Marine Depot Forums / TEAM Marine Depot / Pulse on the Hobby – by Steven Pro

My Greenhouse Build Project

Steven Pro — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:13:48 GMT

I figured it was about time to bring you all up to speed concerning my greenhouse coral propagation farm. I have mention it in other threads and in a couple of my presentations to cliubs and such, but I am at the point where I can start to document my progress.

I hope that readers will learn some of the lessons that I learned during construction. Even though I thought I had prepped myself well, I had been in Anthony's greenhouse more times than I could count, have visited Dick Perrin's Tropicorium several times, and even checked out Morgan Lidster's Inland Aquatics a few times, not to mention thoroughly researching greenhouse construction, I still ran into things I had never considered and been made away of.

We broke ground on the greenhouse in mid-July. My initial hopes were to get everything running by MACNA XVIII in Houston in September. That would have been about a two month build time. Well, those hopes were dashed, but not early on. In the beginning, progress was quick and that kept my hopes high.

Coral-Algae Symbiosis Lecture by Dr. Todd Lajeunesse

Steven Pro — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:39:27 GMT

http://www.reefbuilders.com/2009/10/27/todd-lajeunesse-video-lecture-competition-coralalgae-ymbiosis/

Anyone in the DC Area?

Steven Pro — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:35:27 GMT

Free Lecture and Panel Discussion on Coral Conservation

When: November 12, 6:30 p.m.
Where: National Zoo Visitor Center Auditorium

Coral, one of the world’s biological treasures, is at risk worldwide. Colonies that have flourished for thousands of years are dying because of environmental damage, destructive fishing practices such as dynamite fishing and bottom trawling, pollution, and global warming.

This important program will be hosted by acting Zoo director Steve Monfort. The distinguished panel includes experts working on all aspects of coral conservation.

• Mary Hagedorn, from the Zoo, will discuss her latest research on creating a frozen repository of endangered coral.
• Mike Henley, from the Zoo’s Invertebrate Exhibit, will discuss his work growing endangered coral at the Zoo.
• Eric Borneman, from the University of Houston, will outline some of the global and local threats to coral.
• Mitch Carl, from Henry Doorly Zoo, will discuss how he has grown and distributed thousands of specimens of endangered elkhorn coral.
• Jennifer Moore, from the National Marine Fisheries Service and head of the Endangered Species Task Force for Coral, will discuss the latest plans for coral protection and restoration.
• Dirk Peterson, from the Rotterdam Zoo, will discuss the formation and work of the coral consortium SECORE (Sexual Coral Reproduction).
• Christine Hicks, of Counterpart International, will discuss efforts to save coral throughout the Caribbean.
• Ken Nedimyer, of the Coral Restoration Foundation, will discuss how he created his staghorn coral nursery in the Florida Keys.

6:30 – 8 p.m. Lecture

8 – 9 p.m. Grab a drink from the cash bar and enjoy complimentary cheese and crackers. Mingle with scientists and international conservation leaders from Belize, the Netherlands, Fiji, Jamaica, Virgin Islands, and the United States including Puerto Rico, and learn about the Zoo’s coral collection and research from volunteer interpreters.
Parking is free, but we encourage you to take public transportation to the Zoo.

This lecture is sponsored by NOAA, Counterpart International, and the Smithsonian Institution.

RSVP fonz_programs@si.edu

Kati/Ani Function & Hookup Info?

CTReefer — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 09:58:37 GMT

Hi Steve: I recently purchased a Kati/Ani unit from a fellow reefer. First off, I found the instruction manual very difficult to follow as it's translated from German. It also seems that it will be difficult to hook it into a regular carbon filter canister because of the differences in the tube sizes. I also can't figure out how to directly attach it to the tap water outlet which is a standard hose type threaded connection.

The unit appears to be mainly used for the following: "Desalting Water (partially & fully)", "Purifying Sea Water", "Softening Water", & "pH Buffering". I really don't see the application for what we need to do as far as making up water with "0" TDS to be used for water changes? There also appears to be a few different ways to "recharge" both the Kati & Ani canisters. Seems like everyone that has one of these units is using the Muriatic Acid & Lye (Caustic Soda) means of recharging (Kati & Ani respectively). How do you personally utilize this unit? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks,

Steve

Fad Corals versus Bread & Butter

Steven Pro — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:50:26 GMT

I am going to do a little coral propagation math exercise.

On day 1 of your coral farm endeavor, you purchase a "rare, high-end" coral. Some sort of named zoanthid, chalice, or something that costs about $100 for a 1" by 1" fragment. After thirty days of holding the specimen and making sure it is healthy and well acclimated to your system, you cut it in half. By day 90 those two halves have doubled in size and are cut again resulting in four fragments. By day 150, those four pieces have healed completely and all doubled in size again and are cut giving eight fragments. At day 180, those eight pieces have healed and look good enough to sell. Assuming that what you purchased is still in style and you can get $100 per piece, you have $800 worth of livestock.

Or

On day 1 of your coral farm endeavor, you purchase three green finger leathers with your $100. After thirty days of holding the specimens and making sure they are healthy and well acclimated to your system, you cut the tips off of the branches of the green finger leathers netting 20 frags per parent colony, 60 frags total. By day 90, all those frags have healed as have the parent colonies. At this point, the 60 fragments are cut in half (120 frags) and another 60 frags are taken from the parent colonies. By day 150, the 180 frags from day 90 are cut in half (360 frags) and another 60 frags are taken from the parent colonies. By day 180, the 420 frags from day 150 have healed and the parent colonies are starting to heal back up. The 420 frags can be wholesaled for $10 each, resulting in sales of $4,200 worth of livestock plus you still have the parent colonies.

Be sure to read to the bottom of this story

Steven Pro — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:57:51 GMT

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-sunset-plaza-fire,0,5197159.story

Fire Destroys Priceless Art Collection at Hollywood Hills Mansion

KTLA News

10:14 PM PDT, September 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES -- A priceless art collection was destroyed in a massive fire that ripped through a 5-story, multi-million dollar home in the Hollywood Hills.

The fire was reported around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 2000 block of Sunset Plaza Drive.

Firefighters had to navigate their trucks through, steep, narrow, winding roads to get to the blaze which quickly consumed the property. The home is nestled close to other buildings, but the fire did not spread, according to Cecco Secci of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Smoke billowed from all areas of the roof and the entire top floor was engulfed in flames.

The home's owner, lawyer Brian Witzer, says the flames destroyed a priceless art collection, including several pieces commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte, a Faberge egg and a Stradivarius violin. Witzer's multi-million dollar Ferrari collection was saved from the flames. Witzer says damage is estimated at $14 million dollars.

Witzer was home when the fire broke out an initially fought the blaze with a garden hose until firefighters arrived. The fire was knocked down in about a half hour. Ten fire companies responded to the blaze, Secci said.

Witzer says he thinks the fire may have started with an electrical short in his 600 gallon aquarium. He told KTLA that he's upset about how much time it took fire crews to respond to the blaze. Fire officials say engines arrived at the scene within 6-to7 minutes of receiving the call. Witzer claims his home burned for more than a half hour before crews arrived.

No injuries were reported.

Water-dropping helicopters were sent to the scene to make sure the flames did not spread to nearby brush.

Thousands of Tropical Fish Die in Russian Airport

Steven Pro — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:46:22 GMT

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,545151,00.html?test=latestnews

MOSCOW — Thousands of tropical fish reportedly have died at a Russian airport after being held in customs for 15 hours in the summer heat.

The state RIA Novosti news agency says more that 4,000 fish worth $480,000 died in the Black Sea resort of Sochi after customs officials spent 15 hours clearing the cargo Saturday. The fish had been shipped from China and made a brief stop in India.

The fish were intended for Sochi Discovery World, Russia's largest oceanarium, which is slated to open this month.

RIA Novosti's report Tuesday quotes Oceanarium director Amin Azzam as saying the loss of the fish is an "atrocity unseen anywhere else in the world."

The $25 million oceanarium is part of the development before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Cleaner Fish Wear "Uniforms" to Advertise, Avoid Danger

Steven Pro — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:05:29 GMT

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-cleaner-fish.html

Cleaner Fish Wear "Uniforms" to Advertise, Avoid Danger

Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
August 20, 2009

Like police and nurses, cleaner fish on coral reefs wear uniforms to signal their "professions"—a tactic that also helps the fish avoid being eaten by their clients, a new study says.

Several species of small reef fish are known to invite larger fish to stop by "cleaning stations," where the cleaners groom their customers and pick them free of parasites.

The clients swim away spic-and-span, and the cleaners get an easy meal: "a classic example" of a mutually beneficial relationship, the researchers write.

However, scientists have long wondered how bigger, fish-eating clients find cleaners and apparently recognize that the smaller fish are off the menu.

Karen Cheney and colleagues decided to test the theory that the cleaners' colors and body patterns are what set the fish apart.

Her team found that cleaner fish—such as gobies and wrasses—are more likely to sport a dark side stripe accentuated by patches of blue and yellow.

"We believe that they do exhibit a 'cleaner uniform' in order to make them conspicuous and easy to distinguish on a coral reef," Cheney, a biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia, said by email.

Getting the Blues

Cheney and colleagues observed the behavior of several species of wild fish known to visit the cleaners at a site in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The team then added fake fish, which had been painted with a range of colors and patterns, to the reef.

The researchers found that fish painted with blue colors and striped body patterns enticed more clients to pull up to a cleaning station.

The team also used a well-known model for how fish see colors to examine how three types of client fish—barracuda, damselfish, and surgeonfish—were likely to respond to various hues.

Though each fish species has a different kind of visual system, for all of them blue would contrast most against the colors of coral reefs.

Yellow would best stand out against blue water backdrops and dark lateral stripes, the authors wrote.

This would make a blue-and-yellow striped fish very obvious to clients as they passed by a reef.

Which Came First?

Though no one knows for sure, Cheney said her new study implies that the fish's cleaning behavior evolved before the uniform.

The blue-and-yellow patterns possibly became more common over time as fish flashing those colors attracted more clients.

Research appears in the August 11 issue of the journal Current Biology.

Moving a deep sand bed

Dave-789 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:12:36 GMT

I have a 75 gallon salt water reef tank set up with a deep sand bed, about 6 inches deep. The tank about 4 months old, started with 25 pounds of sand from an established system. I would like to move the sand bed to a separte tank/sump with an area for a refugium, skimmer and pump. Is the tank old enough that disturbing the sand bed will be a problem? What can I do to reduce the shock to the system?

Update on Yellow Tangs in Hawaii

Steven Pro — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:14:47 GMT

From http://depts.washington.edu/mpanews/MPA109.htm

UPDATES ON MPA NETWORKS IN PROGRESS: EXPERIENCES SO FAR IN VICTORIA AND WEST HAWAI`I

This past May at the Second International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC2), multiple sessions offered insights on existing MPA networks, and practitioners reflected on their experiences to this point. One of the most significant messages from the meeting was that some MPA networking initiatives have been in place long enough to begin yielding good practices. This month we examine two such networks: a state-run system of marine national parks in Victoria, Australia, and a network of fish replenishment areas to support the aquarium fishery in West Hawai`i.

CASE 2 - WEST HAWAI`I: A network of reserves to replenish an aquarium fishery

In 1999 a multi-stakeholder working group on the west coast of the island of Hawai`i approved a proposal to designate a network of fishing closures (MPA News 1:1). The nine closures, called fish replenishment areas (FRAs), were intended primarily to address a long-standing user conflict between dive tour operators and aquarium fish collectors. In the FRAs, which covered approximately 35% of the 240-km West Hawai`i coastline, diving would be allowed and aquarium fish collecting would not.

Over the past 10 years, the network has helped reduce the level of conflict between the groups. But it has also had a clear effect on populations of the main target species for aquarium collectors - yellow tang. There is spillover of adult yellow tang occurring across the FRA boundaries, indicating the protected areas may play an important role in sustaining stocks over the long term.

Evidence of spillover:

In a paper published in the May 2009 issue of the journal Biological Conservation, a team of researchers showed that prior to designation of the FRA network, yellow tang densities were similar at sites open to fishing and those slated for closure. By 2007, however, the closed areas had five times the density of target-sized fish, and 48% higher density of adults than open areas. The main evidence of spillover was this: densities of adults in so-called "boundary" areas (open areas less than 1 km from nearest MPA boundary) were significantly higher than in open areas far from MPA boundaries.

In light of the fact that the number of active aquarium fishers along the coast doubled from 1999 to 2007, as did the total catch of yellow tang, the authors suggested that the protected areas could be essential for supplying adult fishes to keep the fishery going. "The West Hawai`i protected area network, by sustaining adult stocks over large areas of the coastline, acts as a bulwark against overexploitation," wrote the research team, which included government and academic scientists.

The yellow tang fishery is relatively unique, at least compared to most commercial food fisheries. The prime target size for yellow tangs is 5-10 cm; this is when they are usually less than two years old and still juvenile. Adults on the other hand are not targeted by collectors and can live beyond 40 years, meaning that individuals that reach adulthood could be reproductively active for decades. Hence, for yellow tang, the FRA scenario contrasts with that of many other protected areas, where adult targeted fish are caught upon spilling over the reserve boundary.

Because juveniles are strongly site-attached, their abundance in open areas is dependent on natural levels of settlement and not directly affected by spillover, says Jeremy Claisse of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa, a member of the research team. "A main benefit [of the FRAs] is that more of the coastline will have higher adult densities than would be the case if fishing were unconstrained," says Claisse. "Most of the yellow tang settlement in West Hawai`i will be of fishes/larvae that originated from that immediate area, hence local fishers will benefit if population fecundity is sustained or enhanced by reserves."

With the increasing exploitation of yellow tang, the juvenile population has declined in the open areas by as much as 45% since 1999. Because adults are not fished, the fishery will receive greater reproductive output for every unit area of juvenile habitat that is protected, says Claisse. "These protected areas will provide additional adult spawning stock to the available adult habitat in the surrounding open areas," he says.

Role of public support:

Brian Tissot of Washington State University also co-authored the Biological Conservation study and has been active with the FRAs since their planning. He says the successful designation of the network resulted from three factors, all related to public support in some way.

"First, we had strong community support for the FRAs due to long-standing conflicts in the community around aquarium collecting, and MPAs were seen as the best solution to the problem," he says. "Second, we had strong legislative support. A bill was passed that established a flexible management framework. That framework created FRAs along a minimum of 30% of the coastline and also involved the community in co-management with the state. Third, it was critical to create synergy among state managers and biologists, academic scientists, outreach specialists, and students to educate the public and get folks involved in supporting management solutions. In the end we had 93% support at the public hearing that established the FRAs."

Opponents of the FRA plan included the aquarium collectors, though. They said they had been assured that no more than 30% of the coastline would be no-take. Ten years later they remain skeptical. A survey in 2007 of 22 aquarium collectors indicated most are still frustrated with the FRAs: 68% said they were either "dissatisfied" or "strongly dissatisfied" with the protected areas. Asked if they felt the FRAs had helped enhance reef fish populations, 45% called the FRAs ineffective while 23% called them effective. The rest were neutral.

"The overall level of satisfaction that fishers have with the FRAs is poor," says Todd Stevenson of Washington State University, who conducted the survey. "And fisher perceptions of how well the FRAs have performed in enhancing reef fish populations are inadequate."

The value of "before" data:

Critical to research of the network has been the existence of data collected along the coast prior to designation of the FRAs. Those "before" data allow researchers to differentiate between changes due to designation and changes that may be due to other factors.

"It is obviously very important from an experimental design perspective to have a complete 'before-after control-impact' (BACI) design," says Tissot. [Editor's note: BACI design was described in our December 2003/January 2004 issue (MPA News 5:6).] "The BACI design is the best possible approach for analysis of MPAs and is a statistically powerful way to tease out detailed changes over time. We also had two sets of controls to compare to the FRAs: 1) long-term protected areas that had been closed for at least 10 years prior to FRA establishment; and 2) areas still open to aquarium collecting. This allowed us to look both at where we expected the FRAs to go and what happened outside the FRAs once they were closed.

"Not having 'before' data always opens the door to some uncertainty regarding effectiveness," Tissot continues, "although it can be addressed in a variety of ways and is not insurmountable. Now, with 10 years of data, I would say the 'before' data are becoming less important as we focus more on the long-term trends."

Blue Zoo Radio Appearance

Steven Pro — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:35:59 GMT

I am going to be on the Blue Zoo Radio/Podcast show on Monday, June 8th.

http://www.bluezooradio.com/

FDA Lists First Drug for Minor Species Under MUMS Act

Steven Pro — Sun, 10 May 2009 06:25:13 GMT

FDA Lists First Drug for Minor Species Under MUMS Act

Ovaprim, a drug to aid spawning in ornamental finfish broodstock, in March became the first animal drug granted a listing on the Index of Legally Marketed Unapproved New Animal Drugs for Minor Species.

Minor species are all animals other than the major species: cattle, horses, swine, chickens, turkeys, dogs and cats.

An animal drug product intended for use in a minor species must be approved, conditionally approved or indexed by the FDA in order to be legally marketed.

The Index, an incentive under the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act of 2004, is intended to allow companies to legally market veterinary drugs for minor species for which there are no human food safety concerns without having to go through the long and expensive approval process for new animal drugs.

Before a drug is included in the Index, its safety and effectiveness is evaluated by a panel of experts.

The holder of the Index listing for Ovaprim is Western Chemical Inc. of Ferndale, Wash.

May 2009 PET AGE

Really Neat Photography Competition

Steven Pro — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:40:40 GMT

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/photogalleries/best-underwater-fish-animal-pictures/index.html

HR 669

Steven Pro — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:33:06 GMT

To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species’ or human health, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 26, 2009
Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. KIND, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species’ or human health, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a risk assessment process to prevent the introduction into, and establishment in, the United States of nonnative wildlife species that will cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species’ health or human health.
SEC. 3. RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR IMPORTATION OF NONNATIVE WILDLIFE SPECIES.
(a) In General- The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall promulgate regulations that establish a process for assessing the risk of all nonnative wildlife species proposed for importation into the United States, other than nonnative wildlife species that are included in the list of approved species issued under section 4.
(b) Factors To Be Considered- The regulations promulgated under subsection (a) shall include consideration of--
(1) the identity of the organism to the species level, including to the extent possible specific information on its subspecies and genetic identity;
(2) the native range of the species;
(3) whether the species has established or spread, or caused harm to the economy, the environment, or other animal species or human health in ecosystems in or ecosystems that are similar to those in the United States;
(4) the likelihood that environmental conditions suitable for the establishment or spread of the species exist in the United States;
(5) the likelihood of establishment of the species in the United States;
(6) the likelihood of spread of the species in the United States;
(7) the likelihood that the species would harm wildlife resources in the United States;
(8) the likelihood that the species would harm native species that are rare or native species that have been listed as threatened species or endangered species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
(9) the likelihood that the species would harm habitats or ecosystems in the United States;
(10) the likelihood that pathogenic species or parasitic species may accompany the species proposed for importation; and
(11) other factors important to assessing the risks associated with the species, consistent with the purpose under section 2.
(c) Notice- In promulgating the regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide notice to States, Indian tribes, other stakeholders concerned with environmental, humane, public health, economic, trade, and other relevant issues, the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, the National Invasive Species Council, the Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(d) Transparency- The Secretary shall ensure that the risk assessment process established by the regulations under subsection (a) is based on sound science and is consistent with sections 4 and 5.
(e) Deadlines- The Secretary shall--
(1) publish in the Federal Register proposed regulations under subsection (a) and a proposed preliminary list of approved species under section 4(b), by not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) publish in the Federal Register final regulations under subsection (a), a final preliminary list of approved species under section 4(b), and a notice of the prohibitions under this Act, by not later than 30 days before the date on which the Secretary begins assessing risk under the regulations; and
(3) begin assessing risk with respect to nonnative wildlife species under the final regulations promulgated under subsection (a), and publish notice thereof, by not later than 37 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f) Animals Owned Lawfully Prior to Prohibition of Importation- This Act and regulations issued under this Act shall not interfere with the ability of any person to possess an individual animal of any species if such individual animal was legally owned by the person before the risk assessment is begun pursuant to subsection (e)(3), even if such species is later prohibited from being imported under the regulations issued under this Act.
SEC. 4. LIST OF APPROVED SPECIES.
(a) Requirement To Issue List of Approved Species-
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 36 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of nonnative wildlife species approved for importation into the United States.
(2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SPECIES- The Secretary shall not include in the list--
(A) any species included in the list of prohibited species under section 5; or
(B) any species, the importation of which is prohibited by any other Federal law or regulation of the United States due to the likelihood of causing harm to the economy, the environment, or other animal species or human health.
(3) REVISION- The Secretary may revise the list issued under this section based on available scientific and commercial information.
(b) Preliminary List-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall include in the preliminary list under this section nonnative wildlife species that the Secretary finds, consistent with the factors described in section 3(b) and based on scientific and commercial information that is provided in a proposal under paragraph (2) or otherwise available to the Secretary--
(A) are not harmful to the United States’ economy, the environment, or other animal species’ or human health; or
(B) may be harmful to the United States’ economy, the environment, or other animal species’ or human health, but already are so widespread in the United States that it is clear to the Secretary that any import prohibitions or restrictions would have no practical utility for the United States.
(2) PROPOSALS FOR INCLUSION IN PRELIMINARY LIST- The Secretary--
(A) shall, by not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register, and make available on a publically available Federal Internet site, a request for submission, by any interested persons (including persons that import or that intend to import nonnative wildlife species), of proposals of nonnative wildlife species to be included in the preliminary list under this subsection and supporting documentation for such proposals;
(B) shall accept such proposals for 10 months after the date the Secretary publishes the request for submissions; and
(C) may propose a nonnative wildlife species for inclusion in the preliminary list.
(3) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT- Before issuing the final preliminary list of approved species under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
(A) publish in the Federal Register and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site, the proposed preliminary list; and
(B) provide for, a period of not less than 60 days, an opportunity to submit public comments on the proposed preliminary list.
(4) PUBLICATION OF LIST- The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site, the final preliminary list under this subsection.
(c) Proposal for Inclusion on the Approved List-
(1) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS-
(A) IN GENERAL- After publication of the final preliminary list under subsection (b)--
(i) any interested person may submit to the Secretary in accordance with subparagraph (B) a proposal to include a nonnative wildlife species in the approved list under this section (including a request to import such a species that is not in the list published under this section and section 5, respectively); and
(ii) upon receipt of a complete proposal under clause (i), the Secretary shall publish notice of the proposal in the Federal Register and provide an opportunity for 30 days of public comment on the proposal.
(B) INFORMATION REQUIRED- Any proposal under this paragraph must include sufficient scientific and commercial information to allow the Secretary to evaluate whether the proposed nonnative wildlife species is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species’ or human health.
(2) DETERMINATION- Based on scientific and commercial information provided in a proposal under paragraph (1) or otherwise available to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make one of the following determinations regarding such a proposal in a reasonable period of time and in accordance with the regulations issued under section 3:
(A) The nonnative wildlife species is approved for importation, and is added to the list of approved species under this section.
(B) The nonnative wildlife species is not approved for importation, unless permitted under section 7.
(C) The Secretary has insufficient scientific and commercial information to make a determination under subparagraph (A) or (B).
(3) TREATMENT OF UNAPPROVED SPECIES- If the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph (2)(B) that a nonnative wildlife species is not approved for importation, the Secretary shall include the nonnative wildlife species in the list of unapproved species under section 5.
(4) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION- The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the determination made under paragraph (2) and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site or through other appropriate means, the basis for the determination.
SEC. 5. LIST OF UNAPPROVED SPECIES.
(a) Requirement To Issue List of Unapproved Species-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of nonnative wildlife species that are prohibited from importation into the United States except as provided in section 7.
(2) INCLUDED SPECIES- The list under this subsection shall include--
(A) those species listed as injurious wildlife under section 42 of title 18, United States Code, or under regulations under that section, as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) any other species the Secretary determines under section 4(c)(2)(B) is not approved for importation.
(b) Proposal for Inclusion on the List of Unapproved Species-
(1) PROPOSAL-
(A) IN GENERAL- Any person may submit to the Secretary a proposal to add to the list under this section any nonnative wildlife species.
(B) INFORMATION REQUIRED- Any proposal under this subsection must include sufficient scientific and commercial information to allow the Secretary to evaluate whether the proposed nonnative wildlife species is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species’ or human health.
(2) NOTICE- The Secretary shall publish notice of a complete proposal in the Federal Register and provide an opportunity for 30 days of public comment on the proposal.
(3) DETERMINATION- Based on scientific and commercial information provided in a proposal under paragraph (1) or otherwise available to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make one of the following determinations regarding such a proposal in a reasonable period of time and in accordance with regulations issued under section 3:
(A) The nonnative wildlife species is not approved for importation except as provided in section 7, and is added to the list of unapproved species under this section.
(B) The nonnative wildlife species is approved for importation.
(C) The Secretary has insufficient scientific and commercial information to make a determination under subparagraph (A) or (B).
(4) TREATMENT OF APPROVED SPECIES- If the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph (3)(B) that a nonnative wildlife species is approved for importation, the Secretary shall include the nonnative wildlife species in the list of approved species under section 4.
(5) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION- The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the determination made under paragraph (3) and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site or through other appropriate means the basis for the determination.
(c) Revision- The Secretary may revise the list issued under this section based on any scientific and commercial information available to the Secretary.
(d) Emergency Authority and Temporary Prohibition-
(1) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary determines that an emergency exists because a nonnative wildlife species poses an imminent threat of harm to the United States economy, the environment, or human or animal species’ health, the Secretary may temporarily include the nonnative wildlife species in the list of unapproved species under this section and, as appropriate, remove the species from the list of approved species under section 4.
(2) NOTICE OF TEMPORARY LISTING- The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of each temporary listing under this subsection and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site or through other appropriate means the basis for the temporary listing.
(3) DETERMINATION- Within 180 days after temporarily including a nonnative wildlife species in the unapproved species list under this section, the Secretary shall make a final determination under subsection (b)(3) regarding the species, publish in the Federal Register notice of the final determination, and make available on a publicly available Federal Internet site or through other appropriate means the basis for the final determination.
(4) LIMITATION ON PROCEDURES- The procedures under section 4(c)(1)(A)(ii), subsection (b)(2) of this section, and section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to determinations under this subsection.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES.
(a) Prohibitions- Except as provided in this section or in section 7, it is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to--
(1) import into or export from the United States any nonnative wildlife species that is not included in the list of approved species issued under section 4;
(2) transport between any State by any means whatsoever any nonnative wildlife species that is not included in the list of approved species issued under section 4;
(3) violate any term or condition of a permit issued under section 7;
(4) possess (except as provided in section 3(f)), sell or offer to sell, purchase or offer to purchase, or barter for or offer to barter for, any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1);
(5) release into the wild any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1); or
(6) breed any nonnative wildlife species that is prohibited from being imported under paragraph (1), or provide any such species to another person for breeding purposes.
(b) Penalties and Enforcement- Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to the civil penalties and criminal penalties described in section 4 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373). Sections 4(b), 4(e), 5, and 6 of that Act shall apply to such a violation in the same manner as they apply to a violation of that Act.
(c) Limitation on Application-
(1) IN GENERAL- The prohibitions in subsection (a) shall not apply to--
(A) any action by Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement personnel to enforce this section; and
(B) any action by Federal or State officials to prevent the introduction or establishment of nonnative wildlife species.
(2) IMPORTATION AND TRANSPORTATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES- Nothing in this Act shall restrict the import or transportation between any States of nonnative wildlife species by a Federal agency for its own use, if the nonnative wildlife species remains in the possession of a Federal agency.
(d) Effective Date- This section shall take effect upon the publication of notice under section 3(e)(3).
SEC. 7. PERMITS.
(a) In General- The Secretary may issue a permit authorizing importation otherwise prohibited under section 6(a)(1), for scientific research, medical, accredited zoological or aquarium display purposes, or for educational purposes that are specifically reviewed, approved, and verified by the Secretary, if the Secretary finds that there has been a proper showing by the permittee of responsibility for the specimen and continued protection of the public interest and health with respect to the specimen.
(b) Terms and Conditions- The Secretary may include in a permit under subsection (a) terms and conditions to minimize the risk of introduction or establishment of the nonnative wildlife species in the United States.
SEC. 8. FEES.
(a) Fee for Proposal To Include Species in List-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall establish in the regulations under section 3, and collect, a fee from any person that after publication of the final preliminary list under section 4(b) submits to the Secretary--
(A) a proposal under section 4(c) to include a nonnative wildlife species to the list of approved species under section 4; or
(B) a proposal under section 5(b) to include a nonnative wildlife species to the list of unapproved species under section 5.
(2) PURPOSE- The fee shall be to recover costs of assessing risk of nonnative wildlife species under the regulations issued under section 3.
(b) Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Fund-
(1) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established in the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Fund.
(2) CONTENTS- There shall be deposited into the account all amounts received by the United States as fees under this section or as fines for violations of this Act and its implementing regulations.
(3) USE- Amounts in the account shall be available to the Secretary, subject to the availability of appropriations, for the purposes of implementing this Act.
SEC. 9. TREATMENT OF NONNATIVE WILDLIFE SPECIES AS NONMAILABLE MATTER.
Nonnative wildlife species included in the list of approved species issued under section 4 shall be considered and treated as nonmailable matter under section 3015 of title 39, United States Code.
SEC. 10. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.
(a) In General- Nothing in this Act preempts or otherwise affects the application of any State law that establishes stricter requirements for importation, transportation, possession, sale, purchase, release, or breeding of, or bartering for, any nonnative wildlife species.
(b) Limitation on Application of Prohibitions and Penalties To Prevent Release- The Secretary may limit the application of any provision of section 6 to facilitate implementation of any State program that encourages voluntary surrender to a State of nonnative wildlife species, if the Secretary determines that such limitation will prevent release of such species.
SEC. 11. REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.
The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 12. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.
Except as provided in section 13, nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(1) as repealing, superseding, or modifying any provision of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); or
(2) as authorizing any action with respect to the importation of any plant pest as defined in the Federal Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.), insofar as such importation is subject to regulation under that Act.
SEC. 13. REDESIGNATION OF INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL AS NATIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL.
(a) Redesignation- The Invasive Species Council established by Executive Order 13112 on February 8, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 6183) is redesignated as the National Invasive Species Council.
(b) References- Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the council referred to in subsection (a) is deemed to be a reference to the National Invasive Species Council.
SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES TASK FORCE- The term ‘Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force’ means the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force established under section 1201 of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4702).
(2) IMPORT- The term ‘import’ means to land on, bring into, or introduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any place subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of the United States, whether or not such landing, bringing into, or introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning of the customs laws of the Government of the United States.
(3) NATIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL- The term ‘National Invasive Species Council’ means the National Invasive Species Council established by Executive Order 13112 on February 8, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 6183), as redesignated by section 13.
(4) NATIVE SPECIES- The term ‘native species’ means a species that historically occurred or currently occurs in the United States, other than as a result of an intentional or unintentional introduction by humans.
(5) NONNATIVE WILDLIFE SPECIES- The term ‘nonnative wildlife species’--
(A) except as provided in subparagraph (C), means any live species or subspecies of animal that is not a native species or subspecies, whether or not born or raised in captivity;
(B) except as provided in subparagraph (C), includes--
(i) any such live, wild species or subspecies of mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, insect, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, coelenterate, or other invertebrate, and
(ii) any viable egg, sperm, gamete, or other reproductive material or offspring thereof;
(C) does not include any species that is--
(i) specifically defined or regulated as a plant pest or approved for biological control purposes under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.); or
(ii) defined or regulated as a threat to livestock or poultry under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.); and
(D) does not include any cat (Felis catus), cattle or oxen (Bos taurus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris), donkey or *** (Equus asinus), domesticated members of the family Anatidae (geese), duck (domesticated Anas spp.), goat (Capra aegagrus hircus), goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus), horse (Equus caballus), llama (Lama glama), mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus), pig or hog (Sus scrofa domestica), domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), or sheep (Ovis aries), or any other species or variety of species that is determined by the Secretary to be common and clearly domesticated.
(6) PERSON- The term ‘person’ means--
(A) an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other private entity;
(B) any officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, or of any State, municipality, or political subdivision of a State, or of any foreign government; and
(C) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of the United States.
(7) SECRETARY- The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior.
(8) STATE- The term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.
(9) UNITED STATES- The term ‘United States’ means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, any possession of the United States, and any waters, including the territorial sea and the Exclusive Economic Zone, within the jurisdiction or sovereignty of the Government of the United States.

All Octopuses Are Venomous

Steven Pro — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:18:12 GMT

Contrary to what was known, all octopuses are venomous, a new study finds.

Researchers knew that the blue-ringed octopus packed venom. Now they say all octopuses and cuttlefish, and some squid are venomous. In fact they all share a common, ancient venomous ancestor, the study indicates, and the work suggests new avenues for drug discovery.

While the blue-ringed octopus species remain the only group that are dangerous to humans, the other species have been quietly using their venom for predation, such as paralyzing a clam into opening its shell.

"Venoms are toxic proteins with specialized functions such as paralyzing the nervous system" said Bryan Fry of the University of Melbourne. "We hope that by understanding the structure and mode of action of venom proteins we can benefit drug design for a range of conditions such as pain management, allergies and cancer."

While many creatures have been examined as a basis for drug development, cephalopods (octopuses, cuttlefish and squid) remain an untapped resource and their venom may represent a unique class of compounds.

Fry obtained tissue samples from cephalopods ranging from Hong Kong, the Coral Sea, the Great Barrier Reef and Antarctica. The team - scientists from the University of Brussels and Museum Victoria - then analyzed the genes for venom production from the different species and found that a venomous ancestor produced one set of venom proteins, but over time additional proteins were added to the chemical arsenal.

The origin of these genes also sheds light on the fundamentals of evolution, presenting a prime example of convergent evolution where species independently develop similar traits.

The team will now work on understanding why very different types of venomous animals seem to consistently settle on the similar venom protein composition, and which physical or chemical properties make them predisposed to be useful as toxin.

"Not only will this allow us to understand how these animals have assembled their arsenals, but it will also allow us to better exploit them in the development of new drugs from venoms," Fry said. "It does not seem a coincidence that some of the same protein types have been recruited for use as toxins across the animal kingdom."
The study was published in the Journal of Molecular Evolution and announced today.

Livestock Guarantee?

Inno — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:25:47 GMT

I emailed Steven a question and he asked that I post it within the forum, so here it goes:

For those who have owned, currently own, or have worked for an aquarium maintenance company, did you have any livestock policies including health guarantees? If you happen to search maintenance companies online you'll notice that many, if not most, stipulate some variation of a livestock health policy. For example, "fourteen (14) day health guarantee." My understanding is that in most cases it does ease the client into the purchase, but at the same time there are numerous variables at play once the animal is acclimated to the display. Coincidentally, there are expectations one cannot control, but monitor and react accordingly.

Any thoughts? Thank you for your time!

Dynamite fishermen accidentally kill diver

Steven Pro — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:26:14 GMT

Dynamite fishermen accidentally kill diver
by EVAN T. ALLARD @ CDNN - CYBER DIVER News Network

PHU CU, Vietnam (24 Mar 2009) — Police arrested four fishermen who accidentally killed a diver with explosives.

Police officials in the Phu Cu District in the central province of Binh Dinh told CDNN the Coast Guard heard an explosion and caught the fishermen who tried to escape.

The fishermen told police they saw bubbles and movement under the surface and thought it was a large fish.

One of the fishermen tossed dynamite into the water and after it exploded the group jumped into the water but instead of finding a fish, they found the body of the dead diver.

Dynamite fishing, which severely damages coral reefs, is illegal in Vietnam but a common practice.

Nguyen Ngoc Liem, head of the Phu Cu District police department, said the fishermen would be charged with killing the diver and destroying aquatic resources with the illegal use of explosives.

red algae

scubanoah — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:06:50 GMT

You have probably been asked this a few times. but I have a red slime algae starting to take over in my 125 reef. I dont have any pics on hand but if you need, i can get you some. I have tried more flow, less feeding, less light. It only grows in certain spots in the tank, but where it does grow it is thick. I have been just scrubbing it off and trying to scoop it out with a net. do you have any other tricks i can try? anything you know of eat it that wont hurt my reef? any help is appreciated. let me know if you need any more info. Thanks!

C...the journal

badguitarist — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:34:04 GMT

has anyone got the fourth issue of coral magazine? Its been awhile since the last one came out and now that its 2009 I'm a little worried mine got lost in the mail.
thanks,
Kyle

Aquarium Service business questions

yinz — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:50:32 GMT

Hi Steven.

I'm setting a reef tank up at my buddies business for him and I had a couple of questions that you would have experience with through your aquarium service business. I'm planning to eventually be able to let this system go for 1-2 weeks at a time before i service it again.

1) How do the fish/animals get fed on the weekends when nobody is at the business? Autofeeeder?

2) How do you perform auto topoffs for businesses?

Any other tips or links would be appreciated.

Thanks

replacing the kati/ani cartridges

porthios — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:58:20 GMT

with my usual grace and delicacy, i broke the nipples off the top of my kati cartridge and i'm unable to securely attach either of the two lines. i'm assuming i can save the resin and replace the cartridge with any transparent ro/di style cartridge or even a substrate reactor.

has anyone else replaced the original cartridges? if so, which did you choose? any reason the kati/ani resin shouldn't be used in a pressurized setup given containers with proper fittings?

current

allan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:47:09 GMT

Hello,

I have a small powerhead in one end of a 100 Gal tank, return from a fuge below, a bio-wheel (double) in the center, and a very large/powerful powerhead in the right. The latter was supposed to be the second of what I had been told would be four powerheads.

But now I have problems adjusting everything so that it is not kicking up sand. I think I have it right now... but each time I add rock I fear that I am going to offset the current and stir up a maelstrom of debris.

How many powerheads do I truly need for a 100G? 72"x18"x18". I would really like to get the water crystal clear.

Kati and Ani high phosphates

BlackGPGT — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:00:30 GMT

Hello,

I have a Kati and Ani 10 and it has worked fine for me for a few months. Now all of a sudden it is not pulling out any phosphates for me and I cannot get a tds reading below 20 after a recharge when I used to be at 0-1 ppmWhat could the problem be?

Just to make sure Im using the correct amounts I should be using 7.5 g of water to 1.25 g of Muriatic Acid and 800 g of Lye to 7.5g of water. I did this because you are supposed to multiply by 10. Im really at a loss and the phosphates are having a bad effect on my tank.

KAti Ani or Kold Ster-il?

fazgood — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:21:27 GMT

Pretty much says it all. I am looking for a high volume system and I have heard from a very reputable LFS owner that they have used Kold Ster-il for years and they say it is the best way to go for reef water.

COmments... suggestions?

Faz

DSB, and the bucket

kevensquint — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:52:54 GMT

Hello, I am trying to clarify my understanding of sand in the reef. A DSB in the tank as far as I know is great for producing food for the tank, and the DSB bucket is great for removing nitrates. But, does a DSB in the tank also do this?...which would make the DSB bucket pointless for anyone except those who wish to have a bare-bottom tank with the nitrate removal benefits of the sand remotly. Thanks

Questions fuge/filtration

allan — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:44:45 GMT

Hello all,

Been lurking a year or so and now that I have made my final and last move with the military I have started my own saltwater tank and have a few questions that probably not specific to me yet I wanted a professional look-see rather than one prompted on the dollar found in most of the businesses around here.

I was given a 55 gallon tank and was fixing to get the start up material for it (salt, hydrometer, sand, yada yada) when I was given another tank (100 gallon (72"X15"X17"). Aside from having to purchase a stand I felt that I was moving in the right direction as I had heard on these forums that increased gallonage allows for a more stable environment. Well, now I was left with a spare 55 Gal tank. When the local business tried to sell me a 369 dollar wet/dry filtratation system (one that did not even come with the water pump) I decided to ration out the 55 for a wet dry fuge. I have about 15 gallon for the sump, 5-15 for the baffelling system where I plan on placing filtration media preceded by bio balls, and about 20-25 gallon for the refugium and another 10 gallon for the return line in the large tank. If you've added the above you can see that I have far surpassed the 44 gallons this tank can hold. They are only approximations, yet you can visualize that I have give a relatively large portion to the fuge.

Last night, after last minute purchases of the necessary hardware, my daughter and I put into operation the lower unit in conjunction with the top.... Oh yeah the main tank is about two weeks old. I have 180 pounds of fiji pink live sand, about 30 pounds of live rock, a 15 pound 'texas holey rock' that looks like that character in "nightmare before xmas" the one with the bugs inside his potatoe sack. I have two heaters (which I moved into the refugium last night), a bio filter (for a 75 Gal tank, every little bit helps I hope), and two 36" blue actinic flouorcent bulbs running the length of the display tank. They are rated for all three although I assume I would need more should I go into hard corals.

The set up has a return pump that is rated at 480 gallons at one foot of lift. By my calculations I am getting about 250 at the top of the tank (three additional feet at 10% and 20% for two 90 degree bends). In the main tank I have two power heads, a small one and a large one (although both are roughly the same size to establish current. and One large overflow box that seems to be doing a relatively good job.

Here are the questions that I have;

1. My main tank was cloudy last night and it is cloudy this morning. I took out the filters from the bio wheel and rinsed them out using warm dechlorinated water (there was a lot of debris in the mesh, plan on replacing soon, but wanted to do something in the interim), and changed the flow of the large powerhead which is stationary (the smaller swings side to side about 15 degrees) to create a more circular current within the tank in an attempt to maximize the use of the overflow box. How do I get the water crystal clear?

2. My overflow tank hanging off the back has bubbles that sneak into the siphon (devilish buggers) and accumulate in the top portion. I plan on placing filtering media in the intake to decimate the amount of those bubbles that make it into the siphon. My guess is that I am running too much water through my pump which creates a current within the siphon strong enough to suck the bubbles in to the top where they accumulate. This makes me think that I will eventually lose my siphon which would be disasterious for my living room... and subsequently with my wife. Is this a real problem? Are there any fixes? I assume that decreasing the flow from my pump might remedy this to some degree, and that placing filtration media in the inlet will ultimately clog the system which brings me back to 15 gallons of saltwater on the floor.

I know this is long and forgive me for being so long winded, but I wanted to make sure y'all knew what I have done as to negate the need for a response "I've already tried that" although I am not sure that I have done much of anything at this point.

One caveat, I do have four green chromis running around in the tank. Their appetite appears to be voracious and they swim about energetically during the day. They have been in the tank about a week.

Allan

PETA Attempts To Make Fish More Adorable

Steven Pro — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:52:15 GMT

"Sea kittens" is the new term being used by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, for the creatures they believe are in dire need of an image makeover: fish.

"PETA thought that by renaming fish sea kittens, compassionate people who would never dream of hurting a dog or a cat might extend that sympathy to fish, or sea kittens," PETA campaign coordinator Ashley Byrne says.

Byrne says that rebranding fish as sea kittens was obvious.

"Fish not only have the same ability to feel pain as a dog or a cat, but they also communicate with one another," she says. "They have complex social interactions; they form bonds; they express affection by gently rubbing against one another."

The PETA campaign boasts a colorful, interactive Web site aimed at children and their parents. It offers sea kitten bedtime stories and a design-your-own sea kitten in hopes it will build compassion in families.

"Most parents would never dream of spending a weekend torturing kittens for fun with their families, but hooking a sea kitten through the mouth and dragging her through the water is the same as hooking a kitten through the mouth and dragging her behind your car," Byrne says.

Alaskan Resistance

PETA has so far only promoted the campaign in North Carolina but plans to take it nationwide, even to Alaska — a state where fishing is both a source of recreation and many families' livelihoods.

In the small fishing town of Unalaska, population just under 4,000, some people see the campaign differently.

"I don't see fish as sea kittens; I see them as food," says 12-year-old Chastity Haskins.

Haskins is looking at the PETA site with her friend, Harmony Wayner, 11.

"It just doesn't look right," Harmony says. Harmony, the fourth generation of a commercial fishing family, looks at the cartoon fish and reads through the information on the site. "They say that they're intelligent, but they're not really," Harmony says. "They have tiny, tiny little brains. Very miniature."

The girls also take issue with the claims that sea kittens are unhealthy to eat.

"They only talk about farm fish — it's not wild Alaskan, which is very good for you," Harmony says.

Sea-Kitten-Friendly Environments

"I don't understand how it makes sense," says fisheries observer Mary Powers, who works on fishing boats to collect data on the catches. She thinks the campaign, which encourages people to petition the Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the hunting of sea kittens, is misguided. "It seems like it's discouraging Americans to buy our product, which I think is unpatriotic."

But Byrne says that even if people lose jobs in the fishing industry through the success of the campaign, they could find work in more sea-kitten-friendly environments.

"So as there is less of a demand for foods like fish, there is more of a demand for other foods, and jobs open up in those industries," Byrne says.

National Marine Fisheries Service management biologist Brian Dixon doesn't see the change coming anytime soon.

"Well, it may raise some money for PETA, but I don't think it'll change the way we manage the fisheries," Dixon says. "I think I may eat some sea kittens tonight."

Anne Hillman reports for member station KUCB in Unalaska, Alaska.

splitting up a 66 gallon

kevensquint — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:02:59 GMT

Hello, I had been trying to design a nano reef around 25 or 30 gallons and IME (with bigger tanks) I have always tried to have a sump/fuge under the display that is about the same volume as the display. But, now that I am going to make a small reef I am tempted to take a 66 gallon and split it up with baffles so we can see the fuge in one section of teh tank, the DSB in another and the equipement perhaps in another. Instead of the usual display with all the rest hidden under the tank or behind a wall. I am crafty enough to make it estheticly pleasing and interesting for guests that are curious, I just dont no how many inches ideally to use for each chamber. Say I had a 48 inch long tank and I would like to keep at least 24 inches for the display, how would you divide up the rest?...I would need at least 3 seperate chambers, for DSB (bucket idea), fuge, and skimmer/heater area (this area can be quite small, skimmer is a stand on floor type. Thank-you

President Bush to Establish 3 Marine Monuments in Pacific

Steven Pro — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:45:29 GMT

President Bush to Establish 3 Marine Monuments in Pacific

By DINA CAPPIELLO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of three remote and uninhabited Pacific island chains are being set aside by President George W. Bush as national monuments to protect them from oil and gas extraction and commercial fishing in what will be the largest marine conservation effort in history.

The three areas — totaling some 195,280 square miles — include the Mariana Trench and the waters and corals surrounding three uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atoll in American Samoa and seven islands strung along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean.

Each location harbors unique species and some of the rarest geological formations on Earth — from the world's largest land crab to a bird that incubates its eggs in the heat of underwater volcanoes.

All will be protected as national monuments — the same status afforded to statues and cultural sites — under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The law allows the government to immediately phase out commercial fishing and other extractive uses.

However, recreational fishing, tourism and scientific research with a federal permit could still occur inside the three areas. The designations will also not conflict with U.S. military activities or freedom of navigation, White House officials said.

"These locations are truly among the last pristine areas in the marine environment on Earth," said James Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, who added the resources the administration wanted preserved would be fully protected.

The president plans to make the designation official on Tuesday at a ceremony at the White House.

It will be the second time Bush has used the law to protect marine resources. Two years ago, the president made a huge swath of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, barring fishing, oil and gas extraction and tourism from its waters and coral reefs. At the time, that area was the largest conservation area in the world.

The three areas to be designated Tuesday are larger, and came with some opposition. Northern Mariana Islands government officials and indigenous communities initially objected to the monument designation, citing concerns about sovereignty, fishing and mineral exploration.

Environmentalists were hoping for more. The protected areas will extend 50 nautical miles off the coral reefs and atolls at the three monuments, which will be officially called the Marianas Marine National Monument, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Advocacy groups were pushing for 200 nautical miles, the full extent of the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Commercial fishing will also still be allowed in the waters over the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest underwater canyon. The monument will only protect the rim of the canyon and its depths. At 32,601 feet the canyon is deeper than Mt. Everest is tall and five times the size of the Grand Canyon.

"Commercial fishing was not relevant to the resource we wanted to protect," Connaughton said. He also said the science did not support protecting the full 200 nautical miles.

The move is a boost to the environmental record of a president who has been criticized for not doing enough against air pollution and global warming. He also lifted a moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

It will be up to President-elect Barack Obama to hammer out how the areas will be managed, and to make sure the prohibitions are enforced.

"We and others in the environmental community have been at odds with this administration on lots of things, but if one looks at this one event it is a significant conservation event," said Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, which lobbied for the monuments' designation.

"In a more symbolic level, it sends a message that we have finally arrived at a point where we are beginning to think about the sea in the same way we have thought about the land — that there are special places under threat that need to be protected," Reichert said.

The protection of the Mariana Trench comes a century after President Theodore Roosevelt first protected the Grand Canyon as a national monument in 1908.

Eastern Shore Souvenir Shop (of death)

Steven Pro — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:39:16 GMT

I just got around to downloading a bunch of photos from a family vacation and saw these I took after I walked into a souvenir shop. I was as discrete as possible while snapping these images.

Water Laws May Be Used to Fight Warming

Steven Pro — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:22:56 GMT

Environmental groups have sought to force the federal government to restrict carbon dioxide emissions using the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act (because of threats to polar bears from global warming) and other federal laws, and now they are poised to add the Clean Water Act to the list.

The Center for Biological Diversity says it is prepared to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to use the water law to respond to the threat of ocean acidification. This is the drop in seawater pH as the oceans absorb an estimated 22 million tons of carbon dioxide from the 80 million tons emitted each day by human activities. The result is a buildup of carbonic acid, which is lowering the pH of seawater. That trend toward acid conditions could threaten corals and plankton with shells containing calcium, biologists have warned.

The Bush administration has strongly opposed legal maneuvers aimed at limiting greenhouse gases with existing environmental laws. Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, has warned that such efforts constitute a “regulatory train wreck.”

The environmental group cited a paper in the journal Science in July that stressed the need for the E.P.A. to update its water-quality standards for pH, which have not been updated since 1976.

“The federal Clean Water Act requires the E.P.A. to update water-quality criteria to reflect the latest scientific knowledge,” the group said in a news release. “Since the agency developed the pH standard back in 1976, an extensive body of research has developed on the impacts of carbon dioxide on the oceans.”

Radio Show Interview

Steven Pro — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:48:08 GMT

I am going to be on the Blue Zoo radio show tonight.

http://bluezooradio.com/

I start at 8:30 PM EST, but every show is recorded and available for podcast.

are there silicates in synthetic marine salts?

Beren — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:45:43 GMT

Hey Now,

Do synthetic marine salts have silicates in them?

Thanks!

I take it RC did not like your question

xroads — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:47:43 GMT

I about fell out of my chair when I read it, of course it wasnt there very long

Awesome to meet you !!!

Jansenwrasse — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:08:25 GMT

Steve it was great to meet you and I wish you the best of luck with your new venture(s). Highlight of my week!

Getting sick after fraggin

GMaquarium — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:41:08 GMT

Steven I had a new experience today. I have been making frags all morning today. Many different corals zoanthids, povona, blastomussa, couple acros, eninophyllia, green star polyps, acans and favias. Throughout fragging I managed to slice my thumb with a drammel, get a squirt of zoas in my eye and some echino juice on my lips. Lots of sawing and breathing the coral dust. But a side from the safty tips that you have already given me, and all that I felt very strange. Right after cleaning up and washing my hands all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain on both sides of my head. Right on the temples and my vision got a bit blurry for a moment also kindof nauseous. I sometimes get migranes, this was something like it but most of the time I wake up with migranes and they last all day. This was caused by the coral for sure. Maybe a combination of different chemicals from different corals.

Have you heard anything like this before. I took a painkiller, now feeling much better. But this got me a bit scared.

Temperature Fluctuation Day vs. Night

bcolvin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:39:08 GMT

Steven,
What is your temperature fluctuation in your vats between day and night? Do you notice any real cool off due to evaporation? What would you consider a normal range if your tanks are not have temp fluctuations? Thanks for the insight.

Bennett

MACNA XX in Atlanta

Steven Pro — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:33:12 GMT

I am leaving this afternoon for MACNA XX in Atlanta and will be there until Monday morning. For those of you not attending, I am going to try to find time everyday to post a little update from the show, so stay posted here.

How did the greenhouse hold up against the strong winds Sunday night?

yinz — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:05:47 GMT

Steven, Just curious if you had any type of problems with the strong winds we had last night? I'm a little north of Pittsburgh and we have a little damage from fallen trees.

What do I need for a first aid kit?

bcolvin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:29:33 GMT

Steven,
Great talk about toxicology of aquarium beasts at MACNA and I was wondering what is the proper first aid kit to have around? Looking for something besides vinegar for stings and what not. Thanks again for the info.

Bennett