[Coral-List] Unidentified fish

Andrea Polanco andrea.polanco at gmail.com
Thu Aug 18 09:00:24 EDT 2011


As I wrote to Mark some days ago, the fish looks like *Promethichthys
prometeus* also a Gempylidae species as *Ruvettus pretiosus*.




Andrea Polanco F. MSc,
anpolanco at invemar.org.co
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras - INVEMAR
Museo de Historia Natural Marina de Colombia - Curador Peces
Cerro de Punta Betín, Santa Marta - Colombia
A.A. 1016
http://www.invemar.org.co
PBX: (57-5) 4328600, EXT. 252
Fax: (57-5) 4328694

On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 7:23 PM, Barry Russell <Barry.Russell at nt.gov.au>wrote:

> >From the newly posted pictures, looks like an oilfish Ruvettus pretiosus..
>
> http://www.fishbase.us/summary/speciessummary.php?id=1044
>
> Barry
>
> Dr Barry Russell
> Curator Emeritus of Fishes
> Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
> PO Box 4646 Darwin
> NT 0801
> Australia
> Email: barry.russell at nt.gov.au
>
> Focal Point
> IUCN Snappers Seabreams and Grunts Red List Authority
> Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
> School of Environmental and Life Sciences
> Charles Darwin University
> Arafura Timor Research Facility
> 23 Ellengowan Drive
> Brinkin, NT 0810
> AUSTRALIA
> Phone: 61-8 89209241
> Mobile: 0404045229
> Web: http://www.atrf.org.au/
> If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any use, disclosure
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of booth
> Sent: Wednesday, 17 August 2011 3:51 AM
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Unidentified fish
>
> Is it possibly a longnose lancet fish, Alepisaurus?  One would have to see
> the dorsal and pectoral fins extended to be sure.
>
> http://soknowthestarfish.blogspot.com/2010/03/fish-o-day-lancetfish.html
>
> Chuck
>
>
> On 8/16/11 6:21 AM, "coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov"
> <coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
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> > than "Re: Contents of Coral-List digest...", e.g., cut and paste the
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> > please only include quoted text from prior posts that is necessary to
> > make your point; avoid re-sending the entire Digest back to the list.
> >
> >
> > Today's Topics:
> >
> >    1. Unidentified fish species (Mark J A Vermeij)
> >    2. Re: Economic Valuation and market based conservation
> >       (Nim, Carl J. Mr.)
> >    3. NOAA CRCP Capacity Assessment Solicitation (Tracy Parsons)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:36:46 -0400
> > From: Mark J A Vermeij <vermeij at hawaii.edu>
> > Subject: [Coral-List] Unidentified fish species
> > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Message-ID: <fc49ce351500ee.4e48e8ae at hawaii.edu>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> >
> > Dear all
> >
> > On the evening of August 13th a fish was caught by local fishermen at a
> > depth of approximately 100 meters. At present no one has any idea what
> > species this fish might be. Pictures taken by the fishermen are shown at
> our
> > website:
> >
> >
> http://www.researchstationcarmabi.org/news/latest-news/98-unknown-fish-species
> >
> > and all who know  what species this fish is are invited to send an  email
> to
> > m.vermeij at carmabi.org This e-mail address is being protected from
> spambots.
> > You need JavaScript enabled to view it   This e-mail address is being
> > protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   with
> the
> > supposed species name so the information can be shared with the local
> fishing
> > community.
> >
> >  Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Dr. M.J.A. Vermeij
> > Science Director
> > Carmabi Foundation
> > Piscaderabaai z/n
> > Cura?ao, Netherlands Antilles
> > Phone: +5999-5103067
> > Email: m.vermeij at carmabi.org
> > Skype: markvermeij
> > Web:http://www.researchstationcarmabi.org/
> >
> > NOTE THAT THIS HAWAII MAIL ADDRESS WILL NO LONGER WORK AFTER SEPTEMBER
> 2010,
> > PLEASE USE M.VERMEIJ at CARMABI.ORG OR CARMABILOG at GMAIL.COM INSTEAD.
> >
> > Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics  IBED
> > University of Amsterdam
> > Science Park 700
> > 1098 XH Amsterdam
> > The Netherlands
> > Web: http://www.science.uva.nl/ibed/home.cfm
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:42:32 -0400
> > From: "Nim, Carl J. Mr." <nimcj at muohio.edu>
> > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Economic Valuation and market based
> > conservation
> > To: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> > Message-ID:
> > <B48D65744884A54D9ABC479FCE9851CE70B6877230 at FACCMS4.it.muohio.edu>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> >
> > Greetings Coral-List Readers,
> >
> > I agree with Quenton about the numerous political initiatives and
> economic
> > activities (such as tourism) that are not paid equal attention to in
> relation
> > to other aforementioned coral reef related topics (e.g. agriculture,
> offshore
> > energy, fisheries, MPAs), but I would also like to point out that the
> > sub-discipline of political ecology is one area where these relationships
> have
> > been investigated.
> >
> > While political ecology is certainly not the most recognized area of
> research,
> > there are numerous discussion threads from Coral-List where I have
> thought
> > that political ecology would be a great theoretical basis for scientific
> > inquiry to the the environmental problem mentioned. Political ecology
> directly
> > addresses the political and economic powers that influence environmental
> > problems and has been used by more well-known researchers, such as Susan
> > Stonich, in tropical marine settings to address tourism related issues.
> In my
> > personal opinion political ecology provides an appropriate and effective
> means
> > of understanding the political and economic forces affecting coral reef
> > ecosystems throughout the world and I would encourage researchers
> unfamiliar
> > with this sub-discipline to see what they come up with on an ISI Web of
> > Science or Google search. It is my hope that this area of research gains
> more
> > attention and can provide information that can enable us to make wiser
> > decisions i
> >  n relation to our natural resource decisions.
> >
> > Hope my polyp in a reef of information is useful to some!
> >
> > Carl
> >
> >
> >
> > Carl Nim
> > Graduate Student
> > Institute of Environmental Sciences
> > Miami University
> > Oxford, Ohio
> > nimcj at muohio.edu
> >
> > "It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory."
> > W. Edwards Deming
> > ________________________________________
> > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > [coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Quenton Dokken
> > [qdokken at gulfmex.org]
> > Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 18:57
> > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Cc: Yoskowitz, David; 'Bruce Tackett'; ddavis77127 at comcast.net
> > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Economic Valuation and market based
> conservation
> >
> > Good Day All,
> >
> > Discussion on the impacts of tourism is critical and perhaps long
> overdue..  In
> > 2009 (or was it 2010?) the NOAA Coral Reef Task Force met in St. Thomas,
> VI in
> > December.  This was a well attended meeting with strong representation
> from
> > government and science.  It was held in a upper scale hotel located on
> the
> > shore.  Outside the picture windows lining one entire side of the meeting
> room
> > we could see the next five star hotel being built.  As it rained we could
> see
> > dense sediment plums spreading out from the construction site across the
> bay.
> > As we listened to scientists call for more research funding I commented
> to my
> > friend, a VI government employee, that what we really needed was to stop
> the
> > infrastructure development activities that were degrading the bays such
> as was
> > plainly visible not more than 100 feet from where we were sitting.  My
> friend
> > responded, "Oh no, you cannot say that.  The Governor would not like it
> > because it could have a negative effect on tourism developmen
> >  t."  And, therein lies the conundrum we face.  In Ecology 101 we learned
> the
> > concept of "maximum holding capacity."  When it comes to tourism
> development
> > the truth and wisdom of this maxim is null and void.
> >
> > We vigorously debate the impacts of agriculture, offshore energy,
> fisheries,
> > etc.  But do we give equal attention to tourism which, arguably, could be
> the
> > most environmentally and economically impactful of all the industries? In
> all
> > coastal areas tourism is a primary source of employment and business
> > development, and its environmental impacts occur 24/7 every day of every
> year
> > of every decade.... These impacts are not acute or plainly visible.  They
> are
> > chronic and slow to express themselves; as such they do not get front
> page
> > attention.  And, typically the community leaders, media, Chamber of
> Commerce,
> > Tourism Board, banks, business owners, and land owners are the promoters
> of
> > "more" tourism; often under guise of "eco" tourism.
> >
> > We can discuss and manage offshore activities for evermore (CZM, CMSP,
> etc),
> > but if we do not manage the activities above the high tide line just as
> > stringently we will not achieve sustainability of environment, economy,
> or
> > culture.  We need tourism just as we need robust agriculture, fisheries,
> and
> > energy industries.  But, we do need to be paying more attention to the
> impacts
> > of the tourism industry and devising strategies to minimize and when
> possible
> > eliminate these impacts.  Not maximum, but OPTIMUM holding capacity needs
> to
> > be the foundation of every discussion.  I am sympathetic to the plight of
> the
> > native populations who only get the crumbs of the wealth generated by
> this
> > industry.  I would also be the last to tell a man struggling to feed his
> > family that he could not eat the last dodo bird.  But we must find
> solutions;
> > otherwise the idea of sustainability will never be more than a concept.
> >
> > Quenton
> >
> >
> > Dr. Quenton Dokken, President/CEO
> > www.gulfmex.org
> >
> > Mailing: PMB 51 5403 Everhart Rd.
> >                   Corpus Christi, TX 78411
> >
> > Physical: 3833 South Staples Suite S214
> >                   Corpus Christi, TX 78411
> >
> > O: 361-882-3939   F: 361-882-1262   C: 361-442-6064
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Phil Dustan
> > Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 1:04 PM
> > To: Bill Allison
> > Cc: Eugene Shinn; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Economic Valuation and market based
> conservation
> >
> > However,
> >     Right now one of the major rivers in that region of Peru, Rio de
> > Madre de Dios, is being plundered by thousands of people searching for
> > gold worth over 1700usd/gram. They use dredges, fire hoses, and shovels..
> > For every gram of gold there are one to two grams of mercury released
> > into the environment (estimated at 40 tons per year or more!).  Miners
> > have rights to the minerals that trump conversation easements on the
> > surface of the land.
> > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8284407/Gold-rush-in-the-Amazon.html
> >
> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018875#s1
> >
> >  This is a place where there is still intact rainforest with  jaguars,
> > pumas, ocelots, 13 species of monkeys, over 600 bird species, etc that
> > are free ranging. But gold is more valuable to the thousands who have
> > flocked there from urban areas.
> >         So once again, even though nature may have a greater worth,
> > commerce is destroying what little is left of intact nature.
> >                 Phil
> >
> >
> > Bill Allison wrote:
> >> Catching up on PLoS One I came across this article relevant to this
> >> discussion. In my experience eco-tourism is often less eco and more
> tourism
> >> in part because the marine environment is harder to govern, but the
> article
> >> provides some empirically grounded food for thought.
> >>
> >> Kirkby, C. A., R. Giudice-Granados, et al. (2010). "The Market Triumph
> of
> >> Ecotourism: An Economic Investigation of the Private and Social Benefits
> of
> >> Competing Land Uses in the Peruvian Amazon." PLoS ONE 5(9): e13015.
> >>     Annual revenue flow to developing countries for ecotourism (or
> >> nature-based tourism) could be as large as US$ 1210?1012, providing an
> >> enormous financial incentive against habitat loss and exploitation.
> However,
> >> is ecotourism the most privately and/or socially valuable use of
> rainforest
> >> land? The question is rarely answered because the relevant data,
> estimates
> >> of profits and fixed costs, are rarely available. We present a social
> >> cost-benefit analysis of land use in an ecotourism cluster in the
> Tambopata
> >> region of Amazonian Peru. The net present value of ecotourism-controlled
> >> land is given by the producer surplus (profits plus fixed costs of
> >> ecotourism lodges): US$ 1,158 ha?1, which is higher than all currently
> >> practiced alternatives, including unsustainable logging, ranching, and
> >> agriculture. To our knowledge, this is the first sector-wide study of
> >> profitability and producer surplus in a developing-country ecotourism
> sector
> >> and the first to compare against equivalent measures for a spectrum of
> >> alternative uses. We also find that ecotourism-controlled land
> sequesters
> >> between 5.3 to 8.7 million tons of above-ground carbon, which is
> equivalent
> >> to between 3000?5000 years of carbon emissions from the domestic
> component
> >> of air and surface travel between the gateway city of Cusco and the
> lodges,
> >> at 2005 emission rates. Ecotourism in Tambopata has successfully
> monetized
> >> the hedonic value of wild nature in Amazonian Peru, and justifies the
> >> maintenance of intact rainforest over all alternative uses on narrow
> >> economic grounds alone.
> >>
> >>
> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0013015
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 1:55 PM, Szmant, Alina <szmanta at uncw.edu>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> Hi Gene:
> >>>
> >>> Nice summary of the old times and history of the Keys.  I remember the
> >>> Overseas Highway back in the 1950s when my family drove to Key West to
> take
> >>> the ferry to Havana.  There were a few road-side stands with clumps of
> >>> bleached Acropora cervicornis (no I did know the scientific name back
> then
> >>> but I can clearly see the corals in my mind) and a few small A.
> palmata..
> >>>  But I was most impressed as a child by the dried coconuts made into
> pirate
> >>> faces!
> >>>
> >>> The first time I went diving in Keys was 1977 and in the Bahamas
> (Nassau)
> >>> 1971, and coming from living and working in La Parguera PR, where there
> were
> >>> still lots of live coral (70+ % live cover) and fishes, and hardly any
> algae
> >>> except in grassbeds and mangroe lagoons, I confess I was not impressed
> by
> >>> what I saw, and attributed the differences to the marginal latitude and
> >>> colder winters.  In PR we didn't start seeeing major loss of coral
> until
> >>> after the 1987 bleaching events, and I was impressed with the amount of
> dead
> >>> coral along the Andros reef line facing crystal clear Tongue of the
> Ocean,
> >>> including unihabited Jolters Keys, in 1986-1987.  Mid 80's I had a
> chance to
> >>> explore other parts of the Bahamas along Eleuthera, and was also
> impressed
> >>> by high rates of bioerosion and partial mortality even in areas of
> minimal
> >>> human presence.  My first work in the Florida Keys was on Carysfort in
> 1982
> >>> when the reef was covered by dense thickets of A cervicornis and
> palmata ...
> >>>  We had a re
> >>>  al cold winter December of 1983, and when I went back to look for the
> >>> corals, spring of 1984, they weren't there.
> >>>
> >>> While I am not discounting the potential negative influence of Keys
> >>> development on the state of corals of the Florida Keys, it appears to
> me
> >>> that bigger/more broadscale factors have been at work.  Could be Sahara
> dust
> >>> was bringing in harmful substances including pathogens in the early
> 1980s,
> >>> but a lot of work on that angle has not produced any conclusive
> evidence
> >>> that I am aware of.  I still put my last 10 chips on the global warming
> >>> square as being the factor that tipped the cart on top of overfishing
> and
> >>> local sedimentation/water quality issues.  Unfortuneately, the interest
> in
> >>> getting a better handle on coral reproduction and recruitment came late
> in
> >>> the game once there wasn't much coral recruitment occuring on many
> reefs,
> >>> and so now we can't really interpret what we measure as present rates
> with
> >>> century back patterns.  We do know that places like Curacao and Bonaire
> have
> >>> much higher densities of juvenile corals that places like PR and FL,
> but now
> >>> these southern locations
> >>>  are going down-hill real fast as they have also been hit by severe
> >>> bleaching this past year.  Thus we are losing our chance for
> comparative
> >>> ecology with the loss of these until recently, fairly rich coral
> >>> populations.
> >>>
> >>> Now that I too am retired, it will be up to the younger scientists to
> see
> >>> if they can figure all of this out.  Back in 1984, as I was applying
> for a
> >>> different position with the University of Miami, I was asked by a
> >>> terrestrial type within the Biology Dept., who had little regard for
> marine
> >>> biology, and even less for anyone studying corals and coral reefs (we
> were
> >>> obviously just sun-and-fun types), what I would work on if all the
> corals
> >>> died:  My reply was that maybe that would at last shake loose some
> research
> >>> funds!  It's unfortunate that both of these events came to pass, but
> the
> >>> fudning came to late for coral reef ecologists to get enough work done
> on
> >>> reefs before we were already studying sick systems (at least for much
> of the
> >>> Caribbean)..
> >>>
> >>> So much we have learned, so much more to learn, and not so much time to
> >>> learn it in!
> >>>
> >>> Best,
> >>>
> >>> Alina
> >>>
> >>> P.S.  I agree with you that the social valuation tack has not and will
> not
> >>> work, because the problem is bigger than just coral reefs, and there at
> 7
> >>> Billion contributors to the problem (and growing fast)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> **********************************************
> >>> Dr. Alina M. Szmant
> >>> Professor of Marine Biology
> >>> Coral Reef Research Program, Center for Marine Science
> >>> University of North Carolina Wilmington
> >>> 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane
> >>> Wilmington NC 28409
> >>> Tel:  (910)962-2362; fax: (910)962-2410;  cell:  (910)200-3913
> >>> http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
> >>> **********************************************
> >>> ________________________________________
> >>> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.
> >>> .noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Eugene Shinn [eshinn at marine.usf.edu]
> >>> Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 2:53 PM
> >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>> Subject: [Coral-List] Economic Valuation and market  based conservation
> >>>
> >>> Dear Listers,
> >>>      My criticism of economic schemes for saving corals and calling
> >>> it "social engineering" apparently raised blood pressures and
> >>> stimulated many thoughtful discussions. I can't respond to postings
> >>> about many reef areas mentioned in the posts, but Rudy's posting
> >>> touches on several events/changes in the Florida Keys that I know
> >>> very well.
> >>>      I was born in Key West and began diving in the Keys in 1950.
> >>> There are not many of us left. Because of age and location, I
> >>> observed many historical and sociological changes leading to the
> >>> present. Even though this is a rather long read, here is some history
> >>> as seen through cynical eyes. Keys history suggests possible ways
> >>> Keys history affected coral growth. One must first realize that the
> >>> Florida Keys have been a magnet for people running away from
> >>> something since the first pirates and later loyalists from the
> >>> Bahamas. Key West for most of its history was like a foreign country
> >>> more closely allied to Cuba than the US and people running from
> >>> something are still arriving. First some diving and social history.
> >>>      When I began driving from Miami to go diving in the early 1950s,
> >>> the only gas station between Homestead and Key West was in Marathon.
> >>> The Last Chance Bar and Grill off US 1 in Homestead was almost the
> >>> last chance. The Overseas Liquor store in Marathon was the other one.
> >>> This was a time  when bay bottom mud was being pumped up to create
> >>> Duck Key and Key Colony Village, and other Keys were being enlarged
> >>> and cut with canals.
> >>>       There were about 20 hardcore divers spear fishing in the Keys
> >>> at that time. We pretty much knew each other because we often met at
> >>> the same Miami fish markets and restaurants selling our fish.
> >>> AAU-sponsored spear fishing contests were held somewhere in the Keys
> >>> every year. One could launch a boat at places like the Gulf Stream
> >>> Club on Garden Cove or other out-of-the-way places with little worry
> >>> that your car and trailer might be stolen. If you carried your 6-hp
> >>> outboard in the trunk, as I did, you could rent a wooden skiff for 3
> >>> dollars a day. There were no dive shops or dive boats. "Aqua lungs"
> >>> were beginning to appear, but most skin divers could not afford them.
> >>> The greatest deterrent to Keys diving and fishing was the mosquitoes.
> >>> Getting from car to safely offshore was painful.
> >>>      Some roadside shops sold a few conch shells and coral but there
> >>> were few tourists. Mosquitoes kept them in their cars. The Coast
> >>> Guard was still dynamiting coral to open a channel for supply boats
> >>> that supplied the men living on lighthouses. About 5 people manned
> >>> most lighthouses. Carysfort had telephone communications to shore and
> >>> the remains of the cable are still in the access channel.
> >>>      Motels were few and far between, and water barely trickled from
> >>> showerheads. It came from a 12-inch-diameter pipe that ran from
> >>> Homestead to Key West. Keys well water was brackish. Lack of water
> >>> and periodic hurricanes such as Donna in 1960 and Betsy in 1965 kept
> >>> development in check. The granddaddy of all hurricanes, of course,
> >>> was the Labor Day Storm of 1935. It wiped out Flagler's railroad,
> >>> killed more than 400 people, and remained on the minds of many Keys
> >>> residents. But what about the coral reefs?
> >>>      In the late 1950s, Dr. Gill Voss (one of my professors at UM)
> >>> became concerned that the growing numbers of shell and coral
> >>> collectors were collecting excessive amounts of coral. Few knew how
> >>> fast corals grew, although the Carnegie Institute laboratory at
> >>> Loggerhead Key, Dry Tortugas, had determined growth rates in the
> >>> 1920s and 1930s. Voss published many articles that helped lead to
> >>> creation of John Pennekamp State Park. The Park was named after
> >>> Pennekamp because as Editor of the Miami Herald newspaper, he had
> >>> played a major role in creating Everglades National Park. National
> >>> Park rules prevented parks from being named after people. Ironically,
> >>> the main purpose of the State Park was to prevent spear fishing.
> >>> There had long been a war going on between Conchs (the name for Keys
> >>> and Key West residents) and charter boat captains, and young spear
> >>> fishermen from Miami. These young divers, including me, brought
> >>> little money and competed for the local fish. They were socially very
> >>> different. One diver I knew was actually murdered by lobster
> >>> fishermen. No one was prosecuted. Interestingly, very few charter
> >>> boat operators or lobster fishermen could swim or cared about
> >>> learning. Fellow fishermen ridiculed them whenever one accidentally
> >>> fell in the water. They literally looked down on those who donned
> >>> masks (we called them face plates) and flippers. Hardcore divers
> >>> scorned snorkels. They were for tourists and the usually had
> >>> Ping-Pong balls or flaps on the top. So when did the major changes in
> >>> the Keys begin and why?
> >>>     Major changes began in the 1970s. First came the 36-inch water
> >>> pipe to Key West. Motels and other businesses at last had sufficient
> >>> water. Next came aerial spraying of toxic chemicals to control
> >>> mosquitoes, and coincidentally butterflies. Additionally, and what I
> >>> think most important, no hurricanes struck the Keys between 1965 and
> >>> Andrew in 1992. Fortunately, Andrew missed the heart of the Keys.
> >>> Burger Kings, McDonalds gas stations and marinas popped up by the
> >>> later part of the 1970s. The biggest monetary change occurred when
> >>> the square groupers arrived. Square grouper was the local name for
> >>> bales of pot. Pot, smuggling, and later cocaine, brought sudden
> >>> wealth, and almost overnight many lobster fishermen began driving
> >>> Mercedes and purchased fleets of boats and thousands of traps. Motels
> >>> and marinas enlarged and property values skyrocketed. Homes,
> >>> property, and boats were being bought with suitcases of hard cash
> >>> while beer trucks transported weed northward on US 1. Illegal aliens
> >>> flooded in, leading to creation of roadblocks on US 1. They were
> >>> usually right next to the Last Chance Bar and Grill. Inspecting car
> >>> trunks revealed the true extent of drug smuggling so periodic
> >>> roadblocks persisted. Roadblocks of course impacted tourism, leading
> >>> to establishment of the so-called Conch Republic in 1981. Creating
> >>> the Republic and threatening to secede from the Union was a joke but
> >>> the term Conch Republic stuck and proudly remains today. To avoid the
> >>> roadblock, smugglers could telephone the Last Chance Bar and learn if
> >>> one was in place. Some Keys politicians and public employees could
> >>> not resist easy money. Some roads to nowhere were constructed. The
> >>> one on Sugarloaf Key was covered with skid marks where small planes
> >>> landed to unload. It was a very different place worthy of many Jimmy
> >>> Buffett songs. A pirate turns 40 became popular.
> >>>      The exact dates escape me but a Federal court ruling limited the
> >>> State's offshore jurisdiction to 3 miles on the Atlantic side of the
> >>> Keys. Pennekamp State Park could no longer protect the best reef
> >>> areas farther offshore. That change in Federal law provided an
> >>> opportunity for NOAA's new Sanctuary Program to take over
> >>> jurisdiction of unprotected offshore waters. By then, the National
> >>> Marine Sanctuary Program had been created under the Department of
> >>> Commerce to protect the site of the Civil War ship Monitor.
> >>> Establishment of that site was followed by a proposal to create the
> >>> Texas Flower Garden Reef Sanctuary; however, enactment took many
> >>> years because NOAA was up against Texas politics and the petroleum
> >>> industry. Sanctuaries were also being proposed in many areas
> >>> previously selected as potential oil exploration areas. There was
> >>> much angst within the petroleum industry and on Capitol Hill. But
> >>> that's another long story.
> >>>        Meanwhile, the Key Largo Marine Sanctuary was created after
> >>> much wrangling, and State rangers were deputized to patrol both State
> >>> and Federal waters. I was on the boat and took photos of the ceremony
> >>> when John Pennekamp cosigned the official documents. At that time,
> >>> corals were almost pristine.
> >>>      After the new water pipe, initiation of mosquito spraying, lack
> >>> of hurricanes, and the creation of the Sanctuary, the upper Keys
> >>> became a magnet for out-of-state divers. They came in droves! Dive
> >>> shops sprang up, as did dive charter boats. The war with line-fishing
> >>> charter boats was over. Scuba diving became king!
> >>>       Meanwhile, business leaders in the lower Keys took note and
> >>> looked longingly at the activity and money lavished on the upper
> >>> Keys. After some preliminary studies, NOAA next proposed
> >>> establishment of the Looe Key Sanctuary. Several long and heated
> >>> public hearings ensued. Most Conch Republic residents because of
> >>> their independent nature resisted anything associated with the
> >>> Federal government. Signs everywhere said, "Just Say No To NOAA."
> >>> Some faded signs still exist. NOAA left but returned again thereafter
> >>> and held the public hearings in Miami to avoid all the flack. Keys
> >>> residents still did not want it, but finally the last bill Jimmy
> >>> Carter signed on the night before he left office created the Looe Key
> >>> Marine Sanctuary. Soon after, the first manager got busted and was
> >>> fired for spear fishing at Looe Key.
> >>>      Keys Conchs know the rest of the story. Sentiment began to
> >>> change as non-Conchs (they are known as freshwater conchs) moved to
> >>> the Republic. Population exploded, business flourished, and adult
> >>> bookstores appeared on every major Key. Sometimes I wonder what the
> >>> Keys real attraction really is?
> >>>     On November 16, 1990, a new bill was signed that converted the
> >>> entire Florida Keys into a National Marine Sanctuary. The final
> >>> management plan was completed May 1993. It should be noted that the
> >>> Sanctuary is under the Department of Commerce, which is
> >>> philosophically and politically distinct from nearby Everglades Park
> >>> and Biscayne National Park, which are under the Department of
> >>> Interior. Pennekamp State Park still exists, as does the Looe Key
> >>> Sanctuary, and there are several other State-owned land areas. In
> >>> addition, there are Fish and Wildlife-protected areas nestled within
> >>> the Marine Sanctuary. Fish and Wildlife is also under Department of
> >>> Interior.
> >>>        So what has all this activity created? By 1990, there were
> >>> 30,000 septic tanks, about 10,000 cesspits (septic tanks without
> >>> bottoms), and dozens of small sewage treatment plants outfitted with
> >>> a total of 1,000 shallow injection wells to receive treated sewage. A
> >>> regionalized sewage system is presently under construction, but green
> >>> lawns flourish thanks to chemical fertilizers and weed killers.
> >>> Mosquito spraying remains routine and I am told some butterflies are
> >>> making a comeback. To my knowledge, no significant studies have been
> >>> conducted to determine the effect of mosquito spraying on coral and
> >>> the marine ecosystem. I conclude that even hardcore environmentalists
> >>> draw the line between which organisms live and die. All these changes
> >>> came rapidly, and one might at this point ask, did creating the
> >>> Sanctuary to save the reefs have a reverse effect by publicizing and
> >>> attracting more and more divers, businesses, residents, hotels, and
> >>> motels, etc., to the Florida Keys? On other hand, did people come
> >>> because of the unprecedented 27-year-absence of hurricanes? Or, could
> >>> it have been the sudden abundance of freshwater and lack of
> >>> mosquitoes? Was it the resultant increase in human sewage and
> >>> chemicals that contributed to reef demise? Or was it caused by runoff
> >>> of chemicals from agriculture, so-called "Big Sugar," to the north?
> >>> Clearly overfishing explains the dwindling fish population, but
> >>> whether that affected coral growth is controversial. Most Keys
> >>> citizens have selected a favorite villain and some would like to see
> >>> a barricade at the entrance to the Keys, or at least a tollgate. I
> >>> personally maintain that a major factor has been the absence of big
> >>> hurricanes since 1965. Periodic hurricanes, such as those that
> >>> occurred repeatedly before 1965, would have greatly changed Keys
> >>> history and development.
> >>>      Nowadays, many argue coral demise is due to global warming, or
> >>> the newest villain, alkalinity shift (a.k.a. ocean acidification),
> >>> but they forget that major coral mortality began back when leading
> >>> scientists were predicting global cooling.
> >>>      As every coral scientist knows, the demise of the coral reefs
> >>> began in the late 1970s and peaked in 1983 and 1984. Coral bleaching
> >>> came to Florida later in 1986-87. Coral demise was occurring
> >>> throughout the Caribbean in the early 1980s, even around islands with
> >>> few people. The black-spined sea urchin Diadema suffered at least 90
> >>> percent mortality everywhere in the Caribbean. The urchins literally
> >>> died off in a period of one year during 1983, about the same year
> >>> seafan disease appeared. Many acres of elkhorn and staghorn corals
> >>> died within a few months adjacent to the Finger Lakes Marine
> >>> Laboratory on remote San Salvador, Bahamas. The rapid die-off that
> >>> happened in 1983 was well documented by the scientists at the Finger
> >>> Lakes lab.
> >>>      In retrospect, 1983 and 1984 were the banner years for African
> >>> dust transport to the Caribbean as well as Acropora coral demise most
> >>> everywhere in the Caribbean. I am reminded that the sponge industry
> >>> suffered a similar Caribbean-wide demise in 1938 and later in the
> >>> Gulf of Mexico in the late 1940s. The causes of the sponge deaths
> >>> were not determined, and the events have long been forgotten. So what
> >>> really caused reef demise and the earlier sponge deaths? Could it be
> >>> a combination of factors? Many scientists and agencies seem to have
> >>> their favorite candidates that shift with time. They generally prefer
> >>> an activity such as anchor damage and boat groundings that can be
> >>> controlled through fines. Natural biological cycles or the African
> >>> dust hypothesis are not acceptable villains.
> >>>      There is much we still don't know, and currently little research
> >>> is aimed at experimentally determining causes. Finger pointing will
> >>> likely continue until the coral bounces back and everyone can claim
> >>> victory. I admit this is a personal rather cynical history not likely
> >>> found in most publications such as those published by Chambers of
> >>> Commerce and various agencies. Does any of this history relate to the
> >>> original question of saving reefs through economic means? Will an
> >>> economic valuation and market-based conservation approach as proposed
> >>> for a mini-session at the next ICRS prevent a "tragedy of the
> >>> commons?" Will these schemes actually save the corals? Who will
> >>> profit and who will lose? I wonder if the corals will benefit.
> >>>
> >>> Gene
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
> >>> ------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
> >>> E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
> >>> University of South Florida
> >>> Marine Science Center (room 204)
> >>> 140 Seventh Avenue South
> >>> St. Petersburg, FL 33701
> >>> <eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
> >>> Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
> >>> -----------------------------------
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Coral-List mailing list
> >>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Coral-List mailing list
> >>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > --
> > Phillip Dustan  Ph.D.
> > Department of Biology
> > College of Charleston
> > Charleston   SC  29424
> > (843) 953-8086 voice
> > (843) 953-5453 (Fax)
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 3
> > Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:26:36 -0400
> > From: Tracy Parsons <Tracy.Parsons at noaa.gov>
> > Subject: [Coral-List] NOAA CRCP Capacity Assessment Solicitation
> > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Message-ID: <4E4964DC.9080408 at noaa.gov>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> >
> > Hello Coral Listers,
> > I am writing to notify you that NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program
> > has published a solicitation in fedbizopps.gov related to our intent to
> > conduct capacity assessments in partnership with the seven US coral reef
> > jurisdictions.
> >
> > If your organization provides these or related services, I encourage you
> > to respond to the solicitation. Responses are due by Sept. 2, 12pm EDT
> > and specific information can be found in the link below. If you know of
> > an organization that conducts this type of work, please pass on this
> > posting and link to the solicitation.
> >
> >
> > Solicitation External Reference:
> > https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/AGAMD/NCND10001102542/listing.html
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your time.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>


-- 
Andrea


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