Blue Attitude Articles

Ship Speed Rule Proposed to Protect Critically Endangered Northern Right Whales

(Dive Travel Business News - June 7, 2013) -- WASHINGTON— Wildlife conservation and animal-protection groups are applauding a National Marine Fisheries Service proposal to keep existing speed limits along the U.S. East Coast to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The current speed rule, which requires vessels 65 feet in length and greater to slow to 10 knots (about 11 miles per hour) in areas and at times when right whales are present, is set to expire December 2013.

The Humane Society of the United States, Center for Biological Diversity, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the Fisheries Service to maintain the ship speeds in June 2012. read more »

Cayman Fights Back Against Lionfish Invaders

(Dive Travel Business News - May 13, 2013) -- “Every shot counts!” was the rallying cry at a recent Foster’s Food Fair Lionfish Tournament as Cayman intensified its fight against the invasive species for a 24-hour period on Earth Day weekend. Forty-eight volunteer divers divided into 8 fired-up teams with names like the Teal Tigers, the Silver Bullets and the Red Sail Boys hit the reefs with Ocean Frontiers, Red Sail Sports and Divetech to see who could remove the most lionfish from Grand Cayman’s Marine Parks.

Almost 600 invaders were culled in the competition sponsored by the local grocer and organized by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), in partnership with the dive operators and several island restaurants. read more »

Belize Supreme Court Halts Offshore Oil Drilling to Protect Barrier Reef

(Dive Travel Business News - April 18, 2013) -- BELIZE CITY, Belize - Belize's Supreme Court declared offshore drilling contracts issued by the Government of Belize (in 2004 and 2007) null and void, providing a dramatic and potentially definitive setback to The Government of Belize and the petroleum prospecting companies issued the contracts.

The ruling, handed down by Justice Oswell Legall, was in response to a case brought by Oceana, COLA, and the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage. It effectively ends the Belizean government's immediate effort to allow offshore oil drilling in the Meso American Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world.

The court overturned the contracts after determining that the government failed to assess the environmental impact on Belize's ocean, as required by law, prior to issuing the contracts. The court also found that contracts were made to companies that did not demonstrate a proven ability to contribute the necessary funds, assets, machinery, equipment, tools and technical expertise to drill safely. read more »

Good News for Our Oceans - Aquarius Reef Base has been Saved.

Good News for Our Oceans - Aquarius Reef Based has been Saved.

(Dive Travel Business News - Thursday January 17, 2013) --Yesterday, news that gives us hope for future ocean exploration was confirmed – Aquarius Reef Base off Key Largo has been saved. Through a great deal of work by a great number of dedicated people, including many in the dive industry, the only underwater laboratory on earth has been funded for continued operation. Aquarius is an invaluable tool to study the ocean environment allowing us to gather knowledge of our changing ocean and its inhabitants. read more »

Sustainable Seafood Guide Helps Dive Travelers Choose their Food Wisely.

(Dive Travel Business News - Friday January 4, 2013) -- Dive Travelers heading for the diving mecca of Bonaire can now wisely choose their seafood dining options thanks to InfoBonaire.com. The website provides a quick-reference sustainable seafood guide to safely order seafood when dining or shopping for seafood to prepare while on Bonaire.

Included on the Do Not Eat List are: Swordfish, Marlin, Blue fin or Yellow fin Tuna, Grouper, Yellowtail Snapper, Coney, Hind, Barracuda, Red Snapper and Conch. High up on the Okay to Eat List is Lionfish. Other sustainable choices include Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, Crab, Jack and Rainbow Runner. For a complete list visit InfoBonaire's Sustainable Seafood Guide. 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 »

Popular Dive Resort Chain Ups its Eco-initiatives.

(Dive Travel Business News - October 19, 2012) -- Divi Resorts is greening up its act with a series of environmental initiatives begun more than two years ago at its 10 Caribbean resorts on the five islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St Croix, and St Maarten. E.J. Schanfarber, President of Divi Resorts, initiated a number of sustainable measures when he arrived at Divi in 2007, but they proved a hard sell to employees.

"This has taken a while," said Schanfarber. "Things move slowly in the Caribbean, but Divi feels a strong sense of responsibility to maintain ecosystems where we operate and to educate our staff and our guests in these areas."

As a starter, to discourage use of plastic water bottles, each Divi guest is handed a reusable water bottle at check-in, which can be refilled at water stations at the resorts. Commonplace items that guests now disregard, such as tent cards in guest rooms, have been removed. read more »

DAN to help save Aquarius Reef Base in the Florida Keys.

(Dive Travel Business News - August 22, 2012) -- Discovering that government budget cuts were threatening to force the shutdown of the Aquarius Reef Base in the heart of the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary, several prominent members of the scuba diving community including Divers Alert Network (DAN) Board Member and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle, DAN President Dan Orr, DAN Holdings President and CEO Bill Ziefle, and Alert Diver Editor Stephen Frink recently discussed ways to help save the unique underwater research facility.

Seychelles Demonstrates Commitment to Protected Areas and Eco-tourism

(Dive Travel Business News - August 3, 2012) -- Following the Rio Conference held in June in Brazil, at the Head of States side event, “Leaders Valuing Nature: A Celebration of Commitments,” the Seychelles pledged to the international community to further increase its protected area and special reserves. The Seychells government has further demonstrated its commitment in marine and terrestrial protected areas by changing the status of the D’Aros and St. Joseph atolls to that of a protected reserve. These islands are the first within the Amirantes group to be declared protected area.

The islands are known for its diverse coral reefs, important nursery habitats, and breeding grounds for several vulnerable and endangered species such as certain species of sharks, marine turtles, and birds. The Ocean life around the islands is an excellent ecosystem for researches, studies, and other activities such as eco-tourism, which will create awareness on the need to create more “special reserves.” Now the law is being put in place to turn the atoll into a marine and terrestrial protected area also known as special reserves. read more »

Historic Illinois Legislation Protects Sharks.

(Dive Travel Business News - July 2, 2012) --Chicago, Illinois -- Joining the ranks of California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, yesterday the State of Illinois adopted a legislative ban on shark fins, through the enactment of House Bill 4119 (sponsored by Sara Feigenholtz and Antonio Muñoz). The bill was signed into law today by Gov. Pat Quinn. read more »

Reef Environmental Education Foundation offers Fishinars.

(Dive Travel Business News - June 18, 2012) -- The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) is now offering free online education. These "fishinars" are short webinars presented by experts that teach the finer points of identifying fish and invertebrates underwater.

The Fishinars are open to divers, snorkelers, and devout landlubbers alike. The online education is designed to be simple to understand and participate in. Common names, not scientific names, are used and the learning focuses on how to ID each critter. Participants don't need a microphone or a webcam. The webinars use online GoToMeeting technology that works with a standard computer with an internet connection.

The primary reason for the Fishinars is to help divers learn how to become citizen scientists and help monitor marine life on their recreational dives. Data gathered goes into REEF's online database to help students, researchers, scientists, etc.

Upcoming webinars include; read more »

Bag It: Reduce Plastic Consumption to Protect our Seas.

(Dive Travel Business News - June 15, 2012) -- One week ago, the world celebrated World Oceans Day - the UN-designated day for the global community to celebrate and take action for our shared ocean. One of the greatest threats to the ocean is also one of the most insidious because it’s so mundane you probably don’t even notice it. Look around you right now... how much plastic do you see?

Plastic has become intertwined with our society’s throw away mentality, our culture of convenience, and our over consumption of throwaway products and packaging—things that we use one time and then, without another thought, we throw them away. But where is AWAY?? THERE IS NO AWAY!! Away is over flowing landfills, clogged rivers, islands of trash in our oceans, and toxins that eventuallly absorb into our own bodies and the bodies of marine animals. read more »

Shark Finning Bans Made Simple.

(Dive Travel Business News - May 4, 2012) -- As Europe enters the final stages of debate on a proposal to close the loopholes in the shark finning ban, find out what finning is, why the current regulation isn’t good enough.

See the video here; http://vimeo.com/40649549

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Green Globe Launches Sustainable Travel Site

(Dive Travel Business News - April 26, 2012) -- - Green Globe Certification recently launched its new sustainable travel website, www.greenglobe.travel . The site provides sustainable hotels, cruise ships, meeting facilities, tour operators, and attractions in the world’s most exciting travel locations. Businesses are displayed in alphabetical order with description, pictures, location and map, contact information, and links to booking. Users can also search by property name, country, or category. All properties are Green Globe members that are already certified or in the process of being certified for their sustainability achievements. 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 »

Divers Mobilize on Earth Day to Save Sharks

(DIve Travel Business News- April 16, 2012) -- This Earth Day and throughout April, Project AWARE and divers worldwide call on local communities to rally support for the protection of the world’s most vulnerable shark species by signing and organizing petition signatures to protect heavily traded species. Nearly 100,000 concerned divers and shark advocates have already signed their support for Project AWARE’s shark petition. But additional support is needed to ensure the voices of global shark advocates are heard.

Project AWARE Foundation and its global movement of divers are also producing the Big Shark Shout Out. Big Shark Shout Out events will span the globe and include shark petition rallies, education events and seminars. read more »

Coral Restoration Foundation begins New Project in Bonaire.

(Dive Travel Business News - March 29, 2012) -- The Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) will soon start a pilot project in Bonaire, assisting local authorities and a local coral reef restoration group in developing a restoration program on the main island of Bonaire and adjacent island of Klein Bonaire. 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 »

World Ocean Council to Join Ocean Expert Group for UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

World Ocean Council to Join UN Expert Group on Oceans at Rio +20 Conference

(Dive Travel Business News - January 11, 2012) -- The World Ocean Council (WOC) efforts to create an unprecedented cross-sectoral industry alliance for leadership on ocean sustainability has got the attention of the United Nations. WOC will participate in the U.N. Secretary General’s five-person ocean expert group to help shape international efforts for ocean sustainability. In addition to the private sector WOC, the four other experts in the group represent government, academic and non-government organizations will join the Ocean Expert group.

The oceans have been declared as one of 8 thematic priorities for the upcoming “Rio + 20” – the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. The U.N. Secretary General’s ocean expert group will develop an "Oceans Compact" for this event. read more »

Shark Massacre in World Heritage Site.

Shark Massacre at Malpelo Marine Sanctuary World Heritage Site.

(Dive Travel Business News - October 23, 2011) -- Colombian environmental authorities have reported a huge shark massacre in the Malpelo wildlife sanctuary in Columbia's Pacific waters, where as many as 2,000 hammerhead, Galápagos and silky sharks may have been slaughtered for their fins.

A team of divers who were studying sharks in the region, reported the mass killing in the waters surrounding the rock-island known as Malpelo, some 500 kilometres from the mainland. The divers spotted 10 fishing trawlers “entering the zone illegally,” said a Colombian environmental official. All reportedly flew Costa Rican flags.

“When the divers dove, they started finding a large number of animals without their fins. They didn't see any alive,” the official said. The shark kill estimate is based on calculating an average of 200 sharks per boat. read more »

Sargasso's Seaweed Trek to the Caribbean.

(Dive Travel Business News - October 17, 2011) -- Since June the Eastern Caribbean has been invaded by an extraordinary volume of seaweed, sending resorts and government agencies, from Anguilla in the north to Tobago in the south, scrambling to rid beaches of the smelly, brown, bug-attracting algae before the impending high season.

While small amounts of Sargassum are normally found in the Caribbean from May to September when regional currents and winds transport the floating algae to the islands, such large accumulations across so many regions have never before been recorded.

So much Sargassum seaweed has been washing up on Eastern Caribbean beaches this summer and fall that St. James's Club & Villas in Antigua was forced to close for several weeks in September where the weed, a floating species of algae that inhabits the Sargasso Sea, had completely filled the bay on which the hotel sits, leaving piles as high as five feet tall along the usually pristine shore. read more »

Barabados Atlantis Subs Receives Green Globe Recertification

(Dive Travel Business News - August 23, 2011) -- Green Globe today announced the recertification of Atlantis Submarines, Barbados. Atlantis Submarines was first certified in December 2008. This flagship company has demonstrated its continued focus and commitment to sustainable tourism, directing resources and funds to maintain its Green Globe certification status.

Green Globe Certification CEO, Guido Bauer said, ‘Atlantis Submarines is a truly unique tourism experience which offers an educational platform for travelers to learn about our precious marine environment.’

‘Barbados is one of Green Globe’s most committed destinations with all the important tourism businesses certified or in the process of certification. Atlantis Submarines Barbados was one of the first to join Green Globe and since 2008 has been a beacon for responsible tourism practices’, added Mr Bauer. read more »

Why Miss Scuba takes At-Risk Children SCUBA Diving

(Dive Travel Business News - October 1, 2011) -- As a California based stunt woman and scuba instructor, Szilvia Gogh has worked on exciting movie sets with actors like Drew Barrymore, boss around LAPD Dive Team Leaders during training and swim with sharks in remote reefs around the world. Yet one of her favorite activities is the Chance for Children Summer Camp.

A bit of history here. In the early 90's Greg Bonann, a Los Angeles County lifeguard and creator of the world famous television series Baywatch, talked about the concept of having a "Baywatch theme related camp”. A year after hearing him talk about the idea, Tai Collins a freelance writer for the show, spoke up. She asked Bonann if he was serious about the summer camp and he was. read more »

Valuable Lessons Learned from Eco-Tourism

(Dive Travel Business News - September 30, 2011) -- The increasing demand for ecotourism can play a vital role in saving endangered forests, a United Nations-backed partnership said today, while also warning of the potential damaging effects if its expansion is not effectively managed.

According to the findings of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which consists of 14 international organizations and secretariats, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the benefits of ecotourism flowing to local businesses are dramatically higher than those from mass tourism, providing an incentive to local communities to take care of their environment.

“Ecotourism has a far greater potential for contributing to income and livelihoods in poor rural communities than what is realized,” said FAO’s Edgar Kaeslin, a forestry officer in wildlife and protected area management. read more »

SLOW LIFE Symposium Supports Islands in Creating a Sustainable Low-Carbon Future

(Dive Travel Business News - September 26, 2011) -- Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, and Edward Norton, actor and activist, will speak at the third annual Six Senses SLOW LIFE Symposium, to be held Oct. 6 to 9 at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives. The four-day conference, bringing together business leaders with global policy-makers and heads of state, will focus on practical solutions to the principal challenges facing the tourism industry, including low-carbon infrastructure, transportation, resort management and threatened biodiversity.

The SLOW LIFE Symposium, named after the acronym that stands for the resort group’s core values and philosophy (Sustainable Local Organic Wholesome Learning Inspiring Fun Experiences), seeks to support all small-island and progressive states in their shared endeavors to create a sustainable, low-carbon future. read more »

ReefId is Building the Largest User Friendly Online Critter Database

ReefId helps identify our oceans inhabitants.

(Dive Travel Business News - Sept 1, 2011) -- A unique resource is being built to help curious ocean adventurers identify the inhabitants they encounter. Everyone from the advanced SCUBA diver and underwater photographer to the occasional snorkeler is helping build the largest user friendly online database of our ocean's inhabitants to date. By utilizing the power of the public, everyone from the professional ocean adventurer to the casual aquatic vacationer can quickly and easily identify a chance encounter with one of our world's ocean inhabitants. read more »

California Passes Shark Fin Ban

(Dive Travel Business News - Sept 7, 2011) -- California has joined Hawaii, Oregon and Washington in banning the import of shark fin products. The California Senate passed legislation Sept 6. 2011 that would ban the trade, sale and possession of shark fins, rejecting arguments that the conservation measure discriminates against Asians who consume shark fin soup. A majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of it. Backers of the bill said they hoped California Governor Brown would sign the bill but expected the lobbying battle would continue in the coming month.

While environmental and animal welfare groups pushed for the Legislature to ban the sale and possession of shark fins, an emotional battle over traditional shark fin soup split California's Chinese American community. The legislation was co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance and was supported by several Chinese-American politicians. However some Chinese-American state senators fought the measure.

(Dive Travel Business News - June 8, 2011) -- Today is World Oceans Day - a time to celebrate our earth's most beautiful blue resource, and to take a moment to consider how we are taking care of it. World Oceans Day, which had been unofficially celebrated every June 8 since its original proposal in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. Since then it has been coordinated internationally by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network with greater success and global participation each year. read more »

Amos Nachoum Dispels the Misconceptions Surrounding Sharks at TEDxConejo 2011

Amos Nachoum Talks Sharks at TEDxConejo 2011

(Dive Travel Business News - May 25, 2011) -- There is something you need to know about Jaws. He was a fabrication. Photographer and explorer Amos Nachoum dispels the misconception of killer species in a photographic exploration presented at TEDxConejo2011. See the video below.

Amos Nachoum is a photographer and explorer. He has shot just about everything there is to shoot, but what he loves most is wildlife photography. Especially if it's in the water. And he has become world-famous at it. So much so, in fact, that he has been asked to lead National Geographic expedition teams with Dr. Eugenie Clark, Dr. Sylvia Earle, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. He has co-produced documentaries with Stan Waterman, and he was the team leader for National Geographic's Red Sea, Great White Shark, and Killer Whale photo expeditions.

His commitment to wildlife led him to co-found Israel's Marine National Park on the Red Sea. He works tirelessly to bring attention to some of the most fragile regions of the underwater realm, with preservation of the environment foremost in every encounter. read more »

Aquarium of the Bay Rescues Another Pacific Octopus

(Dive Travel Business News - March 25, 2011) -- Connecting visitors with one of the most intelligent and fascinating inhabitants of San Francisco Bay, Aquarium of the Bay today welcomed a new Giant Pacific Octopus, Octopus dofleini. Like others of its kind, the animal came to the Aquarium in a roundabout fashion, by way of a local crab fisherman.

Giant Pacific Octopuses have a particular hankering for crabs as well as den-like enclosures, and often mistake crabber's nets as a hunting and hiding ground, where they can be accidentally caught. If the octopus kills and eats the crabber's catch, many fishermen respond by killing the octopus. Aquarium of the Bay works with local fishermen to change this behavior by purchasing the octopuses for exhibit, where they help strengthen visitors' connection to the animals. The Aquarium's Husbandry team posts fliers around local piers and tackle stores, alerting crabbers of this opportunity.

"Aquarium of the Bay is always happy to provide a safe haven for octopuses that would otherwise meet a hasty demise," says Christina J. Slager, Director of Husbandry for Aquarium of the Bay. read more »

Expert Team Reports on Sharm El-Sheikh Incidents

Oceanic Whitetip and Mako Sharks involved in attacks of swimmers

(Dive Travel Business News - December 17, 2010) -- The following is the official report from the expert team brought to Sharm El-Sheikh to investigate a series of shark attacks in late November and early December in the waters off the popular Egyptian resort area.

Between November 30 and December 5, 2010 there were 5 unprovoked shark attacks reported from Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Following these attacks the Egyptian government assembled an international team of experts to conduct a forensic analysis of the attacks: Ralph S. Collier, President, of the Shark Research Committee and Director of the Global Shark Attack File; Marie Levine, Executive Director, Shark Research Institute; Moustafa Fouda, MSEA; Mohammad Salem, EEAA; and Nassar Galal, CDWS.

The team gathered eyewitness testimony, examined the attack locations, and reviewed the forensic evidence, including all environmental factors present prior to each of the attacks. The following is a list of those factors they believed contributed to the attacks: read more »

Scientific Team Makes Headway in Sharm El-Sheikh

Investigation of shark attacks in coastal waters continues

(Dive Travel Business News - December 12, 2010) -- American scientists are making rapid progress in the investigation of an unprecedented string of attacks off a 3-mile stretch of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. The shark experts, flown into the Egyptian resort after 5 shark attacks killed one woman and seriously injured 4 others, have positively identified at least two of the sharks responsible.

The breakthrough came after the team questioned witnesses, studied photographs, examined forensic evidence and pathologist reports, and investigated the waters near each of the incidents. The scientists say they are working on the basis that between two and four individual sharks were involved in the attacks.

The team has concluded from photographic evidence that clearly shows that an oceanic whitetip with a unusual notch in its tail-fin that attacked a Russian man on Nov 30, is the same individual shark that returned six days later to a nearby stretch of water to attack and kill a 70-year-old German woman, the fifth shark attack victim. read more »

Experts Called in After Shark Attack Causes Fatality in Sharm El-Sheikh

Atypical behaviour of single shark a possible culprit.

(Dive Travel Business News - December 7, 2010) -- Egyptian authorities have called in an international team of shark experts to "assess and advise on the best course of action" after the Red Sea resort of Sharm el- Sheikh experienced five shark attacks in one week. read more »

The Galapagos Removed from UNESCO Danger List

(Dive Travel Business News - October 22, 2010) -- The Galapagos islands feature some of the rarest wildlife and youngest land masses on Earth, drawing visitors from around the world to see its treasures both topside and underwater. In the last two decades, the Galapagos Islands experienced a tourism boom that more than tripled to some 150,000 visitors annually, while at the same time the number of people living on the islands — mostly from mainland Ecuador — has climbed to 30,000. Visitors staying on the islands make up 39 percent of tourism, up from nothing 10 years ago. This boom prompted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to add the Galapagos to the World Heritage Sites in Danger list in 2007. The decision was a stern call to action, as well as a blow to a country’s pride and prestige. read more »

Shark Research Institute offered matching grant

Hong Kong is the largest importer of shark fins in the world

(Dive Travel Business News - Sept 13, 2010) -- The Shark Research Institute has been offered a matching grant of $50,000 for a media campaign project - which means in order to receive the funds, we must raise $50,000 for this project.

The project is a media campaign in Hong Kong to inform the public about the very high levels of methylmercury and other toxins in sharks, why it is so dangerous to consume sharks and other large marine predators, and the effects of methylmercury in humans and developing fetuses. (Hong Kong is the largest importer of shark fins in the world).

This project will receive the much-needed match grant if every member will donate $5 (a.k.a. a Fin) .

Donations can be sent by check to: SRI, PO Box 40, Princeton NJ 08540, USA, read more »

World's Top Shark Celebrities to be Auctioned During Shark Week

Shark experts auctioned off during Shark Week

(Dive Travel Business News - July 31, 2010) -- The world's top shark experts are allowing themselves to be auctioned on eBay during Shark Week 2010 to raise funds for the Shark Research Institute's conservation programs. Up for auction are dinners (or lunches) with the world's foremost shark experts. It is a unique opportunity to "talk shark" face- to-face, one-on-one, with an authority on sharks.

Shark experts and celebrities being auctioned include: Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in- Residence and unquestionably the most eloquent spokesperson for ocean conservation; Dr. Eugenie Clark, founder & director of Mote Marine Labs; Donald Schultz, host of Animal Planet's Wild Recon, Dr. Leonard Compagno, the world's top shark expert; legendary filmmakers Tom Campbell, Jeff Kurr, Marty Snyderman and Jonathan Bird; underwater photographers Amos Nachoum and Matt Potenski, marine painter and author Richard Ellis, artists David Dunleavy and Rogest; and Sherman Lagoon's Jim Toomey and Shaaark's Phil Watson.
read more »

Is Your Travel Operation an Innovator in Sustainable Tourism?

(Dive Travel Business News - July 14, 2010) -- Washington, D.C. – The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), as part of a series of initiatives commemorating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the world’s oldest and largest association dedicated to promoting ecotourism, has launched the annual Innovation Leadership in Sustainable Tourism Awards to recognize and honor accomplishments by sustainable tourism leaders and pioneers.

The Innovation Award has been created by TIES to recognize those individuals and organizations who demonstrate leadership in innovative actions that effectively promote sustainable tourism and bring tangible benefits to communities and conservation. The Award winners – one individual and one organization – will be honored for their best practices and innovative actions, judged based on one example of an innovative project, product, or program developed in the previous year that supports the goal of uniting communities, conservation, and sustainable travel read more »

77 Nations Agree to Ban Inhumane Practice of Shark Finning at Sea

(Dive Travel Business News - July 11, 2010) -- NEW YORK, NY - In an historic step, delegates to the Fish Stocks Conference at the United Nations voted unanimously to end shark finning at sea. read more »

Final Push to Stop the Whale Hunt!

The time is now to save the whales - Please sign the Avaaz anti-whaling petition. Read why here. See article links below for more information.

(Dive Travel Business News - June 14, 2010) -- The terms "green" and "sustainable" have been bandied about, and now with part of the Gulf covered in a thick coating of oil, it seems a good time to revisit these definitions.

The word "green" refers to being environmentally friendly, writes Ronnie Citron-Fink in a recent article at Care2.com. She explains that the term "green" tends to focus on the use of fewer natural resources and minimizing waste. On a narrow level, "Sustainability" is more encompassing than green. It addresses the individual environmental choices, and the process of discovery that include the health and wellbeing of our selves as individuals, and our planet. On a broader level, "Sustainability" implies future viability of the collective -- politically, socially and economically. It also has to do with being less of a burden on future generations, she writes. Read more here.

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Maldives Creates World's 2nd Shark Sanctuary

Maldives creates world's second shark sanctuary

(Dive Travel Business News - June 3, 2010) -- The Maldives’ nation continues to be a frontrunner in environmental activism with their latest announcement that offers complete protection for sharks in its 90,000 sq.kms (34,750 sq.miles) of Maldives territorial waters. The huge shark sanctuary will be free of all shark fishing and finning, protecting more than 30 different species that make their home in the region. The Maldives has further banned all imports and exports of shark fins and shark products.

"The Maldives were one of the first countries to recognize that sharks were a key reason tourists went to dive there," said Matt Rand, Director of Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environment Group. "Today's announcement protects the Maldives' tourism industry - the largest segment of their economy - from the ravages of the shark fin trade. It is a bold and farsighted move on the part of the government of the Maldives." read more »

1st Shark Sanctuary Looks for Enforcement

Palau sanctuary is a no-shark fin soup zone

(Dive Travel Business News - June 2, 2010) -- With half of the world's sharks threatened with extinction, Palau created the world's first "shark sanctuary" in 2009. One of the smallest nation's in the world, Palau declared its entire Exclusive Economic Zone a shark sanctuary that protects about 600,000 sq km (230,000 sq miles) of ocean, an area about the size of France. Conservationists regarded the move as "game-changing" but enforcement is a problem due to the high demand for prestigious shark fin soup. read more »

Hawaii - First State to Enact Shark Fin Law

(Dive Travel Business News - May 31, 2010) -- Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii has signed a landmark bill that prohibits the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins, an ingredient in expensive shark fin soup served in Asian restaurants. read more »

Australia Plans Tough New Shipping Laws

Great Barrier Reef Damage by Chinese Coal Carrier (AP)

(Dive Travel Business News - May 10, 2010) -- Australia is planning to subject commercial ships passing through all parts of the Great Barrier Reef to greater surveillance. The tough new measures are intended to protect the region from pollution. It follows the grounding of the Chinese bulk coal carrier, the Shen Neng I, while traveling in restricted waters around the reef, hit a sandbank at full speed on Easter Sunday, destroying vast areas of reef and leaking about three tons of oil into the sea.

Ships sailing through southern parts of the Great Barrier Reef will be tracked by satellite and required to regularly report their movements under the new regulations. Vessels using the reef's northern expanses are already subject to such strict monitoring.

Conservationists say that greater surveillance will make a difference but believe that professional navigators are also needed alongside the satellite tracking system. read more »

Hawaii Senator Introduces Bill Banning Sale of Shark Fins

Hawaii Senator proposes to ban shark finning

(Dive Travel Business News - May 6, 2010 ) -- A proposal to ban the trade of shark fins was introduced by Sen. Clayton Hee on April 28, 2010 in the Hawaii Legislature. Senate Bill 2169 prohibits the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins in the state of Hawaii.

State Sen. Clayton Hee is rallying support for the legislation he introduced that would make Hawaii a leader in the global fight to end shark finning. The practice involves cutting the fins off sharks, then discarding the live animals in the ocean to drown. The debate over shark finning in Hawaii is a controversial issue in the legislature. But Hee says shark fishing is insignificant when compared with the total fish take in Hawaii, and longline fishermen do not even fish for sharks. read more »

Urgent Action Required - What you Can Do to Stop Whaling

(Dive Travel Business News - April 27, 2010) -- HUFFINGTON POST --

A Sea of Deceit and Capitulation

by Edward Dorson
April 25, 2010

The trajectory of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), meeting in Morocco this June, is on a disastrous course for the world's whales. A new proposal to resume commercial whaling will be presented at the IWC summit. Simply put, it's an awful deal. In order to foresee the fate of the whales with this proposal on the table, look no further than how all the marine species fared at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) last month, where each and every proposed aquatic species was denied protection. This was a Japanese orchestrated "victory," and the same bullying, vote swapping and "influencing" that Japan deployed at CITES to prevent marine protection is also entrenched to dictate the fate of the whales at the IWC. read more »

Whales Could Help Save the Planet - But Who Will Save the Whales?

(Dive Travel Business News - April 24, 2010) - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986. A new whaling "peace plan" proposal on the table by the IWC serves to mollify the three countries who are currently whaling in blatant disregard for the worldwide whaling moratorium. The whaling proposal, if ratified at an upcoming meeting of the IWC in June, will save commercial whaling from the brink of extinction, but not the whales.

A philosophical shift has taken place since 1946 when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed to coordinate the different national whaling industries. Since the first post-war wage-earners with disposable income had the awesome thrill of seeing a whale up close - whether snorkeling, diving, whale-watching or on TV - many of the world's citizens learned that a whale's life has more value alive than dead. read more »

Peter Hughes Adds Shark Savers to its Conservation Efforts

(Dive Travel Business News - April 25, 2010) - Miami FL --In conjunction with its worldwide live-aboard fleet, Peter Hughes Diving will donate $30 for every guest that travels on a Dancer Fleet yacht in 2010 to help fund this vital campaign.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 22, 2010) -- At Beneath the Sea this past March, we heard it straight from Her Deepness, when legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle was conducting a seminar with renowned marine artist Wyland entitled, "Ten Years to Save Our Oceans."

Asked what is the one thing we can do to help the oceans in time, Dr. Earle's reply was:
"Don't eat tuna." read more »

A Small Resort's Tips to Make Every Day Earth Day

Utopia Dive Village, Utila Bay Islands, Honduras

(Dive Travel Business News - April 22, 2010) -- As we celebrate Earth Day, there's a small dive resort located on the tiny island of Utila, in the Bay Islands of Honduras that has vowed to make Earth Day every day. Listen up!

Utopia Dive Village, a "remote adventure" dive, fishing and spa resort, is the only resort on Utila that has qualified for eco status through the Honduran Ministry of Environment that acknowledges the hotel and site were developed with strict guidelines to respect the surrounding environment. read more »

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