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๐—•๐—ฉ๐—œ ๐—ช๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ: ๐—จ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ

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As the sun sets over the turquoise waters of the British Virgin Islands, adventure enthusiasts and diving aficionados from around the globe are gearing up for the highly anticipated event of the year โ€“ BVI Wreck Week 2024. Set to take place from ๐—๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฒ-๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฎ, this thrilling week long extravaganza promises an unparalleled exploration of maritime history and underwater wonders.
Organized by the BVI Scuba Organization, BVI Wreck Week 2024 is a celebration of the rich maritime heritage and natural beauty that the British Virgin Islands have to offer. From seasoned wreck divers to curious beginners, this event caters to all levels of experience, offering a diverse range of activities and experiences both above and below the waterline.
Highlighting the event are the meticulously preserved wrecks and art-reefs that dot the sea floor of the British Virgin Islands.
๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€, ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น.
From legendary โ€œPirateโ€ ships to World War II-era vessels, these wrecks serve as time capsules, offering glimpses into the past and stirring the imagination of all who visit them.
But BVI Wreck Week is not just about diving โ€“ it’s a full-fledged festival celebrating the marine environment and the vibrant culture of the British Virgin Islands.
๐—”๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€, ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€, ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€, ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป..
We are thrilled to welcome divers and adventurers from around the world to BVI Wreck Week 2024,” said ๐—ž๐—ถ๐—บ ๐—›๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต, ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฉ๐—œ ๐—ฆ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—ฎ ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป. “This event is not only an opportunity to explore some of the most captivating wrecks in the Caribbean butalso a chance to immerse oneself in the beauty and culture of the British Virgin Islands.
BVI Wreck Week 2024 promises an unforgettable experience for all who attend โ€“ whether you’re an avid diver, history buff, or simply looking for an exciting getaway. If you canโ€™t get here this year you can still follow along online as there will be daily, often โ€œLiveโ€ posts to our socials. Donโ€™t miss your chance to be a part of this one-of-a-kind event!
For more information and to register, visit bviwreckweek.com or follow on BVI Wreck Week andย instagram.com/bviwreck/
Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown attended BVI Wreck Week in 2023. Read there 3-part blog about the event here:

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com

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Filming 360 in The Bahamas

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In December 2024, the Shark Trust had a very special opportunity to film sharks and rays in The Bahamas. Frogfish Photography are the Bahamas Dive Ambassadors for the UK. And Caroline, Deputy Editor at Scubaverse, is the Marketing Manager at the Shark Trust. So, when the need arose to film footage of several species of shark and ray for a new Shark Trust project, The Bahamas seemed the perfect fit. A huge thank you is needed here to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. As they stepped in to fully support the trip both financially and practically. Ensuring that the filming expedition ran smoothly, and that we got as much time as possible in the water with sharks and rays, during the 10 day, 3 island trip.

The Bahamas is famous for its sharks and rays. Divers flock there to experience getting up close to a range of species. Our itinerary saw us visit Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama. It packed in as many in-water experiences as possible and had us dive, snorkel, and even take a submarine to experience them in a variety of different habitats and to capture them on film. We saw 148 sharks and rays from 8 different species (all of which have been logged on the Shark Trust Shark Log!).

But why were we there? The expedition was designed to fulfil the needs of two new projects being launched by the Shark Trust in 2025. The filming done underwater on this trip was the start of creating OneOcean360: A Shark Story. A new 360 immersive experience designed primarily for immersive domes and planetariums. The film will be the nearest experience to getting in the water with sharks and rays without getting wet! It will bring the world of sharks to an audience that may never get the chance to experience it first-hand. A Shark Storyย aims to deepen peopleโ€™s understanding of sharks, uncovering and illustrating why they are so wonderful as well as being vital to marine ecosystems.

The film is being made in collaboration with Real Immersive. Also based in Plymouth, they have an immersive dome and are providing the technical expertise behind creating this unique experience. Reviewing the footage in the dome has been an invaluable part of the process. Both inspiring the team and allow us to refine the filming techniques to suit this immersive theatre.

You might imagine that we are using expensive cameras and even more expensive housings. But this is not the case. The entire project is being filmed using Insta360 X4 cameras. With only a few simple additions to the standard dive setup. The INON weight plate allowed us to attach this camera to a dive weight, set it down on sand or wreck, and then swim away and let the sharks be the stars. And the results are very exciting. The film will be ready this autumn. It will be accompanied by an educational pack for teachers to take away after school trips to see the film. Encouraging all those that see it to continue learning about these incredible animals.

You can support the creation of OneOcean360: A Shark Story by heading to the crowdfunder page and donating or selecting a reward.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/a-shark-story


Read about the shark and ray dives we did on Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama in our next blog post coming soon on Scubaverse.

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PADI Global Membership Contributes to Study That Indicates Revival of MPAs Would Bolster Billions for the Industry

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marine protected areas

Scientists, including those from National Geographic Pristine Seas, find scuba divers are willing to pay more to seek adventure in Marine Protected Areas, estimating an additional USD 2.7 billion spent per annum.

11 February 2025 โ€“ PADIยฎ, the worldโ€™s largest scuba diving organisation, has been working with National Geographic Pristine Seas for the last three years to help identify the positive effects of protecting scuba diving sites around the world โ€“ which was recently published in new peer-reviewed research.

marine protected areas

PADIโ€™s global membership of 6,600 PADI Dive Centres and Resorts in over 180 countries helped National Geographic Pristine Seas assemble a database that estimated the number of scuba dives annually, the extent to which protection would increase biomass and biodiversity in an area, and a scuba diverโ€™s willingness to pay access fees to dive in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

As a result, the study found that more fully protected dive sites would generate an estimated USD 2.7 billion in additional income globally for the scuba diving industry, most of which would come from access fees paid by divers directly to local communities. This additional protection would also help regenerate marine ecosystems and a new long-term income source for these coastal economies.

marine protected areas

โ€œBottom line, ocean protection benefits marine life, coastal communities and businesses,โ€ remarked Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas. โ€œProtecting diving sites from fishing and other damaging activities can generate new streams of income and benefit more people. It’s increasingly clear that efforts to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 are even more beneficial than we thought.โ€

marine protected areas

These research findings directly align with the goals of PADIโ€™s Blueprint For Ocean Actionโ€“ in which safeguarding recreational dive hotspots around the globe would deliver a host of benefits to tourists, local communities, and marine life. In 2022 PADI Iaunched an ambitious new initiative to establish the worldโ€™s largest network of conservation sites aimed at protecting ocean habitats and species threatened with extinction. Supported by Blancpain, founding partner of PADIโ€™s MPA Program, the Adopt The Blueโ„ข program activates a global network of dive sites across the planet to establish more Marine Protected Areas to regenerate local economies and coastlines.

marine protected areas

โ€œBy PADI joining forces with like-minded global partners such as National Geographic Pristine Seas, we will exponentially increase our positive impact for saving the ocean,โ€ said Dr. Drew Richardson, President & CEO of PADI. โ€œWith more marine protected areas, we can reinvigorate the diver experience and regenerate hope for the ocean; and with that comes more people who are inspired to explore the ocean and become Torchbearers to further advocate for safeguarding its future.โ€

marine protected areas

Since 2008, National Geographic Pristine Seas has helped establish 29 of the largest MPAs in the world, covering a total area of 6.9 million square kilometers โ€“ more than twice the size of India. Their latest peer-reviewed research joins their resume of over 300 that have already been published.

marine protected areas

โ€œIf you protect a marine area, more recreational divers will show up and theyโ€™ll pay more for the privilege of seeing sensational underwater life,โ€ said Reniel Cabral, a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University and the studyโ€™s lead author. โ€œCommunities and businesses are leaving money on the table by overlooking the benefits of marine sanctuaries.โ€

marine protected areas

Other key findings from the most recent study include:

  • Some 33 million dives take place in the ocean each year, but only 15% of dive sites are fully protected from fishing and other destructive activities
  • More MPAs estimated to increase the number of dives annually by 32% (10 million + more per year)
  • Egypt, Thailand, and the US host the most scuba diving annually (est. USD 3 million annually)
  • Indonesia, Egypt, and Australia host the most dives within MPA borders annually
  • The Philippines, the US, and Indonesia would benefit the most economically from designating sanctuaries in popular diving spots.
  • The Global South โ€” host to some 62% of recreational dives โ€” is poised to gain the most.

marine protected areas

โ€œThe potential for the recreational diver industry to create positive ocean change is unparalleled,โ€ continues Richardson. โ€œAs the only global community to have the superhero skills to descend beneath the surface and both connect with and help the marine world directly, there is a massive opportunity to change the way we all seek adventure. ย As the worldโ€™s largest scuba diving organisation, we can play a key part in reaching the global target of 30% protection by 2030 and enrich both ours and the oceanโ€™s livelihood simultaneously.โ€

marine protected areas

To help PADI advocate for the establishment of more MPAs, visit padi.com/aware/AdoptTheBlue

National Geographic Pristine Seas

Pristine Seas works with Indigenous and local communities, governments, and other partners to help protect vital places in the ocean using a unique combination of research, community engagement, policy work, and filmmaking. Since 2008, our program has conducted more than 45 expeditions around the world and helped establish 29 marine reserves, spanning more than 6.9 million square kilometers of ocean.ย ย  Pristine Seas is part of the global non-profit, the National Geographic Society. Our mission is driven by science and filmmaking โ€” we are fully independent from National Geographic publishing and its media arm.

About PADIโ€ฏ

PADIยฎ (Professional Association of Diving Instructorsยฎ) is the largest purpose-driven diving organisation with a global network of 6,600 dive centres and resorts, 128,000 professional members, and more than 30 million certified divers to date. Committed to our blue planet, PADI makes the wonder of the underwater world accessible to all, empowering people around the world to experience, explore and take meaningful action, as Ocean TorchbearersTM, to protect the world beneath the surface. For over 50 years, PADI is undeniably The Way the World Learns to Diveยฎ, setting the standard for the highest quality dive training, underwater safety and conservation initiatives while evolving the sport of diving into a passionate lifestyle. For divers by divers, PADI is obsessed with transforming lives and, with its global foundation, PADI AWARETM, creating positive ocean change. Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.SMย  www.padi.com

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