Divetalking

A single reef shark can be worth nearly two million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime, according to a study released Monday by researchers in Australia. The analysis from the Pacific island nation of Palau shows that sharks — hunted worldwide for their fins, a Chinese delicacy — are worth many times more to some local economies alive than dead. “Sharks can literally be a ‘million-dollar’ species and a significant economic driver,” said lead author Mark Meekan, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. “Our study shows that these animals can contribute far more as a tourism resource than as a catch target,” he said in a statement. Sharks have reigned at the top of the ocean food chain for hundreds of millions of years. But because they mature slowly and produce … Read entire article »

Making It Count – April 2011 Putting It to Work: REEF Scientist Participates in Key Workshop By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science In addition to maintaining the REEF Survey database and providing data files to scientists, government agencies, and other groups, REEF staff participate in a variety of scientific conferences and workshops each year. Earlier this month, REEF’s Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, participated in “Engaging and Learning for Conservation”. Christy and 49 others were invited to the workshop to discuss ways to enhance biodiversity conservation and environmental stewardship through public participation in scientific research (PPSR). PPSR encompasses citizen science and other programs where the public is involved in one or more phases of scientific research. With support from the National Science Foundation, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, a leader in … Read entire article »

I read commercials from operators that offer opportunities for adventures where they feed the sharks while you watch and film. I am an advocate for NO shark feeding, or feeding of any kind. Because of that, I will not participate with that operator so not to promote or encourage the continuation of feeding. Human feeding of wild life is not in the best interest to both us and them. Darwin believed that any interaction with wildlife will embed that interaction into the genome of the creature and that memory will be passed to future generations. Should we be associating food from humans as a way to get a meal? How does that affect the ability to hunt when habit has them coming to humans for their next, easy meal? What are your thoughts? … Read entire article »

This past weekend, April 15-17 was Jacksonville’s Internaitonal Boat Show. TISRI was present to display the organization and what they do to promote artificial reefs off Florida’s coast. Here are some pictures from that days event. … Read entire article »

The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes on July 19, 2010. That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them. read more here … Read entire article »

Is your name important? To ourselves, our name is important. I know I would like to be remembered, my name mentioned for years, after I am gone. One way to do that is to have an artificial reef named after you or a loved one. There is a way to have a name live on for years, be placed in official documents and reference when ever the site is visited or mentioned. A project in motion has opened the opportunity to allow you to do just that. One that will allow you to Name A Reef. TISIRI is currently soliciting the opportunity to name a brand new artificial reef. If this sounds like an opportunity for you, please contact Joe Kistel  (joe@tisiri.org) for more details. … Read entire article »