PNCIMA Dates!

For those of you who have an interest or a stake in how the government plans the use of our local marine resources, you might be interested in attending the PNCIMA Forum in Richmond, on March 26 and 27th. There is funding available for stakeholders from the North Island to attend, if you apply for the funding before March 9.

On Thursday, March 5 from 6:15 - 9:00 pm the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will be holding a community meeting in Port Hardy, at Malone's Oceanside Bistro. The purpose of this meeting is to:

• Give the community an overview of the PNCIMA initiative
• Offer an opportunity for input on engagement, values and issues specific to the PNCIMA initiative
• Inform the community about the PNCIMA forum to be held in Richmond on March 26 and 27

Anyone from the community is welcome at both the March 5 event and the March 26-27 event. Hopefully I'll see you there!

The Coolest Deep Sea Fish Ever...

... according to me.

Just when I think that the ocean can't amaze me any more than it already has, it goes and does it again:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MBARIvideo

Check out this video made by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.


This deep sea fish, called the barreleye, or macropina microstoma, "has extremely light-sensitive eyes that can rotate within a transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head. The fish's tubular eyes are capped by bright green lenses. The eyes point upward [...] when the fish is looking for food overhead. They point forward when the fish is feeding. The two spots above the fish's mouth are olfactory organs called nares, which are analogous to human nostrils." 1

Corals : When is it appropriate to harvest them?

Recent news releases have announced the discovery of new chemicals in corals that function as antibiotics for microorganisms. As our bodies become increasingly more resistant to traditional antibiotics, the antibiotics derived from corals may begin to take the place of our usual pharmaceuticals. Experts are also saying that in addition to potentially providing new antibiotics, corals may also help scientists to develop ways to make older drugs more effective. This is important news because over the years, doctors have been warning patients of the potential long-term dangers of relying too heavily on antibiotics to fix ailments and illnesses that don't require the drugs. (Anyone seen the "Not All Bugs Need Drugs" TV commercials running lately?)

While this is very exciting news for science and human health, I am a little hesitant to sing these findings from the mountaintops just yet. I have some reservations about harvesting drugs from corals, and perhaps this is simply because I don't have enough scientific information about the subject. How are these chemicals harvested from coral? Does the harvesting of corals for drugs damage the marine ecosystem? Is there current regulation of who should and should not have access to the harvesting of corals? How can we ensure that pharmaceutical companies also have a stake in a healthy ocean environment?

Perhaps this is, in fact, a win-win situation for all. Many coral conservation organizations, such as, Too Precious to Wear, highlight the antibiotic-producing capability of coral as an important reason why we should preserve coral in its natural environment and not incorporate natural coral as a part of our wardrobe or in our home decorations. A quick search of the internet did not show this issue to be too highly contentious or polarized: most of the articles that I came across were positive and hopeful.

How to you feel about using corals to develop pharmaceuticals? Is this is a good thing or a bad thing? Do you have any news or journal articles on this topic that you would be able to share?

Comments are welcome!

Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project

A POST Scientist checks the growth of a tagged salmon smolt

Photo Credit: POST Photo Gallery [www.postcoml.org]

The Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project (POST) is a resource for "tracking the movement and estimated survival of marine animals along the West Coast of North America, using acoustic transmitters implanted in a variety of species, and a series of receivers running in lines across the continental shelf."1 POST began its tracking work in 2001, focusing specifically on finding out what happens to salmon when they leave the rivers and enter the ocean. Today, with additional funders, POST has expanded from just studying salmon migration to tracking a vast array of marine life on the West Coast.

An acoustic unit is deployed. Each unit is equipped with a yellow flotation device, white acoustic modem, and black acoustic receiver. Photo Credit: POST Photo Gallery [www.postcoml.org]

Tools such as the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking project are helpful in understanding key aspects of the biology of marine species and our oceans. When I look at POST from a marine planning perspective, I am reminded that our entire ecosystem is important to planning; and that fresh water systems are indeed quite connected to the rest of the ocean.

To learn more about POST, and to watch an informative video about how it works, visit: http://www.postcoml.org/

MPAs and Fishermen - Finding Common Ground

I just finished watching Common Ground: Oregon's Ocean. Common Ground is a three-part documentary about Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas off the coast of Oregon. If you have a spare moment, I would recommend viewing these films. If all you have is, literally a moment, I would say to go straight to the second half of Part I.

This part of the series was the most informational for me because the filmmakers went out and actually spoke to a lot of commercial fishermen who make their living on the coastal waters of Oregon. It was interesting to hear commercial fishermen talk about their initial reaction to MPAs, and to hear them reflect about how their opinions have changed over time.

A lot of the time, opponents to Marine Protected Areas are only looking at the potential loss of income due to closures of certain fishing areas. But actually, over time, MPAs can provide increased income for commercial fishermen, because by giving the big old fat fecund female fish a chance to reproduce in Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas, we are, in effect, repopulating the ocean with more and bigger fish.

Areas of High Conservation Utility on BC Coast

Our Canadian politicians should be sent a copy of Common Ground: Oregon's Ocean. From the sounds of PncimaWatch's recent comparison of American and Canadian commitments to ocean conservation, we've definitely got some catching up to do:

Canada lags behind as the US moves ahead
Even ex-president George Bush (not known for being much of an environmentalist) recognizes the importance of protecting our oceans. First, he designated one of the world’s largest marine protected areas in Hawaii in 2006. Then, one of Bush’s last actions as US president was to create a series of marine reserves in the diverse and pristine south Pacific totalling nearly 200,000 square miles, an area almost 20 times larger than all of Canada’s marine protected areas combined!

Continuing with this momentum towards protecting US oceans, President Barack Obama appointed Jane Lubchenco, one of the country’s most prominent marine biologists, to the most influential position in the federal government for oceans, the head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Lubchenco is a conservationist who devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates and has been critical of NOAA for not doing enough to curb overfishing.

In stark contrast to this progress south of the border, the recent Canadian federal budget demonstrates that Mr. Harper is not concerned with protecting Canada’s oceans. Renounced oceans scientist, Jeremy Jackson from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said last week “You know you’re in trouble when George Bush proves to be more of an environmentalist than your Canadian politicians!”.

Fossils

A fossil found on a highway construction site near Courtenay has been identified as an 80-million year old ancestor of the current-day vampryoteuthis, better known as the Vampire Squid. This recently-discovered specimen, now known as nanaimoteuthis jeletzkyi, garnered the attention of marine fossil experts around the world, including Dr. Kazushige Tanabe at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Rick Ross, the Comox man who discovered the fossil and co-wrote a paper about it with Dr. Tanabe, will be giving a lecture tomorrow night (February 19) at the Courtenay Museum at 7 pm. If you're in the neighbourhood, you should check it out!

Read more about the fossil here. And check out this BBC clip of the modern-day Vampire Squid:

Sounds of the Sea

When I am reveling in peace and quiet on a boat in the middle of the ocean on a calm day, or alone on a strip of beach, it is easy to forget how loud the ocean actually is. The other day, I stumbled upon a pretty neat educational tool that I thought I would share: the University of Rhode Island's Audio Gallery for Discovery of Sound in the Sea. Just click on the species of your choice, and prepare to be amazed.