Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and its advisory council<http://beta2.w1.floridakeys.woc.noaa.gov/sac/welcome.html> are seeking public comment on issues related to sanctuary boundaries, marine zones <http://beta2.w1.floridakeys.woc.noaa.gov/zones/welcoe.html?s=zones>, Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge’s Backcountry Management Plan <http://www.fws.gov/nationalkeydeer/backcountry.html>, and associated regulations <http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/welcome.html>. The comments received will guide a review of the marine zones<http://beta2.w1.floridakeys.woc.noaa.gov/zones/welcome.html> and regulations<http://beta2.w1. floridakeys.woc.noaa.gov/regs/welcome.html>, and shape Florida Keys marine conservation for decades to come. Public comments are being accepted through June 29, 2012. Comments may be submitted electronically and via mail, and during five meetings in south Florida and the Florida Keys.

June 19: Marathon, FL; Monroe County Government Center; Emergency Operations Center
June 20: Key Largo, FL; Key Largo Library
June 21: Key West, FL; Doubletree Grand Key Resort; Tortuga Ballroom
June 26: Miami, FL; Florida International University; Graham University Center; Room GC243
June 27: Fort Myers, FL; Joseph P. Alessandro Office Complex; Rooms 165 C and D*

*For more information visit: floridakeys.noaa.gov

We also have a new listserve at Marine Zoning and Regulatory Review List Serve <http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/email-list.html> where you can receive updates on the marine zoning and regulatory review in your email inbox. This service provides subscribers with recent news and information about public meetings and ways to participate in the review process. Marine zoning and regulatory review email updates are one-way forms of communication, not discussion forums.

We have provided a page on our website detailing the various ways to provide public comment during the scoping period.  This can be found at Public Comment <http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/scoping.html>.  I encourage all of you to express your opinions!

Thanks,
–
Sean Morton
Sanctuary Superintendent
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
33 East Quay Road
Key West, Florida 33040
305-809-4700 x233
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov
http://www.facebook.com/floridakeysnoaagov
______________________________

http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10080

Protect Corals, Fish and Whales From Ocean Acidification

Your beach may be more polluted than you think. Each hour we dump one ton of invisible pollution into the ocean; if it were a visible, tangible substance like oil, we would demand that the spill be halted. Even though you can’t see it, this pollution threatens our sea life — from the smallest of plankton to the greatest of whales.

The pollution is carbon dioxide, and it’s making our oceans more acidic. Ocean acidification is linked to global warming in that both are caused by CO2 buildup and both threaten to cause unprecedented devastation to the planet’s biome. The early effects are already here: Baby oysters cannot survive in waters off the Pacific Northwest, coral growth has been stunted in Florida, and polar waters have eroded the shells of prey that sustain Alaska’s salmon and whales.

Sign the petition at link above and tell the President and EPA we must act now to end ocean acidification. The science is in, and there’s no debate: Ocean acidification threatens our marine life and coastal communities. The EPA has the tools to prevent ocean acidification from hurting corals, sea otters, salmon and whales, but it must act swiftly.

• UNCSD First round of informal-informal negotiations on the zero draft of the outcome document
• Mar 22, 2012

• United Nations Headquarters
• North Lawn Building, Conference Room 7
• New York City, New York

1.      A green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and

2.      the institutional framework for sustainable development.

• addressing why high seas biodiversity is important for achieving sustainable development objectives;
• outlining the failings of current management of high seas biodiversity; and
• discussing the implications of paragraph 80 for closing governance gaps relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/corals-03-15-2012.html

So glad the Center for Biological Diversity is paying attention to this.  We worked so hard to achieve the threatened species designation for Elkhorn and Staghorn; it’s sad that NOAA has failed to meet their responsibility to actually follow through with a plan to  increase protection for these endangered corals.   DeeVon

E-mail this page
More press releases

For Immediate Release, March 15, 2012

Contact: Miyoko Sakashita, (415) 632-5308, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org

 

SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to develop a recovery plan for two species of coral, elkhorn and staghorn, that live off the coast of Florida and in the Caribbean. Although these corals have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 2006, the Fisheries Service still has not yet developed a crucial, and legally required, recovery plan to avoid extinction and secure their future survival.

“These elegant corals are heading toward an ugly end if we don’t act soon,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “We need to start with halting their decline — only then will corals have a chance.”

Following a petition from the Center, elkhorn and staghorn corals in 2006 became the first species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act due to the threat of global warming and ocean acidification.

Reefs in Florida and the Caribbean were once dominated by the beautiful, branching staghorn and elkhorn corals. In a few short decades, these corals have declined by more than 95 percent. Unusually warm waters have caused bleaching and mass mortality of elkhorn and staghorn; pressures from disease, fishing and pollution also have led to coral decline. And Caribbean waters are rapidly turning more corrosive because of ocean acidification.

“If we want to bring our oceans’ rich coral reefs back to life, we’ll need to take really decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Otherwise that pollution will wipe out the reefs by mid-century,” said Sakashita.

Recovery plans are the main tool for identifying actions necessary to save endangered species from extinction and eventually be able to remove their protection under the Endangered Species Act. Species that have had dedicated recovery plans for two or more years are far more likely to be improving than those without recovery plans. The timely development and implementation of a plan is critical to saving elkhorn and staghorn corals because it will specifically identify what’s necessary to save them, such as habitat restoration and protection.

Today’s 60-day notice of intent to sue is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 350,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.