Deron Verbeck Sets New US National Record

The United States Apnea Association (USAA) is pleased to announce that Deron Verbeck, a USAA member, set a new US national record in the freediving discipline of Static Apnea with a performance of 7 minutes and 28 seconds on April 2, 2007.

This performance surpasses the previous record of 7:22 held by Deron at the 2007 AIDA Team World Championships in Egypt. New Static Apnea mark of 7:28 set during recent event in Hawaii

This performance was realized during the April Fools No Fins Invitational in Kona, Hawaii on April 2, 2007. The static competition took place in the pool at Jack’s Diving Locker in Kona, Hawaii. Two AIDA judges judged Deron’s performance as valid. Deron stated, “My warm up was shorter than normal, so I did not know how it was going to go. I was feeling pretty bad at four minutes, so I thought it was not going to be my day, but at six minutes I felt much better. I decided to go for it. I felt strong at the finish. ”

Static apnea tests the athlete’s ability to hold their breath for time. The athlete lays face down in the shallow end of a pool with a coach providing for safety signaling and timing. Upon surfacing at the conclusion of their performance the athlete must perform a surface protocol by removing their facial equipment, signaling okay and saying, I am okay, to demonstrate he or she is in control of his or her performance. Other disciplines include tests in depth and distance.

The USAA is a nonprofit association founded on the democratic representation of freediving within the United States and internationally. Founded in 2003, the USAA consists of an active membership dedicated to furthering freediving in the United States and abroad. For more information about the USAA, the U.S. National Freediving Team, and membership please visit www.usfreediving.org.

The International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts. For more information about AIDA please visit http://www.aida-international.org.

Molvania (Jetlag Travel Guide)

As a Molvanian native, I thought at first that this is yet another one of those soulless Western monographs, good only to patronize and condescend to the locals.

Imagine my surprise then when, on close scrutiny, I found how the team at JETLAG has managed to compile an accurate and actually useful guide, an opus that will serve well all travelers, past and future, to Molvania and beyond. I find that the maps especially are a treat in their accuracy and detail, especially considering that you cannot buy maps in Molvania proper. Details of cuisine and local customs are also accurately captured, and their flavor stays with you even longer than the hangover.

There is one omission in this travel guide, however, one that I hope will be addressed in future editions: a section addressing the needs of business travelers is sorely lacking, and visiting business persons will find that they need all the help they can get while transacting their affairs with Molvanian tycoons.

PS - To all Molvanians and neighboring natives who have spoken negatively on this one: please lighten up, this is a fine read (two minutes at a time), one of the best jokes related to that part of the world, enjoy it!

Scientists warn that depleted shark populations disrupt marine ecosystems

In research published in the journal Science, scientists have warned that the depletion of shark populations is disrupting marine ecosystems.

The research suggests that overfishing of sharks releases their prey from predation, causing a knock-on effect down the food chain. A team of biologists from Dalhousie University analysed data from the past 35 years, finding that while 11 shark species had dramatically declined in abundance, 12 of the 14 fish species they prey on had increased.

The lead author of the research, Dr. Ransom Myers, a world-renowned fisheries biologist, sadly passed away on March 27, aged 54.

Read more here...

ReefBase Pacific: Strengthening Information Access and Dissemination in Support of Effective Coral Reef Conservation and Management

Duration: January 2006 – December 2008

Funding: AFD, UNF

Partners: International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), University of the South Pacific (USP), École pratique des hautes etudes (EPHE), South Pacific Environment Program (SPREP)

Objectives
The ReefBase Pacific project will make an important contribution to realisation of the objectives of AFD’s Regional Initiative For The Protection And Management Of Coral Reefs In The South Pacific (CRISP) by:

• Promoting a holistic approach to the protection and management of coral reefs (considering not only ecological, but also social and economical information requirements) by applying the lessons learned from previous and existing activities by ICRAN, ReefBase, GCRMN, and regional partners.


• Mobilizing, standardizing, integrating, disseminating, and promoting the extensive data-, information-, and knowledge-bases currently present, but underutilized, in the South Pacific nations and territories.


• Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of targeted research, by assembling and rationalizing the information needed to build effectively on previous and existing work.


• Providing a vehicle for dissemination of information for coral reef initiatives.

In order to make these contributions effectively, the proposed project has set the following general objectives (in logical order):

• To develop an active, collaborative, region-wide network of coral reef professionals currently involved in the research, conservation, and management of coral reef resources in the South Pacific, who effectively and efficiently share and discuss data, information, issues, and solutions.


• To use the region-wide network to mobilize an unprecedented knowledge-base on coral reef resources and their monitoring, conservation and management in the Pacific, using established methodologies and formats developed by ReefBase, GCRMN, and ICRAN.


• To utilize the network and knowledge-base to create an effective, easily accessible information system which can provide managers, researchers, and reef users with instant access to the wealth of existing and new information relevant to the management and sustainable use of coral reefs in the Pacific.


• To widen the scope, impact, efficiency and effectiveness of current coral reef management and conservation activities, through the development of a network of professionals in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, who communicate and share information.

The project will develop close collaborations with existing information systems and initiatives and seek to coordinate and interlink them together in ReefBase Pacific by jointly developing, disseminating, and promoting relevant, high quality information products for specific, targeted beneficiaries (researchers, managers, policymakers, educators, and the media).

Rare "Prehistoric" Shark Photographed Alive

Flaring the gills that give the species its name, a frilled shark swims at Japan's Awashima Marine Park on Sunday, January 21, 2007. Sightings of living frilled sharks are rare, because the fish generally remain thousands of feet beneath the water's surface.


Spotted by a fisher on January 21, this 5.3-foot (160-centimeter) shark was transferred to the marine park, where it was placed in a seawater pool.

"We think it may have come to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," a park official told the Reuters news service. But the truth may never be known, since the "living fossil" died hours after it was caught.

See these photos and more at National Geographic

Shark Declines Threaten Shellfish Stocks, Study Says

Dramatic declines of large North Atlantic sharks due to overfishing have upset the balance of entire marine ecosystems, a new study shows. Now scallops, clams, and oysters are paying the price. Smaller sharks, skates, and rays that are normally eaten by the large sharks have become so abundant that they are ravaging shellfish stocks, the researchers say.

Read more at National Geographic...

Dive In To Earth Day 2007

Dive In To Earth Day is an international Earth Day celebration that mobilizes environmentally conscious communities, park managers, dive shops and other marine lovers around the world to take a stand in protecting our endangered water world.

Dive In has become a huge driving force for environmental awareness and has involved thousands of participants in active marine conservation. In the past seven years, Dive In organizers have held 2,000 marine conservation events in 117 countries worldwide, removing trash, educating children and their communities, supporting marine protected areas, and much more.

Sign up their website here...

Millionaire diver wins right to explore wreck of the Lusitania

Mystery surrounding the sinking of the Lusitania may be resolved after the American owner of the Cunard liner won his case to dive on the wreck.

The decision by the Supreme Court in Dublin, the highest court in the Irish Republic, to overturn a refusal for an exploration licence from the Arts and Heritage Ministry clears the way for Gregg Bemis to realise a 40-year dream to uncover what made “the Greyhound of the Sea” sink so fast after she was torpedoed by a German U-boat off southwest Ireland in May 1915.

Mr Bemis, 78, is planning a dive on the Lusitania, lying in 300ft of water, this summer. But his main research will be conducted next year. “All the equipment that I need has already been booked for this year,” he told Irish newspapers.

Read the full story on Times Online...

Vitamins benefit divers' health

Vitamin doses can reduce ill-effects of scuba diving on divers' circulation, a study suggests. Scientists gave vitamins C and E, which work as antioxidants, to divers. The vitamins stopped ill-effects of the dive on the cells lining blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure and other associated diving problems. But diving experts said the vitamins would have a limited impact.

See more of this on BBC News

Sonaisali Appoints New Sales and Marketing Manager

Sonaisali Island Resort has recently appointed Barbara Scott as Sales & Marketing Manager. Barbara replaces Patrice Belle who is moving back to Australia.

Barbara is originally from Scotland and has lived in Fiji for 3 and a half years. She has an extensive background in tourism marketing and hotel management both in Fiji and in the UK. She has also worked for Fiji Visitors Bureau in Nadi.

Sonaisali Managing Director, Aaron McGrath, is delighted to welcome Barbara to the team. “Her knowledge and enthusiasm will be an asset to the Resort” said Aaron. “We are delighted to welcome her on board”. Barbara is looking forward to meeting Industry Partners at future Industry Trade Events.

First post to get started

First post here just to get started.

Fiji joins World Oceans Day event - Fiji Times Online

Fiji joins World Oceans Day event - Fiji Times Online:

"Fiji joins World Oceans Day event

Amelia Vunileba
Friday, June 08, 2007

Mere Seeto, left, and Soloila Naceba of John Wesley College watch a gold fish at the Environment Week display in Suva.+ Enlarge this image

Mere Seeto, left, and Soloila Naceba of John Wesley College watch a gold fish at the Environment Week display in Suva.

Various stakeholders concerned with the environment held exhibitions in Suva yesterday as part of Environment Week.

WWF South Pacific Program co-ordinator Ashwini Prabha said Fiji would join the global community in celebrating World Oceans Day today.

'WWF Fiji, USP's Institute of Marine Resources, the Laje Rotuma Initiative, Department of Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment have actively worked to engage the corporate community in Fiji to support ocean and environmental protection,' she said.

These organisations lead the initiative in Fiji to celebrate World Oceans Day.

Ms Prabha said everyone was connected to the ocean somehow whether they lived along the coast or inland. 'The theme for this year's celebration is food Security Beyond Climate Change' with a particular emphasis on protecting our mangroves, which are a nursery for many of our ocean foods.'"

Fiji joins World Oceans Day event - Fiji Times Online