Endangered Species Day is an opportunity to learn about the importance of endangered species and actions we can take to protect them. Scuba divers, with a passion for the ocean like no other, are naturally concerned about decline in marine species.
The good news is, we’re a strong voice and we’re achieving major milestones together. Just recently, we won campaigns to list oceanic whitetip sharks, porbeagles, three species of hammerheads and both manta rays under CITES.   

The first-ever summit to focus specifically on the issue of marine debris around the African continent will be taking place during World Environmental Week and World Ocean Day, 6-8 June 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Plastics SA, the umbrella body representing the South African plastics industry, has announced that it will be joining hands with the Department of Environmental Affairs, the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme in organising the conference which will bring together marine debris researchers, natural resource manag

Master Divers Koh Tao, Thailand have always been FINatical about sharks. They created and produced a super cool Shark Life video for the Big Shark Shout Out in 2012. And  PADI Dive Master Gene Giraudeau successfully swam 23 km around the island of Koh Tao with Master Divers as her support crew in December last year. Way to go!

I was very touched when I was invited to come back to my roots and represent Project AWARE in British Columbia, my home province in Canada, where I first learned to dive. The diving community of British Columbia invited me, in cooperation with the Shaw Ocean Discovery Center and the Vancouver Aquarium, to speak about the inspiring initiatives Project AWARE works toward at home and abroad to protect the underwater world. 

Though awareness of the impact of marine debris — namely plastic litter — has been growing throughout the last several decades, Dr. Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association said the discipline merits more study before accurate conclusions can be drawn. 
In an April 30 presentation during Maine’s 20th Annual Recycling & Solid Waste Conference at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Law said there is a great deal of misinformation being propagated regarding the nature and impact of marine refuse, even by “reputable” scientists. 

A FINtastic thank you to Langley Divers, Canada for completing their second indoor pool Finathon™.
This April a team of 12 raised $1,200 swimming to end finning. Les Newman, PADI Course Director at Langley Diving was introduced to the Finathon idea in 2011.

 
A nine-foot stingray spotted off Horseshoe Bay has been hailed an unprecedented first sighting for local waters.

A love of eating pies and protecting sharks has inspired one scuba diver to make a pledge he may regret! If his fundraising target is met he’ll swim 1,500 metres. But for every $10 over the target PADI Master Instructor, Andrew Barrett will swim an extra 100 metres.  This puts Andrew’s Finathon™ challenge firmly in the hands of his friends. The more dollars people donate the more he’ll have to swim so please give generously to protect sharks.

Local scuba divers have spotted large sevengill sharks swimming off the coast of La Jolla this week.
The shark is one of the newest creatures to call the area home, and also happens to be one of the largest local predators. 
Divers are pushing for a scientific explanation to explain this recent phenomenon inside La Jolla Cove. 
In the past several years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of sevengill shark sightings.

‘Did you know that Grey Nurse shark pups eat each other in the mother’s womb and only the strongest survive?’ This is one of many facts about sharks discovered by divers on the Dive World, Brisbane Specialty course this weekend.