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SEVENSEAS Travel Magazine – February 2021 – Issue 69

Cover Issue 69 Feb 2021
Cover Art: CEM-Europe

Winter Solstice Present to the Earth: Ivory Coast creates its first Marine Protected Area at Grand Béréby

a coast in south Africa with high wave

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) announced its first Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Grand-Béréby. Under Professor Joseph Séka SEKA’s chairmanship, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development a major ceremony took place on-site, with strong involvement of the local communities and high-level participation of different national ministries, UN representatives, and international guests, including the ambassador of Sweden. Read more…

Sea Anemones Find Sweet Arrangement with Under-Skin Algae for Emergency Food Source

Every species needs a backup strategy when food is difficult to find. For sea anemones, Plan B is their symbiotic relationship with tiny algae living under their skin. University of California, Irvine biologists have published findings describing how anemones control this remarkable interaction. Read more…

ANGARI Foundation to Premiere ‘Generation Ocean: Sharks’ 360 Film

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ANGARI Foundation is excited to announce the release of its 360 film “Generation Ocean: Sharks,” premiering on January 27, 2021. The second of the “Generation Ocean” series, this short film follows Florida Atlantic University (FAU) shark scientist Stephen Kajiura and his research team from the FAU Elasmobranch Lab as they study the well-known blacktip shark migration, a natural phenomenon that brings blacktip populations down the eastern coast of the United States to South Florida every winter. Read more…

Frontline Workers Honored with Free Dive Vacations in Yap

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The remote island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia is among the few places in the world that remains free of Covid-19 thanks to its ocean border and a strict travel ban that has kept its residents safe. Read more…

Methane-Busting Seaweed Farms on Track for 2021 Production

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Construction of the first farm and processing plant to turn red seaweed into a feed supplement for cows to reduce their methane production by 90 per cent is expected to begin mid-next year in South Australia. Sustainable agriculture company CH4 plans to build its first two facilities in South Australia with further ‘eco-parks’ planned in the state and in New Zealand. Read more…

What Do Homeowners Think About Climate Change?

a house in the valley

Since the late 1800s, the global temperature of Earth has increased by 1 degree Celsius(or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Studies suggest that if we stay on the same emissions path we are on today, the global temperature will increase 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 and 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Read more…

Feature Destination: Grand Béréby: Ivory Coast’s first Marine Protected Area

ivory coast

Home to 1625 species of fish, not to mention sea turtles, whales, and dolphins, the Great Barrier Reef is a place where the best of Queensland marine life encounters are pretty much guaranteed. With 2300km of coral reef stretching from Bundaberg all the way up to Cape York to explore, you might be wondering where to begin – or how much time you’ll need to see it all. Read more…

The pink hairy squat lobster – Jack’s February Underwater Photograph

This marine crustacean is commonly known as the “Pink hairy squat lobster”, also known as the “Fairy crab”. Its scientific name is Lauriea siagiani. Actually, L. siagiani is not really a lobster but belongs to a group of crabs called Anomurans. Read more …

Ocean Valentines – Printable Cards & GIF’s

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Our love for ocean animals + ocean puns equals a match made in heaven that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day cards! So we’ve taken 18 ocean animals from our children’s books and transformed them into sweet little free printable cards – both full color AND coloring sheets (& mini-envelope template). PLUS, we’ve made 6 of them into animated GIFs that you can send digitally! Here’s one for a peek. See More…

Dive Guides Called to Apply for the Green Fins Dive Guide Scholarship

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The Reef-World Foundation – international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative – is calling for dive guides to submit their application for the Green Fins Dive Guide Scholarship. As a result of the Scholarship campaign, dive guides working around the world – including Brazil, the Philippines, Egypt, Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, and Turkey – have received their certificate proving their status as a Green Fins certified dive guide. Read more…

Project Holocene by Russ Ronat

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Russ Ronat is an artist and the creator of Project Holocene. The project has been shown at zoos, science, and art museums around the world. The project focuses on large mixed media paintings of endangered animals. The artist also creates projected films that show the steps of the drawings in creation. See more…

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Triples In Size

Rachel Plunkett coral banner

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary has been expanded from 56 to 160 square miles. The expansion adds 14 additional reefs and banks to the sanctuary, with slight adjustments to the boundaries of the sanctuary’s original three banks. Read more…

IPNLF calls on IOTC to take decisive action on yellowfin stock rebuilding at Special Session in early 2021

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The International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) is calling on members of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to take urgent action, while working in the best interests of the region’s tuna resources and its coastal fisheries, when this regional fisheries management organization convenes its Special Session in early March 2021 to discuss the rebuilding of the overfished Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna stock. Read more…

NOAA expands Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico

a pink jelly fish in the wild ocean

NOAA is expanding Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary from approximately 56 square miles to approximately 160 square miles to protect additional important Gulf of Mexico habitat. The move builds upon the sanctuary’s rich 30-year history of scientific studies and public review of the preservation of this special place. Read more…

First New Seafloor Map of the Decade Collected on New Year’s Expedition in Australian Waters

Lead Scientist Helen Bostock seafloor mapping from control room aboard Falkor

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel ​Falkor ​has collected the first public seafloor data of the New Year, as part of a global effort to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Australian scientists aboard the ship literally “​Pinged in the New Year”​ as they sent sonar waves down to the ocean floor at midnight on Dec. 31 and throughout New Year’s Day, flying the first official flag of ​The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project​. Read more…

Miami-based Start-Up Launches Venture Studio & Innovation Pipeline to Save the Oceans

Seaworthy Collective (SC), a new Miami based start-up is empowering a community of current and aspiring ocean entrepreneurs (known as sea change makers) to innovate for regenerative ocean impact, officially launches their Opportunities for Sea Change initiative. Read more…

New Online Platform Creates Knowledge Portal for Aquaculture Farmers

fish frozen in the market

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute announced the launch of The Maine Aquaculturist — a free-to-use online knowledge portal designed to help Maine’s sea farmers access an array of existing business resources across the state. Maine’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry enjoys a comprehensive support system that includes state agencies, NGOs, research labs, academic institutions, trade groups, and other organizations invested in the economic potential aquaculture brings to the state. Read more…

An Angler’s Winter Chore May Spark an Idea to Make the World a Better Place

Angler is fishing next to a river

Winter is annual maintenance time for many anglers, and re-spooling with a new line and recycling the old is a common task. Ever thought about what happens once you dispose of the old line in a fishing line recycling tube? Read more…


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This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media