Issue 38 - June 2018

Green Fins IYOR 2018 Campaign – Part 2: Alternatives to Anchoring

By The Reef-World Foundation

All divers can relate to those terrifying moments underwater during the first few years of their diving careers, feeling helpless and completely out of control. Some of the most popular stories involve strong currents, an unexpected attack from a frisky Triggerfish or feeling that overwhelming sensation of facing the edge of a continental plate. Less often but equally disastrous, human errors can create dramatic situations. Let’s paint a situation here: you are in a tropical island on a diving trip, as you and your buddies get ready, your dive guide indicates that you are going to be descending along the anchor line. You are a new diver, so you follow their lead and do as told. As the group is halfway through the descent, it just so happens that the anchor is pulled up by the boat crew, missing you and your buddies by inches. Luckily there are no human casualties, but just after you feel the wash of water and bubbles hit your mask and manage to take some very deep breaths to calm down, you look down and see that this was not a near-miss. There are casualties. They just aren’t human.

What has been your scariest moment underwater? Credit: Sunphol Photography

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation, we are all aware of the variation in the quality of diving services across all parts of the world. And where safety standards fail, environmental standards tend to fail as well. The amount of damage from a small boat anchor can be quite devastating, it can destroy decades of coral growth.

Research forecasts that the damage caused by anchors and their chains can impact an average of 7.11% of coral at a frequently used site each year¹. That doesn’t take many years to destroy a dive site. Damage occurs in the form of physical breakage, scratches, dislodgement and pulverizing the substrate. Hard corals are obvious victims, but studies show that soft coral cover is also lower at high anchoring intensity sites². The quality of the coral reef as a habitat, it’s structural complexity, is grossly impacted by anchoring^3, meaning it houses fewer numbers and species all leading to a degraded aesthetic value of the reef for tourists, poorer fisheries and reduced coastal protection. Furthermore, a reef subject to these kinds of stressors will be less resilient to the larger scale changes from a warmer, more acidic ocean and may lead to more intense and frequent bleaching events.

Hard corals are obvious victims of anchors, but studies show that soft coral cover is also lower at high anchoring intensity sites. Credit: Bo Mancao

Luckily there are several more environmentally friendly alternatives available depending on every specific situation. The Green Fins initiative has been working with the diving industry to achieve best environmental practices since 2004, and the one common link the teams have found between different diving locations is that there is no one answer:

In the case that any of the buoy lines go missing (cut by fishermen or broken), dive shops around the island are usually very quick in response by attaching a new one using any materials they have from their dive shop to reestablish the buoy line within days.” – Peisee Hwang, Bubbles Dive Resort, Green Fins Top 10 Member in Malaysia Credit: The Reef-World Foundation

“We activated our diver community in Jakarta, and some donated the money to buy the mooring lines and buoys. On one of our day trips, we got a few divers together and got the mooring done.” – Leon Boey, Living Seas, Green Fins member Indonesia

One thing that has worked across all locations is collaboration. Between dive shops, government, and community. It isn’t easy to lobby the government or navigate the social and political relationships between businesses. However, it’s worth considering the return on investment here. Nature and Adventure-based Tourism may outperform Mass Tourism by an average of 60-65% by 2035 in the Coral Triangle alone⁴. As this sector within tourism grows, maintaining a variety of healthy, diverse reef dive sites becomes a worthwhile investment.

There are many issues impacting reefs and certainly there are far bigger threats to reefs than running a dive shop, but by reducing the impacts you have control over, you are likely leaving reefs stronger to face those global threats.⁵

“We have tried to start a dive shop “adopt a dive site” system to ensure moorings are in place at all dive sites. So each shop is responsible for caring for moorings at two dive sites. Sharing responsibility like this seems to work well on our island.” – Matt Reed, Evolution Dive Centre, Green Fins Top 10 Member in The Philippines.

This year is the third International Year of the Reef (IYOR), this special designation gives the opportunity to reach out and form new partnerships with governments, businesses and communities who are looking to celebrate. On the Green Fins Alternatives to Anchoring How-To-Video you can find some inspiration for different solutions, such as mooring to a pier, drifting, install permanent mooring lines on the beach, amongst others. Be a driver of change, can you do something in your community to implement any of these practices?

Alternatives to Anchoring is the second Action Point of the Green Fins IYOR 2018 social media campaign. This campaign aims to support divers and dive businesses to take further action by sharing and providing solutions to some of the biggest threats. The campaign will serve as a platform to inspire action and change in others by sharing the stories of success gathered by more than 10 years of working with the industry. By doing so we will be saving coral reefs from mass extinction and the livelihoods of the more than 200 million people who depend on healthy and balanced coral reef ecosystems.⁶

Follow the campaign on Green Fins social media! A brand new #AlternativesToAnchoring infographic will be released with lots of new and inspiring information to instigate action!

For more information on the International Year of the Reef 2018 follow this link.

Want to be part of the movement? Share. Print. Post. Hashtag: https://trello.com/b/fEeL9QWv

Green Fins is a UN Environment initiative internationally coordinated by The Reef-World Foundation.

References:

Saphier et al (2005
Dinsdale et al (2004)
Giglio et al. (2017)
Investing in Nature and Adventure Based Tourism vs. Mass Tourism in the Coral Triangle. WWF, May 2017.
Beeden et al. (2014)
http://coral.unep.ch/Coral_Reefs.html

Art & Culture

Connecting to Nature with the Wild Swimming Brothers

Writing by Kevin Majoros

Wild swimming is described as the practice of swimming for pleasure in natural waters such as rivers, ponds, streams, rivers and the ocean. The experience can be liberating and for many, even those in urban settings, it is a chance to connect with nature.

Growing up in the Lake District Cumbrian village of Langwathby near the River Eden, Robbie, Calum and Jack Hudson spent a lot of time in and around the water. Those same adventures were also a part of their visits with their grandma in the Scottish Highlands.

The journey into adulthood separated the brothers from those experiences until they were called back to their rural upbringing in an epic 145 kilometer swim over nine days on the River Eden.

The Wild Swimming Brothers were reborn over those nine days and the swim set them on a path that would reconnect them to nature and change their lives forever.

A New Journey Starts with a Farewell Tour

That first big swim was a return home for the three brothers, and they were hoping to reestablish a relationship with the river they swam in as school kids. As they were planning it, they were thinking it would be a farewell to the river – a nod to days gone by.

“It was a humbling and transformative experience,” says Calum Hudson. “Swimming is the literal and obvious way to commune with nature. We knew we had to keep doing it.”

“It started as a way to escape urban pressure, and ultimately we realized we were recapturing something from our childhood,” says Jack Hudson.

“It is always special to meet as a family, but when you swim 145 kilometers together, there is an unspoken bond,” says Robbie Hudson. “We started out with some crazy moments – swirling in a whirlpool, smiling and laughing. By the fifth day of nine, we were swimming in tandem and there wasn’t a lot of talking. It was very special.”

The Wild Swimming Brothers Find New Challenges

Their first swim was actually a tune-up for the River Eden – a 22 minute crossing of the Corryvreckan.

After the River Eden swim was completed in 2015, the brothers set their sights on conquering unexplored bodies of water.

To date their big swims include world-first crossings of the three most powerful maelstroms (the Corryvreckan, Saltstraumen and Moskstraumen), the River Eden swim from source to mouth, a 5-hour/13C swim of the full length of Loch Broom, and a crossing of the Turkish Hellespont, from Europe to Asia.

Each swim has had its own special meaning whether it was to raise awareness for nonprofits such as Swimming Trust and Scottish Wildcat Action or to shed light on conservation efforts to reduce oil drilling in the Falkland Islands and in Norway.

Their point-to-point swim of Loch Broom was finished in memory of their Grandma Wild who was also known as the Wild Lady of Loch Broom. The 12.8 kilometer swim ended on the marshland below Clachan where they gathered at her grave.

The Wild Swimming brothers are now living in three different countries for the first time, but their journey continues to evolve.

Calum Hudson – The Adventurous One

Calum was the first of the brothers to venture into outdoor adventuring as an adult by competing in extreme triathlons and long distance endurance races. He found them to be organized but not very freeing.

In February of this year he took on an Ice Kilometer race in water under 5 degrees Celsius.

“It was an intense experience and I had to go into a meditative state to overcome hypothermia,” Calum says. “The cold water makes me feel even closer to nature. The connection comes when your senses are overloaded.”

A recent move to Singapore for his work with Eventbrite puts his training in a completely different climate. Coming up in October this year, Calum will be participating in the Malaysia Open Water Swimming Series. The swim is 16 kilometers around the Island of Perhentian and the water temperature will be 31 degrees Celsius.

“Going outside and swimming is an inexpensive way to get connected to the natural world. It’s a very soft message for people to discover on their own,” says Calum. “If you are out there experiencing the environment, it is a natural progression to care more about conservation.”

Robbie Hudson – The Sporty Creative One

Robbie has two sides that define him. He is active in Thai boxing, rugby and weightlifting and he is also an artist who works with ink and acrylics.

“They are polar opposites, but they fit well,” Robbie says. “Sports are a really good way to turn something negative into something positive that becomes productive.”

He uses his wild swims to create art that describes the experience and creates a new perspective. When the Wild Swimming Brothers took on Lake Ullswater, Robbie had canvases soaking in the lake during the swim. He built images around the patterns that the water left behind.

Robbie is based in Bratislava and spends three days a week in Berlin for his work as the editor of the sports magazine, BoxRox. He does his swim training in lakes outside of both cities.

“It is a natural step to value conservation when you are closely connected to it,” says Robbie. “In wild swimming you are surrounded by nature, and in survival mode. It builds respect.”

Jack Hudson – The One Who Documents the Journey

Jack is the writer in the family and recognized the need to document the collective experiences of the three brothers. In 2018, he released his first book, Swim Wild: Dive into the Natural World and Discover Your Inner Adventurer.

“I am always looking for stories and there were so many things happening in our lives – the wild swims, family holidays, the loss of Grandma Wild,” Jack says. “I wanted to preserve those stories and encourage other people to connect to nature.”

Jack is living in London and splits his training between pools and Hampstead Ponds. He calls his first open sea swim, Corryvreckan, an intense introduction.

“When I am wild swimming, everything is simplified and my busy brain switches off,” says Jack. “It becomes like a meditative state, something primal where all that matters is breathing.”

Reconnection Swim at Lake Windermere

Coming up in August, the brothers will reunite in the Lake District for a 17 kilometer swim in Lake Windermere. Robbie lost his friend Ben to suicide and this wild swim will be a healing journey to process their grief.

“We will be working with Ben’s mum on suicide prevention across the United Kingdom. Our family, Ben’s family and a wider circle of people will be along for the experience in kayaks, boats and walking the side,” Robbie says. “This will be something physical – a journey through the landscape for Ben.”

Their own mum will also be on hand to watch and may even join in on the swim for a short portion.

“I have been getting these calls from her where she says, ‘oh, I have just been for a swim’,” says Calum. “I think we now have the Wild Swimming Mother. She is proud of our respective achievements.”

Follow the Wild Swimming Brothers online here.

Wild Swimming Brothers Instagram is here.

Check out Jack’s book, Swim Wild here.

Robbie’s swimming artwork is here here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Kevin Majoros portrait Kevin Majoros shares stories on sports, ocean adventuring and conservation. He is based in Baltimore/Washington and travels the world as a competitive swimmer.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”GoogleAd-InArticle-2″]

Feature Destination

Why you should have booked your Seychelles ticket 15 minutes ago.

1. Views like this.

A post shared by “The Jet Villa Life” (@thejetvillalife) on Jun 6, 2018 at 10:23pm PDT

2. Your own private island for the day.

A post shared by Earth Bubble (@earthbubble) on Jun 5, 2018 at 2:58am PDT

3. Some killer hikes.

A post shared by Travel✈️ Explore ? Adventures (@passport.needed) on Jun 6, 2018 at 6:09am PDT

4. The best place for a reunion.

A post shared by sailsquare (@sailsquare) on Jun 7, 2018 at 10:03am PDT

5. The big butts.

A post shared by Kejt Wiśniewska (@kejt.wisniewska) on Jun 7, 2018 at 9:35am PDT

6. This.

A post shared by Ochulo Travel (@ochulotravel) on Jun 7, 2018 at 6:10am PDT

7. Seriously this.

A post shared by lhamo (@sissi_lhamo) on Jun 7, 2018 at 4:57am PDT

8. The music.

A post shared by Photographie Numérique (@photographienumerique) on Jun 7, 2018 at 4:45am PDT

9. and underwater friends.

A post shared by Mikael Salomon ? (@mickesalomon) on Jun 7, 2018 at 5:58am PDT

10. and these friends too!

A post shared by Pankaj rana (@jaknap_rana) on Jun 6, 2018 at 2:04pm PDT

11. But most of all, for the memory of paradise.

A post shared by Beautiful Places (@beautiful_places_vacation) on Jun 7, 2018 at 1:48am PDT

We love the work we do, and we hope you love the content we share. A donation in support of SEVENSEAS Media will help us carry our mission forward.

The mission of SEVENSEAS Media is to connect individuals and resources inside and outside of the conservation community to further the shared goal of preventing habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. Since our creation, we’ve been achieving this mission through:

Running community building projects in 174 countries
Engaging student ambassadors in over 50 universities
Forming strategic alliances and partnerships with over 200 professional organizations
Publishing over 500 authors, photographers, and researchers
Sponsoring dozens of beach and community clean-ups
Providing free scientific resources for educators
Promoting over 20 tailored conservation job postings per week- totaling over 1000 opportunities per year
Inspiring and educating our readers through rich imagery, engaging content, and a compelling conservation message
We do all of the above FOR FREE, because we care about the future

Find the latest articles on SEVENSEAS Media here.

Want to get in touch with questions or a submission? Contact us here.

This piece was edited and posted onto SEVENSEAS Media by: Bharamee Thamrongmas.

Issue 38 - June 2018

Letter From the Editor: June 2018

I am keeping my note short and sweet for this month. June is supposed to be the most important time of the year for the marine conservation community with World Oceans Day, Capitol Hill Oceans Week, this year’s March for the Ocean (M4O), and literally thousands of other events in the USA and across the globe. I’ve said it so many times before and I’ll say it again: make your voice heard, do something that actually makes a difference on this planet, and convince someone else to do the same.

Send in photos or stories from this year’s events and I would love to publish them on SEVENSEAS Media. If you are looking to really make a difference, consider a tax deductible donation to SEVENSEAS so it can stay a free resource to everyone in the ocean conservation community and beyond.

If you are attending the March for the Ocean in Washington DC, be sure to make your way uptown afterwards for a mimosa-filled brunch and a seat at the LGBTQ+ Capital Pride Parade! Time to celebrate the planet, our dedication to conservation, and pride in diversity.

Happy World Ocean’s Day & Happy Pride 2018.

Giacomo Abrusci

Executive Director, SEVENSEAS Media