http://www.pulauhantu.org A celebration of marine life Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:46:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Over the weekend, Hantu Blog divers were disappointed but curious at the baby blacktip reef shark that was fished out of the waters along Pulau Hantu's reefs by a local recreational fisherman. Blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus, can be found throughout tropical and warm temperate seas. None of the divers on ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/blacktip-reef-shark-caught-at-pulau-hantu/ This is the first time I've split a Blog Log into two. It was hard to decide which pictures to highlight and which to just leave in the gallery for you to explore on your own. I decided every critter plays an important part not just on the reef but ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/blog-log-27-june-2009-part-2/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="491" caption="Toh Chay Hoon, Hantu Blog diver and nudibranch enthusiast"][/caption] Pulling into the shallow reef of Hantu this Sunday during the low tide required some careful maneuvering by our skipper. Thankfully, we had Hup Heng at the helm, who's only been navigating local waters for the past several ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/blog-log-27-july-2009-part-1/ The world's oceans which cover two thirds or more than 70 percent of Earth's surface, are an important source of life. Millions of people depend on oceans and coastal areas in earning a living. Indonesia's marine tourism revenue reached US$2 billion per year and the country earned around US$2.2 billion from ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/heal-oceans-to-save-planet-earth/ Overfishing threatens to drive a third of the world's open-ocean shark species to extinction, say conservationists. Hammerheads, giant devil rays and porbeagle sharks are among 64 species on the first ever red list for oceanic sharks produced by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Sharks are vulnerable because they can take decades ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/fishing-puts-a-third-of-all-shark-species-at-risk-of-extinction/ A young Yellow-lipped sea krait finds me on the reef as I try to untangle some fishing hooks snagged on the reef. After jumping out of my wits, I hit the video on my camera on and follow the young snake as it goes about the shallow reef, popping its ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/yellow-lipped-sea-krait/ Terribly tedious to get close to, the blind shimp tenaciously hawls loads of sand out of its burrow in Pulau Hantu's reef slope as a Shrimp goby stands guard at the entrance. Shrimp gobies are extremely alert and skittish. With its tail, the goby signals to the shrimp if it ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/blind-shrimp-and-shrimp-goby/ To whet your appetite for the multitude of pictures and videos that are to follow, here's a teaser of what divers with the Hantu Blog got to encouter over this very warm weekend! This Giant Reef Cuttlefish was pointed out to me by volunteer dive guide Pei Min, I swam towards ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/giant-reef-cuttlefish/ [caption id="attachment_684" align="alignleft" width="600" caption="Shark market, Lombok, Indonesia - "Trafficking the fins of these shark species is not a harmless offense." John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. PHOTO: DEBBY NG"][/caption] Mark L. Harrison, a resident of Southport, Fla., and Harrison International ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/shark-fins-dealer-pleads-guilty-to-illegally-dealing-in-fins-from-protected-species/ NO ONE predicted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s simple gesture at the World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia, last month would create waves. By pledging US$1 million (RM3.5 million) to a fund to save corals in the Coral Triangle, the world’s centre of marine life, he not ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/malayasian-pm-pledges-us1-million-to-save-corals/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="The Philippines is one of six countries comprising the Coral Triangle, which is the global epicenter of marine species diversity. PHOTO: DEBBY NG"][/caption] DAPITAN CITY -- Fishermen seeking to protect the Coral Triangle have launched a nationwide watershed and mangrove tree planting program here during the opening ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/fishermen-launch-nationwide-mangrove-replanting-program/ The Award Ceremony will be held in Singapore in conjunction with the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity which will be held on 21-23 October 2009. http://www.pulauhantu.org/first-asean-wide-photo-contest-on-biodiversity/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="448" caption="PHOTO: DEBBY NG"][/caption] WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists has determined that the Pacific Ocean, occupying a third of the planet’s area, faces threats that will render some coastal areas uninhabitable. According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), pollution such as sewage, runoff from land ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/pacific-ocean-faces-threats-that-will-render-some-coastal-areas-uninhabitable/ FnBnewsA seafood exporters lobby in Kerala has urged the government to create a separate ministry for fisheries. This would be beneficial not only for the exporters, but also for the five million people who were dependent on the industry, including the fishing community, said Anwar Hashim, president, Seafood Exporters Association ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/seafood-exporters-call-for-separate-ministry-for-fisheries/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Children along with residents and activists release sea turtles into the sea on Runduma island PHOTO: AFP"][/caption]RUNDUMA, Indonesia (AFP) — For centuries, turtle eggs have been as good as currency on this tiny Indonesian island -- they helped put children through school and kept the village ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/endangered-turtles-safe-on-indonesian-islands/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="371" caption="Mount Krakatau is one of Banten's tourism icons"][/caption] An environmental study conducted by a group of Tirtayasa University (Untirta) students on coastal districts in Banten concluded that almost half of Banten's coastline was suffering from erosion. The students found the most serious damage caused by erosion occurred in ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/half-of-bantens-coastline-suffers-from-erosion/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="468" caption="Coral Reef in Amambas PHOTO: DEBBY NG"][/caption] Some 60 percent of the coral reefs off the northern coast of the province are categorized as damaged, a study conducted by the East Java Maritime and Fisheries Agency has showed. Most of the damage is attributed to human activity, such ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/most-coral-reefs-off-north-coast-damaged/ Lead The Action is initiating the green lifestyle campaign, A step towards combating climate change on the World Environment Day 5th June 2009. Individuals can deter the impact of the climate change by altering their ever growing and energy intensive consuming habits towards a much greener lifestyle which is more ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/the-greenlifestyle-contest-a-step-towards-combating-climate-change/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Squat lobster and crinoid"][/caption] Thanks to Hantu Blog diver (and hopefully soon to be volunteer!) Cindy Tan, I got to experience Pulau Hantu vicariously as I lay at home recovering from the flu bug over the weekend. This is the second time I'm seeing the pictures, but ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/blog-log-31-may-2009-vicarious-excitement/ Thirty more seafood enterprises were approved to export their products to the European market, the Vietnam National Agro-forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad) announced this week. At present, Vietnam - with 301 seafood exporter firms- is second in the world in terms of the number of seafood firms licensed to ... http://www.pulauhantu.org/eu-adds-30-firms-to-exporters-list/