Sea Notes

Carnival of the Blue 14

It's that time again -- when the best ocean blogging from across the web comes together in the monthly Carnival of the Blue.

This month's edition is hosted by Anthony Townsend at The Blue Economy. Check it out.

Blue Legacy for Bush?

Say what you will about President George W. Bush's environmental record, he's willing to entertain big ideas when it comes to protecting the ocean.

According to National Public Radio, the Bush folks are looking at designating several marine national monuments to safeguard exceptional sites in the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

While some of the proposals are drawing early opposition because they could conflict with future commercial exploitation, those that remain on the table could leave Bush with a "blue legacy." He took a first step in that direction two years ago when he designated the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.

As the NPR story notes, the Administration is considering sites "without tremendous political blow back" that could be established before Bush leaves office next January. The proposals have the support of ocean conservation organizations, and at least one -- protecting deep sea coral reefs off the South Carolina coast -- is backed by that state's Republican governor, Mark Sanford.

It's an exciting prospect, and one consistent with a similar bold step taken by the first President Bush when he established the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in September 1992 -- two months before he lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton.

Strange Days on Planet Earth

This Earth Day, people around the world are getting active, seeking solutions to a host of environmental challenges that  more of us acknowledge must be addressed now, while we have time to make a difference.

Part of the path to solutions lies in understanding the nature of the problems. A great set of television programs exploring just that airs on Wednesday night.

"Strange Days on Planet Earth," narrated by actor Edward Norton, presents a second season with two hours of programs that look at threats facing the oceans -- including overfishing, unsustainable fish farming and the interconnections between what we do on land and the health of the seas.

It's a project of our friends at Sea Studios Foundation, just down the block on Monterey's Cannery Row. Created in collaboration with National Geographic Television, "Strange Days" will air on a PBS  station near you (our on your DVD player, if you buy a disc to share with family & friends).

"Dirty Secrets" and "Dangerous Catch" address threats to our water supply and the oceans, and the producers challenge us to "find out how we all can make a difference."

Their website offers tools so you can make a difference  --from buying seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council to using one of our Seafood Watch pocket guides when you shop for fish.

Check it out & tell your friends. The planet we save is, after all, our own.

Monday's Photo: Kiribati Coral

What better way to start the week that with a celebration of a great victory: the establishment of the world's largest marine reserve by the Pacific island nation of Kiribati.

The new Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers almost 160,000 square miles near the equator between the Hawaiian Islands and Fiji.

Our colleagues at the New England Aquarium, along with Conservation International, are helping Kiribati develop management and funding plans for the reserve.

The waters and islands in the protected area are home to more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish, some new to science.  The area also has some of the most important sea bird nesting sites in the Pacific, large fish populations and sea turtles, the aquarium and Conservation International say.

"The new boundary includes extensive seamount and deep-sea habitat, tuna spawning grounds and as yet unsurveyed submerged reef systems," Greg Stone, the New England Aquarium's vice-president of global marine programs, told the Reuters news agency.

If you want to see more, National Geographic has a great website devoted to the Phoenix Islands, with photos like this one, and other resources.

It's a wonderful day when any new protected area is created, especially one larger than either the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument (largest in U.S. waters) or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia.