By Staff Reports
(HONOLULU) —New concepts in ocean management will be unveiled at “Healing Maunalua Bay,” a public forum about the health and future of the Bay. The event will be held on Saturday, December 6 at Calvary by the Sea Church, 5339 Kalanianaole Highway, from 6:30 – 9 p.m.
An opportunity for the public to engage in conservation efforts, the event is a collaboration of Malama Maunalua, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It will feature talks from scientists and speakers renowned in their fields including a representative from Malama Honua World Wide Voyage (Maunalua Bay is the home port of the Hokulea voyaging canoe), followed by a panel discussion. All are invited and admission is free. Information: (808) 395-5050 or www.malamamaunalua.org.
Featured speakers include:
Dwayne Minton: Where Have All the Fish Gone? A Five-Year Assessment of Maunalua Bay.
Dwayne Minton is a science advisor in The Nature Conservancy (TNC)-Hawai`i’s Marine Program. He has more than 20 years of experience in Pacific coral reef ecology, watershed and coral reef restoration, mitigation, and marine conservation. Dwayne specializes in survey design and data analysis (especially for assessing conservation management actions), and is an expert in coral and invertebrate identification. Prior to joining TNC, Dwayne worked as a marine technical expert with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supporting coral reef mitigation and planning, and as an Ecologist with the U.S. National Park Service in Guam, where he was responsible for managing more than 1000 acres of coral reef. He has served as a field invertebrate specialist on numerous NOAA research cruises to the remote Pacific islands, and has assisted the United Nations with World Heritage site assessments in Papua New Guinea. Dwayne has a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Hawai`i.
Jack Kittinger: Social Science and Conservation in Maunalua Bay
Dr. John N. “Jack” Kittinger is the director of Conservation International’s Hawai‘i program in the Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans. Under his leadership, CI-Hawai‘i works to restore seafood security in Hawai‘i by engaging communities and stakeholders to protect their critical natural capital, foster effective governance, and promote the sustainable production, distribution, and consumption of locally sourced, sustainable seafood. A social scientist by training, Dr. Kittinger has broad interests in understanding and advancing sustainable solutions to complex problems that face society and the ocean environment. He has extensive experience coordinating multi-disciplinary teams in cross-cutting research and frequently works with other stakeholders in knowledge-to-action partnerships. A lifelong surfer, fisherman, and waterman with family ties to the coastal Carolinas, he is committed to ocean-based learning experiences and staying in the water as often as possible.
Kim Selkoe: The Ocean Tipping Points Project – What Kinds of Efforts, and How Much, Are Needed to Protect and Restore Hawaii’s Reefs?
Kim Selkoe is a marine scientist with three areas of research: the science of marine conservation, connectivity and genetics of Hawaii reefs, and market-based strategies for seafood sustainability. Since completing her Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara in 2005, she has held concurrent research positions at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. She currently leads a collaborative project with Alan Friedlander and Kirsten Oleson of the University of Hawaii to understand ecological tipping points on Hawaii’s reefs, which is funded by the Moore Foundation and Coral Reef Conservation Program through July 2016.
Mālama Maunalua is a community non-profit organization restoring the health of Maunalua Bay. Priorities include removing invasive alien algae, reducing the run-off of sediment and pollutants from the land into the Bay and increasing marine life. Volunteer board members are Jennifer Taylor, (president), Carol Wilcox (vice president & secretary), Jean T. Tsukamoto (treasurer), Mitch D’Olier, Amy Monk, Michael Pietsch, Dr. Leighton Taylor and Laura Thompson. Information: (808) 395-5050; www.malamamaunalua.org.