Marine Conservation Biology - Hawaii
Conserving Marine Biodiversity in the World’s Most Remote Island Chain
Archive for Notices and Updates
September 8, 2007 at 8:14 am · Filed under Notices and Updates
This is the student weblog for MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY (B295S & ENV 324)
The course is offered by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, at the D
uke University Marine Laboratory and will be taught next during Spring 2008
The instructors for the course are:
Andy Read (aread@duke.edu) - see website
Dave Johnston (Dave.Johnston@noaa.gov) - see website
In this course we examine the challenges associated with managing and conserving protected, threatened and endangered marine species in the Hawaiian Archipelago. We will use a variety of examples from the Hawaiian islands as case studies.
- Recovery programs for endangered monk seals across the Archipelago;
- The undesired effects of tourism on marine mammals;
- Using marine protected areas to conserve coral reef ecosystems;
- Conserving and protecting breeding seabirds in the NWHI;
- Managing the effects of invasive species in the NWHI;
- Assessing and managing the effects of marine debris accumulation in the NWHI;
- Studying the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on NWHI atolls.
The course includes a field trip to Hawaii, including a 10 day excursion to Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where we examine these issues first-hand with the assistance of scientists and managers working for Federal natural resource agencies. Indeed, students taking this course get unprecedented access to the professionals charged with ensuring the sustainability of protected species in Hawaii.
Below you will find the entries posted by last years students. These postings will provide you with an excellent overview of the course and what you will experience during the field portion of the course.
September 25, 2007 at 10:10 am · Filed under Notices and Updates
On May 1-2, 2007, a workshop was held to discuss NMFS Higher Education
Programs. The goals of the workshop were the following:
- To develop the first comprehensive catalog of all current NOAA Fisheries higher education programs (both undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on student education and training),
- To present and discuss a wide range of effective methodologies (e.g. marketing, student selection, skills training, program
evaluation),
- To ascertain Science Board priorities regarding higher education programs,
- To map the catalog of current higher education programs to Science Board priorities in order to identify and strategically address gaps needed to be filled in the future.
The Marine Conservation Biology - Hawaii course was included in the assessment. The final project catalog from the workshop can be downloaded here.
February 6, 2007 at 7:26 am · Filed under Notices and Updates
As you can see from the entries below, we had a great week on Oahu. I'd like to thank all the stakeholders who took time out from their busy schedules to share their perspectives on marine conservation issues with us. Direct access to such a wide diversity of important decision makers is what makes this class so special. 
Special thanks to Dave and Kerry for their wonderful hospitality, and for making everything work in Honolulu, and to Janna, Debbie and Patty for their support in Beaufort.
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the students themselves - Amy, Andrew, Ellen, Emily, Jen, Justin, Kelly, Michael and Sarah - for their thoughtful blog entries and, more importantly, for their intellectual energy and good humo(u)r, which made this experience so fun and rewarding for all of us.
See you next year.
Aloha and mahalo,
Andy
February 2, 2007 at 5:21 pm · Filed under Protected Species and Longlines, Notices and Updates, Native Hawaiian Perspectives, Spam
Yesterday morning we saw fishery management in action. Before we had the fun of seeing breaching humpback whales, we were regaled to the sights, sounds, and tastes of fishery management. WesPac (The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council) was holding a Marine Mammal Advisory Committee 
meeting. It was here where we met again some familiar friendly faces from the week and listened to the issues regarding the interactions between false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and pelagic longline fisheries.
The meeting didn't begin until the usual informal re-introductions were made. At the same time, all the participants found themselves muffins and coffee. The coffee seemed to be Kona coffee and in keeping with Hawaii standards was quite good. Unfortunately, Hawaiian steak (aka SPAM) was not present. I, like Justin before me, recognize the validity of SPAM and was a bit disappointed by the absence of rice and SPAM.
The first topic on the docket was to review the recommendations made from their previous meeting in May. The second was a short summary by Chris Yates regarding the Pacific Scientific Review Group (SRG). Next, Lisa Van Atta discussed some of the various mitigation measures. Our very own Andy Read then talked about the situation in the Atlantic between pilot whales and pelagic longline fisheries. Lastly before lunch, Dave Johnston discussed some findings based on an experimental longline vessel research trip.
The major realization from the Committee meeting was the efficiency of the moderator, Paul Dalzell, and the degree of questions asked by the Committee. At the end of each presentation, the moderator quickly maneuvered with alacrity between the many questioners.
The issue with false killer whales are that they are smart animals who have figured out that free lunches are obtainable from following longline vessels and either eating the bait or the fish (that ate the bait) off the hooks. This behavior (depredation of hooks) impacts both the whales and the fishery. The whales potentially can be mortally hooked or entangled by line and fishers loose (among other things) the money associated with the lost catch.
It was great to see some of the people we had met earlier in the week. Of the people we heard and saw again, these are a few of my observations from the meeting. Sean Martin identified the ways in which working with fishers could yield possible solutions to the issue. Lisa Van Atta and Andy discussed some solutions and ideas from the Atlantic fisheries. Lastly, Dave spoke about some of the possibilities of acoustics research and the limiting of bait discards. Although we did not stay for the afternoon portion of the Committee meeting, it was clear that not enough definitive answers were available and some more on-the-boat research and experimentation will be needed next. In the meantime, the Committee and WesPac are on a trajectory to find solutions to the false killer whale issues.
After the committee broke for lunch, we met for half an hour with Kitty Simonds. Ms. Simonds is the executive director of WesPac. Given the importance of WesPac on marine issues and conservation in the Pacific it was great to meet up with her. She was very friendly and was very enthusiastic about the shift to ecosystem-based management of ocean ecosystems. Further, she spoke about the positives of working with native Hawaiians and the benefits of an Ahupua'a management system of marine resources. (See Jen's post on the 29th to revisit our meeting with the DaMates.) Although WesPac has in the past been a lightning rod for criticism, they are clearly attempting to do proactive work on many issues.
The next stop for us was Hawaiian plate lunches, quality coffee, and (for some) SPAM… ~Michael
January 31, 2007 at 9:21 pm · Filed under Notices and Updates, Spam
We learned another important lesson today. This one had nothing to do with marine conservation, but instead reminded us to read parking signs more carefully. It was more than a little disconcerting to come out of the Earthjustice office this afternoon to find that our van had vaporized. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve it, although it took the monetary equivalent of a couple of cases of spam to repossess the big white vehicle. All is well that ends well…
Andy
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