Shark Defenders: SHARK STANLEY

Shark Stanley and his friends were playing on the reef,

When down came a net that swept them away. 

But at last when they escaped, they saw to their grief, 

Their home had no sharks! Leaving it barren and grey. 

Now Stan and his buddies are searching the ocean 

From Bali to Brazil and Bangladesh to Belize

For friends to stand up and cause a commotion 

Because the world needs sharks to help save the seas! 

“Hello friend! My name is Shark Stanley and I am traveling around the world to find friends who will support shark and manta ray protections at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in March.  If you would like to help me with this mission, you can print a picture of me - or my friends Manta Reina, Pierre le Porbeagle, and Waqi Whitetip - cut us out, and take a photo with us anywhere you wish. Then please send us this photo along with your name and where you are from!  My supporters are compiling your photos from around the world to share on their blog and web pages, and sending them to governments voting at CITES to get their support!  Help us reach our goal of finding 50 organizations and celebrities to partner with me, and to collect at least 5000 photos from all 177 CITES countries!”

Send Photos:
Upload your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram tagged with@SharkDefenders, #SharkStanley, and the country where you live (i.e. #USA, #Fiji, #Brazil, etc).

AND 

Email your photos to info@sharkdefenders.com for us to compile into a unique petition. You can also send your photos directly to your country’s CITES representative (follow this link and look up your country).

Partner:
If your organization would like to partner with Shark Stanley at CITES, write a story about us on your blog or website with a link to this page , then email us your logo and five photos of your friends with Shark Stanley to info@sharkdefenders.com.  We'll post your logo and link to your website on a special sponsors' page.

Shark Defenders: SHARK STANLEY

Beautiful views, great diving, wonderful people - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

The diving here is brilliant, fabulous coral, lots of life and Mantas on Manta reef! On the first dive we saw 16 Mantas over the cleaning station and on the second dive they were all still there feeding - it was magic. The second visit was not so amazing but we still saw mantas. 

The reef dives are very varied and the visibility can be fabulous in the channels. Great dive crew.  

Accommodation is well spaced on the hill side - fantastic views, spotless rooms and well maintained grounds. We arrived two days late thanks to Air Pacific but nothing was too much trouble for Maggie to fix to ensure we enjoyed our stay with them and for our onward travel in Fiji, even phoning the next day to make sure we had got there OK.  

We had a package of activities and we were really glad we did them all - we should have planned the week better as we ended up cramming a few of them in towards the end. The spa was excellent, the beach picnic a delight, dinner on the deck was lovely and the local visits were great. All the staff were really friendly and it's a really well run place that we would love to visit again.

• Stayed December 2012, traveled as a coupleBeautiful views, great diving, wonderful people - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji

Best scuba dives in Fiji - TripAdvisor

Best scuba dives in Fiji - TripAdvisor

EU to close shark finning loophole - guardian.co.uk

MEPs vote 566-47 in favour of closing loophole that effectively rendered useless a nine-year-old ban on finningShare

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• John Vidal
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 November 2012 14.42 GMT
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A fisherman holds the dorsal fin of a hammerhead shark. Photograph: Jeff Rotman/Getty Images

The barbaric practice of slicing off the fins of sharks and discarding the live bodies at sea will be outlawed following a historic vote in the European parliament on Thursday. MEPs voted overwhelmingly 566 to 47 to close a legal loophole and ban finning despite opposition from Spain and Portugal.

The EU, which is one of the largest exporters of shark fins to Asia, banned finning in 2003, but in a loophole, companies with freezer vessels applied for "special fishing permits" which allowed them to continue if they landed the fins separately from the bodies. The issuing of these permits has became standard practice, making a mockery of the law.

Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year to meet the demand for shark fin soup, despite the fact that one-third of European shark and ray species and one-third of open-ocean sharks are classified as "threatened" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. EU companies catch sharks in the Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean, and Pacific oceans, and are the largest exporter of shark fins to Hong Kong and mainland China where they are used for a gourmet soup.

Conservation campaigners and animal welfare groups welcomed the vote but said that a finning ban alone was insufficient to save sharks. "Parliament's overwhelming support for strengthening the EU finning ban represents a significant victory for shark conservation in the EU and beyond," said Ali Hood, the Shark Trust director of conservation. "Because of the EU's influence at international fisheries bodies, this action holds great promise for combating this wasteful practice on a global scale."

"This is a milestone in the global effort to end the wasteful practice of shark finning," said Sandrine Polti, EU shark policy adviser for the Pew Environment Group.

"Shark finning is not only immoral but it is threatening the very survival of many native European species. It is astonishing to think that one-third of European sharks are classed as under threat – something I hope will now change," said Scottish MEP Alyn Smith, who has campaigned for strengthening the ban for years.

Conservation groups will now strongly lobby the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), which meets in March 2013 to consider proposals from the EU and US to protect commercially valuable, threatened shark species, including porbeagles, hammerheads, and oceanic whitetips.

Manta rays, a species close to the heart of every diver and every individual who cares about the future of our ocean, are increasingly threatened with extinction

Project AWARE

Manta rays, a species close to the heart of every diver and every individual who cares about the future of our ocean, are increasingly threatened with extinction. They have roamed the ocean for 150 million years and yet we are witnessing their ecocide before our eyes.

Demand for manta ray gill rakers – or the internal feathery structures that strain plankton – has risen drastically, driving untold numbers of deaths for the Asian medicine market. The gruesome and cruel destruction of these gentle creatures is needless, tragic and extremely alarming.

As the environmental voice of the global dive community, Project AWARE is working at every turn to ensure that mantas will not disappear on our watch. Help us ensure maximum protection for these animals before it’s too late. The time is now. Make an urgent donation today to support critical conservation efforts to protect mantas globally.

FACT: Manta ray catch has nearly quadrupled in seven years according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FACT: Project AWARE has a track record of success on this critical issue. In 2011, in coordination with our partners and with your support, we succeeded in safeguarding this wide-ranging, globally threatened species and its key habitats under the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Project AWARE has the global reach and seasoned expertise needed to try to stop this slaughter - but we need your financial support.

FACT: Worldwide value of manta-based tourism and filming is estimated at $100 million USD per year. Manta rays top divers’ must-see list time and again. Divers around the world have of a truly special relationship with marine creatures and  this means we must play a pivotal role in their protection.

Project AWARE is now targeting protection for mantas and their close relatives the devil rays under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – the world’s largest, most effective wildlife conservation agreement. CITES protections offer the best hope for controlling the manta trade globally and ensuring species recovery.

The battle ahead is going to be difficult. But our opposition is underestimating us. Dive supporters span the globe as guardians of the sea from surface to depth. We will not let manta rays die silently and needlessly. Exercise this power, make waves and join together with us in protecting mantas and devil rays today.

Visit the Manta Rays at Risk section of our website for more information on the manta gill raker trade. Thank you for your urgent support!

Fiji Shark Sanctuary Campaign | Coral Reef Alliance

Fiji Shark Sanctuary Campaign | Coral Reef Alliance

CORAL, working in partnership with the Pew Environment Group and the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries, is raising awareness for shark protection in Fiji through an exciting shark conservation campaign.

The campaign's objective is to create a Fijian National Shark Sanctuary that would

• prohibit the commercial fishing of sharks throughout the entirety of the Fijian exclusive economic zone;

• prohibit the import and export of shark products in Fiji;

• prohibit the sale of shark products within Fiji;

• allow recreational catch and release of sharks; and

• allow the incidental, artisanal catch of sharks by citizens of Fiji, assuming the subsequent shark or shark products are not sold.

Click here to read our latest call to action »

Since February 2011, our team has been working on the ground, alongside the Fijian people, to raise support for shark protection. Because effective conservation requires collaboration, we have been engaging and educating local stakeholders from the
confederacies, provinces, districts, and villages to ensure
long-lasting protection for sharks.

CAMPAIGN POSTER While Fiji is home to a high diversity of sharks, many of these species are threatened with extinction globally. Download our shark conservation campaign poster to learn more. Download the poster in English »  Download the poster in Fijian »

ATCH SHARK HOPEDOCUMENTARY As part of our community-based conservation efforts in Fiji, CORAL's field staff and shark sanctuary campaign partners worked with a local production company to produce Shark Hope. Told from a uniquely Fijian perspective, the stories and imagery used in this educational film are a reflection of the local community's rich traditions and cultural identity. Watch the teaser » Watch the full documentary »

Meeting with Ratu Epenisa Cakobau, high chief of Bau Village and the Kubuna Confederacy, who has given his support for shark protection

Sharks have long held a place of respect and worship in Fiji, but past efforts to legally protect them from local and international fishing pressures were met with resistance. Thanks in part to the recent wave of shark sanctuary designations around the world, however, this current campaign is gaining momentum.

In July, Fiji's Department of Fisheries and Forests confirmed that it is reviewing Fiji's fisheries laws and is considering revisions that would include a ban on the trade of all shark fins and other products derived from any shark captured in Fijian waters. If the proposal moves forward, we expect the government to issue an official decree before the year's end. The passing of such a law would make Fiji the first Melanesian country to approve such comprehensive protection for these iconic animals.

The successful passing of the decree is only the first step. The second—and perhaps most important step—is making sure the new policy is effectively implemented. We will work with the Fijian people to make sure communities are aware of the law, understand its importance, and proudly support it.

2012 Great Fiji Shootout - Underwater Photography Seminar and Contest

Underwater Photography Shootout is coming to FIJI!

Hosted by Photo Pro Chris Liles on November 5th-10^th photographers will unleash and hone their skills under Fiji’s Coral Coast’s clear warm tropical ocean. YOU can be one of them and previous experience is not required.

Discover what the Great Fiji Shootout is all about.

About the Great Fiji Shootout

Great Fiji Shootout Schedule and Pricing

Find out more about host pro Chris Liles

Fiji Hideaway Resort and Spa

F.A.Q.

To book your space on the Great Fiji Shootout contact your dive travel agent or visit the Diveaway Fiji contact page.

2012 Great Fiji Shootout - Underwater Photography Seminar and Contest:

Stuart Diver

Stuart Diver

Best diving, fiji | Scuba Diving Magazine

Best diving, fiji | Scuba Diving Magazine:

'via Blog this'

Dakuwaqa's Dream - Scuba Diving in Fiji

NEW GoPro Wi-Fi Combo Kit is Live!

NEW GoPro® Wi-Fi Combo Kit is Live!
Be one of the first to have the NEW GoPro® Wi-Fi Combo Kit which includes Wi-Fi Bac Pac and Wi-Fi Remote.


This new GoPro® accessory offers the ability to control up to 50 cameras at a time, live streaming and ransfers videos to your smartphone or tablets directly from your GoPro®.

The GoPro® Wi-Fi Combo Kit enables remote control, live preview and playback on smartphones and tablets*, live streaming* to the web, and more. 

The GoPro® Wi-Fi Combo Kit is compatible with GoPro® HD HERO2 and Original GoPro® HD HERO cameras.

Wi-Fi Remote:

• Control up to 50 GoPro® cameras a time, 600’ / 180m range

• Full camera control: On/Off, Mode, Shutter, and Settings

• Attachment strap, key ring, and charging cable included

• Wearable & Waterproof to 10’/3m

GoPro® HD Cameras

GoPro® HD Cameras