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Lobster pot
Alginates have innumerable uses, ranging from the manufacture of ice cream and cakes to the thickening in dyes used in textile printing. They are also used to protect the roots of young trees during transplantation. Objections to cultivation fall into three main categories. Seaweed growth can reach lengths of 200 feet or more, forming dense forests in deep water. The masses of fronds, floating on or near the surface, interferes with shipping. These plants can become entangled with the propulsion systems and can block intakes. In some parts of the world, shipping lanes have to be cut through kelp forests. Secondly, fishing is likely to be hampered tor obvious physical reasons, and also by possible changes in the marine environment resulting from the overgrowth of kelp. Thirdly, it is possible that after a heavy storm holiday beaches might become inundated with masses of rotting kelp. The French claim that they would be able to contain the growth of kelp, but the working group and those countries likely to be affected are somewhat sceptical. Macrocystis flourishes in the colder waters of the southern hemisphere, and Dr Cole feels that if it became established in Europe it would probably infest the whole coastline from northern Spain to Scandinavia. Experts in California have warned that it would probably grow even faster on this side of the Atlantic.
Moan about Mona The Government of Puerto Rico has dropped plans for an oil port on Mona Island, which lies in the straits between Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. The island has one of the largest colonies of white-tailed tropic birds and an individual fauna. Earlier this year, two international organizations (the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) drew attention to the importance of conserving Mona Island, and asked the government to consider an alternative site for the oil port. The Governor of Puerto Rico has announced that such an alternative is now being considered on the mainland, and that 'due consideration was being given to the environmental aspects of the project'. Unique species of ground iguana and frogs, and over half the United States' breeding population of the Atlantic race of the Blue-faced Booby, inhabit the Mona Island, together with the only remaining Puerto Rican colony of the Frigate bird.
Lobster Pot An undersea mountain, thought to be extremely rich in rock lobster, has been discovered by a Cape Town fishing company 30 miles off the South African harbour of Port Elizabeth. The company managed to secretly fish the sea mount for 4 months until they were (literally) followed by rival companies; the latter became peeved on seeing the extraordinarily large catches landed by their competitor. More than twenty boats representing six fishing 132
companies are fishing tile area, and ~everal Japanese trawlers are reported to be heading for the ground. The research ship, Africana 2, has been sent to the area by the South African Department of Sea FisheriesL The Department are concerned ~bout the possible effects of over-fishing. The legalities of the situation, i.e. exactly who is allowed to fish where and how much, have ;lot yet been elucidated. Only recently has lobster catching been considered commercially worthwhile in these sea areas where trawling is hindered by the rocky bottom. A trap fishing method is now being used in this section of the South African continental shelf.
Oil Escapes at
Wharves
Several thousand barrels of oil were spilt at the Getty wharves at Khafji, in the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia neutral zone. The huge oil slick which resulted marred the entire coastal concession of the Japanese-owned company in that area. A major clean-up operation had to be launched in which all the surrounding oil companies lent a helping hand, breaking up the slick with detergents. The incident happened during loading in July, and followed a similar accident only a few weeks earlier when 35,000 barrels of crude oil escaped at Mena Saud, another of the Getty wharves.
C
ation
A project concerned with the identification of critical marine habitats is being carried out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife Fund, under the direction of Dr G. Carleton Ray of John Hopkins University. This is the first step in an effort to conserve representative samples of marine ecosystems. The first phase will involve the development of a classification system of biomes, biotic provinces and habitats; a draft is expected to be circulated for comment in July/August, 1974. At the same time, tentative proposals for the protection, public use and management of marine areas will be formulated. The project will collate information on marine habitats at present dispersed in many different agencies and places. It is hoped that the project will use this information in devising proposals for more effective conservation of the coastal and marine environments critical to the survival of species and biotic communities. Emphasis will be placed equally on habitats which are representative of coastal and marine ecosystems and those which are either 'rare, threatened or fragile'. In particular, marine air-breathing vertebrates, such as turtles, crocodiles and marine mammals, will be studied, with a view to locating habitats critical to their survival. From this preliminary survey, certain areas of high priority will be selected for more detailed study, and this may lead to the implementation of conservation proposals.
Moan about Mona The Government of Puerto Rico has dropped plans for an oil port on Mona Island, which lies in the straits between Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. The island has one of the largest colonies of white-tailed tropic birds and an individual fauna. Earlier this year, two international organizations (the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) drew attention to the importance of conserving Mona Island, and asked the government to consider an alternative site for the oil port. The Governor of Puerto Rico has announced that such an alternative is now being considered on the mainland, and that 'due consideration was being given to the environmental aspects of the project'. Unique species of ground iguana and frogs, and over half the United States' breeding population of the Atlantic race of the Blue-faced Booby, inhabit the Mona Island, together with the only remaining Puerto Rican colony of the Frigate bird.
Lobster Pot An undersea mountain, thought to be extremely rich in rock lobster, has been discovered by a Cape Town fishing company 30 miles off the South African harbour of Port Elizabeth. The company managed to secretly fish the sea mount for 4 months until they were (literally) followed by rival companies; the latter became peeved on seeing the extraordinarily large catches landed by their competitor. More than twenty boats representing six fishing 132
companies are fishing tile area, and ~everal Japanese trawlers are reported to be heading for the ground. The research ship, Africana 2, has been sent to the area by the South African Department of Sea FisheriesL The Department are concerned ~bout the possible effects of over-fishing. The legalities of the situation, i.e. exactly who is allowed to fish where and how much, have ;lot yet been elucidated. Only recently has lobster catching been considered commercially worthwhile in these sea areas where trawling is hindered by the rocky bottom. A trap fishing method is now being used in this section of the South African continental shelf.
Oil Escapes at
Wharves
Several thousand barrels of oil were spilt at the Getty wharves at Khafji, in the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia neutral zone. The huge oil slick which resulted marred the entire coastal concession of the Japanese-owned company in that area. A major clean-up operation had to be launched in which all the surrounding oil companies lent a helping hand, breaking up the slick with detergents. The incident happened during loading in July, and followed a similar accident only a few weeks earlier when 35,000 barrels of crude oil escaped at Mena Saud, another of the Getty wharves.
C
ation
A project concerned with the identification of critical marine habitats is being carried out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife Fund, under the direction of Dr G. Carleton Ray of John Hopkins University. This is the first step in an effort to conserve representative samples of marine ecosystems. The first phase will involve the development of a classification system of biomes, biotic provinces and habitats; a draft is expected to be circulated for comment in July/August, 1974. At the same time, tentative proposals for the protection, public use and management of marine areas will be formulated. The project will collate information on marine habitats at present dispersed in many different agencies and places. It is hoped that the project will use this information in devising proposals for more effective conservation of the coastal and marine environments critical to the survival of species and biotic communities. Emphasis will be placed equally on habitats which are representative of coastal and marine ecosystems and those which are either 'rare, threatened or fragile'. In particular, marine air-breathing vertebrates, such as turtles, crocodiles and marine mammals, will be studied, with a view to locating habitats critical to their survival. From this preliminary survey, certain areas of high priority will be selected for more detailed study, and this may lead to the implementation of conservation proposals.