News
Get away on a Red Sea Liveaboard for just £799 and other great deals from blue o two
UK-based dive tour operator blue o two have released their latest special offers, including Red Sea liveaboard holiday deals from only £799 including flights to Hurghada, and Maldives liveaboard offers now starting from as little as £1595 including flights.
Don’t forget that if you are part of the exclusive blue o two Loyalty Club you can also take advantage of blue o two’s Double Discount offer.
As a valued blue o two Loyalty Club customer, you can now take advantage of this incredible offer of saving not 5% but 10% on diving adventures to the Red Sea and the Maldives.
Use your exclusive 10% discount by booking a Red Sea holiday with blue o two aboard any one of their newly updated Red Sea fleet, that has a departure date from now until the end of August.
To use your 10% discount for a Maldives adventure, book a diving trip with blue o two aboard M/Y blue Voyager or M/V Sea Spirit that has a departure date before the end of October.
To book your unforgettable diving holiday using your exclusive Loyalty Club 10% offer, just quote your Loyalty Club number to one of the blue o two sales team and wait for your journey aboard a jewel of the ocean to begin.
RED SEA
M/Y blue Horizon – Red Sea
12 Aug – 19 Aug: Simply the Best £949
02 Sep – 09 Sep: North & Brothers £849
30 Sep – 07 Oct: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1099
28 Oct – 04 Nov: North & Brothers £995
M/Y blue Melody – Red Sea
19 Aug – 26 Aug: Simply the Best £1099
26 Aug – 02 Sep: Project Shark: Simply the Best £1299
16 Sep – 23 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £999
04 Nov – 11 Nov: Deep South £999
M/Y blue Fin – Red Sea
05 Aug – 12 Aug: Best of Wrecks £1099
12 Aug – 19 Aug: Simply the Best £999
19 Aug – 26 Aug: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £999
23 Sep – 30 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £949
M/Y Red Sea Adventurer – Red Sea
05 Aug – 12 Aug: Northern Wrecks £1099
12 Aug – 19 Aug: Strait of Tiran & North £799
09 Sep – 16 Sep: Simply the Best £949
30 Sep – 07 Oct: Project Shark: Simply the Best £899
MALDIVES
M/Y blue Voyager
03 Aug – 14 Aug: Best of the Northern Atolls (10 nights) NOW £1995*
13 Aug – 21 Aug: Majestic Mantas (7 nights) NOW £1695*
31 Aug – 08 Sep: Majestic Mantas (7 nights) NOW £1595*
07 Sep – 15 Sep: Majestic Mantas (7 nights) NOW £1595*
24 Sep – 02 Oct: Pelagic Encounters (7 nights) £1895*
M/V Sea Spirit
10 Sep – 23 Sep: Central Atolls & Beyond (12 nights) £2449*
PHILIPPINES
Ocean Vida Beach & Dive Resort
04 Sep – 14 Sep 2016: ‘In Focus Philippines’ with Saeed Rashid (10 nights) Was £3095, NOW £2595*
GALAPAGOS
M/V Galapagos Master
02 Jul – 11 Jul 2017: Master the Galapagos (7 nights) £5749*
TRUK LAGOON
M/V Truk Master
08 Feb – 18 Feb 2017: Truk Lagoon (10 nights) £3169**
16 Aug – 26 Aug 2017: Truk Lagoon (10 nights) £3169**
FRENCH POLYNESIA
M/V French Polynesia Master
10 Sep – 20 Sep 2017: Tuamotu Archipelago – Humpback Season (10 nights) £3879**
08 Oct – 18 Oct 2018: Tuamotu Archipelago – Humpback Season (10 nights) £4139**
*Package price is subject to change due to fluctuations in flight prices. Final package price will be confirmed at time of booking. **Excludes flights (boat only price).
To book or for more info contact the blue o two travel team now by calling +44 (0)1752 480808, email info@blueotwo.com or visit www.blueotwo.com.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: Undulate Ray
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
Blogs
Guarding Against Coral Invaders
Protecting (Dutch) Caribbean Reefs from Unomia stolonifera
Recent reports highlight the concerning spread of the invasive soft coral, Unomia stolonifera, currently devastating Venezuela’s marine ecosystems and detected in Cuba. With the potential threat of its expansion to the (Dutch) Caribbean islands, urgent action and awareness are essential to safeguard marine biodiversity and local economies from possible catastrophic consequences.
Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world that don’t belong in their new environment. These species can have major ecological effects by decimating native flora or fauna. They can also cause large economic losses and impact human health. Invasive species also pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems worldwide, including the Dutch Caribbean. Among these invaders is the octocoral species Unomia stolonifera or “Pulsing Xenia”, originally from the Indo-Pacific. With its rapid growth and lack of natural predators, this species can outcompete native species and disrupt fragile marine habitats such as seagrass beds and coral reefs.
Background
The invasive soft coral U. stolonifera was first identified in 2014, off the coast of Venezuela. It is believed to have been introduced via the illegal aquarium trade. Since this species can reproduce sexually and asexually (or fragment), even small pieces can regenerate to spread. Once introduced it quickly took over shallow reefs and hard substrate at depths of 0-50 meters, outcompeting local corals and seagrass for space. Follow on surveys found that this coral species exhibited average percentage cover as high as 80%, vastly outcompeting native corals. In highly colonized areas, fish are disappearing due to loss of habitats.
In 2022, during a survey conducted in Cuba by the University of Havana, an unknown octocoral was discovered which was later identified as the invasive Unomia stolonifera. It is suspected that the coral larvae arrived in ballast water from fossil fuel ships originating from Venezuela, as nearby sites adjacent to Venezuelan ports have been heavily affected by the invasion.
How to help
Prevention through continuous monitoring, particularly in high-risk areas such as marine harbors and oil facilities, is paramount. Early detection plays a pivotal role in mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera.
The public’s involvement and awareness are also vital. Local communities, recreational divers, tourists, and all stakeholders are urged to participate in early detection efforts by reporting sightings (photo, location and date) of this invasive coral to their respective Protected Area Management Organization (PMO’s)- the Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA), STINAPA Bonaire, CARMABI Curaçao , Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), Nature Foundation St. Maarten (NFSXM) and St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA). If an invaded area is confirmed, follow the recommendations by the local PMO’s.
Keys to Success
Despite the challenges, early detection is key to mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera. With continued vigilance, research, and community engagement, there is hope for containing this potential issue before it becomes a major threat.
About the DCNA
The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) supports (science) communication and outreach in the Dutch Caribbean region by making nature related (scientific) information more widely available through amongst others the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database, DCNA’s news platform BioNews and through the press. This article contains the results from several scientific studies but the studies themselves are not DCNA studies. No rights can be derived from the content. DCNA is not liable for the content and the in(direct) impacts resulting from publishing this article.
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