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Bahamas Appeal

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Hurricane Dorian has delivered a devastating blow to two of The Bahamas major islands – Grand Bahama and Abaco. It has caused loss of life, homes have been destroyed and landscape damaged. The spirit and resolve of the Bahamian people remains strong.

There are no words to convey the grief we feel for our fellow Bahamians in The Abacos and Grand Bahama,” said Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar. “Now is the time to come together for our brothers and sisters in need, and help our country get back on its feet. Anyone who wishes to provide relief support should go to www.bahamas.com/relief for verified ways to help. We also implore travelers to continue visiting the Bahamian islands that were not impacted by Hurricane Dorian as this will help our people tremendously.”

The Government and people of the Islands of The Bahamas appreciate the outpouring of concern and offers of generous support in the wake of the hurricane. The best way to support the relief and recovery effort is through a monetary contribution to one of their trusted partners or a donation of specific goods identified in the page link below.

www.bahamas.com/relief

This page has been established as a resource center to help aide the many in need. It will continue to be updated with the most relevant information. The Bahamas are eternally grateful for all your support.

If you are interested in providing monetary donations please go to: www.bahamas.com/relief

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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Euro-Divers to close dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda

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Havodda

Euro-Divers have announced that as of 15 April 2024, they will no longer be operating the dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda (formerly known as Amari Havodda).

The popular dive centre chain released this statement regarding the closure:

Dear valid customers, business partners and friends,

We are leaving NH Collection Maldives Havodda – former Amari Havodda as of 15th of April 2024.

Unfortunately, the information reached us on short notice that we are no longer operating the dive centre at the resort.

It was a great pleasure to work with the Amari Hotel group and continue to work with the NH Hotel group.

We wish our partners great success with all their new changes.

Thanks a lot for cooperating during our time at the resort. We wish everyone with whom we have worked a good and hopefully successful future.

Euro-Divers continue to operate in several other dive resorts throughout the Maldives in addition to other locations.

To finds out more about Euro-Divers, visit www.euro-divers.com.

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Marine Life & Conservation Blogs

Creature Feature: Undulate Ray

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In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.

This month we’re looking at the Undulate Ray. Easily identified by its beautiful, ornate pattern, the Undulate Ray gets its name from the undulating patterns of lines and spots on its dorsal side.

This skate is usually found on sandy or muddy sea floors, down to about 200 m deep, although it is more commonly found shallower. They can grow up to 90 cm total length. Depending on the size of the individual, their diet can range from shrimps to crabs.

Although sometimes called the Undulate Ray, this is actually a species of skate, meaning that, as all true skates do, they lay eggs. The eggs are contained in keratin eggcases – the same material that our hair and nails are made up of! These eggcases are also commonly called mermaid’s purses and can be found washed up on beaches all around the UK. If you find one, be sure to take a picture and upload your find to the Great Eggcase Hunt – the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen science project.

It is worth noting that on the south coasts, these eggcases can be confused with those of the Spotted Ray, especially as they look very similar and the ranges overlap, so we sometimes informally refer to them as ‘Spundulates’.

Scientific Name: Raja undulata

Family: Rajidae

Maximum Size: 90cm (total length)

Diet: shrimps and crabs

Distribution: found around the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat: shelf waters down to 200m deep.

Conservation Status : As a commercially exploited species, the Undulate Ray is a recovering species in some areas. The good thing is that they have some of the most comprehensive management measures of almost any elasmobranch species, with both minimum and maximum landing sizes as well as a closed season. Additionally, targeting is entirely prohibited in some areas. They are also often caught as bycatch in various fisheries – in some areas they can be landed whilst in others they must be discarded.

IUCN Red List Status: Endangered

For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website


Image Credits: Banner – Sheila Openshaw; Illustration – Marc Dando

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