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2010 PCRF Update

2010 PCRF Update...


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Planetary Coral Reef Foundation
December 2009 Newsletter​

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Dear Friends,​

Happy Holidays! ​

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PCRF's new sailing vessel on Dry-Dock!​

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From all of us at PCRF, we send our warmest wishes for the holidays and New Year! At this time, we are excited to share our good news and thank each and every one of you for your generous support.
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PCRF Charters Mir!
We are pleased to report that we have chartered Mir, a 114’ sailing vessel named after Mir, the space station that orbited earth for 15 years and advanced space exploration. Mir is a Russian word that has a double meaning of both world and peace, a perfect name for the ship that will be our new home at sea and the ocean platform for our efforts to preserve coral reefs. Mir is presently in Malta, where we found her and where, with the incredible support of a dedicated team of volunteers, we recently dry-docked the boat and are now completing a retrofit in preparation for sailing her to Singapore next Spring! Over the next five years, we will concentrate our work in Southeast Asia, where the reefs are the most biodiverse on the planet and where an alarming 88% are estimated to be at risk. To learn more, please visit www.biosfirindonesia.org and our blog about the retrofit of Mir.


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Mir Dry-Dock: Day 1​

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Mir Dry-Dock: Day 49​

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Special Thanks to Donors and Sponsors of Mir
Our progress on Mir would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors – thank you one and all! To view a list of our key sponsors, please see our sponsors webpage.

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Volunteer crew after day of work onboard Mir at Dry-Dock​

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Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols Joins PCRF and Embarks on Program to Protect Endangered Sea Turtles in Indonesia

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>We are honored to welcome sea turtle scientist Dr. Wallace J Nichols, better known as “J” to PCRF’s Board. J is working with us to pioneer a sea turtle program in the remote Anambas Islands of Indonesia. Located just east of Singapore in the South China Sea, the Anambas are an archipelago of approximately 250 islands where PCRF has been invited to develop marine conservation initiatives. Last summer, J joined our team on the tiny Anambas island of Durai, a nesting site for two disappearing species of sea turtles, the hawksbill and green turtles. Sea turtles play a vitally important role in the web of marine life, tending lagoon gardens and coral reefs, and they are endangered worldwide. Thus, their protection is of critical importance. (Photo left: J with Anambas sea turtle)
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PCRF befriended Pak Lahonie and worked with the local community to develop a “win-win” strategy to preserve Durai’s sea turtles. Pak Lahonie is 92 years old and the only human being who lives on Durai. For the past 40 years, Pak Lahonie has worked for Durai’s owners, collecting sea turtle eggs for sale in local markets. Over time, he has watched the sea turtle population decline by 75%. Thanks to Nina Marliana, Community Outreach Program Manager for Premier Oil, Premier is providing support to protect the sea turtles and stop the harvesting of eggs. PCRF will host eco-tourist groups on Durai where they can participate in our coral reef and sea turtle monitoring as well as other preservation efforts. Income generated from these groups will be given to Pak Lahonie and Durai’s owners to replace the income previously produced from the sale of turtle eggs. Pak Lahonie is thrilled about his new job – protecting the sea turtles of Durai! (Photo right: J & Pak Lahonie)
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Under Nina’s care and guidance, PCRF participated in a sea turtle outreach program in Anambas for fisherman, local officials and students. Several people were so inspired to protect sea turtles that they formed a “Sea Turtle Club” with great enthusiasm to preserve Durai as a sea turtle nesting site. Please join J and learn more about his journey to Anambas on the California Academy of Sciences’ website. (Photo left: Grayce Nichols releasing a baby green turtle back into the wild)
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Please continue to follow our progress on our new Anambas Islands webpage!​

The Anambas Team : Yanin, Dhany, Mark, Abigail, Nina, Grayce and J. ​

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New Coral Reef Preservation Program: Bali Menjangan Island Reef
Some of Indonesia’s most significant mangroves and coral reefs surround Menjangan Island, located off the Northwest Coast of Bali in the Bali Barat National Park. Park officials have invited PCRF to collaborate on a long-term conservation program to save the reefs there because they are at risk due to a variety of causes, including over-fishing. (Photo below : Michel Lippitsch diving on Menjangan Reef)
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As a first step, Dr. Phil Dustan (Professor, College of Charleston) will join us in March 2010 to gather data on the composition and health of Menjangan’s coral reefs and make population estimates of existing fish stocks. We will use this information to establish a baseline guide for the sustainable management of the island’s precious reefs and other marine resources, and we will work closely with park managers to support the Indonesian Government’s No-Take fishing designation for Menjangan Island to protect the reefs on a long-term basis. We will also collaborate with the Bali Barat National Park to develop educational programs and build awareness among the local communities and park visitors. Additionally, PCRF will host volunteer groups to participate in these preservation efforts. In February 2010, Beyond Boundaries, a global stewardship program, will be the first volunteer team to join us there. The Menjangan Island Reef Project will serve as a model for marine conservation in Indonesia, which has over 17,000 islands, home to many endangered reefs.
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Please continue to follow our progress on our new Menjangan Project webpage!​

A frogfish at Menjangan island camouflaged against a sponge. ​

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Studio of the Sea Highlights: Footage in NRDC Film & New Studio
Studio of the Sea's mission is to bring attention to ocean challenges, island cultures and the beauty of sea life. To date, we have posted 30 short films online at www.studioofthesea.org and six of these on YouTube. We are happy to report that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) features Studio of the Sea’s footage in its recently released film, Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification. Thanks to the generous support of Gigi Coyle and Win Phelps, our 3 terabyte archive and studio have been relocated to a new home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains!

PCRF Featured in Google Ocean Launch!
We were delighted when Google selected PCRF as a demonstration project for the launch of Google Ocean earlier this year. You can now visit the Google Ocean Gallery and journey with us to coral reefs around the planet.

Pioneering 360° Underwater Experiences with Immersive Media (IM)

We have successfully tested IM’s innovative Dodeca camera and created 360° virtual immersion experiences in Pacific island cultures and the underwater world of coral reefs. You can view IM’s newly developed program that links the underwater imagery to our geo-referenced coral reef survey on our new immersive page. (Photo right : Menjangan reef)

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“A Primer for Coral Reefs” by Orla Doherty to be published in 2010
PCRF Board Member Orla Doherty spent almost a decade at sea with us, coordinating the science and making films about the state of the world’s oceans and coral reefs. During this time, she was also writing a coral reef textbook which will be published by Marshall Cavendish International. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
In the Philippines, I have heard the bomb blasts of dynamite fishermen while diving on the remnants of what is left of their once thriving coral reefs. In Papua New Guinea, I have snorkeled with lifeless fish, spiraling in a dance of death, killed by cyanide that kills the corals too. There I have also watched as fins were severed from dead sharks while the living ones became a rare sighting. In the central Pacific Ocean, a thousand miles from anywhere, I have witnessed the incontrovertible effects of global warming. In the Solomon Islands, I have returned to a reef that I knew like the back of my hand to find it unrecognizably destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami. It seems that whichever way I turn, there is trouble at sea.
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Make a Difference – Support PCRF!
You can help us make a difference in the future of coral reefs by making a tax-deductible contribution to PCRF today. Please donate online below. Your gift will make it possible for us to sail Mir to Southeast Asia, protect sea turtles, inspire ocean stewardship and advance our mission to preserve coral reefs everywhere!

With our very best wishes,​

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Mark Van Thillo
Chief Operations Officer​

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Abigail Alling
President​

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Cynthia Lazaroff
Executive Vice-President​

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Click here to donate now!​

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Thank you again for your generous support!
For more information, visit www.pcrf.org and www.biosfirindonesia.org​

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PCRF is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization ​

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pcrf donation

i too have helped out in a small way hoping to help out in a big way thanks matt and 3reefers ;D

 

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December 2010 Newsletter</center></td></tr></tbody></table>
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Happy Holidays!​

BF Team Sailing Mir from Malta to Singapore​

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</td><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" valign="middle" align="center">As 2010 draws to a close we want to express our heartfelt thanks for your generous support. We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our marine conservation initiatives in Southeast Asia and to make a difference while working hand-in-hand with the local peoples. As we approach year’s end we are excited to share our new programs and wish you a joyful holiday season and Happy New Year!
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Planetary Coral Reef Foundation – A Division of Biosphere Foundation


Since 1991, the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF) has been a division of its parent organization, the Biosphere Foundation (BF). Through 2008, PCRF was dedicated to keeping a ship at sea, constantly engaged in mapping and monitoring the coral reefs of the planet. Then, two years ago, we considered the state of the world’s coral reefs – that two-thirds of all reefs are at risk and under severe threat – and we made a decision to focus our work in Southeast Asia, where the reefs are the most biodiverse on earth and where an alarming 88% are estimated to be at risk. Here we have been invited to establish both land and sea-based initiatives that support the health of island peoples and their coral reefs, fisheries and keystone species such as sea turtles and marine mammals. We are pleased that these new stewardship programs are growing in scope, size and number, and we are thus using the identity of BF, our parent organization, for this work as it engages the island communities in both land and sea conservation.



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Expanding Efforts to Protect Bali’s Beautiful Coral Reefs


Lying just off Bali’s northwest shore within Bali Barat National Park, the uninhabited island of Menjangan is truly a jewel. While most coral reefs in the region have suffered significant devastation, Menjangan’s are a comparative treasure of biodiversity, with a wealth of hard corals, sea fans and soft corals. Sadly, although Menjangan’s reefs are officially protected by the national government in Jakarta, they are now increasingly threatened by dynamite fishing, poorly managed tourism, trash, plastics pollution, disease, anchor damage and bleaching caused by climate change. BF is now collaborating with the park managers, government, scientists, NGO’s and the local community on a long-term conservation program to address all of these threats and prevent the collapse of this spectacular coral reef.
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BF Director, Orla Doherty, Studying the Menjangan Reef​

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Hundreds of Thousands of Baby Sea Turtles Return to South China Sea!


Durai Island has the greatest concentration of nesting endangered green & hawksbill sea turtles in Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, an archipelago of approximately 240 islands in the South China Sea. Although it’s illegal to eat sea turtle eggs, nearly 100% of the eggs were gathered for human consumption on Durai for at least forty years and the sea turtle population declined by 75%. This all changed in 2009 when BF pioneered a long-term sea turtle conservation program there in collaboration with Durai’s non-resident owners, the sole inhabitant of the island, Pak Lahanie (photo to the left) and Nina Marliana, Community Outreach Program Manager for Premier Oil. As a result, we are pleased to report that in 2010, under the guidance of Sea Turtle Scientist and BF Board member Dr. Wallace J Nichols, not a single egg was collected on Durai and hundreds of thousands of sea turtle hatchlings returned to the sea once again!
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Beyond Boundaries Volunteers Releasing Sea Turtles at Durai Island</td></tr><tr><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" valign="middle" align="center">
SV Mir Makes Maiden Voyage – Malta to our Home Port Singapore!


On June 6th, after nine months of 24/7 effort by an international team of volunteers, we finished the dry-dock of our new sailing vessel Mir in Malta and set sail for Singapore. The voyage lasted nearly four months and was filled with adventure and challenge. Our course took us through the Mediterranean and Red Seas, then across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. We experienced temperatures of over 100 degrees for days on end in the Red Sea, storms with 20 ft. plus swells in the Indian Ocean, the beauty of fragile but flourishing coral reefs off the coast of Sudan, and the wonder of being surrounded by playful dolphins amidst the pirate-threatened waters of the Gulf of Aden. On September 29th, we finally arrived home at Singapore’s Raffles Marina. We are pleased that Mir is now poised to support our growing marine conservation efforts in Southeast Asia and has the capacity to carry our team to remote locations where we are called to be of service to the biosphere. We could not have completed the voyage and overhaul of Mir without the generous support of our donors and sponsors – a huge thanks to each and every one of you! You can view our key sponsors at biosfirindonesia.org/sponsors.html.
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<table width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" align="center"></td><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" align="center"></td></tr><tr><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" align="center">Heavy Seas in the Gulf of Aden During Mir’s Voyage</td><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" align="center">Spotted Dolphins off Sri Lanka</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" valign="middle" align="center">
BF Invited to Help Establish Indian Ocean Marine Mammal Sanctuary


From 1981 to 1986, BF Co-Founder and President Abigail Alling was part of an international team who lived off Sri Lanka’s coast, recording and then studying sperm and blue whales, as well as dolphins, in support of the Indian Ocean Marine Mammal Sanctuary proposed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Results of this study and others gave momentum to protect the whales, and in 1986 the IWC voted a moratorium on whaling. However, the Japanese, Icelanders and Norwegians continued commercial whaling, and when a Civil War broke out in Sri Lanka in the mid-80’s, the implementation of the Indian Ocean Marine Mammal Sanctuary lost its momentum. However, in May 2009 the Civil War finally ended, and in 2010 the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Systems invited BF to return to Sri Lanka to help reinstate the Indian Ocean Marine Mammal Sanctuary and advise on environmental policy.
(Photo Right: Blue Whale off the Coast of Sri Lanka.)</td></tr><tr><td style="margin: 0px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" valign="middle" align="center">

“These people are the next Cousteau.
It may seem that their work is insignificant
– one small boat, one small team in the middle of the ocean –
but it is not. It is the most important thing anyone can do to make a difference.”​

- James Cameron, Launch of Biosphere Foundation Endowment Campaign November 7, 2010

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Event Host Cathy Ward, with
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Make a Difference – Support Biosphere Foundation!
You can help us make a difference in the future of the biosphere by making a tax-deductible contribution to Biosphere Foundation today. You can donate online at www.biosfirindonesia.org. Your gift will make it possible for us to protect the reefs, sea turtles and marine mammals of Southeast Asia, expand our ocean conservation programs and further our mission to inspire intelligent stewardship of our biosphere.
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Thank you again for your generous support!
To donate or for more information, please visit
www.biosfirindonesia.org, www.biospherefoundation.org andwww.pcrf.org​

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Click here to donate now!​

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Care for our blue planet, it’s ours to love​

Biosphere Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization
P.O. Box 201
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272​

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Just made a donation

 

Awesome. THank you! PM receipt for badge.

 

Donation done....glad to be able to support

 

That you sir. Please FWD confirmation to my inbox and I will update your profile.