Malaysian dive operators issue statement on Sipadan reef disaster May 24, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, Travel , add a comment
I know there has been plenty of news and articles written on various sites regarding the incident on Sipadan, regarding a construction barge which had apparently destroyed some reef there. Willy Volk at Divester has been covering the story in great detail. Well, it seems that the diving operators have issued a statement which supports the authorities in their attempt to build some kind of infrastructure on the island. This will undoubtedly annoy some of the scuba divers who have been saying that there is no need for any building work to be undertaken on the island, but here is a statement via finsonline.com
WKPP scuba divers break own cave diving record at Wakulla Springs May 23, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : CaveDiving, Conservation , 2comments
I recently posted about the WKPP’s plans for extending their exploration of Wakulla Springs this year, due to increased visibility in the cave. Well, it appears that they have done just that, as reports start to surface following a 24 hour dive conducted by the team last weekend.
Jarrod Jablonski and Casey McKinlay managed to extend the cave by 3,000 feet, following a tunnel they found at around 17,000 feet in the cave. The bottom time was around 7 hours at an average depth of 300ft (90 mtrs) and they spent a further 14 hours in decompression.
(more…)
IFAW launch whalesong competition to help save humpbacks May 22, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation , add a commentThe International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) this week launched the “Whale Remix Project,” an online contest where you can create your own song using the sounds from an humpback whale. The songs are judged by a panel of celebrity’s (thankfully Simon Cowell will not be a judge!), well actually, the panel will judge the top ten songs which are initially picked by the IFAW.
“This contest provides a fun way to connect people with these magnificent creatures and their unique songs, and to promote citizen action to protect them in the face of a new whaling offensive by Japan,” said Greg Wetstone, U.S. director for IFAW. “We hope this effort will encourage music pros and amateurs alike to take an interest in the future of the planet’s whales, and especially the endangered humpback.”
Artificial reef success in the sea off Pulau Tioman, Pahang May 10, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation , 1 comment so far
Corals take a long time to grow, at a rate of around 1cm per year, and therefore once damaged, underwater habitats can take many years to recover, if at all. Work is being done to try and rebuild some of these damaged corals and environmental science graduate Wong Leong Sze of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has been spending the last two years cultivating corals on a new artificial reef called Aquascape, designed by an enthusiastic underwater photographer and advertising executive, Daniel D’Orville, says the article from the Malaysian Star
(more…)
Scientists Shocked to Find ‘Dead Zone’ at Epicenter of Tsunami’s Earthquake December 14, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, News , add a commentA “DEAD zone” devoid of life has been discovered at the epicentre of last year’s tsunami four kilometres beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean.
Save Coral Reefs with eLearning, Scuba Diving Stylee December 14, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation , add a commentBeautiful Oceans has recently announced the world’s first coral reef online science course designed for recreational scuba divers and snorkellers. The first course, in a series of five, is available at the beautiful oceans eAcademy and will be taught at scuba diving centres in the Caribbean from early next year.
Beautiful Oceans donates 1% of its annual income, or 10% of its annual pre-tax profit, to environmental initiatives, which is a cool thing to do helping the worlds ecosystem.
�We aim to educate and protect, while increasing the enjoyment that people get from scuba diving coral reefs,� says Stephan Becker, President and co-founder of Beautiful Oceans. �Our courses provide a well-rounded introduction to Caribbean coral reef biology to anyone, whether they take to the water or not; for those that scuba dive or snorkel, this will complete their in-water experience, and will bring an end to those confused post-dive comments like: �did you see that�erm�blue fishlike creature?�.�
