Eco Alerts

(Dive Travel Business News - November 12, 2012) -- Project Aware Foundation -- Scientists have witnessed a “promising” recovery in the coral reefs around the Maldives, a recent survey has revealed. The results show that some reefs now have more live coral cover than before the catastrophic El Niño bleaching event in 1998, which killed 95 percent of the country’s reefs – a key attraction for foreign tourists.

The project was set up by international conservation non-profit organisation Biosphere Expeditions. Scientists from the UK-based Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and the Maldives Marine Research Centre (MRC) surveyed areas known to have suffered from heavy bleaching.

The reef check conducted in September showed that many badly damaged reefs have recovered to populations in excess of 60 percent live coral. On one site, the survey team found there was more coral cover now than there was in 1997.

The latest findings follow a severe case of coral bleaching in 2010, when the MRC reported a resurgence of coral bleaching following a prolonged sea temperature rise. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - November 8, 2012) -- Palau -- Palau’s law enforcement officers, with help from activists from Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza, have sunk 3 fish aggregation devices (FAD) illegally deployed in Palau’s exclusive economic zone. Just 4 days after signing a MOU, the Palau-Greenpeace joint patrol spotted 5 illegal FADs that Palau enforcement officials sought to dispose of.

“Illegal fishing, including the use of FADs, is not only destroying the livelihood of people in Pacific island countries but also sabotaging our beautiful oceans. We are pleased that Greenpeace is joining our patrol to bring illegal fishers to justice, and send a clear message that we will not tolerate pirate fishing,” said Earl Benhart, Palau's marine law enforcement officer who is part of the joint surveillance and enforcement expedition on board the Esperanza. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - September 5, 2012) -- Costa Rica experienced what experts are calling a "deep" earthquake on Wednesday September 5. The quake registered at 7.6 on the Richter scale.  San Jose suffered some initial power outage and coastal towns near the quake epicenter were evacuated but power was restored in the city on Wednesday night and evacuated locals have since been allowed to return to their homes.

Prior to the quake, a tsunami warning (since canceled) was issued and there were fears that widespread death and destruction would ensue. But the quake's deep location (25 miles underground and 87 miles west of the capital, San Jose) resulted in few structural damages, no tsunami and only one reported death (by heart attack).

Costa Rica is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a 25,000 mile (40,000 km) horseshoe shaped area in the Pacific where 90% of the world's earthquakes occur and where to 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - August 21, 2012) -- “Coral Reefs”, the journal of the International Society of Reef Studies, just published a new study co-written by Dr. Gordon Hendler of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) that details the first occurrence of an invasive species of Pacific brittle star, Ophiothela mirabilis in the Eastern Caribbean.

First observed off southern Brazil in 2000, the brittle star species was previously restricted to Pacific waters, but surprisingly, growing populations have established themselves at distant points in the Atlantic. Its presence near Brazilian and Caribbean ports indicates that O. mirabilis could have been spread by shipping. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 3, 2012) -- MediaMatters.org -- Carbon dioxide emissions are not just warming up our atmosphere, they’re also changing the chemistry of our oceans. This phenomenon is known as ocean acidification, or sometimes as global warming’s “evil twin” or the “osteoporosis of the sea.” Scientists have warned that it poses a serious threat to ocean life. Yet major American news outlets covered the Kardashians over 40 times more often than ocean acidification over the past year and a half. read more »

(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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(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 »

(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 »

(Dive Travel Business News - February 27, 2012) -- According to a report presented by Caribsave at the Cancun COP16 Climate Change Conference, the likely prospect that the ocean will rise one to two metres by the end of the century due to climate change will be disasterous for the Caribbean.  The  report cites 49% of resorts will be damaged or destroyed by a 1 metre sea level rise (SLR). 

According to Dr Murray Simpson of Oxford University who contributed to the study,  said that the report was prepared on a robust actuarial basis and clearly highlights the danger the Caribbean is now in. He emphasized the fact that smaller islands will be disproportionately affected and that the lethal cocktail of high water levels, coastal erosion and storm surges could reap catastrophic damage in the area.

The report outlines the future for the Caribbean with a rising tide caused by climate change:
 
* Sea level rise will be relatively more pronounced in the Caribbean than other coastal areas of the world; read more »