The Flemish government’s oceanographic research vessel RV Zeeleeuw was
officially handed over to the Republic of Kenya on 3 May 2013. The ship will
sail under the Kenyan flag and will be named RV Mtafiti, which is Swahili for
‘researcher’.

The donation of the vessel fell within a collaboration between Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). On 19 October 2012 the two institutes signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for bilateral collaboration in the field of marine sciences.

The name is said to be appropriate, since RV Zeeleeuw has served Belgian and international marine researchers in the southern bight of the North Sea, for thirteen years. Also in Kenya the ship will continue to serve marine research and will be managed by the KMFRI.

Co-operation VLIZ and Kenya

The 3 May 2013 the final documents for the handover of the vessel were signed by Mr. Mutua Kilaka (Financial Secretary for the Kenyan Ministry of Finance). Within the frame of the MoU, VLIZ will co-ordinate and facilitate the translocation of the vessel, co-operate in all scientific operations such as providing and placing scientific instruments on board of the ship, training IT staff, scientific assistants, students, etc. The research vessel itself will further strengthen the co-operation between Belgium and Kenya in the field of marine research, technology and education.

Training and transfer

Until the end of May 2013, the elected Kenyan captain and engineer and the RV Mtafiti will be prepared for sailing. If all goes well, the RV Mtafiti should leave the harbour of Ostend and set sail to Mombasa via the Suez Canal mid-June 2013. The journey should take approximately 33 days, with the arrival at the harbour of Mombasa around mid-July 2013 where the research vessel will receive a great welcome ceremony to fit this milestone in marine research at the West-Indian coast.

Source: http://www.hydro-international.com/news/id6191-RV_Zeeleeuw_to_Serve_for_Kenya.html

The deadline for submission of nominations is 31 May 2013!

2013 is an election year for the new Board of Trustees. We are pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for elections of the WIOMSA Board of Trustees. As was the case in the last election, only members in good standing, that is paid members and students (these are exempted from paying membership fees) will be eligible to nominate, be nominated and to vote. Paid members and students may make up to four nominations one for each category (Island states, Mainland countries, Host country and membership from outside the region).

Current Trustees may be nominated subject to Article 9.2.4 (i) of the WIOMSA Constitution which states that the “The tenure of office for the President and Members of the Board shall be three years, eligible for one more re-appointment.” Based on this, members of the current Board of Trustees who have served only one term are eligible for one more nomination and subsequent reappointment while those who have served two consecutive terms are ineligible.

Please submit your nominations (one for each category) to the secretary@wiomsa.org

Download the full announcement

The MSC is pleased to announce that applications to the student scholarship research programme are now invited.

The £4,000 travel and study scholarship is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students of environmental and fisheries science to further their studies into some aspect of environmental improvement, performance or best practice in fisheries management, or fish product supply chain management.

The research may be a direct study of one particular fishery or a comparative study of fisheries problems or management. Direct linkage to a fishery certified or wishing to become certified by the MSC is not a requirement, although this is an additional point of interest for the MSC.

Applications are particularly welcome for research projects in Asia, South America and the developing world.

Projects must be completed within 12 months of the start date stated on the application form, and the final project report must be submitted within 15 months of the start date.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 8^th May 2013.

Further information for applicants, frequently asked questions and application forms can be found at http://www.msc.org/scholarship-program

PacMARA is holding an Introduction to Marxan technical training course and a Marxan for Managers workshop in Nairobi, Kenya on 13-15 May 2013.

1. The two-day hands-on technical course will provide participants with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to use Marxan in a conservation planning exercise. The following topics are covered in the Introduction to Marxan:

- Key concepts in systematic conservation planning

- Creating planning units

- Creating the essential Marxan input files with ArcGIS

- Parameter setting in Marxan

- Understanding and using Marxan results

- Zonae Cogito (front-end software to support Marxan)

- A brief introduction to Marxan with Zones

The course time will be split between lecture (~30%) and hands-on exercises (~70%). Experience with Arc or QGIS and MS Excel are prerequisite.Participants will need to bring a laptop with ArcMap 9 or 10 (and spatial analyst), or QGIS. Please contact us if you are interested in the course but cannot bring a laptop – we may have a few available for you to use with advanced notice.

The technical course will run from 9am – 5pm both days, and costs $675 with an $80 discount for early registrants (payment of $595 completed at least 2 weeks prior to the course). Contact us for possible student discounts. Registration information is at the end of this note.

2. The one-day Marxan for Managers workshop will provide a high-level background on marine and terrestrial systematic conservation and land/sea use planning, and will cover the questions of when, where, and why to use Marxan and other decision support tools. The interactive and discussion-based workshop will also cover:

- Key approaches and tools to conservation and resource planning

- Setting targets

- Stakeholder considerations

- Cost considerations

- Planning with uncertainty

However, each workshop will be tailored to specific interests, mandates, and problems of the group. We will highlight and explain essential elements of successful planning processes, provide case studies of initiatives around the world, and lead a discussion on approaches and good practices and managerial-level experience for systematic conservation and land/water use planning. This workshop is not technical and will not involve computers.

The workshop will run from 9am – 5pm, and costs $295 with a $45 discount for early registrants (payment of $255 completed at least 2 weeks prior to the course). Contact us for possible student discounts.Â

Location:

Both events will be held at the African Wildlife Foundation office in Karen, Nairobi (please visit this site for a map:  http://www.awf.org/section/about/contactus).

To register:

When you are ready for payment through paypal, please go to this site: http://pacmara.org/events-workshops. Please register only when you are ready to pay with a credit card or through other paypal means (unless you are paying by check or cash, in which case contact us for details).

Note that it is not necessary for you to have a paypal account (click on “Don’t have a Paypal account?” towards the bottom of the page) to complete this process.

Refund policy:

Refunds will be given within two weeks of the course start date. Cancellations less than two weeks before the course will be refunded if we can replace the participant.

Please register here: http://pacmara.org/events-workshops or contact us at info@pacmara.org or 778-300-1801 for more information or to suggest future courses. More information on the course and workshop, please visit, http://www.pacmara.org/tikiwiki/

About Marxan:

Marxan (Ian Ball and Hugh Possingham, 2000) is a software program used to support the design of marine and terrestrial reserves worldwide. Using Marxan, planners can identify an efficient system of conservation sites that include a suite of biodiversity targets at a minimal cost. Marxan provides a unique method for designing reserves that is systematic and repeatable. It is the most used conservation planning tool worldwide; over 60 countries, 1100 users, and 600 organizations use Marxan to support the design of terrestrial and marine reserves. For example, it has been used to help zone the Great Barrier Marine Park, design marine reserves in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and set spatial priorities in the Romanian Carpathians to protect large carnivores.

UNEP is happy to announce the release of “The True Value of Our Oceans,” the fourth in a six-part video series called “Two Minutes on Oceans with Jim Toomey.”  (http://www.rona.unep.org/toomey/) The video was premiered on April 11, 2013 at the World Bank partnership meeting on “Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystems Services” (WAVES) held at the Washington National Harbor’s Westin Hotel. WAVES is a global partnership that aims to promote sustainable development by ensuring that the national accounts used to measure and plan for economic growth include the value of natural resources. While highlighting the economic value of the oceans, this video focuses on the range of ocean benefits that are not typically accounted for. What sort of benefits you ask? Coastal habitats, like barrier reefs and mangroves, protect us from storms and flooding, for example. Salt marshes and mangroves also filter pollutants, as well as excess nutrients and sediments from the water. The ocean helps to regulate climate and absorbs carbon dioxide. Referred to as natural capital, these benefits are seldom considered in traditional economic accounting and consequently get left out of important decision-making processes. In a creative and engaging manner, this video discusses the real value of oceans while also presenting specific actions individuals and decision-makers can take.

We would like to draw your attention to the free online courses provided by the University of Western Australia Oceans Institute. To access the course, please register and after that you can access the course and learn at your own speed.

Each week lecture videos will become available for new modules. The length of each module varies but roughly an hour of material will be made available each week. There will also be short quizzes throughout the lecture content to be completed at your own pace.

You can access the course from: https://www.class2go.uwa.edu.au/OceSol/Summer2013/preview/

WIOMSA and the Unversidade of Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) are pleased to announce the Eighth WIOMSA Scientific Symposium which will be held in Maputo, Mozambique from Monday 28^th October – Saturday, 2 November 2013.

The week is divided into the following:

• The Eighth WIOMSA Scientific Symposium – 28^th to 30^th October 2013. This component will include: keynote presentations, oral and poster presentations.
• Specially convened sessions and roundtable discussions – 31 October 2013
• Fifth WIOMSA General Assembly – 1 November 2013
• Excursions  and tours to different places of interest – 2 November 2013.

The Symposium will bring together practitioners, academics, researchers and students to share knowledge, experience and solutions to the challenges experienced in our coastal and marine environment. The Symposium theme is “Science and Society: Building Partnerships for Action”. This theme is in line with WIOMSA’s core activities. WIOMSA has been promoting partnerships through three main approaches: linking multiple scientific domains; institutional partnerships beyond the academic sphere; and linkages across geographic boundaries. The intention is to use the Eighth Symposium to reach out to new partners such as decision-makers and the private sector.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 26 April 2013

For more information, download the full announcement

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (Foundation) sponsors graduate fellowships for Doctoral students and Postdoctoral researchers conducting applied research that will contribute to improved management and conservation of coral reef resources and habitats. In 2013, the Foundation will support one new dedicated and hardworking individual interested in contributing to research activities conducted during a multidisciplinary global coral reef expedition (www.globalreefexpedition.com<http://www.globalreefexpedition.com><http://www.globalreefexpedition.com>). This individual will have research opportunities in a number of locations in the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Indian Oceans and Red Sea spanning the period of 2013-2016. The primary objectives of the Expedition are to map and characterize remote coral reefs and conduct coral reef ecosystem health assessments across gradients of human and natural disturbance. In each country a dedicated team will conduct coral reef surveys and research contributing to an understanding of resilience.

The area of research for the Fellowship should focus on one of three topics:

1) Ocean Acidification – A focus on using field sampling to identify the effects of ocean acidification on coral growth. This research should identify factors that link coral reefs resilience to ocean acidification, and how acidification varies across gradients of human and environmental stressors on multiple geographic scales.

2) Coral disease – Analysis of coral disease samples to determine diversity of diseases collected in the field, examine the role disease has on coral reef resilience in a region and prevalence across multiple sites and countries.

3) Coral reef resilience – This area of research can focus on several possibilities A) using survey methods to identify factors (herbivory, coral recruitment, or structural, physical and oceanographic parameters) that provide coral reefs with ecological resilience to threats and disturbances (e..g., climate change, overfishing, etc.) and how these factors vary across gradients of human and environmental stressors. B) Analysis of field collected data. This research must incorporate statistical analyses and/or modeling examining between-site comparisons at a local scale and inter-regional comparisons at a larger scale. This research will not be field based.

The Living Oceans Foundation Fellow will receive up to $35,000 fellowship grant to cover legitimate educational and research expenses such as tuition and research field-work expenses. Fellows may receive up to three continuous years of financial support, based upon annual performance reviews. The candidate must demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills, be fluent in English and have the knowledge and expertise needed to develop and implement a research activity related to the mission of the Foundation and its role in marine conservation.

Please see http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org and click on “Education”, then “Fellowships” for more information and full application criteria and requirements. Applications can be submitted by e-mail to beck@lof.org or mailed to: Dr. Brian Beck, Living Oceans Foundation, 8181 Professional Place, Suite 215, Landover, MD 20785 USA.

Deadline for application: May 31, 2013