Thursday 28 June 2007

Intro to marine organisms - 1

Just for a change of track, how about a few photos and a very quick intro to a few undersea creatures.

1. Nudibranch. The following guy is called Chromodoris willani, not many Nudibranch's have common names. The photo was taken in Puerto Galera, Philippines. Nudibranch are members of the mollusc family and are characterised by the presense of external gills, normally visible on the top near the back of the animal. Extremely colourful, like they have come off a painters easel there are more than 2000 species known worldwide.

2. Teira batfish. (Platax teira) A schooling fish, territorial and curious they will often come in close to see what you are doing.



3. Mantis shrimp. A crustacean often found scurrying across sandy patches and under rocks and coral outcrops. There are many different subspecies, but typically they have a jack hammer appendage used to smash open the tough shells of their main prey, crabs. Their eyes are mounted on two stalks and are said to be the most complex of any animal (for instance each individual eye is capable of trinocular vision and depth perception). A fascinating creature.


4. Sea apple (Pseudocolochirus violaceus) , the sea apple is a colourful sea cucumber, capable of withdrawing into a ball the photo illustrates the animal extending its tenticles.


5. SeaStar (the correct common name for star fish) there are many different types, many strikingly beautiful and can easily be seen when diving or snorkling. Seastars are members of the Echinodermata family and closely related to sea cucumbers, sea urchins and feather stars.


6. Whip coral. This yellow specimen in the photo has its polyps extended, a number of small reef fish can be seen in the photo as well (anthia, wrasse, chromis).
Corals as a whole are members of the Cnidaria family and are closely related to sea anemones and jellyfish (amongst others) the polyps are individual animals that form large colonies. Many types of corals have built massive structures (e.g. the great barrier reef), these structures form arguably the most diverse ecosystems on the planet and vitally important for the overall health of the oceans. Unfortunately they are highly vunerable and increasing under threat.

Friday 22 June 2007

Sources for environmentally sustainable shrimps/prawn

I've done some research and I have had some success in sourcing more environmentally sustainable sources of shrimp/prawn. Here is a quick synopsis of what I've found out....
  1. US Farmed Shrimp. Some of these farms are located far away from the sea and are re-circulating, closed-water systems that rear the shrimp in tanks.
    Caveat : no clear way to know, as far as I can tell, where the shrimps are exactly farmed. As a reminder, typically shrimp farms are located on the coast causing significant environmental impact to susceptable coastal ecosystems.
  2. Organic shrimp. In the absense of formal Shrimp Aquaculture certification, there are a few shrimp farms that are certified organic, these do aim to supply shrimp without the use of chemicals, antibiotics, hormones or preservatives. Some of these farms are located in Florida and Ecuador.
    Caveat : Certified Organic doesn't necessarily mean environmentally sustainable.
  3. Spot shrimp. Caught in temperate seas off Alaska using Traps.
    Caveat : Signs of overfishing. British Columbia shrimp fishery 'is fully fished, status of other fisheries is unclear' source - Seafood choices alliance

Another finding of note is that attempts in Thailand to place shrimp farms away from susceptable coastal areas suffered a set back with the Thai government banning this practice since 1999. The reason was that the waste from the shrimp farms left potential farm land ruined. Typical shrimp farms typically only work for a few years before the land has to be abandoned. It has been estimated that to return the land back to 'normal' takes 30 years. Source : Wikipedia

All in all not really a pretty picture. I continue to avoid shrimps or prawns.

Wednesday 13 June 2007

Chinese turtle boat with 397 dead sea turtles aboard discovered

May 8th , 2007. Chinese registered vessel with 397 dead and stuffed turtles aboard was found in the Indonesian waters around Kalimantan.


Source: http://www.turtle-foundation.org

In China turtles are considered a symbol of longevity and presumably these were destined as cheesy decorative pieces in office receptions and the bosses living room.

The following was the grusome findings from the seizure.

  1. 296 Hawksbill Turtles, a critically endangered species. Treated with formalin, size of carapace: 20 - 90 cm
  2. 90 Green Turtles, an endangered species treated with formalin, size of carapace: 20 - 90 cm
  3. 1 Olive Ridley Turtle, also an endangered species.
  4. 4 cans of formalin with 25 liters each, 100 Liter in total
  5. 17 nets with 38 cm nitting distance
  6. 3 giant mussels, approx. length: 100 cm
  7. 1 stuffed pufferfish
  8. 2 speedboats with 60-PS-engines

More information can be found on the Turtle Foundation website. By clicking HERE

Saturday 2 June 2007

Conservation of sea turtles in Hong Kong

In direct response to Peter's question (see here) about the Sham Wan Beach and essentially conservation efforts in Hong Kong to protect the only nesting site for Green Turtles.

Actually a lot is done to protect the beach area during the potential nesting period, teams of volunteers and staff from the AFCD aim to make the beach as hospitable as possible and illegal entry onto the beach is subject to a maximum fine of HK$50,000.

More information can be seen click here

Friday 1 June 2007

Green turtle nesting season is starting in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong the Shum Wan bay on Lamma Island is a protected beach, this is the only beach in Hong Kong where Green Turtles have, in the recent past being known to nest.

"The Green turtle nesting season has run from June to October in the past but numbers returning have dropped to perilously low levels in recent years. Ever since 2003, no Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have nested at the Sham Wan beach on Lamma Island, which is the only site where Green turtles have nested regularly in recent decades. "
Source: WWF Hong Kong e-News 31st May

WWF also requests the following actions to encourage Green turtles to return
  1. Support WWF's Save our Seas (SOS) campaign to prevent our marine ecosystem, where marine turtles rely on, from collapsing.
  2. Beach visitors, divers etc should avoid disturbing any marine turtles in the water or at beaches identified for marine turtle nesting, i.e. Sham Wan and Tai Long Wan, as a passive effort to encourage turtles coming back to Hong Kong for nesting.
  3. Report any sightings to AFCD by calling 1823 during this coming June to October nesting period!