11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

23.946
Potential Threats To Cetaceans in The Cagayan Ridge With Special Note On
Populations Within The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Trnp)
maria theresa AQUINO* 1
1 tubbataha management office, puerto princesa, Philippines
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) is a significant feeding area for many
cetacean populations found in the Cagayan Ridge Marine Biodiversity Conservation
Corridor (MBCC). This paper reviewed several past and current studies and activities to
identify threats to these populations and their habitat. By closely scrutinizing these
threats, recommendations and mitigating measures were identified to assist the Tubbataha
Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) in enhancing their management policies
and actions. Special attention was given to populations within the expanded boundaries
of the TRNP which is currently undergoing re-nomination as a world heritage site.
Threats seen along the Ridge included major issues such as solid waste and chemical
pollution, fisheries-related problems and seismic exploration activities. Although these
threats were noted to emanate from outside of the TRNP boundaries, the potential
impacts of these threats were nonetheless significant to the ecological stability of the
TRNP. It was thus recommended that Park authorities coordinate closely with national
agencies that have jurisdiction outside of the Park to work on minimizing these impacts.
Furthermore, a 10-nm buffer zone around TRNP was suggested to lessen the impacts of
these threats to the biodiversity within. Corollary to this, the TRNP management plan
needs to be amended to include the management of the expanded area and the buffer
zone.
23.947
The Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Management Network And Forum:
Building A Learning Community To Enhance Coral Reef Management
Georgina BUSTAMANTE* 1 , Alessandra VANZELLA-KHOURI 2
1 Best Marine Practices, Hollywood, FL, 2 UNEP- Caribbean Environment Programme,
Kingston, Jamaica
Caribbean marine protected areas (MPAs) are struggling to implement creative ways to
effectively conserve coral reef resources while assisting local communities in the
development of sustainable management practices.
This paper describes the lessons learned over the past 10 years by CaMPAM, a network
of MPA professionals, in using a combination of training and networking tools to develop
a learning community focused on MPA science and practice. From its creation by the
UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme in 1997, CAMPAM has grown up, expanded
its program, and increased its international recognition among the marine science and
management communities. This has been achieved with the contribution of local and
international partners and the support of donor agencies. However, as the Caribbean
MPA management community matures, and threats from coastal development,
overfishing and climate change increase, CaMPAM is challenged to find new tools to
build capacity and enhance communication. A balanced combination of old traditional
mentorship-apprentices schemes, exchange visits, and a training the trainers program
along with more advance web based tools (databases, bogs, e-learning portals, etc.) is
needed to meet this challenge. This ambitious goal can only be achieved with the
contribution of government agencies, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and
donors
Poster Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management
23.949
The State Of Marine Managed Areas (Mmas) To Conserve U.s. Coral Reef Ecosystems
Lisa WOONINCK* 1 , Rikki GROBER-DUNSMORE 2 , Mimi D'IORIO 2 , Charles WAHLE 2
1 NMFS/MPA Center, NOAA, Santa Cruz, CA, 2 MPA Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Marine managed areas (MMAs) of all types are an increasingly common approach to coral reef
conservation in U.S. waters (0-200 nm). Presently, 11% of the Pacific Islands waters and < 1%
of the Caribbean waters are contained within 100 and 42 MMAs, respectively. Federal
programs manage the largest proportion of MMAs in the Pacific Islands (80%). In contrast, the
federal share of Caribbean MMAs is much less (10%) compared to territorial management
programs (89%). The vast majority of area within coral reef MMAs allows multiple use
activities (99%), such as fishing and extraction of other associated coral reef resources.
Contrary to widely held perceptions, only a very small percentage of the coral reef MMA area
(Pacific Islands 0.01%; Caribbean region 0.13%) is contained within no-take marine reserves or
no access areas. Importantly, the use of marine zoning inside of multiple use MMAs is
emerging as an effective means to spatially or temporally allocate human uses, while ensuring
protection of critical coral resources. In the Caribbean, 5% of MMA area comprises seasonal
no take zones. In the Pacific, no take zones within larger multiple use MMAs make up 19% of
all coral reef MMA area. In general, large (median size 32 km 2 ) multiple use MMAs have
several, small (median size 1 km 2 ) no-take reserves contained within portions of their
boundaries. For example, spawning aggregations and other critical habitat are protected in the
Tortugas Ecological Reserve (a no take zone), which is embedded within the larger multiple use
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, while bottom fishing is allowed in specific zones of
the limited use Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Analysis of the MPA
Center’s national inventory of MMAs reveals important trends in the distribution, size, and
management approach of MMAs to conserve coral reef ecosystems within the U.S.
23.950
The Making Of The Base Maps For Coral Reef Conservation. A Case Study Of The
Shiraho Area in Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan
Rintaro SUZUKI* 1 , Hitoshi HASEGAWA 2 , Satoshi MAEKAWA 3 , Kiyoshi ICHIKAWA 4 ,
Tsuyoshi SHIBATA 5 , Yoshiyuki GOTO 4
1 Institute for Applied Geography, Komazawa University, Tokyo, Japan, 2 Department of
Geography and Environmental Studies, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan, 3 WWF Japan
Coral Reef Conservation & Reseach Centre, Ishigaki, Japan, 4 Komazawa University, Tokyo,
Japan, 5 Naigai Map Co.,Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
The Shiraho coral reef in the east side of Ishigaki Island maintains the healthy coral reef
ecosystem, which is famous for the largest colony of Heliopora coerulea. The local people uses
the shallow lagoon to get fishery products and recently a lot of tourists visit there to enjoy the
beautiful scenery. However, the coverage of corals in this area has been decreasing for various
factors. This study aimed to establish of the new technique of fundamental map of the coral
distribution in shallow lagoon, which can support the activity for coral reef conservation.
About the shallow water area like coral reef, because of no landmarks and underwater
condition, any maps with exact benthic landscapes have not been supplied. Therefore, making a
field map which shows the specific structure is the first step for the investigation. The map was
made based on an aerial photo of the Geographical Survey Institute. To draft the map, the
distorted aerial photo was rectified with the positional data of 60 GCP points set by DGPS and
reformed to the olth photograph with resolution of 1m.
Referring to this photo, to clarify the distribution of corals in the study area, we recorded every
coral species, coverage, and ranges of the same successive assemblages of species. The
coverage of coral was computed from the surface area where the coral lives in three dimensions.
We completed the coral distribution map with the result of the large-scale investigation and we
found out the main area of Heliopora coerulea was about 26,177‡u.
The complete map can be used as not only database for coral reef survey also as positive basic
information for coral conservation and management.
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