A love of eating pies and protecting sharks has inspired one scuba diver to make a pledge he may regret! If his fundraising target is met he’ll swim 1,500 metres. But for every $10 over the target PADI Master Instructor, Andrew Barrett will swim an extra 100 metres.  This puts Andrew’s Finathon™ challenge firmly in the hands of his friends. The more dollars people donate the more he’ll have to swim so please give generously to protect sharks.

Though awareness of the impact of marine debris — namely plastic litter — has been growing throughout the last several decades, Dr. Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association said the discipline merits more study before accurate conclusions can be drawn. 

In an April 30 presentation during Maine’s 20th Annual Recycling & Solid Waste Conference at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Law said there is a great deal of misinformation being propagated regarding the nature and impact of marine refuse, even by “reputable” scientists. 

Local scuba divers have spotted large sevengill sharks swimming off the coast of La Jolla this week.

The good news is you don’t have to be an event organiser extraordinaire to get involved in the Finathon™ 2013. In fact you don’t actually have to swim at all.

Simply create your very own personal Finathon™ fundraising page, write a few words from the heart about why you love sharks, why sharks are totally awesome and why you think they deserve protecting. Make it personal and ask your friends to support the cause!

Today, the Obama Administration released its final plan for translating the National Ocean Policy into on-the-ground actions to benefit the American people.