Authorities and organizations from the three islands of Samui, Tao and Phangan want to work closely together and take appropriate action to protect the environment and marine life.

The Save Nemo Foundation was back in Thailand in early 2018 looking for clues in the Gulf of Thailand. A team took a look around the islands around Koh Samui and we were surprised that the local government is active this year. Also thanks to our activities in the fall of 2017.

Measures for the key tourist destinations are due to come into force in July, Jatuporn Burutphat announced as head of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Boats should no longer be anchored in the vicinity of coral reefs, feeding of marine life is forbidden, fish may no longer be caught, the discharge of effluents into the sea is prohibited, and no protection may be granted to structures that could damage the resources. In the previous year, it had already been decided at a meeting on the Koh Kai, more buoys for the creation of boats and ships to install. In front of the three islands there are 25,310 Rai coral reefs.

In addition, a far-reaching management of sewage and waste has now been decided. Koh Tao incurs 30 tons of waste each day, and Koh Samui can not handle a 250,000-ton dump, while on Koh Phangan it is 7,300 tons of garbage every day. In the conversation is the collection of entrance fees of tourists, besides they are to show a health and accident insurance, reports the „Bangkok Post“. In the presence of the Minister of Sport and Tourism, Veerasak Kohsurat, representatives of 21 organizations signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday. Now it should be implemented.

Most recently, the Save Nemo e.V. was on all of these 3 islands in the autumn of 2017 and can confirm the situation on site. It is high time that this is what is being done here. Especially the excursion boats cause a massive damage that makes tears come to every diver’s eyes. We will work on this too.

Stay tuned !

Der Beitrag Thailand: Wastewater also damages our corals erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Save Nemo develops intelligent cloud in fight against pollution of the oceans.

Thanks to artificial intelligence Nemo A.I. Cloud delivers reliable predictive models of the oceans pollution and further chemical and physical data. Task Force has been foundet.

Press release and update:
Herford, Germany – Auckland, Neuseeland:

Next step in fight against pollution of our oceans, rivers and lakes:
Save Nemo e.V.  is developing on basis of the successfully tested underwater weather station Nemo-PI a world-wide forecasting system that uses artificial, machine learning intelligence to predict the ecological development and stability of rivers , lakes and seas.

The introduction of the cloud-software Nemo A.I. is planned for 2020/21.

The new Nemo A.I.  cloud software, based on the raw data of the Nemo-PI’s  weatherstation data buoy, is intended to evaluate comprehensive data on the physical and chemical values ​​of waters and to provide reliable forecasts on the future degree of pollution, water temperatures, currents or effects of suspended particles (micro-plastics).

A total of 19 different chemical and physical sensors are measured and foreacsted by the Nemo A.I.  software.

Six developers, engineers and specialists in artificial intelligence (Machine Learning) are currently researching the feasibility and development of the Nemo A.I within a task force team.

For example, Olaf Wrieden, Chief of software development, Auckland University of Technology, Computer and Information Sciences:
„With the development of the software Nemo A.I. and Nemo-PI we want to transfer the forecasting models, which already exist for conventional, land-based weather and climate reports, to rivers, lakes and seas, „says Wrieden.

„Nearly three-quarters of our earth is covered by our oceans and we want,  with the Nemo A.I.,  close this important gap. “ adds engineer Diemo Niemann, CEO of Save Nemo e.V. Germany.

The cloud software Nemo A.I. can be applied  for the fishery-, the waste industry, the hotel industry and the leisure / water sports sector.

The forecast model of the Nemo A.I makes it possible to reliably predict currents, visibility / particle or even temperatures of waters for a certain period of time.

„With Nemo A.I. We are creating a new interplay between profitability, ecology and science, „says Wrieden.

In order to create a global network, the non-profit Save Nemo e.V.’s goal is to install hundreds and more of Nemo PIs worldwide, using Nemo A.I.’s own or sponsored moorings, over the next few years.
„In addition, we use existing databases with historical datasets,“ adds Niemann,  „to refine our forecasts.“

Originally, Save Nemo’s mission is to prevent anchor damage in reefs caused by diving and snorkeling tourism and connected industries.
Moorings, consisting of a „concrete block“, a chain with a buoy, which are placed next to the reef, allowing ships to moor at the buoy without having to drop anchor and destroy a piece of reef.

The idea arose some years ago when Engineer Diemo Niemann, a passionate diver and PADI Divemaster, saw how fast healthy reefs became an underwater desert.

A simple and pragmatic solution to this problem are moorings that are produced on site.
„Through the development of the Nemo-PI, which will go into production in 2019, and by the new Nemo A.I. cloud, these moorings will be very smart and we can additionally gain forecasting data on the state of the seas.“ says Niemann

The commitment of Save Nemo e.V. is financed by free collaboration, volunteers, donations and various licenses to use the data obtained by the Nemo-PI and in the future, by the new forecasting service Nemo A.I.

Call to action:
Small acts can make a big difference.
„In this context, we call on companies, associations, universities and private individuals to support our charity goals: only through joint research, cooperation and sufficient funding can we can make our world better“

A Nemo PI costs between 100 and 600 euros.  For comparison, data buoys such as the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA), which are primarily used in science and research and are not available to the public, cost upwards of about $ 50,000.

This makes the underwater weather station Nemo-Pi the cheapest and most advanced of its kind. The Nemo A.I. cloud is, as far as known, the first scientific project that applies artificial intelligence to marine conservation and wildlife.

Der Beitrag TASK FORCE NEMO-A.I. erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Nächstes Projekt: Indonesien

Indonesia 2018:  Ready to go. Soon the Save Nemo Team will travel to Indonesia to protect our corals, reefs and of cause Nemo.  Many things to do over there.

In addition to our everyday work, our next project site is selected:
It’s back to Indonesia – this time with 2 teams.

What we do this time?
1) Jakarta:
We are preparing an appointment with the Ministry of Fisheries and Environment and hope to speak directly with Minister Susi Pudjiastuti. The goal: cooperation in the selection of endangered areas.

2) Flores Sea:
We were already in late 2016 in the region around Labuhanbajo. Now information has reached us that the situation is getting worse. Plastic but especially again damage from anchors were reported.
Here we will test a new sensor for the Nemo-Pi, which detects floating materials in the water. In addition, we have 6 moorings with us and we will install them in a suitable place. Free of course.

3) Sulawesi:
Here we will review our 2017 moorings and expand them.
At North Maluku we will have a closer look.

PLUS: We will visit the Our Ocean Summit Bali ( 29-30. October 2018) and present our new Nemo-Pi along with some projects how we can make our ocean more blue again.
Stay tuned…
Dee

UPDATE: 30.01.2019

Here the long awaited update on our engagement in Indonesia, November 2018 .
Our second team was underway until the beginning of January 2019 to protect our corals and their inhabitants, such as Nemo the clownfish.
We have achieved a lot. Here is the summary:

First of all the bad news: unfortunately we were unable to meet either Ms. Susi Pudjiastuti or Svenja Schulze on-site.  Even though both were present at the OurOcean Conference in Bali. Too bad – but we’ll stay with that and continue our work.

Nevertheless, we have achieved our goals!
With two teams we were „on the road“ and have 7 moorings installed on the Moluccan Islands!  In addition, we have reviewed our data buoy Nemo PI that has been sending pollution data to our servers now for over a year.

Next Stop Our Ocean Conference 2018 – Bali

Here some pictures:

The OurOcean Conference 2018 is an important message to all concerned.
More than 1.5 billion people on our planet live on coasts and are economically directly or indirectly dependent on them. It is obvious that more attention needs to be paid to the protection of the seas.

Save Nemo e.V.  agrees to these projects. The Indonesian government has come to act effectively: various research and development programs have been launched. „Just right and maybe not to late. Go on !“

Many contacts were made. E.g. with the first Indonesian diving association IDA or the National Oceanic Organization. Through both partnerships we will gain important data for the new Nemo-AI cloud.

The tsunami on Sulawesi 2018 has left its foodprints. „We help where we can“ ; however, we do not reach our Nemo-Pi data buoys due to closed roads.

Finally, here are some pictures to document the underwater world and our moorings. We were traveling in Amed / Bali and have investigated some dive sites with NoFear Diving. The UW- world is still fine here -> but there are suggestions for improvement that we are trying to implement this year.

2019 – what’s next?
The year 2019 will be very exciting. Of course, we will travel back to Asia and other countriens to install more moorings – probably in April and November.
Added to this, is the final release of the Nemo-Pi and the development of the Nemo-AI Cloud is Top 1 to our development team.

As always and after each completed mission: here our call for support of Save Nemo e.V.: We are looking for divers who support us on site as well as programmers and technical enthusiasts for the further development of the Nemo-Pi and the Nemo A.I. Cloud.

Just write to: team@magmarworks.com

We’ll keep you up to date…

Der Beitrag Update: Next Project: Indonesia 2018 erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Family Berghaus, Save Nemo e.V. and K-Visions say NO TO PLASTIC
at Herford`s Christmas Market

23. November 2018

Christmas Market – Herford / Germany
A few days ago, the Save Nemo e.V.  received a call from Ramona Berghaus, known for the Aloha Beach Club and her „Christmas Market Gate“ at Alter Markt Herford.

„Within the Berghaus family, we have decided not to use disposable plastic, as far as possible to save our Oceans and to support Save Nemo. e.V. Our guests at Christmas Market Herford 2018 should decide for themselves if they want to use plasic – straws. Yes or No ! “

Save Nemo and K-Visions set up the flyers for our customers.

„A fantastic commitment of the Berghaus Family and K-Visions Germany !
Small acts can do great things“, says Diemo Niemann,  Founder of Save Nemo e.V. „and it would be great if more local companies were limiting the use of disposable plastic to protect our seas.“

But why is this a problem??
Simple…, says Niemann: „a piece of disposable plastic costs far less than 1ct in production. The use of a straw lasts on average 5-8 minutes, but biodegradation lasts up to 400 years. Think about it „.

Plastic garbage floating in our seas and rivers is being crushed further and further by waves moving along the riparian zones.

Marine life confuses the colorful plastic parts with their food – cancer-causing chemicals are absorbed into the food cycle. In this the way, the plastic comes back to you. Like it or not.

However, plastic is also a major threat to corals too: for them, the risk of disease increases +20 %  Likewise, photosynthesis is inhibited. Urgently needed light and food are scarce and the coral reef dies.

Save Nemo e.V. actively and efficiently advocates the protection of reefs and corals in our oceans.

Right now in November 2018 our team is coming back from Indonesia. Once again we have installed moorings in different parts of the country and examined the local situation in the north-east of Bali with NoFearDiving . And of course we tested our Nemo-Pi

By side, we visited the OurOcean conference in Bali which has given us important incentives to protect the oceans. Also, we are in close contact with the organization „Trash Hero“ and take the opportunity for a beach cleanup in Amed. “

Update: 18.01.2019
Welcome in 2019! The Christmas market in Herford is over. Reason enough to see if and how the people of Herford dealt with our action „No to Plasik“:

Save Nemo has received great press reports. Thanks to the NW and the HK who wrote here in german language:

Herforder Kreisblatt / 14.12.2018
FB:  Neue Westfälische / 12.12.2018
Neue Westfälische / 12.12.2018

In short: a terrific success for all concerned!
Ramona Berghaus recently reported that, compared to 2017, a fabulous 70% of plastic straws could be saved at Herford’s Christmas market.

Ralf Kaireit from K-Visions says: „The result is something to be proud of, I hope that more showmen will take part in the action next year – every piece of plastic counts!“

Even though we do not „feel“ the effects of plastik in the seas here in Herford, such as coastal cities in Indonesia, its all about the awareness of the people.
In our consumer society, too many „disposable items“ are used, which are cheap in purchase but anything but sustainable. We would like to draw attention to this fact and perhaps one or the other Herforder citizen remembers it in his next beach holiday and simply leaves a straw away.

Der Beitrag Say NO Plastic Herford, Germany erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Award for coral rescuers from Herford

Non-profit foundation Save.Nemo is the best local environmental and animal protection project from North Rhine-Westphalia in the Google Impact Challenge

Herford/Berlin – The non-profit environmental and animal protection foundation Save.Nemo e.V. won the Google Impact Challenge 2018 as the best project from North Rhine-Westphalia. In the public vote in the category „Local Project“ Save.Nemo received the second most votes nationwide.
„This award is an incentive for us to continue our chosen path with even more passion and energy,“ said Diemo Niemann, CEO of the Foundation, after the award in Berlin.
The Internet giant Google supports ideas that can make the world a little bit better with the help of the Google Org Impact Challenge competition.

The aim of Save.Nemo is to prevent the worldwide destruction of coral reefs by uncontrolled anchoring. To this end, the Save Nemo e.V. have developed „Mooring“ anchor points: Diving and snorkelling boats can be moored on these concrete blocks, sunk in the sea next to the coral reefs, without having to throw any anchors.
In addition, Save.Nemo has developed a smart digital underwater weather station, connected to these moorings  that can collect and evaluate marine pollution data.

Since the founding of Save.Nemo in 2016, the team around Diemo Niemann has set up 300 anchor points in Asia, thus already making a sustainable contribution to the protection of coral reefs in the Southeast Asian marine regions.
„With the won prize we first want to extend our digitally mooring network, also in Germany, eg North- and East Sea “ says Niemann. The aim is also, with the help of other donors, to plant more  „moorings“ in the sea off Indonesia.
For this purpose, Niemann and his team will meet with the Indonesian Minister of the Environment in late summer to discuss the further course of action.

Der Beitrag WINNER Google Impact Challenge erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Information pays off! Boats are being tightly controlled on the Similans and Koh Phi Phi. But there is more to do!

As the DNP, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Protection has now announced on 06.02.2018, the number of tourists of Similan and and Phi Phi Islands will be limited. „There are many problems, such as boat-spilling oil, reef anchors, garbage, and the local lifestyle of the islands.“

„… Floating moorings will be created so corals will not be destroyed.“ We think that is a good step in the right direction. Our team will be there to get their own picture.

Der Beitrag Update Thailand: Similan and Phi Phi island erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Too many tourists, too many anchors too little awareness – all that leaves corals dying.

But the realization comes only slowly. According to a survey by a team from Kasetsart University’s Fisheries Faculty, among more than 300 citizens and tourism businesses, the overwhelming majority voted to close Maya Bay from June to October.
According to Dean Thon Thamrongnawasawat, the coral reefs off Maya Bay and Pileh Bay are 80 percent damaged.T he corals should recover urgently. At present, 200 boats a day could bring up to 4,000 tourists to Maya Beach. As a result of the onslaught of tourists, the sea was polluted, deposits settled on the corals and anchors eat through the coral body.

This will be monitored by the Save Nemo Foundation to document its success. Likewise, we are in close contact with the Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department to coordinate further steps and continue to set more moorings.

Der Beitrag Impact of Wild Anchoring in reefs erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Next stop 2018: Gulf of Thailand !
New moorings will be planted soon. We have received several reports and photos that here many things went wrong. Particularly tour boats cause a massive reef damage. We will now take a closer look. Do you like to support this trip? A donation is always welcome !

Taget Zone

 

UPDATE: 19.01.2018

Many thanks to T.K.N Concrete in Trat for giving us 18 concrete anchor points for free. Do it! We start on 22 February. Through Bangkok our team goes straight to Rayong. The „Sea Warrior“ is already anchored there. Probably on 24.02 we go to sea, direction Koh Chang. As always here our final call: we still need helpers on site! Divers are welcome, but also as a normal vacationer you can support us! Contact: team@magmarworks.com – Keyword: „2018“. To be continued…

UPDATE: 28.03.2018

It is done!

Last weekend our team returned back from Thailand. Full success: 16 moorings were set in the north of the Gulf and will protect a total of 5 reefs from anchor damage in the future.

We had great help on site – especially Marc, who helped us with his technical know how. Thanks a lot for this.

Unfortunately, our Go Pro is also sunk, so this time there are only a few pictures.

 

What’s next? Already in June / July it will be back to Indonesia. Stay tuned.

Der Beitrag UPDATE: 2018 – Golf of Thailand erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Microplastic spills the deep sea, plastic trash carpets swim in the ocean. And also the reefs are affected. Read more about the causes here.

Approximately 11.1 billion plastic parts are in the reefs of the Asian Pacific. This does not just look ugly – it’s a threat to the corals that are threatened anyway.

If all the plastic parts of the Pacific Ocean were combined, at least the area of ​​Western Europe would be the result. This is how the unimaginable quantities of plastic that meanwhile travel through our oceans are often described. In fact, oceanographers are not even able to say how much it is. Especially because plastic disintegrates in the sea over the years. Invisible – but still there – it drives through the ocean as a microplastic. But what effect does that have?

While scientists have yet to pinpoint exactly what effect microplastics have on the inhabitants of the oceans, there are numerous indications of how life-threatening larger pieces of plastic can be for many species. Sea turtles get caught in rubber rests or birds inadvertently eat plastic and starve to death with their stomach full of plastic.

And for corals too, the plastic is dangerous: for them, the risk of disease increases 20-fold when the reef is littered with plastic.

If the risk of disease under normal, plastic-free living conditions at about four percent, it rises by plastic parts that are in the reef, to 89 percent. This estimate comes from a study that biologists have now published in Science magazine (Lamb et al., 2018). For their study, the researchers studied 159 coral reefs in the Asian Pacific, on which live about 124,000 corals, and recorded how the plastic influences the living conditions of the coral.

They observed that the plastic, through natural movements and currents in the water, repeatedly comes into contact with the surface of corals. It bumps and rubs on the animals, injuring the top layer of tissue. Previous studies have shown that pathogens can more easily attack corals when the tissue is injured – such as the causative agent Halofolliculina corallasia, the causative agent of the skeletal eroding band disease (Coral Reefs, Page et al., 2007). An infection with H. corallasi is easily recognized by a thin, dark band that runs over the surface of a coral. Every day, it wanders a bit further, leaving behind a lifeless, white coral skeleton. This is how the scientists around biologist Joleah Lamb observed it. In particular, the disease skeletal eroding band occurred significantly more often when a coral reef was covered with many plastic parts.

Plastic donates dangerous shade

Injuries are not the only plastic problem. Tropical corals need a lot of light to get food through photosynthesis. A plastic bag, stuck between the corals, donates shade: The more bags, the darker it gets. Light and thus also food and oxygen become so scarce: All three are essential, however, that corals can fight against invading pathogens.

There are currently about 11.1 billion larger and smaller plastic parts on and in coral reefs in the Asian Pacific – in a region that hosts more than half of all coral reefs on Earth. The scientists estimate in their study that this amount will rise to nearly 16 million parts by the year 2025. The researchers call in their study to reduce the amount. With the many millions of people for whom coral reefs are an important livelihood through their diet or tourism, it is vital to „mitigate the outbreaks of disease to improve both human and ecosystem health,“ they write their study.

There are currently about 11.1 billion larger and smaller plastic parts on and in coral reefs in the Asian Pacific – in a region that hosts more than half of all coral reefs on Earth. The scientists estimate in their study that this amount will rise to nearly 16 million parts by the year 2025. The researchers call in their study to reduce the amount. With the many millions of people for whom coral reefs are an important livelihood through their nutrition or tourism, it is vital to „mitigate the outbreaks of disease to improve both human and ecosystem health,“ they write their study.

Der Beitrag How plastic makes corals sick erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.

Tourist boat operations suspended over coral reef destruction

Der Beitrag Tourist boat problem – Red Sea erschien zuerst auf SAVE.nemo.