News
Shark Sanctuaries Announced Around Dutch Caribbean Islands
On the 2nd September the Dutch government announced that the waters surrounding Bonaire and Saba in the Caribbean Sea will become shark sanctuaries.
Dutch State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sharon Dijksma unveiled the sanctuary plans in Kralendijk, Bonaire’s capital, and in Fort Bay on Saba. The declarations came in response to official letters written in early 2015 by the governors of the two islands in support of shark protections in their waters.
“The reserves will teach us more about the important role sharks play in the marine ecosystem,” Dijksma said. “This knowledge will contribute to the better protection of sharks.”
The sanctuaries will cover the islands’ full exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Once they are implemented, all commercial shark fishing will be prohibited up to 200 nautical miles from each island, a combined total of 22,382 square kilometers (8,816 square miles).
These actions will establish the world’s 11th and 12th shark sanctuaries. Both will also include protections for marine mammals and will be known collectively as Yarari. Regulations will be passed in the coming months to begin implementation of the two shark sanctuaries.
Worldwide, an estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries, while nearly 30 percent of all known shark species assessed by scientists are threatened with extinction. This declaration will protect some 27 species of sharks found in the waters of the Dutch Caribbean. Among those threatened and endangered are scalloped hammerhead and Caribbean reef sharks.
“Congratulations to the Dutch government and the island governments of Bonaire and Saba for raising the Caribbean’s high bar for shark protections,” said Luke Warwick, who directs Pew’s global shark conservation project. “Economic studies have demonstrated that sharks are worth far more alive than dead. Guarding sharks around these islands is beneficial, not only for the future of these ecologically important species, but also for protecting the islands’ tourism-based economies.”
The announcement follows “Dutch Shark Week,” a series of outreach and education events that started on the 24th August. Shark Week is part of a larger “Save our Sharks” project, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, the largest charity lottery in the Netherlands, and managed by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA).
Nature management organizations on the Dutch Caribbean islands, including Bonaire National Parks Foundation, Saba Conservation Foundation, St. Maarten Nature Foundation, and Arikok National Park Foundation on Aruba, organized shark conservation awareness events during the week. They are working to build awareness and support for shark conservation locally, as parallel efforts organized by the Dutch Elasmobranch Society have been underway in the Netherlands.
“This is a very important step in our shark conservation efforts in the Dutch Caribbean, and we are very grateful to have State Secretary Dijksma make the announcement,” said Tadzio Bervoets, chairman of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance Shark Committee. “The DCNA has launched a three-year shark conservation project to protect these crucially important, yet very misunderstood, creatures in all waters of the Dutch Caribbean. Official protection for Saba and Bonaire is a huge deal for us.”
If the Dutch Caribbean jurisdictions of St. Eustatius, Curacao, Aruba, and St. Maarten follow suit and announce permanent shark protections throughout their waters, the entire Dutch Caribbean would be recognized as a regional shark sanctuary.
Sharks play an important role in maintaining the health of the entire ocean, but they grow and reproduce slowly, which makes them particularly vulnerable to fishing pressure. Protecting all sharks by way of a sanctuary makes clear that these top predators warrant the same status as other vulnerable marine wildlife, such as turtles and whales.
Sharks are among the top species that attract scuba divers, making their presence important to the tourism industry. Safeguarding sharks strengthens the marine ecosystem, including coral reefs and commercial fish stocks. It also helps strengthen industries that depend on a healthy ocean.
Source: www.pewtrusts.org/en
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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