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

Falling for Fishes . . .
Friday, 31 October 2008

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Contents:
  - MLPA update (north coast)
  - MLPA update (south coast)
  - second virgin shark birth
  - Monterey Bay Aquarium 
  - missing orcas
  - new IUCN Resolutions
  - DEMA show 
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Hello, and Happy Halloween, fellow ocean lovers!

We decided once again to combine newsletters, and have
consolidated the happenings for September and October
into this single mailing.

As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, some of you
have been having trouble receiving our newsletters
because of the silly tagging process that goes on at
some (free) mail services.  We've been implementing some
changes to combat the stupidity that goes on internally
at some of those services.... so hopefully brighter minds
will prevail, and this issue will reach most, if not all, 
of our faithful subscribers.

 ---

As we mentioned in our last newsletter, an important
meeting of the California Fish and Game Commission was
to take place the first week of October.  The meeting
went rather well, with persuasive presentations made by
numerous fans of the ocean, including our own Executive
Director, Christopher Chin.  At the end of the meeting,
several of the Commissioners agreed that the IPA seemed
sensible and that it would not be in their best interest
to "tinker with it."  They've "put it to notice",
which is another step towards making the proposed
network of MPAs a reality.  Many thanks to each and
every one of our supporters who came out to lend a hand 
or have their voice heard.

Another public Fish and Game Commission will take place
in Huntington Beach on Friday, 14 November, beginning at
08:30am.  This provides an excellent opportunity for our
Southern California friends to speak their minds one
last time about the North Central Coast process.

If you are able to attend the meeting, please let us
know, and we will be happy to pass along detailed
information about the location and will provide you with
speaking points and background information.

You can also check http://caloceans.org/attend/ for more
information about the meetings and agendas.

 ---

The Regional Stakeholder Group for the South Coast
portion of the MLPA Initiative was announced at the end
of September.  Representing a grand diversity of
interests, the SCRSG is significantly larger than its
North Central Coast counterpart.  

We were pleased to see that so many of our bright and
energetic colleagues were among the nearly 60 names that
make up the primary and alternate seats of the group.

 ---

The second case of shark parthenogenesis (the process
through which females of some species are able to
produce offspring without the presence of a male) has 
been documented at the Virginia Beach Aquarium.  (The 
first case occurred in 2001 at the Henry Doorly Zoo in
Nebraska, and was verified by DNA analysis about a year 
and a half ago.)

While some are referring to this as another "virgin
shark birth", the young blacktip pup was not born live.  
In fact, the near full term pup was only discovered
during a necropsy, conducted after the mother had 
died.  

 ---

Speaking of aquariums, Travel & Leisure Magazine has
named Monterey Bay Aquarium on its list of top U.S.
destinations for young travelers, including it among the
"10 Places to See Before You're 10."

We think it's one of the best aquariums in the world,
and we're happy to see that it's receiving even greater
recognition.

 ---

Seven of the killer whales resident to the Puget Sound
are missing and presumed dead in what could be the
biggest decline among the Sound's orcas in nearly a
decade.

While the official census won't be completed until
December, the total number of live "southern resident" 
orcas now stands at 83.

As you probably know, it's been a bad year for salmon,
and many fisheries have been closed.  The low numbers of
chinook salmon, a prime food for the whales, is a
suspected factor in the unusual number of deaths this
year.

Among those missing since last year's count are the
nearly century-old leader of one of the three resident 
pods, and two young females who recently bore calves. 

 ---

On a brighter note, during the recent IUCN 
(International Union for Conservation of Nature) World
Conservation Congress, held in Barcelona earlier this 
month, three resolutions were adopted calling for 
improved protection of leatherback turtles, sharks, and
whales.  While the leatherback resolution focuses on 
regional populations of Eastern Pacific leatherback 
turtles, the shark and whale resolutions address global 
conservation policy.

The IUCN is well known for its "Red List" - the
definitive list of threatened and endangered species.

 ---

This year's DEMA show was a first for us.  Our Executive
Director has been attending the show in different
capacities for several years, but this was the first
time COARE has had an official presence there.  Our
friends at DeeperBlue.com and Lunocet graciously allowed
us to share their booth, and we were able to make some
wonderful new connections there as well as out on the
convention center floor.

Not only did we have the opportunity to catch up with
old friends and colleagues, but we also met some of our
supporters as well as a number of newsletter subscribers.

Magic happens at DEMA, and we came up with some great
ideas and inspiration for a number of future projects.
We're very much looking forward to next year's DEMA show 
(taking place in Orlando) where we expect to make an
even bigger splash!

One of the highlights of this year's show was the Awards
Ceremony, where our friend and Advisor, Marty Snyderman,
was honored with DEMA's prestigious Reaching Out Award.
Marty gave a jovial, moving, and inspiring acceptance 
speech, and it made us even more proud to be there, and
to be working with him.

 ---

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.