INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC MARINE EDUCATORS NETWORK; Chilean Fjords and Ice Conference Nov 2012

Initial Conference Announcement  The International Pacific Marine Educators Network (IPMEN) will hold its fourth biennial conference November 2012 in Chile. Marine educators will again gather to share resources and to advance a network aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Pacific and the communities who depend upon it. The exact dates will be confirmed soon, so please visit this web site for updates.   http://www.ipmen.net/ For More Information  For more information about the Chile 2012 conference or, more generally, IPMEN please contact: Luis Pinto (Chile) Harry Breidahl (Australia) Sylvia Spalding (Hawaii).

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SPREP launches Clean Pacific 2012 Campaign

1/26/2012

Press Release: Pollution Prevention

The Clean Pacific 2012 campaign will be launched in partnership with the World Wetlands Day celebrations in Apia, Samoa on 2 February. The relationship between proper waste disposal practices, management and pollution prevention and healthy wetlands is a critical one. The Clean Pacific campaign will aim to promote a clean and healthy environment for our Pacific peoples through improved waste management practices.

The World Wetlands Day theme for 2012 is “Wetlands and Tourism” and with tourism being a major income earner for the Pacific Islands, this industry is set to grow over the coming years. While there are many examples of environmentally sustainable tourism, there are also a number of unsustainable examples of tourism, which generate waste and pollution and cause damage to our wetlands.

The Clean Pacific campaign is a regional waste management and pollution control campaign coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with its member countries. The campaign will galvanise actions at all levels to improve the management of wastes and pollution through promotion of a range of activities, which contribute to a healthy environment, including wetlands.

SPREP will support relevant grass roots activities for waste reduction and management, pollution prevention, and hazardous chemical management during the campaign year.

“There are major problems on the management and disposal of solid waste throughout the Pacific, so the programme is focusing on raising awareness and building capacity in this important area,” said Mr. David Sheppard, SPREP’s Director General.

“SPREP is pleased to embark on this campaign and we look forward to good work to come as we all unite on our Clean Pacific campaign.”

In the Pacific region, isolated populations and remote locations are challenges beyond our control and often make sustainable waste management and pollution control difficult. At the same time they underscore the need to focus on local solutions that can be sustained regardless of external factors such as fuel prices and shipping costs.

Recognising these and other challenges, the Clean Pacific campaign focuses on ensuring that the right practices and policies are adopted by Pacific island countries to support sustainable management of waste and prevention and control of pollution.

The campaign will also show that a clean Pacific relies on everyone from the most senior politician to the smallest family taking immediate and responsible action to solve the dual problems of waste and pollution.

For more details please contact SPREP’s Waste Management and Pollution Control Team at wasteteam@sprep.org


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PACIFIC 2012 International Maritime Exposition, Darling Harbour, Sydney, 31 January – 3 February 2012

You are invited to attend the PACIFIC 2012 International Maritime Exposition to be held at Darling Harbour, Sydney, 31 January – 3 February 2012, as a Trade Visitor (i.e. as a guest of the organisers).

Trade Visitors will enjoy FREE access to PACIFIC 2012's unprecedented program of specialist conferences, forums and seminars, including AAMA’s own seminar, “The Sea and the Environment – Opportunities, Constraints and Risks”, to be held on 31 January and 1 February. Further details of this seminar shown below.

While you are at Pacific 2012 why not visit the Australian Association for Maritime Affairs at their stand in Hall 6, stand no. 6A15. Free full size copies of the poster MARITIME AUSTRALIA 2011 will be available while stocks last. (For a preview of the poster see the AAMA web site atwww.aama.asn.au.)

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TEDxNewy TALK: Tim Silverwood - How did our lives become so plastic?

In July 2011, Tim Silverwood sailed 5000km from Hawaii to Vancouver to research and document the accumulation of plastic in the infamous North Pacific Gyre, otherwise known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Tim, a keen surfer, developed a love affair with the ocean from a young age and has since become an advocate and activist of the need to protect our sea from the scourge of plastic pollution. Tim is an ambassador for Keep Australia Beautiful and is co-founder of the non-profit organization, 'Take 3' that asks everyone to simply take 3 pieces of rubbish with them when they leave the beach, waterway or... anywhere. Tim is currently gathering content for an Australian based documentary on the plastic pollution issue.

www.timsilverwood.com

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PHOTO RELEASE: Coast Guard, NAMEPA formalize partnership that promotes marine environmental protection

Coast Guard Headquarters

U.S. Coast Guard

Photo Release

Date: January 19, 2012

Contact: Media Relations

(202) 372-4620

Coast Guard, NAMEPA formalize partnership that promotes marine environmental protection

WASHINGTON — Ms. Carleen Lyden-Kluss, co-founder and executive director of North American Marine Environment Protection Association, and Vice Adm. Brian Salerno, deputy commandant for operations, participate in a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2012. As part of the new partnership, the Coast Guard and NAMEPA will collaborate to create an elementary school curriculum that will focus on marine debris prevention. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.

WASHINGTON - Ms. Carleen Lyden-Kluss, co-founder and executive director of North American Marine Environment Protection Association, and Vice Adm. Brian Salerno, deputy commandant for operations, shake hands during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2012. This partnership allows the Coast Guard to further its marine environmental protection mission and message through NAMEPA's strategic alliances with port captains, industry and maritime interests. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard and the North American Marine Environment Protection Associationannounced an agreement to co-develop and implement outreach, training and educational materials aimed at reducing maritime pollution.

Under the memorandum of understanding, signed during a ceremony at Coast Guard Headquarters, Jan. 10, the Coast Guard will expand its marine environmental protection education and outreach program within NAMEPA’s strategic alliances. Furthermore, the Coast Guard will collaborate with NAMEPA to develop an elementary school curriculum that will focus on reducing marine debris.

“NAMEPA is honored to be partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary in our shared goal to ‘Save our Seas’,” said Carleen Lyden-Kluss, co-founder and executive director of NAMEPA. “Through this partnership, we will be able to join forces in promoting the reduction of marine debris, and help in the education of the public about the risks associated with careless disposal of litter. It is our hope that this initial effort will be followed by future projects which serve to protect our marine environment and promote respect and care for it.”

“By partnering with NAMEPA to increase outreach efforts to students who will be future stewards the world's ocean, we are fulfilling the Coast Guard’s maritime stewardship mission to protect our valuable marine environment.” said Vice Adm. Brian Salerno, the Coast Guard’s Deputy Commandant for Operations.

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Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard -- Proud History. Powerful Future.

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"Hero for the Planet Ocean" Dr Sylvia Earle on Protecting Our Oceans

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GHOST NETS 2004-2009; Summary Report from Australia's northern shores

Article taken from GNA news issue 5 

Ghost Nets Australia (GNA) Summary Report Between 2004 and 2009, Ghost Nets Australia (GNA) rangers removed and recorded 6,035 nets of varying sizes across approximately 1500km of north Australian coastline. The data that rangers recorded from these nets built into such a large database that GNA thought it was about time to get it published! So in the middle of this year, the data was collated into a summary report that gives an indication of the type and origins of the nets, as well as highlighting the impact that they have on the marine environment. All this data highlighted distinct patterns showing the accumulation of nets in certain areas, or net ‘hotspots.’ These hotspots are predominantly found in the north-eastern and north-western corners of the Gulf and are the reason why the rangers in those areas are working so hard to clear their beaches! By matching the nets found to examples in the ‘Net Kit’, compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), an indication of both their type of fishery and the country from which they originated has been possible. The most frequently recorded nets were trawl nets and came from Taiwan and Indonesia. Ghost nets are a threat to many marine animals, particularly turtles (of which six of the world’s seven species are found in north Australian waters).  The nets recorded by GNA contained fish, crabs, sharks, sea snakes, crocodiles, dugong and over 100 turtles.  Unfortunately, the true number of animals caught in nets could be expected to be significantly higher than that recorded, as the passage of time may see many of the trapped animals decay out of the net before they are found. The results of the summary report confirm what rangers have been saying for many years - ghost nets are a huge problem in north Australia. It is only through the hard work that rangers do to record and remove the nets that people will understand the problem and change can happen. The GhostNets team would like to send a big thank you to all the rangers who recorded this data, to everyone who helped put this document together and to those who have helped make the program a success. Copies of the 2004-2009 GNA Summary Report can be found on the GhostNets Australia websitewww.ghostnets.com.au

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