OpenChannels Weekly Update Archives

For the week of 03 June 2019 

Please Join us Thursday, June 13, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC for a webinar on Massively Destructive Coral Reef Damage from Giant Clam Shell Digging in the South China Sea: Birth, Death and Rebirth with John McManus of the University of Miami.

The South China Sea supplies approximately 15% of the world’s fish and helps support ~38 million coastal residents. Part of this production system includes more than 3,800 square kilometers of the world’s most diverse offshore coral reefs. Since 2011, many of the reef flats have been severely damaged by small boats from China digging up giant clams for the billion-dollar shell carving trade. This practice was not widely known until 2016 when negative publicity led the Chinese government to ban this activity. For the past few years, there have been only occasional reports of the practice continuing. As of 2019, however, a modified version of the practice has emerged in the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Atoll. This talk will describe the current situation and present a proposal for a peace park for the globally-unique Scarborough Atoll to help ensure its protection.

Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News) and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar238

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 27 May 2019 

Please join us Tuesday, July 2, 2 pm US EDT/11 am US PDT/6 pm UTC for a webinar on A Toolkit for Managing Cultural Resources in Marine Protected Areas with Trisha Kehau Watson of the Cultural Heritage Resource Working Group (CHRWG), Lauren Wenzel of the NOAA MPA Center and CHRWG, and Joe Schumacker of the Quinault Department of Fisheries and CHRWG.

What are cultural resources anyway? Often MPA managers are experts in natural resources management, and lack background in managing cultural resources. The Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (MPAFAC) developed an on-line toolkit to address this need. Covering topics such as spanning legal authorities, a cultural landscape approach, planning for climate change and natural disasters, engaging stakeholders, and underwater archeology, the group’s Cultural Resources Toolkit provides invaluable insight and strategies for marine and coastal managers and MPA visitors alike. In this webinar, the Cultural Resources Working Group of the MPAFAC provide an overview of the enhanced Toolkit and discuss its role in connecting people to their heritage in special coastal places throughout the US and elsewhere. The MPAFAC provides recommendations to the US Departments of Commerce (NOAA) and Interior for the effective design, establishment, and adaptive management of US MPAs.

Co-sponsors: NOAA National MPA Center, MPA News, and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/webinar237

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 20 May 2019 

Please join us Thursday, June 13, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC for a webinar on Massively Destructive Coral Reef Damage from Giant Clam Shell Digging in the South China Sea: Birth, Death and Rebirth with John McManus of the University of Miami. 

The South China Sea supplies approximately 15% of the world’s fish and helps support ~38 million coastal residents. Part of this production system includes more than 3,800 square kilometers of the world’s most diverse offshore coral reefs. Since 2011, many of the reef flats have been severely damaged by small boats from China digging up giant clams for the billion-dollar shell carving trade. This practice was not widely known until 2016 when negative publicity led the Chinese government to ban this activity. For the past few years, there have been only occasional reports of the practice continuing. As of 2019, however, a modified version of the practice has emerged in the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Atoll. This talk will describe the current situation and present a proposal for a peace park for the globally-unique Scarborough Atoll to help ensure its protection

Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News) and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar236

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 13 May 2019 

Please join us for our webinar on Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: An Overview with David Meyers of the Conservation Finance Alliance and Venkat Iyer of the UN Environment. 

This webinar will be offered at two different times:

• Viewing 1: Wednesday, June 5, Noon US EDT/9 am US PDT/4 pm UTC
• Viewing 2: Wednesday, June 5, 9 pm US EDT/6 pm US PDT (Thursday June 6, 9 am Australian WST/11 am Australian EST/1 am UTC)

The Wildlife Conservation Society, in collaboration with the Conservation Finance Alliance and in support of the 50 Reefs initiative, recently released "Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: A Guide" as a resource for protected area managers and others charged with managing and financing reef conservation. The report describes 13 types of finance tools which have either been proven successful at or have great potential to support reef conservation and sustainable management. Some of the finance tools to be covered in this overview webinar include various tourism-based fees, biodiversity offsets, bonds, debt swaps, and conservation trust funds. This webinar will share key findings and recommendations from the report and invite discussion from participants. This webinar is sponsored by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), an informal partnership which strives to preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world, as part of its collaboration with the Conservation Finance Alliance for promoting innovative financing for coral reef conservation.

Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News), the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe), and the Reef Resilience Network

To register, visit:

• Viewing 1: https://oct.to/Webinar234 
• Viewing 2: https://oct.to/Webinar235

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 06 May 2019 

Please join us Thursday, May 16, 1pm EDT / 10am PDT / 5pm UTC for a webinar on Current Actions of the West Coast Marine Debris Plans – a project of the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance with Eben Schwartz of California Coastal Commission, Nir Barnea and Sherry Lippiatt of NOAA Marine Debris Program, Molly Bogeberg of The Nature Conservancy, Charlie Plybon of Surfrider Foundation, and Tamara Wallace of California State University. 

This webinar will provide insights and information on progress made along the US West Coast as a result of the creation of Marine Debris Action Plans within the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The webinar will provide a brief overview of the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance, along with summaries of the three action plans themselves, and will then highlight actions taken within the three states to help fulfill the goals of the action plans.

Actions will highlight outreach and education, cleanup and collaboration, and policy efforts undertaken as a result of the development of marine debris action plans.

This is the first of a regular series of semi-annual webinars planned to provide updates to the marine debris community along the US West Coast and to spur ideas and actions in other parts of the world.

Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News) and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar233

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 29 April 2019 

Please join us Thursday, May 9, 3 pm US EDT/ noon US PDT/ 7 pm UTC for a webinar on China's Underwater Cultural Heritage in the South China Sea: Nanhai #1, A Window on the Maritime Silk Road with Hans Van Tilburg of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Underwater Cultural Heritage can inform us about past events and seafaring cultures in powerful ways. China's ambitious Nanhai #1 excavation project has achieved a new milestone in the recovery of underwater cultural heritage artifacts. The discovery of a 900-year old Song dynasty merchant vessel initiated the removal of the adjacent seafloor along with the intact wreck, allowing for meticulous "in situ" excavation under environmentally controlled conditions within a specially-built lab. The wealth of porcelains and trade goods found with the vessel demonstrates the extensive and vibrant past of the Maritime Silk Road, and archaeologists are only now reaching the lower levels of the vessel’s cargo holds. The project is also relevant to today’s resource and management issues in the South China Sea.

Co-sponsors: NOAA National MPA Center, MPA News, EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar232

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 22 April 2019 

Please join us for a webinar on Wednesday, May 22 at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT / 11pm UTC for Building Knowledge, Capacity, and Collaborations to Develop Indicators for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in Case Studies across the World with Beth Fulton of CSIRO and Keith Sainsbury of the University of Tasmania.

Collaborations of managers, policymakers, and scientists are currently developing useable indicators of ecosystem structure and function in four case study regions: Bering Sea – Alaska, US; Marine waters off of Southeast Australia; Marine waters off of Southwest India; and the Humboldt Current upwelling system – Chile. Funded by the Lenfest Ocean Program and CSIRO, the purpose of this project is to develop indicators along with guidelines for applying them in a variety of ecosystems and management contexts. Now two years in, Drs. Fulton and Sainsbury will share their progress on developing indicators of structure and function and building the capacity and partnerships needed in the case study regions to evaluate their use in incorporating ecosystem approaches into fisheries management.

Co-sponsors: Lenfest Ocean Program and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe)

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar231

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 15 April 2019 

Please join us for a webinar on Thursday, May 16, 1pm EDT / 10am PDT / 5pm UTC for insights and information on progress made along the West Coast as a result of the creation of Marine Debris Action Plans within the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The webinar will provide a brief overview of the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance, along with summaries of the three action plans themselves, and will then highlight actions taken within the three states to help fulfill the goals of the action plans.

Speakers will include representatives from:

- The West Coast Marine Debris Alliance
- Representatives from the three West Coast States (NOAA / California Natural   Resources Agency)
- The Nature Conservancy – Washington State
- Surfrider Foundation – Oregon Chapter
- The California State University System

Actions will highlight outreach and education, cleanup and collaboration, and policy efforts undertaken as a result of the development of marine debris action plans.

This is the first of a regular series of semi-annual webinars planned to provide updates to the marine debris community along the west coast and to spur ideas and actions in other parts of the world.

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar230

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 08 April 2019

Join us on Thursday, May 9, 3 pm US EDT/ noon US PDT/ 7 pm UTC for a webinar on China's Underwater Cultural Heritage in the South China Sea: Nanhai #1, A Window on the Maritime Silk Road presented by Hans Van Tilburg of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Underwater Cultural Heritage can inform us about past events and seafaring cultures in powerful ways. China's ambitious Nanhai #1 excavation project has achieved a new milestone in the recovery of underwater cultural heritage artifacts. The discovery of a 900-year old Song dynasty merchant vessel initiated the removal of the adjacent seafloor along with the intact wreck, allowing for meticulous "in situ" excavation under environmentally controlled conditions within a specially-built lab. The wealth of porcelains and trade goods found with the vessel demonstrates the extensive and vibrant past of the Maritime Silk Road, and archaeologists are only now reaching the lower levels of the vessel’s cargo holds. The project is also relevant to today’s resource and management issues in the South China Sea. 

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar229

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team

For the week of 01 April 2019

Join us Thursday, April 11 for a webinar on The Effects of Temperature on Species Distributions and Community Composition: Implications for Marine Protected Area management with Malin Pinsky of Rutgers University.

Recent research has shown that the geographic distributions of marine species are changing – and will continue to change – as climate change leads to geographic shifts in their preferred thermal habitats. Furthermore, as a result of these changing geographic distributions, ecological communities are being reorganized. These changes are already posing challenges for managing living marine resources, and these challenges are likely to grow as marine organisms continue to shift ranges, including across national, state, and other political boundaries. This presentation will provide an overview of relevant research (conducted off the coasts of the US and Canada) and discuss implications for Marine Protected Area management.

To register, visit: https://oct.to/Webinar228

If you would like to check out other upcoming OCTO sponsored webinars, you can find a complete list at https://oct.to/Webinars. 

Thank you for being part of the OpenChannels Community,
          – Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and the rest of the OpenChannels Team