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Fick just ett mail med positiva nyheter om AND-projektet från Ad Konings
Dear defender of Malawi cichlids!
With the sale of the Maleri Island concession to Dimitri (Jimmy) and Chris Giannakis of Farmers World, Malawi, we were lucky to have engaging new owners who are anxious to protect Malawi fish. About a month ago I was in Malawi and met twice with Dimitri who also had the same idea as I had: to make much more durable ANDs that would function easily 10, perhaps more than 25 years in the lake. When I inspected a few of the ANDs last year at Nakantenga Island I was disappointed to see how quickly they had deteriorated. Worse, local fishermen now were trying their nets again as they noticed that many of the ANDs were either lost or, more likely, had sunk to the bottom where they are ineffective. We decided to construct a new type of AND from thick-walled PVC and stainless steel. PVC is locally available and Dimitri has made already a prototype using a 60 cm long pipe with a diameter of 10 cm. Both ends have glued-on caps and two stainless steel collars. The top collar has 4 hooks, to catch the nets, and the bottom collar has two eyelets to tie the anchor line (4 mm stainless steel cable). The whole construction with up to 10 m anchor cable has plenty of buoyancy so we will not see slowly sinking ANDs anymore. The PVC is blue (one of the two colors available in Malawi) which is impossible to see from a boat when the ANDs are tied up about 5 m below the surface.
A second lucky strike we got when Leon du Plessis, a dive instructor who runs a dive school in Senga Bay (Wamwai), offered to place the ANDs. He suggested that, instead of hauling rocks from the island, drill holes, tie the AND, and then haul the whole contraption to its final resting site, the holes should be drilled underwater with a pneumatic drill. If everything goes to plan he will have divers who are in need of 50-60 dives for their certification as dive master, 30-40 dives of which are just to build up experience and not part of the training. During such non-training dives he will have these divers drill holes in the rocks and anchor the ANDs at specific places around the island. We found out that you can run a pneumatic drill from a SCUBA tank and the idea is that a diver goes down with a double tank of which one is used to drill 1-2 holes in a rock. A stainless steel lug bolt is inserted in the rock and the anchor cable of the AND attached. I have bought already the drill but will try it out at home if all works underwater before I send it off to Malawi.
Anxious to do more for the environment Leon also offered to start replanting the sandy area along the east coast of the main island. Over the years beach seines (illegal on the islands of course) have taken out all vegetation. On the other side of the island there are still a few clumps of Vallisneria and from there he is going to replant Bata Bay, as the small bay along the east coast is called. Before putting any new plants in he is going to place some large rocks strategically on the sandy bottom so that nets cannot be moved over the plants. This work he will start first as we are in the process of getting quotes on the stainless steel material for the ANDs in South Africa and then the contraptions have to be welded and put together.
In cooperation with Dimitri, Leon is planning a minimum-impact dive camp on the main island (the lodge is on Nankoma, the second largest island of the group) near Bata Bay. To have a camp site right there where work is needed will be beneficial to the project and volunteers can also stay at this camp on Maleri Island.
For almost 18 months the project had been in limbo during which local fishermen realized that fishing was at some places again possible. Since Parks found that something had to be done in the interim they recently installed a team of guards (paid by Parks & Wildlife) with a boat at the islands. We decided to also support these men by providing fuel so that they can continue to make their daily inspection rounds. In this way we are going to protect the cichlids with a two-pronged approach and when Leon will be successful in replanting Bata Bay also that will drastically increase the nursery grounds for many utaka found at the Maleri islands. Pennstate has more than $12,000 ready to be sent to Malawi and these funds will go towards the purchase of the material necessary to make 200 stainless steel ANDs.
It starts to look good for Malawi cichlids! Expect some photos and video clips this fall!
Enjoy your cichlids!
AdKommentar
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Varför blir det som i inlägget ovan om man skall lägga in inläggKommentar
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Dear defender of Malawi cichlids!
With the sale of the Maleri Island concession to Dimitri (Jimmy) and Chris Giannakis of Farmers World, Malawi, we were lucky to have engaging new owners who are anxious to protect Malawi fish. About a month ago I was in Malawi and met twice with Dimitri who also had the same idea as I had: to make much more durable ANDs that would function easily 10, perhaps more than 25 years in the lake. When I inspected a few of the ANDs last year at Nakantenga Island I was disappointed to see how quickly they had deteriorated. Worse, local fishermen now were trying their nets again as they noticed that many of the ANDs were either lost or, more likely, had sunk to the bottom where they are ineffective. We decided to construct a new type of AND from thick-walled PVC and stainless steel. PVC is locally available and Dimitri has made already a prototype using a 60 cm long pipe with a diameter of 10 cm. Both ends have glued-on caps and two stainless steel collars. The top collar has 4 hooks, to catch the nets, and the bottom collar has two eyelets to tie the anchor line (4 mm stainless steel cable). The whole construction with up to 10 m anchor cable has plenty of buoyancy so we will not see slowly sinking ANDs anymore. The PVC is blue (one of the two colors available in Malawi) which is impossible to see from a boat when the ANDs are tied up about 5 m below the surface.
A second lucky strike we got when Leon du Plessis, a dive instructor who runs a dive school in Senga Bay (Wamwai), offered to place the ANDs. He suggested that, instead of hauling rocks from the island, drill holes, tie the AND, and then haul the whole contraption to its final resting site, the holes should be drilled underwater with a pneumatic drill. If everything goes to plan he will have divers who are in need of 50-60 dives for their certification as dive master, 30-40 dives of which are just to build up experience and not part of the training. During such non-training dives he will have these divers drill holes in the rocks and anchor the ANDs at specific places around the island. We found out that you can run a pneumatic drill from a SCUBA tank and the idea is that a diver goes down with a double tank of which one is used to drill 1-2 holes in a rock. A stainless steel lug bolt is inserted in the rock and the anchor cable of the AND attached. I have bought already the drill but will try it out at home if all works underwater before I send it off to Malawi.
Anxious to do more for the environment Leon also offered to start replanting the sandy area along the east coast of the main island. Over the years beach seines (illegal on the islands of course) have taken out all vegetation. On the other side of the island there are still a few clumps of Vallisneria and from there he is going to replant Bata Bay, as the small bay along the east coast is called. Before putting any new plants in he is going to place some large rocks strategically on the sandy bottom so that nets cannot be moved over the plants. This work he will start first as we are in the process of getting quotes on the stainless steel material for the ANDs in South Africa and then the contraptions have to be welded and put together.
In cooperation with Dimitri, Leon is planning a minimum-impact dive camp on the main island (the lodge is on Nankoma, the second largest island of the group) near Bata Bay. To have a camp site right there where work is needed will be beneficial to the project and volunteers can also stay at this camp on Maleri Island.
For almost 18 months the project had been in limbo during which local fishermen realized that fishing was at some places again possible. Since Parks found that something had to be done in the interim they recently installed a team of guards (paid by Parks & Wildlife) with a boat at the islands. We decided to also support these men by providing fuel so that they can continue to make their daily inspection rounds. In this way we are going to protect the cichlids with a two-pronged approach and when Leon will be successful in replanting Bata Bay also that will drastically increase the nursery grounds for many utaka found at the Maleri islands. Pennstate has more than $12,000 ready to be sent to Malawi and these funds will go towards the purchase of the material necessary to make 200 stainless steel ANDs.
It starts to look good for Malawi cichlids! Expect some photos and video clips this fall!
Enjoy your cichlids!
AdKommentar
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Det är inte samma forum. Samma tillverkare, men två olika forum.Kommentar
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En ny uppdatering från Ad
Hej
Ad har skickat oss en dagsfärsk rapport som handlar om en kongress i USA, nuläget i AND-projektet och att saulosin håller på att försvinna:
Dear friend of Malawi cichlids!
This is an update on the Stuart M. Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund. You can read this online which has also two video clips embedded by going to http://cichlidpress.com/smgfund/smgfund19.html
At the FOTAS/CARES meeting (Nov. 4-6, 2011) in San Antonio, Texas, I was dumbfounded and excited by Melanie Stiassny’s presentation of her work on the Congo River. She discussed mainly the fish fauna of the Lower Congo, a stretch of a little more than 200 km but in which she found already 332 different species of fish of which more than 90 are endemic to this part of the mighty Congo! A staggering number if you compare that with other rivers in Africa. It also drove home the message that we still know so little about the biodiversity of vast areas of Africa. And that at a time when governments, with their eyes on the money, make broad-ranging decisions on the future of these areas without knowing what is really at stake. Of course, the quality of life and the sustainability of the area’s biodiversity rarely play a role in such decision making. This was also evident in Paul Loiselle’s presentation on the state of fish diversity on a global scale and how it suffers from industrialization and burgeoning human encroachment on freshwater habitats.
While I presented the latest developments of the ANDs in Lake Malawi National Park, Rick Borstein of the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association, asked what the total sum is that is needed to protect the Maleri Islands and parts of the Cape Maclear area with ANDs. I didn’t have the answer ready, but with the price of the new ANDs at about $50 each and estimating that about 2000 of these are needed to cover the shorelines of the various islands, I offered the sum of $100,000. This is far from an exorbitant amount, and afterwards Lawrence Kent of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, suggested that I should be able to write a grant application and submit it to one of the big environmental organizations, because $100,000 is considered small change by his and many other organizations. I thought about his suggestion, but I have other factors to contemplate in our quest to save the Malawi cichlids. First of all, I’m 100% sure that we aquarists can come up with this amount and that we are in time to protect the majority of the Malawi species that are endemic to park waters.
Secondly, imagine the immense satisfaction by all who have participated in the program ten years from now when all is set and done, and when we are enjoying the fruits of our efforts. Just consider the Babes In The Cichlid Hobby (fondly translated by my friend Marco Arroyo as “Las Putas”), Caroline Estes, Pam Chin, and Pam Marsh, who have worked very hard at every convention, traveling on their own dime, auctioning fish paraphernalia that they have begged, stolen (hope not), or borrowed from their friends, and entertaining us as well. In the last four years they were able, besides all the other needed causes they work for, to donate $6,500 to the fund!
Imagine their satisfaction when they see that all is well in the Lake Malawi National Park. I don’t want to steal their and your happiness by a possible “take over” of big money. The placing of the ANDs is a slow process and I’m confident that we can keep pace with donations and spending costs.
A propos the placing of the ANDs, I received great news from Leon du Plessis, who has now been established (with his wife Ingrid) as manager of the lodge on Nankoma Island, that he was able to drill two holes in a rock underwater with a single SCUBA tank with the pneumatic drills that I had sent last summer. See a little video clip online. He now also has the right accommodation for those of you who want to learn to SCUBA dive or who want to become master diver. Those in the latter group are also involved in helping Leon to place the ANDs. In August 2011 Pennstate transferred about $6000 from our fund to South Africa to purchase the first batch of
stainless steel (good for 200 ANDs) which has arrived in Malawi. Dimitri is now preparing the new design ANDs which will soon be available to be employed in the lake.
Critics of CARES and of any other captive breeding programs uphold the notion that a species’ genetic diversity is quickly lost because of inbreeding and can never replace the lost diversity of the original population, and also that reintroduction of captive-raised fish into the original habitat has never been achieved successfully. Well, the last statement is incorrect as successful fish reintroductions have been completed in Europe as well as in the US. I’m not aware of any such efforts with cichlids but I don’t see any problem in that. The fact that wild caught cichlids can quickly adapt to the artificial environment of aquaria, the reverse should pose no problem either. We have, unfortunately, proof of the cichlids’ ability to introduction in Lake Malawi (and also in Lake Tanganyika) where over the years cichlids have been introduced at various places by collectors of ornamental fish.
Many rock-dwelling cichlids stay their entire lives within hundred meters of their place of birth and in principle form relatively small breeding groups within the population. The genetic diversity of such local groups is not necessarily larger than that of a captive breeding group. For several of the species kept in captive breeding programs their genetic diversity is millions of times higher than that of their wild counterparts because there are no wild counterparts; these species are extinct in the wild! Reintroduction may not copy exactly the genetic makeup of the original population, but it is a lot closer to the real thing than no fish at all. We have a chance to prove that this works and we may even be able to involve Malawian students in the project. Along with the tremendous over-fishing and species loss that is taking place in Lake Malawi, the demise of a few cichlid species is to blame to unscrupulous collectors; case in point:
Pseudotropheus saulosi . This species is endemic to Taiwanee Reef which is a large reef, but most of it is in water deeper than 80 meters. The area where P. saulosi lives, where they find the algae they feed on, is rather small, like the size of a quarter football field. It doesn’t need a lot of imagination to see that the population of any endemic cichlid at the reef is vulnerable to over-fishing. Till about ten years ago P. saulosi occurred in sometimes large schools of hundreds of individuals that wandered through the habitat foraging from the biocover on the rocks.
During the last decade several collectors of ornamental fish have concentrated on catching large numbers of P. saulosi and as a result the species is becoming scarce. When I visited the reef in August 2010 there were only a few specimens to be seen. The large boulders you see in the video clip posted online used to be covered with hundreds of P. saulosi but in 2010 there were only three individuals on this rock and many boulders had none at all.
The program I envision should consist of the following stages:
1. Local government should forbid the collection of any rock-dwelling cichlid (P. saulosi and Protomelas sp. ‘steveni taiwan’) at Taiwanee Reef. This does not affect the local fishermen who collect utaka in the area. I also understand that there would hardly be any enforcement possible apart from inspecting what fishes are exported from Malawi.
2. A survey of the extant population of P. saulosi in the upper 20 meters of the reef (they are very rare in deeper areas) should indicate how many can be collected for a captive breeding program. Since I don’t expect a large genetic diversity 25 females would be sufficient to guarantee a say 95% of the existing diversity.
3. A small fin clip of the live fishes (breeders) would be taken (anal fin of females and tip dorsal fin of males) and the DNA analyzed to get an idea of the diversity. The DNA typing can be done abroad.
4. Breeding groups are set up in Malawi to prevent legal problems when importing live fish back into Malawi.
5. After one/two years, reintroductions can take place and monitored every year thereafter. If, however, the fishing ban was effective, the species could have (partly) recovered on their own account and reintroduction would not be necessary.
This would be a simple project that shouldn’t cost much money to complete. It would certainly emphasize the importance of the work others do by maintaining endangered species in captivity. In the case of P. saulosi if we wait any longer we may need to reintroduce the aquarium strains.
The FOTAS/CARES convention made one thing clear and that is that action is needed now, when there are still opportunities. After all the years we have enjoyed cichlids, Paul Loiselle said it best: “Folks …it’s payback time.”
Without your input and generosity many Malawi cichlid species will not be there 20 years from now.
Enjoy your cichlids!
Ad
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Ad Konings
Cichlid Press
P.O. Box 13608
El Paso, TX 79913
www.cichlidpress.com // www.elpasodesert.com
Editor of www.cichlidae.commvh
Mikael W
(NCS-medlem sedan 1981)Kommentar
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Då har man donerat lite mer pengar. Ska ut och njuta av mina malawiciklider om en stund ;-)Kommentar
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Ny uppdatering från Ad Konings
Hej
Fick ett mail från Ad om läget med SMG-fonden.
Två huvudpunkter:
ACA, vår systerförening i USA, har nyligen donerat 5.000 USD till fonden, detta belopp saknades fdör inköp av en dieselmotor, som är mycket bränslesnålare än aktersnurran de nu använder.
Ad har upptäckt att Melanochromis chipokae behöver skyddas. Den hotas av utfiskning för akvariebruk (det är inte ofta vår hobby har hotat en art).
Men, läs själva:
Dear cichlid friend,
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]A few days ago I received from Dimitri Giannakis the first photos of the new ANDs as they are being produced in Lilongwe, Malawi. They had some difficulty to weld the stainless steel wire but all is now set to get the 200 ANDs ready by the end of the month.
At the San Antonio FOTAS/CARES convention (Nov 2011), Phil and Jan Benes approached me and expressed their desire to help the Stuart Grant fund to obtain the diesel inboard engine for the park guards’ patrol boat. We were about $5000 short—engine plus peripherals cost about $13,300—and the Benes promised me that they would try to convince the ACA board of directors to help us obtain our goal. Less than a week later Phil sent me the great news that the ACA would donate a staggering $5000 (!) so that we could purchase the diesel engine that will use far less fuel than the present gasoline outboard. Early January Pennstate transferred the necessary funds to South Africa and the engine has been ordered and should be in Malawi by the end of February. Fuel in Malawi at the moment is rationed and the park guards could use their boat to patrol the Maleri islands only once a week.
Starting March this year the guards can make their rounds every day using the same amount of fuel, donated by Dimitri’s company by the way, and prevent fishermen from plying their nets inside the 100 m no-fishing zone.
While I was working on a description of a new Melanochromis species I realized that another Malawi cichlid species needs protection: Melanochromis chipokae . This species has the narrowest distribution of any Melanochromis species and is found on tiny rocky reefs near Chipoka (Chidunga Rocks). They have been overfished by the ornamental fish trade and in 2009, the last time I was there, I found only three individuals. Twenty years ago they were rather common at this place and since the other species, less desired by aquarists, are still very common at Chidunga, it means that M. chipokae has been selectively collected, almost till extinction. Hopefully collectors now will refrain from collecting this species and hobbyists should make sure that this species is not lost.
Enjoy your cichlids and thank you for your continued support!
Ad
This message online with photos:
http://cichlidpress.com/smgfund/smgfund20.htmlSenast redigerad av Mikael W; 06 februari 2012, 09:59.mvh
Mikael W
(NCS-medlem sedan 1981)Kommentar
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När jag köper VF är jag mycket noga med vem som fiskat om det ej kan sägas med säkerhet köper jag ej den fisken från butik.
Senast redigerad av Gäst; 08 februari 2022, 15:05.Kommentar
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Färsk uppdatering från Ad Konings
Hej alla vännner av malawiciklider!
Här kommmer ett mail från Ad Konings med senaste nytt om Stuart Grants fond för bevbarandet av malawiciklider:
Dear Malawi cichlid friend,
It has been some time now since I sent an update of our progress in saving Malawi cichlids. One of the reasons is that Leon du Plessis is still totally occupied with the construction of the lodge on Nankoma Island (check out photos of it at https://www.facebook.com/BlueZebraIslandLodge), and has not yet had an opportunity to place the new ANDs. Whenever I’ll receive a picture or video of the placed ANDs I’ll post it.
But we are trying to stop illegal fishing in park waters in several ways and Dimitri Giannakis recently sent me an update of the progress on the other fronts. These were his points:
1. The diesel engine for the guards’ boat has arrived safely and is in its box on the island. I have paid import duty and local freight. Our initial plan of fitting it into our smaller 6 m boat has not worked out as the boatyard advised us that the boat’s original design does not allow for this. Now we have two options, one to bring in a suitable fiber-glass boat from South Africa (approx. cost $7 – 8,000) or two, to buy a custom-built wooden boat made locally (cost $6 – 8,000). We are exploring both options. It is important that we have this very efficient engine on patrol in the near future as it will save us money in the long run.
2. Given that we need to find a suitable boat for the Yanmar diesel engine, we are providing Lake Malawi National Parks with 100L of petrol each month and food rations for the guards. Parks has a very active team that is now patrolling the island once per week and the guards are often camped out on the island. With the price of fuel at $2 per litre we spent more than $300/month on this exercise and have been doing so for over a year.
3. The ANDs, 200 of these have been assembled at our cost (we purchased the PVC pipes and paid duty to clear the stainless steel), are now waiting for Leon to start up his dive centre and work in a placement program. Some of the sponsors may want to be involved in this exercise!
4. We have engaged a legal firm, William Faulkner, to set up "The Lake Malawi Conservation Trust" of which we hope that Parks, Ad Konings, and I will be trustees. I am told the documents will be ready soon.
5. We have set up a Foreign Denomination Account (US$ account) for the trust, once established, to hold funds and receive donations.
You can see that Dimitri is very committed to the cause and I am very grateful for his efforts, time, and capital he has invested in the preservation of Lake Malawi Park.
On yet another front, the Stuart Grant Fund has supported David Nkhwazi (director of Stuart M. Grant Ltd) by sending $5000 to furnish the breeding of two Malawi cichlids that are on the brink of extinction, i.e. Pseudotropheus saulosi and Melanochromis chipokae . David recently sent me some photos of the temporary breeding tanks which you can see here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Ze...25606107492080
David is currently installing new shade netting over two large vats that will be the long-term breeding area for these two species. In September we hope to have a sufficient number of P. saulosi juveniles to be released at Taiwanee Reef.
A week ago I was in Winnipeg, Canada (yes, it was cold!), and saw how Spencer Jack and Chris Biggs had started their Malawi Goat Fund, collecting funds to save Malawi cichlids in an unusual way. Their motto, “Save Our Fish, Eat a Goat”, is not only hilarious but also to the point: from the proceeds of their Dead Fish Order meetings and other fishy activities they will purchase goats in Malawi (through a Canadian Certified Charity) and give them to impoverished families around the lake providing them an alternative to fish. Please see their goat logo (available on t-shirts) here: http://deadfishorder.com/mgf/
I would like to wrap up this update by thanking Steve Edie of the Missouri Aquarium Society, who regularly requests aquarium clubs to write “Stuart Grant Fund” on his travel expense reimbursement checks—thanks Steve!
Thank you all for your continued support.
Enjoy your Malawi cichlids!
Admvh
Mikael W
(NCS-medlem sedan 1981)Kommentar
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