Dear Friends,

This is the 230th Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News, February 5, 2010.

For the Mangroves,

Alfredo Quarto
Mangrove Action Project

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ACTION ALERT!
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Critical Outsiders' Industrial shrimp Aquaculture meeting: Khulna Bangladesh Feb: 8-11th 2010:

Mangrove Ecology, Management and Restoration
Training Course 2010

Dear Friend of the Mangroves,

I hope you will take a moment to read through these important issues. Celebrating World Wetlands Day, changing laws and better fishing practices are helping change the plight of the mangroves, but as you can see, there is still much to do to help protect our world's natural resources.

Alfredo
 
FEATURED NEWS: 
WORLD WETLANDS DAY
Lake Chad to be fully protected as international wetlands
February 2, 2010 (ENS)
GLAND, Switzerland, - Today, World Wetlands Day is being celebrated with the full recognition of Africa's Lake Chad as a wetland of international importance, fulfilling a commitment made 10 years ago by the four nations that share the continent's fourth largest lake.
The declaration today by the Cameroon Republic that its portion of Africa's fourth largest lake is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands follows similar declarations by Niger and Chad in 2001 and Nigeria in 2008.

ASIA
State observes Wetlands Day
February 02 2010:
INDIA, As in other parts of the world, the World Wetlands Day was also observed in Manipur along with a discussion programme on how to save wetlands of Manipur, particularly Loktak lake, the largest fresh water lake in North East India.
The World Wetlands Day observance held at Sendra today was jointly organised by the Loktak Development Authority, Environmental Social Reformation and Sangai Protection Forum, Keibul and the Loktak Lake Environment Conservation Centre, Thanga.
As a part of the World Wetlands Day observed under the theme "Caring for Wetlands–an Answer to Climate Change", a mass rally was also taken out.Read More

Court to Study Request For Review Laws Managing Indonesia's Coasts
INDONESIA The Constitutional Court will conduct a preliminary hearing today to examine a request for a judicial review of the Coastal Zone and Small Island Management law of 2007, which traditional communities claim could threaten their economic livelihoods and the sustainable management of coastal areas.
The hearing will determine whether the Court should allow the application for a judicial review to be heard in full.
“In the [Wednesday] meeting, we will explain to the court the reasons why we proposed the judicial review,” Riza Damanik, the head of the team representing a group of traditional fishermen and coastal communities, said on Tuesday.
The judicial review was filed with the Court on Jan. 13.Read More

Much At Stake
Tuesday January 26, 2010
MALAYSIA - The opening of a huge shrimp farm scheme in Setiu, Terengganu, threatens traditional livelihoods and wild habitats.
SETIU is set to be transformed into the country’s aquaculture showcase, courtesy of the RM60bil second economic stimulus package announced last March.
A mere 45-minute drive from Kuala Terengganu, it boasts a mesmerizing rural landscape.
Facing the South China Sea are swaying coconut palms and sandy beaches. Not far into the hinterland, nipah and nibong palms line the banks of several rivers that run through the district. These bodies of water have sustained a unique fishery for generations in this district that is listed as the second poorest in the country.
At risk: Artisanal fisherfolk fashion palm fronds into a fish aggregating device to net freshwater prawns in Sungai Setiu. Their source of livelihood will be threatened if the river is contaminated by effluent discharged from a proposed shrimp farm.Read More

Court bans non-forest activities in mangroves
28 January 2010
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday, in an important order, banned "non-forest activities" in mangrove areas along the state's coast. A division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice B R Gavai ruled that its directive would hold irrespective of whether the government had notified a mangrove plot as "protected forests" or not.
"No non-forest activities will be permitted throughout the state," said the judges, while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group for the conservation of mangroves. The court's order comes four years after the high court in October 2005, had ordered that hacking of mangroves be stopped and a ban on construction and dumping of garbage in such areas.Read More

Turtles in trouble
Tuesday January 26, 2010
MALAYSIA For turtle conservationist Dr Chan Eng Heng, the Integrated Shrimp Aquaculture Park (i-SHARP) is bad news for the survival of two critically endangered terrapins.
In 2004, she pioneered research and conservation work on the river terrapin (Batagur affinis) and painted terrapin (Batagur borneoensis) populations in Sungai Setiu.
Upon her retirement from University of Malaysia Terengganu early this year, the marine reptile scientist set up the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) to continue efforts to augment the low nesting by restocking the population.
This is done by purchasing terrapin eggs from villagers, incubating them and releasing the hatchlings into the river. Thanks to Chan’s project, which has gained international recognition and financial support, the terrapin population has a chance to recover after decades of egg exploitation by the locals.Read More

Mandwa villagers start agitation to protect mangroves from private firm
Feb 3, 2010
There was a time when a creek in Mandwa drew huge fishing boats. Now residents use a small net for fishing, as destruction of mangroves near the creek has killed all the fish. Fed up, members of Chouda Gao Paryavaran Sourakashan Ani Janavikas Sanstha, a group of 15 villages, met on Sunday and protested against the destruction of nearly 10-15 acres of mangroves. The residents alleged that a private agricultural firm, Pragmatic Agro Tech Private Limited (PATPL) was behind the destruction and will destroy another 100 acres soon.Read More

India’s second largest lake faces ecological collapse
Feb 2, 2010
INDIA - Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the consequences of deforestation and pollution at the second largest brackish water lagoon in India. Over-exploitation, mismanagement as well as improperly treated industrial effluents (containing heavy metals) from more than 25 industries coming from the nearby megacity Chennai deteriorate the water quality dramatically. This is not only affecting the lake but also the 50,000 fishermen and hundred of thousands Indians, whose livelihood and food resource depend on the lake. In former times the artisanal fishery at Lake Pulicat counted 30,000 fishermen. Due to repeated agricultural mistakes and lack of jobs thousands of farmers and day labourers living in the lake region started fishing in the lake, particularly after the Tsunami in 2004. Prawn farms and an increasing population put additional pressure on the lake’s ecosystem. Overuse of the natural resources and shortage of clean drinking water are inevitable consequences.Read More

Dugongs are faring better than feared
Jan 25, 2010
THAILAND - TRANG : The population of rare dugongs (sea cows) living in Trang waters has slightly dropped by 5-10 sea animals from last year, the latest aerial survey has found.
The population of rare dugongs, plural correct known as sea cows, in Trang waters has dropped slightly by between five and 10 from last year, allaying fears of a serious decline, a survey has revealed.
A team of Thai and foreign marine biologists conducted an aerial survey of the animals' population in the Andaman Sea near Libong and Muk islands. About 120 to 130 dugongs have been sighted were spotted during the 10-day survey, said marine biologist Kanchana Adulyanukosol of the Institute for Research and Development of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket. Read More

LATIN AMERICA
Mangroves and $1B
February 1, 2010
CARRIBBEAN (West Indies) Last Monday’s edition of this newspaper reported residents of Mon Repos as doubting the claimed success of a mangrove replanting project which had been hyped by the sea defence division of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications.
It may at first glance seem to be much ado about nothing but it is of vital importance to communities living along the extended sea coast, to taxpayers and to the donor community as ultimately the putative success of this programme could be the catalyst for the government to spend large sums pursuing the commendable but testing goal of more mangrove thickets along the coast.
One engineer, Mr Charles Sohan, has commendably aired his views publicly about the difficulty in farming mangroves and his and other expert opinions should be carefully considered before a decision is finally taken to proceed.Read More

Shrimp trawl "excluder" cuts marine bycatch up to 40 percent
Feb 01, 2010
FRENCH GUIANA Shrimp trawlers are often regarded as the wrecking balls of the sea. Research has found that up to 90 percent of what they haul up from the seafloor is unwanted--and often unused--bycatch.
Conservation organizations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), governments and the fishing industry have been trying to find ways to reduce the bycatch. Here's a progress report on one new invention: French Guiana's shrimp fishing fleet off the northern coast of South America has been directed to use devices such as the new Trash and Turtle Excluder Device (TTED), in the photo above, that reduces accidental capture of larger marine species by up to 40 percent. WWF will be discussing the new device at this this week's Seafood Summit in Paris, France.Read More

EUROPE
School children celebrate World Wetlands Day at Nature reserves
MALTA Malta and Gozo’s schoolchildren are this week visiting the Ghadira and Is-Simar nature reserves for a special educational tour to celebrate World Wetlands Day, an activity organised by BirdLife Malta and Bank of Valletta’s education programme Dinja Wahda. The Ghadira Nature Reserves was designated as a Wetland of International Importance in 1988, prior to Malta’s joining the Ramsar Convention1 in 1989. Is-Simar Nature Reserve was designated a Wetland of International Importance in 1996.Read More

EU team on crucial shrimp farm visit, exporters wary
Future fish export hinges on its report
BAMGLADESH A top EU (European Union) team arrived in the country on Monday to visit fish farms and processing plants to find out whether the country's produces match the quality required by European countries.
The three-member team comprising Bruno Brigaudeau, Elzbieta Brulinska-Ostrowska and Lena Englund, held meetings with the ministry of fisheries and livestock and department of fisheries top officials.
The future of the country's export to EU countries largely depends on the EU FVM's (Food and Veterinary Mission) report on aquaculture residue monitoring activities," an official at the department of fisheries told the FE.Read More

USA
Compromise on Cape Coral boat lift and dam may fall through
Feb 2, 2010
FLORIDA - A compromise to prevent the Ceitus Boat Lift and dam from plugging the city’s northwest canal system is on shaky ground.
Without renewed cooperation among 21 local governments, environmental groups and organizations, the city could be forced to install a new structure to replace the Ceitus dam, which was torn out two years ago. That’s despite a near consensus that the dam will do little good and could even harm the adjacent mangrove swamp. “Putting that lift back in will do nothing but kill those mangroves,” said Rick Williams, who represents the Northwest Neighborhood Association — one of the 21 groups vying for a compromise.
The state ordered the groups to the table two years ago for what was supposed to be a yearlong process. In order to keep the dam out the groups had to come up with different ways to improve the quality of water flowing from the canal system in the north Cape into the nearby Matlacha Pass.Read More

Meeting to focus on freshwater shrimp
Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia State University will host "Getting Started: Virginia Raised Freshwater Shrimp" on Feb 9 at 7 p.m. at the USDA Service Center in Chatham.
The meeting will provide an overview of freshwater shrimp production in Virginia, information about the nursery stage of production, water quality, feeds and feeding, and harvesting.Read More

Shrimp's Dirty Secrets: Why America's Favorite Seafood Is a Health and Environmental Nightmare
January 25, 2010 
Americans love their shrimp. It's the most popular seafood in the country, but unfortunately much of the shrimp we eat are a cocktail of chemicals, harvested at the expense of one of the world's productive ecosystems. Worse, guidelines for finding some kind of "sustainable shrimp" are so far nonexistent.
In his book, Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, Taras Grescoe paints a repulsive picture of how shrimp are farmed in one region of India. The shrimp pond preparation begins with urea, superphosphate, and diesel, then progresses to the use of piscicides (fish-killing chemicals like chlorine and rotenone), pesticides and antibiotics (including some that are banned in the U.S.), and ends by treating the shrimp with sodium tripolyphosphate (a suspected neurotoxicant), Borax, and occasionally caustic soda.Read More

AFRICA
Abu Dhabi farm feeds UAE's growing appetite for shrimps
January 9, 2010
Facility eyes untapped domestic demand
It is surprising to learn from Dr Gopakumar that, although fresh shrimps are a favourite dish of UAE residents, with an estimated daily demand of 11 tonnes across the country (frozen shrimps have a different demand), no farm is commercially producing shrimps to meet it.
"The available live shrimps in the market are at least one or two days old. They are dipped with preservatives like ‘meta bisulphate' [a bleaching agent whose over use can cause problems in stomach] to increase shelf life of the product".
Most of the shrimps are imported from neighbouring Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, and the rest are from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh , which could be older than one or two days, he said. Read More

GLOBAL NEWS
12-30-09
Fisheries, aquaculture face multiple risks from climate change
A new report, published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, predicts "an ocean of change" for fishers and fish farmers. It warned that urgent adaptation measures are required in response to opportunities and threats to food and livelihood provision due to climatic variations.
The study, 'Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture', is one of the most comprehensive surveys to date of existing scientific knowledge on the impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture. Covering some 500 scientific papers, the picture the FAO review paints is one of an already-vulnerable sector facing widespread and often profound changes.
The report includes contributions from experts from around the world, including Dr Tim Daw and Prof Katrina Brown of the School of International Development and Prof Neil Adger of the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA. Other contributors come from the World Fish Center, Globec, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Read More