News
Antigua & Barbuda Implements Environmental Standards for Diving & Snorkelling
The Green Fins initiative hopes to reach 10,000 tourists in the next year.
The Reef-World Foundation – the international coordinators of Green Fins – is pleased to announce Antigua and Barbuda has become the first English speaking country in the western hemisphere to implement the Green Fins initiative. The country is the 10th government worldwide to officially adopt Green Fins and the second in the Caribbean.
Green Fins is a UN Environment initiative, internationally coordinated by The Reef-World Foundation, which aims to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally-friendly guidelines to promote a sustainable diving and snorkelling tourism industry.
Antigua and Barbuda, which has a population of just 100,000, received 285,000 overnight visitors and 1,000,000 cruise ship tourists in 2018. It is estimated there are over 30 businesses which provide either snorkelling or diving activities to these tourists. Reef-World hopes the initiative will significantly reduce the environmental impact on coral reefs by reaching 10,000 tourists in the next year.
The country now has a national team of 2 senior Green Fins Network leaders, 3 Green Fins assessors and 3 dive schools joining the global network of more than 560 trained and assessed Green Fins member dive and snorkel operators. Following a week of training by Reef-World, a national team comprised of the Ministry of Tourism and the Fisheries Division are now certified to recruit, train and conduct assessments of new Green Fins members in the country. This involves providing training about the ecology and threats to coral reefs, simple and local everyday solutions to these threats and Green Fins’ environmental standards to dive and snorkel operators.
The newly trained Green Fins Assessors will be carrying out robust assessments to evaluate the environmental impact of dive and snorkel operators and providing one-to-one consultation to help the business develop and implement best practice to improve the sustainability of the marine tourism industry. The individual feedback and support provided – which includes practical, low-cost alternatives to common threats to the marine environment such as anchoring, provision of single use plastics such as plastic bottles and lack of awareness to existing rules and regulations – is based on each company’s area of highest negative impact on the reef, as determined by the assessment.
Green Fins provides the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving and snorkelling industry and has a robust assessment system to measure compliance. Reducing diving and snorkelling-related damage to sensitive marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, helps to make them more resilient to other local and wider stressors, such as over fishing or run-off from land containing pollutants and plastic debris as well the impacts from climate change, such as rising sea temperatures.
The newly qualified Green Fins assessors, who are now certified to conduct assessments of Green Fins dive centres in Antigua and Barbuda, are Trevor Joseph – Fisheries Division, Sophia Steele – Environmental Awareness Group / Fauna and Flora International and Akeem Daley – Ministry of Tourism. The dive operators who have already been trained and certified by the Green Fins initiative are: Antigua Reef Riders, Dive Carib and Jolly Dive. There has also been significant interest from other operators who have signed the Membership form and are looking forward to their training and assessment.
The implementation of Green Fins in Antigua and Barbuda was made possible through a partnership with the ethical cosmetic company Caudalie, facilitated by the 1% for the Planet movement. In addition to Caudalie helping the environment by dedicating 1% of its global sales to funding reforestation projects, the company has recently released a new reef-safe sunscreen range. By creating a range of sun care products which do not include the harmful chemicals Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, Caudalie is helping to increase the resilience of coral in areas of high tourism.
JJ Harvey, Director at The Reef-World Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to have received the funding from Caudalie that now allows us to implement Green Fins in Antigua and Barbuda and ensure the sustainability of both the programme and the marine tourism industry. Tourism has been growing steadily for several years and the government has shown a strong desire to pro-actively protect the country’s coral reefs and marine life through the implementation of Green Fins’ best practices and standards. This funding that now makes expansion into Antigua and Barbuda possible will not only significantly improve the diving and snorkelling industry’s conservation impact in the region but is also a huge step in the global expansion of the Green Fins network.”
Hon. Charles Fernandez, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister for Tourism and Economic Development, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity. I really applaud the initiative. I congratulate the fisheries department for collaborating with us. It is very important for tourism but even more it is important for us as a people.”
Vashti Casimir, Antigua and Barbuda’s Senior Tourism Officer Responsible for Sustainable Tourism, added: “We’re hoping that through this programme we’ll have more diving and snorkelling businesses coming on board to ensure the practices across that industry remain environmentally friendly.”
Tricia Lovell, Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer at the Fisheries Division, said: “We recognise our coral reefs are under a myriad of threats; not just from use but also from larger issues like climate change and so we figured it would be best to look at ways of improving the way we use the system. This week is just the start and a lot can come out of it and benefit the marine environment.”
The funding to implement Green Fins in Antigua and Barbuda has been provided by the French cosmetic company Caudalie. The company has recently partnered with Reef-World through the 1% for the Planet movement thanks to consultative advice Caudalie received from PUR Project.
For more information, please visit www.reef-world.org or www.greenfins.net.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
The second day’s diving was a day full of wreck diving at Abu Nuhas, which included the Chrisoula K, Carnatic, and Ghiannis D. The first dive of the day was onto the Chrisoula K, also known as the wreck of tiles. The 98m vessel remains largely intact where she was loaded with tiles which can be seen throughout the hold. The stern sits at 26m and the bow just below the surface. One of the highlights of the wreck is heading inside and seeing the workroom where the machinery used for cutting the tiles are perfectly intact. The bow provided some relaxing scenery as the bright sunlight highlighted the colours of the soft coral reef and the many reef fish.
Following breakfast, we then headed to the next wreck, which was the Carnatic. The Carnatic is an 89.9m sail steamer vessel that was built in Britain back in 1862. She ran aground on the reef back in 1869 and remains at 27m. At the time, she was carrying a range of items, including 40,000 sterling in gold. An impressive wreck where much of the superstructure remains, and the two large masts lay on the seafloor. The wooden ribs of the hull provide structures for lots of soft corals, and into the stern section, the light beams through, bouncing off the large shoals of glass fish that can be found using the structure as shelter from the larger predators that are found outside of the wreck.
The final wreck at Abu Nuhas was the Ghiannis D, originally called ‘Shoyo Maru,’ which was 99.5m long and built in Japan back in 1969 before becoming a Greek-registered cargo ship in 1980. The ship then ran aground on the reef on April 19th, 1983, and now sits at the bottom at a depth of 27m. Heading down the line, the stern of the ship remains in good condition compared to the rest of the hull. The highlight of the wreck, though, is heading into the stern section and down the flights of stairs to enter the engine room, which remains in good condition and is definitely worth exploring. After exploring the interior section of the ship, we then headed over to see the rest of the superstructure, where it’s particularly interesting to see the large table corals that have grown at the bow relatively quickly considering the date the ship sank. After surfacing and enjoying some afternoon snacks, we made sure everything was strapped down and secured as we would be heading north and crossing the Gulf of Suez, where the winds were still creating plenty of chop.
The next morning, it was a short hop to Ras Mohammed Nature Reserve for the next couple of days of diving. The 6am wake-up call came along with the briefing for the first site we would be diving, which was Shark & Yolanda. The low current conditions allowed us to start the dive at Anemone City, where we would drift along the steep, coral-filled wall. These dives involved drifts, as mooring in Ras Mohammed wasn’t allowed to protect the reefs. As a dive site, Shark & Yolanda is well-known and historically had a lot of sharks, but unfortunately not so many in recent years, especially not so early in the season. However, there was always a chance when looking out into the blue.
The gentle drift took us along the steep walls of the site, with plenty of anemone fish to be seen and a huge variety of corals. It wasn’t long into the dive before we were accompanied by a hawksbill turtle, who drifted with us between the two atolls before parting ways. Between the two reefs, the shallow patch with parts of coral heads surrounded by sand provided the chance to see a few blue-spotted stingrays that were mainly resting underneath the corals and are always a pleasure to see. With this being the morning dive, the early sunlight lit up the walls, providing tranquil moments. Looking out into the blue, there was very little to be seen, but a small shoal of batfish shimmering underneath the sunlight was a moment to capture as we watched them swim by as they watched us.
Towards the end of the dive, we stopped at the wreck of the Jolanda where the seafloor was scattered with toilets from the containers it was carrying. This provided a unique site to make a safety stop, which was also accompanied by a large barracuda slowly swimming by, along with a hawksbill turtle calmly swimming over the reef as the sun rays danced in the distance.
For the next dive, we headed north to the Strait of Tiran to explore the reefs situated between Tiran Island and Sharm El Sheik, which were named after the British divers who had found them. We started on Jackson before heading to Gordons Reef, where we also did the night dive. All the atolls at these sites provided stunning, bustling coral reefs close to the surface and steep walls to swim along, which always provided the opportunity to keep an eye out for some of the larger species that can be seen in the blue. Midwater around Jackson Reef was filled with red-toothed triggerfish and shoals of banner fish, which at times were so dense that you couldn’t see into the blue. Moments went by peacefully as we enjoyed the slow drift above the reef, watching these shoals swim around under the mid-afternoon sun.
The night dive at Gordon’s Reef was mainly among the stacks of corals surrounded by sand, which was great to explore under the darkness. After some time circling the corals, we came across what we were really hoping to find, and that was an octopus hunting on the reef. We spent the majority of the dive just watching it crawl among the reef, blending into its changing surroundings through changes in colour and skin texture. It’s always so fascinating and captivating to watch these incredibly intelligent animals, in awe of their ability to carry out these physical changes to perfectly blend into the reef. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the boat to enjoy a well-deserved tasty dinner prepared by the talented chefs onboard.
Check in for the 3rd and final part of this series from Jake tomorrow!
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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