Volume 2 • Issue 4 In this issue Director’s letter: A message from Tony Lamorena PAGE 2 DAWR: Management-Planning Sessions for the Tumon Bay and Piti Bomb Holes PAGE 3 Coral reef: Coral Reef Managers meet on to Battle Climate Change PAGE 5 Mission complete: Nereus returns to the surface. Prutehi I Islan Guahan: Protect our Island Guam from invasive species Exploring PAGE 6 Marine Preserves: Heritage, Protecting our Future ’ve been to THE with the ship. Other ROVs use PAGE 7 TRENCH!! Of thick, heavy cable up to 25 miles course, that’s the Mar- in length and are tethered to the iana Trench. Not ship via this cable. Nereus’fiber Kika Kids Page: many people on Earth optic line looks like light-weight Color in the Ko’ko’ while canI make that claim. I some- monofilament fishing line. It is learning more about this times feel is was all a dream. I so fine that it can be broken by native Guam bird relive the adventure over and an 8 pound fish. It is not a teth- over with pictures and in my er, it drifts along behind Nereus mind. and 25 miles of fiber can fit in PAGE 8 I didn’t physically go to the a canister the size of a coffee Trench, but I was in the control can. room when Nereus went. Nereus was designed and Nereus, a robot, can place built at Wood’s Hole Oceano- equipment on the sea floor, pick graphic Institute (WHOI) in up samples, catch critters and Massachusetts. At 8.5 million sends video of it all to the con- dollars it was funded by the Na- trol room. When you’re in the tional Science Foundation, Na- control room watching the mon- tional Oceanic and Atmospher- itors, you are transported to the ic Administration and the Of- sea floor. It’s like magic. You fice of Naval Research. Nereus no longer feel you are on a ship, is a Hybrid ROV (HROV); it you are with Nereus. can operate via its fiber optic Nereus is a new design in Re- cable or it can operate independ- ently via computer program- Managing coral reefs. Analysis: Dr. Patty Fryer, chief scientist of the expedition and motely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) that uses a thin fiber ming. Most ROVs operate in Linda Tatreau. Page 5 optic line for communication I continued on page 4

A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com 1 Message from the MAN, LAND & SEA NEWSLETTER Volume 2, Issue 4

EDITORS Director Tom Quinata Esther G. Taitague Hafa Adai! There is an article from the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Division of Aquat- BUREAU STATISTICS ic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) on seems like just yesterday that we their Management-Planning sessions and & PLANS Ithad the Coastal Cleanup and I the process that will help the agency in Alberto A. Lamorena V guess with other pressing problems con- balancing the protection of natural re- Director fronting Guam it is easy to simply for- sources and recreational use in the Tu- get how important this activity is for our mon Bay and Piti Bomb Holes Marine GUAM COASTAL island. People say it’s a losing battle for Preserves. MANAGEMENT us to continually pick up other people’s Other articles include coral reef man- PROGRAM trash but I believe that if we instill the agers meet to discuss the challenges of Evangeline D. Lujan idea of conservation and the protection climate change and an update of inva- Administrator of our natural resources to the youth, sive species. they in turn will teach the adults to stop We hope you will enjoy this issue GCMP STAFF littering and to remind them that what and we appreciate any comments you they do on land affects the health of our Raymond Caseres have on any of the articles or how we Amelia De Leon ocean. Over 3,200 volunteers last year can better improve our newsletter to Terry M. Perez understood the importance of a clean better serve the community’s needs. and healthy coastal environment by pick- Esther G. Taitague ing up 31,111 pounds of trash in less Si Yu’os Ma’ase, Victor Torres than four hours. Let us hope that more Timothy Semuda people will come out this Saturday and Nydia Llarenas participate in the International Coastal of the Earth, the Mariana Trench. What Dave Burdick Cleanup while finding less trash to pick she didn’t tell you is that she was invit- Tom Quinata up. ed to be a part of an elite team of scien- Alberto A. Lamorena V. In this issue of Man, Land and Sea, we tists and engineers. Congratulations to follow Linda Tatreau to the deepest part Linda! NOAA CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT FELLOW Elaina Todd

FOR GCMP INFORMATION Please contact: Evangeline Lujan Man, Land & Sea Newsletter Guam Coastal Management Program Bureau of Statistics & Plans P.O. Box 2950 FEDERAL CONSISTENCY REVIEW Hagåtña, Guam 96932 TEL: PUBLIC NOTICE 671.472.4201/2/3 ection 306(d)(14) of the Coastal Zone Manage- FAX: Sment Act of 1972, as amended, requires public 671.472.1812 participation in the federal consistency review of pro- 2) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Guam Na- posed project with the Guam Coastal Management Pro- tional Wildlife Refuge Guam Federal Consistency De- E-MAIL: gram (GCMP) enforceable policies. Project proponents termination for the proposed Guam National wildlife [email protected] have filed a statement of determination and accompany- Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan. ing information with the GCMP/BSP Office that their ______The Man, Land & Sea proposal is consistent with these policies. This informa- ______Newsletter is funded by a tion is available for public inspection at the GCMP Of- grant from the U.S. fice, Suite 303, GCIC Building. Anyone having ques- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IX Department of tions regarding the public comment process, or having proposed Designation of an Ocean Dredged Disposal comments on project listed below should contact Site Offshore of Guam. Commerce, National Amelia F. De Leon, Planner at telephone No.671-475- Oceanic and 9669 or email [email protected]. Written Atmospheric comments may be submitted or mailed within 15 days Administration (NOAA) of this publication date or as otherwise noted below, to: US Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Ad- through the Coastal ministration – DPW proposed reconstruction and reha- Management Act of 1972, Bureau of Statistics and Plans bilitation of three culverts and the repair of the Cetti as amended, Attn: Administrator, Guam Coastal Management Pro- Bay administered by the gram Slide (FHWA Project Number GU-NH- Office of Ocean and P.O. Box 3631 0002(102)(104)(105)(108) in Agat & Umatac. Coastal Resource Hagatna, Guam 96932 Management Program Fax: (671) 477-1812 (OCRM) and the Guam Coastal Management To submit comments electronically,send e-mail to US Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Ad- [email protected], cc: ministration – DPW proposed widening and resur- Program (GCMP) of the [email protected] facing of Route 17 Yona to Pago Bay. (FHWA Pro- Bureau of Statistics and ject No. GU-NH-0004(012) The road project will Plans, Government of Guam The Department of the Air Force 36th Wing (PACAP also include the restoration of Route 15 at two loca- through Grant is proposing to construct a perimeter fence and access tions north of route 29 in Yigo (FHWA Project Number road and relocate the main Gate and Associated infra- Nnumber GU-NH-0015(104). NA08NOS419045 structure to improve operations and security at AAFB.

2 A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com DAWR to Hold Management-Planning Sessions for the Tumon Bay and Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserves he Department of Agricul- Marine Preserves are managed to ture’s, Division of Aquat- LAC PROJECT join this effort. To be successful, we Tic and Wildlife Resources need community involvement (DAWR) invites the public to partic- OBJECTIVES throughout the entire process and ipate in community planning ses- these two planning sessions are the sions to determine the future levels The objective of the LAC process first step,” said Torres. of recreational and commercial ac- is to address impacts of recre- The sessions include a presenta- ational use and to protect the en- tivities allowed in the Tumon Bay vironmental resources for future tion on the history of the Marine Pre- and Piti Bomb Holes Marine Pre- recreational use within the Tumon serves, their unique resources and an serves. DAWR will follow a com- Bay and Piti Bomb Holes marine overview of the Limits of Accept- munity based planning process preserves. able Change process. The presenta- called “Limits of Acceptable I Balance two major needs of (1) tion was followed by a working ses- Change,” or LAC, that will help the encouraging public and commer- sion in which participants began the agency balance resource protection cial recreation and tourism, while first two steps of the LAC process. (2) protecting social and environ- and recreational use in these special mental values in the marine pre- During this session, participants were areas. serves asked to identify special values, is- Two planning sessions are sched- I Control impacts and change, sues, and concerns for each preserve uled for September. On September rather than trying to prevent it and to share their vision for the fu- 8th, a session was held in Tamuning I Determine the management ac- ture management of each preserve. for the Tumon Bay Preserve and a tions required to maintain desired Any individuals or groups that are session for the Piti Bomb Holes Pre- resource and social conditions interested in the future management serve was held on September 10th of the Tumon and Piti marine pre- in Piti. These initial sessions intro- serves are encouraged to attend the duced the collaborative 9- step LAC to replenishing our island’s fish stocks, upcoming sessions. This includes all process to the community and provid- but they also provide important recre- past and present users of Tumon and ed a kickoff for the process. The ational and economic benefits to our Piti Bays, including fishermen, tour process is focused on recreational and community. Finding the balance be- operators, paddlers, jet ski operators, WHY USE THE LAC commercial uses of the preserves and tween resource protection and resource divers, snorkelers, and the general pub- will help DAWR implement the Ma- use is a challenging task, and we feel lic. PROCESS? rine Preserve Eco-Permit. This it should be informed by the commu- For more information, please con- process will not address fishing activ- nity,” said Department of Agriculture tact DAWR Assistant Chief Jay DAWR has chosen to use the LAC process be- Acting Director Joe Torres. “The De- cause it allows the community to help resource ities in these areas. Gutierrez at 735-3955/6. managers determine the best balance between “The Marine Preserves are the key partment is asking everyone who is the public’s recreational desires and resource interested in how the Piti and Tumon protection needs. Whereas other management methods typically try to prevent impacts (or change) by arbitrarily limiting the number of recreational users or restricting certain uses, the LAC process focuses on “how much change is ac- WHAT IS THE “LIMITS el of change within the pre- ceptable” within an area and sets standards for serves. So, instead of trying measuring and responding to that change. The OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE to prevent change altogeth- LAC process recognizes that some level of er, the LAC process focuses change is inevitable. (LAC) PROCESS”? on identifying ways to con- trol it by defining acceptable The LAC process has been successfully ap- limits and rates of change. plied around the world as a method to ad- The LAC process will only HOW DOES THE LAC dress recreational user conflicts and envi- work with public involvement ronmental impacts. It is a 9-step method PROCESS throughout the entire that answers three main questions: process. The planning ses- RELATE TO THE RECENTLY I What resource and social conditions do sions in September will pro- we wish to have in our marine preserves? vide the public with more in- PROPOSED BILL 190 AND I If we have them, what do we do to maintain them? formation on the LAC process and opportunities to be FISHING WITHIN THE I If we haven’t achieved them, what do we do to at- involved. These sessions are the first of a series of tain them? meetings for the public to work through the 9-step process with DAWR and other resource agencies. MARINE PRESERVES? Recreational activities will inevitably result in some lev-

The two are separate, unrelated undertakings. The LAC process focuses only on human-induced recreational and commercial impacts within the WHAT ARE THE 9-STEPS OF THE LAC PROCESS? marine preserves. As such, planning sessions will focus on recreational and commercial activi- 1. Identify issues and concerns 4. Inventory existing conditions 7. Identify management actions ties including, but not limited to swimming, 2. Describe opportunity classes 5. Specify standards for resource 8. Select preferred opportunity snorkeling, SCUBA diving, outrigger canoe pad- 3. Select indicators of resource and social conditions classes dling, kayaking, windsurfing, surfing, and jet ski- and social conditions 6. Identify opportunity class alter- 9. Implement actions and monitor ing. natives conditions

WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE ARE THE TUMON BAY AND PITI LAC PROJECT FOR THE BOMB HOLES MARINES PRESERVES TUMON BAY AND PITI BOMB SPECIAL TO YOU? HOLES MARINE PRESERVES? DAWR is reaching out to all past and present users of the two All individuals and groups that are interested in preserves who may have an interest in how they are managed. the management of recreational activities in the We warmly encourage all interested individuals and groups to preserves are invited to participate. The Adviso- work with us as we take a closer look at the future of recreation- ry Group that is overseeing the project includes al activities in the preserves. Join us at our public meetings and representatives from: the Department of Agricul- planning sessions and LEARN MORE about the LAC process and ture DAWR, the National Oceanic and Atmos- how you can be involved! - Joe Torres, Acting Director

A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com 3 Exploring Mariana Trench

I continued from page 1 swam around Nereus. Some were 2 inches relatively shallow water. Jason II, a deep across and a deep pink. diving WHOI ROV can go to a depth of 4.5 Others were smaller miles. Nereus was designed to go to the and transparent. Most deepest spot on Earth, the , exciting were beauti- at 10,902 meters (35,746 feet) in the Mari- ful, white polychaete ana Trench. worms. These multi- The Nereus expedition was the third time legged worms, just man has visited the Challenger Deep. In over an inch long, are 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh actu- surround be a delicate ally went down into the Trench in the bathy- fringe. We attempted scaph Trieste. They were in a small steel to catch one for study sphere suspended under a large blimp-like using a push core (a structure that was filled with gasoline. The tube used to collect Trieste descended using weights which were sediment). In lifting jettisoned after 20 minutes on the sea floor. the push core, a rubber The gasoline-filled float brought the Trieste band was dropped near to the surface. On the bottom, they saw one the worm. Much to fish and one shrimp through small Plexiglas everyone’s amaze- ports. Piccard and Walsh were adventurers ment, the worm without equal. stalked and attacked The Japanese ROV Kaiko visited the the rubber band. It was Challenger Deep three times between 1995 not our imagination— & 1998. Kaiko operated via the traditional the worm actually ROV heavy cable and a special ship was pounced. built to accommodate the spool that held the We did not have cable. Kaiko collected valuable data but was enough time to make unwieldy because of the miles of cable nec- another trip in the essary for tethering and communications. Trench so Chief Scien- Kaiko was lost at sea during a storm in 2002. tist Patty Fryer sug- Nereus made a few shallow, experimen- Above: Deployment of Nereus gested a dive into the caldera of Patgon tal dives in the Atlantic off Massachusetts. In Masala. This is a large volcano southwest of 2007, it made a few deeper dives in Hawai- Guam. It was named by George Washing- ian waters. This trip was the ultimate test. ton High School students in 2002 after win- We started 7 miles off the northern coast of ning the annual FishBowl competition. This Guam and took Nereus to a depth of 2,700 volcano has the largest caldera of any volcano feet. This was only Nereus’7th. dive. Each in the Mariana Island arc system. day we traveled farther from Guam and sent What a finale to an already great expedi- Nereus deeper. Each day the excitement tion. In the caldera, Nereus took us to an area built as we anticipated the trip to the Chal- of hydrothermal vent activity. We expected lenger Deep. The first trips were to find any this as it was first discovered by the Japan- kinks in Nereus’operating systems. The sci- ese in 2003. Areas of vent activity are nev- entists where happy to use the test dives to er big, often no larger than a baseball field, collect pictures, rocks, sediments and bio- so it was amazing when we dropped right logical samples. into it at a depth of almost 2 miles. Our first Most ocean expeditions using ROVs car- sight was white smokers and chimneys ry a small team of engineers and a lot of sci- which form when super-heated water, rich in entists. On this trip were 2 biologists, 2 ge- dissolved minerals, reaches the near freezing ologists and me:) That was it for the science water of the sea floor and the minerals pre- team. We were on board the Research Ves- cipitate. The tallest chimney, at 12 feet, had sel Kilo Moana from the University of a base of about 5 feet. We collected a sam- . The ship has a crew of 23. The ple which smelled strongly of sulfur. Nereus engineers far outnumbered the sci- The abundance and variety of animal life ence crew 18:5. We also had a Discovery at the vent site was astonishing. Gardens film crew of 3. Look for this on T.V. this fall. form with hundreds of tubeworms rising in Look close and you may see me in the back- foot-long tubes. Hundreds of transparent ground. Samples: Dr. Patty Fryer with a sediment sample from 10,902 meters shrimp and dozens of white crabs swam in Sunday, May 31st. and Nereus’ 11th. front of the camera. The vent community dive—the goal, appropriately, 11 kilometers. are full of life, but we saw no animals on the has limited time on the sea floor because it also included small snails, limpets, anemones It took Nereus almost 8 hours to reach the mud. After several hours of sediment, we gets its power from batteries. At the end of and clams. bottom at 10,900 meters. Ashort time later, were thrilled to reach a rocky scarp. Dark and the dive a signal is sent and Nereus detach- That final dive, #15 for Nereus and #8 for it reached 10,902 meters (6.77 miles or angular, the rocks were much too large for es from the fiber optic cable and makes the this trip, was the perfect end of a great ex- 35,746 feet). There were 49 people on the collection. We did eventually get 2 samples. ascent on its own. Eight hours later we spot pedition. This dive was a challenge for ship—34 of us were in the control room Then again, hour upon hour of sediment. Nereus on the surface and get it back on Nereus because of the rocky terrain, steep when Nereus reached the sea floor (that is Any bump in the mud, or fuzz in the distance, deck. slopes, shifting currents and the heat from the probably another record). Those not in the brought us to attention, but we found no The pressure in the Challenger Deep is smokers. Every pieces of electronics and control room watched the event on moni- more rocks to collect or animals to put in the 16,000 pounds per square inch. That’s like every bit of machinery worked as designed. tors conveniently placed around the ship. bio-box. We saw a few amphipods (these having 2 school busses on your big toe. For The Nereus crew spent years making this Upon reaching the bottom, we all broke into look like laterally flattened shrimp) and 4 fun, we all decorated styrofoam cups. We put possible and they have every reason to be excited applause—a little unnerving for the small, transparent, swimming sea cucum- them in a mesh bag and gave them to Nereus thrilled with the results of this entire expe- pilot. bers. Yes, some sea cucumbers can swim by for a trip to the Trench. We now have great dition. I’m thrilled too—to have been a vis- For almost 11 hours, I was glued to my undulating the caps that surround their souveniers—cups the size of a thimble. I also itor on this magnificent adventure. spot in the control room watching the mon- mouths. sent down a styrofoam wig head. Check out itors as Nereus passed over meter after me- Sometimes we tired of watching sedi- the pictures. ter of brown sediment. No one wants to call by Linda Tatreau ment... then, we remembered just where we During our 2nd. dive to the Challenger it a desert because we know the sediments were and the excitement returned. Nereus Deep, we saw more life. Many amphipods

4 A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com Coral Reef Managers meet on Guam to BATTLE CLIMATE CHANGE

ver thirty coral reef managers and scientists from across Microne- Osia gathered in Guam August 17- 20 to improve the region’s capacity to man- age coral reefs in the face of climate change. Coral reefs are especially vulnerable to cli- mate change impacts such as increases in temperature and ocean acidification. During the 1997-98 El Nino event, reefs in Palau, the Great Barrier Reef, and other locations experienced wide scale coral bleaching due to increased water tempera- tures. In some of these places, the reefs have started to recover, but other reefs have not. Reefs that can recover from bleach- ing or other impacts are “resilient”. The Reef Resilience and Climate Change Workshop covered a wide range of topics re- lated to climate change and reef resiliency. Dr. Mark Eakin and Britt Parker from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch shared the most recent climate change predictions with the group and introduced managers to the pro- gram’s tools to predict coral bleaching events. Chip Guard of the National Weath- er Service - Guam Office provided a re- gional view of potential climate change. Supin Wongbusarakum of the East-West Center shared her experience in socioeco- nomic monitoring and socio-ecological re- silience. Laurie Raymundo of the UOG Marine Lab updated managers on coral dis- ease in the Pacific and led a field exercise in Tumon Bay to look at bleaching and dis- ease. Other local experts led discussions Mark Eakin, NOAA Coral Reef Watch on reef resiliency, ecological monitoring, and incorporating resilience into manage- Coral bleaching: Participants observed coral bleaching in Tumon Bay and practiced methods for quan- ment. tifying coral bleaching impacts. Most importantly the participants began to develop strategies for reef management versity of Guam Marine Laboratory and that will help the region’s reefs be more re- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. silient to the impacts of climate change. The Guam Reef Resilience and Climate For additional information on Reef Re- Change Workshop is part of a series of re- silience and Climate Change see these web- silience and climate change workshops that sites: haves been running for the past 5 years and http://coralreef.noaa.gov/ was sponsored by the National Oceanic and http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/ Atmospheric Administration, Guam Coastal http://www.reefresilience.org/ Management Program, Guam Environmen- tal Protection Agency, Department of Agri- by Valerie Brown, NOAA culture, The Nature Conservancy, the Uni-

Reef resilience: Workshop participants discuss the factors in- fluencing reef resilience in Tumon Bay.

A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com 5 Prutehi I Islan [ Protect our Island Guam ]

Use certified “weed-free” forage, firewood, hay, mulch, and soil. Don’t dump live bait into waterways. Remove invasive plants from your land. Plant native plants in your garden. Volunteer for organized efforts to remove invasive nvasive species” (often called pests and natural pathways. These are the routes that enable species species from natural areas. weeds), are non-native plants, animals to travel away from their home ranges. Natural pathways Care for aquarium fish and other pets properly so that and other organisms taken beyond their include air and water currents, wind, and even the natural they don’t become invasive. natural range by people which then be- dispersal patterns of seeds via barbs, hooks and burrs. Ask your political representatives to support invasive come destructive to the environment or Man-made pathways on the other hand, are either delib- species efforts. human“I interests. On Guam, this includes the brown erate or unintentional in character. Deliberate actions, Write a letter about invasive species to your newspaper. treesnake, Coqui frog, tilapia, Cycad scale and Coconut such as the movement of plants and animals from one Support organizations that work on invasive species Rhinoceros beetle. Guam, like other Micronesian islands, area to another, may have negative effects. An example eradication. is particularly vulnerable to invasive species, because of is the recent court case involving the illegal transport of its isolation and relatively recent human occupation. Pa- African ball pythons into Guam via postal mail. Uninten- by Cheryl Calaustro, Wildlife Biologist, DAWR cific island species have not evolved to cope with the im- tional pathways include the movement of species as a re- pacts of predators, herbivores, insect pests, highly compet- sult of human activities. Examples of unintentional path- itive weeds, and diseases brought in from continental ar- ways include the importation of pro- eas. Invasive species are responsible for the extinction of duce as well as soils for plants, wa- more island native species than any other cause. The Guam ter for aquaculture, ballast water dis- rail, for example, has become extinct in the wild due to the charge, and the movement of people HELP MAKE GUAM BEAUTIFUL accidental introduction of the brown treesnake after World worldwide. These are all ways in War II. The detriment of invasive species is exacerbated which plant and animal species may Join the world's largest volunteer by the fact that small island states often have limited hu- be translocated. man, material and financial resources available to tackle Prevention is the first line of de- effort of its kind for the ocean. such threats. fense against invasive species. Often the most cost-effective ap- As the hub of the Pacific and new home for thousands proach to combating invasive of military personnel, the movement of plants, animals species is to keep them from estab- and other organisms beyond their natural range is rising lishing in the first place. sharply, due to increased transport, trade and travel to However, even the best preven- Guam. Many species that are introduced to new places by tion efforts will not stop all invasive people do not cause problems in their new locations, and species. many have considerable economic benefits for agricul- Early detection and rapid re- ture, horticulture and forestry. However, foreign species that sponse efforts increase the likeli- become established and proliferate in ways that threaten hood that invasions will be halted biodiversity, natural resources, food security, economic and eradicated. Once a species be- development, human health, and ecosystem services can comes widely established, mitiga- cause environmental havoc. Invasive species can include tion of negative impacts becomes vertebrate animals (e.g. snakes, rats, deer, feral cats, pig, less successful. birds, fish, frogs etc.), invertebrate pests (e.g. snails, slugs, Delayed responses to invasions nematode worms, mosquitoes, beetles, ants and other in- are ultimately expensive in time, ef- sects etc.), weedy plants (trees, vines, shrubs, grasses, sea- fort and funding. weeds etc.), and pathogens (e.g. fungi, bacteria and virus- es that cause plant, animal or human diseases such as West Hence, become part of the front- Nile Virus and Swine Flu). They affect agriculture, aqua- line and defend Guam from inva- culture, fisheries, forestry and tourism, reduce land values, sive species now. Follow these damage buildings, obstruct waterways, disrupt trade and guidelines from the National Inva- transportation, and cause or transmit diseases of humans, sive Species Council: animals and crops. Invasive species place other species at Learn what invasive species are in increased risk of extinction. your area and what is being done Invasive species can be found in every type of habitat. about them. They are in oceans, lakes, streams, and wetlands. On land, Report new invasive species and they can be on farms, ranchlands, backcountry areas, parks, range expansions. and forests. Some invasive species inhabit homes and ur- Share your knowledge. ban environments. While invasive species reside in many Clean and check hiking boots, areas on Guam, vast areas continue to need protection, waders, boats and trailers, off-road such as Cocos Island, an off-shore island in Southern vehicles, and other pathways of Guam free of brown treesnakes. spread to stop hitchhiking invasive Invasive species may travel via different man-made or species.

6 A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com Guam’s Marine Preserving our Heritage, Protecting our Future!

n the wake of continued declines in fish stocks, the Guam Legislature ap- Iproved the creation of a system of five marine preserves through Public Law 24-21. These preserves were implement- ed in 2001. They are: Tumon Bay Marine Preserve, Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve, Sasa Bay Marine Preserve, Achang Reef Flat Marine Preserve, and Pati Point Marine Preserve. Marine Preserves are a tradi- tional management practice also known as a bul in Palau, or a tabu in Polynesia. It is a simple, yet effective way to manage coral reef fisheries resources and has been used with great success through- out the Pacific Islands. In many areas they are established and managed by individual communi- ties, but with our large population and centralized government, they are managed by the Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources of the Guam Department of Agri- culture. These areas of restricted har- vest allow reef fish to grow to larger sizes and thus produce more offspring for neighboring areas. For example, a 10 inch sakmoneti (goatfish) produces a hundred times more eggs than a 5 inch one. As the fish in the preserve grow they will pro- duce more and more eggs for the rest of Guam’s reefs. That means more fish for everyone! In fact, this process has already started and catch rates outside of the pre- serves have started to rise (see graph be- low). The lifecycle of many of our favorite fish are long and complex. It is impor- tant to maintain our times more than before the preserves were sible in our fishing practices: existing marine pre- implemented and even the sites outside of Respect the Marine Preserves – fish in serves as they are in the preserve have shown increases over these areas replenish the rest of our island. order to ensure that the last 7 years. This provides great hope Follow the other fishing regulations – these fish, such as for the future of Guam’s fisheries….but we these laws support healthy fish stocks. Tangison (humphead still have a long way to go to restore our Take only what you need – eat it fresh wrasse), Atuhong fish stocks and reefs. or set it free. (bumphead parrot- Fishing is an important part of Guam’s Get Involved – contact the local re- fish), Gadao history and culture, part of our heritage. It source agencies to find out about oppor- (grouper), Laggua is important that we keep our fish stocks tunities to assist in monitoring, outreach, (parrotfish) and oth- forever. healthy, so future generations can contin- and management. er species have the ability to reproduce. If Data from DAWR’s marine preserve ue to practice the traditional fishing meth- we open the preserves or switch to rotation- surveys indicate that the preserves are ods that are so important to our culture. To by Valerie Brown, NOAA al preserves, these species will not be ad- working as expected. The fish stocks in do this we need to keep the Marine Pre- equately protected and we may lose them the preserves have increased to up to 10 serves strong. We also need to be respon-

A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com 7 Help Kika find her way out!

Contest winner

The following is the information about the contest to name the second deepest spot on Earth.

Contest Name the Second Deepest Spot on Earth GlWon By Jermaine Sanders (female) G Asmuyao Community School G Age 16 G Village: Talofofo G (671) 789-6680 G [email protected]

"The name I chose for the second deepest point is Nichon Sirena (Serena's Niche). The reason why I chose this name is because every Guamanian knows the legend of Sirena transforming into a mermaid because she loved the ocean. Based on the legend Sirena is only encountered in the deep- est parts of the ocean. And niche because the second deep- est point can be her home away from home. This relates to Guam's history/legends because of Sirena's connection to the Islanders. Some Guamanian's have named their daughter's after Sirena because of their love for the ocean. I think thats why Sirena is significant."

After Jermiane was declared the winner of the contest, we learned from the naming authorities in Hawaii that the names in the Trench must follow certain rules. Names must be one word follow by the word deep. Nichon Sirena will be Sirena Deep on maps. Interestingly, the name Sirena Deep was en- tered into the contest by John Meno of Inarajan. Jermain graciously offered to share the naming honors with John.

G John Meno G Notre Dame High School G Age 14 G Village: Inarajan G [email protected] G Repeted e-mails to John have not been answered.

Map

8 A supplement to the Pacific Daily News, Friday, Septemeber 18, 2009 www.guampdn.com