Pete Bethune has revealed his latest mission and declared war on fishing piracy.

The Kiwi self-styled eco-warrior gained international notoriety after serving time in a Japanese prison for illegally boarding a whaling ship two years ago.

His latest venture looks even more dangerous.

The Auckland waterfront launch of Pete Bethune’s purpose-built amphibious boat couldn’t be further from its intended destination – the seas around West and East Africa, plagued by illegal fishing operations.

Built by Auckland company Sealegs, the impressive craft is fitted with every conceivable gadget from infrared cameras to night vision.

“This allows us to be a lot more effective in coastal waters,” he says. “On the patrols we’re undertaking, this will be an amazing asset for us and we will start to deliver on this boat.”

By deliver he means bagging, as he puts it, “the bad guys”. Mr Bethune has assembled a team of commandos from former navy seals and other international special forces, all willing to put their lives on the line for marine conservation.

“This team of ex-military guys are taking on a very formidable target – these criminal gangs that fish illegally in Africa – and we’re really looking forward to getting over there and getting stuck into them.”

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NIWA and Environment Southland have recently returned with stunning new footage of undersea sills in Dusky and Doubtful Sounds, brimming with sea life, corals and sponges. The footage was taken from a remote-operated vehicle (ROV), and is being used to assess 20 areas within Fiordland currently designated as anchoring sites for tourist cruise ships.

“The scientists were surprised with what is down there. It’s pretty amazing,” says NIWA’s Nelson Regional Manager Ken Grange. It’s believed the ROV footage has captured new species and previously undescribed habitats after only a week surveying Fiordland’s undersea sills.

“We know that the fiords are globally unique and have some of the highest marine diversity in New Zealand, but the discovery of these sill communities was outstanding. We can’t wait to get back and survey more of them,” says Grange.

“We found large areas of horny coral fans, rare and protected fragile red coral, sponges and sea pens. Large black coral trees, over a metre tall, were attached to the rocks and they provided shelter to large numbers of rock lobsters, while dense schools of fish, mainly butterfly perch, hovered above.”

“There were several dozens of things that are new to science: sponges, sea pens, corals, sea squirts and sea cucumbers. Prior to this trip, we didn’t know about these sill communities,” says Grange.

Ships’ anchors would be very destructive to such habitats. This year, 87 cruise ships will bring tourists to marvel at the spectacular scenery in Fiordland National Park. Next year there will be 90. Only a few of these ships drop anchor, but those that do can offload passengers in large numbers to sight-see in Zodiac boats.

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From nzherald.co.nz

Maritime New Zealand today announced Greece-based Daina [SUBS TICK] Shipping Co has been charged under two sections of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), which relates to the “discharge of harmful substances from ships” in the coastal marine area.

The charge carries a maximum fine of $600,000 and $10,000 for every day of continued offending.

Read full NZ Herald article here

The director of Titanic and other films used a specially designed submarine called Deepsea Challenger to dive nearly 11 kilometres. He completed his deep dive a little before 8 a.m. Monday local time, according to Stephanie Montgomery of the National Geographic Society.

(photo from nzherald.co.nz)

“All systems OK,” were Cameron’s first words, according to a statement. He arrived at a depth of 10,898 metres early Sunday evening (UST) on the U.S. East Coast.

Read full NZ Herald article here

This estimate is much lower than that of 2005 which put the population at 111. It means that the dolphin is rapidly heading towards extinction. We have a short window of opportunity to save them.

Read the full NZ Herald article here

Or you can join online.

The fine print: after Orientation Week 2012 membership will cost $30 for students and $60 for non-students, so join up now!

The Auckland University Underwater Club is a non-profit, recreational dive club. Student and non-student members are welcome. Our goal is to provide our members with access to the great sport of scuba diving, and other sub-aqua sports such as freediving, at student-oriented prices (read: damn cheap!).

We offer PADI Open Water courses, dive trips, freediving, spearfishing, a club boat, gear hire, club meetings, deals with dive shops, advice, underwater photography, buddies, wicked social life and advanced diver training… all at fantastic prices.

If you’re a keen diver, or you’ve always wanted to dive, join us and start enjoying life below the waves. No experience is necessary as we provide the cheapest PADI Open Water dive course to get you started. From there you can come on one of our many trips around New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you underwater soon.

Scientists want ships slowed down in the Hauraki Gulf to stop endangered whales from being killed.

University of Auckland research has revealed the endangered Bryde’s whales are vulnerable to being killed by ships in the area, prompting scientists to call for speed restrictions to reduce the chance of ships hitting them.

A similar approach had been effective in protecting whales overseas, said Dr Rochelle Constantine.

“We only catch brief glimpses of Bryde’s whales at the surface in the Hauraki Gulf, but our research shows that they spend more than 90 per cent of their time in the top 12m of water. This makes them extremely vulnerable to being hit by vessels of all kinds, especially large ships that are highly likely to kill the whales when they do collide,” she said.

Read the full NZ Herald article here.