If you’re planning to go head-to-head with a sea creature, it’s probably best to start small.

Only the very brave, or very stupid, would begin a headbutting competition with a 50-ton sperm whale… after all, its head is one third of its overall size.

Nevertheless, here are pictures of a snorkeller doing just that – swimming with his head down right up to a massive whale.

Up close and personal: A lucky snorkeller takes whale-watching to a new level by nudging heads. The amazing photo was taken of Dominica in the Caribbean.

Of course, you can’t make a 60ft animal do anything against its will, so it’s up to the whales to decide if they are in the mood to play. But, when they are feeling sociable, the results lead to amazing pictures like these.

Dominica has become known as the whale-watching capital of the Caribbean. Sperm whales can be seen year-round and – because the ocean floors drops to thousands of feet deep just off the coast – the whales are within easy reach of humans.

Whale of a time: The snapping snorkeller keeps his distance from the giant whale to capture more intimate shots

Read Full Article at Dailymail.co.uk

The water may seem like a limitless source of food but we are slowly realising the free-for-all can't continue. Photo / Richard Robinson

Control of global stocks is the only answer, say Gareth Morgan and
Geoff Simmons, authors of Hook, Line & Blinkers: Everything Kiwis Never
Wanted to Know About Fishing.

The election is looming, but it’s a sad state of affairs when a conversation
over tea takes precedence over actual policies.

So we’ve decided to clock out and go fishing.

Out on the waves, the vast blue of the ocean dupes us to believe it to be a
limitless source of food and a bottomless receptacle of our waste.

Yet as instances of abuse of our oceans accumulate we are slowly realising
that this free-for-all can’t continue – unless we’re happy to leave the ocean in
a worse state for our grandchildren.

Read Full Article at NZ Herald

New video footage captured by a tuna industry whistleblower has been released by Greenpeace, which reveals the routine slaughter of other marine species, including whale sharks, rays and whales. The footage is shot onboard a tuna fishing vessel in the Pacific which deploys fish aggregating devices, one of the most aggressive fishing operations used by the industry in the face of declining fish populations owing to overfishing. Warning: this footage contains images that some may find disturbing

5:30 AM Wednesday Nov 9, 2011

Paul Watson. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson believes whaling in the Antarctic is at a tipping point, but no thanks to the “useless” New Zealand Government.

The outspoken, uncompromising eco-warrior will soon hoist his ship’s Jolly Roger for conservation group Sea Shepherd’s eighth voyage to the Southern Ocean to chase and harass Japanese whalers.

This summer’s battle is expected to be fiercer than usual because the Japanese are sending a strengthened fleet with armed guards to the Antarctic for the first time in three years.

Watson, 60, is in Auckland to attend the New Zealand premiere of a biographical documentary Eco-Pirate.

Read Full Article at NZ Herald

8:37 AM Thursday Nov 10, 2011

Underwater Association president Shane Wasik will ask the owners of the stricken Rena to leave part of the ship on Astrolabe Reef as a diving wreck. Photo / Alan Gibson

The container ship that brought an environmental tragedy to the Bay of Plenty could become a tourist-pulling underwater wonder, says a national marine group.

which is sponsoring a national divers’ conference in Tauranga this weekend, wants part of the crippled MV Rena to remain as a shipwreck and will approach Greek owners Costamare Shipping with the plan.

The bid comes as a new nationwide campaign backed by 5000 people puts fresh pressure on Costamare to cover the disaster’s entire damage bill, saving millions of taxpayer dollars.

Pumping of heavy fuel oil from the submerged number five starboard wing tank on the Rena began last night.

Operations were hampered yesterday, as salvors had to purge air from the vessel’s last full oil tank before pumping could begin.

Read Entire Article at NZ Herald 

University of Auckland

To make the article more attractive! Photo by AUUC Member Mazdak Radjainia

There are far fewer species on Earth – just 2 million – than widely believed and it is possible to discover them all this century, according to Associate Professor Mark Costello from The University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory.

In the keynote address at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Dr Costello presented new research showing that greater progress has been made describing the world’s biodiversity than previously thought.

“This is excellent news,” he says. “The discovery and description of new species is essential if we are to protect them, and learning more about the diversity of life on Earth will help us to understand the ecosystems we depend on for our survival. It is a massive task, however, and should be a top priority in world science.”

“People often despair that it will be impossible to discover and describe all of the species on Earth before they go extinct,” he says. “But this is based on a significant overestimation of both the number of species and the rate of extinction, and underestimation of the current rate of taxonomic effort in discovering new species.”

There has been speculation about the number of species for hundreds of years, and estimates have varied by tens of millions. Recently, for instance, it was widely reported that there are more than 8 million species on Earth. In a study published in the journal Systematic Biology, however, Dr Costello and colleagues from Trinity College, Dublin, concluded that there are likely to be just 1.8 to 2.0 million species.

Read Full Article Here!

Greenseas restated its commitment to be supplied with tuna from sustainable fisheries, which do not use FADs. (Photo:Greenseas/Greenpeace/FIS)

Tuna company Greenseas has announced that it is deepening its commitment to tuna conservation by sourcing 100 per cent of its tuna from fish aggregating device- (FAD) free sources by the end of 2015.

“Greenseas was the first canned tuna brand to switch to dolphin-friendly fishing methods two decades ago, so it is appropriate that Greenseas is once again taking the lead on environmental sustainability,” said Heinz Australia Corporate Affairs Manager Jessica Ramsden.

In addition, Greenseas informed this week, it will go on providing financial backing for scientific research by the Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) and supports having marine reserves to safeguard marine biodiversity in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

“Dropping FADs and supporting marine reserves in the Pacific high seas pockets are among the strongest conservation moves a company like Greenseas could make. That commitment, along with their ongoing support for OFP’s research programme, demonstrates genuine leadership,” stated Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle.

Read full Article Here!

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 6:10p.m.

The grounding of the Rena and the oil leak has huge environmental implications.

There is the reef it now sits on, marine life, and birds.

Tony Reid reports on the damage so far. Watch the full video.

New Zealand has a coastline of over 15,000 km, and its marine shore and seascape extends from subtropical waters in the north to cold subantarctic waters in the south. This nutrient rich mix of waters supports a high diversity of marine life. Rocky reefs and kelp beds support many species which are recreationally and commercially fished, such as snapper, blue cod, lobster, kina and paua.

New Zealand is an isolated country in the south-west of the Pacific which means there is a high proportion of marine species only found here.

Changes to the marine environment are caused by (over) fishing, land-based sources of pollution, sedimentation and introduction of marine pests. Only 1% of New Zealand’s marine environment has been surveyed.

A dedicated group of volunteers in Nelson is setting up Reef Check New Zealand as a non-profit environmental organisation with the aim to protect and help restore the marine environment. EcoDiver Trainer Jesus Ruiz Lopez is training the first 8 volunteers, with the aid of marine biologist Meagan Carter, tailoring the tropical Reef Check protocol to fit the unique New Zealand marine ecosystem.

If you would like to get involved with this new program, please contact reefchecknz@gmail.com. Volunteer opportunities are available for both divers (PADI Advanced Diver or equivalent) and non-divers throughout the year.

Visit the Reef Check website.