Watch.
And this is why I despise those folks.
No, no need to elaborate.
Blog about "The World's best Shark Dive" by Beqa Adventure Divers. Featuring up to eight regular species of Sharks and over 400 different species of fish, Shark diving doesn't get any better!
Marine Dynamics provide very high quality shark cage diving experiences.
They operate in a sector where there is rightly a lot of criticism of current practice. Marine Dynamics are industry leaders, a commercial operation which operates to the highest conservation standards, where every trip has a marine biologist aboard to provide interpretation and collect data for scientific research. An operator that makes a significant contribution to conservation and the local economy.
The reefs in Guam and Papua New Guinea are near collapse, with only 10% of the historical estimate of fish biomass present.
Although these declines seem dire, an equally important finding is that fisheries management works. This is a message of hope to those working in conservation.
Over the past decade, many have given up on fisheries management because it is perceived as being too difficult, expensive or beyond the capacity of academics and non-governmental organizations. Many instead turned to MPAs as a blanket solution to marine-conservation challenges.
But to be effective, MPAs need to be protected and enforced, which requires them to be large, old and isolated. Effective MPAs can halt declines, but the build-up of biomass to historical levels takes time. MacNeil and colleagues show that recovery takes at least 35 years, twice as long as previous estimates. Patience, persistence and continued financial investment will be essential to the success of the ocean’s increasing number of MPAs.
As MacNeil and colleagues recognize, MPAs are simply not an option in areas where people depend on fish from reefs.
Coral reefs lie in the waters of more than 100 developing countries, many of which have dense, rapidly growing coastal populations. Enforced MPAs might not be viable because of the burden of displacing fishers, the unknown effects of redistributing fishing and the time it takes for biomass to recover. But the authors show that those reefs that had some form of management, such as restrictions on fishing equipment, species or access, had 27% more fish biomass than reefs open to fishing. Even in depleted reef communities, regulations protecting key species can promote ecosystem resilience and recovery. For example, prohibiting specific equipment can allow herbivorous fishes to recover, promoting coral resilience.
The continuing degradation of the world’s coral reefs underscores the need for tangible solutions that promote recovery and enhance ecosystem functions.
Our results demonstrate that well-enforced marine reserves can support a full suite of reef fish functions given enough time to recover. However, for reefs where marine reserves cannot be implemented, we find that ecosystem functions can be enhanced through various forms of fisheries management. Addressing the coral reef crisis ultimately demands long-term, international action on global-scale issues such as ocean warming and acidification, factors that may diminish recovery potential by approx. 6% over the coming decades. Despite these challenges, a range of fisheries management options is available to support reef resilience and it is likely that some combination of approaches will be necessary for success. Having benchmarks and timelines within an explicit biomass context, such as those provided here, increase the chances of agreeing on, and complying with, a mix of management strategies that will achieve conservation objectives while sustaining reef-based livelihoods.
In conclusion, our comparative analyses indicate that a potential ecological advantage of RM endothermy in fishes is the ability to cruise faster, which not only increases prey encounter rates, but also enables larger-scale annual migrations and greater access to seasonally available resources. We suggest that this advantage, coupled with the previously recognized benefit of thermal niche expansion, could outweigh high energetic costs incurred by RM endothermy and, thus, has facilitated the radiation and diversification of tunas and endothermic sharks. Our analyses also indicate that fishes with RM endothermy are similar to birds and mammals in many respects, including not only high metabolic rates and temperature dependence of muscle function, but also fast cruising speeds and the capabilities of large-scale migrations.
So far no significant decrease in coastal shark populations has been seen, good news for those of us fearing that shark-fin fishing was continuing to damage shark stocks, but we can only confirm this one way or the other by continuing these surveys over the long term.
Chinese Dub Fiji as Best Shark Diving Destination
Nadi, 08 April 2015 – Fiji’s shark dive has gained incredible momentum in the Chinese dive industry and has rightfully received the ‘Best Shark Diving Destination’ Award at the Dive Resort Travel (DRT) Expo in Shanghai.
The DRT Expo, the only professional diving exhibition in China, is an event developed for the diving industry of Shanghai and attracts exhibitors – enthusiastic diving resorts and live-aboard operators – from all over the Asia-Pacific region.
The three-day event, from 20-22 March, provided the exhibitors a chance to actively participate and exchange information pertaining specifically to the dive industry ranging from destinations to best diving techniques and equipment.
Fiji was voted as the Best Shark Diving Destination after EZDIVE Magazine carried out an analysis of its members (the Chinese divers) and Fiji came out on top. Tourism Fiji’s Marketing Manager for the Asia Market, Ms. Kathy Koyamaibole who attended the Expo and received the award on Fiji’s behalf shared, “Fiji’s shark dive was definitely ‘top of mind’ for most of the dive clubs and visitors to the expo.” Ms. Koyamaibole adds, “Receiving this award was a formalization of that. Where in the world can you dive and expect to see more than seven species of sharks in one dive while also feeding them without cages!
That’s why Fiji is no doubt the best destination to experience shark diving.”
The declines in the number of sharks and rays restricted to the waters surrounding Cocos are a clear indication that the protected area isn’t working.
New research led by researchers at the University of Victoria raises serious concerns about the ability of marine protected areas (MPAs) to effectively protect wide-ranging iconic species, such as sharks and rays.
Although management efforts have increased in the past decade, illegal fishing still occurs within the island’s waters (Arias et al. 2014). It is unclear if the Cocos Island MPA is even properly designed (Botsford et al. 2003) to protect such large and wide-ranging species (Hooker and Gerber 2004; Gr¨uss 2014).
Conservation efforts at Cocos Island cannot be focused simply on expanding the protected area (Arias et al. 2014); rather, efforts should be put toward increasing enforcement and management (Kelaher et al. 2015). Costa Rica’s efforts to increase their MPA coverage are admirable, but the establishment of MPAs cannot be the end point. Explicit plans and dedicated funding for monitoring and enforcement must be in place to prevent the creation of a network of paper parks. These plans need to include using both theory about MPAs and empirical data (White et al. 2011). Further, there must be stronger penalties for noncompliance with MPA rules to offset the potential gains of illegal fishing (Arias et al. 2014).
We recommend that monitoring and enforcement of Costa Rica’s MPAs be increased substantially and that international environmental NGOs and foundations contribute to these efforts. Such efforts are urgently required if Cocos Island is to recover its elasmobranch populations and claim its status as a truly successful MPA.