International
Tropical
Marine
Ecosystems
Management
Symposium

ITMEMS 3
Global Problems, Local Solutions
Cozumel, Mexico
16-20 October 2006

This unique four-day field-based training workshop is being offered as a Post-ITMEMS activity, and is designed for coral reef and MPA resource managers, environmental assessment specialists, marine field investigators, advanced students and litigators. Participants will learn how to conduct field-based coral reef impact and natural resource investigations on a variety of anthropogenic events to support mitigation, mediation, negotiation and prosecution. It will run from mid-day Saturday, October 21, through late day on Wednesday, October 25, 2006.

Taught in, around, and adjacent to, the nearshore coral reef waters of the island of Cozumel, Mexico. The workshop will involve lectures and demonstrations related to the relatively new field of coral reef forensic investigations, along with hands-on in-water field crime scene investigations, guided by international professionals in wildlife enforcement, coral reef ecology, and marine natural resource investigation.

Regardless of region, most coral reef ecosystems around the world are under various levels of impact from illegal fishing, vessel groundings, destructive fishing, physical damage, coastal pollution and runoff, overfishing, illegal international trade, over-lapping (and often conflicting) use by various user groups, bleaching, chemical spills, alien species-associated phase shifts, and nutrient-associated phase shifts. Few areas have trained field investigators and well-developed natural resource programs to properly assess and handle the wide variety of anthropogenic events occurring; in most cases, such short-term human impact events often overwhelm the capabilities of resource managers to maximize prosecution, mitigation, negotiation, mediation, or litigation success. This takes on even greater significance relative to multi-country joint-investigations relative to shared coral reef impacts and illegal trafficking in coral reef products.

The four and a half day training workshop is to be held immediately after the ITMEMS meeting and would be organized as outlined below:

1. Background talks on investigative strategies, field risk management, ecological risk assessment, coral reef forensic techniques, treating data as evidence, incorporating reef ecological issues/impacts into an investigation.
2. Practice field investigation sessions with staff evaluation.
3. Instruction on using various components of a coral reef investigative toolkit.

A key feature of the Training Workshop will be a number of marine-based "crime scenes" that the participants will investigate using the equipment and techniques learned during the workshop. The scenarios will be as realistic as possible and will involve actual field investigations and analysis by participants who will be trained to work as investigative teams, using standardized marine CSI protocols and equipment.

Instructional materials, reference materials, and use of underwater investigative equipment will be provided, along with housing, SCUBA tanks, basic SCUBA/snorkeling gear rental, and boat transportation. Participants are responsible for meals, air transportation to/from Cozumel, sunscreen, and having an open and curious attitude regarding conducting field investigations of coral reef events to support risk assessments, mitigation, litigation, mediation, or prosecution.

Coral Reef CSI Workshop Details

The four and a half-day workshop will be field-intensive involving afternoons spent in the water solving a variety of coral reef impact scene scenarios. Participants should be able to snorkel and/or SCUBA dive comfortably in the ocean and conduct investigative activities under various environmental conditions.

Cost per person: The price for four nights at the hotel we are using will range from less than $140/person if they share a single hotel room with another participant to $260 for their own room, and $440 for their own cabana. Additionally, participants need to pay for their own meals during this time.

Cost includes Cozumel hotel lodging (double occupancy) for 4 nights, boat transportation, SCUBA/snorkel gear use, training materials, course certificates, and the opportunity to work fin-to-fin with a range of international marine and coral reef investigative professionals.

Some of the Major Topics to Be Covered:

• Introduction to Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) on Coral Reefs
• Setting an Event Perimeter and Securing the Scene
• Coral Reef Investigation Field Kits
• Conducting Rapid Ecological Assessments (REAs) to Support Investigations
• The Role of Ecological Risk Assessments on Coral Reefs
• Sampling for Coral Reef Laboratory Forensics
• Collecting Physical Evidence Underwater & Documenting Damage
• Chain-of-Custody Issues

Partial funding to support this workshop is made possible through generous grants from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) International Programs Division and NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program. Additional support comes from the U. S. Department of Interior Fish & Wildlife Service.

To register, please copy the form below into an email, fill it out, and send to gulkod001@hawaii.rr.com. The workshop will have a limited number of participants and registrations will be evaluated in the order received.

For more information, please contact Dave Gulko (gulkod001@hawaii.rr.com) or Patricia Ramirez Romero (pattdf@gmail.com).

Copy the form below into an email, or download it, fill it out, and email to gulkod001@hawaii.rr.com

Name:
Organization:

Position Title:

Address:
Country:
Postal Code:

Email:
Direct Phone Contact:

• SCUBA (Certification agency & level):
• Snorkelor Only

I have formal background, or am directly involved, in the following:

• Coral Reef Resource Management
• Coral Reef Monitoring
• Natural Resource Enforcement
• MPA Management

• Government Agency
• University
• NGO
• Private Company

Why do want to participate in this Field Training Workshop?

What do you bring to the workshop that will contribute to its success?