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June 2006
CEA Electronic Communications are in English and Spanish. Para leer este boletín en español, favor de pulsar aquí.
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World Ocean Day Event
As part of CEA’s celebration of World Ocean Day on June 8, Lucy Gallagher formally presented our Marine and Coastal Protection Program to the community. Tourists, as well as local residents, attended the event, where the goal was to raise awareness and involve the community in CEA projects as we work to care for our sea. All were asked to join forces as we work to protect this area.
CEA Director Paul Sánchez-Navarro offered a brief discussion of Akumal’s growing popularity and the increasing incidence of irregularities in the management of our coastal resources that need to be addressed. This was followed by a presentation of the Integrated Management Plan for Akumal’s Bays and Beaches recently developed by CEA. We hope this legal instrument will facilitate the cooperation between all actors involved in protecting the beauty of Akumal through more sustainable management.
Juan Antonio Huerta, CEA Property Manager, proposed a new waste management system that will include recycling and composting. Bianca Orvañanos of the Akumal Development Council unveiled an awareness-raising campaign aimed at keeping Akumal clean.
We’d like to thank all who attended, the press who covered the event, and all the businesses who sponsored us: Lol-Ha, La Cueva del Pescador, Turtle Bay Café & Bakery, Las Palmas and Mulgrew Laundry.
We ask you all to join us by supporting CEA’s projects to protect this special place.
Fisheries Closures Calendar
Click here to view the chart which shows the areas and durations of temporary fisheries closures in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Ocean.
Big Thanks to LocoGringos
Following up on last month’s newsletter, we would like to thank the LocoGringo.com forum and all its members who rushed to donate over $2,000 and helped design a new visitor education campaign for Akumal. Their donations have allowed us to launch an extensive outreach campaign in defense of our beloved sea turtles and reefs. Among the tools being used are beach signs, stickers and information sheets to be placed inside hotel rooms and condos, and pamphlets. For further information, contact Alma Boada Sánchez. If you would like to help, you may do so by donating online.
Sea Turtle Nesting Season Update
CEA has so far registered 20 nests—18 Loggerhead and 2 Green. Most nests so far are on Playa Tortuga and Half Moon Bay. We remind you that your cooperation is essential for the protection and care of these endangered animals. Please contact Armando Lorences, or any CEA staff, to report a sighting or if you have any questions.
Art Classes
by Mauricio Bautista
With help from volunteer Sania Tamimi, we’ve started intensive art classes in drawing and painting techniques at the local grade school and junior high school. By learning how to visualize and reproduce any object more precisely through use of shadows and textures, participants will learn how better to express themselves through art.
Third Coral Reef Targeted Research Workshop Held at CEA
by Lucy Freymuth-Gallagher
The Coral Reef Targeted Research Project (CRTR Project) is an innovative global initiative, which has been established to address fundamental information gaps in our understanding of coral reef ecosystems, so that management options and policy interventions can be strengthened globally. The main areas of research are: Coral Bleaching & Local Effects; Connectivity; Coral Disease; Restoration & Remediation; Remote Sensing; and Modeling & Decision Support.
The CRTR Project has selected four regional nodes that reflect the distribution of coral reefs throughout the world. The nodes represent the three major coral reef regions of the world—the western Pacific (which is the center of coral reef biodiversity), the Indian Ocean (which has suffered extensively from recent episodes of coral bleaching associated with climate change), and the western Atlantic (where reefs are substantially different from Pacific and Indian Ocean reefs).
During the first week of April, the CRTR Connectivity Working Group held its third in a series of training workshops for the monitoring of juvenile fish, corals and lobster at CEA.
Within the CRTR Project in Mesoamerica, Akumal was selected as one of the 11 “core sites” in the region, among sites in México, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Furthermore, Lucy Gallagher, CEA’s Marine and Coastal Protection Program Coordinator, was elected the CRTR representative for México. CEA is proud to be a partner in this project and has been selected to conduct the scientific monitoring of Akumal’s reefs in this global initiative.
Dormitories Finally Rebuilt
Just in time for the busy summer volunteer season, we have put the finishing touches on five of seven of the dormitory rooms which were destroyed or damaged by Hurricanes Emily and Wilma last year. Although two of our units will remain uninhabitable until further funds are secured, we would like to thank the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, The Ocean Foundation, The Summit Foundation, the Sam and Charles Foundation, and all our friends whose generous donations have allowed us to once again open our doors to the volunteers on which so much of our work depends.
CEA Launches Marine Conservation Scholarship Program
Our Marine and Coastal Protection Program is pleased to announce that stipends are now available to promote regional capacity building in marine ecosystem monitoring methods and strategies for conservation. Assistance may be offered to university graduates from México, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, who commit to our three-month volunteer program in this field. Gabriel Muñoz Salcedo is the first recipient of this award, which was made possible by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the PADI Foundation. For more information, please contact Lucy Gallagher.
Endangered Species of the Month: Green Turtle
They are called green because of the color of their fat. Their shell color can range from brown to olive, while their skin can be gray, brown or black.
It is the second largest of all sea turtles. They can weigh up to 250 kg, and their shell can measure up to 1.2 meters in length. As adults they are herbivores, feeding on seagrass and algae. As juveniles they also feed on mollusks, crustaceans and sponges.
They migrate across open seas, but feed in shallow waters with abundant vegetation.
Greens nest alone, laying between 100–150 eggs that take about 60 days to hatch.
Poaching for both its meat and eggs, as well as accidental by-catch by commercial fishing have made this an endangered species. The loss of nesting grounds to tourism development and the pollution of the seas further complicate this magnificent creature’s future prospects for survival.
Staff Birthdays
July 4 – Refugia Poot Ek, Head of Housekeeping
July Environmental Calendar
World Population Day – July 11
The theme for World Population Day 2006 is Youth.
A Reminder to Akumal Residents and Supporters to Join a CEA Marine Conservation Discussion Forum
CEA is inviting everyone to check out the forum on this blog site. Join us now in protecting our marine environment!
Please continue to tell your friends about CEA! Many CEA Members join after being referred to CEA by people like you. If you have questions about how you can become more involved, please contact us. The Yucatan Environmental Foundation is the U.S. 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor for CEA. All donations made through YEF for CEA are tax-deductible in the U.S.
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or simply need to contact CEA, please click here.
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