If you are not in the loop on sharks and their global well-being, they are not in a great way. Here are some quick facts to get you up to speed. Approximately 100 million sharks are killed each year Since the 1970s, 70% of the oceanic shark and ray population has been wiped out Sharks are killed as a result of overfishing, and bycatch, but mostly it's due to the demand for shark fin soup, a delicacy in China The top five shark fishing countries are: Indonesia Spain India Mexico USA So, as you can see, there is just an overwhelming amount of threats against them, especially when you also consider the fact that their food supply is decreasing and breeding grounds—mangroves and lagoons—are being destroyed. While it's not necessarily too far gone, there is some urgency needed when it comes to shark conservation. There are a lot of conservation groups out there, like Thrive Conservation, Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation, and the Misool Foundation—all of which we make annual donations to via our Every Trip Program, who are actively advocating for sharks on a daily basis and have achieved some landmark victories with projects like as the StaR project. So, aside from contributing funds to shark conservation groups like the ones above, what can you do as a regular citizen passionate about shark conservation? Here are a couple of things you can do. Stop Watching Shark Week (asking politely) Shark Week has become an annual event on the Discovery Channel that apparently originated as a way of helping correct the misconceptions about sharks with shark-based episodes. While that may have been the case, the episode lineup for 2023 involved titles like “Cocaine Shark”, “Mega Sharks of Dangerous Reef”, “Serial Killer: Red Sea Attacks”, and “Monsters of the Bermuda Triangle”.
If you are not in the loop on sharks and their global well-being, they are not in a great way. Here are some quick facts to get you up to speed. Approximately 100 million sharks are killed each year Since the 1970s, 70% of the oceanic shark and ray population has been wiped out Sharks
For those of you reading this that have been snorkelling in Alor, you already know just how amazing that place is. By far one of my top snorkelling places in Indonesia, and trips we offer at Snorkel Venture. It is still one of those places that feels like a well-kept secret. We can spend a week there and never see another dive/snorkel operator around. Leaving us with the immaculate reefs to ourselves. We also have a great boutique resort we use, Alami Resort. Such a splendid resort and run so well by the managers Max & Rhome' (& Team). Giving this place that little extra feeling of paradise. When in Alami, we charter the whole resort for our group making it feel like a home from home. But what makes Alor super special, is the abundance of marine biodiversity it has to offer. We can go out in the morning and come across migrating whales. Then in the afternoon, we'll be muck snorkelling looking for all the small weird and wonderful critters. So there really is a huge range of marine life here. Something Alor can possibly offer if you are LUCKY!! Are some of the big sea creatures we don't see in other places. Being situated in the Savu sea above East Timor. With a very deep sea around the island. There is an oceanic channel that runs through there called the Wetar Strait. This is like a runway for migrating whales. Periodically through the year Pygmy blue whales pass through the Alor island chains heading north. I once had guests see them from the plane as we were coming into land. These giant gentle ocean mammals are a sight to behold. Only slightly smaller than their larger subspecies blue whale, they are huge at a whopping 24 metres.
For those of you reading this that have been snorkelling in Alor, you already know just how amazing that place is. By far one of my top snorkelling places in Indonesia, and trips we offer at Snorkel Venture. It is still one of those places that feels like a well-kept secret. We can spend a
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this career and lifestyle, you start out with a lust for travel and the ocean. Even better to combine the two together. As I was making my travels and wishing I could stay in all these exotic places longer. But instead having to go back to the UK to save money for the next adventure. I kept meeting all these people that were maintaining a life I wished for. living by the sea, great tans and having a great lifestyle. Not to mention spending their days at sea looking for beautiful marine creatures. All of them were working as dive instructors or dive masters. Without too much hesitation I decided that was the life for me. In 2009 I packed up and moved to Thailand to embark on my not so certain career in the diving industry. I was informed the best way into the industry was to do a 4 month divemaster internship. I joined a dive centre on a small island in the South Andaman sea, and began my 4 month internship. Once completed I was hooked. The ocean, and working in the dive and travel industry was my new home. I would spend the next 4 years working as a divemaster in Thailand, gaining a wealth of experience on the sea. After 4 years it was time to transition into becoming an instructor. Again I decided a great way to gain experience as an instructor was to do another internship. I was very
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this
If you've looked through our website or seen our newsletter you'll notice that we have a pretty extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris available all over the world. Not only that, but the snorkeling safaris range in length from one week to one month. We know, based on inquiries and guest feedback, that many of you are interested in longer trips, or even combining multiple snorkeling trips together to make one long snorkeling adventure. However, we also know there are a good number of you who are more interested in quick snorkeling trips that don't involve a ton of travel logistics or planning. Here are our recommendations for quick snorkeling safaris to world-class destinations that are one week to ten days in length. Shorter Flights (from The States) Mexico Mobula Expedition | 6 Nights This is the shortest snorkel safari that we currently offer, and also one of our most unique. This tour is all about finding fleets of mobula rays as they congregate in the Sea of Cortez during their bi-annual migration. This is a fantastic adrenaline-pumping snorkel safari that is unlike any other snorkel safari out there. Belize by Liveaboard - Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights This fantastic liveaboard snorkel safari is one of our easiest trips when it comes to travel time, while still delivering some outstanding snorkeling. Basically, arrive at the airport, board the vessel, and you're off on an extraordinary snorkeling adventure around some of the best reefs in Belize. Belize Photography Workshop – Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights This tour runs nearly identical to our Belize by Liveaboard snorkeling safari, same easy logistics, the same great snorkeling, same great liveaboard. The only difference about this tour is that it's aimed at those interested in improving their underwater photo skills
If you’ve looked through our website or seen our newsletter you’ll notice that we have a pretty extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris available all over the world. Not only that, but the snorkeling safaris range in length from one week to one month. We know, based on inquiries and guest feedback, that many of you
We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw the latest video on Facebook. What kind of lights were used for these shots? I don't have an underwater light but maybe I should get one. What would you recommend?” “I have a question about my Olympus TG 6 camera. Would it make sense to add a Backscatter TTL mini flash? I thought it might help on cloudy days or for dark settings and maybe murky waters if close enough to the subject. I would appreciate your advice.” A lot of people think, and rightfully so, that adding a video light or an external flash to their current camera setup that it will yield photos or videos with more true-to-life colors. In the simplest of terms, they are not wrong. More light underwater does equal more color. However, light doesn't work the same way underwater as it does on land and there are quite a few variables we need to take into account for this to be true. First of all, water is significantly more dense than air is, around 840 times more to be roughly precise. What does this mean? Well, it basically means that your light, whether it's a strobe or a constant video light, just won't travel very far. Second, we need to take consider the sun's power versus the power of our light. If you walk around your garden or a park on a bright sunny day and shine a flashlight on the different flowers, you're really not going to
We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw
