Now is the Time to Help our Oceans & it's Species !

THE World Heritage Committee has delayed a decision to list the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger" until next year, the WWF says.

WWF Great Barrier Reef spokesman Richard Leck says the World Heritage Committee has adopted three of the four recommendations made to the committee by UNESCO.

The recommendations adopted, according to Mr Leck, are:

♦ No new developments that impact the reef be approved

♦ No developments outside existing port footprints be approved

♦ That environmental laws protecting the reef be strengthened

If Australia fails to comply with the recommendations by mid-2014, when the committee is due to meet next, the reef could be listed as "in danger".

Mr Leck, who attended the committee meeting in Cambodia today, says a fourth recommendation regarding water quality wasn't adopted.

"They're essentially saying: 'things aren't good enough, you have to do better'.

 Update::: 

                                  http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/18/dolphin-dies-after-china-tourist-abuse/

An iron ore export project in Western Australia's north has been given environmental approval, on condition whales and dugongs in the area are strictly protected.

WA's Environmental Protection Authority have given the green light for Forge Resources to construct and operate an export facility at Balla Balla, midway between Port Hedland and Karratha.

The facility is intended to export about six million tonnes of magnetite concentrate product per year from the Balla Balla mine site, with barges to transfer the material to a vessel 20 km offshore.

Environmental factors including impacts to nearby mangroves and algal mats, and local wildlife including turtles, dugongs and humpback whales were considered.
And EPA chairman Paul Vogel said those concerns could be managed with conditions.

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/iron-project-depends-on-whale-safety-20130617-2odlb.html#ixzz2WVYf37rC

“It may also herald the start of a valuable new Australian industry enjoying a growing demand in national and international markets, particularly in Asia, for products derived from seaweed.”

The three-year AUD 1.1 million (USD 1.05 million) project is funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Government, with contributions from SARDI (a division of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, or PIRSA) and the University of Adelaide, as well as commercial participants.

SARDI researcher, Kathryn Wiltshire, says the trials aim to find the right type of seaweed and determine the mass of seaweed needed to effectively and naturally remove the nutrients created by finfish aquaculture.

Wiltshire says this is the first serious work to have been done in Australia on off-shore farming of native seaweeds.

The trials will identify the most suitable species and methods for this type of aquaculture known as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. It will also provide knowledge on the amount of nutrients removed by seaweeds which will help determine how much seaweed is needed to absorb waste nutrients from finfish aquaculture. This information will also help inform aquaculture development opportunities.

The project will also provide information on methods of seed production, suitable depths for culture, arrangement around farms and preliminary data on seasonal performance to understand the best times of year to plant and to harvest seaweed crops.

Gago added that the levels of nutrient byproducts generated by finfish farming were closely monitored under the South Australian Aquaculture Act. This included annual DNA-based tests conducted by SARDI on behalf of the industry sectors, to assess the health of seafloor organisms to ensure the farming is sustainable.

The commercial value of the seaweed in its uses as food additives, cosmetics, dietary supplements, herbal products, fertilisers and animal feeds including feed for abalone, was also considered.

A killer whale spotted Thursday at the Coronado Islands, just inside Mexican waters, is a peculiar mammal affectionately nicknamed Mel... or Mysterious Mel.

It's the same orca spotted last June and July in the same area--and during those sightings and Thursday's sighting Mel was seen swimming with a large pod of common dolphins.

That's what makes Mel so peculiar, since killer whales and common dolphins aren't usually friendly toward one another, and since some types of killer whales prey on dolphins.

Geneva, 14 June 2013 – The new listings of species and the 165 Decisions and 36Resolutions adopted or revised at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, in March 2013 entered into force on Wednesday 12th June. As a result, the 178 member countries will start regulating the international trade in over three hundred new species now protected by CITES.

The CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon, said: “After a highly successful meeting of the Conference of the Parties in March, we are now moving full steam ahead to implement the decisions taken by the 178 Parties to CITES. Through the CITES permit system, exporters, importers and consumers of precious timber, marine and other valuable species can have confidence that they are using legally and sustainably harvested specimens. The new regulations will also help better ensure that illegal wildlife trade can be identified, intercepted, and responded to, including being treated as a serious crime, where appropriate.”

Lionfish are considered the super villains of the reef because of their voracious appetites and because they have no known predators.

"Right now it's still illegal to spearfish within 100 yards of shoreline, and there are a lot of lionfish hanging out under bridges in that zone," he said.

Further testing on the species of algae they were using to clean up the water revealed it was worth more as a dietary supplement than a simple fertilizer. The algae were high in the sugar compound known as beta glucan, which acts as an immune system booster. “About a year and a half ago we realized that this beta glucan that was in the algae we were already using was very valuable,” said Geoff Horst, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University at the time, and now the company’s chief science officer. “It is worth $20,000 to $30,000 per ton and at that price point we figured, ‘Wow, we can make a lot of money with this.’ ”

Right now, the most popular source for beta glucan is certain types of yeast that develop the chain of sugar molecules in their cell walls. The species of algae used by Algal Scientific is more than 50 percent beta glucan, while yeast has just 5 to 15 percent beta glucan content and requires an expensive process to extract the compound from the cell walls. “It’s a unique species of algae,” says Horst.

“You probably wouldn’t encounter it in a local pond or lake, but it’s not genetically-modified. It’s a naturally occurring species, just not a very common one.”

A deep-sea shark spawning ground has been discovered on Scotland's only inshore coral reef.

It was found by the team from Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University which discovered the reef itself.

They discovered egg cases of the blackmouth catshark on the Mingulay Reef in the Outer Hebrides.

Deepwater sharks have long been a draw for anglers in the area, but this is the first time their spawning grounds have been found in Scotland.

The Mingulay Reef is waiting to find out if the European Union will designate the site as a marine protected area.

The Heriot-Watt scientists believe this would be essential to help safeguard local sharks and the millions of pounds generated by recreational anglers who visit Scotland.

"The sharks are choosing these sites because they're safe. The corals have lots of hard branches, which deter predators, and laying them away from the current in lower parts of the seabed reduces the risk of eggs drifting away.

"The height of the coral means the eggs receive plenty of air and that they're not suffocated by sediments and debris."

The EPA says the requirement, which calls for the use of cleaner-burning fuel in coastal waters, could significantly reduce air pollution not just along the coast but far inland. The cruise industry has warned of potential cutbacks in cruises and job losses because of higher costs.

Most cruise ships and other large ocean-going vessels consume huge quantities of fuel and burn what's known as "bunker," a relatively inexpensive grade with many impurities.

"It's the dirtiest stuff out there," said Pamela Campos of the Environmental Defense Fund, with many times higher levels of polluting impurities than the diesel fuel used by buses and trucks. "It's basically what's left over after you refine everything else out."

Last summer, when the 1 percent sulfur limit took effect, several cruise and shipping lines complained of being unable to find enough fuel. They also told officials they were paying 15 percent to 40 percent more for it. With a tighter standard looming in 2015, some industry officials have warned of sharply higher prices and cutbacks in U.S. cruises.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-gr-omalley-carnival-pollution-20130616,0,825696.story#ixzz2WMT62qhF

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-gr-omalley-carnival-pollution-20130616,0,825696.story#ixzz2WMSl3CaQ