Hands Across the Sand - Hanalei, Kauai

June 26, 2010
Aloha Ocean Lovers,

On the beach today and under the surf, all of us were concerned about the events in the Gulf, and we had local Hawaiians trying to bless our land and beautiful women, covered in oil. When will we learn to protect the sea that gives us so much? We are 3,000 miles away from the gulf, but the sea life already knows what is going to happen in Hawaii. Can you look into the eyes of this palani and answer the question she asked me? What the hell are you people doing to my ocean? I did not have an answer but I promised her, to figure it out and help protect her Ohana.

My father was taught to surf by the Duke, and as a little keiki I was told by them both that “If you give back to the sea more than you take, you have done good”. I think it is time to give back to the sea.

When my father died he told me  “To Die, is to Face the Wind and melt into the Sea.”  Give back to the ocean that gave you so many gifts. He was a smart man and at the end of every day at the beach surfing and catching our food for dinner we gave a prayer to the beauty we received that day.

Amama Ua Noa. The prayer has flown. Lets all start giving back to the sea. It is not too late to protect our beautiful island, but if we just ignore all of the worldwide changes we may loose what we have enjoyed on this island for thousands of years.

Aloha means, a gift of love. We need more aloha on this planet right now.

Please feel free to share any of my emails and pictures with anyone you choose. One does not own a picture, as the pictures was simply given to you as a gift to share.

Aloha,
Terry

Acanthurus dussumieri - Eye-stripe surgeonfish - Palani

Brown Pelican in flight photo by Carol Georgi

Carol chose the brown pelican because this bird, loved both here and along the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico, is threatened by the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.

Hello Ocean Lovers!

Every Other Breath is From the Ocean

Thank you for your interest in the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

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Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis

Survival of the Brown Pelican

We almost lost the brown pelican. According to www.pelicanlife.org/success/recovery.html

Pelicans were threatened by the use of DDT as a pesticide before the 1970’s. This pesticide greatly affected the calcium metabolism of pelicans, causing their eggshells to become thinner and more fragile. Their population decreased so dramatically that in 1970, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the brown pelican as endangered. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT in the United States and the pelicans began to recover.

Unfortunately, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has renewed the threat to the brown pelican.  When diving beneath the water’s surface to find food, the pelicans’ feathers become oil-soaked, causing hypothermia and drowning. Pelicans also die by eating oil-tainted fish, which they may also feed to their young. In fact, “just six months ago, brown pelicans had been removed from the endangered species list. Now their recovery could be undermined by millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf.” (Greg Bluestein and Matthew Brown, Associated Press, May 24, 2010)

www.cbn.com/…/As-Spill-Grows-Oil-Soaks-Delicate-Marshes-Birds/

Also, thoughtless human activity continues to threaten the survival of the brown pelican. These destructive activities are the disturbance of breeding and nesting habitats as well as the abandoning of fishing lines and hooks that later may entangle and injure pelicans.

Description of the Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican photo by Carol Georgi

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium   www.montereybayaquarium.org

The brown pelican is easily recognized by a distinctive large pouch that hangs from the lower half of its long, straight bill. These magnificent birds are gray-brown, with dark wings and white heads with a yellowing crown, yellow eyes, black legs and black, webbed feet.

Most interesting is the pelican’s bill that can hold three times more than its stomach can—nearly three gallons of fish and water. At the end of a successful dive, the pelican drains the water from its pouch and swallows the whole fish, flipping it if necessary, head first.

Brown pelicans dive for their fish using their keen eyesight and spotting fish from heights of 20 to 60 feet. They dive steeply, with their heads pointed straight down and their wings folded back, plunging into the water. These birds have air sacs under their skin to cushion the blow and to bring them up to the surface.

Usually flying in flocks , their flight pattern may be a straight line or a V-formation, with their powerful wing strokes alternating with short glides. Pelicans often fly close to the water’s surface, seeming to surf the uplift created by the oceans’ swells. They are beautiful birds to watch along the coast of San Luis Obispo County.

www.santalucia.sierraclub.org

www.slosurfrider.org

www.saveourseas.org

]]> http://www.sandraoffthestrip.com/2010/05/27/brown-pelican-threatened-by-bp-deepwater-horizon-offshore-drilling-disaster/feed/ 0 http://www.sandraoffthestrip.com/2010/05/15/black-oyster-catcher/ http://www.sandraoffthestrip.com/2010/05/15/black-oyster-catcher/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 00:11:53 +0000 Carol http://www.sandraoffthestrip.com/?p=3991

Black Oyster Catcher photo by Carol Georgi

Hello Ocean Lovers!

Every Other Breath is from the Ocean

contributed by Carol Georgi

Please support the movement to establish the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
for more info go to slosurfrider.org

Black Oyster Catcher

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium   www.montereybayaquarium.org
The black oystercatcher is a brownish black bird with a long, bright-red beak, large pink feet and yellow eyes. This coastal bird forages along rocky shorelines at low tide, looking for molluscs—mostly limpets and mussels and seldom eats oysters.

The long, bright-red beak is useful in eating bivalves, because, like limpets and mussels, they have a strong muscle that holds the two shells tightly together—yet an oystercatcher can easily and quickly pry them open. The birds also sneak up on open mussels, quickly stab their beaks between the shells, sever the muscle, shake the mussel free and swallow it. With sharp jabs of their bill tips, oystercatchers dislodge limpets and chitons from rocks, turn them over and eat the soft tissue.

Breeding pairs of black oystercatchers make their nests by tossing rock flakes, pebbles or shell fragments toward their nest bowl with a sideways or backward flip of their bills. these nesting sites are above the high tide level and use the same nest year after year.

Since oystercatchers breed and forage near the shoreline, they’re highly vulnerable to oil spills.

Carol Georgi, Volunteer

Black Oyster Catcher photo by Carol George

Every Other Breath is From the Ocean

Beached Sevengill Shark photo by Terry Lilley

Here is a critter from our San Luis Obispo County coastal waters for you to enjoy!

Please support the movement to establish the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

for more info go to slosurfrider.org

Sevengill Shark

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Sevengill Shark        Notorynchus cepedianus
According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium   www.montereybayaquarium.org

Growing up to 10 feet long (3 m), the sevengill shark has a wide head with a blunt nose and only one dorsal (top) fin (most sharks have two), and seven pairs of gill slits (most sharks have five). Its back and sides are reddish brown to silvery gray, or olive-brown and speckled with many small black spots, and its underbelly is cream colored.

Sevengill Shark Teeth photo by Terry Lilley

The teeth on this shark’s lower jaw are comb shaped, and the teeth in the upper jaw are jagged. When biting large prey, the shark anchors its jaw with the lower teeth, and then thrashes its head back and forth to saw off pieces of flesh with the upper teeth.

Sevengill sharks prowl for food in shallow inshore waters, and they appear in deeper waters along the continental shelf. These sharks prey on almost anything, including octopuses, rays, other sharks, bony fishes and carrion, and may hunt in packs for seals. They are powerful swimmers that can be aggressive if provoked, and are considered potentially dangerous to humans.

During March 2010, two sevengill sharks were caught at Shell Beach. After each catch, harbor seals were seen in the water.
Carol Georgi, Volunteer

www.santalucia.sierraclub.org
www.slosurfrider.org
www.saveourseas.org

Every Other Breath is from the Ocean

contributed by Carol Georgi

Please support the movement to establish the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
for more info go to slosurfrider.org

West Coast Cormorants

3 species, Marine Migratory Birds

Brandt’s Cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus
Double-crested Phalacrocorax auritus
Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus

photos by Terry Lilley

West Coast Cormorant

According to Rich Stallcup, Biologist for Point Reyes Bird Observatory, correct identification of the three species of West Coast Cormorants can be difficult. He advises identification while in flight. Based on his drawings and descriptions, we often see the Brandt’s and the Double-crested cormorants nesting near each other in trees near the ocean along our central coast.  Both types of cormorants are colonial, building nests in groups.

Cormorants are beautiful black birds that like geese, will migrate flying silently in large arcs or in wedge-shaped flocks. Both the Pelagic and the Brandt’s cormorants will fly over water; however, the Double-crested with take short cuts, flying over land.

A Cormorant is an amazing marine bird to watch because it dives from the surface of the water and swims
underwater, chasing its prey. It grabs a small fish in its bill, without spearing it.
After diving, cormorants spread their wings to air dry, a beautiful sight.

Cormorants nesting

Habitat
All three cormorants are found along the Pacific Coast.
The double-crested cormorants are also found in other parts of the U.S.
These cormorants are part of the Pacific nearshore ecosystem.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Management Mission:
To conserve migratory bird populations and their habitats for future generations, through careful monitoring and effective management.

The Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act with Canada, Japan, Mexico and Russia for the protection of migratory bird resources states it is unlawful to take any migratory bird, any part, nest or eggs.

The intent of the federal law is to protect sensitive habitat by not allowing habitat removal or destruction.

When guidelines for reproductive nesting dates are given, the purpose is to guide dates for habitat sensitive tree trimming, not removal, leaving the nests intact as they are in continuous and repeated use.

Carol Georgi, Volunteer

www.santalucia.sierraclub.org

www.slosurfrider.org

www.saveourseas.org

Kelp Forest Monterey Bay Aquarium

Hello Ocean Lovers!

Every Other Breath is from the Ocean

contributed by Carol Georgi
with underwater photos by Terry Lilley and Sue Sloan.

Please support the movement to establish the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
for more info go to slosurfrider.org

Here’s more on the sea otter and its role in the Web of Life.

Southern Sea Otter   Enhydra lutris nereis

Perhaps the most familiar image of kelp forests is a picture of a sea otter draped in strands of kelp, gripping a sea urchin on its belly. Both sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp.) play critical roles in the stable equilibrium ecosystem. Sea urchins graze kelp and may reach population densities large enough to destroy kelp forests at the rate of 30 feet per month. Urchins move in “herds,” and enough urchins may remain in the “barrens” of a former kelp forest to negate any attempt at regrowth. Sea otters, playing a critical role in containing the urchin populations, prey on urchins and thus control the numbers of kelp grazers.
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/about/ecosystems/kelpdesc.html

Without a healthy kelp forest, most marine life, including fish would not be present.
Kelp forests provide habitat for a wide range of marine organisms. These include a diversity of species of smaller
algae, invertebrates, fish, marine mammals, and birds. The kelp forests of the Pacific coast of North America
are estimated to support more than 1,000 species of marine plants and animals.
Read more: http://science.jrank.org/pages/3751/Kelp-Forests-Kelp-forests.html#ixzz0R0lagNTn

Southern Sea Otter

In our central coast area, according to Terry Lilley, biologist, the sea otters keep the urchin population down and the kelp is thick and healthy. However, in southern California where there are no sea otters, the urchins have taken over the reef and killed much of the kelp forest!  This action ruins the entire ecosystem.

The following information is from the Monterey Bay Aquarium webpage:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/AnimalDetails.aspx?enc=n3f4wmcSJaPjw3qk9B0zTQ==

Animal Facts
* ON EXHIBIT:
Sea Otters
* Scientific Name:
Enhydra lutris nereis
* Habitat:
Kelp Forest
* Animal Type:
Marine Mammals
* Diet:
crabs, snails, urchins, clams, mussels and other invertebrates
* Size:
to 4 feet (1.2 m) and up to 50 pounds (23 kg) for females and 70 pounds (32 kg) for males
* Range:
California: From Half Moon Bay in the north to near Santa Barbara in the south.
* Relatives:
weasels, skunks, river otters; Family: Mustelidea (sea otters are the only exclusively marine member of this family)

Gargani with sea urchins

Conservation Natural History
To stay warm in chilly ocean waters, otters wear the world’s densest fur. At its thickest, this two-layer fur is made up of more than a million hairs per square inch. (You’ve probably got 100,000 hairs or less on your whole head!)
To keep their luxurious coats waterproof, otters spend many hours a day cleaning and grooming. Such good grooming coats their fur with natural oils from their skin and fluffs it with insulating air bubbles.

Sea otters once thrived from Baja California to the Pacific Northwest of North America through Alaskan and Russian waters and into Japan before hunters nearly exterminated them in the 1700s and 1800s. The California population has grown from a group of about 50 survivors off Big Sur in 1938 to just over 2000 today. Although their numbers have increased, sea otters still face serious risks: oil from a single tanker spill near San Francisco or off the central coast could wipe out the entire California sea otter population.

Cool Facts
An otter may hunt on the seafloor, but always returns to the surface to eat. Floating there on its back, it uses its chest as a table. (And if dinner’s a crab or clam, the otter may use a rock to crack open its prey.)
An otter’s coat has pockets—flaps of skin under each front leg. An otter uses them to stash prey during a dive, which leaves its paws free to hunt some more.

To learn more with video and podcast, go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium webpage:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/AnimalDetails.aspx?enc=n3f4wmcSJaPjw3qk9B0zTQ==
Video: One of the aquarium’s staff aquarists talks while training otters.
Podcast: Don’t flush: How kitty litter is hurting sea otters.
Learn More: Saving sea otters, learn about the aquarium’s sea otter research and conservation program.
Also, view the kelp forest http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/kelp.aspx

www.santalucia.sierraclub.org
www.slosurfrider.org
www.saveourseas.org

Hello Ocean Lovers!

Every Other Breath is from the Ocean

contributed by Carol Georgi

Here is a critter from our San Luis Obispo County coastal waters for you to enjoy!

Please support the movement to establish the Central Coast Extension of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
for more info go to slosurfrider.org

Southern Sea Otter

Enhydra lutris nereis

Sea otters are indicators of the ocean’s health for surfers and California’s nearshore ecosystem.

California sea otters eat, sleep, mate and are born and raised in the water. Bundled in dense fur, they live in the nearshore ocean or estuary during their 10-20 years of life. As such, they are exposed to many of the same diseases and toxins as humans. Therefore, their health is an indicator of how clean the water is while we surf, swim, and enjoy eating local seafood. Everyday chemicals like car oil and pesticides, as well as bacteria from cat feces are being found in otter tissue. The contaminants make their way into the otter diet through shellfish, which are filter feeders that soak up chemicals in the water. www.seaotterresearch.org/

Sea otters are declining in California. For the first time in nearly 10 years, the 2009 spring population census shows a decline in the California sea otter population, and some researchers believe the otters’ food may contain deadly pathogens.

What is killing sea otters ?    www.seaotterresearch.org/
Disease and Contamination in California Sea Otters    http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/sea_otter/background_and_recovery/california/threats/disease.php

Increase in diseases
*Intestinal worms (acanthocephalan worms)
*bacterial infections
*fungal infection, coccidioidomycosis or San Joaquin Valley fever caused by inhaling fungal spores
*brain infection (protozoal encephalitis), caused by parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is carried from land in cat litter feces.  One way this organism is migrating to the ocean is by flushable cat litter. Do not flush cat litter feces down the toilet.

Increase in pollution
*Agricultural runoff, organochlorine compounds and pesticides that build up, or bioaccumulate
*polychlorinated biphenyl (otherwise known as PCBs)
*heavy metals
*domoic acid, a toxin produced by decaying algae may be linked to the increase in pollutants in our nearshore waters.
*Tributyltin, from boat paints
*Oil pollution can cause hypothermia and organ damage in sea otters.
U.C. Davis Sea Otter Research website.
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Sea otter extinction could trigger a devastating chain of events in the aquatic ecosystem. Without sea otters to feed on sea urchins, the sea urchin population would explode and destroy the kelp forests on which it feeds. These kelp forests are the key habitats for many other species, including fish, snails and crabs. http://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/sea_otter_decline.html
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Our health may depend on studying sea otters to determine what toxins, diseases, and other harmful substances are in the our local coastal waters.
If you find a dead or beached sea otter, please call 1-87-SEAOTTER
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Sea Otter photos by Mike Baird,   flickr.bairdphotos.com photomorrobay.com

We are urging the United States Senate to pass the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act (H.R. 556).  The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill earlier this year with a vote of 316 to 107.  If approved, the bill will allocate $5 million annually for research and development for five years.  Part of the money will help researchers discover what is causing sea otter deaths.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a pre-written letter you can email to your senator to urge him or her to support the Act.

Will you please take action to support the passage of H.R. 556?