So I decided to have a quick chat/interview with the team of Aquatrek Fiji

Gabriel here from Scuba Herald… to start, tell us a bit about the history behind Aquatrek…

When did you started and who is the team behind your diving operation?

Aqua-Trek opened Fiji’s first PADI 5-Star Instructor Development center in 1987. In 1989 Aqua-Trek developed Fiji’s first shark dive off the Mamanuca Islands in Western Fiji. In 1999 Aqua-Trek developed what is now known as the #1 Shark Dive in the World, in Beqa Lagoon. Over the last 20+ years Aqua-Trek has been one of Fiji’s premier dive operators serving divers all over Fiji.  Our Beqa facility is comprised of top notch PADI trained instructors and dive masters all trained to uphold a high quality standard of service and safety for divers.

Fiji is a destination that provides divers and non-divers with an amazing overall memorable vacation experience.  Fiji is a romantic, beautiful, pristine country with amazing beaches and lush landscapes. It offers world-class diving and a huge variety land based adventures. The country is rich culture and tradition and the people are genuinely friendly, caring, happy people. And it is very affordable! The US dollar is currently worth 2 FJD!

I understand that you have also created shark conservation program to protect sharks in Fiji?

I created these dives to educate divers on sharks and shark behavior. Sharks are endangered due to shark finning and the sale of shark products. Sharks are a vital part of a healthy marine ecosystem. Without sharks the entire ecosystem will break down die. Sharks have long been portrayed as mindless eating machines and a threat to humans.

In reality sharks are intelligent, graceful denizens of the oceans. After the shark dives were developed, we set out to protect them and created the Aqua-Trek Shark Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Program. We worked with the villages that own the reef rights and the Fiji government to declare both Shark Reef, Lake Reef and the corridor in between marine protected areas (no fishing zones). Each diver pays a fee to dive these areas and this money goes directly to the villages that own the reef rights. This provides the villages with sustainable income. The program supports the involvement of the community in the management of natural resources and it allows them to realize the economic potential as well as the sustainable livelihood that can be derived from conserving and protecting their resources.

This program has been recognized internationally as being a model for other island nations. It has received two international conservation awards from the World Travel and Tourism Council and SKAL International. We are currently working hard to pass legislation in Fiji to ban shark fishing and the sale of shark products.

Do divers need any previous experience to dive with sharks? Yes. The Ultimate Shark Encounter is a high energy dive with a lot of sharks and a lot of fish. There is a lot going on. Divers need to be comfortable in the water and with their gear. They need to be able to pay attention to the dive masters. We recommend certified divers have that level of experience and comfort so they can enjoy and appreciate the dive.

What can you tell us about the sharks in this area…. ?

Aqua-Trek’s Beqa shark dive is the only dive where divers can see up to 8 species of shark. Grey reef, whitetip, blacktip, silvertip, nurse, lemon, bull sharks and tiger sharks. Our dive gets multiple bull sharks, some of the largest anywhere.  The elusive Tiger shark too. There is an interesting hierarchy amongst the different shark species. When the tiger shark arrives, it is like the queen has arrived. All the other sharks disperse so she can feed.  This dive also brings in over 300 species of fish. We get Napoleon wrasse and the rare Queensland grouper.

We have a full description on our website at http://www.aquatrek.com/beqa_diving/beqa_shark_diving.cfm .. but you can also see a teaser… at

Where do you see Aquatrek in the next years?

In Fiji, where we’ve been for over 20 years, but only in the best locations for divers!

Can you tell us in 5 words what diving with Aquatrek is all about? (only 5 !)

Quality, Comfort, Safety, Expertise, Fun!!

Wan to have a chat with the guys of Aquatrek? Contact them today…

Aqua-Trek Reservations

USA Toll Free: 1-800-541-4334

Direct: 415-728-7076

info@aquatrek.com

www.aquatrek.com

This proves that if you can’t find solutions from BP… use the law to sink them and get justice.

Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. has filed a lawsuit against British Petroleum (“BP”) and several other companies with ties to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The firm represents Adventure Sports II, a SCUBA diving business, which has incurred damages related to the BP oil spill disaster, including loss of profits, business income, and earning capacity.

Current estimates say between 40.7 million and 114.5 million gallons of oil already have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, and oil continues to spew from the undersea well every day. Beaches up and down the Gulf Coast have been closed to swimmers, and visitors who are ordinarily drawn to the area’s emerald waters are canceling plans. But even in areas where waters are open and diving is safe, travelers are staying away out of fear about oil contamination. According to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, dive industry sales total more than $800 million annually.

“The SCUBA diving business is taking a double hit, impacted by actual oil spill damages, and the fear that surrounds reports of the leak’s effect on the Gulf of Mexico,” Rhon Jones, head of Beasley Allen’s Environmental Law section, said. “Even when the water is clean and safe and dive sites are open, many travelers are still avoiding the Gulf Coast because of misconceptions about where the oil is now, and fears about where it might spread in the coming weeks and months.”

Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/06/18/2372601/beasley-allen-files-lawsuit-on.html#ixzz0rQ2Et4r4

And this is a very serious concern for all the dive centers in Florida and diving operators worried about the health of the dive sites in the area. But so far things seem just fine.

Florida officials and tourism industry executives are juggling two missions, working to protect the shore from oil spreading from the April 20 spill in the Gulf of Mexico while assuring tourists that the state’s 825 miles (1,327 kilometers) of beaches remained safe so far. Hotels relaxed cancellation policies for wary guests while updating photos on websites to show beaches that remained pristine.

“I’ve talked to hoteliers and it’s not so much that there are cancellations — it’s the reservations line,” Grover Robinson, chairman of the Escambia County Commission, said today at a press briefing. “The phone just isn’t ringing.”

In addition to being Florida’s No 1 industry, tourism accounts for 21 per cent of the state’s sales tax revenue. Snorkelling is a $239 million industry here. Scuba diving is worth $45 million and recreational saltwater fishing $5 billion.

So if you are planning to dive in Florida: Just do it… there is no oil in the water… so dive in and support the operators.

Well it seems that Croatia is not the new Scuba Destination to keep in mind…

While the beaches of the jagged Croatian coastline fill up with tourists during the summer period, those who can, escape into the silence and darkness of the abysses, amidst the archaeological sites and sunken wreckage from the two world wars. About 150,000 scuba divers search for peace and emotions in the Croatian waters each year. A group of clients that the country is now eyeing closely thanks to so-called ”underwater safaris”. With about 400 underwater archaeological sites counted by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, including 200 dating back to prehistoric times, Croatia is the fourth country in Europe for its number of underwater archaeological sites. And to protect this immense patrimony, the Croatian ministry has declared 92 cultural heritage sites, placing them under protection.

No diver can travel alone among the wreckage and archaeological sites. Individual dives are prohibited, but they are allowed in groups. In 2009-2013 alone, the Cultural Ministry issued 25 permits to organise underwater activities at protected sites. These are, according to the Croatian tourism group, the four archaeological areas around the island of Mljet, Lastovo and Vis and in the area of Cavtat. In these areas there are 35 sites. Among the hundreds of opportunities offered to scuba divers, the most important are represented by vessels sunk off the eastern Adriatic coast between the World War I and World War II.

The most famous site on the Croatian Adriatic coast is ‘Barun Gautch”, (84 metres long and 11 metres wide), the Austro-Hungarian passenger ship, which was sunk at the start of the Great War by a mine in the waters off the coast of Rovinj. Various Italian ships can be seen, including the ‘Francesca da Rimini’, which sunk off the southern coast of Kaprije island, in the Sibenik archipelago, after being torpedoed by the Allies in 1944. Forty-two metres long and 12 metres wide, before the ship was hit, it was used to transport military cargo between the Croatian and Italian coast. After September 8 1943, it was used by the Germans for the same purposes. In the Kvarner Gulf is another Italian vessel, the wreckage of the ‘Lina’, while near Cres is the Italian freighter, ‘Tihany’. Fascinating due to its vertical position on Split seabed is the ‘Teti’. A final example is the German torpedo-boat S-57, which sank off the Peljesac peninsu

here is what the Australian Press is saying about the accident

“The fit and healthy 46-year-old had spent Mother’s Day diving with another woman when she began experiencing difficulties shortly before 2pm.

They were returning from a recreational dive on a reef off the southern end of Terrigal Beach on the Central Coast and planned to come ashore at an area known as The Haven, where hundreds of people had gathered for Mother’s Day at the beach.

Her dive buddy told police the woman, from Wyoming, near Gosford, signalled urgently that she needed to get to the surface and get to shore.

But by the time the pair surfaced the woman had lost consciousness and also stopped breathing.

Inspector George Bradbury said her friend had tried to drag the woman to shore before screaming for help to onlookers.”

Hello new marine life! hello PADI Gator Specialty.

This is from TheLivingSea.com. (check it out cool site)

As I cruised along the sand, from the hazy distance I could see a dark shadow,” Ruda writes. “Not being able to discern its shape too well, I thought to myself, ‘Holy cow! That’s a huge stingray.’”

Ruda said when he got closer, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“This creature was so out of place that I thought it was nothing more than a well-planned out hoax by my good friends,” he said.

So in the months, Troy Miller, will be blogging about the challenges of the daily life of a future PADI Instructor.

Is this a PADI marketing scheme ? Not really, as we know… PADI has never been really involved with us… the bloggers… instead this is a new way of broadcasting scuba diving adventures. ScubaHerald believes we need less stupid self-made news about scuba diving… and more real bloggers like this apparently nice Aussie Dude. So if you want to follow a new and different blog, check TheDivingTrip.com

So I wonder today: Is this the face that Expedition Fleet want’s to show the world?

If this is the way they target their business… I wonder the way they run their boats.

ScubaHerald.com called them today trying to talk to their manager… but obviously, in the company there is not one single manager, or person in charged and they didn’t know that commenting in 200 blogs per day, posting their link while adding no value to the conversation or topic is Spam. In this case lame Scuba Spam. Expedition Fleet: shame on you!

So let’s re-cap… this guy goes ALONE inside a boat full of Japanese whalers… to do a citizen arrest…?

What is this guy thinking? Peter Bethune vs 100 Japanese whales?

Hi mister Japanese Captain.. this is a citizen’s arrest.. please step down of the vessel…. and jump in my jet ski!

So obviously now… the Japan’s coast guard has an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of trespass and his wife Sharyn, who hasn’t heard from him for almost a month, fears Japanese authorities may make an example out of him.

Well Peter… enjoy Tokio.. enjoy the sushi!

If convicted, Bethune could face imprisonment of up to three years.

The parties have held talks with Jon Mills, an emeritus dean at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, about representing them in efforts to block release of video recordings of the Feb. 24 tragedy, in which a 6-ton orca pulled 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau into its tank and drowned her in front of park guests.

The Gainesville laywer was also part of the legal team that represented the widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt in her battle to prevent the release of her husband’s autopsy photos after he was killed in a 2001 race crash in Daytona Beach.

In a statement distributed by SeaWorld on Monday afternoon, a spokesman for Brancheau’s family said public airings of the video of the tragedy would only compound what is already “a time of tremendous sadness and grief for our family.”

“Use of this video will do nothing more than further sensationalize a tragic event and traumatize our family,” said Charles LoVerde, the spokesman. “Some members of the news media have shown restraint and sensitivity during this difficult time, but many others have not. The conduct of some members of the press has been disgraceful. Our family has a right to heal in private, and we once again appeal to the media to recognize the terrible pain we are experiencing and give us a small measure of respect and privacy.”