Awesome volunteer opportunity for 16-19 year olds!

We just wrote that our friends at Projects Abroad looking for a Volunteer Coordinator. Since they need a volunteer coordinator, they obviously also need volunteers and are looking for 16-19 year old adventurers, who would like to live and work in Cambodia for a couple of weeks. The volunteers will be able to get SCUBA certified and help out with local conservation and community projects. What an awesome opportunity!

Here is all the info you from their website.

2 Week Summer Program

Sunday June 21st 2015 - Saturday July 4th 2015 Sunday July 12th 2015 - Saturday July 25th 2015 Sunday August 2nd 2015 - Saturday August 15th 2015

2 Week Winter Program

• Sunday December 6th 2015 - Saturday December 19th 2015

• Placement location: Koh Sdach
• Types of placement: Diving and Conservation
• Accommodation: Shared Dorms
• Age Requirements: 16-19 years old

Volunteers joining our Conservation & Community project in Cambodia will travel to the tropical island of Koh Sdach where you will live in a house over the water, in the local village. The facilities are basic, but you will become part of this tiny island community, learn to dive and take part in conservation and community projects.

During your stay you will complete an internationally recognised PADI Open Water course to qualify you to dive. In the initial stages when you're in shallow water, you will learn how to breathe, clear your mask and equalise pressure. You will also become familiar with the buddy system and underwater sign language.
Once you have qualified, you will take part in clean-up salvage dives and seahorse search dives. You will also take part in a jungle trek and help with a beach clean-up. You will also join a practical community project, which may be clearing land and building a children's playground, helping to build an incinerator or an aquaculture pond.
During the two weeks you may also have chance to join a village fun day - playing games and running fun water-based activities with the village children.
This placement is fully researched, safety audited and risk assessed in accordance with the British Standard BS8848 for the Adventure Travel Sector.

For more information, click here, to apply, click here

Projects Abroad is an awesome organization that is helping people and the environment around the world. I have had the pleasure of working alongside them in Fiji and can attest to the fact, that the work feels more like an adventure than working. Here is your opportunity to have an adventure and the knowledge that you made a difference.

I hope you'll get to help them out and have an awesome time!

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

Australia. Sabotaging Eco Tourism?

I hate to say it, but Australia is at it again. After hunting down a tagged shark for simply being too close to shore, they now have declared their intention to "opt out of protections for 5 shark species".

The guardian writes that The government is submitting a “reservation” against three species of thresher shark and two species of hammerhead shark listed as protected migratory species under the UN-administered convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals.
  
The five types of shark were among 31 species granted new protection status at a convention summit in November. A record 21 species of shark and ray, including sawfish, were put on the list along with polar bears, whales and gazelles.

Although Australia did not object to the listings in November, it is now seeking to opt out of the commitment to cooperate with other countries to ensure the five migratory shark species do not become extinct. The expanded list is due to come into effect on 8 February.

Since sharks are a vital part of a healthy ocean environment it seems that the government is not too concerned about losing all the tourists who visit Australia to dive and enjoy the incredible reefs they have. The only ones they care about is the fishermen. The article quotes Alexia Wellbelove, senior program manager at Humane Society International "the opt-out was to appease commercial and recreational fishers, some of whom catch threshers and hammerhead sharks as primary catch or as bycatch for other species. “This is a political decision, it has nothing to do with conservation, which is pretty pathetic really,” she said. “Australia has always spoken out against other countries making reservations under these kinds of treaties, so this move is really concerning.

The article states "A spokesman for the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, said the government’s move was to avoid “unintended consequences” for fishers in Australia, who would risk being fined up to $170,000 and face two years in jail even if they obeyed their permits.  

So they say that their laws are too harsh for the fishermen who kill these sharks and instead of changing the punishment for the killing, they just kill the protection for these sharks. Sound reasoning indeed. (sharkasm intended)

Read the entire article here 

Dashark's reaction here 

I recommend that you send your opinion to the Australian tourism website here and click on the feedback link.  You can also visit their Facebook page and leave a comment there.

If the politicians won't listen to us, maybe their tourist board is more receptive.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver
 
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

Worlds Largest Marine Reserve? Yes!

Great news for all of us who love the Great White Sharks and all the other creatures that live in the Ocean! The New York Times reports that  Australia Plans World’s Largest Marine Reserve.

According to the report:

Australia plans to create the world’s largest network of marine reserves, encompassing a 3.1 million square kilometer patchwork of coastal waters, the government announced Thursday. The move is aimed at balancing protection for the country’s delicate reefs and marine life, which are facing growing environmental pressures, with the demands of its booming resource-driven economy.

Shredder, swimming at Guadalupe Island

It's great to see that Australia takes a major step to protect the marine environment. The article further states; fishing and oil and gas exploration would be restricted in nearly one-third of Australia’s territorial waters, an area of 1.2 million square miles that includes the pristine Coral Sea off the country’s northeastern coast and the iconic Great Barrier Reef.

Read the complete article

We at Shark Diver  are applauding  Australia for this action and hope that it will encourage other countries to follow suit.

Cheers,


Martin Graf
Dive Operations Manager
Shark Diver/Horizon
Isla Guadalupe, Mexico

“Now we know that while white sharks across Australia can mix, the intriguing thing is that they seem to return to either east or western regions to breed,” Bruce said.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1durs)

“Now we know that while white sharks across Australia can mix, the intriguing thing is that they seem to return to either east or western regions to breed,” Bruce said.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1d

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Law of Attraction - Baited Cams

Currently being passed around the blue blogs some interesting research video from Australia:

Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) have been developed by AIMS scientists in order to monitor the vast areas of deeper inter-reef and shelf habitats inaccessible to research divers so that important bioregions there can be included in marine protected areas.

BRUVS consist of tourist-grade “HandiCam” video cameras in simple underwater housings made of PVC sewer pipe and acrylic, with a canister of minced pilchards on the end of a bait arm in the field of view. The housings are held in steel frames, and are deployed in strings of four to six under separate ropes and floats, to be picked up after one or two hours filming at the seabed.

Baited videos record species attracted to the bait plume or camera station, species attracted to the commotion caused by feeding and aggregation at the station, species occupying territories within the field of view of the camera, and species indifferent to the station but present in or passing through the field of view during the deployment.

The range of fish, sharks, rays, sea snakes and other animals sighted on BRUVS tapes has been remarkable – over 300 species to date, from 3cm leatherjackets to 3m hammerhead sharks.

White Sharks - Isla Guadalupe - Video Snack

Over at the Dorsal Fin Blog a very nice video expose on the perils of fishing at white shark hot spot Isla Guadalupe.

Catching a 100lb tuna at this site is exciting, having said tuna "whomped on" by a 15 foot great white? Priceless.

Hammers in Love?

Swim at Your Own Risk blog got the scoop from Perth yesterday featuring a video shot from the air of Hammerheads schooling off the coast.

Local experts think this is high seas shark love in action.

We'll let you decide.

Video Here.

NY Times Featuring Industry Member

If there's one thing we like to see it's well balanced and pro industry reporting in the major media.

Too often the industry receives a black eye when operators fail to heed basic media commandments.

As in "Thou shalt not do extreme shark diving media, ever".

It is once again gratifying to see Beqa Adventure Divers in 2010 leading the charge with a well balanced article by Greg Winters.

All the commercial elements are open for review in this article, featuring the pros and cons of the commercial shark diving industry. Coming on the heels of last weeks anti-shark diving media orgy in South Africa - this is fair and balanced reporting.

It could not have come at a better time.

Kudos.

Senior Associate, Global Shark Conservation - Job Opening

Senior Associate, Global Shark Conservation

The Organization The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improving public policy, informing the public and stimulating civic life. Based in Philadelphia, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, Pew produces fact-based research and develops practical solutions to challenging issues. We are an independent nonprofit organization--the sole beneficiary of seven individual charitable funds, with assets of $5.2 billion at the end of June 2008, established between 1948 and 1979 by two sons and two daughters of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. Pew provides an exciting learning environment and the opportunity to work with highly talented individuals. It is a dynamic organization that values creativity and innovative thinking and fosters strong teamwork with mutual respect. The Pew Environment Group The mission of the Pew Environment Group is to promote policies and practices that protect the global atmosphere, preserve large intact wilderness ecosystems and conserve living marine resources. For the past two decades, the Environment group has been a major force in driving conservation policy in the United States, and increasingly internationally. The group’s work is focused on reducing the scope and severity of three major global environmental problems: Dramatic changes to the Earth’s climate brought about by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the planet’s atmosphere; The erosion of large wilderness ecosystems that contain a great part of the world’s remaining biodiversity; and, The destruction of the world’s ocean environment, with a particular emphasis on marine fisheries. Global Shark Conservation Sharks roamed the seas for nearly 200 million years before dinosaurs were on the planet. However, due to the onset of industrialized fisheries in the last fifty years, many populations of large sharks have declined globally by approximately 90 percent. The world's increasing demand for shark fins, used for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup as well as other products, is killing up to 73 million sharks a year—a rate that is highly unsustainable. Sharks are highly vulnerable to overfishing, as they are generally slow-growing and reproduce late in life with few offspring. As a result, entire shark populations may disappear within our lifetime. The Global Shark Conservation is designed to reverse this decline of shark populations through public education, advocacy and research. With overlapping jurisdictions over shark fisheries, the campaign will work within both international governance bodies (such as regional fisheries management organizations and the United Nations) and treaty organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to secure precautionary, science-based protections for sharks. Domestically, the campaign will work to secure stronger shark management within the U.S. as well as in other coastal nations that still have large populations of sharks left in their territorial waters. Position Overview The campaign senior associate will work with the director of the Global Shark Conservation to provide the information and assistance necessary to design and carry out the campaign strategy. The Global Shark Conservation is designed as a two-year effort which begins April 1, 2009 and will run through March 31, 2011. The position may be renewed, pending its progress and the availability of continued financial support. This position will report to the project director and is based in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities:

Assist the project director and other campaign staff in developing and implementing campaign strategy. Work with the Manager of the shark campaign to develop and execute outreach events with coalition members internationally and domestically to educate and influence policy makers. Manage special outreach projects for the campaign that raise public, media and policymaker awareness of the need for shark conservation. These projects could include managing video projects, working with film and television producers to secure “calls to action” in nature programming, or arranging speaking engagements for the campaign with target audiences. Work with PCT and PEG communications to develop and implement a strategy for new media outreach. Assist in developing public, policymaker, and media outreach strategies for the campaign in target regions of the world, such as in Asia, Latin America, or the Pacific. Create compelling materials for the campaign, including website content, fact sheets, coalition letters, etc. Research and write campaign materials, such as reports, booklets, fact sheets and web content. Represent the campaign at meetings and on conference calls within Pew, with partner groups, federal agencies, and Congress. Maintain knowledge of shark management activities worldwide.

Requirements:

Four to 8 years of experience in environmental and public policy required. An advanced degree or equivalent experience is required. Expertise in marine issues are strongly preferred. Able to set short- and long-term planning goals in line with program strategy. A task-oriented style, with focus on achieving clear and ambitious goals. Demonstrated ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization. Able to develop and move projects forward with a high degree of independence and autonomy. Excellent written and oral communications skills, including an ease in communicating complex concepts in a clear effective manner for a general audience. A detail and results-oriented style with a focus on process and achievement. Recognized ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization. Demonstrated strong analytical skills, including an ability to synthesize large amounts of information and to focus quickly on the essence of an issue. A strong commitment to producing measurable results. Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop and manage productive relationships with consultants, partners, grantees and others who contribute to the effectiveness of the project. Able to establish credibility quickly and to develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external parties, including grantees. Experience with media and other communications strategies to deliver policy recommendations and/or scientific findings to policy makers and the public desired. Fluency in other languages a plus. Knowledge of shark conservation issues a plus. Some travel for this position may be required, including attending international meetings impacting shark conservation, as needed, and/or visiting campaign consultants working around the world on domestic shark conservation measures. Application for job here.

Ensenada Fish Market, Mexico Y.O.Y

We got quite a few private emails this week from divers and from those that did not or could not believe white shark pups were for sale at the Ensenada Fish Market.

Here's another look. It's an ongoing issue and one best reviewed by the locals in Ensenada. There are many government agencies that oversee fisheries management within walking distance of this market yet in the few years we have been documenting this-more of these animals have been showing up for sale.

Typically these young of the year are sold as swordfish. Many times the skin is ripped off so identification is almost impossible...that's if you know where to look for the skin.

Until Mexico decides to effect change, this is the continuing fate of white shark pups here at this site. Unfortunately these are not Mako pups on display.

US to Drop Hydrazine Bomb On Ocean

The Pentagon announced today that it will be trying to shoot down a "highly toxic" dying U.S. spy satellite somewhere into the ocean on March 5th, 2008.

They are worried that this bird will impact an area where humans live-due to the onboard cargo of Hydrazine.

"Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable, especially in the anhydrous form. Symptoms of acute exposure to high levels of hydrazine in humans may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma, and it can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liquid is corrosive and may produce dermatitis from skin contact in humans and animals. Effects to the lungs, liver, spleen, and thyroid have been reported in animals chronically exposed to hydrazine via inhalation. Increased incidences of lung, nasal cavity, and liver tumors have been observed in rodents exposed to hydrazine."

And that's just what WIKI says about this stuff. Obviously the folks in the Pentagon will not mention all the other super secret and potentially damaging chemicals on board for fear of mass panic on the land side of things. In fact they are even declining to mention what kind of bird this really is...which leaves us wondering along with about 7000 blogs nationwide, is this a Nuke Bird?

Sperm Whale Hunt Closed-Japans Fleet Turns Back

TOKYO, Japan (CNM) -- Researchers aboard Japanese whaling vessels have "completely halted" their much-criticized hunt for Sperm Whales in the seas near Antarctica, after finding "something unusual" in a freshly harvested whales stomach.

"On Monday we received frantic reports of a human like form inside a whale", said the chief Japanese government spokesman Hachimura Mobutatka.

Sperm Whales are known to feed on Giant Squid in Antarctic waters and remains of these massive cephalopods as long as 120 feet have been recovered.

Meanwhile, the International Whaling Commission, having received the same "stunning reports", have halted all whaling activities in Antarctica by it's members.

The IWC chairman has asked Japan not to hunt Sperm whales in the foreseeable future until lab tests are completed on the "human like form" found inside the dead whale.

"We're happy about the whaling fleet pull out, amazed by the news...and just a little bummed", said David Greenwright spokesman for the Environmental Whaling Coalition. The groups members had planned to put themselves between harpoon and whales, using water jets to block harpoon shots. "Now we're back in New Zealand with nothing to do".

This latest underwater Onion was brought to you by Shark Diver If it's safe to go in the water, we'll tell you!