Pemerintah segera membatasi ekspor rumput laut gelondongan (dried seaweed) pada 2012 guna mendorong pertumbuhan industri pengolahan dalam negeri.

“Paling lambat hingga 2012 ekspor rumput laut gelondongan akan dibatasi. Setelah itu akan kami tutup,” ujar Direktur Usaha dan Investasi Ditjen Pengolahan dan Pemasaran Hasil Perikanan (P2HP) Departemen Kelautan dan Perikanan (DKP) Victor P H Nikijuluw dalam satu seminar di Jakarta, Selasa (24 November).

Sejauh ini, menurutnya, industri pengolahan rumput laut di dalam negeri belum berkembang pesat. Dari data DKP pada 2008, 15% ekspor rumput laut dilakukan dalam bentuk olahan, sementara sisanya dalam bentuk gelondongan.

Dia mengatakan di Indonesia hanya terdapat 10 produsen pengolahan rumput laut jenis Eucheuma Cottoni yang berkapasitas produksi mencapai 500.000 ton per tahun. Adapun, eksportir rumput laut gelondongan jenis yang sama mencapai 100 perusahaan.

Dia menjelaskan DKP menyiapkan tiga opsi kebijakan tentang pengembangan pengolahan rumput laut di Tanah Air. Pertama, eksportir rumput laut gelondongan harus terdaftar dan wajib memiliki pabrik pengolahan di dalam negeri. Kedua, pemerintah membatasi ekspor rumput laut gelondongan.

Ketiga, memberikan wewenang kepada koperasi untuk melakukan ekspor rumput laut. Dengan demikian, margin harga dari tingkat pembudi daya ke produsen tidak terlalu tinggi.

“Dapat dibayangkan, saat ini harga rumput laut di petani sekitar Rp5.000 per kilogram, tetapi ditingkat eksportir harga sudah US$1 per kilogram. Perbedaan harga yang jauh inilah yang akan kami potong,” ujar Victor.

Ketua Komisi Rumput Laut Indonesia Farid Ma`ruf mengatakan 50% pasokan rumput laut gelondongan dunia berasal dari Indonesia. Untuk mengurangi ekspor dalam bentuk gelondongan, maka upaya yang perlu dilakukan adalah membuat klaster rumput laut yang mengintegrasikan pengolahan dari hulu hingga hilir.

“Dengan demikian akan lebih optimal dan bernilai tambah,” ujarnya.

Sekjen DKP, Syamsul Ma`arif mengatakan DKP akan menyiapkan 60 klaster rumput laut hingga 2014, sebagai upaya menjadikan Indonesia sebagai produsen rumput laut terbesar di dunia.

“Kami targetkan 60 klaster rumput laut hingga 2014. Ini sebagai usaha menjadi produsen rumput laut terbesar di dunia,” kata Sekjen DKP, Syamsul Ma`arif.

Dia menyebutkan saat ini terdapat 12 klaster industri perikanan rumput laut yang telah dan sedang dikembangkan DKP bersama pemerintah daerah (Pemda) dan swasta.

Rumput laut

Klaster tersebut terdapat di Sumenep Jawa Timur (dua klaster), Gorontalo (dua klaster), dan masing-masing satu klaster di Pangkep Sulawesi Selatan, Dompu Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB), Serang Banten, Kepulauan Riau, Minahasa Utara, Parigi Moutong Sulawesi Tengah, Polewalimandar Sulawesi Barat dan Bau Bau Sulawesi Tenggara.

Syamsul menjelaskan klaster rumput laut yang dikembangkan berbeda dari klaster perikanan tangkap yang juga sedang dikaji oleh DKP yang rencananya dikembangkan pada 2010.

“Klaster ini sangat berbeda karena mengintegrasikan dari hulu hingga hilir. Kalau klaster perikanan tangkap kan mengintegrasikan penangkapan di satu wilayah tangkap,” ujarnya.

Victor P H Nikijuluw menjelaskan klaster itu sendiri dikembangkan tiga lapis usaha. Pertama, usaha budi daya dikelola masyarakat.

Kedua, usaha pengumpulan dan pengolahan tahap awal oleh perusahaan lokal atau daerah. Ketiga, usaha pengolahan tahap lanjutan yang dilakukan perusahaan pengolah dan eksportir dalam rangka peningkatan nilai tambah.

Dia mengatakan target produksi Indonesia pada 2014 setara dengan 1 juta ton rumput laut kering. Demikian pula produksi rumput laut olahan dalam bentuk alkali treated cottonii (ATC), semi refined carrageenan (SRC) dan refined carragenan (RC). Diharapkan produksi rumput laut Indonesia termasuk dalam bentuk ATC, SRC, dan RC mencapai US$1 miliar pada 2014.

Salah satu produsen ekstrak atau chip rumput laut saat ini adalah PT Indonusa Algamas-yang masuk dalam sebuah klaster di Nusa Tenggara Timur-kini mengekspor 10 peti kemas per bulan.

Direktur PT Indonusa Algamas Sasmoyo P Boesari mengatakan 100% produk setengah jadi itu diekspor ke berbagai benua.

Saat ini, kapasitas terpasang perusahaan ini mencapai 2.000 ton per bulan, sementara kapasitas produksi mencapai 1.200 ton per bulan.

Bahan baku rumput laut, katanya, diperoleh dari klaster budi daya rumput laut di NTT dan NTB yang per hektare mampu memproduksi 3 ton rumput laut.

Sasmoyo menceritakan sebelum perusahaannya mengolah chip rumput laut, selama 15 tahun telah berpengalaman melakukan budi daya rumput laut.

Saat ini, katanya, proses budi daya diserahkan kepada anak perusahaan dan petani plasma di dalam klaster rumput laut di NTT dan NTB itu. (diena.lestari@bisnis.co.id/martin.sihombing@bisnis.co.id)

Pemerintah punya segudang rencana untuk membenahi sistem transportasi logistik di Indonesia, terutama yang melalui pelabuhan laut. Salah satunya dengan mengaktifkan kembali dua pelabuhan darat dry port di Cikarang-Jababeka dan Gedebage-Bandung.

Wakil Menteri Perhubungan Bambang Susantono menjelaskan, rencana tersebut sudah tercantum dalam cetak biru sistem logistik Indonesia. Pemerintah akan segera menerbitkan cetak biru yang akan menjadi pedoman penerapan transportasi arus barang yang efisien dan murah tersebut.

Menurut Bambang, penyelesaian pedoman sistem logistik tersebut menjadi tugas tiga Departemen yang dikoordinasi oleh Menko Perekonomian. Yaitu Departemen Perhubungan (Dephub), Departemen Pekerjaan Umum dan Menteri Perdagangan.

“Tugas Departemen Perhubungan memastikan empat pelabuhan utama Tanjung Priok, Makassar, Belawan, dan Tanjung Perak mampu beroperasi 24 jam. Departemen Perhubungan juga diminta untuk menyelesaikan cetak biru angkutan multimoda, angkutan udara, darat dan perkeretaapian,” kata Bambang, Rabu (25/11).

Menurut Bambang dalam pengembangan pelabuhan beberapa tahun terakhir, tidak seluruhnya berjalan mulus. Bambang mencontohkan, yang harus segera dibenahi antara lain peningkatan maksimum jumlah incoming gate di Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok. Diperkirakan pada 2011 akan ada 930 unit kontainer per jam masuk Tanjung Priok. Sementara daya tampungnya saat ini hanya 600 kontainer. “Bahkan kalau dilakukan business as usual, pada 2020 diperkirakan akan masuk 1.370 kontainer per jam,” jelasnya.

Nah untuk mengantisipasi hal ini, pemerintah menginstruksikan diaktifkannya kembali sejumlah dry port di kawasan-kawasan industri. “Ada sejumlah dry port yang akan dibangun dan diaktifkan kembali. Antara lain di Cikarang-Jababeka dan Gedebage-Bandung,” katanya. Kawasan dry port ini lebih dikenal dengan istilah Kawasan Pelayanan Pabean Terpadu (KPPT).

Seperti diketahui, pola persaingan bisnis saat ini telah bergeser dari menekan biaya produksi di pabrik menjadi menekan serendah mungkin biaya transportasi dan distribusi. Sehingga barang yang dijual bisa murah harganya.

VIVAnews - China tertarik untuk melakukan investasi galangan kapal di Indonesia. Hal itu terungkap saat kedatangan 10 delegasi dari China yang menemui Menteri Perindustrian MS Hidayat di kantor Departemen Perindustrian Jakarta, hari ini, 26 November 2009.

Hidayat menjelaskan, kedatangan delegasi dari China ingin menjajaki investasi beberapa sektor industri yang berpotensi di Indonesia.

“Saya tawarkan industri galangan kapal, infrastruktur, dan baja,” kata Hidayat usai menemui 10 delegasi dari China yang tergabung dalam Committe National People China Delegate Conference.

Khusus untuk industri galangan kapal, dia menambahkan, akan ditindaklanjuti lebih serius dengan pertemuan tim kecil antara Sekretaris Jenderal Depperin dan Sekjen federasi asosiasi yang beranggotakan 2,3 juta perusahaan tersebut.

Ketua delegasi Huang Mengfu menyambut baik kerjasama yang lebih intens antara Indonesia dengan China. Selain industri galangan kapal, dia menambahkan, investor China cukup tertarik dengan industri permesinan dan sektor pertanian.

“Kami sudah ada satu perusahaan galangan kapal di Indonesia dan perusahaan ini akan ekspansi. Selain dari yang sudah ada itu, perlu mencari partner di Indonesia, kalau tidak maka akan ada masalah,” kata Huang Mengfu.

Huang mengaku belum bisa menyebutkan potensi investasi yang bakal digelontorkan ke Indonesia paska pertemuan ini. “Mengapa Indonesia, karena di negara ini kondisi politiknya stabil, perkembangan ekonomi luar biasa bagus, jumlah penduduk paling besar di Asean,” ujar Huang.

Bahkan, menurutnya, dengan membangun pabrik di Indonesia, selain mendapatkan pasar domestik Indonesia, juga menyasar pasar Asean.

Untuk merealisasikan rencana investasi ini, Huang meminta pemerintah Indonesia mau memberikan insentif pajak.

Direktur Jenderal Industri Alat Transportasi dan Telematika Depperin Budi Darmadi menilai kerjasama investasi bisa meningkatkan produktivitas kapal melalui teknologi tepat guna yang sudah dikuasai China.

“China bisa bikin kapal dengan proses produksi yang murah karena memakai teknologi tepat guna misal sistem balon,” ujar Budi.

Sebanyak 3 hingga 4 industri galangan kapal Indonesia akan dipertemukan dengan 3 hingga 4 industri galangan kapal China untuk menindaklanjuti ini.

“Kemungkinan akan investasi untuk produksi kapal di bawah 50 ribu ton,” katanya.

Selain investasi pabrik galangan kapal, investasi juga dimungkinkan untuk membangun pabrik komponen kapal di Indonesia.

“Komponen yang belum bisa dibuat di Indonesia akan dikerjasamakan untuk dibangun pabrik di sini,” ujarnya.

Untuk investasi galangan kapal, kata Budi, pemerintah akan memberikan
insentif pajak berupa bea masuk ditanggung pemerintah (BMDTP).

• VIVAnews

My story begins with my parents and grandparents, as I was born with the unique legacy that came with my family. We were not told much by our mother of her childhood, but we know that she was raised in Virginia, first daughter of a second marriage to a wealthy couple. My grandfather was a CEO and they lived in a mansion of a home and mother was raised by a black nanny- as we were told was normal in privileged homes of Virginia at the time. Mom grew up in an alcoholic home, and it sounded like there were some traumatic experiences that came with it.

She became an incredibly passionate, independent thinker that wanted to change the world- she became a hippy. She would study anthropology at William & Mary and teach seminars to jam packed business conferences about saving the earth and other topics, and spent time living in Africa and Columbia serving the poor. At some point she would meet the LDS missionaries, convert from Protestantism to Mormonism, and transfer to BYU to complete her education.

My father was born to a WWII veteran and a woman that had already abandoned several children to the foster care system a few years earlier in California- she was an alcoholic as well. She would abandon my dad also when he was 2 years old and his father would find a distant relative with a daughter of the same age to care for him during the week. My grandfather would die suddenly only a year later and so my father was placed in foster care and later adopted by the family that he had been living with since he was two. He would keep his original last name. He grew up in the loving home of the Moloney family, with a mom, dad, and “twin” sister.

Despite this, Dad was a bit of a lost soul, struggling to find himself, getting into drugs, getting kicked out of many catholic schools and finally giving up on high school altogether. After a short stint in the Marines, he would also meet the LDS missionaries, convert from Catholicism to Mormonism and start school at BYU to study history- his dream was to become a teacher. My mother and father were in drama classes together and became good friends before their stormy relationship evolved into love.

My parents were married several years later- they eloped of course. They were like oil and water sometimes, and their passion, dysfunction, and the fact that neither ended up finishing their last semester in school led to a lot of chaos and instability in our family. Dad became a house painter- a job he never liked and mom stayed at home with a rapidly growing family- a job she was wholly unprepared for or really interested in. They never owned a home and so we move- cross-country several times- every year or two. Other than a two year period, when we lived in Virginia near my mom’s family, we had little family contact and a limited support network.

Despite my dad’s strong work ethic, times were tough and we lived on thrift stores, food stamps, and often barely survived day to day. As we grew, the conflicts increased, the instability continued, and the cracks showed up even more on our home and family. In our world, we saw this environment as normal. Our parents did love and care for us and despite their many struggles, they did their best and they taught us values. They taught us passion, determination, integrity, morality, service, and faith. My father stated that all he hoped for was to give his children a life better than the one he had- and in many ways, he accomplished that for us.

Excerpts from GLOBAL WARMING IS A MYTH

IS CARBON DI OXIDE THE VILLAIN?

Such terms as carbon credit find a place in newspapers almost daily. I don’t know what is all this about. To me CO₂ sustains life on earth. Has the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere gone up? Has it been proved experimentally?

 Before Industrialization

The whole of America and most of the old world were inhabited by a comparatively small population, a majority of whom depended upon meat and fish. Farming depended entirely on rain water as big dams were unknown. The grasslands of America and Australia didn’t produce food grains. Coal and other fossil fuels were not commercially exploited. In those days we may presume that a proper balance existed between CO₂ and other ingredients of the air like N₂ and O₂ in spite of forest fires, the like of which we witnessed in California recently.

After Industrialization

Commercial exploitation of coal began first followed by oil and natural gas, resulting in increase in the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Simultaneously two other developments followed: increase in population (both human and animal) and corresponding growth in food grains production. Big dams were constructed and more and more areas of land were brought under cultivation. Mechanization and the use of artificial fertilizers made leaps and bounds in production of food grains, fruits and other commercial crops. The Prairies of North America became the granary of the world. Compared to grass, food grains and sugar fix a large quantity of CO₂. The major items responsible for such CO₂ fixation are:

1. food grains like wheat, corn, rice, oats, soybean etc
2. underground vegetables like potato, tapioca, beetroot etc
3. fruits like apple, grapes, banana, dates, cherry, pineapple etc
4. sugarcane etc

Experts can calculate the total quantity of CO₂ produced by industry and that absorbed by vegetation as mentioned above and the marine vegetation in order to find out whether the net balance is favoring CO₂ concentration in the air. An easier way would be to experimentally ascertain the percentage of CO₂ in the atmospheric air (being heavier than air CO₂ is available near the surface of the earth). If CO₂ level increases O₂ level should decrease. In my childhood (I am 70+) O₂ level was 20% as mentioned in my text book. Has it changed? An atom of carbon combines with two atoms of oxygen to form CO₂ which is absorbed by the leaves of the plant to form starch. In the process two atoms of oxygen are released into the atmosphere. We may say that each carbon atom burnt ultimately results in the release of two atoms of oxygen, thus resulting in increase in the level of O₂. Level of CO₂ dissolved in the ocean water should also be checked. If this level increases, fishes would die en mass. Has this happened? If the level of CO₂ dissolved in ocean waters decreases, plant life in the ocean cannot produce enough starch by photosynthesis. This will be a hazard for fishes and other marine life.

The volume of animal and hence plant life in the oceans is much more than that on the continents. This is because the area of the oceans is seven times the area of the continents. Also, the oceans are deep. Hence the volume of water is very much more and can contain a large population of marine life. The necessary starch has to come from plant life. So, the total bio mass in the oceans is considerably higher than that in the continent. The carbon di oxideàPlant starchàAnimalsàCarbon di oxide cycle is there in the watery medium, just as in our atmosphere. All the gases, including nitrogen, will be present in dissolved state in the oceans too. Here industrialization has not affected the ‘atmosphere’ of the ocean. This fact has to be recognized in any discussion on Global Warming.

[The percentage of various components of atmospheric air as obtained from the websites is given below:

Nitrogen 78.1

Oxygen 20.9

Argon 0.9

Neon 0.002

Helium 0.0005

Krypton 0.0001

Hydrogen 0.00005

Carbon di oxide 0.035!!!!!!!! (Poor, innocent CO2 has been maligned unnecessarily)

Methane 0.0002

Ozone 0.000004

This would suggest that the percentage of oxygen has slightly increased. If this is true it augers ill, as forest fires may become uncontrollable with increase in the level of oxygen in the coming years. Therefore, this line should be investigated separately by experts. My guess is that with unchecked use of nitrogenous fertilizers, the total bio mass in the earth could have increased. The requisite extra nitrogen must have been drawn from the atmosphere along with CO₂ releasing extra oxygen into the atmosphere as pointed out above.]

The importance of proper scientific study cannot be over emphasized. Mother Nature maintains her balance, whatever her children may do!

The remote and largely inaccessible Kimberley coast is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the world.

Characterised by a broad continental shelf, the area is dotted with reefs, shoals, banks and near shore islands, often fringed with coral reefs.

At least 2,815 surveyed and mostly uninhabited islands extend through the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos.

The Kimberley coast is rich in species habitats, ranging from mangroves, to seagrass beds, fringing reefs, mudflats and sandy bottoms. In addition, the Kimberley boasts an extraordinarily large tidal range of more than ten metres. This results in two major effects; an extensive tidal zone, and strong currents, exceeding five knots at times. The currents also stir up silts deposited by the large rivers of the Kimberley, causing high water turbidity, particularly inshore during Spring Tides.

Dr Gerald Allen and Roger Steene, in their excellent Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide state that “Increased sea temperatures have only had adverse effects since 1980, when El-Nino boosted temperatures exceeded the thermal tolerance of corals and their symbiotic algae.” When the upper limit of heat tolerance is reached by the algae that give corals their colour, deaths will occur with the corresponding bleaching of the coral host. Besides colour, the algae also provide sugars and other nutrients leaked into the tissue of the coral host. Global warming is believed to be a major factor in coral bleaching, and may herald the beginning of the end of coral reefs as we know them.

1. Survey of the Aquatic Fauna of the Kimberley Islands and Reefs, Western Australia, Edited by Gary Morgan, Western Australian Museum, April 1992.

2.

2.Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, Dr Gerald R.Allen and Roger Steene, Tropical Reef Research, 2002.

Kimberley marine fauna consists of a largely Indo-West Pacific element, typical of Northern Australia marine faunas. Many species are either widespread throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, or more confined to the Indo-Malaysian, New Guinea and Australian sub-province1. This coast boasts a high diversity of corals and marine molluscs, which are at severe risk if sea temperatures are raised due to global warming. Click here for marine images.

To date, exploration in the marine science of the Kimberley coast has been limited by time and funding, thus there no doubt remains much to be discovered. Our own explorations have revealed many species known to exist elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, but also found on the Kimberley coast.

There is exciting work to be done on identification of all manner of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna, including sponges, anemones, nudibranches, flatworms, corals, marine flora, crustaceans, acquatic insects and fish.

Click here to view an album of coastal fauna and marine images. We welcome input on species identification. Please email us.

The remote and largely inaccessible Kimberley coast is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the world.

Characterised by a broad continental shelf, the area is dotted with reefs, shoals, banks and near shore islands, often fringed with coral reefs.

At least 2,815 surveyed and mostly uninhabited islands extend through the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos.

The Kimberley coast is rich in species habitats, ranging from mangroves, to seagrass beds, fringing reefs, mudflats and sandy bottoms. In addition, the Kimberley boasts an extraordinarily large tidal range of more than ten metres. This results in two major effects; an extensive tidal zone, and strong currents, exceeding five knots at times. The currents also stir up silts deposited by the large rivers of the Kimberley, causing high water turbidity, particularly inshore during Spring Tides.

The Kimberley coast is rich in species habitats, ranging from mangroves, to seagrass beds, fringing reefs, mudflats and sandy bottoms. In addition, the Kimberley boasts an extraordinarily large tidal range of more than ten metres. This results in two major effects; an extensive tidal zone, and strong currents, exceeding five knots at times. The currents also stir up silts deposited by the large rivers of the Kimberley, causing high water turbidity, particularly inshore during Spring Tides.

Dr Gerald Allen and Roger Steene, in their excellent Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide state that “Increased sea temperatures have only had adverse effects since 1980, when El-Nino boosted temperatures exceeded the thermal tolerance of corals and their symbiotic algae.” When the upper limit of heat tolerance is reached by the algae that give corals their colour, deaths will occur with the corresponding bleaching of the coral host. Besides colour, the algae also provide sugars and other nutrients leaked into the tissue of the coral host. Global warming is believed to be a major factor in coral bleaching, and may herald the beginning of the end of coral reefs as we know them.
Dr Gerald Allen and Roger Steene, in their excellent Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide state that “Increased sea temperatures have only had adverse effects since 1980, when El-Nino boosted temperatures exceeded the thermal tolerance of corals and their symbiotic algae.” When the upper limit of heat tolerance is reached by the algae that give corals their colour, deaths will occur with the corresponding bleaching of the coral host. Besides colour, the algae also provide sugars and other nutrients leaked into the tissue of the coral host. Global warming is believed to be a major factor in coral bleaching, and may herald the beginning of the end of coral reefs as we know them.

1. Survey of the Aquatic Fauna of the Kimberley Islands and Reefs, Western Australia, Edited by Gary Morgan, Western Australian Museum, April 1992.

2.

2.Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, Dr Gerald R.Allen and Roger Steene, Tropical Reef Research, 2002.

Kimberley marine fauna consists of a largely Indo-West Pacific element, typical of Northern Australia marine faunas. Many species are either widespread throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, or more confined to the Indo-Malaysian, New Guinea and Australian sub-province1. This coast boasts a high diversity of corals and marine molluscs, which are at severe risk if sea temperatures are raised due to global warming. Click here for marine images.

To date, exploration in the marine science of the Kimberley coast has been limited by time and funding, thus there no doubt remains much to be discovered. Our own explorations have revealed many species known to exist elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, but also found on the Kimberley coast.

There is exciting work to be done on identification of all manner of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna, including sponges, anemones, nudibranches, flatworms, corals, marine flora, crustaceans, acquatic insects and fish.

Click here to view an album of coastal fauna and marine images. We welcome input on species identification. Please email us.

The remote and largely inaccessible Kimberley coast is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the world.

Characterised by a broad continental shelf, the area is dotted with reefs, shoals, banks and near shore islands, often fringed with coral reefs.

At least 2,815 surveyed and mostly uninhabited islands extend through the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos.

The Kimberley coast is rich in species habitats, ranging from mangroves, to seagrass beds, fringing reefs, mudflats and sandy bottoms. In addition, the Kimberley boasts an extraordinarily large tidal range of more than ten metres. This results in two major effects; an extensive tidal zone, and strong currents, exceeding five knots at times. The currents also stir up silts deposited by the large rivers of the Kimberley, causing high water turbidity, particularly inshore during Spring Tides.

Dr Gerald Allen and Roger Steene, in their excellent Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide state that “Increased sea temperatures have only had adverse effects since 1980, when El-Nino boosted temperatures exceeded the thermal tolerance of corals and their symbiotic algae.” When the upper limit of heat tolerance is reached by the algae that give corals their colour, deaths will occur with the corresponding bleaching of the coral host. Besides colour, the algae also provide sugars and other nutrients leaked into the tissue of the coral host. Global warming is believed to be a major factor in coral bleaching, and may herald the beginning of the end of coral reefs as we know them.

1. Survey of the Aquatic Fauna of the Kimberley Islands and Reefs, Western Australia, Edited by Gary Morgan, Western Australian Museum, April 1992.

2.

2.Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, Dr Gerald R.Allen and Roger Steene, Tropical Reef Research, 2002.

Kimberley marine fauna consists of a largely Indo-West Pacific element, typical of Northern Australia marine faunas. Many species are either widespread throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, or more confined to the Indo-Malaysian, New Guinea and Australian sub-province1. This coast boasts a high diversity of corals and marine molluscs, which are at severe risk if sea temperatures are raised due to global warming. Click here for marine images.

To date, exploration in the marine science of the Kimberley coast has been limited by time and funding, thus there no doubt remains much to be discovered. Our own explorations have revealed many species known to exist elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, but also found on the Kimberley coast.

There is exciting work to be done on identification of all manner of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna, including sponges, anemones, nudibranches, flatworms, corals, marine flora, crustaceans, acquatic insects and fish.

Click here to view an album of coastal fauna and marine images. We welcome input on species identification. Please email us.

The remote and largely inaccessible Kimberley coast is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the world.

Characterised by a broad continental shelf, the area is dotted with reefs, shoals, banks and near shore islands, often fringed with coral reefs.

At least 2,815 surveyed and mostly uninhabited islands extend through the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos.

Kimberley marine fauna consists of a largely Indo-West Pacific element, typical of Northern Australia marine faunas. Many species are either widespread throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, or more confined to the Indo-Malaysian, New Guinea and Australian sub-province1. This coast boasts a high diversity of corals and marine molluscs, which are at severe risk if sea temperatures are raised due to global warming. Click here for marine images.

To date, exploration in the marine science of the Kimberley coast has been limited by time and funding, thus there no doubt remains much to be discovered. Our own explorations have revealed many species known to exist elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, but also found on the Kimberley coast.

There is exciting work to be done on identification of all manner of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna, including sponges, anemones, nudibranches, flatworms, corals, marine flora, crustaceans, acquatic insects and fish.

Would you all agree with me that war is an ugly, but sometimes necessary thing? No SANE person ever wants to go to war. But when diplomacy fails and our national well being, safety, and security are at stake military action is sometimes necessary. When military action can no longer be avoided, for it to be truly effective it must be conducted violently and with overwhelming force to quickly defeat the enemy and make them KNOW that further resistance is futile. Contrary to what many opponents of any war believe, fewer people on both sides die if you hold to these principals. When you try to make war “nice,” as our spineless yellow bellied politicians have done, it turns into a slow war of attrition, a war of a thousand cuts. The enemy that threatened you is never defeated and will ALWAYS be a threat until they are defeated. They gain strength day after day and kill more and more of your people a few at a time.

With regard to Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other conflict in which our military is employed, just about every conservative I know, be they politician, talk show host, fellow soldier, sailor, Marine or airman, have universally held the opinion “let us win, or bring us home.” That includes me. When we went into Iraq and Afghanistan, there was a genuine military purpose and legitimate national security goal. Once the initial military victories on the ground had faded into history, the politicians got involved and began to tear down the success of our military. Especially those liberal politicians who didn’t want us to go to Iraq or Afghanistan in the first place, but who would not speak out because the POLLS said speaking out against the actions wasn’t popular. Cowards.

As each day passes, the liberals withdraw more and more support from our military men and women who are on the front lines risking and sacrificing their lives for America. The withhold money, new weapons, and reinforcements. They attack and belittle the military in the press. The two most notable examples of this are senator Harry Reid of Nevada who said the war in Iraq was lost before the surge ever began, and congressman Jack Murtha (spit) of Pennsylvania who with no proof or evidence came out publicly and loudly to proclaim that U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq were murderers and baby killers. Of course they were proven innocent, but Murtha (spit) couldn’t and still hasn’t found a microphone to say he was wrong, or that he is sorry for what he said. He calls himself a former Marine, but I assure you any REAL Marine would rather disembowel himself than shake this traitors hand.

Now we have the Obama administration about to prosecute three Navy SEALs for capturing a terrorist on the field of battle ALIVE. Keep in mind that usually SEALs don’t CAPTURE anyone. They kill them. Why are they being prosecuted? Because the terrorist, the mastermind of the abduction, torture, execution, and burning of four Blackwater agents whose bodies were then hung from a bridge, this scumbag got a bloody lip. I’m sure he wasn’t read his Miranda rights either. He should have died of acute lead poisoning. Navy “leadership,” in politically correct lock step with Obama and the liberals, tried to give these SEALs non-judicial punishment which would still effectively end their careers. Seeing the absurdity of this they exercised their option and demanded a trial by Courts Martial. God bless them.

Yesterday I heard several people who had been ardent supporters of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan say it was time to bring our troops home. Radio hosts Roger Hedgecock and Glenn Beck were two of the more notable. When our Commander-in-Chief (in this case the campaigner-in-chief) and the rest of our national command structure no longer support our military in a time of war, when they will throw our own soldiers under the bus, when they WILL NOT ALLOW OUR MILITARY TO WIN, it is time to bring them home. The lives of a million of those dirt bag, swine excrement, satanic terrorists is not worth the life of even one single American.

Bring them home. Now.
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Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
By Rowan Scarborough

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

Neal Puckett, an attorney representing McCabe, told Fox News the SEALs are being charged for allegedly giving the detainee a “punch in the gut.”

“I don’t know how they’re going to bring this detainee to the United States and give us our constitutional right to confrontation in the courtroom,” Puckett said. “But again, we have terrorists getting their constitutional rights in New York City, but I suspect that they’re going to deny these SEALs their right to confrontation in a military courtroom in Virginia.”

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

“I gave the detainee a glance over and then left,” the SEAL wrote. “I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health.”

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that “Objective Amber” planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and “they had been tracking this guy for some time.”

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.

Intelligence sources identified Abed as the ringleader, but he had evaded capture until September.

The military is sensitive to charges of detainee abuse highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Navy charged four SEALs with abuse in 2004 in connection with detainee treatment.

No Tourism without Conservation
The biggest conservation enemy is the greed

In 1990, Pemuteran coastal village, Gerokgak in Buleleng regency North West of Bali, was a bare and dry land, the harvest only once a year due the harsh weather. Pemuteran coastal village is located on a secluded bay at the foot of the seer mountain range and next to the important Pulaki Temple. Due to its extremely dry conditions, poor fishermen and dry land farmers were both struggling to make a living.
It is potential as the Balinese have always recognized a sacred place and there are numerous temples in the area. The marine tourism potential was just beginning to be realized in the early 90’s.
Population increase over the years in such a poor area that depended on the sea for their daily food, led to the fishermen using destructive fishing methods like bombing and cyanide fishing, killing all fish indescribable, causing catastrophic damage to the coral reef the very foundation of the marine natural resource. In combination was the further insult of the 1998 El Nino, which caused much of the coral reefs to bleach and die decreasing even further the marine habitat.
In the early 90’s, a few local businessmen attempted to establish the beginning of a tourist offering. They also began using the principles of community-based tourism, as the tools to help the local people’s social life and the local environment in line with Balinese Hindu culture.
The goals were not only to create a better living standard for the local community but also incorporate conservation and protection concepts for the environment as well, both of which the local community and tourism industry depended on.
As the local community understood the importance of protecting and conserver ring their own resources for their current and future benefit, the principals of eco-tourism were introduced and quickly understood. One of the methods introduced to help restore their reefs and fisheries as well as serve as a shining community based conservation educational example for all was the Bio-Rock System of Reef Restoration.

Why the emphasis on coral?
Coral reefs are the major biodiversity, fisheries, tourism and shore protection resource of over 100 countries. In a UNEP report, it has been estimated that a typical coral reef can absorb up to 90% of a wave’s force, thus being the key factor in protecting the shorelines from erosion and destruction. It is also the ecosystem most vulnerable to global warming, absorb 70% carbon emission.
The marine tourism industry depends on beautiful seas and beaches. Without healthy reef systems, future options for social and economic development will be constrained or lost. Not many will wish to holiday or visit polluted beaches and dead seas.

Bio-rock method
In the last few decades a completely new approach, the Bio-rock method, has been developed. It uses safe low voltage electrical currents to grow natural limestone rock out of the sea on steel structures of any size or shape. This provides the same natural material that coral skeletons are made of, and on which baby corals settle. The Bio-rock process provides the only marine construction material that gets stronger with age, and is self-repairing. They are designed to create denser and more varied hiding places for fishes than even a natural reef and rapidly build up large and diverse fish populations. The corals grow faster, can with stand stress up to 50 times more, can recover from physical damage and corals spontaneously settle on them, many times faster than normal. As a result, reefs can be kept alive where they would die. These reefs can also turn severely eroding beaches into growing beaches in a few years.
In a world where water quality is steadily deteriorating from out of control global warming, and pollution, Bio-rock reefs survive stresses that kill all the corals on conventional artificial reefs and cost far less.

Tourism as a tool to conservation
By applying best practices, tourism can be a leader in environmental protection, restoration as well as community education in sustainable development. What really is needed now is not more study but large-scale action, training local students in the arts of ecosystem restoration, and funding them to work with communities to restore their vanishing marine habitat.
In Pemuteran coastal village, coral reef restoration with the use of the Bio-rock system not only increased the range and size of the coral reef area, it also increased the over all health of the whole marine eco-system emphasizing to the community the importance of protecting, conserving and restoring their own reefs. The change from becoming the hunters of the last fishes to becoming sustainable farmers of their resources had begun.
Fishermen were not only able to increase their catches, but the marine tourism industry increased as well, creating jobs and opportunities for all the support services required. They were able to “catch” tourists as well as a master diver.
These positive results increased the social well being of the local communities and served as an excellent example to other communities what can be done to improve their own situation. The tourism industry not only increased job opportunities, but also became the leader in the establishing of important conservation principals to be followed by all for the benefit of all.
Pemuteran’s community-based, conservation, protection and restoration of their own marine habitat areas in line with eco-tourism principles was a learning process that proved to everyone the effectiveness of managing their resources in a way that made it a tourist destination. * dwi

As I left the grocery store, a red strobe came from every wall, sending all other shoppers into grand mal seizures. An auto tuned Morgan Freeman impersonator asked me to wait for an employee to assist me. A giant steel cage slammed down over me, separating me from my cart full of foodstuffs. I asked to be taken back to the security office so the ex-marine-looking gentleman eyeing my receipt could search for the stolen merchandise in my ass. But they wouldn’t do it. So I guess this Vizio LCD is mine.

What pisses me off about shoplifters is not that they violate social norms or contribute to the overhead that fuels price increases. It’s that they think they deserve some kind of dignity when they’re caught. You took a pack of Rolos, cock flap. You don’t get to walk to the back with a jacket over your hands and your head held high. You get to be tackled by seven cart-pushers and dragged, weeping, through the produce aisle, while they announce your legal name and address over the loudspeaker. You’re not taking a loaf of bread or a pair of baby shoes. You get no pity, queef whippit. Actually, even if you were, I’d still point and laugh because you’re fucking poor.

Even better: the fat bitch who tries to fight the security guys off. She’s always screaming something trashy, like “he’s trying to get down my panties!” or “Fuck you, man! I brought that chicken in with me!” or “Kick him in the nuts, Kenny!” She rolls around, pseudopods of corpulence stretching outward and covering onlookers with a yellow, pube-garnished paste before sliding back into the vicinity of her Tweety Bird tube top. She is the complete opposite of the “don’t draw attention to me” breed. She wants everyone to know that she’s the kind of nasty whore who hides crack rocks and stolen makeup in tampon applicators.

Stealing is wrong and hilarious. Seriously… is the cost of petty theft so high that it justifies the camera systems, security guys, electronic anti-theft systems and those little tag things that cum ink and battery acid? I have a great idea: smaller stores where inventories can be monitored by the people who actually work there. If you want one-stop shopping, go to the mall, shithead. Besides, they have corn dogs there. And corn dogs rule.

En el año 2000, 344 científicos de diferentes países comenzaron una investigación, de 10 años de duración, llamada “Censo de Vida Marina”. Esta investigación pretende recopilar datos  y explicar, no sólo el presente, sino también el pasado y futuro de la diversidad, distribución y abundancia de las especies marinas. Hoy en día, el número de científicos trabajando en la misma asciende a unos 2,000 y cerca de 80 países se encuentran colaborando.

"Dumbo"

Sólo queda poco más de un año de la investigación y se estima que el 95% de los océanos se encuentra inexplorado. Aún así, en su último reporte el CVM han publicado información de unas 17,650 especies marinas que habitan a unos  5,000 metros de profundidad. Una de ellas, es un pulpo gigante que se desplaza con la ayuda de estructuras parecidas a orejas de elefante por lo que se le conocido como “Dumbo”.

Megaleledone setebos

Otras especies como gusanos que se alimentan de petróleo han sido encontradas y se han hecho descubrimientos acerca del comportamiento de especies ya conocidas. Tal es el caso del tiburón blanco, del cuál se ha descubierto que viajan miles de kilometros para pasar 6 meses en el llamado :”Café de los Tiburones Blancos”.  CVM ha enfrentado grandes retos a la hora de que varias especies sean reconocidas como “nuevas” ya que es un proceso bastante riguroso.

Aequorea macrodactyla

Se espera que para octubre de 2010 el CVM presente su informe final. Para más información y fotos pueden visitar:

Census of Marine Life.

Ehh oui… lundi est  là et j’ai déjà peur…Allez savoir, c’est peut être parcequ’on ce est plus des enfants et que l’on a plus droit à la fête générale mais…les anniversaires ne sont plus une cause de joie et de bon souvenirs. Pour faire simple, je dirais que si cette année je me casse une jambe en tombant dans les escaliers le jour de mon anniversaire se sera déjà mieux que mes trois derniers annifs…Bon, bon… restons positifs XP (A.)

On a reçue une bonne surprise, on vous racontera tout demain!(M.)

This has got to be the best office in the world!!!!

The sunrise view of South East Bay from my bunk

I’ve just spent a week with 14 other staff, four volunteers and two owners on Tuhua (Mayor) Island.  Whilst the view of the sunrise from my bunk each morning was a great way to start each day, it was certainly no holiday. 

Each day we loaded our gear and set off on a range of tasks all over the island, returning at the end of day to eat and fall into bed, exhausted but excited to have made a dent in the long list of jobs we had to complete.

Our hard work was rewarded by regular sightings of rare birds, plants, lizards and marine mammals.  Here are just a few of the locals that we saw.

We’ve been working in partnership with the owners (Tuhua Trust Board) for many years to restore the pest-free island and now we’re helping them to make it more accessible for people to enjoy.

I spent three days with our botanist and weed specialists spraying and searching for weeds all over the island, including one day of wading through a wetland, pushing through head-high walls of vegetation in search of the invasive royal fern.  

Spray unit loaded and off to spray weeds

The wetland we waded through

My last day was spent helping to fix the floor of the caretakers cottage and shifting firewood.

Eveyone’s skills and expertise were used around the island – upgrading buildings, tracks, water supply, removing massive fallen pohutukawa logs from where they had fallen on top of buildings, cleaning up the ammentity areas, killing weeds, patrolling the Marine Reserve, searching for springs in preparation for our orange-front parakeet transfer coming up in December and checking on the pateke (brown teal) and kiwi that have been released on the island.

Rope & chainsaw skills got put to the test

Dave checked out a cliffside kiwi nest

Chris and John fixed the floor

Tawara cleared the track

Dean & Alastair built a huge firewood pile

As inviting as the water looked, I only managed one swim – the cool water and 2m shark we saw swimming in the bay on our first evening were a little off-putting.  But when I did get wet, I took mask & snorkel with me and got to see some beautiful kelp beds, big angel fish and incredibly glossy obsidian.

Click here to find out how you could visit Tuhua – Tauranga’s piece of paradise.

The smell is what hit me first. Sulphur combined with an earthy musk stifled my nostrils swamping the air, erasing the odour of any individual.

Royal Marines are a strange breed: the young untried recruits possessed with a sense of adventure, lost in the moment, an indistinguishable cog in the machine, the old hands decked out in their authoritative berets, living a life between the forces and “civyy-street”, and then there are those serving, the finished article.

Dirty and sleep deprived, these serving soldiers are ruthlessly efficient and professional. At no point during my brief time spent embedded with them did I ever feel in danger or in doubt of their abilities.

While their actions and thought processes require a robotic precision, I felt a greater humanity from these men than I did with either their old and young counterparts.

One marine, recently returned from Iraq, said after he had secured a good pension he would retire immediately to set up his own fitness business. It had been the hardest experience of his life and he had no desire to return.

We went on an ambush exercise with this troop, ghosting along track and woods in the dead of night, and it struck me how much time marines spent alone. Although they are irrefutably a team, almost identical in the black of night, I was very aware in the oppressive silence that I was surrounded by humans, not soldiers, with individual thoughts.

When I asked one marine about this he said his mind drifted terribly. He often thought about where he would spend his next holiday, or who he would be sharing Christmas with.

While I know these thoughts are far from revelatory, it was reassuring to know the awful musk of sulphur and sweat had not claimed the individual and these were men first and soldiers second.

Marine Phytoplankton is considered to be one of the most powerful foods on Earth because it is loaded with high-energy super anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and proteins in microscopic form. It is a tiny little plant (about the size of a red blood cell) that naturally grows in the ocean and is the beginning of the food chain where as all other living creatures in the ocean feed on other living things that feed on this little plant. It is responsible for over 70% of the planet’s oxygen and because of its unique nutritional properties and microscopic size, it is believed to penetrate the cellular level of the body thereby enabling fast nutritional support to multiple health ailments.

http://www.marinephytoplankton5000.com/

Petit rappel pour ceux qui les auraient raté,
Des photos ont été rajoutées à la suite de l’article “En route pour le Cap Vert” ( ici).
Pour comprendre ce décalage, le texte a été produit depuis le bord en pleine navigation et mis en ligne au plus vite pour vous donner des nouvelles, les photos ne sont rajoutées qu’une fois l’équipage à terre, reliée à une borne Wifi.

Marine et le reste du crew.

16°53.0850 N 024°59.7231 O

J’aime mon père, surtout quand il décide d’entreprendre de « petites » réparations à bord.
Baie de Mindelo. Au mouillage. Un après midi ensoleillé. Petite rafales sympathiques entre 20 et 30 noeuds. Tout va bien, du moins jusqu’à cet épisode.
Les garcons étaient très absorbés par la lecture des Mickey Parade tout neufs, arrivés directement de France grâce à Estelle et Bertrand. J’étais moi-même concentrée dans la rédaction d’une lettre. Maman s’affairait à des occupations un peu plus essentielles que nous. Pascal B était en train de faire la sieste.
Papa était un peu trop silencieux depuis quelques heures. Or lorsque Papa est silencieux et qu’en plus il se gratte la « barbe » en fixant un point, faut faire gaffe. Parfois il a quelques illuminations et se met à griffonner sur son cahier, ou à dessiner de petits schémas. Toujours est-il que nous ne savions pas ce qu’il manigancait. Nous étions de toute façon beaucoup trop occupés par ailleurs. Nous vivions paisiblement, chacun dans son coin, jusqu’au moment où il a bien fallu qu’on s’en mèle. Il y avait un bordel monstre sur le pont. Faire comme si de rien n’était, surtout. S’il a besoin de nous il nous appelera, tu peux compter sur Papa pour ça. On sent le bateau qui tire sur l’ancre. « Victor ! Victor ! Viens m’aider ! ». Ah voilà !
On sort sur le pont. Le génois est complètement déroulé et bat furieusement. Maman est dans le cockpit arrière et papa à l’avant. Ils ne s’entendent pas.
C’est assez marrant à voir d’ailleurs. Papa crie des ordres de l’avant et c’est un vrai téléphone arabe pour parcourir les 15,6 mètres du pont. Quand ils ne sont que tous les deux, c’est plus dur et encore plus drôle.
En attendant, les bouts volaient un peu partout en réponse au fameux « Choques tout ! » et les 90 mètres carré de génois face au vent nous préoccupait un peu. Nous ne savions toujours pas ce que Papa trafiquait sur l’enrouleur et Maman était bien trop concentrée à essayer de comprendre les ordres pour nous expliquer. Alors t’obéis et tu ne poses pas de questions. Si tu te fais fouetter par les bouts, t’écrases.
Pascal émergeait de sa cabine et lui par contre a directement compris de quoi il s’agissait puisqu’il suit attentivement les avancements de la liste sans fin des travaux.
Quelques curieux nous regardaient bizarrement et avec un peu d’inquiétude depuis leurs embarcations.
Sur un bateau tu peux te fringuer n’importe comment et ca tout le monde s’en fiche. Par contre tout ce que tu fais est noté et critiqué, ainsi que ton équipement évidemment. On avait l’air de touristes. Comme la fois où Maman a allumé le moteur pour recharger les batteries et a oublié de débrayer. On avancait sur notre chaîne et j’ai couru appeler Papa, qui était parti avec les garcons, sur la VHF. La honte. Nos sourires et nos grands saluts genre tout-va-bien-arretez-de-nous-regarder-comme-ca n’ont rien changé. On était catalogués.
Donc après une quinzaine de minutes de sourires forcés à droite à gauche, nous avons finalement recu l’ordre d’enrouler le génois.
« Bon voilà c’est fini. Ah ! Une bonne chose de faite. »
Merci Papa de nous prévenir quand tu te décides à faire ce genre de manoeuvre.
Marine