Marine Life & Conservation
Sustainable & Responsible Tourism on Curaçao
Many tourists who visit Curaçao, travel here to experience the incredible beauty of the Caribbean Sea and the amazing coral reef system, that is a bevy of healthy biodiversity, only seen by scuba diving or snorkeling. But, like the world over, Curaçao’s coral reefs are facing multiple environmental threats that have been largely induced by apathy and complacency. The list of threats is seemingly endless but a few examples include water pollution, construction, marine debris, and overfishing which subsequently damages and destroys coral reefs. Therefore, there is an imminent need for sustainable and responsible tourism.
“Our ocean and dive sites are an important component of our Tourism Product. It is therefore a shared responsibility of the whole community to conserve and positively contribute to our natural resources, such as our ocean and dive sites for the benefit of our future generations.” – Miles Mercera, CHATA CEO
However, to create sustainable and responsible change, a commitment from the entire community is needed. The government, the private sector, tourists and Curaçaoan citizens alike need to come together to support great initiatives such as the Coral Restoration Foundation Curaçao and the Project AWARE “Adopt A Dive Site” Initiative led by the CHATA Dive Task Force.
Coral Restoration Foundation Curaçao
The Coral Restoration Foundation Curaçao (CRFC) officially began operations in May 2015. Initially, only starting the nursery (located on the Ocean Encounters house reef at Lions Dive & Beach Resort) with 400 coral fragments of Elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) hanging from 10 “trees”. An additional 10 trees were installed later that year that were populated with fragments of corals from the first trees. A year later, the nurseries held 1250 corals.
Since the launch in 2015, CRFC has successfully out planted over 2400 corals at various popular dive sites along Curaçao’s southeastern coastline. Additionally, the Foundation’s Board plans to “branch out” and expand the nurseries by enlisting two CRFC affiliate members which will then provide triple the number of coral fragments available to be out planted back onto the fringing reefs.
The program’s main goal is to bring back the shallow-water populations of staghorn corals in Curacao, which would not only help mitigate the possible effects of climate change but also rejuvenate reef fisheries and biodiversity, as well as help dive tourism. It’s meant to supplement the work currently being done in the region by the SECORE Foundation, another worldwide reef conservation nonprofit organization.
“The significance of the Curaçao Reef Restoration Program is that together as a community here on Curaçao, we will be restoring our shallow water reef system while educating our youth about the importance of protecting and preserving our natural ecosystem,” according to Jeremiah Peek, CRFC Board Chairperson & Managing Director at Ocean Encounters Diving, who adds: “I believe programs like this help solidify a natural sustainability for future generations.”
Project AWARE – Adopt a Dive Site Initiative
The Curaçao Hospitality & Tourism Association’s (CHATA) Dive Task Force is taking action against Marine Debris and six of its members have committed to the Project AWARE – Adopt a Dive Site™ initiative by adopting their house reefs and pledging to conduct monthly Dive Against Debris beach & dive site clean ups.
“The commitment of the Dive Task Force to the Dive Against Debris and Adopt a Dive Site Initiatives is an important step towards the creation of awareness regarding the negative effects of marine debris on the island and ultimately the conservation of our ocean.” – Miles Mercera, CHATA CEO
The Dive Bus, CURious 2 Dive, Ocean Encounters Diving, Scuba Lodge Dive Center, Atlantis Diving and Goby Divers have each adopted a dive site through the Project AWARE Adopt a Dive Site initiative, running free clean-up dives each month.
Volunteers are always needed and very welcome, so if you’re a certified diver visiting or living on Curaçao, join one of the Dive Against Debris Events to help to remove marine debris and make a difference. To date, 215 volunteer divers have removed 348 kgs / 778 lbs of debris from Curaçao’s reefs.
Mark Pinnell, Managing Director of The Dive Bus and PADI Ambassadiver says, “As divers – and even more so as Dive Industry professionals – we have a responsibility to advocate a message of sustainability and to enable our divers plus the local community to protect and respect our oceans and reefs.”
Be inspired. Become an Ocean Advocate for a Sustainable Future!
Our Oceans, Our Future, Our Responsibility.
Pictures & Video courtesy of Nature Pics, Coral Restoration Foundation Curaçao, The Dive Bus & Dive Curaçao.
Find out more at Dive Curaçao.
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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