News articles in UW Parks & Sanctuaries

Underwater Sculpture Park reflects Grenada’s commitment to Sustainable Tourism

(Dive Travel Business News - April 19, 2013)-- ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - In the silent shallows off Grenada, an Underwater Sculpture Park models the practice of sustainable tourism. The first of its kind in the world, Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park was designed to act as an artificial reef, offering an ideal environment for colonization by fish and colorful coral.

Recognized as one of the "Wonders of the World – Earth’s Most Awesome Places” in a special edition of National Geographic, the park is located just outside St. George’s in the Molinere Bay Marine Protected Area. Created by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, the park has become one of the main tourist attractions for Grenada. The statues are accessible to both divers and snorkelers. read more »

Divers Weigh In as World Renowned Dive Sites Re-Open to Dive Tourists

Report: World Renowned Dive Sites Re-Open to Dive Tourists

(Dive Travel Business News - April 15, 2013) -- It's now been two months since Thailand's Similan Islands National Marine Park re-opened two dive sites to recreational scuba divers. This major dive tourism destination closed East of Eden and Beacon Reef in late 2010 in response to the wide spread coral bleaching that had occurred between May and June earlier that year.

“The main factors causing the coral bleaching are the combined effects of global warming, which has raised the sea temperature by 1-2 degrees Celsius” said a spokesperson for the Mu Ko Similan National Park; emphasizing that a rise in temperatures is to blame and not an excess of human disruption.

When news of the May-June 2010 S.E. Asia coral bleaching finally came to the world's attention in late November 2010, the media made much of the closing of the two chosen sites, yet failed to mention the pressure on the reef from human recreation, or the illegal longlines a short distance from the dive sites, possibly the main contributing factors to the deterioration of the national park wildlife. read more »

Coral Bleaching causes Dive Tourists to Travel to islands in Myanmar.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 5, 2013) -- Coral bleaching around Thai islands in the Andaman Sea has made a dent in tourism numbers. According to A-One Diving Co Ltd, the coral bleaching at key diving spots in the region has caused foreign divers to switch to St. Luke Island in Southern Myanmar instead.

Based in Ranong, A-One Diving Co Ltd arranges dive trips to various destinations in the Andaman Sea. Some destinations are in Thai waters while others are in Myanmar territory.

"Each trip to the island takes at least seven days. Despite that, the number of tourists to St Luke Island has now jumped by more than 30 per cent when compared with the previous year," a tourism representative pointed out.

Ranong Tourism Association president Somchai Ouitekkeng said St Luke Island was becoming popular among Asians and Europeans. But, on the bright side, he believed Ranong could still reap benefits from the situation. read more »

Newly Protected Honduras Reefs Are A Diver's Dream

(Dive Travel Business News - November 14, 2012) -- Tela, Honduras—A unique dive site, previously unknown to the scientific community, has been discovered by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), The Healthy Reefs Initiative (HRI), and their local partners near the coastal town of Tela, Honduras. The reef is so exceptional that the local municipal government recently declared it a marine protected area, and CORAL is now launching an effort with local officials, conservation groups, and business owners to ensure its future protection.

Divers who have the opportunity to visit this area will get an extraordinary glimpse of what a Caribbean reef looked like nearly thirty years ago. The healthy reef includes an area known as Capiro Banks, which boasts an astounding 69 percent live coral cover. With the average coral cover in the Caribbean today at less than 20 percent, the reef is a rare find. read more »

Komodo National Park under Heavy Threat by Illegal Fishing

(Dive Travel Business News - April 27, 2012) -- Komodo National Park, a 500,000-acre reserve in eastern Indonesia, is a UN World Heritage site that is currently under great threat by illegal fishing. Coral gardens that were among Asia’s most spectacular, teeming with colorful sea life just a few months ago, have been transformed into desolate gray moonscapes by illegal fishermen who use home made bombs or cyanide to kill or stun their prey. A few of the Komodo National Parks valued diving locations have very recently been blasted beyond recognition.

Komodo National Park spans several dusty, tan-colored volcanic islands and is most famous for its Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizards. Its remote and hard-to-reach waters also burst with staggering levels of diversity, from corals in fluorescent reds and yellows to octopuses with lime-green banded eyes to black-and-blue sea snakes. read more »

Cayman Islands' Endangered Nassau Grouper Recovery Efforts helped by The Mystery of the Grouper Moon.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 23, 2012) -- Recent scientific evidence shows that a ten-year effort to protect the spawning aggregation sites for the endangered Nassau Grouper has resulted in a growing and healthy population of the species on the reefs near Little Cayman‹a harbinger that the recovery of the species may spread throughout the Caribbean.

"After ten years the detective work is finally done," said an exuberant Dr. Guy Harvey, a Cayman resident and an ardent conservationist and internationally known marine wildlife artist.

Dr. Harvey, who has worked closely with research leaders REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation), Oregon State University and the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DOE) to bring about legislation to protect the species, continued: The work is finally done and science indicates the groupers need to have aggregation sites projected to help them survive. read more »

A Coral Reef Designed for Valentine's Day

(Dive Travel Business News - Feb 14, 2012) -- The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system (and it's largest living structure ), comprising nearly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands off the eastern coast of Australia. One of these thousands of reefs is Heart Reef, so named for its shape. It is located in the Whitsunday Islands and must be viewed from the air as the area is protected and snorkelers and scuba divers are not allowed to enter.

Located in Hardy Reef, Heart Reef is a stunning composition of coral that has naturally formed into the shape of a heart. Many tour companies will combine a scenic helicopter or seaplane flight over Heart Reef with other breathtaking spots in the Whitsundays. read more »

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Drops Shark Fin from the Menu in all its Resorts.

(Dive Travel Business News - January 18, 2012) -- Hong-Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has announced its "Sustainable Seafood Policy" including the commitment to cease serving shark fin in all of its operated restaurants as well as accepting new orders for shark fin products in banqueting with immediate effect.

Future banquet bookings made prior to this date will be honoured as per the signed contractual agreement. At the same time, Shangri-La announced that it will phase out Bluefin tuna and Chilean sea bass in all its operated restaurants within the year. In December 2010 the company initiated the process with the removal of shark fin products from its restaurant menus. The new policy is a continuation of Shangri-La's journey towards environmental support.

The company launched its first CSR initiatives in 2005 which were streamlined and formalised in 2009 in the three main areas of Sustainability, Embrace and Sanctuary towards a strategic commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. read more »

Costa Concordia Capsizes in Europe's Largest Marine Park

Costa Concordia Runs Aground, Keels Over on Italy's West Coast.

(Dive Travel Business News - January 16, 2012) -- Scores of Italian cave-rescue divers from the coast guard, navy and firefighting service are racing against time to find survivors in the debris-filled partially sunken Costa Concordia since it ran aground on rocks off Italy's west coast. Divers are searching the miles of submerged corridors and more than 1000 cabins for 25 passengers and 4 crew members still unaccounted for after 3200 passengers and 1000 crew were rescued from the hull-torn ship off the coast of Isola del Giglio. The waters off Giglio, popular with scuba divers and snorkelers, form part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park - a marine protected area for dolphins, porpoises and whales. read more »

Limited Edition USS Monitor Poster Now Available

(Dive Travel Business News - January 12, 2012) -- Wreck divers, shipwreck enthusiasts and marine history buffs will appreciate a Civil War shipwreck poster now available through Tech Diving Limited. From the estate of the late photographer and explorer Rod Farb, the limited edition USS Monitor poster was taken during the Farb Monitor Expeditions in the 1990's. The photograph was chosen by National Geographic as the image that best illustrated the USS Monitor during that time. The full color poster is printed on 10 point stock and measures 24x36 inches and is available for US$20. read more »