Industry News Ocean conservation photographic contest focuses on human impacts


SeaWeb’s Marine Photobank fourth-annual Ocean in Focus Conservation Photo Contest is now open and accepting photo entries in an effort to raise awareness of the myriad threats facing marine species, ecosystems and resources. Photographs should be submitted to www.marinephotobank.com no later than September 30. “Compelling images illustrating both the grandeur and the


threats to the ocean can be the spark that inspires action,” said Dawn M. Martin, President of SeaWeb. “This internationally renowned photographic contest inspires photographers of all levels to share their stories of the ocean environment to help us envision a healthier ocean.” Photographers of all backgrounds – including


conservationists, scientists, divers, travellers and students – and at all skill levels, ranging from amateur to professional, are encouraged to compete for the Grand Prize package: a trip for two aboard the National Geographic Endeavor to the Galapagos Islands courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions. Lindblad Expeditions’ alliance with National Geographic ensures you explore it with the finest expedition team. Join them on hikes, Zodiac rides, or the ship’s deck during a thrilling wildlife encounter. Swim and snorkel with sea lions, penguins and sea turtles and search the waters for


dolphins and whales. Discover nature in its purest form on one of the most significant travel experiences of your life. The First Prize – Runner Up will win an Oceanview Bure


for seven nights for one at Matava – Fiji’s Premier Eco Adventure Resort, including lots of diving, a traditional Lovo Feast and Kava ceremony and more. There will also be three runner-up prize packages including a prize for the most hopeful, inspiring image that best illustrates our capacity to improve and conserve marine species or resources. The Marine Photobank aims to inspire photographers to


turn their lenses in a different direction – one that informs and inspires positive action that will help conserve marine species and their environments. Beautiful ocean photography has the power to inspire awe and raise awareness, but truly impactful photography will shine a light on the dark truths of human impact to the ocean and has the power to affect change. There is reason to be hopeful for the coming decade as more


marine reserves are being established around the world, consumers begin to take a harder look at their seafood choices, and the ocean proves its resilience in the face of a massive oil disaster. However, many challenges lie ahead for the ocean and it will take even more dedication to turn the tide on our changing seas.


Ultra swimmer’s crew kill three sharks in aid of record


Penny Palfrey, a 48-year-old Australian ultra swimmer and grandmother, recently set the world record for an unassisted solo ocean swim, logging 67,25 miles between Little Cayman and Grand Cayman islands. She was in the water for 40 hours and 41 minutes, and when she walked onto a Grand Cayman beach her face was so swollen she was nearly unrecognisable. She was released from a local hospital after two days of recovery, but still could not speak. Palfrey was hailed for


her accomplishment, which was four miles longer than the previous record, but was criticised by conservationists for the killing of three sharks that approached her during the swim. Four oceanic white-tips came near her, and several times at night during her swim she was bumped by something large. One of the members of her support team traveling in a small inflatable, a local fisherman named Charles Ebanks, distracted the sharks with dead fish, then killed


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three of the six to eight-footers with a machete. “It was not in any of our


plans for that to happen,” said Chris Palfrey, Penny’s husband. “I was not aware it was going to happen until after the event. Our goal was to do a swim. It was not to do anything to the environment.” Media


reports have generally praised Palfrey for her brave swim through ‘shark- infested’ waters, with little but passing acknowledgment to the killing of the sharks. And even the criticism by environmentalists has been muted.


The director of the


Cayman Islands Department of Environment, Gina Ebanks-Petrie, said, “Given the importance of sharks as a top-level predator in the marine environment, the DoE would have preferred to have seen this incident handled differently.” Um, hello? Three full-


sized sharks were chopped to death so some woman could achieve personal glory by swimming for almost two days? Let’s have a little perspective here. Imagine an ultra runner wants to set a new record racing across the bear- infested northern Rockies. Four bears approach her while she’s running along the trail and


her support crew uses some bilious


road kill to lure them away, where they’re then


shot dead. Sharks might not be the friend of swimmers or surfers, but the fact that they’re predators and this took place in the ocean, where bloody deeds quickly fade from sight, makes it no less of an abomination.


Oceanic white-tips are


classified as ‘vulnerable’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s assessment of species, and one-third of the world’s sharks are ‘threatened’, according to IUCN. In the Gulf of


Mexico, it’s estimated that their population fell 99,3 percent from the 1950s to the 1990s. The main culprits are drift nets, longline fishing and overfishing, and their fins are prized for shark fin soup. Palfrey’s crew certainly


had reason for concern. White-tips are responsible for more human deaths than all other shark species combined — although not fast swimmers, they stay close to the surface cruising for food and are quickly on the scene at shipwrecks and downed aircraft. But the recommended response if one comes within the vicinity of a diver, swimmer, or surfer is not to hack them to death. It’s simply to get out of the water. Apparently, Palfrey’s desire to break the record (it was her third attempt), was more important than that. This environmental


coverage was made possible in part by support from Patagonia. For information on Patagonia and its environmental efforts, visit www.patagonia.com By Steve Casimiro


September/October 2011


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