Save our sharks, Miss Fiji to tell pageant

Please support Fiji's Miss Hibiscus at the South Pacific pageant. She is championing the Fiji Shark Campaign as part of her bid to become Miss South Pacific. This is a great way for us to get the message out! Please spread this on all your Facebook, Bebo, Google + and Twitter networks!

You can support her by voting for her at :misssouthpacificpageant.ws/about-us/contestants-2011.html. You can do it once a day so come back again and again to assist the effort of protecting sharks in Fiji.

Miss Hawaii is FAR ahead at the moment, let's get Miss Fiji up there!

FIJI SUN
Save our sharks, Miss Fiji to tell pageant
writer : SITERI SAUVAKACOLO

Reigning Miss Vodafone Hibiscus Alisi Rabukawaqa will advocate for the stop to the exploitation of sharks across commercial fisheries at the Miss South Pacific Pageant in Samoa next week.

Hibiscus Event Group Executive secretary Aqela Cakobau in a statement said Miss Rabukawaqa would use the pageant as a platform to advocate for shark protection.

“This issue has prompted me to use the Miss South Pacific Pageant platform to champion the protection of the shark species, a species that is held in high regard (as a totem) in the Pacific, and particularly in Cakaudrove where my mother hails from.

“Sharks have a critical role to play in keeping the marine ecosystem in balance,” the Bua lass said.

“As Pacific island people who rely heavily on our marine resources we must be in the forefront of protecting these resources and support initiatives that drive governmental policy changes to save sharks from extinction and at the same time protect the future health of our seas.”

Preparations began in October for Miss Rabukawaqa. Brothers Craig and Warwick Marlow design her sulu/sarong category wear, award winning designer Epeli Tuibeqa who’s designing her traditionally-inspired category costume, music composer Igelesi Ete is assisting with her talent. Head of Communication at the Fiji National University Shailesh Lal is also working with her on her communication and public speaking skills.

The Hibiscus Event Group is funding all aspects of Miss Fiji’s preparations and trip to Samoa and Pure Fiji is donating gift packs for Miss Fiji’s fellow contestants.

The Miss Fiji entourage will leave for Samoa on Sunday December 4.

The Miss South Pacific Pageant proper will take place on Saturday December 10 at the Samoa Cultural Centre.

Vote for Miss Fiji

Save our sharks, Miss Fiji to tell pageant

Reigning Miss Vodafone Hibiscus Alisi Rabukawaqa will advocate for the stop to the exploitation of sharks across commercial fisheries at the Miss South Pacific Pageant in Samoa next week. Hibiscus Event Group Executive secretary Aqela Cakobau in a statement said Miss Rabukawaqa would use the pageant as a platform to advocate for shark protection. “This issue has prompted me to use the Miss South Pacific Pageant platform to champion the protection of the shark species, a species that is held in high regard (as a totem) in the Pacific, and particularly in Cakaudrove where my mother hails from. “Sharks have a critical role to play in keeping the marine ecosystem in balance,” the Bua lass said. “As Pacific island people who rely heavily on our marine resources we must be in the forefront of protecting these resources and support initiatives that drive governmental policy changes to save sharks from extinction and at the same time protect the future health of our seas.” Preparations began in October for Miss Rabukawaqa. Brothers Craig and Warwick Marlow design her sulu/sarong category wear, award winning designer Epeli Tuibeqa who’s designing her traditionally-inspired category costume, music composer Igelesi Ete is assisting with her talent. Head of Communication at the Fiji National University Shailesh Lal is also working with her on her communication and public speaking skills. The Hibiscus Event Group is funding all aspects of Miss Fiji’s preparations and trip to Samoa and Pure Fiji is donating gift packs for Miss Fiji’s fellow contestants. The Miss Fiji entourage will leave for Samoa on Sunday December 4. The Miss South Pacific Pageant proper will take place on Saturday December 10 at the Samoa Cultural Centre. Please support Fiji's Miss Hibiscus at the South Pacific pageant. She is championing the Shark Campaign as part of her bid to become Miss South Pacific. This is a great way for us to get the message out! Please spread this email around to all you think may be interested. You can support her by voting for her at www.misssouthpacificpageant.ws misssouthpacificpageant.ws/about-us/contestants-2011.html Miss Hawaii is FAR ahead at the moment, let's get Miss Fiji up there!

Save our sharks, Miss Fiji to tell pageant
FijiSun Newspaper Daily E News

Sea Save Foundation - Auction Home Page - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

The Sea Save Foundation Holiday Auction is now open!

The proceeds will go to Sea Save Foundation in order to support ocean conservation.

Auction items range from exotic diving vacation getaways, diving equipment and gear, underwater photography courses by noted oceanographers, and incredible hand crafted works of art guaranteed to delight and surprise.

So, tell your friends, family, and community. Let the bidding begin!

Sea Save Foundation - Auction Home Page - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

Ocean In Focus Contest Winners Announcement

 

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Click on the info icon at the top left of each photo to learn details.

Congratulations to Terry Goss of San Francisco, California, the Grand-Prize winner of the Ocean in Focus Conservation Photo Contest for his image of a blue shark taken off the coast of Rhode Island with a rusted hook protruding from its lower jaw. The shark in this image was caught by a longline fishing vessel, a method of fishing that historically resulted in bycatch of non-target species such as sharks, turtles and seabirds. While the introduction in recent years of circle hooks has reduced bycatch, particularly of turtles, there is more work to be done. Read the interview with Terry Goss>>

For submitting the photograph depicting his personal encounter with one of nature’s most beautiful, but threatened, predators, SeaWeb and Lindblad Expeditions are sending Goss and a friend on a 10-day adventure aboard the National Geographic Endeavor to the Galapagos Islands! Lindblad Expeditions voyages the world in alliance with the National Geographic Society to inspire people to explore and care about the planet.

First Prize goes to Peri Paleracio of Quezon City, the Philippines, for his picture of a boat in the Philippines with plastic and trash pollution suspended in the water. This over-under shot illustrates the often-unseen view of the impact of littering on the ocean. Paleracio will celebrate his win in Fiji with a dive vacation from Matava, Fiji’s Premier Eco-Adventure resort.

George Stoyle and Frank Baensch have both been awarded honorable mentions for their photographs. Stoyle submitted a powerful image of frozen tuna being transferred from a fishing vessel to a carrier vessel. Baensch's image shows the danger posed by abandoned gill nets to coral reef ecosystems and how the nets continue to fish long after the fishermen have left the location. Green Fins Association, Thailand, won the honorable mention prize for the "Most Hopeful" photograph, which demonstrates the infectious power of community-based beach cleanups and how local children can play a role in environmental stewardship.

The Marine Photobank would like to thank the prize donors and supporters, and all the contest participants for submitting compelling photos illustrating human impacts on marine ecosystems, and ones that inspire hope for ocean health. We hope that both of the top prize winners will keep up with the Marine Photobank and tell us all about their travels through photos and stories.

Learn About the Incredible Prizes
Read the Interview with Grand Prize Winner, Terry Goss
View Contest Submissions Gallery
For More Information About the Contest

Thank You to Our Prize Donors! Please learn more about these amazing and generous companies by clicking on the logos and links below.

Lindblad Expeditions
Matava Eco-Resort	Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo
NativeEnergy	Bob Talbot Productions
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Ocean In Focus Contest Winners Announcement

Wind down and enjoy - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

My wife I have just returned from Matava. What a great bunch of people. They have such a huge amount of knowledge of the land and marine environment around them lends for a great experience on anything you decide to do whilst at Matava. The accomodation is well laid out and each bure is far enough apart that you can have as much privacy as you need. We went primarily to dive and we weren't disappointing. They have great set up, two main dive boats supported by smaller craft. Very professionally run and able to accomodate divers of any experience level. There planning is impeccable and allows them to offer morning dives, afternoon dive and night dives. We dived extesively inside and outside the Astrolobe Reef. This highlight were the Manta Rays.

The resort keeps things as simple as possible but that doesn't mean you miss out on anything. The quality of food and accomodation was very good. Health and wellbeing is very importatnt to the people there and they are very keen to support any special dietary requirements.

They are great supporters of the local community thorugh the purchase of produce and services. A very large percentage of the resort team are local people which takes the knowledge of the area to an incredible level. People who know what impact weather will have on diving and when you can and cannot dive in certain areas. We achieved a dive with the Mantas twice because of local knowledge of the weather, the conditions weren't placid but we dived and retrieved divers safely and comfortably.

Overall its the best wind downs I've had for a long time and travelling that bit further to Kadavu was worth every minute of travel.

Room Tip: Ask for one of Honeymoon bures. They are on the edge of the resort but that gives fantastic privacy. Be clear with the guys at the resort if you have any limitations on mobility or specifc requirements. They bend over backwards to make suer people get what they need.

Wind down and enjoy - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor:

Threatened gentle giants: both species of manta ray added to the IUCN Red List

Manta rays are true gentle giants; though they can grow more than 20 feet wide from wingtip to wingtip, they eat only plankton. Swimming with these animals is a rare thrill for SCUBA divers, and manta-viewing ecotourism is worth over $100 million each year. Like many species of sharks, manta rays grow slowly and reproduce rarely.

According to Dr. Nick Dulvy of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, “ they give birth to an average of one offspring every two years…they are a long-lived species with little capacity to cope with modern fishing methods.” They also migrate across huge distances, regularly crossing between national boundaries and spending much of their time on the high seas, making management difficult.

Photo credit: David Shiffman (Georgia Aquarium)

Although their biology cannot support a large-scale fishery and their behavior makes any fishery inherently difficult to manage, manta rays are very much in demand. At least part of them is: their gill rakers. According to Lucy Harrison, program officer for the IUCN Shark Specialist group, “Increasing demand for these fishes’ filter-feeding system for traditional Chinese medicinal purposes, especially in Hong Kong, is rapidly driving down their population everywhere.”

By some measures, the global population of manta rays has declined by more than 30% in recent decades, with some local populations facing much larger declines. Earlier this week, an IUCN Shark Specialist Group team led by Andrea Marshall has concluded that both species of manta ray (thegiant manta Manta birostris and the reef manta Manta alfredi) should be declared Vulnerable* to extinction.

The IUCN Shark Specialist Group recommends that several steps be taken to protect mantas from further population declines. These include creating an international conservation treaty for both species, a CITES listing, and national-level policy changes in countries that fish for mantas. Some of these proposals may benefit from the support of the online conservation community, so please stay tuned! I’ll continue to report on these suggested policies as they moves forward.

* “Vulnerable” in the context of an IUCN Red List status should be capitalized, as should other IUCN Red List statuses. For more information on what “Vulnerable” means, please visit the Red List website here.

Threatened gentle giants: both species of manta ray added to the IUCN Red List