Shark Sanctuaries and Ecotourism Benefits

Marine sanctuaries are established in places of value in certain waters and are protected by stipulations set by governments and enforced by authorities. The idea of establishing these protected areas was proposed at the First World Conference on National Parks in 1962 when world leaders noticed that coral reef and other coastal and marine locations of value were being depleted, and therefore, needed to be protected. Defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the goal of instituting a sanctuary for marine species is “for the protection, restoration, wise use, understanding and enjoyment...through the management in accordance with the principles of the World Conservation Strategy of human activities that use or affect the marine environment.” Since the first conference was held, various areas have been protected globally. The importance of keeping our oceans beautiful and thriving and ecosystems diverse and plentiful is recognized through these establishments and shared through ecotourism.

Shark sanctuaries are extremely beneficial especially in areas of high shark populations such as shark breeding grounds and nurseries. At least 100,000,000 sharks are killed every year around the world. Many causes are from illegal fishing, finning, bycatch from commercial fishing, and marine pollution. Sanctuaries can be established in areas of known shark populations to help stop and reduce the impacts from overfishing and overhunting. Since the 1970s, shark populations around the world have declined to about 90% of their size. These species need time to heal and bounce back as a population. Establishing shark sanctuaries can prove to not only be beneficial to shark populations, but also to local economies as well. The Palau government’s choice to establish the first shark sanctuary in the world and enact a Marine Protected Area in its entire territorial waters was predominantly due to interests in economic gain and tourism. They protected over 200,000 square miles of water that was home to many species including hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, leopard sharks, and many more. Now Palau is considered to be home to almost all tropical species of sharks.

Ecotourism in Palau is estimated to bring in almost $1.9 million per shark in the sanctuary. Shark diving and ecotourism charters prove profitable for the country. Thus, their decision to create this shark sanctuary has only helped their economy grow. Palau brings in over 800 billion dollars per year through shark ecotourism. Protecting the sharks through their established sanctuaries is both beneficial for the populations of hundreds of species there, but also for the growth of the nation as well.

Sharks can be seen as a tourist attraction as well as a top component of an overall healthy ecosystem in the oceans. Thus, establishing and enforcing shark sanctuaries can be seen as an investment in countries’ tourism and economic prosperity. Sanctuaries help shark populations on the mend as well as countries through supporting local businesses and tourism. Establishing more sanctuaries can benefit both human and ecosystem health, prosperity, and longevity. Although the efforts have been substantial, issues still remain regarding the huge illegal fishing industry, primarily chumming and shark finning, that dominates the oceans around the globe. Regardless of the establishment of shark sanctuaries, fishing bans, and enforcements of marine laws, local shark populations are still under threat in most areas worldwide. Shark sanctuaries are few and far between in the world’s oceans and, being a migratory species, sharks are still hunted close to the edges of sanctuaries already established. Other threats include incidental catch and a lack of abundant data on local and migratory populations.

Keeping your body healthy while working on and in the Ocean

As a self-proclaimed health nut, I want to make sure I’m nourishing my body from the inside out, feeding myself the best foods, drinking lots of water and keeping my skin and hair healthy as well. Before training to be a safety diver for One Ocean Diving, I was a PADI Dive Master and AAUS scientific diver- I’ve had my fair share of being on boats and staying healthy. Here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way to keep yourself healthy:

BODY

When you’re working on a boat and in the water all day, it's easy to feel fatigued. To help combat this I like to make sure that im feeding my body high protein snacks throughout the day. Of course I start my day with caffeine like everyone else,  but after that I make sure to eat a high protein and carb filled breakfast to keep me full. Right now I’ve been loving frozen protein waffles, they’re so good! It's also really important to keep drinking lots of water during the day as well. It is super easy to become dehydrated on a boat and when you are working in the water. I try to drink at least 10-12 cups of water a day. Whenever I have a break, im eat a snack. Some of my favorite high protein snacks are bars, chickpeas and Banza protein pasta. Everyone’s body is different but since I am vegan I like to incorporate as much protein as possible during the day. After a hard days work, ill take time to rest before making dinner and doing chores. I try to get at least 6 hours of sleep when im working, and when I have days off I like to go to bed early too so I can rest and recharge.

HAIR

Keeping your hair healthy when your constantly in the ocean is a HUGE challenge. Im a natural blonde so I have fine hair thats prone to drying out, getting frizzy and getting real tangly. In the morning when im doing my hair before work I like to get it wet and spray it with a leave in conditioner or a detangling spray. Then ill use about 15 hair ties and put my hair in bubble braids, this is the best way I’ve found to keep my hair not tangly! If I am in colder water ill just wear a hood to protect my hair, but if not I like to wear a waterproof headband to keep my babyhairs from frizzing up. I dont touch my hair when im working- I just hope and pray that it is all good and not tangling up. After work while my hair is still wet, ill take out all my hair ties, spray some detangler in and start brushing with a wetbrush. Wetbrushes are softer than regular brushes and they’re better for tangled hair. When I get home ill take a shower and try to do a hair mask every other day if I can to keep my hair healthy. Once a week I do a coconut oil mask which really helps. Before dry my hair I put some oil and leave in conditioner in my hair as well. I try to avoid heat as much as possible because I know its not good for my hair.


SKIN

The most important thing with keeping my skin healthy is using sun protection! Usually when im diving im full covered wearing a wetsuit or some type of surf suit that is UPF certified. If not ill make sure to slather my body in a reef safe sunscreen. I try to apply face sunscreen every 2-3 hours whenever I have a break to keep my face and neck from burning. I also choose to wear a hat to keep the sun off my face as well. When im done diving for the day, if I did get burnt ill use some natural aloe on my burns. Ill make sure to wash and moisturize my face well along with my body.

World Oceans Day: A Beach Clean-Up Giving Back

The ocean covers seventy percent of the world’s surface and is believed to contain 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. Each piece of plastic can take anywhere from 20-1,000 years to break up into smaller pieces, which is to say that it will not completely break down, as most plastic will not decompose completely. Those pieces that do manage to break down create toxins that are carried throughout the ocean. It is believed that every piece of plastic ever made is still somewhere in the ocean. This plastic accumulation causes serious problems for the ocean and marine life. For those who do not care about the ocean or the creatures that live there, perhaps it will be of interest to know that plastic is causing harm to people as well. Plastic waste is constantly ingested by various creatures that are at the bottom of the food chain, which then releases toxins throughout their bodies that is transferred to the creature that ingests them, and so on, slowly making its way up the food chain until the toxins eventually reach our markets and dinner tables, causing serious health problems to those who consume the contaminated fish and marine animals. Although these numbers are overwhelming, it is important we do not get discouraged and take a stand to help save the ocean, marine life, and our own human population before it is too late. Throughout my life, I have learned the smallest events can result in the biggest impacts. Alone, each drop in the ocean is insignificant, but when they all come and move together it creates monumental force. Beneath the surface lies an even greater power in insuppressible currents; from above it may seem calm and delicate, however, below it exists more life than the very land we thrive on. It is a place that should not be used as a trash can, but rather treated with the utmost respect and appreciation.

June 8th, 2017 was World Oceans Day, a day dedicated to the immensely beautiful and everlasting oceans across the world. This is a day to take a stand and give back to the ocean and its inhabitants and what better way to do that than help remove some of the toxins poisoning it. A beach cleanup at Pounders Beach, on the northeast side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, was organized with the support of One Ocean Diving, One Ocean Conservation, Keiko Conservation, Water Inspired, 4 Ocean, Devoted to the Ocean, Happy Earth Apparel, Naturez Way, Clark Little, Core Power Yoga, Xcel Wetsuits, Guayaki, Mermaids for Change, Real Life Mermaid Shop, Yoga Kai Hawaii, and many other sponsors.

 It was a day that proved even the smallest effort can result in significant change. The clean-up began around 11:00am and over 20 people showed up, including many keiki (children) supporters. Seeing so many kids interested and excited to help make a difference was truly inspiring. Saving the ocean and world from the negative impact we have created through our use and improper waste management of plastic is going to take time and patience, and in the end it is going to be up to future generations to correct our mistakes. 

Throughout the cleanup it started to rain a lot and all of our volunteers pushed through the rain and kept collecting debris scattered along the beach - their dedication was amazing. Around 12:30pm a storm came through with strong wind and rain that was too hard to ignore and we had to end the clean-up early. Although the time was short, the impact was great. Over the span of a hour and a half we managed to fill up the bed of a truck with the garbage collected. Without the generosity of our sponsors and dedication of the volunteers this event would not have happened. We came one step closer to healing our beloved ocean, mahalo to all the sponsors and volunteers that made this event possible.

 

“Humanity is made up of people like the ocean is made up of drops. As the ocean pounds on the shore line, humanity pounds on fragile ecosystems. Like the ocean at the mercy of the wind we seem swept away by the demands of our times, cars, devices, disposable goods. We may be drops, but together we have the power of an ocean.” - Unknown