Lake Ontario Becomes a National Marine Sanctuary
What does this new designation mean for the Lake Ontario community, New York State, and all those who care about protecting our nation’s most iconic waters? It will:
New York
Beneath the Sea Update
Together with the Beneath the Sea’s team of Directors and volunteers, they create a weekend of excitement, education, special events, and parties to celebrate the underwater arts, education, and science. Throughout this dynamic weekend, Beneath the Sea presents to the interested and involved public information illustrating the sea changes of our times, an update for all members of our ocean community.
High Seas Treaty: Historic agreement to protect international waters reached at UN after 20 years of negotiations
The legal framework provides a crucial mechanism in setting up vast marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas. The historic treaty plays a critical role in the enforcement of the 30x30 pledge that countries had made in December 2022 at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada. The 30x30 target aims to protect a third of the sea (and land) by 2030.
The announcement by conference president, Rena Lee of Singapore, was met by a standing ovation from delegates, who had worked long days and nights to finalize the deal.
Explore the Underwater Jungle! LIDA Film Festival
There’s a jungle off the California coast. It is lush, and green, and filled with a marvelous diversity of life. It is every bit a wilderness, with a complex eco-system that is both resilient and fragile. And if you were to look at the islands poking their heads above the water about an hour outside of Ventura, you’d be surprised to be using those words. The islands look barren and dry. Hardly the place for thick jungles of plants and trees.
Shipwrecks of War Off New York and New Jersey Coasts
Images
Larry Cohen
Olga Torrey
Diver Olga Torrey exploring the USS San Diego
The waters running north to south from the Long Island coast to northern New Jersey are nicknamed “Wreck Valley” by local divers. Larry Cohen and Olga Torrey share the stories of some of the war shipwrecks found in these waters, located off the US northeastern coast.
Is New York Bight now a supplementary feeding site for baleen whales?
An increased presence of baleen whale species has been observed in the waters off New York and New Jersey, suggesting that they may be using the area as a supplementary feeding ground.
In boat surveys conducted from 2017 to 2019, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Columbia University observed humpback, fin and minke whales foraging in the New York Bight. A paper on their findings was published in the Marine Biology Research journal.
Two more dive shows postponed
On Friday 29 Jan and only a few hours apart, we received similar updates from the organisers of the New Jersey-based Beneath the Seas dive show and the Swedish Dive Show, Dykmässen, which in recent years have been taken place in Gothenburg in the Swedish West coast. Both announced that they will be postponing their respective events until next year due to the restrictions being imposed because of the pandemic.
Beneath the Seas writes:
Press Release
BTS Announces 2016 'Divers of the Year' Awards
This year the annual New Jersey scuba diving show celebrates a major milestone. It was founded in 1976, making this the 40th year BTS has recognised divers in the fields of the arts, education, environment, service and science.
2016 DIVER OF THE YEAR
Environment - Wendy Benchley
Diving Pioneer - Captain Wayne Hasson
Science - Dr Richard A. Lutz
Service - Dr Drew Richardson
Education - Bill Ziefle
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Thousand Islands Wrecks of St. Lawrence River
Images
Larry Cohen and Olga Torrey
Within a day’s drive from New York City is a wreck junkie heaven, with numerous shipwrecks to explore along the St. Lawrence River on the US-Canadian border, in the area called the Thousand Islands. Larry Cohen and Olga Torrey give a sampling of the wrecks in the region popular with both the American and Canadian diving communities.