The first of the four special issues that contains papers presented during the Fifth Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) Scientific Symposium, held between 22nd  and 26th of October 2007 in Durban, South Africa, is now out. The Special Issue of Aquatic Conservation (Volume 19 Issue S1 (July 2009) title “Conservation and Management of Western Indian Ocean Coastal Ecosystems”, was edited by T. R. McClanahan and J. Paula.

This Issue contains eight papers, which represent a small but important portion of the presented papers in the Symposium. More papers presented in the Symposium will appear in the special issues of the Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Sciences, Ocean and Coastal Management and the Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, all of which will be out in the next few months.

The papers in the Issue are:

1)      Editorial – Special issue on the conservation and management of Western Indian Ocean coastal ecosystems – T.R. McClanahan, J. Paula

2)      Declining catch rates of reef fish in Aldabra’s marine protected area – Pierre A. Pistorius, Frances E. Taylor

3)      Temporal variability in fish larval supply to Malindi Marine Park, coastal Kenya - Boaz Kaunda-Arara, James M. Mwaluma, Gamoe A. Locham, Vidar Øresland, Melckzedeck K. Osore

4)      Seagrass-sea urchin interaction in shallow littoral zones of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Florence Mamboya, Charles Lugomela, Esther Mvungi, Mariam Hamisi, Albogast T. Kamukuru, Thomas J. Lyimo

5)      Microbial and nutrient pollution in the coastal bathing waters of Dar es Salaam - Thomas J. Lyimo

6)      Analysis of cover change (1995-2005) of Tanzania/Mozambique trans-boundary mangroves using Landsat imagery - M. A. Ferreira, F. Andrade, S. O. Bandeira, P. Cardoso, R. Nogueira Mendes, J. Paula

7)      Evaluation of mangrove structure and condition in two trans-boundary areas in the Western Indian Ocean - S. O. Bandeira, C. C. F. Macamo, J. G. Kairo, F. Amade, N. Jiddawi, J. Paula

8)      RNA/DNA ratio of crabs as an indicator of mangrove habitat quality - Valter Amaral, Gil Penha-Lopes, José Paula

9) Allometry and biomass distribution in replanted mangrove plantations at Gazi Bay, Kenya - J. G. Kairo, J. Bosire, J. Langat, B. Kirui, N. Koedam 

Recently, one WIOMSA member asked the Secretariat  where the idea to establish WIOMSA came from. For the interest of this member and others who may also wish to know, in this article we briefly describe this important historical background of the Association.

In November 1989, a Workshop on Marine Sciences in East Africa was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This workshop was organized jointly by the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam and Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) and funded by the then Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC).

This workshop is an important milestone in the history of WIOMSA as it is the one which came up with the recommendation to establish WIOMSA.  The recommendation was under the subtitle “Networking and communication” and reads as follows:

Efforts are needed to strengthen regional cooperation in the fields of marine research and monitoring throughout the region. This can be done through the arrangement of regular meetings, conferences and workshops. One way of stimulating further contacts in the region can be through the establishment of an East African (or Western Indian Ocean) Society for Marine Science, which should also produce a scientific journal. In general there is also an urgent need to stimulate interdisciplinary investigations within the countries of the region. Another urgent matter is to stimulate public awareness in the field of marine environmental issues and also to disseminate such information to media and politicians etc

It is interesting to note that over the years, WIOMSA has successfully implemented all of the aspects of this insightful recommendation.

Amongst the participants of the workshop, the following are still active members of the Association:

Micheni J. Ntiba and Michael Nguli (Kenya); Domingos Gove (Mozambique); Chikambi Rumisha, Abdulrahman Issa, Norbert Kayombo, Kim Howell, Yunus Mgaya, Alfonse Dubi, Christopher Muhando, Yohanna Shaghude, Philip Bwathondi, Charles Mahika, Magnus Ngoile, Salim Mohamed, Jude Shunula, Narriman Jiddawi and O. Mwaipopo (all from Tanzania); Ian Bryceson (Norway); Peter Pissierssens (IOC/UNESCO); Matt Richmond (UK) and Olaf Linden and Anders Granlund (Sweden)

Source: Report from IMS/SAREC Workshop on Marine Sciences in East Africa, Dar es Salaam, 14-16 November 1989. Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC), the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam and Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL).

The Special Election Issue of the WIOMSA Newsbrief is out! The Issue contains information as well as photos of the fourteen candidates standing for the election under the four categories. The candidates are:

Host country (one seat)

1. Kassim Kulindwa

2. Margareth Kyewalyanga

Island States (two seats)

1. Pascale Chabanet (Reunion)

2. Daniel Marie (Mauritius)

3. Herilala Randriamahazo (Madagascar)

4. Nirmal Shah (Seychelles)

Mainland States (two seats)

1. Salomao Bandeira (Mozambique)

2. James G. Kairo (Kenya)

3. Jacqueline Uku (Kenya)

4. Rudy van der Elst (South Africa)

Outside the Region (one seat)

1. Per Berggren (Sweden)

2. Tim McClanahan (USA)

3. Nils Kautsky (Sweden)

4. Jose Paula (Portugal)

Read the full details from http://www.wiomsa.org/?id=695&cid=2876

The CNN World Report Show will this weekend run a story on Cousin Island Reserve  in the Seychelles. The story, which features Cousin Island’s plans to become the first carbon neutral reserve, will be aired on the dates below and will also be archived online on the last day of the broadcast.

Saturday June 27th; Sunday June 28th; Monday June 29th and Tuesday June 30.

It will be aired at the following times:

ALL REGIONS:

SATURDAY:

1) 08:00A GMT / 16:00P Hong Kong / 19:00P Sydney / 05:00A Buenos Aires / 04:00A EDT

2) 16:30P GMT / 12:30A (Sunday) Hong Kong / 03:30A (Sunday) Sydney / 13:30P Buenos Aires / 12:30P EDT

3) 22:00P GMT / 06:00A (Sunday) Hong Kong / 09:00A (Sunday) Sydney / 19:00P Buenos Aires / 18:00P EDT

MONDAY:

08:30A GMT /16:30P Hong Kong / 19:30P Sydney/ 05:30A Buenos Aires /04:30A EDT
                
TUESDAY:

1) 03:00A GMT / 11:00AHong Kong / 14:00P Sydney / 12:00A Buenos Aires / 23:00P EDT (Monday)

2) 12:30P GMT/ 20:30A Hong Kong / 23:30P Sydney / 09:30A Buenos Aires / 08:30A EDT         

ON THE INTERNET & CNN MOBILE:

 World Report is available free-of-charge on the internet, just go to http://cnn.com/video and click on Live Video at the following times:

SATURDAY: 17:00P GMT / 01:00A (Sunday) Hong Kong / 15:00P Buenos Aires / 04:00A (Sunday) Sydney / 13:00P EDT
SUNDAY: 11:30P GMT / 21:30P Hong Kong / 09:30A Buenos Aires / 12:30A (Monday) Sydney / 09:30A EDT
MONDAY – only on CNN Mobile: 06:30A GMT / 14:30P Hong Kong / 03:30A Buenos Aires / 17:30P Sydney / 02:30A EDT
TUESDAY:  03:00A GMT / 11:00A Hong Kong / 12:00A Buenos Aires / 13:00P Sydney / 23:00P (Monday) EDT
THURSDAY: 02:30A GMT / 10:30A Hong Kong / 12:30P Sydney / 23:30P (Wednesday) Buenos Aires / 22:30P (Wednesday) EDT

The show is also available streamed on the website http://www.cnn.com/worldreport

 SBC, Seychelles : First Carbon-neutral Island

The first Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina chicks to fledge successfully outside La Digue Island, Seychelles for over 60 years is flying on Denis Island, a coral island in the inner Seychelles group. The newly-fledged birds are flying well, very noisy, and being fed by their parents –”typical normal and healthy flycatcher chicks”, according to Nirmal Shah, Director of BirdLife Partner Nature Seychelles, the Species Guardian for the paradise-flycatcher.

The paradise-flycatcher is the only Seychelles species still listed as Critically Endangered. Formerly Critically Endangered Species including Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum, Seychelles White-eye Zosterops modestus and Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis have all been downlisted as a result of conservation action. The population of the paradise-flycatcher has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 1996 there were 69-83 pairs; this had risen to 104-139 pairs by the last comprehensive survey in 2000.

Read the more on the paradise- flycatcher on the following link:

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/06/seychelles_paradise_flycatcher.html

Whale watching generates far more money than whale hunting, according to a report released at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting here. Worldwide, the industry now generates about $2.1bn per year, it says.

Read the full report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8114353.stm

Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia have emerged as the top innovators of Africa in a report on the continent’s competitiveness launched last week.

The three countries — which scored highly on ratings of their scientific capacity — are on a par with such innovative countries as Brazil and India, according to The Africa Competitiveness Report 2009, produced by the World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Africa.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/kenya-south-africa-tunisia-top-innovation-poll.html

Thousands of green sea turtles babies survive poachers thanks to a special conservation programme set-up by Thailand’s navy.

Watch the video clip about the programme: http://www.yahoo.com/s/1088788

The Third Announcement of the WIOMSA Scientific Symposium to be held in St Denis, Reunion from 24-29 August 2009 is out. The Announcement contains very useful information particularly in relation to logistical arrangements (the registration and payment of registration fees, hotel accommodation, visa requirements and excursions) and modalities of oral and poster presentations. Six keynote presentations to be delivered during the Symposium are also listed.

Download the Announcement from: http://www.wiomsa.org/?id=695&cid=2874