C O A R E: Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE)

Cool news for a hot summer . . .
Tuesday, 09 September 2008

-------------------------------------
Contents:
  - Lost newsletters
  - New mail server and mailing list
  - West Coast Ocean Action Plan
  - DEMA
  - Reaching Out Award
  - MLPA call to action
  - MLPA south coast announcement
  - New white shark at Monterey Aquarium
  - Cal Academy opening
-------------------------------------

Hello, fellow ocean lovers!

Some of you have probably been wondering what happened
to the COARE Newsletter.  We decided to combine the June
and July editions into a single mailing last month, so
there was a noticeable hiatus after the May newsletter.
Unfortunately, that June/July edition may not have
reached a great many of you.

Even some people who proactively have the address 
info@coare.org whitelisted in their mail preferences
still found that the newsletter was shuffled away into
their Bulk/Spam folder.  This probably happened to a 
great many others who never even noticed.  Acting on
some of the feedback we received, we did a little
investigating.  It turns out that recent changes at
each of the "the big three" free e-mail providers
(GMail, Yahoo, and Hotmail) caused our mail to be
filtered differently.  

Ironically, the manner(s) in which each of these
providers filters mail is not consistent with
universally accepted Internet Best Common Practices.
Without getting into too much detail, if you use one of
these services as your e-mail provider or e-mail relay,
you may want to check your junk/spam filter settings.
Chances are, you may be losing e-mail.

So, if you missed out on our newsletter last month we
apologize (for the goofballs at your e-mail provider).
If you'd like to catch up on past newsletters, you can
find them archived at http://coare.org/news/archives/ .

 ---

Luckily, our Executive Director is also our resident
network geek, and he was able to figure out a short term
workaround to the "broken-ness" at the Big 3.  Part of
that solution was to install a new mail server at a 
different location.  For the short term, we were able to
transfer our mailing list to the new server, but are
considering a new permanent home for it.  A number of
legitimate providers attempt to discourage spam by
requiring that such lists be opt-in, and that's a good
thing.  What's not cool is when they require
RE-opting-in if the list moves.  We will do our best to
avoid that, but we'd like to warn you now... you might
have to reaffirm your subscription down the road.

 ---

Back in 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, and Washington Gov. Chris
Gregoire collectively signed a regional agreement known
as the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health,
forging a long-term partnership to tackle issues facing
the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

Shortly after our last newsletter was published, the
three Governors joined together to launch a historic
action plan to address challenging ocean and coastal
management issues along the West Coast.  

To support the states’ agreement, a Federal Working 
Group, co-led by the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, was established and will
work with the states in implementing actions.   

For more information on the Governors' Agreement or to
read the text of the Action Plan, you can visit:

    http://www.westcoastoceans.gov

 ---

The annual gathering of dive professionals from all over
the world is coming soon!  An estimated 11,500 people
are expected to attend this year's DEMA show in Las
Vegas, Nevada, from October 22-25.

If you're headed to DEMA, let us know.  We'll be there,
connecting and creating!  You'll find us roaming the
floor or hanging around the DeeperBlue booth, where
we'll have our flyers out.

 ---

Speaking of DEMA, it was recently announced that our own
Marty Snyderman will be one of the recipients of DEMA's
20th annual Reaching Out Award.  Along with Clement Lee
(one of the founders of Borneo Divers), Marty is receiving
this prestigious award in recognition of his significant 
contributions to the sport of scuba diving.

Marty is an icon in the the scuba industry and in the
field of underwater imaging, and he uses his voice and
images to raise awareness and interest about many marine
issues.  We're proud of Marty, and proud to have him on
our Advisory Board.

 ---

COARE has always supported the strongest conservation
proposal for the North Central Coast portion of the
California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), but there
is a reasonable compromise plan called the "integrated 
preferred alternative" (IPA).  We feel this is a
compromise that we can live with as it does a fair job
of protecting portions of the most important areas for
conservation in this study region.  However, some
interest groups are pushing for further cuts, and we
need to let the California Fish & Game Commission know
that we support stronger ocean protection.

We have some postcards that can be mailed into the
Commission to express your preference, but what would
really help would be your presence at the Commission
meeting on Thursday, 02 October.  This will likely be
one of the most important meetings for public comments
about the North Central Coast, so if you haven't been
able to join a public meeting yet, now is your chance to
help make a difference!

When:  Thursday, 02 October 2008. 
       Arrive at 08:15 am (or whenever you can!) 
 
Where: Flamingo Conference Resort
       2777 Fourth Street
       Santa Rosa 


Visit www.CalOceans.org/attend for more information and
talking points for the meeting.

If you have any questions, please let us know.
Otherwise, we'll see you there!

 ---

While the MLPA is wrapping up here in the North Central
Coast, the process is just getting started in the South
Coast.  The south coast Science Advisory Team (SAT) was
just named  (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news08/08086.html)
and the south coast Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) is
expected to be announced by September 26th.

 ---

When we started to write this newsletter, we were
excited to be able to include breaking news that the
Monterey Bay Aquarium had just added a new white shark
to its Outer Bay exhibit.   At 4.5 feet in length, she
weighed in at 55 pounds.  She was less than a year old,
but was quite fiesty when she was first introduced, we
were told.

Unfortunately, her stay was brief.  After she refused to
feed for several days, the Aquarium made the decision to
release her back in offshore waters near Santa Barbara,
where she was originally captured.

 ---

San Francisco Bay Area residents and visitors have
missed the California Academy of Science.  It's been
closed for renovation for quite some time, but the new
buidling and exhibits are worth the wait.

The reef exhibit is stocked entirely with animals from
the Philippines, and through its beauty, the Academy
hopes to encourage conservation.

The grand opening is scheduled to take place the weekend
of September 27th.

http://www.calacademy.org/events/openingweekend



Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends, 
family, and colleagues.  If you received this newsletter 
second hand, we encourage you to subscribe directly by 
visiting http://coare.org/subscribe


Wishing you healthy oceans,
 - Your friends at COARE

==========================

P.S.: Down here, we usually encourage you to add
      info@coare.org to your addressbook, to ensure
      delivery of our newsletter to your inbox.
      Apparently, that's no guarantee .... but it
      probably still helps.