Coral Triangle Day Celebrations

Coral Triangle Day raises awareness of the world's greatest area of marine biodiversity. Covering an area of about 6 million square kilometers, the Coral Triangle extends throughout Southeast Asia and is home to more than 75% of the world's corals, as well as more than 6,000 species of fish.

It forms the underwater equivalent of the Amazon rainforest, offering unparalleled diving sites, spectacular islands and many opportunities for snorkelling.

Find out more in my article for Lepetitjournal.com: Top Reasons to Dive the Coral Triangle.

100 Million Tonnes of Plastic In The Oceans

“The deepest dive ever conducted in a submarine has revealed plastic waste at Challenger Deep; the deepest point of the oceans, located in the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It was only the third time the deepest point of the ocean has been explored.”

Find out more in my 2019 article for L'Express: 100 Million Tonnes of Plastic in the Oceans.

EZ Dive Marine Reserves

Marine reserves are vital to the health of the global ocean and yet only around 5 percent of the ocean is currently protected. Thankfully, new protected areas are being created each year and offer great diving opportunities.

Find out more about top marine reserves to dive in my latest article for EZ Dive magazine, Marine Reserves.

Kathryn Curzon writer

Whales - A unique climate change solution

Why do whales matter in the fight to save our oceans?

These incredible animals are able to modify the environment around them and help:

• Minimise the effects of climate change.

• Support healthy commercial fisheries.

• Support thriving marine tourism industries.

In the Southern Ocean alone, the 12,000 or so sperm whales found there enrich the iron-poor waters with their poop, allowing phytoplankton to bloom and minimising the impacts of climate change. These sperm whales remove 200 000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year!

Find our more about whales in my latest infographic for LiveAboard.com.

It’s a great resource for adults and children to learn about:

• How whales support the health of our oceans and minimise climate change.

• Current threats to whales.

• How you can contribute to whale conservation from home.

Download your FREE Ocean Superheroes infographic today.

Click on the image below to get your copy now.

MAKO MATTERS

Mako sharks have fascinated divers and shark fans for many years. But having recently been listed as endangered, will we still be able to dive with them in years to come? And more importantly, what will happen if we lost these vital apex predators for good?

Are mako sharks endangered?

The Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently announced that both the Shortfin and Longfin Mako shark are now classified as Endangered.

Previously listed as Vulnerable, they have been downgraded to Endangered and are now officially at risk of going extinct.

Does it matter if mako sharks go extinct?

As an apex predator, mako sharks play a vital role in sustaining the health of ocean ecosystems.

They are one of the most efficient hunters of all shark species and eat mostly bony fish such as tuna, mackerel, swordfish, plus cephalopods, other sharks, porpoises, sea turtles and sea birds. 

They control the populations of those species they feed on – ensuring ocean food webs remain in balance and no single population gets out of control. 

Apex predators also feed on vulnerable prey, such as old, injured and sick animals; which leaves more food for the healthy prey animals to survive on. 

What happens when you remove apex predators, such as makos, from the ocean?

Prey populations explode in numbers when you remove apex predators such as mako sharks. As those prey populations increase unchecked, the prey animals they feed upon then decrease and eventually collapse. 

What happens then? The prey populations that boomed in the first place have nothing to feed on and also eventually collapse. 

In short, oceanic food webs collapse and ocean biodiversity is lost. 

Apex predators prevent that cycle from occurring by keeping prey numbers balanced and under control at all times. They improve the health of ocean ecosystems and ensure marine biodiversity is sustained for all.

shark diving

Is it too late to save mako sharks?

If we act now, it is not too late to save mako sharks. The latest news on mako shark conservation is cause for hope:

• The EU is facing pressure to announce catch quotas for mako sharks in its waters.

• Numerous sharks and rays, including makos, are being proposed for listing at the next meeting of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in late May 2019.

Help protect sharks from extinction with two simple lifestyle changes:

• Don’t purchase products made from sharks.

• Use sustainable seafood guides online to ensure the fish you eat doesn’t have bycatch*

*Bycatch commonly includes sharks and marine mammals.

Discover Wakatobi: 23 Years of Conservation Success

It's been an extremely busy few months for me, working with a variety of online dive travel clients and magazine publishers in the US and New Zealand.

The intricacies of print articles are always a favourite of mine and I'm looking forward to sharing the results with you.

With over 60 NEW online articles to share as well, it may take me a while to catch up!

Before I delve into that, let's get inspired by Wakatobi Dive Resort.

Indonesia reef

What Is Wakatobi Dive Resort?

Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia is tucked away in Southeastern Sulawesi and is a world-class Indonesian dive destination, offering pristine dive sites teeming with marine life.

It wasn't always that way though; as destructive fishing methods creeping across Asia threatened the survival of Wakatobi's reefs.

Indonesia mandarinfish

Wakatobi's Incredible Conservation Success

The founder of Wakatobi Dive Resort was quick to recognise the threats the reefs would likely face and worked tirelessly with local communities to create a sustainable reef tourism business model at Wakatobi.

The results were an outstanding success; creating not only a resort with pristine reefs, but also a resort that has community protection and reef conservation at the heart of all it does.

Wakatobi's conservation success story has truly inspired me and reminded me there is always hope.

Read the full article Wakatobi's Incredible 23 Years of Conservation Success to find out more.

NEW - Fine Art Prints

It's been a busy time for me as I've launched my first limited edition fine art prints collection!

The original artworks were lovingly created by me using just one colour pen per artwork.

shark art

Look closely and you'll see each piece of artwork is made entirely of tiny dots. The whale shark took over 50 hours of dot work to complete!

To order a print please contact me.

ocean art

The prints are:

• A3 size.

• Printed on gorgeous eco archival paper.

• Sent in entirely compostable and/or recyclable packaging.

A percentage of sales is being donated to Ghost Fishing NZ.

ocean artwork

Who are Ghost Fishing NZ?

The GFNZ team is made up entirely of volunteers; working hard to clean up the waters around New Zealand by removing ghost fishing gear and other trash from our oceans.

They also work with councils for better waste management practices, plus organised regular public beach and dive site clean ups. In short, they're creating cleaner seas for all!

It's a pleasure to be able to support their work and I hope you will too.

Looking for an art or design commission?

I work with marine conservation charities and travel companies to produce artwork for merchandise and resort/commercial spaces.

Please contact me to discuss your art or design needs.

Interpol's 30 Days at Sea identifies offenders in marine pollution crime

“Interpol, the world’s largest international police organization, has carried out a global investigation into marine pollution crime, and identified more than 500 offenses.

Interpol’s operation, code-named 30 Days at Sea, was initiated in response to a call to increase international enforcement against environmental crime.

More than 5,200 inspections were carried out, identifying waste crimes and administrative violations in 84 countries and territories around the world.”

Read my full article on the Jakarta Post: Interpol's 30 Days at Sea identifies offenders in marine pollution crime