribution deadline.
If you are interested in submitting an article, please let us know ASAP, email hq@seagrasswatch.org .
Seagrass-Watch Shop http://www.seagrasswatch.org/shop.html
Virtual Herbarium http://www.seagrasswatch.org/herbarium.html
Giveaways http://www.seagrasswatch.org/shop.html#GIVE1
·
Seagrasses of Australia
·
Phytoplankton Guide
·
Seagrass Biology (Volume 2 only)
· Bookmarks
·
Stickers
·
Seagrass-Watch Newsletter 29 (hardcopy)
·
Seagrass-Watch Newsletter 28 (hardcopy)
Future sampling dates http://www.seagrasswatch.org/sampling.html
Seagrass-Watch News Issue 29 http://www.seagrasswatch.org/newsletters.html
Handy Seagrass Links http://www.seagrasswatch.org/links.html
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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.
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Seagrass-Watch HQ 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 Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries and by private donations.
Seagrass-Watch E- Bulletin is compiled by Len McKenzie & Rudi Yoshida.
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