The First Manta Ray born in Captivity June 21, 2007
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation , 1 comment so far
Some interesting news coming from Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. They have managed to breed some Manta Rays in their aquarium. The new baby is a female and measures about 1.9 inch in width. As its mother is over 4 mtrs wide, it looks like there is a bit of growing yet to do! Read more about it here
Divers Illegally Overcrowding Sipadan September 7, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, News , add a commentNow that the news about the accident at Sipadan involving a construction barge destroying a portion of coral has blown over, it seems that the local diving businesses are being criticised for taking too many divers to the island, endangering the sensitive environment. This from Underwater Times(who have copied it from somewhere but not provided the source);
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New Thai reef is Garbage June 29, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, News , 1 comment so farTHAILAND has dumped 189 old garbage trucks off its southern coast in a bid to build an artificial reef to lure fish for local fishermen.
The trucks, once used to collect refuse in the sprawling Thai capital Bangkok, were dropped into the Gulf of Thailand, about 5.5 km from the southern province of Pattani.
Under a project initiated by Thailand’s queen in 2002, everything from concrete pillars to old rail cars have been dumped at 47 sites in the waters off southern Thailand.
Fishery Department official Rangsan Chayakul said about 43 species of fish are now living around these artificial reefs, up from 15 species before.
“The reef will protect shallow-water fishermen from high waves and give them a good source of income,” he said.
There is no news as to whether they cleaned the trucks up first, or whether the reef is suitable for diving.
WWF maps coral reefs in Arabian Gulf June 22, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation , add a commentThe WWF reports that it has helped prepare the first map of coral habitats in the southwestern Arabian Gulf, which highlights some of the most extensive and biologically important reefs around the offshore islands and banks of the United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Qatar’s harbour. This is all part of the Coral Reef Investigations in Abu Dhabi and Eastern Qatar project, which aims to help resource managers assess the quantity and quality of marine resources. From the WWF website;
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Bush creates world’s largest marine sanctuary June 16, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, News , add a comment
US President George W Bush has designated a number of Hawaiian islands as a marine sanctuary. The area, which is nearly as big as California, supports more than 7,000 species, of which a significant number are unique and occur nowhere else. The islands are uninhabited and are important breeding grounds for sea turtles, and are home to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.
From a report by the BBC;
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Grand Bahama to get a new artificial reef June 7, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, WreckDiving , add a commentIt seems that it is all the rage to rid yourselves of an unwanted ship by sinking it as an artificial reef. Although not on the same scale as the USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier which was sunk last month near Pensacola, the tugboat ‘La Rose’ will be sunk on June 12th at Grand Bahama. This news came from DiveNewsWire;
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