October 2002 BOD Meeting Minutes
This meeting was held electronically on October 9, 2002 at 9:00PM ET

BOD Present:

Charles Scannell (President/Internet Promotion)
Tom Walsh (Vice President)
Jennifer Myerscough (Secretary)
Sandy Shoup (Newsletter Editor)
Duane Dennis (Special Events Consultant)
Nancy Swart (Past President, Treasurer)
Kelly Jedlicki (Vice President LMAS, Speaker Committee Chair, MACNA XV)
Chuck Greene
Lee Morey (Director of Public Relations/Membership)
Rocky Herrman
John Brandt (MAC/USCRTF Representative)
Jon Clements (ORCA President/MASNA Delegate)
Travis Nelson (OMAS President)
JT Croteau (Harbor Aquatics)
Carvahda Shamsid-Deen
Joe Abrams - soon to be member of ORCA

Call to order 9:12 PM EDT

1) Approval of Minutes of MASNA MACNA Meeting.

Chuck, seconded by Jenn to accept. Tabled pending distribution of minutes.

2) Officers' Reports

President- Charles Scannell

MACNA XIV was a huge success and many thanks to the hard working folks at DFWMAS who worked tirelessly to make sure all had a wonderful time. Our first board meeting Sunday morning brought forth many good ideas to recover from the past. All agreed that MASNA needs to go back to upholding the ideals for which we were founded. Tom Walsh mentioned that we should also work towards our goal of setting up our scholarship program, which never made headway. I will let him get more into this subject.

One point brought up at our annual meeting that I intend to propose we fix is that of the annual meeting voting issue. Member clubs have complained about inequality since 2000 when the vote to allow clubs more than one vote compared to an individuals one vote was defeated. We can only fix this issue with a 2/3 vote of all members present with an adequate notice given under the bylaws. I intend to call a special meeting so that this issue can be resolved finally. I suggest that member clubs have 2 voting delegates at the annual meeting. These delegates will have to be listed and any proxies for them will have to be notified to the BOD as in accordance with our bylaws.

Moved by Lee Morey that we give notification and convene a meeting to address voting issues. Seconded by Charles Scannell. Carried.

Vice President - (Tom Walsh)
Nothing to report.

Treasurer/Past President (Nancy Swart)

October 2002 Treasurer's Report:

Proposed Expense Budget for Year 2002-2003

$2000 Travel expense for Legislative Rep.
$1000 Office supplies and Postage
$1200 Newsletter if we print at home and mail hardcopies
$ 500 Web-site hosting (includes Secure Server & Shopping Cart)
$ 500 Bank Fees (working on switching cc processor to get this reduced)
$ 300 Annual Awards
____________________________
$5500

Financial Summary Since last regular meeting on 9/11:

Income from Dues and MASNA Store: $2,553.00
Expenses (USCRTF, Awards, Web-site, etc.): $1,179.05

Other news:

MASNA Member, Mark Schreffler/The Reef Shop/WMMAC, first to be MAC Certified.

Eric Borneman has agreed to be a Contributing Editor to Marine Scene.
Have received a Media Packet from MAC to review and possibly place online. No time to review yet.

- Secretary (Jennifer Myerscough)

Minutes are up to date and September MACNA meeting minutes will be distributed for approval by email. Please update me with your email address to jennm@ehmail.com.

-Director of Public Relations/Membership (Lee Morey)

Okay, first of all thank you to all that are here. Improved club involvement will strengthen MASNA!

Currently we have 15 member clubs 4 are new. We currently have 32 individual members, 12 are new. We currently have 7 corporate members, 3 are new.

I'm currently working on sending personal thank you letters to all members and member clubs. We have had 3 requests for information on MASNA since the MACNA conference. After contacting all members I plan on communicating with those that were members but did not renew.

-Newsletter Editor (Sandy Shoup)

Nothing to report at this time but will have an update at next meeting.

-MACNA XV (Kelly Jedlicki Vice President LMAS, Speaker Committee Chair)

We have 84 paid registrations, 10 paid booths and plans for MACNA XV are going smoothly. We also have 10 speakers confirmed with 5 more to be announced. LMAS wants to thank Nancy Swart for all of her support.

- MAC (John Brandt)

A number of newsworthy things came from the MAC meeting at MACNA. Most significantly is the revision of the MAC Certification Mortality Allowance. The 1% mortality limit remains, but with some modifications. There is now a Cumulative Mortality Allowance for DOA + DAA. Example being, a batch of between 101 and 200 animals has an allowable loss of 4 animals in a combination of DOA + DAA.

The major change is the following: Long Term MAC Certified Status for Species Batches. If the loss does not exceed the allowance for 5 days, the batch becomes PERMANENTLY certified. Also, regaining MAC Certified Status for Species Batches: if mortality exceeds allowance then the animals can be held (not sold) for 3 days. If there is no further mortality, the batch regains MAC Certification. After 2 more days (total of 5 days) there is no more mortality, the batch is PERMANENTLY Certified. These changes should be very attractive to wholesalers and retailers. When the information sheet is available online I will provide a copy.

MAC has also issued a report that is a case study of MAC Certification Costs and Benefits of US Retailers. It is basically a spreadsheet analysis of a few existing MAC Certified Retailers and their profit/loss data. Included are projections for carrying the figures out to 5 years. In some cases, the profitability of MAC Certification is very large. I also spent much time with MAC Staff member David Vosseler at the USCRTF Meeting.

There was open discussion arising from this report, including this comment from JT Croteau of Harbor Aquatics: Speaking of MAC, I know some of you are not too pleased with AMDA these days. However, I'd like to hear your gripes/concerns in re: AMDA as elections are coming up soon and there WILL be a lot of BOD changes as several BOD members, including the president, have opted not to run for reelection. You can private message me here on IRC or email me: jt@harboraquatics.com - I am currently the North Central regional director for AMDA.

Moved by Jennifer, seconded by Nancy to appoint JT Croteau as the AMDA Liaison to MASNA. Carried.

-USCRTF (John Brandt)

In the year 2000, less than 10% of American reefs had been formally mapped. By 2002 the number has reached 70%. By 2006 all reefs should be mapped. This will be 3 years ahead of schedule. In 2001 the National Coral Reef Action Plan had 13 goals, 40 objectives, and 150 actions. In 2002 the National Coral Reef Action Strategy has 200 accomplishments, and 300 actions. 150 tons of marine debris (mainly discarded nets) have been removed from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The Coast Guard will soon be removing another 10 tons. Toxic material is leaking from unexploded ordinance off Vieques. USCRTF lists the threats of coral reefs in this order:

1) Coastal Development and Runoff.
2) Coastal Pollution.
3) Fishing Impacts.
4) Ship and Boat Grounding.
5) Coral Diseases
6) Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration.

By the end of the meeting the threats had been revised to:

1) Land Based Sources of Pollution.
) Overfishing.
3) Lack of Public Awareness.
4) Tourism and Recreational Overuse/Misuse.
5) Climate Change.

Six tons of alien species algae were removed from Waikiki, Hawaii in 2 weeks. This algae was introduced 20 years ago by scientists working on aquaculture research.

Coral reef coverage in the Florida Keys is down 38% between 1996 and 1999.

The Department of Justice will not allow the USCRTF to recommend any particular certification system (i.e. MAC). This prevents what would appear to be government favoritism.

The Trade Subgroup proposes 2 taxa for listing on CITIES Appendix II. The Humphead Wrasse (Napoleon Wrasse) and Seahorses. Also being strongly considered for Appendix II are Sea Cucumbers.

USCRTF supports the efforts of MAC.

There is a 10-30% annual growth in the international trade in coral reef species.

USCR Ecosystems Report: Experts estimate 66% of all coral reefs are degraded, 11% are beyond help.

Disease Report: 66% of all disease reports and 80% of all diseases and syndromes come from the Caribbean. Even though the Caribbean only has 8% of all coral reefs.

Bristleworms have been identified as a possible disease vector.

Statement of Findings from the Trade Sub-Group: International trade continues to drive overexploitation and destructive collection methods. Aquarium trade continues to increase 10-30% annually. Live coral trade has increased 400% and live rock trade has increased 1700% since 1988. The number of species in the trade is well over 1000. The US continues to import 60-80% of the live coral, over 50% of the curio coral, and 95% of the live rock and reef substrate in the international trade. Over 400 species have been identified as inappropriate for the aquarium trade. International trade in corals and coral reef species continues to be largely unregulated, unreported, and illegal. International trade in wildlife is associated with money laundering and drug trade, as reported by IMA and WWF.

The following links were provided for additional USCRTF information: http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/actionstrategy/actionstrategy.html
http://www.nccos.noaa.gov/library/notables.html 

3) Old Business

Stickers for retailers: Jenn is still waiting for a quote from Promotional Products Unlimited. We will also find out about magnets and such for promotion.

Nancy contacted FAMA about free advertising placement.

4) New Business

Reported by John Brandt: I truly feel that I have made a significant enough impression on the USCRTF with respect to MASNA that we can ask for and get Federal Funding.

Moved by Charles Scannell, seconded by Nancy Swart that we check into and get the appropriate [non-profit] status if we are not already. Motion carried.