<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Please read letter, ciguatera report attached, forward to colleagues?</div><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>Subject:</b> <b>ciguatera climate change atomic weapons testing etc</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> mark skinner <<a href="mailto:mark_skinner59@yahoo.com.au">mark_skinner59@yahoo.com.au</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><div><span></span></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36330"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36331">OPEN LETTER TO PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: </span><b id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36332"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36333">The implicated impacts within the tropical
reef environment, seafood poisonings and the dispersal of toxic microalgae with
a relationship to the nuclear bomb tests.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36334"><o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36335"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36336"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36337">As an environmental scientist (Masters in
environmental toxicology and PhD, researching seafood poisonings in the coral
reef environment) and a consultant to WHO, I wish to bring to your attention the
degradation of the coral reef environs and some of the associated activities
that are happening in the Pacific Island region. I have been researching
ciguatera fish poisoning since my first visit to the Cooks in 1993, prior to
this I had visited some pristine fringing coral reefs in Tahiti 1970, Bali
1977, Fiji 1978, Tonga 1983 and Samoa 1993. My research on ciguatera fish
poisoning took me to field sites in the Cook Islands 2003, Bali (Indonesia)
2005 and sites on the Great Barrier Reef 2007(see Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol
77). I have also written up a paper on the extent of ciguatera in the Pacific,
please see “PLOS NTD Ciguatera in the Pacific Islands” and an updated WHO report
in 2016 (see attached).<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36338"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36339"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36340">Seafood poisoning diseases,
ciguatera and various shellfish poisoning have not always spread naturally and
whilst the causative agents, microalgae may originally be ancient organisms it
appears they have taken on, by way of mutation from radiation of atomic weapons
testing blasts and sites, forms (clines) which are better able to bloom in the coral
reef seas and lagoons, that are degraded under human influences (warming seas,
increasing pH, excessive nutrients, sea level rise, stronger cyclones etc.)encompassing
climate change. These altered toxic microalgae have the ability of poisoning
whole ecosystems and together with altered environs and their bio invasiveness
there has been a “new age” (since the 1970’s) of seafood poisoning. Due to
coral reefs reaching their endpoints in degradation, so to has the seafood diseases
become even more dangerous to islanders, more recently causing multiple deaths
in some countries and around some islands all seafood can show signs of
toxicity. Whilst the original disease was found to be due to ciguatoxin (from
the microalgae <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36341">Gambierdiscus</i>), there
are also implications from other benthic microalgae that produce tumor
promoters (<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36342">Prorocentrum</i>) and
paralytic toxins (<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36343">Ostreopsis</i>) as well
as cyanobacterial toxins (i.e. <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36344">Lyngbya</i>).<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36345"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36346"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36347">The bio invasive nature of these toxic organisms and
the lack of ratification of the 2004 IMO (International Maritime Organisation)
boat ballast convention has permitted the spread of toxic microalgae from various
boats, where ever these boats have exchanged ballast as well as shipwrecks onto
reefs. It has become apparent to a number of islanders, that some countries
have been deliberately spreading the ciguatera disease, toxic microalgal organisms
via the boat ballast transfer and ship wrecks on reefs where the toxic
miccroalgae can then bloom and create local ciguatera outbreaks as well as a
combined Pacific/coral triangle wide eco catastrophe.<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36348"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36349"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36350">In addition such countries spreading toxic organisms
have been doing soft invasions (with
cash incentives and cheap imported chemically added food commodities) that can
take away the reliance on traditional food resources such as the seafood, that
has become toxic. One can speculate at what the long term intentions of such
countries are but when one considers the enormous potential for the future
mining of sea bed minerals or fossil fuels, the exploitation of which could result
in compounding that other global
ecocatastrophe, climate change. Just as with the loss of the coral reef food
resources, as the pelagic food webs become even more polluted with the wastes
from sea bed mining there could no longer be any natural seafood products. The revenue produced by
mining such resources will hardly be seen by the countries in which they take
place but will go offshore, just as an example, Australia has Chinese companies
building coal mines that destroy forests, groundwater and farming land and with
nothing worthwhilst going to the indigenous population and yet huge pits are
left behind without any remediation, like a permanent reminder to man’s
exploitation over God’s creation.<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36351"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36352"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36353">The time may have passed for the ability to stop the
bioinvasions of toxic microalgae from destroying the ecology of the coral reefs
together with the impacts of climate change. However to do nothing would be
complacent and just as bad as those who have been responsible for the
environmental damage. Needless to say that nature can be resilient and may
havethe scope to rebound over time. It would be best to firstly place long
moratoriums on all sea bed mining in the Pacific. Collectively (Is it not time
for a Republic of the Pacific, Oceanea?) the Pacific island nations and their
people need to take full control of all their resources. Secondly to glean
compensation for the damages wrought by the nuclear testing, would be used to
promote sustainability within the Pacific. Those old enough to have experienced
the nuclear test storm surges and nuclear storm cloud fallout (as I have), the
radioactive filth spread over 1,000s of kilometers,can also have thought
through the additional destruction that has come about through the spread of
radiated toxic microalgae. Compensation from those countries (France, USA,
England, China, Japan etc) who have been carrying out the soft invasions and
toxic microalgae spread by boat ballast and ship wrecks, should also be sought.
Such compensation may then be used to purchase lands most suitable for those
that will become climate change refugees whilst the protection of islands
resources, left vacant will still need to be enforced. Finally it is truly a
worthwhilst activity now, for islanders to engage with the various
environmental groups that are fighting, in such countries as Australia, PNG,
Indonesia against further climate change by actively demonstrating and halting
coal mining (and coal seam gas mining) and sea-bed mining..<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36354"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36355"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36356">What I have discussed in this letter is a very
serious matter that needs to be taken up by the highest levels of respected
governance and acted upon, if you have not already done so. I entrust you with
God’s grace within whatever capacity you hold to do your best for the future sustainability of the Pacific people’s livelihoods, within a suitable
time frame.<a name="_GoBack" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36357" href=""></a><o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36358"></o:p></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36359"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36360">Your sincerely<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36361"></o:p></span></div><div>
</div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36362"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36363">Dr Mark Philip Skinner<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507711250965_36364"></o:p></span></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div></div></blockquote></body></html>