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Articles
DEMA issues statement on goliath grouper protection
The Diving Equipment Marketing Association (DEMA) has released a statement welcoming the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWCC) decision to continue with a moratorium on the harvesting of goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). This decision was reached at a meeting on 23 February, and was based on the lack of available data on population numbers.
Tom Ingram, DEMA Executive Director, said that:
“The goliath grouper’s size, visibility, low birth rate and slow movement seems to trace another of Florida’s truly majestic waterborne creatures – the manatee, and could easily be thrown back to species extinction if harvesting were allowed without verified stock assessments,”
Dates for British Underwater Photography Championship announced
The British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) has announced the British Underwater Photography Championship 2011. This splash-in competition will be held at Mount Batten, Plymouth, UK on Saturday 9 July. The competition comprises four categories open to images taken with all types of digital cameras during the day: Marine Life, Mankind in the Sea, Humorous, and a special theme to be announced at the event. Prizes will be awarded to each category winner. There will also be an award for the best image with a compact camera in each category (except Humorous).
Please see the BSoUP website for full details and how to enter.
Coral Reefs Revisited: 90% of all reefs threatened by 2030
The Huffington Post has quoted a report that suggest that by 2030, over 90% of the worlds coral reefs will be threatened, and by 2050, nearly all reefs will be. The report, “Reefs at Risk Revisited” carried out by the World Resources Institute, cites ocean acidification and global warming as the major causes of this potential catastrophe. However over-fishing, coastal development and pollution are also seen as being significant problems.
All may not be lost though as one of the reports authors, Lauretta Burke states that with quick, broad action much may be saved:
“A future with dying or dead reefs is not a future we are committed to.”
Apple unleashes Thunderbolt
As is being discussed in the forums, Apple has announced the release of a re-designed series of MacBook Pro notebooks. Among the new features is a new system for connecting peripherals: Thunderbolt. This is a new high-speed peripheral-connection technology that combines data, video, audio, and power in a single connection. Thunderbolt allows for very high-speed connection of peripherals such as hard drives, RAID arrays, video-capture solutions, and network interfaces, and it can transmit high-definition video using the DisplayPort protocol. Each Thunderbolt port also provides up to 10 Watts of power to connected peripherals.
Macworld reports that a Thunderbolt channel can provide up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of data throughput and each Thunderbolt port includes two channels It can also transmit and receive data at the same time. Even with estimated real-world performance of around 8Gbps, Thunderbolt is many times faster than FireWire 800 and USB 3.0. It’s also significantly faster than the eSATA connections available on many Windows PCs.
It is rumoured that the forthcoming Nikon D4 SLR will be equipped with the technology.
Into the Deep exhibition opens
Into the Deep, an exhibition of underwater images, will be on display in Edinburgh, UK from Friday 25 February. The outdoor display is presented by Steve Bloom Images and Edinburgh International Science Festival. The images start at the surface of the ocean and travel downwards looking at sharks, coral reefs and eventually the creatures of the deep. The exhibit features photography from Steve Bloom along with that of Franco Banfi, Daniel Selmeczi, David Shale, Wetpixel Associate Editor Alexander Mustard and more.
A total of 60 giant photographs will be on show, which is at St Andrews Square, Edinburgh and runs from 25 February to 1 May.
Monterey Bay Aquarium launches new exhibits
In July, the Monterey Bay Aquarium at Monterey, CA will open new galleries featuring “The Open Sea”, which aims to highlight the epic migrations of ocean animals and the constant motion of life in the open ocean. Senior Exhibit Developer Jaci Tomulonis explains;
“The open sea is one of the few truly wild places left on the planet,” and “in addition to introducing visitors to the diverse species that make their homes here, The Open Sea exhibit will offer simple ways to help protect ocean animals so they’re around for generations to come.”
The aquarium’s white shark research project resumes in 2011, and a young great white shark could again be on exhibit in late summer. The field research team will also tag and track juvenile great white sharks in the wild, gathering information vital to the protection of these ocean predators as they move through coastal waters in southern California and Mexico.
Video: Whale Shark Island by Kip Evans
Whale Shark Island by Kip Evans was the non-broadcast winner at the 2010 Blue Ocean Film Festival. It features the waters around Isla Holbox off of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico which are seasonally rich with plankton and are the scene of a feast for whale sharks. Large aggregations of them gather to feed on the bloom from June through September. The sharks have become the core of a local tourism industry, but over-development could threaten this delicate balance.
Kip Evan’s film, narrated by Dr Sylvia Earle, shows this dilemma and is full of glorious imagery.
British Underwater Image Festival results announced
The British Underwater Image Festival (BUIF) results were announced at a ceremony held at the Big Scuba Show in London, UK last weekend, reports Dive Magazine. Overall winner was an image by Simon Brown in which two Royal Navy Clearance divers simulate an underwater fight.
BUIF is now in its sixth year, and attracted hundreds of still and video entries. Congratulations to all the winners, especially the many Wetpixel members featured in the results.