Title: Coral Camp Week 1
Location: Reef Relief Environmental Center, Key West, FL
Link out: Click here
Description: Reef Relief offers a unique summer opportunity for children 6-12 years of age to learn about coastal environments, ocean ecology, identification of fish, coral and other marine life and snorkeling. Coral Camp is an interactive nature-based summer camp experience. Camp activities include visits to NOAA’s Nancy Foster Eco-Discovery Center, the Key West Aquarium, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park for snorkel school, Key West Wildlife Center and two days of snorkeling at the reef. Contact us today and help your child become part of the next generation of ocean lovers.
Start Date: 2013-06-10
Start Time: 8:30
End Date: 2013-06-14
April 8 – April 9, 2013
Tallahassee, Florida
The Everglades Coalition is planning the 1st Annual Everglades Day, and we want you to be a part of it! Mark your calendars for April 8th and 9th for a trip up to Tallahassee to speak with your legislators about how to protect this incredible ecosystem.
We have a full agenda planned including:
- Opening reception
- Lobby training
- Media events
- Meetings with elected officials
We have arranged a special group rate at the Holiday Inn Capital East for $109 per night (2 double beds), which includes hot breakfast. Reservations can be made by calling 850-877-3171 and referencing "Everglades Coalition." Make your reservations by March 25 to reserve this rate.
In addition, we have reserved a luxury bus to travel from South Florida to Tallahassee for only $75 per person. Do the trip in comfort and style – the bus has comfortable seats, on-board restroom, DVD entertainment system and wi-fi!
Spaces on the bus are limited so please visit www.events.org/
If you have questions, please contact evergladescoalition@gmail.com.
Ron Simpson at FAA contact info. can be emailed from: http://www.faa.gov/airports/western_pacific/about_airports/honolulu/. or call 808-541-1232
From Dr. Dean Jacobson, March 18, 2013
Coral mining on Majuro just expanded significantly eastward, getting closer to an especially colorful, lovely "blue and gold" reef that must be protected, by any sane person's estimation. The silt curtain, required by the management plan to be inspected weekly and repaired as needed, has enormous holes and an entire missing panel (it droped 8-10 meters onto a coral reefs, smothering the coral). As usual, the EMP is being ignored both by the contractor PII and the regulator RMI EPA.
It is vitally important now to email Ron.V.Simpson at faa.gov to protest this nonsense; I have repeatedly asked for this, and according to a FOIA request (Freedom of information act), assuming FAA released all the necesary documents in the past five years, only one person on the list did so, Dr. Jessica Carilli. (Thanks, Jess!) She has given me permission to use her name. Her message is succinct and true:
"Coral reefs worldwide are in a dire state of emergency; knowingly killing live reefs when alternatives exist is criminal. Indeed, President Clinton's Executive Order 13089 states that all federal agencies must protect coral reef ecosystems to the extent feasible. Sand and coral rubble can be dredged from different areas of the lagoon where no live ocrla will be damaged. This project must be stopped immediately so that proper regulations can be followed."
I also learned that Ron Simpson wrote the following (this is a matter of public record to the FOIA request, no need to censor it!) in July 2011 after they halted the original planned mining of the picnic reef (mining of an equally nice reef started August 2012):
"We have been informed that the contractor will not be allowed to draline form the shore for the fill materials in the area where the RMI EPA issued the dredging permit (i.e.,, the area where Dr. Dean Jacobson is concerned about damgae to the coral reef). The contractor is now to consider other option for obtain the fill material such as off-shore dredging from a barge, using an alternative site, or import, and to provide cost estimates for each option. We view this as a major steop toward addressing Dr. Jacoson's concern and resolution of this issue. We will continue to monitor the progress. We encourage the RMI Port Authority to coninue to work constructive will all local agencies and stakeholders involved to readh a mutually agreeable solution. **Once all local agencies and stakeholders are in agreement, we will review the recommend alternative options to confirm that all enviromental requirmentes are met, and the impact to the marine
enviornment is minimized.**
Note that FAA has been calling the shots, despite the US Embassy and FAA fiction about "sovereignty" (We don't have jurisdiction, we can't intervene", they say!) This last sentance is utter lip service, actually the opposite happened. "Agreement" was not even attempted, I was excluded from the process prior to the approval of the reservoir reef mining plan, I was banned from the EPA building, and the environmental impact was maximized by substituting one valuable reef for another. This is entirely unacceptable, FAA should be ashamed. Please email! I also have a petition that is still growing, too slowly!
Please sign the petition now!
US-funded coral mining in the Marshall Islands
- Target: President Barack Obama
- Sponsored by: Dean Jacobson, Ph.D., coral ecologist
Please require the Department of State to apply the coral protection that is required by Executive Order 13089, thus ensuring that all FAA projects at the Majuro airport in the Marshall Islands refrain from again using coral reef mining as a source of fill for its airport master plan (this is desirable and indeed possible due to a huge supply of fill in the lagoon, away from coral). By doing so, the "addiction" of destructive coral mining can finally be ended in the Marshall Islands, where living coral is needed to protect the increasingly vulnerable shorelines.
The FAA, in a series of airport improvement projects using local contractors, has unintentionally caused the mining of near-shore lagoon coral reefs as a source of fill; the local EPA has always approved or ignored this practice. For example, in 2008 a large reef was mined by PII (a local company) for the ARFF fire station project (pictures available on Flickr). The US is required to follow a higher environmental road, thanks to Bill Clinton's Executive Order 13089, which specifically requires protection of coral reefs even outside the US. Yet coral mining has again been approved, and may start within months, if local EPA approves it (for a second time) and if the US Embassy here in Majuro approves the local approval. See ten short videos of the reef at: www.youtube.com/user/atolldino/featured
This month 15% of the proceeds from the sale of ONIA’s Charlie Trunk for kids will be donated to Reef Relief’s Coral Camp program. To learn more about ONIA swimwear or to purchase this trunk visit http://onia.com/
The Charlie Trunk incorporates all of the quality and style of its adult counterpart, but is fit for a kid. A fast drying, superfine mesh lining—developed with comfort as the paramount consideration—insures the only thing on a Charlie wearer’s mind is having fun. An elasticized waistband for flexibility and a tailored cut insure that the kids will look just as cool as the adults.
March 7, 2013. NOAA Fisheries Service
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Today we released the report Fisheries Economics of the United States 2011. The report provides economic statistics on U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries and marine-related businesses for each coastal state and the nation. The report is the sixth volume in an annual series designed to give the public accessible economic information on fishing activities in the U.S., and is a companion to Fisheries of the United States. This report highlights that U.S. commercial and recreational saltwater fishing combined, generated more than $199 billion in sales and supported 1.7 million jobs in the nation's economy in 2011. Both the landings and value climbed in 2011, demonstrating U.S. fisheries are moving in the right direction – even during this challenging time of transition in some of our fishing communities. The seafood industry-harvesters, seafood processors and dealers, seafood wholesalers and retailers-generated $129 billion in sales impacts, $37 billion in income impacts and supported 1.2 million jobs in 2011, the most recent year included in the report. Recreational fishing generated $70 billion in sales impacts, $20 billion in income impacts, and supported 455,000 jobs in 2011. Compared to 2010, the numbers are up for all of these impacts except commercial seafood sales. The report is posted on the NOAA Fisheries, Office of Science and Technology homepage at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/. |
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NOAA Fisheries Communications
A new report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlights how humans have massively altered global cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients. While this had huge benefits for world food and energy production, it has also created a web of water and air pollution that is damaging human health, causing toxic algal blooms, killing fish, threatening sensitive ecosystems and contributing to climate change.
The report – entitled ‘Our Nutrient World’ – highlights the problems of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and proposes a goal for future intergovernmental agreement to improve nutrient efficiency by 20%, saving 20 million tonnes of nitrogen per year by the year 2020: ‘20:20 for 2020’.
Counting the nitrogen savings, implementation cost and the environmental and health benefits they estimate that such a goal would provide a net saving of £108 billion pounds per year. Read the report
On Presidents Day, Reef Relief in partnership with the City of Key West was joined by 21 volunteers including City Commissioner Tony Yaniz, who scoured Key West’s Little Hamaca Park. Volunteers removed 734 lbs of debris from Key West’s largest natural area. Among the debris collected were bottles, tires, plastic bags and a bike frame. This event was held as part of Key West’s February Water Quality month. Thanks for all your hard work to all the volunteers!
Community cleanup events are important to prevent debris from entering our marine environment. Marine debris can injure, entangle, or even kill sea turtles, birds and bottom dwelling organisms like hard and soft corals, and sponges. The shores and waters of Florida Keys provide vital habitat for the endangered and threatened fish, wildlife, plants and migratory birds and are nurseries for fish and other marine animals.
If you know a shoreline site in the Florida Keys in need of a cleanup please contact Reef Relief with details at 305-294-3100 or reefrelief@gmail.com. Lets cleanup up our shores!
Reef Relief is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to improving and protecting our coral reef ecosystem.
For more information about volunteering call: (305) 294-3100 or email: reefrelief@gmail.com or visit http://reefrelief.org/act/events/
In November the EPA accepted most of the numeric nutrient standards proposed by the Florida Department of the Environment for South Florida flowing waters, as well as for most estuaries, marine and coastal waters. The EPA decision ends a process that began in July 2008 when a coalition of environmental organizations sued the EPA in order to impose stricter nutrient standards on Florida as required under the Clean Water Act. In 2009, under a consent decree settlement the EPA announced its own stringent nutrient standards it intended to impose on the state if Florida did not develop their own standards.
The EPA’s decision conditionally approved the Florida DEP’s rule creating standards for 15% of the state’s flowing and estuarine/coastal/marine waters. Rivers and streams covered by the state rule will not have true criteria. Instead, they have “thresholds” that can be exceeded without nutrient reduction measures ever necessarily being required. The remaining 85% of Florida waters will be covered under the more stringent EPA standards.
In order for these waters to have pollution limits, the presence of algae outbreaks/fish kills/other types of biological failure would be required and subsequent studies linking the biological failure with the exceedence of the thresholds would need to be completed. The DEP rule has no commitment to do, nor timeline/deadline for study completion; therefore, waters can indefinitely exceed the thresholds with no requirement to reduce nutrient pollution inputs.
The DEP rule, also, allows tidal, intermittent, altered artificial waters and South Florida waters to be exempted from all numeric nutrient standards in the future. The EPA’s own proposed standards set numeric downstream protective values (measurable number limits in upstream waters that were tied to meeting downstream nutrient pollution standards) to prevent lakes, bays and beaches from becoming unsafe and severely polluted. The DEP rule does not include downstream protective values. Alarmingly, in its’ November decision the EPA has given notice of their intention to amend their own previous determination regarding the requirement for downstream protection values; this would allow EPA to withdraw these important pollution limits in the near future.
“Clean water is critical to healthy corals. Florida’s coral reefs are already struggling to survive the effects of water pollution and global carbon pollution.” Said Millard McCleary, Executive Program Director of Reef Relief. "If the EPA puts the FLDEP in charge of enforcing the Clean Water Act, Florida’s waters and public health will be at risk.”
“The FLDEP rules will not provide adequate control of nutrient pollution and would not prevent the already widespread water quality degradation of Florida’s waters. Florida needs true standards to improve degraded water quality that is already affecting the natural ecosystems in the State. Strong standards are critical to protect the public health, the economy and the environment of Florida. The EPA needs to ensure that the final rules provide genuine protection for which they are required under the Clean Water Act. The “thresholds” found in the FLDEP rule will not protect coral reefs which are the basis of much of the economy of the Florida Keys. It is vital that the EPA truly support clean water for Florida.” said McCleary.
HELP STOP FLORIDA'S RACE TO THE BOTTOM.
TAKE ACTION TODAY! TELL THE EPA YOU CARE ABOUT CLEAN WATER AND PUBLIC HEALTH. TELL THEM TO SAY "NO" TO THE FLDEP'S LOWER NUTRIENT STANDARDS.
TELL THEM TO ENFORCE THE CLEAN WATER ACT IN FLORIDA. ASK THEM TO PLEASE RESPOND TO YOUR COMMENTS.
To submit comments on the EPA's Coastal Water Rule Docket ID No. [EPA-HQ-OW-2009-022 FRL-9759-3] by email to ow-docket@epa.gov or visit www.regulations.gov for other ways to comment and more information. Deadline for comments is Feb 19, 2013
EPA NUMERIC NUTRIENT CRITERIA COMMENT DRAFTING TIPS
Factsheet on the EPA Desicion Regarding the Numeric Nutrient Critera for Florida
Monday February 18, 2013 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Help cleanup one of Key West's great natural areas. Little Hamaca Park preserves mangroves and hardwood hammock communities bordering the Salt Ponds in southern Key West. Help protect our coastal home by cleaning up this local treasure. Meet at the gate of Little Hamaca Park off Flagler Ave. on Government Rd. To attend or for directions contact Reef Relief at (305) 294-3100, email us at reefrelief@gmail.com or RSVP on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/
Marine debris is not just ugly it is dangerous
·Discarded debris damages habitat by breaking or smothering important ecosystems such as coral reefs.
·Debris in the ocean is often difficult to see and can cause damage to vessels.
·Derelict fishing gear continues to catch fish and other animals.
·Marine debris is often mistaken by wildlife for food and can lead to starvation and death.
·The most graphic impact is entanglement of wildlife such as seabirds, whales, and turtles resulting in injury, illness, suffocation, starvation, and death.
