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Dear Friends,
Happy Holidays! 
PCRF's new sailing vessel on Dry-Dock! |
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PCRF Charters Mir!
We are pleased to report that we have chartered Mir, a 114’ sailing vessel named after Mir, the space station that orbited earth for 15 years and advanced space exploration. Mir is a Russian word that has a double meaning of both world and peace, a perfect name for the ship that will be our new home at sea and the ocean platform for our efforts to preserve coral reefs. Mir is presently in Malta, where we found her and where, with the incredible support of a dedicated team of volunteers, we recently dry-docked the boat and are now completing a retrofit in preparation for sailing her to Singapore next Spring! Over the next five years, we will concentrate our work in Southeast Asia, where the reefs are the most biodiverse on the planet and where an alarming 88% are estimated to be at risk. To learn more, please visit www.biosfirindonesia.org and our blog about the retrofit of Mir.
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Special Thanks to Donors and Sponsors of Mir
Our progress on Mir would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors – thank you one and all! To view a list of our key sponsors, please see our sponsors webpage.
Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols Joins PCRF and Embarks on Program to Protect Endangered Sea Turtles in Indonesia
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We are honored to welcome sea turtle scientist Dr. Wallace J Nichols, better known as “J” to PCRF’s Board. J is working with us to pioneer a sea turtle program in the remote Anambas Islands of Indonesia. Located just east of Singapore in the South China Sea, the Anambas are an archipelago of approximately 250 islands where PCRF has been invited to develop marine conservation initiatives. Last summer, J joined our team on the tiny Anambas island of Durai, a nesting site for two disappearing species of sea turtles, the hawksbill and green turtles. Sea turtles play a vitally important role in the web of marine life, tending lagoon gardens and coral reefs, and they are endangered worldwide. Thus, their protection is of critical importance.
(Photo left: J with Anambas sea turtle)
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PCRF befriended Pak Lahonie and worked with the local community to develop a “win-win” strategy to preserve Durai’s sea turtles. Pak Lahonie is 92 years old and the only human being who lives on Durai. For the past 40 years, Pak Lahonie has worked for Durai’s owners, collecting sea turtle eggs for sale in local markets. Over time, he has watched the sea turtle population decline by 75%. Thanks to Nina Marliana, Community Outreach Program Manager for Premier Oil, Premier is providing support to protect the sea turtles and stop the harvesting of eggs. PCRF will host eco-tourist groups on Durai where they can participate in our coral reef and sea turtle monitoring as well as other preservation efforts. Income generated from these groups will be given to Pak Lahonie and Durai’s owners to replace the income previously produced from the sale of turtle eggs. Pak Lahonie is thrilled about his new job – protecting the sea turtles of Durai!
(Photo right: J & Pak Lahonie)
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 Under Nina’s care and guidance, PCRF participated in a sea turtle outreach program in Anambas for fisherman, local officials and students. Several people were so inspired to protect sea turtles that they formed a “Sea Turtle Club” with great enthusiasm to preserve Durai as a sea turtle nesting site. Please join J and learn more about his journey to Anambas on the California Academy of Sciences’ website.
(Photo left: Grayce Nichols releasing a baby green turtle back into the wild)
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Please continue to follow our progress on our new Anambas Islands webpage!
 The Anambas Team : Yanin, Dhany, Mark, Abigail, Nina, Grayce and J. | |||
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New Coral Reef Preservation Program: Bali Menjangan Island Reef Some of Indonesia’s most significant mangroves and coral reefs surround Menjangan Island, located off the Northwest Coast of Bali in the Bali Barat National Park. Park officials have invited PCRF to collaborate on a long-term conservation program to save the reefs there because they are at risk due to a variety of causes, including over-fishing. (Photo below : Michel Lippitsch diving on Menjangan Reef)
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As a first step, Dr. Phil Dustan (Professor, College of Charleston) will join us in March 2010 to gather data on the composition and health of Menjangan’s coral reefs and make population estimates of existing fish stocks. We will use this information to establish a baseline guide for the sustainable management of the island’s precious reefs and other marine resources, and we will work closely with park managers to support the Indonesian Government’s No-Take fishing designation for Menjangan Island to protect the reefs on a long-term basis. We will also collaborate with the Bali Barat National Park to develop educational programs and build awareness among the local communities and park visitors. Additionally, PCRF will host volunteer groups to participate in these preservation efforts. In February 2010, Beyond Boundaries, a global stewardship program, will be the first volunteer team to join us there. The Menjangan Island Reef Project will serve as a model for marine conservation in Indonesia, which has over 17,000 islands, home to many endangered reefs.
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Please continue to follow our progress on our new Menjangan Project webpage!
 A frogfish at Menjangan island camouflaged against a sponge. | |||
Studio of the Sea Highlights: Footage in NRDC Film & New Studio
Studio of the Sea's mission is to bring attention to ocean challenges, island cultures and the beauty of sea life. To date, we have posted 30 short films online at www.studioofthesea.org and six of these on YouTube. We are happy to report that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) features Studio of the Sea’s footage in its recently released film, Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification. Thanks to the generous support of Gigi Coyle and Win Phelps, our 3 terabyte archive and studio have been relocated to a new home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains!
PCRF Featured in Google Ocean Launch!
We were delighted when Google selected PCRF as a demonstration project for the launch of Google Ocean earlier this year. You can now visit the Google Ocean Gallery and journey with us to coral reefs around the planet.
Pioneering 360° Underwater Experiences with Immersive Media (IM) We have successfully tested IM’s innovative Dodeca camera and created 360° virtual immersion experiences in Pacific island cultures and the underwater world of coral reefs. You can view IM’s newly developed program that links the underwater imagery to our geo-referenced coral reef survey on our new immersive page. (Photo right : Menjangan reef)
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“A Primer for Coral Reefs” by Orla Doherty to be published in 2010
 PCRF Board Member Orla Doherty spent almost a decade at sea with us, coordinating the science and making films about the state of the world’s oceans and coral reefs. During this time, she was also writing a coral reef textbook which will be published by Marshall Cavendish International. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
In the Philippines, I have heard the bomb blasts of dynamite fishermen while diving on the remnants of what is left of their once thriving coral reefs. In Papua New Guinea, I have snorkeled with lifeless fish, spiraling in a dance of death, killed by cyanide that kills the corals too. There I have also watched as fins were severed from dead sharks while the living ones became a rare sighting. In the central Pacific Ocean, a thousand miles from anywhere, I have witnessed the incontrovertible effects of global warming. In the Solomon Islands, I have returned to a reef that I knew like the back of my hand to find it unrecognizably destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami. It seems that whichever way I turn, there is trouble at sea. |
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Make a Difference – Support PCRF! You can help us make a difference in the future of coral reefs by making a tax-deductible contribution to PCRF today. Please donate online below. Your gift will make it possible for us to sail Mir to Southeast Asia, protect sea turtles, inspire ocean stewardship and advance our mission to preserve coral reefs everywhere!
With our very best wishes,
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Thank you again for your generous support! For more information, visit www.pcrf.org and www.biosfirindonesia.org |
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 PCRF is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization P.O. Box 201 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 |
