August 2012 E-Current

[1]

E-Current
August 2012

In this Issue: ICRS 2012 Recap [2] • Building Reef Resilience in the Dominican Republic [3] • Voluntary Standards Become Law in Honduras [4] • Make Shark Week More Important Than Ever [5]

Featured Location: Indonesia [6]
Sharks Can't Use a Pencil, But ...
Indonesia Shark Poster Notebooks developed as part of CORAL’s Sharks for the Future campaign are helping to write a more promising future for Indonesia’s sharks. Lined writing paper is sandwiched between smaller versions of the eye-catching posters developed to promote the campaign; these notebooks both help get the message out about the importance of sharks and give the students of Raja Ampat a much-needed educational tool.

As is the case in many remote or impoverished regions, school supplies can be difficult to come by in Raja Ampat. So, when developing our shark conservation plan, Coral Triangle Regional Manager Nan Setiasih made a point to include educational resources for the kids. All students who participated in the art and writing contests we recently held will receive these notebooks and a bookmark, both featuring images and messages about the need for shark conservation. Additional notebooks will be distributed over the next month to even more students.

Sharks will benefit from the heightened awareness, and the students will benefit from our conservation strategy. It’s a definite win-win!
Read more in our blog on the Save Our Seas Foundation website » [7]
Learn more about our work in Indonesia » [8]

Help the Reefs Quick Tip [9]
Want to significantly reduce your carbon footprint with one little action? Eat less meat! Researchers estimate that 20-50% of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the raising of animals for food.
Learn more » [10]

Coral Reefs in the News [11]

Shark Truth Rewards Couple for Going "Fin Free"
[12]Source: The Richmond Review

Protected Areas Show Ravaged Reefs Can Recover [13]
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

World's Northernmost Coral Reef Discovered in Japan [14]
Source: Our Amazing Planet

Soup Ban About Overfishing, Not Culture Attack [15]
Source: San Francisco Examiner

The New Billion Dollar Market — Coral Reef Conservation [16]
Source: Earth Times

More News... [17]

CORAL Turns 18 Next Month [18]
In September 1994, the Coral Reef Alliance was launched. And for the last eighteen years, tens of thousands of people around the world have joined with us to advance coral reef conservation. As we get ready to celebrate this special occasion, we’d like to give a special thanks to all of our donors. We couldn’t have reached this important milestone without you!

[19]	ICRS 2012 Recap [20] The Summer Olympics may be in full swing, but six of CORAL’s staff recently returned from the Olympics of the coral reef world (otherwise known as the International Coral Reef Symposium). Members of our conservation programs team traveled to Cairns, Australia, for this once-every-four-years gathering of coral reef scientists, conservationists, and policymakers. Read Executive Director Michael Webster’s thoughts from the conference (including why he believes coral zombies aren’t real), watch Conservation Programs Director Rick MacPherson’s presentation, and more. [21]Visit the ICRS 2012 recap page [22] »

[23]	Building Reef Resilience in the Dominican Republic [24] Worldwide, coral reefs have been declining from impacts such as overfishing and pollution. While well-managed marine protected areas are essential to the long-term viability of reefs once these threats have been reduced, sometimes the recovery of coral reefs benefits from a boost. As part of our reef resilience to climate change program, CORAL provided a microgrant to Ruben Torres of the Dominican Republic to rehabilitate and transplant coral fragments onto artificial reefs. His goals: to more rapidly restore the ecosystem, ensure long-term viability of a local marine protected area, and engage the local community in reef preservation efforts. [25]Read about Ruben’s project and CORAL’s reef resilience program [26] »

[27]	Voluntary Standards Become Law in Honduras [28] In June, the Mesoamerican Reef voluntary standards that CORAL helped develop became incorporated into Honduras’s Normativa para la Actividad de Buceo, or Honduran Dive Standards Requirement. We are thrilled that the government, namely the Ministry of Tourism, has taken this step to ensure dive operators and tour guides are working in a way that protects both the reefs and the tourists. Learn more about the standards [29] »

[30]	Make Shark Week More Important Than Ever [31] The programs featured during Shark Week—this year premiering August 12—often sensationalize sharks. At the same time, however, these shows can bring attention to the importance of, and the challenges facing, these majestic predators. This year, we'd like to use the opportunity created by the media frenzy to spark some meaningful conversation about the threats to, and hope for, sharks. During Shark Week, we’ll post highlights from our shark campaigns over the past year on Facebook [32] and Twitter [33]. Please like, share, and retweet these posts to show your communities how proud you are of the accomplishments you’ve helped make possible through your engagement with CORAL, and help keep momentum going for sharks. Read about CORAL's shark campaigns [34] »

* Photo Credits and Notes:
Banner Photo: Large whip goby (Bryaninops amplus)
Photographer: Jeff Yonover
Large Center Photo: Great Barrier Reef scene, Australia
Photographer: Michael Webster
Left Side Image: Sharks for the Future notebook cover
Thumbnails: 1.) Liz Foote 2.) Ruben Torres 3.) CORAL staff 4.) Douglas Richardson

Links:
[1] http://www.coral.org
[2] http://www.coral.org/node/5994#story1
[3] http://www.coral.org/node/5994#story2
[4] http://www.coral.org/node/5994#story3
[5] http://www.coral.org/node/5994#story4
[6] http://www.coral.org/where_we_work/asia/pacific/raja_ampat
[7] http://saveourseas.com/projects/sharks_for_the_future
[8] http://www.coral.org/where_we_work/asia/pacific/raja_ampat
[9] http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/commentary/worried-about-climate-change-eat-less-meat
[10] http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/commentary/worried-about-climate-change-eat-less-meat
[11] http://coral.org/news/headlines
[12] http://www.coral.org/node/6007
[13] http://www.coral.org/node/6006
[14] http://www.coral.org/node/6000
[15] http://www.coral.org/node/5996
[16] http://www.coral.org/node/5999
[17] http://coral.org/news/headlines
[18] http://www.coral.org/www.coral.org/donate
[19] http://www.coral.org/icrs2012
[20] http://www.coral.org/icrs2012
[21] http://www.coral.org/icrs2012
[22] http://www.coral.org/icrs2012
[23] http://www.coral.org/what_we_do_/special_projects/reef_resilience_training/dominican_republic_coral_nurseries_project
[24] http://www.coral.org/what_we_do_/special_projects/reef_resilience_training/dominican_republic_coral_nurseries_project
[25] http://www.coral.org/what_we_do_/special_projects/reef_resilience_training/dominican_republic_coral_nurseries_project
[26] http://www.coral.org/what_we_do_/special_projects/reef_resilience_training/dominican_republic_coral_nurseries_project
[27] http://www.coral.org/news/coral_news/on_the_site_updates/mar_standards
[28] http://www.coral.org/news/coral_news/on_the_site_updates/mar_standards
[29] http://www.coral.org/news/coral_news/on_the_site_updates/mar_standards
[30] http://www.coral.org/sharks
[31] http://www.coral.org/sharks
[32] https://www.facebook.com/coralreefalliance
[33] https://twitter.com/coral_org
[34] http://www.coral.org/sharks