Environment: The very recent killing of Thresher and dogsharks for squalene, photos of the liver from some 1,000 + dogsharks that were caught. They live at least 2 fathoms deep..
We
CARE ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT.
GD
....although I spend time discussing
issues revolving around the tourism in El Nido, the following issue
takes supreme precedence as it directly affects concerns both
personally, professionally, and globally. This email was forwarded
to me by a friend who works in the tourism industry in
Donsol.
Lee
Hey Guys
Sorry to depress you with these photos... They were taken in
Donsol, Sorsogon
(whale shark habitat), just
two weeks ago by my friend Omar. The finned sharks are thresher,
hunted by the hundreds...
The pink stuff in the bucket are little pieces of shark liver (from
dog sharks) for squalene. Pictured here are of the
liver from some 1,000 + dogsharks that were caught. They live at
least 2 fathoms deep...
Please forward this article if you wish...thank
you.
This is
the way the fishermen earn in the off season. They sell it to
middle men who bring it to Taiwan and Hong Kong. I’ve seen
firsthand the hunting of dog shark and finning in
Sorsogon and even Siargao but
I am certain in happens everywhere.
What we can DO is raise awareness.
Please forward if you wish
Thanks,
Denise
www.ecorescue.org
Donsol, Sorsogon,
Philippines is known
internationally as being an area that attracts some of the largest
congregations of whale sharks in the world. Originally hunted for
their commercial value, the sharks have recently gained full
protection status throughout the Philippines. This was largely due
to the world-wide recognition they received from
WWF
and the incredibly positive response
from the tourism industry (both locally and internationally).
Obviously the local fisherman, whom are harshly punished if they
pursue Whale sharks, have found another animal to exploit,
Thresher
sharks. Unfortunately, this
species has the same ‘vulnerable to extinction’ status
as their cousins, the Whale shark. Just as unfortunate, they do not
have the same protection in Philippine waters. That can
change…
Local and international awareness campaigns proved their
effectiveness in protecting the whale shark. It can be done with
the Thresher sharks as well. Just a bit of education and an
economic value larger than what can be provided by fishing them
must be provided (the notion that protecting an animal for the sake
of protecting biodiversity, especially in third world countries, is
not a reality…misguided but true). Fortunately, there is
both education and a real economic value already being recognized
in other places within the Philippines. On the small island
of Malapascua, Threshers
sharks have gained protection
due primarily to the recognition that they 'bring-in' more money as
a live attraction for SCUBA divers than as a dead animal sold as
parts to the neighboring Asian countries. Taking a page from
Donsol, local operators developed community based awareness
programs and contribute to the community by providing jobs and much
needed infrastructure. The results have been positive for both
sharks and people. In Donsol, the attention has been on the
Whale
shark, now help is needed to
expand the attitude of protection to other species as
well…
Lee Goldman
Lee Goldman, MSc
Marine Biologist
SE Asia Kayak Tours
www.asiakayaktours.com
Wow...no school today... or is it a field trip to the killing fields?A barbaric Dolphin and Whale killing rampage in Denmark…yet another way of educating our Children…letting them help with the slaughter
DID YOU KNOW?
Is brought to you by the
Philippine - Micronesia
Alliance,
the Divers Choice.
We care about our Environment!
These images which have been send to me by my
friend Mark Cox are almost to graphic and brutal to show on the
web... but I feel this has to be brought to the attention of the
world...and maybe, but only maybe, we can STOP
this brutal
killing.
Wow...no school today...
or is it a field trip to the killing
fields?
A Whale of a Killing in
Denmark -Truth! & Fiction!
The
“Red Sea” blood every where, a barbaric custom from the
stone age has just caught my attention.
I don’t care what the excuse is, but now I have just about
seen enough, this makes me sick! I have never seen such a brutal
way of killing those harmless animals in this part of
Europe, Denmark
to be exact, where children helping
in the slaughter yet another real “good
education” Children even
given a day off school so they can participate, Oh
Boy...
To be honest,
I am lost for
words…the true
color (blood red) of our human or not so human behavior, I think
our ancestors in the stone age have behaved themselves in a more
human way.
See below some links for additional info there you can cast your
vote and bring this cruel practice to a STOP!
GD
Below some excerpts from the articles for more check the
links;
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/w/whale-killing-denmark.htm
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/end-whale-dolphin-slaughter-in-the-faroe-islands
I
am lost for words... GD
Courtesy and Excerpts from the articles, all the photos have been
send to me with the understanding
that these could be used, and help to stop this barbaric practice.
Thank you very much.
Target:
Prime Minister Jóannes Eidesgaard
Sponsored by:
John Koehler
Whales are sensitive, social
animals with highly developed nervous systems. They have a profound
capacity to suffer distress, terror and pain. Each year, the
Faroese kill pilot whales and other small cetaceans.
Islanders in motorboats first drive the whales into a bay. The
chase may be lengthy. The exhausted, terrified and confused whales
are eventually driven into the shallows. Here the bloodbath begins.
The islanders repeatedly hammer 2.2 kg metal gaffs into the living
flesh of each whale until the hooks hold. A 15 cm knife is then
used to slash through the blubber and flesh to the spinal column.
Next the main blood vessels are severed. The blood-stained bay is
soon filled with horribly mutilated and dying whales.
The Faroese celebrate the butchery of their victims in an carnival
atmosphere of entertainment. Indoctrinated from an early age,
children are often given a day off school to watch the fun. They
run down to the bay and clamber over the carcasses of slaughtered
whales.
Every year around 2,000 whales are driven ashore and cruelly
slaughtered in the Faroe Islands, mid-way between the Shetland
Islands and Iceland. For centuries the Faroe Islanders have hunted
pilot whales, driving entire schools into killing bays, where they
are speared or gaffed from boats, dragged ashore and butchered with
knives. Although the Islands are a protectorate of Denmark, they
have their own Government and regulations governing the pilot whale
hunt or "grind" as it is known.
Aside from the fact that the number of North Atlantic long-finned
pilot whales is unknown and they are listed as 'strictly protected'
by the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and
Natural Habitats, this is an act of barbarism and pointlessness. By
slaughtering 100 whales at a time, the Faroese are wiping out
entire pods and family groups. They are removing building blocks
from the gene pool of the species and damaging the web of life in
the North Atlantic and the North Sea.
The drive hunt is a practice abandoned elsewhere many decades ago,
and now outlawed by other European states. The inhabitants of the
Faroe Islands have no subsistence need for whale meat, and much of
the flesh is left to rot and be dumped; it cannot be exported, as
it is polluted with heavy metals and other toxins and therefore
cannot meet EU heath standards for human food.
According to Faroese legislation it is also permitted to hunt
certain species of small cetaceans other than pilot whales. These
include: Bottlenose dolphin; Atlantic white-beaked dolphin;
Atlantic white-sided dolphin; and Harbour porpoise (There are also
specific regulations for the hunting of harbour porpoise. Harbour
porpoises are killed with shotguns).
More good NEWS from the Philippine -Micronesia Alliance...NOW with a Podcast and Movie Gallery on our Blog
There is now also a direct access to our Alliance Main Website via the New link top right hand side.
We are constantly updating our Blog and website, stay tuned or subscribe for the latest NEWS , Images and Videos.
Video
© Dirk Fahrenbach edited and sound by © GD
Click on the images above and this will take you right to
our NEW Podcast and
Movie section.
Please have some patience some of the Clips could take several
minutes to download, of course this depends on your
connection.
The video has been compressed to fit within the web standards, but
Broadband/DSL connection is recommended.
Late Breaking NEWS...finally our updated and improved website is up and running at alliancediving.com the Divers Choice
Please go ahead and check it out, our domain name is the same except for the facelift...www.alliancediving.com
You might have to refresh your Browser and update your
cache.
Click on the screenshot and go direct to our updated website
@
www.alliancediving.com
Late NEWS...Disney Responds Regarding Shark Tournament Involvement in DivePhotoGuide…
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/disney_
responds_regarding_shark_tournament_involvement
This is my response to all the fuzz re. Shark Tournament in Dive PhotoGuide.
We are in full support of DivePhotoGuide; yes it is a big fuzz... but a downright disgusting one.
Unborn Shark, it's Mother and the Baby got
Murdered!
Photo:
© Gunther Deichmann - shark embryo after Mother got
killed.
Stop
the killing it is
Disgusting!
I have
read the letter from the Walt Disney Guys…it says
nothing!
As mention in
my earlier blog this is not the way to educate our children about
our environment.
Every living thing has a right to be on this planet, we humans are
only infants in geological times, because we are more intelligent
(are we?) doesn’t give us the right to wipe out
everything…and don’t tell me this is sport…that
is… make up the rest of the words.
The big white
Hunter…with a
trophy on the wall…yes soon there is nothing left out there
except on these walls of a very few.
“Dad…what is
that…? Son that is a shark…oh, I like to see that
one…sorry son you can only see that on MY Wall…Why?
Because there are non-left.
Dad why is that…?
OK son, lets change the topic... go out and play with your
friends.”
Do I
have to say anything else?
Editor PMA
GD
Breaking News...Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center plus Continental Airlines in Flight Media Associates Fly Away to Chuuk Sweepstakes
© Gunther Deichmann - the Wrecks of Truk Lagoon, Chuuk
Micronesia,
Dive with our Partner Truk Lagoon Dive
Center for
more info click this link.
Continental Airlines in Flight
Media Associates Fly Away to Chuuk
Sweepstakes
2008, at 11:23 am
-"One
Entry" | |
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Continental Airlines In Flight Media
Associates Fly Away to Chuuk Sweepstakes", url:
"http://www.freestufftimes.com/contests/01/continental-airlines-in-flight
http://www.continentalflyaway.com/Prize: (1
winner) Destination Travel Package for winner and one guest to the
featured destination of the month, Chuuk, Federated States of
Micronesia. The prize includes round trip, coach air transportation
on Continental Airlines for winner and Guest, (from major airport
served by Continental nearest winner’s U.S. residence
and the destination as determined by Sponsor in its sole
discretion) plus hotel accommodations (one room/double occupancy)
for four (4) nights at the Truk Stop Hotel. Trip must be taken and
completed by August 31, 2009 and is subject to blackout dates,
space availability, occupancy limitations and other restrictions
may apply. This package cannot be combined with any other offer.
This travel package certificate cannot be substituted is not
transferable and must be presented upon check-in with proper
identification. Average Retail Value (ARV) is $3,000.00. Actual ARV
is dependant on available departure cities on the chosen week of
travel. The bearer of this travel package certificate is
responsible for any difference in price due to reserving any higher
priced package, additional travelers, or a fee applied as a result
of a change in the reservation, and is responsible for all airline
and government departure taxes, incidentals, gratuities, optional
travel insurance, personal spending and all other expenses not
specifically listed. Trip winner and travel companion must have all
necessary identification and/or travel documents required for
travel outside the continental United States.
Breaking NEWS...Reef Check International and the Philippines...the Philippine -Micronesia Alliance is in support of this non profit organization...plus a lot more.
I am very proud to announce that the Philippine - Micronesia Alliance is NOW affiliated and in support of the Reef Check-Philippines the local chapter of Reef Check International, a non-profit organization. please read below our very first article from Lee Goldman, Marine Biologist and a member of the Alliance with S.E. Asia Kayak Tours. Very soon we fire up our complete and restructured Alliancediving.com website...amazing what is in store...you just have to stay tuned with The Divers Choice or subscribe to our Blog.
See below the screenshots of the Reef Check brochure soon available as a download on our updated site.
GD
Hi Gunther,
A while back I wrote about an upcoming project concerning the Philippines, the Philippine chapter of an international conservation NGO (Non-Government Organization), and two members of the Alliance.
Well, we’ve finished the details and are ready to announce our project. Reef Check-Philippines is the local chapter of Reef Check International, a non-profit organization that designs coral reef monitoring protocols and conservation action plans. Monitoring our reefs is essential to caring for them, and helps to make assessments on reef health and diversity. Ideally, the best people to monitor the reefs are the people in the community and active divers who not only have a vested interest in the health of world-wide reefs, but interact with them on a regular basis. Reef Check developed their monitoring protocols based on accepted scientific methods, yet made it easily understood by and effective for non-scientific based participants.
Our 10-day expedition will survey the reefs around Puerto Galera and the Verde Islands group. Puerto Galera is known the world over for its amazing diversity and the nearby Verde Islands group continually makes the biodiversity spotlight for its potential to be the center of the center of fish biodiversity within the famed ‘Coral Triangle’. For our base of operations, we chose Alliance partner, Asia Divers and El Galleon Resort in Puerto Galera. Of course, Asia Divers and El Galleon Resort are world class operations themselves offering top quality service, expertise, and professionalism as a PADI 5-star Resort. Pairing the location with an exceptional resort and diving service made for the perfect place to conduct our surveys to gather baseline data for continual monitoring.
This won’t be the first time I thank Allan Nash, Asia Divers, and El Galleon Resort for their interest and help in bringing this expedition together. We hope it is a huge success, as not only will the participants gain valuable skills, have fun, and dive in world-class sites, but the people of Puerto Galera and the Philippines will benefit from this on an exponential level.
The other member of the Alliance? Me, S.E.Asia Kayak Tours. My experience as a marine biologist and expedition leader was the perfect skill-set for the development of this expedition and I will continue to work with Reef Check Philippines on future expeditions around the islands of the Philippines.
For more information, please contact Lee Goldman at lee@asiakayaktours.com
Reef Check Philippines: http://www.reefcheckphilippines.org/
And the Winner is...Layang Layang, 27 July 2008 - Congratulations to the winners of the Layang Layang Underwater Digital Photo Shootout 2008!
Layang Layang, 27
July 2008 - Congratulations to the winners of the
Layang Layang Underwater Digital Photo Shootout
2008!
After six
days of friendly competition among 34 competitors from 10
countries, a panel of three internationally acclaimed underwater
photographers (Settimio Ciprianni, Stephen Wong and Rod Klein)
selected winning images from entries submitted by contest
participants.
Each of the participating divers undertook the challenge of
creating beautiful and creative images during their dives around
Layang Layang, with contest rules permitting everyone to submit up
to three images in each of two categories — macro and
wide-angle.
Given the world-renowned, rich waters around Layang Layang, as well
as the determination and skill of the contest participants,
it’s no surprise that Read more…
Letter from Fins
Magazine...
Hi Alan, Tommy, Dermot
and Bill
The Layang Layang Underwater Shootout 2008 has already finished.
The results have been announced in FiNS Blog already. The feedback
about PMA from the event was very good. Most of the participants
feel like the three prizes from you are the most attractive. Some
of them have just heard of Puerto Galera, Truk and Palau, but never
considered to visit there. During the event, divers talked about
the prizes, and talked about diving in Philippines and
Micronesia a lot. In
my opinion it was quite effective.
And here are the winners of your three prizes:
Puerto Galera by Asia
Divers with El Gallean Beach Resort
and Blue Horizon
Travel
Ms. Leander Maree Wiseman (Australia)
Palau with Sam's
Tours
Mr George Russel Childress (USA)
Truk Lagoon with
Truk Lagoon Dive Center
Mr Adam Daniel Butler (UK)
Press release...Soon the New and completly overhauled Philippine-Micronesia Alliance Website...amazing NEW features for all your Adventure and Dive Travel.
The Philippine-Micronesia Alliance web site is undergoing some major changes...we are working in the background and advise you as soon it is up and running...
We made some fantastic improvements not only for all the Alliance partners but for YOU the Customer...
Easy to navigate, great Photo Gallery from all or destinations, easy direct and Package bookings with our partner Blue Horizons Travel plus our new partner S.E. Asia Kayak Tours with packages and information. Real time weather forecast from all our destinations in the Philippines and Micronesia plus a lot more & all of this in nine languages.
When can you see all of this? Well, in approximately 10 days...but dont worry YOU be the first to know.
From the virtual office of the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance
The Divers Choice!
We are very happy to announce our NEW DIVE and TRAVEL PACKAGES... starting from July 2008.
Australia:Breaking NEWS...Fantastic Photo of a NEW White Whale from Down Under...
Fantastic Photo of a NEW White Whale from Down Under...
New White Whale spotted...
Courtesy By Alison Feeney-Hart
BBC News, Sydney
Migaloo has become something of a celebrity
A new white humpback has been sighted off Byron Bay on the east coast of Australia.
The newcomer, which was filmed by a television news helicopter, has excited marine scientists who think it may be related to Migaloo - to date, the only known all-white humpback whale.
Migaloo is somewhat of a celebrity down under. Why? "Because as far as we know, he is globally unique," said Professor Peter Harrison from the Whale Research Centre, Southern Cross University.
It now seems that Migaloo, (whose Aboriginal name means "white fellow") might have competition.
Although predominantly white, the new whale does have some black markings near its head and tail. So who is the newcomer?
A white calf was spotted with a normal humpback mother in Byron Bay two years ago. Experts say the new whale could be the offspring of Migaloo but further tests need to be carried out.
A record number of humpbacks have been spotted off the Australian coast this year on their annual migration north to their breeding grounds.
One thing scientists do agree on is that this second white whale has never been seen in these waters before...
more and the amazing photo @
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7519263.stm
New Philippine-Micronesia TRAVEL, DIVE Packages & ADVENTURE TOURS now online... The Divers Choice!
But that’s not all... we also working very hard to give the Alliance Website a total overhaul, this is done in the background and we anticipate to implement this within in the next four weeks.
Some very cool changes are taken place including the announcement of the International Environmental Organisation, you just have to stay tuned for all the up coming NEWS and updates.
GD
Instead bringing children to some gory Shark Tournament...We should educate them that we have 'Only 50 years left' for sea fish' THINK NOW before it is to late.
Educating in schools is a good start…but not the way it is conducted at the…Disgusting Montauk Shark Tournament.
A message from the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance
"We Care About Our Environment" & In support of DivePhotoGuide
GD
© Gunther
Deichmann - for more environment related images go
to:
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/environment.html
'Only 50 years left' for sea fish'
By
Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News
website
Natural
protection
There will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the
middle of the century if current trends continue, according to a
major scientific study. Stocks have collapsed in nearly one-third
of sea fisheries, and the rate of decline is accelerating.
Writing in the journal Science, the international team of
researchers says fishery decline is closely tied to a broader loss
of marine biodiversity.
But a greater use of protected areas could safeguard existing
stocks. "The way we use the oceans is that we hope and assume there
will always be another species to exploit after we've completely
gone through the last one," said research leader Boris Worm, from
Dalhousie University in Canada.
This
century is the last century of wild seafood
Steve Palumbi
Should fish be off the menu?
Send us your comments "What we're highlighting is there is a finite
number of stocks; we have gone through one-third, and we are going
to get through the rest," he told the BBC News website.
Steve Palumbi, from Stanford University in California, one of the
other scientists on the project, added: "Unless we fundamentally
change the way we manage all the ocean species together, as working
ecosystems, then this century is the last century of wild
seafood."
Spanning
the seas
This is a vast piece of research, incorporating scientists from
many institutions in Europe and the Americas, and drawing on four
distinctly different kinds of data.
For
the complete article go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6108414.stm
Is this how we educate our Children about our declining SHARK population, Oceans and Environment? Think!
Is this the way we educate our children today?
THINK!
Breaking
NEWS!
I have just received this article from DivePhotoGuide...not very
nice...it is disgusting!
NOT
expectable... is
this how we educate our children about Sharks, Oceans and our
environment?
See below excerpts from an article by DivePhotoGuide for the
complete story and more disgusting images go
to:
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/
GD
All photos below: Courtesy of Jason Heller and The Humane Society
of the United States.
Montauk
Shark Tournament Coverage
Author: Jason Heller / June 21, 2008 12:00AM MDT Category: Marine
Conservation
Article Tags:
Shark Tournament, Montauk, Star Island, Sharks, Fishing
As most of our readers know, we have previously reported our
intended coverage and call to action against the Montauk Shark
Tournament and the subsequent death threats we have received. The
authorities have been involved, and thank you for those who
expressed concern. The local papers even caught wind of the
situation. We are serious New Yorkers who are not afraid of
standing up for what we believe in.
Is
this education????
Montauk
Shark TournamentOn June 14, 2008 we headed out to Montauk, New York
to cover the 22nd annual Montauk Shark Tournament at the Star
Island Yacht Club. Montauk is located in the Hamptons (although
technically not a “Hampton” at the end of Long Island,
about a 3 hour drive from New York City. It’s actually a
quaint, laid back and beautiful beach getaway for New Yorkers that
I’ve visited for many years. I’ve known about the
Montauk shark fishing tournament for years, but never understood
the scale and gravity of the event prior to being contacted by the
Humane Society of America. This is arguably the largest shark
tournament in the US, rivaled possibly only by the Oak Bluffs
tournament held in Martha’s Vineyard. In 2007 the Humane
Society successfully shut down another large American shark
tournament in Destin Florida. During the 2006 event, a mutilated
Hammerhead shark was put on display as children watched in
horror.
The
board of directors of the Destin shark tournament were shamed by
the negative publicity generated by the Humane Society, Star Island
Yacht Clubjournalists, and other concerned citizens. As they say,
an image is worth a thousand words, and thankfully the Destin
tournament ceased to exist. The organizers of the Montauk shark
tournament must have taken this fact to heart, and confronted all
the photographers shooting the event and threatened to remove us
from the event because it was in fact held on private property.
Remember the old adage “any publicity is good
publicity”? Well, apparently not for shark tournaments.
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/
Matt Weiss from DivePhotoGuide an Update from Southeast Asia... including the Philippines with Dugong Dive Center and Asia Divers
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/matt_1
Matt Weiss: An Update From Southeast Asia
Author: Jason Heller / June 19, 2008 12:00AM MDT Category: Photo
Matt Weiss, Indonesia, Philppines, Puerto Galera, Palawan, Asia Divers, Fathoms, Aqua Marine, Bali, Assignment, Southeast Asia, El Galeon, Dugong Dive Center, Cluba Paradise, Coral Triangle
Note from Jason: Matt Weiss has been trotting around Southeast Asia on an extended assignment for DPG, visiting some of the most bio-diverse areas in Indonesia, Philppines and Malaysia. Internet access has been an issue but he finally as had a chance to check in from a quick stop in Singapore...
From the Philippines...© Matt Weiss -
DivePhotoGuide
Regards from Singapore!
I finally have a pretty good internet connection so here's an
update on my experiences so far...go to DivePhotoGuide for the
complete article @
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/matt_1