Coral reef TF unveils new enforcement initiative

At its semiannual meeting in March, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force announced a new coral reef conservation initiative aimed at stronger enforcement of aquarium reef fish trade harvesting regulations, and declared 2008 as “International Year of the Coral Reef.”

The Task Force is a panel of 12 federal agencies that are in some way involved with coral reefs. There are the obvious ones, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which provides most of the funds for research and management of the coral reefs, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates water quality that can certainly impact reefs, but there are also representatives from agencies such as the Department of Defense, and the Department of Transportation. These agencies’ connection to the reefs might not appear as direct, until you remember that defense activities such as pre-positioned ships potentially impact reefs worldwide, as do decisions on funding for paving roads and other infrastructure needs.

Also represented on the task force are all states and jurisdictions that contain coral reefs, namely Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Florida, the Freely Associated States of Micronesia, and, of course, the CNMI. At this meeting, the CNMI was represented by none other than Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez, assisted by Fran Castro, Qamar Schuyler, and Lihla Noori. This was Villagomez’s first task force meeting, and he expressed a very strong interest in coral reef conservation. His presence at meetings throughout the week certainly confirmed that sentiment.

The Task Force meets twice per year, once in Washington, DC, and once in the jurisdictions, on a rotating basis. At the most recent meeting on March 4, the Task Force passed two resolutions and heard a number of different presentations. First, they decided to convene a committee on enforcement, focusing on the banned practice of collecting aquarium fish using cyanide and other poisons. The original resolution only mentioned cyanide, but it was expanded as a result of comments by the representatives from Hawaii, American Samoa, and the CNMI, reminding the Task Force that there are many other locally available fish poisons. The Task Force also passed a resolution designating 2008 as the International Year of the Reef, and urging agencies to carry out associated outreach and education projects.

There were also several presentations made to the Task Force, including a report on the decision to list staghorn and elkhorn corals as threatened species (see article on this page), as well as a report on the status of the Local Action Strategies (LAS) to address threats to coral reefs. The LASs are strategic plans developed by each of the jurisdictions represented on the task force. They outline local projects to address threats to coral reefs.

The next Task Force meeting will be held on St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in October 2006.