Source: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University
May 8, 2012

"Jobs, livelihoods and ecotourism industries can benefit from having a diverse supply of weed-eating fish on the world’s coral reefs, marine researchers say.

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Author: Ron Vave
Source: Fiji Times
May 8, 2012

"Most hard corals in Fiji and the world are colourful on the outside but when cracked open or broken, will reveal a white skeleton.

One of the exceptions to this is the blue coral (scientific name: Heliopora coerulea), which has a blue skeleton inside, made of aragonite and iron salts which gives it its blue pigmentation.

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Author: Juliet Eilperin
Source: The Washington Post
May 7, 2012

"Local and regional authorities in Indonesia caught 33 poachers last week who had taken sharks, manta rays and sea cucumbers from a marine protected area that scientists have identified as one of the sea’s most important sites. But after confiscating their illegal catch and gear, the patrol officers had to let them go.

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Author: Matthew Knight
Source: CNN
April 28, 2012

"Humans are causing a steep decline in populations of reef sharks in the Pacific Ocean according to a new study by a group of international marine scientists.

The new estimates of reef sharks compared numbers around populated islands with those living near uninhabited ones. The results were sobering, say researchers.

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Author: Chris Sweeney
Source: Miami New Times
May 2, 2012

"Kate Lunz didn't know what to expect as she piloted her white Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission truck to the Port of Tampa in July 2010. The day before, customs authorities had called the 32-year-old, PhD-toting marine biologist and asked her to inspect the contents of two 40-foot shipping containers that had been sent from the Solomon Islands and pulled for investigation.

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Source: WPEC-TV CBS12 News
April 25, 2012

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Source: Fiji Times
April 30, 2012

"Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua has pledged support for shark conservation in Fiji.

He assured the Coral Reef Alliance, which sponsored the Police Rugby League team last month, that his officers would spread the message of shark conservation.

"The work of police officers now covers a wide range of issues, and one of importance is that of policing the environment," Brig-Gen Naivalurua said.

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Source: MSNBC
April 30, 2012

"Global warming is expected to have devastating effects on coral reefs, but recent research points to a few exceptions.

Warming in the equatorial Pacific may actually create refuges for corals around a handful of islands, even as it bleaches, or kills, corals elsewhere, suggests new research that predicts increased upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water in these places.

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