Join our Marine Conservation Volunteer Programme

Kenna Eco Diving is a voluntary coordinator for the SILMAR Project, carrying out marine conservation research into Mediterranean coastal habitats from our base in L’Escala, Costa Brava.

We need the assistance of Volunteer divers each year May to October to gather underwater data on key species. Volunteers stay at subsidized rates and get training in species ID and research methodology. All transfers and conservation diving is included in the subsidized rate.

Volunteers only need to be qualified Open Water divers or equivalent (or can take the PADI Open Water course in the Mediterranean with us). No prior marine biology knowledge is required as volunteers will be taught all they need to know to take part in the project.

This project presents a fantastic opportunity for marine biology students, or those considering this career, to gain invaluable fieldwork experience and to learn about the key Mediterranean species in need of protection.

The programme is open to anyone with a keen interest in carrying out marine surveys that will help to preserve Mediterranean sea life.

This is a unique opportunity to enjoy unlimited Mediterranean scuba diving as an Eco Dive Volunteer. All necessary marine research training is also provided free of charge.

Further details: http://marinebiology.kennaecodiving.net

Contact us now to book your place. Numbers are limited and places always fill up quickly as it’s the best value scuba diving you’ll find anywhere in the Mediterranean!

You can download free pdfs on an important key species, Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass that is unique to the Mediterranean.

Eco Dive Volunteers Map the Pipefish Habitat

Posidonia pipefish, Costa Brava  (Click to view video)

The home of Syngnathus typhle is the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which is a habitat unique to the Mediterranean Sea and one of the key species being studied by Eco Dive Volunteers.

Posidonia oceanica became locked in the Mediterranean millions of years ago when the tectonic plates moved to leave only the small gateway to the Atlanitic. Other Posidonia species grow only around southern Australia.

The Posidonia pipefish is perfectly adapted to its habitat, with a flattened head that resembles a Posidonia leaf. Although it is a protected species, Posidonia oceanica faces many threat to its survival due to the growing pressures placed upon Mediterranean coastal ecosystems.

There’s more info on Posidonia oceanica on my website. I have also written in-depth articles on Posidonia oceanica for the MARBEF Wiki:

http://www.marbef.org/wiki/Mediterranean_seagrass_ecosystem 

http://www.marbef.org/wiki/Posidonia_oceanica_%28Linnaeus%29_Delile

Come and assist with marine conservation to enjoy unlimited free scuba diving in the warm blue Mediterranean sea

EcoDiver

This is a great opportunity to rack up your dives and spend loads of time underwater. You can also practice underwater photography during your dives.
All levels of diver welcome (or you can undertake your diver training here with us in the warm, blue Mediterranean. All scuba courses available, in English, Spanish, French or German, from PADI Open Water to Divemaster Internships).

This is an ideal trip for the cost conscious diver, student, eco traveller, especially if you’re into marine biology & conservation and want to gain some underwater field experience.

For more info on joining in and becoming an Eco Dive volunteer visit the website

Come and enjoy a Mediterranean diving trip at a fraction of the normal cost by volunteering as an Eco Diver

Eco Dive volunteer

Eco Divers are needed each year from April to October to help gather data on Mediterranean key species and habitats. This data is essential for conservation planning and coastal management.  Volunteers enjoy unlimited  warm water diving whilst volunteering and holidaying in the Mediterranean at subsidised rates starting from ONLY 148 Euros per week.

We carry out marine reseach in Cala Montgo, near L’Escala, on the Catalan coast,  as voluntary coodinators for the SILMAR Project, and conduct regular clean up activities for Project Aware.

Eco Divers

This is a great opportunity to build up your log book, practice your bouyancy and underwater photography skills, learn about marine ecology and gain fieldwork experience.

Visit our Eco Divers’ website for more information and to book your place.

In order to continue to enjoy recreational diving past middle age, or, in my case, continue working as a professional divemaster, it is vital to stay healthy & “dive fit”. To help me to stay fit & healthy I take Pearlcium.

Scientific Research into the  Health & Beauty Benefits of PEARLCIUM 

1. Research on life prolonging effect
2. Reduce wrinkles, aging, & sunspots and promote radiant, youthful-looking skin
3. Grow stronger bones by stimulating new bone growth & increasing bone density
4. Strengthen the heart, promote a regular heart rhythm, & aid recovery from heart disease
5. Promote healthy blood pressure
6. Promote healthy cholesterol levels
7. Support healthy eyesight
8. Improve memory & immune system
9. Calm the nervous system, reduce stress & promote restful sleep
10. Improve children’s IQ, school performance, & overall health
11. Powerful antioxidant
12. Pearlcium as a superior source of calcium & essential trace minerals
13. Pearl & osteoporosis 

The Secret to a Longer, Healthier Life

 Research on life prolonging effect

It is not an easy task to scientifically confirm the ancient knowledge about the life prolonging effect of pearl powder in human beings.  It may take about 50 to 100 years. However, it is not so difficult to show this compelling evidence in animals. To be clear, Chinese scientists have shown that pearl powder can prolong the life span of animals in several research models.     

In one such study conducted in Suzhou Medical School, scientists found that by immersing some mulberry leaf, a favorite meal for silkworms, in a five percent pearl powder solution, that it can increase the adult phase of silkworm (moth) by an incredible 57.7 percent. When they fed mice their meals containing 1 percent pearl powder, they found that the mice’s life span on average was increased by 21.6 percent.  

In another longevity study, scientists at Guangxi Chinese Medicine Research Institute studied the effect on fruit fly life span by feeding meals with some added pearl powder. They found that compared to the placebo group, the average life span of fruit flies fed with 0.5% pearl powder is increased from 55.2 days to 74.4 days for the female fruit fly and from 45 days to 64.6 days for the male fruit fly. Fruit flies’ longest life span is increased from 70 days to 100 days for the female fruit fly and from 60 days to 102 days for the male fruit fly. 

If we were to translate the anti-aging effects, the profound life extending phenomena as observed in the silkworm, mice, and fruit flies from the pearl powder, it would indicate that our life span could increase from 80 years old to at least 96 years old on average. Perhaps, another compelling reason our ancestors found pearl powder so precious! 

Traditional wisdom and current scientific research is demonstrating that pearl powder has a definitive anti-aging effect. More research and clinical trials are needed to confirm its full range of effects.

Reduce wrinkles, aging, & sunspots & promote radiant, youthful-looking skin

E. Lopez and other French scientists from the Biophysics Laboratory at the Museum D’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, have found that pearl nacre, which is the material made of pearl, can enhance regeneration of fibroblasts.⁸⁴ In their research, these scientists implanted pearl nacre in the dermis of rats to test the ingredient’s effect on skin fibroblasts. They found that pearl nacre enhanced the fibroblasts’ synthesis of the extracellular matrix. It increased the production of components that help cells stick together (which reinforces the barrier function of the skin) and their cellular communication with each other. It also helped collagen, the main structural protein in the skin, to regenerate itself.

This research scientifically confirms the traditional wisdom that pearl nacre can increase skin regeneration, thus help improve skin tone and promote youthful looking skin. It shows that pearl nacre does this by increasing collagen and other extracellular matrix production, and by increasing cellular communication. However, it tells us more than this. Since fibroblasts are “builder cells” that abound in all connective tissue that surround our muscles, skin, and organs, by enhancing fibroblast regeneration, pearl nacre in fact can help keep your body in shape and make your muscle and organs strong. This research may explain, at least partly, why pearl nacre can make your heartbeat stronger and more regular, and help improve eye health as is being shown in other scientific research.

Grow stronger bones by stimulating new bone growth & increasing bone density

In 1992, E. Lopez and other French scientists from the Biophysics Laboratory at the Museum D’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, did some interesting experiments to study the osteogenic properties of pearl nacre (again, this is the exact material that comprises both pearl and mother-of-pearl). ^56-59 They placed pearl nacre chips on a layer of human osteoblasts. They found that the osteoblasts that were near the pearl nacre chips proliferated, and then attached themselves to the chips. Even more amazing, the osteoblasts formed a complete sequence of bone in the presence of the pearl nacre. How do we know it was the pearl nacre that caused this? Because only the osteoblasts surrounding the pearl nacre chips induced this type of mineralization. 

In 2003, the same group of French scientists decided to investigate pearl fillings. They placed pieces of mother-of-pearl in experimental cavities in the lumbar vertebrae of sheep. They found that the insertion of this pearl nacre induced the production of layers of newly formed bone adjacent to the implanted pearl nacre filling.⁵⁶ They also discovered that inserting the mother-of-pearl caused an increased mineralization of the sheep’s bone, which means that the bone surrounding the cavity actually became stronger. 

Next, the scientists compared pearl-filled cavities with empty cavities and with cavities patched with the normal acrylic polymer filling used by dentists, which is called PMMA. They found there was no new bone formation in the empty cavities or in those filled with PMMA.⁵⁶ In fact, they discovered that PMMA actually causes necrosis – or cell death – of the surrounding bone cells. It also changes bone architecture and causes a significant reduction in bone formation and mineralization. 

Dr. Y. Shen and colleagues studied the osteogenic activity of pearl in a culture of simulated body fluid and cells, with the intent to compare its effects to that of mother-of-pearl and hydroxyapatite, a form of calcium known to be osteogenic. They found that not only did pearl stimulate the growth of osteoblasts, but the proliferation occurred more quickly and smoothly than on either of the other substances.⁶⁰ In fact, an abundant extracellular matrix occupied the whole pearl surface after just five days. The researchers concluded that pearl is a superior osteo-inductive material with high osteogenic activity. In other words, pearl can build better bone than mother-of-pearl and hydroxyapatite.

Strengthen the heart, promote a regular heart rhythm, & aid recovery from heart disease

Research shows that pearl powder taken internally can improve heart function. Yunyi Zhang and colleagues at Shanghai Medical University studied pearl’s pharmacology and its effect on heart function.⁷⁷ They found that pearl powder can enhance the heart’s contraction without affecting the frequency of the heartbeat, which means more oxygen-rich blood is pumped per beat through the circulatory system without increasing numbers of beats. This means the heart is working smarter and more efficiently, not harder. The research also indicates that pearl powder can help the heart’s pacemaker keep its natural rhythm, helping rebuff and recover from the effects of arrhythmias or abnormal heart rhythm. ⁷⁸  

Promote healthy blood pressure 

 Kangmin Gong and his colleagues at Zhejiang Chinese Traditional Medicine Research Institute and Zhejiang University No. 1 Adjunct Hospital conducted a human clinical trial to study the effect of pearl powder on high blood pressure.⁷⁹ The 90 patients in the study took 500 milligrams of pearl powder twice a day for 30 days. The average systolic pressure dropped from 161.0 mmHg to 139.2 mmHg – a decline of 15 percent. The average diastolic pressure dropped from 96.0 mmHg to 84.6 mmHg – a decline of 13 percent. 

In another similar human clinical trial with 75 patients, Kangmin Gong and his colleagues obtained similar successful results.⁸⁰ It has also been reported that patients notice fewer headaches, less dizziness and irritability, and improved sleep after taking pearl powder. 

Dongmei Wang and her associates at Shaanxi Xian Jiaotong University Adjunct Hospital also studied pearl powder’s effects on blood pressure. They found that pearl powder can lower the blood pressure of mice, improve their sleep, and make them more calm.⁸¹

Promote healthy cholesterol levels

Blood lipid research indicates that pearl powder taken internally can reduce lipid peroxide and cholesterol levels of coronary disease patients.⁷⁸ 

Dr. Huang and his colleagues at Zhejiang Medical School conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial to study the effect of pearl powder on lipid peroxides and cholesterol content of coronary disease patients. ⁷⁸ Twenty patients took pearl powder for a month. Seventeen patients took placebo. The researchers found that for the patients taking pearl powder, their harmful lipid peroxide and total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced, while for patients taking placebo, there was not much change on average. This can help stop the formation process of atherosclerosis in its tracks, before it can clog your arteries, so it never becomes a problem for your cardiovascular system.

Support healthy eyesight

For thousands of years, Chinese have used pearl to enhance their eyesight and treat eye diseases, such as myopia.  H. Xu and colleagues at the Department of Chemistry of Huazhong University of Science and Technology provided scientific validation that pearl powder made from pearl powder can help prevent and treat chickens with myopia.⁶⁶

Improve memory & immune system

Pearl powder might not only extend life span, it can also improve the quality of life. Studies done in China demonstrated that pearl powder can boost immune function in animals.^74,75  In one study, it found that taking pearl powder for 12 days can enhance mice’s antibody production and increase cellular protective functions.

Furthermore, it was found that after giving mice meals containing 1% pearl powder for 14 days, mice make much less mistakes during study test.  This study indicates that pearl powder can improve learning ability and memory in mice. ⁷⁵ 

Calm nervous system, reduce stress & promote restful sleep

 Jianxin Pan and his colleagues at Suzhou Medical School studied the effects of pearl powder on the rabbit’s nervous system.⁸⁹ They found that pearl powder could relieve pain and promote a calming effect on their nervous system. The researchers also discovered that after injecting the rabbits with a pearl powder solution, their brain production of 5-HT, 5-HIAA, and NA increased. These are positive “elevated mood” neurotransmitters, and this research indicates that pearl powder can reduce the level of stress, and promote a more peaceful, positive internal biochemistry. 

Improve children’s IQ, school performance, & overall health

Chinese scientists found that pearl powder can improve children’s IQ. In one study, they had more than 200 children with mental disabilities take 750-1500 mg of pearl powder every day. ⁹⁰ After three months, the IQ of 92% of the children had been improved and more than 80% of the children’s IQs were enhanced to the normal range. 

Dr. Jian Wang at Nanjin Second Hospital and Dehui Hou at China Medical University studied the effect of a pearl powder supplement on mice. They found that the mice that had taken pearl powder for 12 days did better in maze tests and had stronger immunity than the mice that did not.⁷⁴ In other words, pearl powder made the mice smarter and healthier.

Powerful antioxidant

Pearl Powder is a powerful antioxidant. It can both enhance the activity of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), one of the body’s premier antioxidant enzymes, and also reduce peroxidation, one of the major aging processes of our body.

Shengshan Hu and his associates at Jiangxi Medicine Research Institute also studied the antioxidant effect of pearl nacre.⁵⁷ In addition to measuring lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels, they also monitored SOD activity. The researchers found that after taking pearl nacre solution for 30 days, the SOD activity of the mice increased and their LPO activity decreased. 

Chinese researchers at Suzhou Medical School studied the effect of pearl powder on the content of peroxidized lipids in the mouse heart and brain.⁵⁷ These researchers found that after taking pearl powder for just 30 days, mice experienced a decrease in the amount of peroxidized lipids in their brains and hearts – indicating that pearl powder slows down and may even reverse some of the age-related damage. The results of this research were further confirmed in several other independent studies.^57-63 The less oxidation, the less damage to your vital organs, the more functioning and better metabolic balance you’ll have, with your chances for enhanced quality of life optimized. 

Peroxidized lipids (LPO) are fats that have been attacked and damaged by free radicals. This is when even good fats lose their value, and get transformed into dangerous substances. Free radicals are molecules that are highly unstable, and they can rapidly damage and degrade tissues that are not adequately protected. The more peroxidized lipids you have, the worse off you are. This is often used as a bio-marker for determining your accurate biologic health and true age beyond just counting your years. Unfortunately, your peroxidized lipid content usually increases with age; it is part of the normal aging process. That is why there has been so much interest in antioxidants lately as well, as some antioxidants can prevent peroxidation, slow down pre-mature aging, and preserve more youthful functioning organs, skin, and even your good looks! 

Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) is one of the body’s premier antioxidant enzymes. SOD is so important to your health and longevity that its manufacture is ensured in the body by being encoded into our DNA to make sure we make it for ourselves! SOD catalyzes the dismutation reaction, where a potent and potentially highly damaging superoxide free radical is rendered harmless and turned into simple oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. SOD eliminates superoxide radicals from the cells’ environment and prevents the formation of reactive oxygen species and their derivatives, as they are known cellular killers and cripplers. It plays an important role in maintaining vascular tone, lung function, and metabolism, and in the prevention of such diseases as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis. The higher the SOD level is, the better it is for you. Many scientists consider SOD the key antioxidant player directly linked to longevity (closely coupled with Catalase and Glutathione), as various animal studies show that higher SOD levels can support better health over a much longer lifespan.

Pearlcium as a superior source of calcium & essential trace minerals

In 1998, Xiaoping Li and his colleagues at Wuhan Mineralogy University in Wuhan, China, conducted human and animal studies comparing the bioavailability of pearl powder to that of other calcium supplements in a human clinical trial.⁵⁵ Their studies show that pearl powder is absorbed twice as efficiently as conventional calcium carbonate supplements (by far the most common form of calcium in dietary supplements).

Scientific tests reveal that calcium and essential trace minerals in pearl has a natural highly aligned micro-crystalline structure. 

Latest scientific discovery reveals that the regulation of calcium involved in pearl formation is similar to humans’ at the DNA level. Our human body shares a deep kinship with pearl. Pearl is completely compatible with human bone. It can stimulate new bone growth, increases mineralization, which enhances bone density. 

Pearl & osteoporosis 

The possibility of using pearl powder to treat animals with osteoporosis has been explored by Chinese scientists. Hongfu Wang and his associates from the Shanghai Medical School Senior Medicine Research Center studied pearl powder for the treatment of osteoporosis in mice.^{53, 54} Some mice were given a pearl powder formulation for 90 days; others were not. What the researchers discovered was that the mice receiving the pearl powder formulation experienced significantly higher bone calcium content, bone mineral density, and total bone weight in comparison to the mice that did not. This is highly encouraging, but no guarantee, not yet anyway, as mice are used as the test subjects because they are excellent indicators for the expected effect in human metabolism. To date, pearl powder’s ability to treat osteoporosis in humans is still clinically unknown, and we all await those human clinical studies for any confirmation of bone benefit. 

Order your NEW LEASE OF LIFE TODAY!

Full list of references available on request.

2010 is drawing to a close and it has been a good year for marine conservation on the Costa Brava with the protection of the Montgri coastal zone becoming enshrined in Catalan law. This zone extends from the Medes Islands Marine Reserve up to and including Cala Montgo. Now our favourite dive sites along this abundant rocky coast are buoyed including the  Avenire “Marmoler” wreck which lies a couple of kilometres off shore.

One of our research transects (GIM0109) lies within Cala Montgo and this gives us volunteers a unique opportunity to compare our data from the past two years with the data that we’ll be gathering in future years, as protective measures are implemented.

To celebrate the new protected Montgri coastal zone and the 20 year anniversary of the Medes Islands Marine Reserve, I have  launched a new website Marine Life Costa Brava giving visitors a fascinating glimpse of the beauty of the sea life that we encounter whilst fun diving and carrying out marine conservation research on the Costa Brava.

The aim is to raise awareness of the amazing biodiversity and fragility of our local Mediterranean ecosystems. It is an ongoing project to share underwater photo galleries and interesting articles on some of the Costa Brava’s most iconic species and to showcase the marine life that we are working to protect with the support of our volunteers.

Our marine conservation research season began this week and we have been checking out the Silmar research station in Cala Montgo to see what has changed since last October.

The wrasse were busy constructing their nests. It’s strange to see a fish acting like a bird, swimming around with a mouth full of algae.

A volunteer, Roberto from Galicia, was counting sea urchins. In Spanish they are ericons, which means hedgehogs! Another regular volunteer, Stewart, was learning how to lay the transect.

One of our fan mussels (Pinna nobilis) had grown quite a lot during the winter but others were hard to locate within the Posidonia oceanica seagrass, which very green and lush at this time of year. I found some nudibranch eggs on a leaf and a hermit crab that was struggling to move under the weight of some really big anemones.

We also cleaned up some rubbish, which we look out for on every dive and record for Project AWARE.

Come and join in. It’s educational and fun! Become an EcoDive Volunteer!

Ten Reasons to Join Our Marine Conservation Research EcoDive Volunteer Programme this summer

1. Take part in the Silmar Project at two research stations on the Costa Brava
2. Learn to identify key species of marine flora and fauna
3. Gain practical underwater survey experience
4. Log up underwater fieldwork experience for your CV
5. Be notified of marine biology job and PhD opportunities when you join our mailing list to receive our Newsletter
6. Become a certified Padi Open Water diver in the Mediterranean with English instructors
7. Collect scientific data on marine biodiversity
8. Help to clean up the marine environment and save marine life from entanglement in fishing line and other debris
9. Network and socialise with like-minded divers in an international environment
10. Stay at subsidised rates: from under 30 Euros per night including transfers and all volunteer diving

If you’re looking for volunteering experience in 2012, we have subsidised spaces available from May to October in our Mediterranean Marine Conservation Research program.

If you’re not already a qualified scuba diver, you can learn to dive with us in the Med and then build up your logbook as a volunteer diver, getting hands on experience in marine conservation with the Silmar Project.

More details on the marine biology website.

Diver

I’m working to help improve the health of the ecosystems in my area of the Mediterranean Sea, the Costa Brava, with the help of other volunteer divers. My ultimate goal is to manifest a major shift in the health of the world’s oceans via direct conservation efforts and awareness raising.

What’s your manifesting goal?

This FREE pdf can help you get started!

By Gaynor Rosier, Kenna Eco Diving

This year our Eco Dive volunteers were even more international than ever with divers joining us on the Costa Brava from the USA, Canada, Australia, Spain, the UK, Ireland, and the Czech Republic! Thanks to everyone who helped we collected a lot of useful research data for the Silmar Project and Project Aware.

We experienced some great scuba diving and also witnessed some amazing behaviour – such as the sea cucumber spawning event, where groups of these animals stand up and coordinate the release of sperm and eggs.

Sea cucumber releasing sperm

Our volunteers had fun during an underwater Treasure Hunt and posed with Shark Alliance banners to raise awareness and encourage the diving community to sign the petition calling for a closing of the current loopholes on shark finning.

Sign the petition for sharks

Join us in 2012 as an EcoDive volunteer and make your diving count!

In August EcoDive volunteers on the Costa Brava were treated to a day of free training on identifying Opistobranchs (marine gastropods, the most iconic of which are the nudibranchs) given by our local Catalan experts who run the wonderful GROC website.

We were amazed at the diversity of these tiny but beautiful creatures there are living along the coast of Catalunya (around 200 different species) – so many more than the most common five species that we were noticing regularly!

After an excellent presentation on the appearance, characteristics and behaviour of Opistobranchs – carried out in English for our benefit – we knew so much more about the secret life of these amazing animals: how they breed and one, Elysia viridis, that can even produce its own solar power by utilising the chloroplasts from the algae that it consumes!

Solar powered nudibranch, Elysia viridis, on Mermaid's cup

Then the fun really began when we went for some hands on experience underwater at one of the GROC research sites (which turned out to be very near the location of one of our Silmar research transects). I took along my magnifying glass and even then had trouble focusing my eyes and my camera on some of the tinier specimens, which I would never have found before this training. But Miguel and Guillem had SLR cameras that could take the most fantastic super macro shots that could catch 5 millimeter creatures in the process of mating. Wow! We were blown away!

After 90 minutes underwater, during which we were shown a total of 22 Opistobranchs, we all went to a cafe for some much needed lunch and a chat about the dive. We were able to review the photos taken, to see in close up detail the tiny specimens that we had been trying to focus on, and learn what these creatures were getting up to!

Then we went for another fantastic dive, at the same site, where a further 20 nudibranchs were spotted. That made a total of 28 different species of Opistobranchs in one day within an area of about 150 by 10 meters. It was a truly unforgettable day, and we now know where to look and how to identify many more species than before (especially now that my bifocal mask has arrived!)

Thanks to this training from GROC Kenna Eco Diving Volunteers are now able to help with monitoring Opistobranchs!

I hope you haven’t bought any article spinning software because I’m going to give you a free one today.

This is not some half-baked article spinning system. It is a powerful, first-of-its-kind article spinning system that was only available to ezarticlelink members. But today, it has been released to the world.

Without further ado, here is the free spinner

You’ve got nothing to lose, so give it a try!

The Shark Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 conservation, scientific and recreational organisations, is launching the fifth annual European Shark Week today by calling on European Union (EU) fisheries ministers to protect sharks from overexploitation and finning – the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea.

Member groups of the Shark Alliance, aquariums, dive groups, and other conservation organisations in at least 16 countries across the EU, including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, will be holding events, filming messages for fisheries ministers, and gathering petition signatures to urge policy makers to resist industry pressure and make the push to protect sharks.

For five years, the Shark Alliance, EU fisheries and environment officials, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been discussing the need to better protect sharks. Two years ago, EU Fisheries Ministers endorsed a sound EU Shark Action Plan that led to significant strides toward conservation of these exceptionally vulnerable species. Yet, there is unfinished business:

Targeted EU shark fisheries continue without limits, many endangered species remain unprotected, and the EU ban on ‘finning’ still has huge loopholes that make it possible to fin sharks without detection or punishment.

“Public pressure across Europe has made a real and positive difference in shark conservation. We already have more than 20,000 petition signatures, but we need all those concerned about the future of our sharks to help make the push to ensure loopholes in the finning ban are finally closed and ministers live up to the commitments of the EU Shark Plan of Action”, said Irene Kingma, Coordinator of European Shark Week.

The Commission’s long-awaited proposal for strengthening the EU finning regulation is expected in the autumn and represents a critical opportunity to take the EU finning ban from lagging to leading and to positively influence finning policies around the world.

“The EU is a leader in the global catch, consumption and trade of sharks, and every EU Member State has the duty to press for sound shark conservation policies at the EU level as well as in our national waters,” said Martin Clark, Coordinator of the Shark Alliance. “We are hopeful that the public support expressed through European Shark Week will encourage decision makers to take a stand for the much needed protection of sharks from overexploitation and finning”.

To sign the petition, go to sharkalliancepetition.org

For more information about European Shark Week, which runs from Saturday, October 15 through Saturday, October 23, visit www.europeansharkweek.org.

The ‘million dollar manta’ is being killed worldwide for  health tonics that are not even proven to have any benefits  Download report

Manta rays are popular with divers and snorkelers, so  much so that a single animal can ‘earn’ more than US$ 1 million for local eco-tourism during its lifetime, according to a report just issued by the Manta Ray of Hope Project. Despite their popularity and tourism value, the report provides shocking evidence that these graceful and gentle giants are rapidly disappearing due to over fishing which is only now being recognised.

The Manta Ray of Hope Project, a joint effort of two conservation organizations, Shark Savers and WildAid, released a comprehensive report documenting worldwide manta and mobula declines due to the trade in their gills. The report, entitled “Manta Ray of Hope: The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays” provides the most far-reaching research ever conducted into both the intensive overfishing of mantas and mobulas as well as the trade in their gill rakers that are driving mantas and mobulas to the point of population collapse.

The destruction of ray populations is the result of demand for their gill rakers, with an estimated market value of $11 million annually. That is a fraction of the value of manta and mobula ray tourism, which is estimated at over $100 million per year, globally.

Manta Ray of Hope team leader, Shawn Heinrichs, stated, “While the gills are valuable for this trade, it is also robbing local economies and the environment of one of the most charismatic creatures in the ocean that could draw millions of dollars each year for those communities.”

Lead investigator Paul Hilton added, “We first came across manta and mobula ray gills in Asian markets several years ago and followed the trail to the dried seafood markets of Southern China. It’s sad to see these animals follow the same path to extinction as sharks.”

Due to their extremely limited reproductive biology, Manta and mobula ray populations are severely impacted by any kind of targeted fishing. These rays take ten or more years to reach sexual maturity and typically produce only one pup every two to three years. In comparison, the Great White shark, listed under CITES Appendix II and widely considered to be one of the world’s most vulnerable species, may produce as many pups in one litter as a manta ray does over its entire lifetime.

As a result, every area with active fisheries directed against manta and mobula rays reports devastating and rapid declines in populations of these rays. In certain regions, such as the Sea of Cortez, the oceanic manta ray (M. birostris) has largely disappeared. The aggressive trade in gill rakers continues in several of the key range states for mobulids with the largest landings documented in Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia.

“If action is not taken quickly, manta and mobula rays will likely face regional extinctions because of unregulated fisheries”, said Michael Skoletsky, Executive Director of Shark Savers. “Anyone who has gone diving with mantas knows them to be intelligent, graceful, and engaging animals. It would be a tragedy to lose them.”

Executive Director of WildAid, Peter Knights, adds that “Mantas can generate tens of millions of dollars of long term sustainable tourism revenue for less wealthy nations, or for a few million we can let them go extinct for an obscure and dubious folk cure. The economics and the moral imperative are clear – we need an immediate moratorium on gill raker trade and measures for complete protection to some populations and to reduce fishing pressure for others.”

The gills of manta and mobula rays are dried and boiled for preparation as a health tonic that is purported to treat a wide range of ailments.  Yet the report’s researchers did not find the gill raker remedy listed in the official Traditional Chinese Medicine manual. However, that has not prevented its use as a pseudo-medicinal tonic, driven by direct marketing to consumers by importers in Guangzhou, China, the primary destination for this trade.

The report, Manta Ray of Hope: The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays highlights what is known about the remarkable biology and ecology of manta and mobula rays, explains the extreme threats they face, describes the fisheries and trade that target these rays, and offers some solutions via alternative, non-consumptive uses for communities to profit from them, sustainably.  The information provided in the report will enable decision-makers to move swiftly in enacting critical protections for manta and mobula rays.

Manta Ray of Hope received support from the Silvercrest Foundation, Hrothgar Investments Ltd, and private donors. Manta Ray of Hope: The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays received additional guidance and data from many of the foremost manta researchers and scientists throughout the world.

About Shark Savers: Shark Savers was founded in 2007 by six  long-time divers driven by a shared passion – to save the world’s  dwindling shark and ray populations. Today, more than 20,000 members  from 99 nations share that passion. Focusing on action and results,  Shark Savers programs result in saving the lives of sharks and rays. By  leveraging professional experience and expertise, Shark Savers brings  this important issue to the masses in many compelling forms, motivating  people to stop consuming sharks and shark fin soup, and working for the  creation of shark sanctuaries and other protections. For more  information, please visit www.sharksavers.org

European seas and the communities that depend on them face catastrophe unless we act now to protect them. Tomorrow, EU ministers could agree to bold new fishing limits, but they will only do so if we make our voices heard now.

The European Commission has tabled a strong proposal, based on scientific findings, to protect dwindling fish populations. But some countries, under pressure from the powerful fishing lobby, want to gut the plans behind closed doors. If we stand up for science and the future of our fisheries we can make the decisive difference to the ministers’ thinking as they negotiate tomorrow.

Let’s flood EU ministers with messages demanding a strong plan to stop the decline in Europe’s fish populations. Click below to send a message now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_our_seas/?tta

Some 72% of the EU’s assessed fish stocks are dangerously overfished, and experts fear that within 40 years our oceans could becompletely fished out. Only a strong, science-based commitment to resuscitating fish stocks will prevent the total collapse of fishing communities in the coming years.

Our messages now could have a real impact. Six weeks ago, when the current proposal for 2012 fishing limits was being negotiated, Avaaz members in Ireland poured thousands of messages in a single day into a public consultation and helped swing Irish ministers behind a strong stance for this week’s meeting. Now it’s decision time. This meeting will be tense and long, so it’s vital to get our message across to ministers before they disappear behind closed doors.

Let’s finish the job by sending messages to Ministers across the EU demanding they put science, not short-term corporate interest, at the helm of our fishing policies — and come together to pass a strong plan to save our seas. Click below to send your urgent message:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_our_seas/?tta

For decades, we’ve treated our seas as indestructible — vacuuming up fish and dumping waste. But the world is starting to take notice. Avaaz members’ actions helped push the UK government to create the world’s largest marine protected area, and over a million of us persuaded the International Whaling Commission to uphold the global ban on commercial whaling. If we can now win in Europe, we’ll be one step closer to a world with vibrant and thriving oceans.

European Commission adopts European Maritime and Fisheries Fund  – Too little too late for fish stocks?

Today the Commission adopted Maria Damanaki’s proposal for a new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. The fund will be equipped with a financial envelop of 6,5 billion euro which will be used throughout the period 2014 to 2020.

The fund will support the implementation of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. It will focus on actions which increase economic growth and create jobs in the sector.

According to the EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, no more money will be spent to build bigger vessels. The fund is meant to help small-scale fisheries to become more profitable and more viable. It aims to reverse the decline of many coastal areas and island communities which are dependent on fishing. It should add more value to fishing related activities and promote the diversification of local communities to other sectors of the maritime economy, such as: preserving and processing the fish maritime tourism, cleaning of the sea,  and aquaculture.

The Commission is going to promote the development of sustainable aquaculture, both marine and inland. Helping existing enterprises, and promoting the entry of new comers, new investments, and new jobs into this activity.

Maria states in her newsletters “Last but not least, the new fund will contribute to greening the common fisheries policy. Overfishing is a major threat to ecosystems. The new fund will contribute to the sustainable management of fishing resources. It will help the fishing sector to become equipped with more selective gear, to eliminate discards, to invest in equipment that reduces the impact on the marine environment. In general to move towards sustainable fishing that does less damage to marine ecosystems.”

She will now present the proposal to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers for final adoption.

As a marine conservation volunteer and an active member of OCEAN2012, I am sad to see that the preservation of marine ecosystems is not given a high priority within the plans for the fisheries fund. Without thriving fish populations there will be not even be any small-scale fisheries left in the future.

Three great pieces of news about sharks in Europe!

New laws will make it illegal to catch porbeagle sharks in European waters and silky sharks in the Atlantic. These are two particularly vulnerable shark populations, so these new protections are especially exciting.

The EU has also proposed to strengthen its ban on shark finning by eliminating a loophole that allows fins and sharks to be landed on separate boats. This is your last chance to support this proposal (which we have worked hard with Shark Alliance to achieve).        Please sign this petition.

This is a public-private partnership that will help contribute to achieving the EU’s goal of good environmental status in marine waters by 2020.

The plastics industry is willing to do its part and shoppers must now take responsibility for supplying their own shopping bags in supermarkets and stores towns throughout my country, Wales. Recycling is also becoming the norm in Europe, helping to reduce the waste that ends up in landfill sites.

Now we need to see where the ocean litter hot spots are around Europe and identify the most effective techniques for cleaning the seas and disposing safely of the waste.

A new financial instrument for the integrated maritime policy will support gathering this knowledge. The EU is currently planning how the fund should operate from 2014 onwards and aiming to cut the red tape and make it easier for clean up schemes to be supported. This will not only help clean up the oceans – it will also promote new job opportunities for fishermen.