The Transect Line – November 2008 | |
Reef Rescue 2008 A Big Success! | |
![]() Reef Rescue 2008 was attended by celebrities including actresses Kelly Hu and Nia Peeples, musician Mitch Allan, and Olympian Carl Lewis. Some highlights of the evening included the silent auction bidding wars among the tropical tanks during the cocktail hour and the Halau Hula O' Nalikokauikawekiulani group wowing guests with their beautiful hula performance. A charming rendition of the “Year of the Reef” song by a children’s choir provided the transition to dinner. Fourteen year old Annie Schwab from Chicago made a special trip to Reef Rescue to share her story with event attendees. Earlier this year, Annie raised over $6000 for Reef Check. Guests also enjoyed a scuba exhibition at the California tank demonstrating Reef Check surveying. A moving acceptance speech was given by Greg MacGillivray who shared his mission of using film to make a positive impact on the world. Many thanks to all our sponsors, donors, and guests for their invaluable participation! We look forward to seeing you next year. Click here to see images from the event! |
|
Reef Check California Update | |
![]() This month we also completed cruises on both National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) research vessels. Our close collaboration with marine managers, scientifically robust protocols, and high data quality standards has given RCCA divers access to these research vessels. The vessel crews, who almost solely work with professional scientists, made sure to let us know they were very impressed with the professionalism of RCCA staff and divers. Vessel costs are one of the largest expenses to conduct subtidal surveys; the support of these agencies covers the boat operations costs and allows RCCA divers a unique opportunity to operate on scientific research vessels. We look forward to continuing to build these strong partnerships which will help RCCA to expand our monitoring network in the future. You can check out what our divers have been up to at the following: We continue to be on the front lines of improving marine management in California and we need your continued support! Your donations to RCCA go directly to support the collection of the critical data needed to manage California’s marine resources sustainably. So if you aren’t a member, join us, and if you are a diver, sign up for a training in 2009! |
|
International Year of the Reef Update | |
![]()
|
|
|
|
![]() |
Have you signed the International Declaration of Reef Rights? Join the 20,873 ocean lovers from 158 countries who already have! Click here to sign the International Declaration of Reef Rights |
Reef Check Teams in Action | |
Second OceansWatch Reef Check Training In Tonga by Jane Pares ![]()
“What a wonderful opportunity to learn and be useful at the same time.” OceansWatch links sailors and divers together with marine conservation projects, and forms partnerships with local island communities to work with them to find practical solutions to some of their most basic of problems. For more photos, click here. |
|
|
|
Ocean Star's Students Survey The Reefs In Soufriere by Sea|mester Chief Scientist Jessica Fry
On the 21st of October 2008, park rangers and staff from the Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA) briefed us on the successes of the Marine Park and their work. Over the next two days, we surveyed three sites: Rachette Point, Superman’s Flight (at the base of the Petit Piton) and Grande Caille, all in the Soufriere area. Peter Butcher and the park rangers were extremely helpful, laying out the transect tapes prior to our dives and facilitating the dives with the use of their boat. The reefs are looking good; there was little sign of bleaching, especially compared to previous years, such as 2005. Unfortunately there was some coral damage due to the swells the previous week from Hurricane Omar, which passed 200 miles to the north. Many islands in the eastern Caribbean experienced 6-12ft swells during the hurricane. We noticed many gorgonian sea fans ripped from the substrate, particularly at the 5m survey site in Grande Caille. At the other sites there were signs of hard coral damage, again particularly at the 5m site. Everyone enjoyed some great diving, of particular interest were a couple of sightings of the “peafish”– juvenile smooth trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter) – and many spinyhead blennies (Acanthemblemaria spinosa). For more photos, click here. |
|
|
|
Reef Check Australia Photo Contest Winners
The judges were impressed by the high standard of entries. The competition received a record 139 entries, and several hundred votes were cast online at the Reef Check Australia website. All the category winners will receive a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses and the overall winner will receive a fantastic 6 day, 6 night liveaboard trip to the Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef donated by Undersea Explorer. Please click here to view the images and more information on the winning photos! Prints will be soon be available to order online. All profits go to Reef Check Australia to help protect coral reefs! |