Diveme Magazine by Webmedia Fiji

from The Editor

Thomas Valentine: Dive Me Fiji It is a very proud time for the Pacific when we can bring you a magazine that represents Fiji Tourism and all that our spectacular Diving Escapes has to offer. Unique in more ways than one and more in common than the ocean that we share amongst ourselves and with the World. It is a very proud time for the Pacific when we can bring you a magazine that represents Fiji Tourism and all that our spectacular Diving Escapes has to offer. Unique in more ways than one and more in common than the ocean that we share amongst ourselves and with the World. It is a very proud time for the Pacific when we can bring you a magazine that represents Fiji Tourism and all that our spectacular Diving Escapes has to offer. Unique in more ways than one and more in common than the ocean that we share amongst ourselves and with the World. It is a very proud time for the Pacific when we can bring you a magazine that represents Fiji Tourism and all that our spectacular Diving Escapes has to offer. Unique in more ways than one and more in common than the ocean that we share amongst ourselves and with the World. It is a very proud time for the Pacific when we can bring you a magazine that represents Fiji Tourism and all that our spectacular Diving Escapes has to offer. Unique in more ways than one and more in common than the ocean that we share amongst ourselves and with the World.

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Fiji is world renowned as “The Soft Coral Capital of the World” but that’s only a small part of our stor y.

9 4

Choose Between Liveboard Versus Shore-based Options Distance to premium Dive Locations. Types of Dives The sheer number of Dives The Cost Factor The Yachting Experience

The Shark Conservation Program Conservation through Education

Nai’a Fiji. Liveboard Dive Adventures Fiji Scuba Diving Fiji Shark Diving

Additional Features Editors Letter News Letter to the Editor Web Site and Social Links

Letters to the Editor Q The distance to some premium dive loca�ons for Fiji’s shore based divers?

Fiji liveaboards will traverse some truly impressive levels of nau�cal miles to bring you to some of the ﬁnest (and occasionally secret) dive locales in the world.

Q The distance to some premium

Q The distance to some premium dive loca�ons for Fiji’s shore based divers?

dive loca�ons for Fiji’s shore based divers?

Fiji liveaboards will traverse some truly impressive levels of nau�cal miles to bring you to some of the ﬁnest (and occasionally secret) dive locales in the world.

Q The distance to some premium dive loca�ons for Fiji’s shore based divers?

DiveMe Fiji www.fijitime.com/dive

Fiji liveaboards will traverse some truly impressive levels of nau�cal miles to bring you to some of the ﬁnest (and occasionally secret) dive locales in the world.

Q The distance to some premium dive loca�ons for Fiji’s shore based divers?

Fiji liveaboards will traverse some truly impressive levels of nau�cal miles to bring you to some of the ﬁnest (and occasionally secret) dive locales in the world.

Diving in Fiji Choose Between Liveboard Versus Shore-based Options and the can’t loose proposal Diving in Fiji is a lot like dining at a 5 star restaurant… even if for some crazy reason, it doesn’t quite measure up to expecta�ons, it s�ll a million �mes better than ea�ng at the local fast food joint around the corner. That being said, for the real diving enthusiast, there are decisions to be made that can significantly alter the experience you may have. The good people at Tourism Fiji and their team at DiveMe Fiji provided us recently with access to some of Fiji’s top dive masters to offer their opinions on the great debate to help us draw our own conclusions. So let’s take a look at some factors that may help you decide what kind of diving adventure you wish to embark on. Types of Dives Pinnacle Dives, Wall Dives, Big Blue (Fish) dives, Shark Dives, So� Coral Dives and Passage Dives… they’re all here in Fiji in mul�ple places. Fiji liveaboards will escort you to a front and center seat on every one. shore-based will have a difficult �me finding each and every type of dive. If you decide to go on the road and are willing to stay at mul�ple accommodators, it is possible to more closely recreate a liveaboard level of diversity. Distance The Sheer Number of Dives The distance to some premium dive loca- Even the most hardcore of shore-based �ons zones can obviously be prohibi�ve divers will find it difficult to average for Fiji shore-based divers. What one more than 2 dives per day. The travel makes up for in evening and ‘day off’ �me, the type of oxygen provided and comfort and ameni�es, one loses in the usual lack of enough crew will make access to some truly rare and spectacular it a ‘tough go’ to get out more than a dive loca�ons. Fiji live aboards will couple of �mes per day. For those traverse some truly impressive levels of looking to eat, breathe and sleep diving, nau�cal miles to bring you to some of the liveaboards o�en provide up to 5 finest (and occasionally secret) dive desire to get back in and see more of locales in the world. that incredible stuff!

By Steve Reid for DiveMe Fiji www.fijitime.com/dive

The Yachting Experience I do say, old chum… it’s certainly a pretty cool feeling to cruise the spectacular Fiji Islands for a week or two in a really big, luxurious boat. Fiji liveaboards generally provide 4 star comfort; with 5 star scenery and 7 star diving. That’s a lot of stars. Fiji shore-based diving also has its advantages… they can be seen in the pampering, the exploring, the awesome activities and the world famous Fiji smiles.

The Sheer Number of Dives Even the most hardcore of shore-based divers will find it difficult to average more than 2 dives per day. The travel �me, the type of oxygen provided and the usual lack of enough crew will make it a ‘tough go’ to get out more than a couple of �mes per day. For those looking to eat, breathe and sleep diving, liveaboards o�en provide up to 5 opportuni�es per day (and evening) to explore the deep blue. Liveaboards also o�en use a nitrox mix of oxygen and nitrogen which allows for speedy recovery and leaves one with a general The Cost Factor For the cost conscious diving enthusiast, liveaboard diving may provide some fiscal advantages. Generally Fiji liveaboards are ‘all expenses paid’ and for those who like to have �ght controls on their budget, they will have a very good idea of their outlay. Fiji sore based divers do have an ability to select from a wide range of accommodators, many who can provide great service at budget rates.

When one calculates the cost of the full trip, Fiji liveaboards may or may not work out to be more money in the end, but you can be sure that with up to 5 dives per ay, they live-aboards will certainly win in the cost per dive ra�o.

“For the real diving enthusiast, there are decisions to be made that can significantly alter the experience you man have!’’ Conclusion There are many reasons why someone visi�ng the Fiji Islands may choose to stay on an island or to stay on a liveaboard while partaking of their diving pleasures.

By Steve Reid for DiveMe Fiji www.fijitime.com/dive

Hardcore diving enthusiasts will swear by the liveaboard op�on as the ul�mate diving adventure, while the more cosmopolitan diver may choose to add land based adventures and fun in the sun op�ons to their travel i�nerary. Either way, when diving in Fiji, you will be sure to see some of the most spectacular so� coral, the most incredible passage and pinnacle diving and some of the most thrilling shark dives anywhere, and that makes either choice a winner. About Steve Steve Reid has written for many publica�ons, website and South Paciﬁc Island Topics. He Lived in Fiji for the last 13 years and currently the Execu�ve Director of Web media Fiji a crea�ve E-Based web marke�ng and designing ﬁrm in the Fiji Islands.

What is the Live-Aboard Lifestyle?

It’s a week abroad a ﬂoa�ng resort. From the keel up, every dive yacht is designed with the diver’s Safety and comfort in mind. Your relaxing week-long vaca�on includes personal touches like delicious between-dive snacks, warm fresh water showers on the dive deck and pampered service from the crew. Live-aboard adventures are an incredible value. Everything is included: Diving, onboard deluxe accomada�ons, meals, snacks and beverages.

Fiji Scuba Diving

Where is Fiji's Finest Scuba Diving?

Central Fiji has the best diving, no doubt about it. This "NAI'A Triangle" of Lomaiviti, Bligh Wate r and Namena is the focus of our regular itineraries, covering about 500 nautical miles. NAI'A has journeyed throughout Fiji, in all directions and to every corner of the country's boundaries and beyond. We've found beautiful sites and dramatic attractions in every region and we still explore new places. But the central region has proved the most consistent in the quality and health of terrains, animals and conditions. Lomaiviti's coral reefs and islands are Fiji's most dynamic and “NAI’A offers varied: voracious sharks to vibrant soft corals. Fiji's coral reef system is a complex the Best of web of barrier reefs surrounding large lagoons and islands. Coral growth and fish World Class of action are most robust on those outer Scuba Diving at barrier reefs. Marine life is especially concentrated within the reef passages any unrevealed and channels that link the lagoons with the deep ocean. But the arrier reefs are Sites, NAI’A remote and vast - a long way from has found Fiji’s shore bases - so only the best-equipped live-aboard diving vessels can access Finest Diving” these locations. Much of the area remains uncharted and the dive sites untouched. .All this makes NAI'A dive sites in the NAI'A Triangle of Lomaiviti, Namena and Bligh Water largely exclusive. You are extremely unlikely to encounter another dive boat during a NAI'A trip it will feel like your own private pristine Fiji.Our normal itinerary for both seven and ten-day charters starts and ends in Lautoka, just north of Nadi, where the international airport is located. After an initial "checkout" dive on the afternoon of boarding, NAI'A heads north and east around the flank of the main island of Viti Levu to reach Bligh Water. Several different divesites in Bligh Water are available including Vatu-i-ra, E6, Mt. Mutiny, and Cat's Meow, depending on localized weather conditions. From there we choose our sites according to weather, tides, and our passengers' inclinations. But generally we visit the islands and barrier reefs of Namena, Wakaya, and Gau. On ten-day charters we have more time available to dive the various reefs in the Koro Sea, some of them near Namena and others near nowhere! We have dived Fiji's finest reefs since 1993, under every imaginable set of circumstances. Importantly, we've kept good records. Many sites are current dependent and detailed local knowledge is critical in order to maximize the number of good dives in the best spots For that reason we don't offer a fixed itinerary -- "if it's Tuesday, it must be Wakaya". Instead we tailor each voyage to the tides and weather that week.

Why is Central Fiji

the Best for Diving?

A common misconception is that the further you travel the better the diving. We also desire to explore remote locales and "get away from it all". But ecologically and globally speaking, coral reefs don't always share our goals for isolation and solitude. It is true, however, that offshore diving (away from the populated towns and cities) is generally better more prolific pristine life, clearer water, and a higher chance of exciting pelagic fish encounters. Look at the Fiji Islands as a whole; you will see that the area in the center of the country between the two main landmasses is still a long way from developed or populated areas. So why are the reefs here so significant? Well, there are five key ingredients in the perfect coral reef - recipe all of them found in central Fiji region:

Temperature & Climate

Coral reefs require warm tropical water and sunlight

Salinity, Nutrients & Food

Central Fiji's reefs benefit from the combined effect of nutrient rich run- off and deep-ocean upwelling. Encouraged by prevailing southeast trade winds, the clean food-ladenocean water is funneled into and along the deepchannel between Fiji's two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. And a balancing nutrient load comes down from those two high islands out onto the barrier reefs and into the same central channel. Most NAI'A dive areas lie along that channel line.

Circulation

Tidal and wind-driven currents are intensified through Fiji's center. They play a crucially important role in circulating cleansing water flow, removing sediment and moving food back and forth throughout the reef system. These same currents aid In the daily mixing of broadcast spawn from fish and invertebrates.

Protection

Coral reefs need shelter to truly thrive. Open ocean atolls are usually not so luxuriant and abundant as they must develop amid the constant pounding of ocean swells and storm surf. Central Fiji's maze of barrier reefs provides ideal protection without compromising the important water movement.

New Recruits

Central Fiji is a nexus for spawn from coral reef animals that have traveled thousands of miles looking for a place to mingle and colonize. This spawn, carried over the open sea surface from all over the Tropical Pacific, finds in Fiji a perfect stop-off point at which to stop, settle and grow. Fiji is the first major barrier for spawn that has traveled across the Pacific with the southeast trades. Like other food and nutrients, this spawn is concentrated in Central Fiji waters, by the topography of the barrier reefs, the deep Bligh Water channel and the life-breathing currents.

Fiji Shark Diving

Sharks have had a rough go of it for the last several decades, with governments reluctant to afford them the protection they deserve and most top siders indifferent, if not hostile, toward them. Divers are at the vanguard of shark protection because we understand better than those who don’t dive that the ocean is a complex ecosystem that absolutely

hammer head shark

white tip shark

requires healthy top predators to thrive.Fiji is fortunate that sharks here are less preyed upon than in most other countries. True, longliners continue to catch sharks and sell their fins at considerable profit, but luckily Fiji’s myriad reefs keep the fishing boats well offshore. So the reefs that NAI’A dives have good populations of whitetip, hammerhead and grey reef sharks. Black-tip, tiger, bull, nurse, and silvertip sharks are not uncommon, but you have to be lucky to see one. They’re shy. Whitetips and gray reef sharks are pretty much everywhere and

our most reliable sites for hammerheads arethe offshore seamounts of Mt. Mutiny andE-6, as well as the Namena Marine Reserve and Wakaya. When Howard Hall and his crew were diving deep to make the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, they often encountered giant schools of scalloped hammerheads, but they were below 275ft! We see the singletons or small schools that come up to have a look at the funny things blowing bubbles up shallow.

Marine Paradise

NAIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;A Liveboard Dive Adventures F I J I 10

AQUA-TREK Shark Conservation Programme

Aqua-Trek is committed to preserving sharks in Fijian waters and to presenting a model for conservation and sustainable tourism that can be applied around the world. Aqua-Trek's Fiji Shark Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Program has evolved over the last 18 years, and it encompasses several interlinked aspects that have been instrumental in the conservation of sharks both on a local and global level. We have recently won the following awards for our Shark Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Program:

Aqua-Trek Beqa pioneered the shark feeding dive in Beqa Lagoon in order to be able to study these magnificent creatures up close. Sharks often evoke fear, but our 11 years in feeding them without a single incident shows that this fear is not justified. The feeding program has made the sharks accustomed to human presence which in turn has offered divers unparallel opportunities to observe, photograph and videotape sharks in their natural environment. The fish we feed to the sharks comes from Fiji Fish, a factory specializing in highest quality of seafood. An added benefit to the feeding program is that it keeps the factory fish scraps away from the refuse site and brings them back to the food chain. Our Ultimate Shark Encounter is only a part of the superb diving in the area; feeding also brings in a large number of other fish in the area. The regular feedings have created one of the healthiest fish stocks in the lagoon.

Now visitors come to Fiji to dive with sharks and learn about them in their natural environment. Dispelling myths that sharks are mindless and dangerous is an important part of our effort. Our mission is to educate people that sharks, the ocean's apex predators, are a vital part of the ecosystem.

It is estimated that the world's shark population will diminish by 90% in the next decades if nothing is done to stop shark fishing. This would cause a catastrophic demise in reef ecosystems. In 2006 AquaTrek began a campaign to ban shark finning in Fiji. By on-going research we are poised to have the data to convince Fijian authorities that outlawing shark fishing benefits everyone. Education, research and preservation of sharks are imperative for the balance of nature and to change attitudes about sharks. It is our goal to make sharks worth more alive than dead while we still have the chance.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The regular feedings have created one of the healthiest fish stocks in the lagoonâ&#x20AC;?

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