Doing my part in saving the island

Sebastian from The Little Mermaid got it right when he sang, “Look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things surround you! What more are you looking for?” I have seen a world like Sebastian’s—under our sea—and it is absolutely breathtaking.

My name is Loremel Hocog, one of the 12 people who were granted the opportunity to spend their summer learning more about Saipan’s beautiful beaches and their marine life. I am an elementary education undergraduate at the Northern Marianas College. I love being outdoors and going on adventures. Therefore, when I overheard my friends talking about an internship program at the Coastal Resources Management Office, I jumped at the opportunity to do those things that I love–except this time I am actually getting paid to do them.

As part of the Coral Reef Initiative, I was assigned to work under the Non-Point Source Pollution branch of the Division of Environmental Quality. Under the supervision of Mr. Aric Bickel, I have gotten to work on various projects that focus on reaching out to our community and informing them about our magnificent island, our exquisite ocean, and the dangers they are facing right now and in the imminent future.

My first project has been organizing the First Friday Films program. Started in July 2010, the First Friday Films offers a free screening of an environmental film at the American Memorial Park Visitors Center every first Friday of the month. The themes of the films range from eating locally to waste management to ocean acidification. In addition to the film, a guest speaker from the community comes and brings the themes of the films closer to the CNMI, emphasizing their relevance to our islands. As an intern, I write press releases for the upcoming film screenings, create promotional posters, look for potential films to show in future FFF screenings, invite possible guest speakers, put together lobby displays for the audience, update the FFF website, and attend the screenings to assist my supervisor. Through FFF, I have a chance to reach out to the community and address issues that are important to the people of the CNMI. Hopefully, after watching the movie, the audience will think about what they just saw and take some action toward it. For those interested in attending one of these FFF events, on Aug. 5, we will present Home, a movie that tackles climate change. For more information, you can visit the FFF website at http://www.firstfridayfilmssaipan.blogspot.com/.

My second project is assisting in the promotion of the “Size Matters” campaign. This project seeks to encourage local fishermen to practice catching fish that have reached reproductive size, or the size at which they begin to produce eggs. By doing so, the fish have a better chance of replacing themselves prior to being caught, thus reducing local depletion and helping to guarantee a steady supply of fish for the future. The campaign involves radio advertisements, a colorful poster of the various species of fish in the CNMI drawn exactly to their recommended sizes, and a waterproof ruler that fishermen can take to the ocean when they go fishing and use to midi (measure) the fish they catch. As part of this campaign, I have been able to meet various people from the community. I have gone from fishing equipment stores to other environmental agencies distributing the waterproof rulers, which also acts as a brochure to inform people about some facts concerning fishing in the CNMI. I also attended the annual spearfishing derby where our team was promoting the campaign to the fishermen. “Size Matters” encourages a fishing practice that requires a bit of sacrifice—after all, learning to selectively fish is difficult—but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. By giving the fish a chance to reproduce, it gives the fish population a chance to survive and it gives the people more fish to catch in the future. Check out http://sizematterscnmi.blogspot.com/ to learn more.

Another project I have been working on involves collaborating with The Sea Alliance. They have worked on a Web portal that provides a database of various environmental stories from around the world with the help of Google Earth. It also showcases some of the sea animals unique to each region of the world. The CNMI’s entry lacks sufficient and up-to-date information. It is my job to gather a list of possible island projects that we would want to highlight to the international community. This is a wonderful way to make us feel connected to other island communities and raise awareness about some of the great work that is being done here in the CNMI. If you want to read more and marvel on the beauty of our world, visit http://thedeepness.org/.

Aside from these projects, I have also teamed up with other branches of the Coral Reef Initiative program. This has given me a chance to work with my co-interns and get a glimpse of the environmental work that they do. For instance, I helped the Marine Monitoring Team conduct reef flat surveys at Bird Island Beach, Pakpak Beach and Susupe Beach. It was refreshing to get out of the office and develop an intimate relationship with the environment and forge a close bond with my co-interns.

Through this internship, I have seen first-hand how beautiful our island is and how badly we need to protect and preserve its beauty. However, I believe that protecting our island should be an islandwide effort. Ten weeks may seem like a short time to reach out to the community but I am glad to be a part of the solution and have a role in informing the island community about the problem. This has been an adventurous, educational, eye-opening, fun, and unforgettable summer.