Global Dive » Conservation

Project AWARE International Cleanup 2010

Tara — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:00:43 +0000

On one day, around the world, 15,000 AWARE Divers in more than 100 countries around the globe will document every item found beneath the water’s surface to help prevent the marine debris epidemic affecting our ocean planet

At least 6 million tones of debris enter the world’s oceans each year, harming wildlife and underwater environments. The scuba diving community is influencing change by using their unique skills to remove underwater debris and gathering data to inform conservation.

Project AWARE Foundation tackles the devastating impacts of marine debris by supporting divers and volunteers in year round underwater and shoreline cleanups. In 2009, AWARE divers worldwide took the plunge and collected 555,000 lbs of debris that would have continued to be out of sight and mind for most.

Global Dive gets organised for Cleanup Day by our Conservation Crusader, Instructor Alex, and this year is no different.

When: Saturday, 25 September 2010, 9:00am (divers to meet at 8:30am)

Where: Mission Bay

International Cleanup Day

Tara — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:09:32 +0000

Once again I’d like to thank you all wholeheartedly for the efforts put in to make International Cleanup Day a success.

All in all, over 50 people showed up to help collect over 20 kgs of rubbish!

Team International Cleanup

The majority of which (barring the large bit of carpet/turf) was recyclable.

So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your efforts.

Here are our results (which are shared with Project AWARE):

Number of Volunteers:
50 beach walkers, 2 underwater cleaners: 52 total

5 bags filled
20 kg of debris
1.6km of total area cleaned

Most unusual items found:
a large bit of plastic, possibly off a wharf, or a sturdy shelf

Breakdown of rubbish/debris collected:
67 Paper bags

Protecting our marine environment

82 plastic bags
11 balloons

6 plastic beverage bottles
69 glass beverage bottles
22 beverage cans
327 caps/lids

16 articles of clothing/shoes
33 cups/plates/forks/knives/spoons
201 food wrappers/containers
41 pull tabs

4 shotgun shells/wadding
145 straws/stirrers
30 toys

2 buoys/floats
8 bits of fishing line
3 fishing lures/light sticks
2 plastic sheeting/tarps
10 bits of rope
17 strapping bands

755 cigarette filters/butts
5 cigarette lighters
8 tobacco packaging/wrappers

2 batteries
8 building materials
1 car part
2 bicycle canisters
1 wire (1 large bunch of wire, I should mention)
1 tent peg

2 condoms
1 diaper/nappy
1 syringe
1 tampon/applicator
13 plasters
5 hair ties
1 medicine wrapper

1 large plastic shelf/bit of the wharf?
4 fireworks
1 large piece of carpet/turf

[View with PicLens]

2009 Project Aware Beach Cleanup

Tara — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:49:08 +0000

That time of year is upon us – spring is springing, and more people are (finally allowed to be) heading to the beaches for some relaxation in the sun.

As you all may remember, we had to reschedule our International Cleanup Day from 19 September to 14 November due to poisonous waters around the Auckland area beaches.

Now that that mess is hopefully cleaned up, we’ve got more to do!

Saturday, 14 November 2009 at 9:00am, we’ll be meeting at St Helier’s Beach, just south of the playground near the barbecue area (there will be a big banner there for us to gather round) to do a beach and underwater cleanup.

We’ll be collecting rubbish and recyclables and documenting everything we find, and sending that data off to Project AWARE to include on their international database.

We need volunteers for beach walking and for diving, so if you’re able to help out, please email alexandria.leonard@hotmail.com and let her know if you can make it.
Divers should meet at 8:30am at the barbecue area.

Lunch will be provided courtesy of the Auckland Regional Council, and a raffle will be held following the cleanup, so come along and try your luck at some great prizes!
Winners must be present to win.

We really need your help – come join us if you can!

Thanks everyone,
Alex

Club Night : Sharks and our ecosystem

Global Dive — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:09:28 +0000

(Photo courtesy of Shark Trust www.sharktrust.org)

Unchanged for nearly 400 million years, sharks have been unfairly stereotyped as man’s enemy for a countless number of years.

The rising demand for Shark Fin Soup among Asian countries has seen the rapid decline of many species, but due to the lack of public interest, sharks have quickly become vulnerable and their demise could lead to our own.

As a vital link in the marine food web, sharks keep the marine ecosystems balanced; wiping them out would lead to a global environmental crisis.

There are a few simple things we can do to help raise awareness and protect these beautiful creatures from becoming extinct.

One of Project Aware’s current global initiatives is Protect the Sharks.
Have a look at their site; http://www.projectaware.org/english/global_initiatives/protect_the_sharks.aspx

Stop by Global Dive’s Club night on Monday 29 June to find out more.

Project Jonah

Global Dive — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:55:46 +0000

We’ve been really fortunate to have been involved with Project Jonah in the past, and if you are keen to get involved then now is a good time.

For those that don’t know of Project Jonah their training courses provide you with the essential skills you’ll need if you ever need to help out with a whale or dolphin stranding.

Each year hundreds of whales strand on our shores. Without human help, these animals will suffer a slow and painful death. New Zealand has one of the highest stranding rates in the world. But we also have one of the highest rescue success rates. If a whale or dolphin stranded on a beach near you – would you know what to do?

Successful rescue depends on properly trained volunteers. And you can become one with Project Jonah’s help.

Project Jonah has been actively saving stranded whales for more than 30 years.
They can give you the skills and confidence to take the right steps and provide First Aid to these animals in their most desperate hour of need.

Their course takes just one day, costs $80 ($50 if you’re a student) and they’ll teach you everything you need to know about successful dolphin and whale rescue.

We can’t predict when a stranding will happen, but with Project Jonah training you know you’ll be ready to help when one does.
Join their network of volunteers and become a Marine Mammal Medic today.

Once trained, you’ll be added to Project Jonah’s national stranding database, so that when a stranding occurs, your lifesaving skills can be called upon.

To book online or find out further information visit www.projectjonah.org.nz

Nigels View : Sharkwater

Global Dive — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:29:25 +0000

A few weeks back I saw the movie Sharkwater.
Auckland Zoo had put on a special screening with proceeds going to conservation.

Did you know that an estimated 100 million sharks are killed for their fins each year?
Shark finning is an appalling and simply absurd practice:

* The fin itself is mostly cartilage and has no flavour (the flavour comes from the chicken soup usually added to it).
* The soup made from the fin is considered a status symbol, probably because it is absurdly expensive by the time it gets to the table. It is also falsely believed that the soup has medicinal qualities, which it simply doesn’t.
* The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bottom where it is eaten alive by other fish

If you haven’t seen it, get it out on DVD.
I’ll see if we can’t do a screening sometime here at Global Dive, collect a few dollars off everyone, and contribute it to the cause (will need to check copyright rules first).

Anyway, there ARE things we can all do to help stop this cruel and unsustainable practice, including boycotting restaurants that sell shark fin soup.

Remember, more people are killed each year by Christmas tree lights and vending machines than are by sharks.
They are a critical part of the food chain – they control smaller fish numbers, which in turn eat the plankton that turn CO2 into the oxygen we breathe. Kill all the sharks and we’re likely to be next!

Club Event : Sea Week Kickoff

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:56:57 +0000

Long Bay Beach and Ocean cleanup!

As we did last year, we’re really getting behind this great initiative to clean up our marine environment.
Here are the details for this year’s event. PLEASE help us out if you can.

Who:
Global Dive, Auckland Regional Council

What:
Sea Week kickoff – Long Bay beach and ocean cleanup!

Where:
Long Bay Regional Park – Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve

When:
Sunday, 1 March, 9:00am* (Divers should arrive by 830)

Other details:
All materials for cleanup will be provided, please remember to bring water and a few snacks.
Prizes raffled off – more details about that at the dive club meeting. We need as many volunteers as possible, both diving and non-diving.

Save our Sharks

Global Dive — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:03:20 +0000

Sign the petition to stop shark finning in New Zealand!

Painted as predatory, blood-thirsty creatures in headlines and horror films, sharks are one of the world’s most misrepresented creatures. Long-lived and slow to mature and breed, sharks are incredibly vulnerable to over-fishing. Some sharks don’t reach sexual maturity until the age of twenty-five.

Sharks are commonly “accidentally” caught on long-lines in New Zealand tuna fisheries (some lines stretch to up to 100 kilometres and carry thousands of hooks), and finned, with the rest of their bodies dumped at sea.
New Zealand’s long-line tuna fisheries catch three times as many sharks as tuna. Most sharks caught are blue sharks – a threatened species – and substantial decline in their numbers has been observed.

In order to stop the decimation of our shark population Forest & Bird believes we must follow Australia, the USA and the EU and make it mandatory that sharks must be landed whole as a disincentive to stop the lucrative and wasteful business of shark finning.

Please, please, please – if you care about New Zealand’s marine life sign this petition – https://secure.forestandbird.org.nz/pledge/sharkspledge.asp

Project Aware Trip Report

Tara — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:41:42 +0000

As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, each year Project AWARE helps organise hundreds of thousands of volunteers from all over the world to reverse the damage done to our oceans by debris and litter.

It was a great turnout last weekend – thanks to all those that got behind this really great cause.
An especially big thank you to those that helped organise the event, particularly Alex Leonard (DM) for the huge effort she put in.

As well as collecting a surprising amount of rubbish they also did heaps to raise awareness to the issue, and turn a few heads (you don’t often see a flock of divers shore diving at Mission Bay).

For full details see Tara’s Splash for Trash blog.

Global Dive » Conservation

Project AWARE International Cleanup 2010

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