The oceanic whitetip may not be as famous as it's great white or whale shark relatives but it could soon gain the same level of protection through its listing on Appendix II of CITES.

We've done it. We've made our final push towards securing the very best protection for Australia's marine wildlife.
After four years of campaigning, our global movement has once again shown our unique connection with the ocean and strong love, desire and passion to protect it.

In a double bid to clean the waters of Patong and raise awareness for shark protection Scuba Cat Diving is hosting a Dive Against Debris and a Get Swimming to End Shark Finning(Finathon) this Saturday, February 16th 2013 at Paradise Reef, Patong.
The event named   “We Belong To The Sea” spotlights scuba divers unique ability to tackle global marine debris and shark finning issues.

The European Parliament has voted for sweeping reforms of the controversial EU Common Fisheries Policy.
The package includes measures to protect endangered stocks and end discards - the practice of throwing unwanted dead fish into the sea.
Wasteful discards are reckoned to account for a quarter of total catches under the current quota system.
There are hopes that the changes can become law by next year, after more talks with the 27 EU governments.
The MEPs voted for the package by 502 votes to 137.

100% AWARE Partner Scuba Symphony Malaysia  is offering a fantastic prize with its latest photo contest.   In the lead up to CITES in March the theme for photo submissions is Rays (Mantas/Stingrays/Devil-rays, no Sun Rays).  Divers can win a 5 day and 4 night Manado full board/twin-share diving package ex Manado airport, sponsored by La Rascasse Divers.

The 2013 European dive show season is now in full swing. From Paris to Düsseldorf, Milan to Madrid, without forgetting London, the Project AWARE team is rallying support for its new "Extinction is NOT an Option" campaign.

The United States said Friday it would support proposals to curb the trade of five shark species and manta rays, whose numbers are declining because of demand for fins and gills.
"For several decades, we have been increasingly concerned about the over harvest of sharks and manta rays," US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said in a meeting at the United Nations, according to a statement.

Recent research reveals that even remote areas of the oceans are affected by increasing levels of plastic waste on the seafloor. The study found that quantities of litter from human activities, mostly plastic, on the seabed of an isolated Arctic site, doubled from 2002 to 2011.
Around 60% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the seafloor, yet very little is known about how pollution has affected the deep ocean, in particular, remote areas such as the Arctic.

The dive show display and pull-up banners are ready. Our leaflets, posters, petition forms, raffle tickets, badges are all packed. We're ready for the 44th International Boat Show, the world's largest yacht and water sports show taking place at the Fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany from January 19 - 27, 2013.