Proceedings of the International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Proceedings of the International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop summarizes the
outcome of a meeting held in Orlando, Florida, funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation
Program and Kingfi sher, with additional travel support provided through a contract from
NOAA Fisheries Offi ce of Habitat Conservation to the International Marinelife Alliance. The
workshop was developed in response to a Resolution on enforcement adopted by the U.S.
Coral Reef Task Force with the primary intent of mitigating the use of cyanide in the capture
of reef fi sh for the marine aquarium trade (MAT) and the live reef food fi sh trade (LRFF).
Initial consultations with the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) Coral Trade Enforcement
Working Group, including representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Sheila
Einsweiller), U.S. Department of State (Christine Dawson), NOAA (Andrew Bruckner; Beth
Lumsden), U.S. Department of Justice (Karen Wardzinski) and U.S. Agency for International
Development (Barbara Best) assisted in identifying workshop objectives and in developing a
work plan.
The workshop would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the steering
committee, Andy Bruckner, Patty Debenham, Eric Punkay and Kristine Johnson, who
were responsible for developing the agenda, objectives, work plan and working group tasks,
selecting participants, and pulling together background documents. We are grateful to SeaWeb,
especially Eric Punkay, who helped with all logistical aspects of the workshop, including
planning and travel arrangements and conference support. Dr. Peter Rubec also provided
hours of dedicated time and assistance in the workshop, including organization and logistical
arrangement for workshop participants from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and
compilation of extensive background information on cyanide detection. We are also grateful
to Doug Thompson for his assistance in the fi nal development of the agenda and working
group tasks and expertise as a facilitator. Without Doug’s involvement, we are unlikely to have
accomplished anywhere near as much, and are especially appreciative of his efforts at keeping
us on track.
We are grateful to Brain Logue for his comprehensive white paper summarizing cyanide testing
options and his patience in helping those of us that are not chemists in understanding some
of the diffi culties in detecting cyanide exposure. We would like to recognize the dedicated
efforts of Bob Kobeleski, Patty Debenham and Kristine Johnson as chairs of the working
group sessions and for compiling the working group recommendations. All of the workshop
participants need to be recognized for their excellent background presentations and white
papers, and their cooperative efforts in addressing the terms of reference and developing
recommendations within their respective working groups. Finally, special thanks go to Glynnis
Roberts, a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow who was thrown into the middle of this on her fi rst week
in the offi ce. Without Glynnis’ dedicated efforts, these proceedings would not be possible.
I would also like to thank everyone for their cooperation and congenial interactions with other
participants, given the complex and somewhat controversial nature of the problem. We had
a very productive discussion of the issues surrounding the use of cyanide and options for
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