Photos by Jennifer Browning

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Steel mesh nets?

Adelaide's metro beaches are calling for steel mesh nets in order to protect their aquatic revellers from shark attacks. So protect us from the sharks. Let us swim without fear...but without fear are we swimming without a conscience? Shark nets tend to not only trap and kill sharks but thousands of sea turtles, dolphins, whales and other marine life important to the ocean's ecosystem.Sure we want protection from the mighty Great White and the swift Mako...we want to live, swim, dive, and surf freely....but at what cost?

The Endangered Wildlife Trust and WWF are proposing the use of electronic shark deterrent barriers at beaches in the Peninsula along False Bay South Africa. It is a joint effort to preserve the environment divers love to visit.

Here's an idea deter sharks, but don't kill them.Hmmm.

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Thursday, December 01, 2005

Deep sea poker

While the Caribbean Poker Classic began earlier this week in St. Kitts, poker pros, Juha Helppi and Rob Varkonyi donned wet suits and oxygen tanks in order to play a little heads up game below the surface. The players sat around a specially weighted table, played with weighted chips, and waterproof cards.

According to Poker777, Helppi and Varkonyi had to do a little mental multitasking making sure their table didn't float away and making due with their fishy spectators wanting a little up close and personal action of their own.
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Cayman coral reefs in crisis

According to Cathy Church, Cayman island reefs are in danger.

Coral damage stems from recent hurricanes, rising temperatures from global warming as well as coral diseases brought on by pollution.

Varieties of fish among the Cayman reefs are in decline as well. Church said that while fishing is prohibited along the coral walls, fishing line is found on any dive site around the island. While Marine Enforcement officers enforce the illegal fishing law, Church believes officers need to be more strict about the limitations on where to fish.

Recent Ministry of Tourism honouree for his contribution to the local dive industry, Peter Milburn believes overall the coral reefs are in good shape and that there is an abundance of fish life as a result of less fishing among the reefs. Milburn believes the coral reefs are suffocating from algae blooms cause by too much fresh water and dirty water getting into the sea.

Church blames island development as a contributor to polluted reefs.

“This porous little island cannot support high level development because everything we do ends up on the reef,” she said.“Every little bit we do kills off a little more reef”.

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©2005 Jennifer Browning. All photos unless otherwise noted are the property of Jennifer Browning. Please seek permission before using or linking photos