(November 17, 2013) As recently as 2004, Karimunjawa National Park was considered as a ‘paper’ park with grim prospects for improvement. Almost 10 years later, Dr. Stuart Campbell revisits the changes that have turned this protected area off the coast of Java into a growing success story.  At a recent workshop I attended, a comment was made that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) traditionally have been set up to protect biodiversity. Whilst this view is likely justified by the development of global MP...

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(November 12, 2013) Maxi Lahading, the 56-year-old retired head of Bahoi village, works every day to catch fish for his income. He also has voluntarily maintained the Bahoi marine sanctuary for about 10 years. Maxi also monitors the village fishing grounds surrounding the sanctuary for signs of illegal fishing and over the years has educated, confronted and reported violators using dynamite, cyanide and illegal boats and nets.  Tough love Through Maxi’s faith and belief in the protection of oceans&rsqu...

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(November 10, 2013) Ahmad Mukminin:   The waters surrounding Aceh Province’s Weh Island, at the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra, supports large shark and ray populations. There are no regulations on shark fisheries in these waters and awareness of the need to protect shark species from overfishing and possible local extinction is very low. So WCS turned to a movie to make the case for shark conservation.  In 2013, we launched an awareness campaign showcasing a new film, “Shark: Gu...

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(November 08, 2013) The study is partof the USAID-MPAG program for Indonesia, through which WCS conducted a spatial assessment of MPAs using available data and reports from all previous scientific studies that have defined priority areas of marine resource conservation in Indonesia. Where are the future MPAs? This study is the first of its kind in Indonesia to identify key MPAs that are in urgent need of assistance and development, elucidating the distribution and extentof existing community based MPAs from relev...

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(November 07, 2013) By: Tasrif KartawijayaThe Bumbang area is fast becoming a center for international and domestic tourism attracted by unspoilt beaches, hidden and secluded coves, amyriad of nearshore coral reefs and – not the least - magical surf where one can find a wave unhindered by the masses who vist Bali. The area also boasts a range of productive pelagic tuna and mackerel, reef snapper and grouper, anchovy and lobster fisheries that local communities source for daily income. The main threats to the...

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(November 07, 2013) By: Efin Muttaqin An encouraging come back While catching anchovies and small bait fish in a stationary net off the coast of Java on October 8th, a group of fishers discovered a much larger animal in their lift net—a juvenile whale shark measuring 4 meters in length (12 feet). Whale sharks have not been common in these waters over the past decade, so the appearance of this animal in a coastal net was asurprise to the fishers. SMS messages that can save wildlife The fishers quickl...

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(October 17, 2013) The whale shark was occur first time on 8 pm, October 2013 in west coast of Karimunjawa, and at the same time Mr Solikun, has been netting for anchovy. That whale shark try to get closer to anchovy net because many anchovy around Mr solikun’s net.  Mr Solikun try to drove away the whale shark in order to prevent entagled. Unfortunately, Mr Solikun with 3 other man in the boat failed and the whale shark was in the net until October 8, 2013 morning. At 8 in the morning Mr Solikun car...

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(July 15, 2013) By: Stuart Campbell So if we tell people living in coastal communities, who depend on fish for food and income every day, that there is evidence from far off places that No Take Areas or No Fishing Areas work, why would we expect them to believe us? On some type of faith? Maybe not, but in some ways we as conservationists, with ethics and beliefs in the protection of natural habitats, have some sort of obligation to demonstrate the worth of such measures to people who live by the sea, and to th...

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(July 15, 2013) By: Tasrif Kartawijaya Facilitated by WCS and the Gili Island Management Authority (BKKPN satker Gili Matra), the public consultation meetings on the draft management plan and zoning system were held at each of 10 villages in Gili Matra during February 25-27, 2013.  The meetings gathered inputs from local communities (including village leaders, tour operators, fishers, NGOs, tourism operators and youth groups) to achieve agreement on the location and regulations for each zone and communit...

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(July 15, 2013) By: Stuart Campbell and Jambul Lombok, an island located directly east of Bali in Indonesia is inhabited by 4 million people, many relying on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. About 2 hours southeast of Lombok’s new international airport, lies a coastal hideaway nestled with stretches of long sandy beaches, coral reefs, eminently reliable and inspiring surf, and local villages dotting this wild coastal environment.  It is there that a new collaborative appro...

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