[Coral-List] COTs control in Raja Ampat

Phil Dustan dustanp at cofc.edu
Mon Aug 13 12:51:13 UTC 2018


Dear Listers,
   Crown of Thorns have continued to increase in Raja Ampat.  To give you
an idea of the severity: This summer a group from Arborak Island took 500
off  Fish Farm Reef a reef in just 1.5 hours (to get a better idea check
out facebook-- https://www.facebook.com/normbali).  Trees to Seas (501c3)
has received a small grant to assemble COTs Killing kits consisting of an
autoinjecting syringe, hydration bag, and needle extensions. We have
partnered with the Raja Amstat Homestay Association to distribute these
kits among the homestays and liveaboard dive boats operating in the area.

We need help getting the kits from the US to Sorong. If you or someone you
know is going through Sorong I would greatly appreciate it if you could
tuck a few kits into your luggage/dive gear bag. They weigh about 1.3 lbs
and take up as much room as a pair of blue jeans. I will ship them to you
anywhere in the US. We will have someone meet you at the airport, hotel,
ferry wharf, or anywhere else in Sorong. If you bring a bunch, Wick will
probably even give you a lift to the ferry. If you are visiting a resort
we'll give you a few to take to the resort or dive boat. Many international
flights allow two free bags so we will even ship you a bag full if you have
the space. If you're going diving you can use the gear to kill COTs then
leave it with your dive master. It's actually fun to do! But seriously, all
you have to do is get them to Sorong.

 While there are some  large NGOs (BINGOs) working on conservation in Raja
Ampat, the need to control COTs is IMMEDIATE. The animals we saw this
summer were relatively small suggesting they are young. With time, they
will grow and the infestation will get completely out of control. Local
homestay owners can at least take care of their house reefs if we can get
them the right equipment. We have 100 kits pretty much ready to go. Any
help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Give me a shout if you can
help in any way (phil.dustan at gmail.com)

Please help,
 Phil


-- 
Phillip Dustan
Department of Biology
College of Charleston
Charleston SC  20401
Charleston SC
843 953 8086 (voice)
843-224-3321 (m)

"When we try to pick out anything by itself
we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
*                                         John Muir 1869*


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