DIVE ME, our new dive boat for Mad Fish Dive Centre

DIVE ME, our new dive boat for Mad Fish Dive Centre
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

The console is in, and the windows tomorrow!

“No Caught Shark Allowed”: Matava leading the Shark Free Marina Initiative in Fiji

Matava and Bite Me Gamefishing Charters in Fiji are taking a leading role in the international shark conservation efforts, organizing Fiji to become the first country to fully participate in the Shark-Free Marina Initiative (SFMI).

The SFMI works with marinas, boaters and fishermen to develop policy designed to protect sharks as a vital component of the oceans health. The SFMI has a singular purpose, to reduce worldwide shark mortality. Working with marinas, fishermen and like minded non-profit groups, the Initiative forms community conscious policy and increase awareness of the need to encourage shark conservation.

Shark Free Marinas work with, not against, the recreational and commercial fishing community, in order to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy shark population for our oceans, and to contribute to their ongoing survival.

Matava, together with partners in Fiji, has helped many marinas and charter fishing boats become SFMI certified, and Fiji now has more certified Shark-Free Marinas than any other country in the world. Stuart Gow, Director of Matava, said that his team has been actively promoting the SFMI, and distributing information about the Initiative, with the long-term goal of making Fiji “the first country to be proud to announce itself as a ‘Shark-Free Marinas’ Country”.

See the map of current Shark-Free Marinas

The majority of shark species caught by recreational and sport anglers are currently listed by the IUCN as “Threatened” (or worse) and each year, half a million of these sharks are killed in the US alone. It is estimated that 70-100 million sharks are killed yearly worldwide.

See IUCN Red List of Threatened Shark Species

About Matava

Matava is an eco adventure getaway in Fiji, offering a unique blend of cultural experiences and adventure activities in the pristine and remote island of Kadavu, Fiji. Matava is a PADI Dive Resort as well as a Project AWARE GoEco Operator, a title awarded to demonstrate a commitment to conservation and provide customers with experiences that enhance visitor awareness, appreciation and understanding of the environment. Matava is also one of the supporters of the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project, which aims to raise global awareness of their imminent extinction of sharks and the crises facing our oceans.

With more than 12 years experience in the Fiji Islands, Matava is recognized as a leading educational dive center. Matava is participating in TIES ecoDestinations project (currently featuring “beaches, marine and coastal ecotourism experience”) as one of the Summer Special 2009 sponsors.

Underwater Thrills:Swimming With Sharks: “No Caught Shark Allowed”: Matava leading the Shark Free Marina Initiative in Fiji

Whale Shark in Kadavu, Fiji

Whale Shark in Kadavu, Fiji with Mad Fish Dive Centre at Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort www.Scubs-Diving-Fiji.com

Ocean in Focus Photo Contest Home 2009

SeaWeb's Marine Photobank and Project AWARE Foundation
2nd Annual

Ocean in Focus
Conservation Photography Contest

The Grand Prize will be awarded to Matthew Potenski. Though Potenski spends his days as the director of field operations at The Shark Research Institute, the winning photo features quite a different subject. His intentions, in June of this year, were to take journalists interested in mangroves into a small lagoon where sharks could be found. Rather than sharks, they stumbled upon this backhoe hard at work dredging the lagoon. His shot of a defiant, young mangrove shoot, standing alone in the path of human destruction is truly inspiring. After showing the image to local authorities in South Bimini, Bahamas, Potenski learned that no permits for the developers to dredge in the area could be found.

Read SeaWeb's interview with Grand Prize winner Matthew Potenski >>
View the prizes page to see what the winners receive >>

Winning photographers will receive the following prizes:

Grand Prize!

• Seven nights ocean-view accommodations at MATAVA, a premier eco-adventure resort in Fiji. Package includes 5 days 2 tank diving for two and 6 days unlimited shore diving for two as well as roundtrip airport transfers.
• Carbon Offsets through NativeEnergy from your home and car for one year plus carbon offset for one round-trip air flight.
• A DVD copy of A Sea Change, The journey of a man and his grandson to uncover the hard science of ocean acidification.

Ocean in Focus Photo Contest Home 2009

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

Coming closer day by day!

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

DIVE ME progresses with canopy and hull complete!

Bryde’s Whales seen the other day off Solo, north of Kadavu

A pod of at least 8 Bryde’s Whales seen the other day off Solo, north of Kadavu...

Breaching and feeding. We'd never seen a Bryde’s Whales breach before.

Bryde's Whale. (2009, October 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:25, October 25, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bryde%27s_Whale&oldid=321942522

Bryde’s Whales are the least-known and in many ways the most unusual of the rorquals. They are small by rorqual standards—no more than about 25 tonnes—prefer tropical and temperate waters to the polar seas that other whales in their family frequent; are largely coastal rather than pelagic, and although they retain the characteristic plates of whalebone that the baleen whales use to sieve small creatures from the waters with, their diet is composed almost entirely of fish.

"Bryde" is pronounced /ˈbruːdə/ ("brooda"), and "Bryde's whale" is sometimes misheard as "brutus whale". The Bryde’s whale is named for the Norwegian consul to South Africa, Johan Bryde, who helped set up the first whaling station in Durban, South Africa in 1908.

Bryde’s whales feed on pelagic schooling fish, such as anchovy, herring and sardine.

They are distributed widely throughout tropical and subtropical waters, with a separate, smaller, pygmy species found in tropical Western Pacific and South-East Asia.

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built for Mad Fish Dive Centre

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built for Mad Fish Dive Centre
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

Newest photos... Uploaded today!

General Arrangement of DIVE ME

General Arrangement of DIVE ME
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

General Arrangement of DIVE ME our new dive boat
www,Scuba-Diving-Fiji.com

www.eco-tropicalresorts.com

Ultimate Eco Escapes
Sport Diver Magazine Sept 2009
Matava named as one of only 6 Ultimate Eco Escapes in the World in Sport Diver Magazine – September 2009

www.eco-tropicalresorts.com

DIVE ME, new dive boat 9 Oct 2009

DIVE ME, new dive boat 9 Oct 2009
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

Chris, the builder of DIVE ME

European Shark Week, 10-18 October

European Shark Week, 10-18 October, is a unique opportunity for European Union citizens and shark advocates around the world to demonstrate their support for shark conservation and effect change.

Project AWARE Director, Suzanne Pleydell and Shark Alliance members present signatures in London

This year, Project AWARE Foundation and Shark Alliance Partners are going back to governments for follow-up action under the EU Shark Plan, most importantly, improvements to the finning ban and quotas of zero for especially threatened shark species.

Why Sign Your Support?
Europe houses some of the world’s largest shark fishing fleets. Strong plans of action here effect global species conservation.

• Sign the shark petition: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
• Share this page with your family and friends.
• Download the paper version of the petition and collect signatures in your school, dive center,or place of work: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
• Hold an event to help celebrate sharks. This could be a presentation, Kid’s activity such as an art contest, shark speciality course, or an information stand. Project AWARE looks forward to receiving your best stories and event photos.

Your voice counts. The European Shark Week 2008 saw the collection of more than 100,000 signatures on a Shark Plan petition for EU Fisheries Ministers. The Ministers have since issued a strong response that highlights the plight of sharks and calls for prompt strengthening of the EU finning ban. Indeed, the Ministers’ words reflect the concerns of a growing number of EU citizens expressed through European Shark Week.

Predator turned prey - Turning the Tide for Sharks
Most European shark populations are declining from overfishing. One-third are threatened with extinction. The EU ban on “finning”, slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea, is among the world's weakest.

Hope lies with the new Shark Plan, adopted by the European Commission thanks in large part to support from many of you. The Plan sets the stage for vast improvements in EU shark policies, including the finning ban. Its success depends on collaboration and action by EU Fisheries Ministers and the European Commission. These fishery managers need encouragement from the European public to follow through on the Plan’s initiatives and truly safeguard sharks.

Project AWARE

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre 7 Oct 2009

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre 7 Oct 2009
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

DIVE ME, new dive boat being built in Navua, Fiji for Mad Fish Dive Centre 7 Oct 2009

Sea fan in Fiji

Sea fan in Fiji
Originally uploaded by Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

Scuba diving at its best on the Great Astrolabe Reef, Kadavu with Mad Fish Dive Centre at Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure And Dive Resort
Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure And Dive Resort