The concerns of divers regarding the need to protect sharks and rays are being heard! Thanks to the efforts of divers, Project AWARE and other shark advocates sending letters, photos and petition signatures, it is good news for sharks and rays.

Over the month of September, the Calypso team and guests removed 62kg of debris from the beach and house reef.

Candidates preparing for their Instructor Development Course (IDC) also joined the dives as part of their Pro Foundation and Prep program. By learning about the Dive-Against-Debris methods, new PADI Instructors will now be able to better organize their own events too.

We were rewarded for our removing, sorting and reporting efforts with some lovely marine life sightings too: the seahorse population on the house reef seems to be growing!

Sharks - beautiful creatures that have inhabited our oceans for hundreds of millions of years keeping the ecosystem in balance - are now at immediate risk of extinction due to human activity.

The Tubbataha Reefs trip last week was a wonderful climax to April's AWARE Big Shark Shout Out. Divers were delighted to see many greyreef and whitetip sharks, plus there were more fleeting but exciting sightings of both tiger and whale sharks! Many many turtles were around as is usual at this superb UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other delights included schools of baraccuda and jacks, crocodile fish resting atop wrecks and unusual spined rays. Support conservation initiatives so these superb locations and flourish into the future.