Sixty percent of the money raised will go to the victims of the March 11, 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami via organisations such as Shelterbox; the remaining forty percent will be, divided between Project AWARE (an organization that acts to conserve underwater environments) ,Local Lanta Community Projects (Kim and Scubafish are enthusiastic supporters of the local community), and victims of the landslides and floods in Krabi Thailand.

“I saw first-hand both the immediate and longer-term impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, on friends and communities in Thailand (and in particular Phi Phi)”

says Kim,

“The devastating struggles facing those directly affected in Japan at this time compels me to connect personally with this tragic event, to act, and to show support.”

The challenges facing Japan following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami are vast. The immediate needs of the survivors include the provision of medical care and food, of finding shelter for displaced people during a time of inclement weather. There is the mammoth job that is locating and reuniting relatives separated by this event, and longer term necessities such as rebuilding homes, schools, infrastructure, whole coastal communities. With your generous support, we can help provide much needed aid and support when these people need it the most.

Your Contributions:

“I am asking people and businesses to donate and show their support for these people.”

Your gift of any size may be made quickly, securely and easily online, via bank transfer, or in person in the lead-up to, and at the event. Unfortunately at this time we are only able to accept donations in Thai Baht. Should you wish to see current exchange rates then please check out the XE Currency Converter

To Donate please click here, which will take you through to our Donations Page, and provide further information.

Information about the organisations these funds will be distributed to:
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide. They deliver the essentials a family needs to survive in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Project AWARE Foundation is a registered nonprofit organization conserving underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. In partnership with scuba divers and water enthusiasts, Project AWARE offices located in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and Japan combine efforts to conserve aquatic resources in more than 180 countries and territories of the world.

This season we are delighted to have PADI Instructors teaching in the following languages:

• English
• Thai
• Swedish
• Danish
• German
• French

Don’t worry if your language isn’t covered by this – we have PADI materials (such as manuals and DVD’s) in many more languages including: Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Finish, Norwegian, Japanese, and Chinese.

In addition to this our PADI Divemasters are able to speak Thai, English and Spanish.

What do we offer on top then?

• A real emphasis on the environment and sustainable tourism.

We are proud 2 time Winners of the Project AWARE Marine Conservation Award (2007 & 2010 winners), are a Go-Eco Operator, and members of Greenfins. For more information about our community projects including days at the local school, beach and underwater clean-ups, and shark conservation efforts please read our blog entries.

• Staff who specialise in teaching nervous divers

We promise you small groups or individual tuition if you prefer, learning tailored to your own pace, unbeatable personal service, flexible pool diving times to fit around your holiday plans, or family’s needs, and above all, a great time!
Our team of professional PADI Instructors each have their forte, and understand that learning to dive can be daunting for a number of individual reasons – we are experienced, understanding and adept at dealing with your concerns! Our aim is to ensure you feel you can place your trust in your instructor, enabling you to relax, ask questions, and build your confidence, skills and knowledge.

• Staff specialising in teaching children, and families

Narima Diving staff are comfortable, skilled and experienced in teaching children.We strive to inspire children to not only enjoy but protect our underwater world. At Narima Diving we stock dive equipment designed specifically for younger people, including smaller, lighter tanks, XXS BCD’s and wetsuits, kids masks, small fin sizes and even underwater toys!
(Thanks for the great picture Jonathan Kronberg – aged 10!)

• Hin Deang & Hin Muang Specialists

Along with our affiliated dive center Scubafish we offer more trips per week to these dive sites than any other dive operator. We are also in the enviable position of being the closest dive operators to these sites, so are able to offer much shorter journey times. These reduced journey times also allow us to offer our divers an optional third dive! (Depending on conditions). These are fantastic dive sites to take advantage of Nitrox.

• Liquid Lense – Our Underwater Digital Academy.

We provide a Liquid Lense professional underwater photographer on each trip who takes fantastic photos both on the boat and underwater. The photos are shown as a slideshow when the boat gets back each day and you can choose if you’d like to buy the photos. On selected trips we also have a Liquid Lense underwater videographer on board.

The diving community have a responsibility to foster environmental awareness, responsible attitudes and values. Narima Diving & Scubafish aim to encourage positive action, and inspire a change in personal behaviour, highlighting the value of our natural resources. Or:

Think global, act local. Today, for Tomorrow.

So on a local level we set out to enthuse and influence the thinking and attitudes of the next generation, through a series of fun environmental and educational activities (or stations), which we presented to the 70+ local schoolchildren of Ban Klong Hin School.

Station: Re-Use and Recycle!

Re-use:
Tetra Pak (Thailand) Ltd. has launched a new campaign entitled ‘Green Roof Project for Princess Pa Foundation’ in collaboration with Princess Pa Foundation, Thai Red Cross Society and Big C Supercenter.

Narima Diving & Scubafish introduced the schoolchildren to this project with cartoons and videos, and then got stuck in.

This Project calls for the thai public to participate in collecting four million used UHT beverage cartons which will be recycled and made into 2,000 roof tiles for charity.

These roof tiles/sheets will then be presented to the Princess Pa Foundation, and Thai Red Cross Society, to help support victims of natural disasters, especially flood victims, throughout Thailand. These rooftops will be used in home building projects within these disaster-hit communities.

The campaign plans to amass the four million UHT cartons (about 40 tonnes) by the end of this year. The recycling of four million cartons would help shave off 36 tonnes of carbon missions.

Tetra also collecting discarded milk cartons from various schools, to turn them into materials used for making tables and chairs for rural areas within Thailand.

The children had all been asked to bring in used cartons with them and were shown how to “Cut, Clean, and Collect” these cartons to be re-used for a worthy cause. Everyone had a go, and the school now has its own collection point for future use!

Recycle:
A large part of Narima Diving & Scubafish’s Intl. Clean Up Day Fundraising this year aims to improve community recycling facilities around Kantiang Bay. Through sponsorship and fundraising we will create a Recycling Station for Plastic bottles, Cans, Glass bottles.
The children of Baan Klong Hin School all did their part by painting small mosaic tiles, which will be used to decorate this Community Recycling Station once it is completed.(They even managed to paint within the lines!)

Station: Sharks

Project AWARE have put a special emphasis this year on the plight of the worlds shark populations with their ‘Protect the Sharks Campaign’.

Working and living in Thailand you soon become aware that the majority of Thai people are petrified of sharks, and so we set out to try and change these school-children’s perceptions and show the ecological importance of these often misunderstood animals.

As expected when we asked what the children thought of sharks they all answered that they are scared of sharks, because they will bite them and eat them.

A Presentation in thai, posters and photos of the main 3 types of sharks found in the Andaman Sea; the whaleshark, leopard shark and blacktip reef shark, were shown and discussed. Everyone watched a video of Whalesharks, taken during dives around Lanta, which included what they eat, where in this area they are seen and why they are endangered.

To demonstrate to the children just how massive a whaleshark could be, 12 children stood next to each other with their arms open…this certainly didn’t fit in the classroom, and the children were very impressed!

We also discussed why we need sharks, and the dangers facing sharks including how long it takes them to reach maturity and the problems with shark finning.

As this station came to a close the children were asked a second time what they thought of sharks, and this time only a few in each group said that they were still scared – although not of leopard sharks and whalesharks anymore (but of blacktip reef sharks!)

Station :The Plague of the Plastic Bag

Last year Narima Diving & Scubafish launched it’s “Do Something Drastic, Say No to Plastic’ Campaign. Remaining with this theme we examined the environmental problems caused by our over-dependence on plastic bags.

Together we discovered that:

-600,000 plastic bags are given out every day in Bangkok.
-1,800 Tonnes of plastic bags are disposed of every day in Bangkok.
-If you laid all the plastic bags that thai people use in one year end to end they would reach to the moon and back 7 times!

Yet plastic bags take between 200 and 1000 years to breakdown.

The group discussed alternatives to single use plastic bags, and how if we do not not properly dispose of them, many of these discarded bags end up in rivers and the sea where they cause years of damage to the marine environment.

Using photos of seals, dolphins, turtles, and sea birds all of which were either entangled, or eating plastic bags, we explored the dangers of plastic bags to marine animals.

We discussed how when an animal becomes entangled, it’s ability to swim and therefore catch prey is effected, in addition to causing stunted growth and restricted circulation. We also discussed how if animals ingest bits of plastic they may suffocate, or their digestive system becomes blocked.

Demonstration time: We illustrated how difficult it is to catch food if you are entangled with a fun game!

Kids had to imagine that they were a turtle or dolphin, and pretend that their index finger and thumb was their mouth. Using only these fingers we timed how long it took to catch and remove our little fishes (made from old diving fins) from a small tank of water.

Next we wrapped elastic bands around these fingers and got them to try again…it took a lot longer to catch the food this time, and the kids also found that it was nearly impossible to pick up these fish without getting small bits of plastic which were floating in the water too.

All in all, the day was a huge success with children and staff alike. The dive team were even roped in to games of marbles, dancing to the Why Not? Bar band and much, much more! We are still not sure who was more exhausted at home time…the children or us!

Narima Diving and Scubafish wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the following local businesses and sponsors for their support, help and funds towards this community school day:

• Why Not? Bar – Thank you for your fabulous entertainment courtesy of the band, and for providing so many people with lunch to fuel the day!

• The Houben – Thank you for providing the sweets and pudding;)

• Pimalai – As always, we thank you, especially for your cookies.

• Kantiang See Villa – Thank you for coming along and supplying milk and snacks for the children.

• Dream Team – Thank you for your drinks and syrup.
• Nine Art Gallery – Thank you for creating the beautiful mosaics for the children to paint.

• Baan Laanta Resort & Spa – Thank you for providing the paints and the wooden tiles to be decorated.

• Narima Resort – Thank you for your generous donation.

• Same, Same but Different Restaurant – Thank you for your kind donation, and for joining and helping us on the day.
• Drunken Sailors – Thank you also for your donation, time on the day and some fabulous photos.

• Anti -Gravity Divers – Thank you for joining with us and donating to this event.

What is the problem?
Marine debris is having devastating impacts upon the underwater ecosystem. Marine life suffers; seabirds, turtles, sharks, corals, and a myriad of other creatures face a slow death from entanglement, suffocation or ingestion of man-made objects.

Marine debris can also have a direct impact upon our health. Sharp items like broken glass or metal cans cut beachgoers, while disposable diapers and batteries introduce bacteria, toxic compounds, and other contaminants into the water.

Project AWARE volunteers worldwide collected 252,000kgs of marine debris in a single day. (To put this in perspective, this is roughly equivalent to the weight of 4500 Thai people,or 2520 Honda motorbikes!)

Volunteers at our Kantiang Bay Clean-Up last year collected and removed an astounding 3,528 kgs of trash!

Items collected globally (and in Kantiang Bay in brackets):

• 140,814 Cigarette Butts (400)
• 91,596 Plastic Bottles
• 78,854 Plastic Bags (720)
• 67,526 Beverage Cans (314)
• 55,334 Caps and lids (1,000)
• 49,046 Glass Bottles (382)
• 22,942 Straws and stirrers (700)

Narima Diving and Scubafish believe that the diving community have a responsibility to foster environmental awareness, responsible attitudes and values. We wish to encourage positive action, inspire a change in personal behaviour and perception of environment, and highlight the value of our natural resources. Or:

Think global, act local. Today, for Tomorrow.

This year Narima Diving and Scubafish’s fundraising efforts will go direct to Kantiang Bay itself, with the purpose of creating a small recycling station (for plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans). This is just a small step towards reducing marine debris at the source: 60-80% starts on land!

Currently the main resorts in the bay have their own facilities for this, but there is nowhere for the smaller businesses, local families or tourists to take their recyclables. This subject is often broached at local community meetings, and we intend to help turn talk into action.

International Clean-Up Day Events:

Narima Diving and Scubafish are in the process of preparing our activities as we speak…

The staff team here believe that influencing the thinking and attitudes of the next generation is the first step to making a long term difference. As such we are planning to go back to school!  We are currently busy preparing a series of fun environmental and educational activities to present to 100+ local schoolchildren (Ban Klong Hin School) on Friday September 24th. Wish us luck!

Kantiang Bay Beach & Village Clean-Up

Date: Saturday 25th September
Time: 3pm

Although we are just in the early stages, we may have a few surprises up our sleeves in terms of some fun Clean Beach Activities for afterwards!

Click here to see the report and here to see some familiar dive team faces signing the Help Give Sharks a Fighting Chance Petition.
(And please consider signing this petition if you haven’t already done so!)

The ‘Save our Fins’ 3-legged fin race was an event organised by Fish4divers.com, to help raise awareness about shark finning (and much needed funds) to help the Shark Trust continue their constant fight to protect our ocean’s sharks.

Fish4divers.com called upon everyone they could think of, including dive clubs, schools and local community groups, to get them involved with this fun event. In Regents Park, Newquay and Ko Lanta, people have hosted their own three-legged fin races to support the cause.

The Event Itself…

We asked divers, locals and holiday-makers from all over Ko Lanta to grab a buddy and join us for a three-legged fin tournament, to help raise awareness about shark finning.

Posters and shark-fin shaped leaflets in Thai and English were distributed around the island the publicize the event and Ko Lanta’s dive centers united to form teams and enthuse their divers to take part.

We were delighted and overwhelmed by the hugely positive response and fantastic turnout to the event. Nine Dive Centres, White Rock Resort, Opium Bar and even the Thai Diving Association joined fins to sponsor the event, and over 80 people from all over the island came to take part in the race, spectate or have a giggle at the fin-wearing racers. It even became a traffic-stopping event with cars and motorbikes pulling up to see what was going on.

Please visit the Liquid Lense Flickr photostream to view more of our event photos.

Twelve, 3-legged teams raced in 2 heats, with first and second place winners from each heat competing for overall first place in the final. Race winners, Luke and Ben from Blue Planet Divers, used questionable, but dramatic shark-like tactics to secure their win. Reports of them beating other contestants with a giant home-made Leopard shark fin have been confirmed with video evidence that can be viewed on Facebook or You-Tube.

Donations for the Shark Trust are still being counted, but if enthusiasm and support for this event had a monetary value, this was certainly a huge success and will be remembered, and hopefully repeated, for a long time to come.

Narima Diving and Scubafish will continue to support events and causes that raise awareness about Shark Finning and other environmental issues facing our oceans and marine life.

Living, working and diving in Ko Lanta – a small island community in Southern Thailand – gives a unique opportunity to understand, disseminate and share information with local islanders, to whom fishing is a part of everyday life, and tourists who come to dive, snorkel and admire the beautiful reefs.

We hope that by coming into contact with such a diverse mixture of people, we can continue to spread the word and educate people from all around the world about the great need to protect our oceans’s top predators.

Ko Lanta ‘Save Our Fins’ Event Sponsors:

* Scubafish
* Narima Diving
* Blue Planet
* Go Dive
* Lanta Diver
* Ko Lanta Diving Center
* Kontiki Lanta
* Dive and Relax
* Flip Flop Divers
* TDA (Thailand Diving Asociation)
* White Rock Resort (& Mr. Bean)
* Opium

Why?

Sharks continue to be fished faster than they can reproduce causing real fears that shark species will become extinct in the very near future.

As global shark populations continue to decline – some by more than 90 percent in the last two decades – many scientists fear the worst.

Losing these top predators has devastating impacts on our underwater ecosystems and local economies. When sharks disappear, entire food webs can shift and valuable economies become devastated.

Sharks take decades to reach sexual maturity, and the fishing industry is catching, killing or finning them at such an astonishing rate that shark populations have no chance to regenerate.

This is a dramatic over-exploitation of shark populations and this tampering with the largest ecosystem of the world, can never be undone. We will see far-reaching and dramatic consequences within our own lifetime and for generations to come.

If we don’t act now, the seas will die off within just a few decades and with them, 70% of the means for generating oxygen on our planet.

Right now there are few countries and laws that have actually banned shark fishing, and those that have restrictions on shark fishing and shark finning have not successfully enforced their rules.

Organisation, such as Project AWARE, are working to close loopholes in shark legislation, support establishment of effective MPA networks and engage divers in underwater research, data collection and awareness projects.

Films such as SharkWater aim to raise public awareness about the plight of these beautiful, but misunderstood, apex predators. The SharkWater documentary exposes the abuse in the shark-fin industry and the damage it is causing to our ocean’s ecosystems. It also uncovers government corruption supporting the industry.

Although shark fining violates the UN food and agriculture organizations code of conduct it is hard to police because this process is done at sea in international waters. Some see the best approach to help combat shark finning is to educate the consumer. WildAid’s slogan “When the Buying Stops, the Killing Can Too” may be the only real way to curb the problem.

The consumer must understand that sharks are vital to the health of our oceans, and without them, entire marine ecosystems may break down. And if this is not compelling enough of a reason to be against shark finning, the high levels of mercury in shark fins may cause sterility in men and birth defects in pregnant females.

Useful Links:

* WildAid
* Shark Trust
* Shark Project
* Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
* Shark Gaurdian
* ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research
* Fish4Divers
* Sharks Need Your Help

Grab a buddy and join us for a three-legged fin tournament, to help raise awareness about shark finning.

What: Three-Legged Fin Tournament.
When: 17th July, 5.30pm.
Where: Meet at White Rock, Klong Nin Beach.

Shark finning refers to the re­moval and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the carcass. The shark is most of­ten still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bot­tom where it suffers predation from other fish, starves to death, dies from blood loss or suffocates and drowns, since most sharks need to keep moving to force water through their gills for oxygen. Sharks can take hours or even days to die after being finned.

Fishermen are mainly interested in the fins because shark meat is of low economical value and this conserves room in the hold. Up to 99 per cent of the shark is thrown away, a process as wasteful as slaughtering an elephant for its tusks.

Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy. Demand for shark fin soup has rocketed in recent years due to the increased prosperity of China and other countries in the Far East. In the past, Chinese Emperors ate shark fin soup because it was rare, and difficult to prepare, and conferred prestige. Shark fin soup, which can easily cost $100 a bowl, is still of­ten served at wedding celebrations so that the hosts can impress their guests with their affluence. In fact a set of fins can sell for more than US$700/kg, and a single Whale Shark pectoral fin can sell for up to US$15,000.

Shark fin itself is tasteless, it just provides a gelatinous texture for the soup which is flavoured with chicken or other stock. It has also been shown to contain high levels of mer­cury which is detrimental to our health. Many people, especially the consumers, are unaware of the suffering that fin­ning causes.

Global trade in shark fins is increasing, and the market for shark fin soup is estimated to be growing by 5% per year, placing an unsus­tainable demand on shark populations. Tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered every year to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup (three sharks are killed every second for their fins); at least 8,000 tonnes of shark fins are shipped to restaurants around the world.

Sharks’ life history makes them vulnerable to exploitation. Sharks take between 7 to over 20 years to reach matu­rity, and produce few young over long lifetimes meaning that it takes populations a long time to recover once de­pleted. Fishermen report that sharks are getting smaller because they are not being given time to mature.

Sharks are “apex” predators, eco­logical stablisers, when they are removed from the ocean the entire eco-system suf­fers.

Organised and founded by responsibletravel.com in 2004, in partnership with Metro Newspaper, Geographical Magazine, and World Travel Market, the Awards are the most prestigious of their kind in the world, and dedicated to celebrating the best of the best in responsible tourism, from niche to mainstream, all around the world.

There are 13 categories in all, and a panel of 13 Judges from across the industry and chaired by Professor Harold Goodwin (International Centre for Responsible Tourism) are ready to debate who should win in 2010. To be in with the chance all Narima Diving would need is a nomination from a member of the public – a happy traveller, appreciative guest, or simply a supporter who believes we deserve to win an Award!

Nominations are made online at www.responsibletourismawards.com/nominations

Narima Diving and Scubafish have previously been shortlited in the Best in a Marine Environment Category – awarded to an organisation related to a beach or other marine environment, such as turtle conservation or a marine eco-tourism trip or an eco-dive center.

The deadline for nominations is Monday 14th June 2010.

Visit the official Awards website for more details www.responsibletourismawards.com

Over the last 10 years, the Project AWARE Foundation have joined this effort to focus attention on aquatic environements, and named this “Dive for Earth Day”.

Why?

With the oceans covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and providing habitat for 90% of all life on the planet, one aim is to highlight the issues facing this particular environment, including pollution, debris, climate change, overfishing and coral-bleaching. Human activity is costing the Earth. And despite the oceans’ vast expanse it is taking its toll on aquatic eco systems.

You can choose to make a world of difference by joining Scubafish and Narima Diving‘s Dive for Earth Day event on 18th April. This is your chance to have a fun day out and get involved in a conservation activity to make a world of difference!!

What?

Dive for Earth Day: Our boats will be visiting Ko Haa and Ko Rok, where the staff on board will be conducting Underwater Reef Clean-ups on one dive (to help us identify the general sources of marine debris), and a ReefWatch/Coral Watch monitoring exercise on the other dive. Any of our guests are welcome to join this effort, including snorkellers. We will also be offering an AWARE Fish ID Adventure dive at no extra cost to anyone who is interested!!!

ReefWatch:

* Scubafish and Narima Diving, in partnership with Greenfins Thailand and the Phuket Marine Biological Center are bringing ReefWatch, a simple, non-invasive coral reef monitoring method to divers who are passionate enough to make a difference. Our staff will provide a thorough briefing and short presentation on Reefwatch survey techniques, enabling us to collect valuable information to monitor the reef’s health and help us care for the reefs you visit. Volunteer divers can easily learn the method and take part in the programme recording such information as common coral types, visual percentage cover, indicator species, damage and topography of reef and track this information over time. Marine Biologists and government departments will use the data collected for these dive sites to help answer questions about global coral bleaching and recovery patterns as well as the overall health and risks to Thailand’s coral reefs.

Coral Watch:

* CoralWatch is an organisation who aims to provide a scientific tool which increases awareness about global warming by demonstrating one of its devastating effects. They developed a simple method for the monitoring of coral bleaching, and assessment of coral health. The Coral Health Chart is basically a series of sample colours, with variation in brightness representing different stages of bleaching/recovery, based on controlled experiments. In the field, users simply compare colours of corals with colours on the chart and record matching codes. The charts can be used by anyone, and is an ideal way for snorkellers to get involved!

When and Where?

Our guests will meet at Scubafish in Kantiang Bay at 07.45am on Sunday 18th April. Transfers can be arranged.

Anyone interested is asked to confirm participation before the day. Please register your interest before 16th April. Thank you for your support, we look forward to seeing you on the 18th April to celebrate Dive for Earth Day.