News round-up

Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as all over our water planet. To find out the most up-to-date news and views, check out the website or follow us on our various social media @scubadivermag www.scubadivermag.com.au/news

Amateur and professional underwater

Dubbed as the ‘World Cup of Underwater Photo Competitions’, the event highlighted the town’s teeming marine biodiversity, including its world-famous nudibranchs.

Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the event showcased the country’s readiness to welcome back tourists and reclaim its position as the world’s leading dive destination.

“The Anilao Underwater Shootout is a platform to communicate the importance of safeguarding our delicate reefs and marine ecosystems for future generations. As we slowly rebuild and recover from the effects of the pandemic, this event is our way of announcing to the world that the Philippines’ diving industry is alive and well, and very much ready to welcome divers and underwater photographers,” Puyat said.

Supporting the department’s thrust to safely restart tourism in the country, Puyat also noted that more than 95 percent of the tourism workers in dive destinations are now fully vaccinated. Gathering a total of 120 participants flying in from all over the country, the event also spurred domestic

tourism activity in Anilao, trickling down to the community with engagement from the town’s resorts, dive guides and spotters.

This year’s edition garnered a total of 348 entries across the competition’s 11 categories. Winners were awarded over two million pesos worth of prizes from its official airline partner Cebu Pacific, and underwater photography gear from event partners Nauticam, Scubalamp, AOI, Scubastudio Philippines, and sponsors XDEEP, Crest, Fourth Element, Divers Point, Nautilus Dive, and Sports Centre, Squires Bingham, and Ultralight Control Systems, Inc.

• Macro/Supermacro category, winners are Dennis Corpuz, 1st place; Marivic

Verdadero Maramot, 2nd place; and Emil Ribaya Jaranilla, 3rd place. • In the Marine Behaviour category, winners are Ariel Careño Locsin, 1st place;

Glenn Ian Diaz Villanueva, 2nd place; and Adrian Dan, 3rd place. • In the Nudibranch category, winners are Dennis Corpuz, 1st place; Glenn Ian

Villanueva, 2nd place; Armida Esteban, 3rd place. • In the Fish Portrait category, winners are Dennis Corpuz, 1st place; Louis Myse

Fae Ronquillo, 2nd place; Angelyca Paras Nery, 3rd place.

• Macro/Supermacro category, winners are: Rafael Francisco, 1st place; Jorge

Ida, 2nd place; and Fr. Nemer de Castro Chua, 3rd place. • In the Marine Behaviour category, winners are Regie Casia, 1st place; Lloyd

Respicio, 2nd place; and Anjeanette Fuentebella, 3rd place. • In the Nudibranch category, winners are Penn De Los Santos, 1st place; Kim

Morfe, 2nd place; Armando Panopio, 3rd place. • In the Fish Portrait category, winners are Teresa Sy Ortin, 1st place; Patricia

Santos, 2nd place; and Ronald Amboy Dalawampo, 3rd place. • Special prizes were awarded to Dennis Corpuz in the Blackwater category and Paul Joseph Aristorenas in the Wide Angle category. • Teresa Sy Ortin and Dennis Corpuz were named DOT Photographers of the

Year for the Compact and Open classes respectively.

The international event has been organized by the DOT since 2013, in line with the identification of diving as a priority tourism product in the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP). This year’s panel of judges includes renowned underwater photography aficionados David Doubilet, Jennifer Hayes, Mike Bartick, Scott Gutsy Tuason, William Tan, and Underwater360 Group founder John Thet. Following COVID-19 restrictions, the event followed a hybrid format with underwater photography workshops hosted via Zoom and the competition’s official Facebook page. Judging and deliberations were also done through the video-conferencing application.

The 7th Anilao Underwater Shootout was mounted in partnership with Mabini Tourism, DOT Region 4 A Calabarzon #DiscoverCalabarzon, Solitude Acacia Resort, Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort, Crystal Blue Dive Resort, Nauticam, Scubalamp, AOI, and Scubastudio Philippines. The event is also supported by Wetpixel, Underwater Photography Magazine, Underwater 360, and GRID Magazine.

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© Philippines Department of Tourism

The Philippines was again cited as the World’s Leading Dive Destination at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021.

Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said: “On behalf of all Filipinos, I extend our thanks to the World Travel Awards for recognizing the Philippines as the World’s Leading Dive Destination for the third year in a row. This distinction is indeed a great privilege, yet, it underlines our great responsibility of protecting and conserving our underwater resources so that these may also be enjoyed and experienced in their pristine natural state by future generations. Once again, thank you for this wonderful honour. Mabuhay po kayong lahat.” This is the third consecutive year that the Philippines has won this prestigious award. Located in the heart of the fabled Coral Triangle, the Philippines offers a rich array of dive locations. The country boasts magnificent biologically diverse marine and aquatic resources and is home to 600 coral species, 2,000 reef fish species, and six out of the world’s seven species of marine turtles.

Top diving spots in the country include the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Palawan, Anilao in Batangas, Malapascua and Moalboal in Cebu, Balicasag, Panglao and Anda in Bohol, and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro.

Comprising of more the 7,000 islands, there are plenty of undiscovered gems. The Philippines Department of Tourism is constantly seeking out new destinations for intrepid divers, with the likes of Romblon, Ticao Island, Southern Leyte, Camiguin, Davao, Sarangani and Siquijor considered emerging destinations that offer exceptional diving.

With the opening of Fiji’s borders for quarantine free arrivals, Captain Cook Cruises are expanding their conservation and education programmes with the launch of their Citizen Science initiatives, expanded coral planting and the announcement of January’s guest expert onboard lecturer as Prof Kris Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute.

With its team of Marine Biologists and Ocean Ambassador programmes, Captain Cook Cruises have been pioneering conservation and marine science activities and education in Fiji through their three to 11 night cruises on Reef Endeavour and Day Cruises to Tivua Island. The reopening of borders gives new impetus to their programmes. Coral planting continues to grow at their private Tivua Island where passengers can take part in the ‘Buy a Coral Build a Reef’ programme. Tivua is surrounded by 500 acres of coral reef.

Both Captain Cook’s expedition style two to 11 night small ship cruising experiences as well as their tall ship day-sail experiences to Tivua Island lend themselves to immersive experiences. The marine science opportunities are also enhanced by remote destinations, cultural experiences, natural unspoilt beauty and the company’s fabulous Fijian crew. Their Citizen Science projects for each cruise allow passengers access to observations of species that have been made in each location by using iNaturalist as well as the opportunity to upload their own observations and even discover a new species as a result. As part of their Visiting Scientist Programme, Captain Cook Fiji are thrilled to announce Professor Kris Helgen will sail aboard Reef Endeavour 22 – 29 January on the first of the sailings they have to the Lau group and Kadavu in 2022. Harvard educated, Kris has in part spent the past 25 years exploring the Asia Pacific looking for new and overlooked species of mammals. He was a guest lecturer at the Smithsonian and National Geographic for 15 years, a Professor and Fullbright Fellow at Adelaide University and has travelled in over 50 countries doing field research on mammals.

He is well equipped with the very latest on coral reef research through his oversight of the work done at the Lizard Island Reef Research Station, which is part of the Australian Museum. “In my own role as a Trustee of the LIRRF I feel very passionate about the excellent work done there and the incredible contributions made to marine science,” says CEO of Captain Cook Cruises, Allison Haworth. “I am so glad Kris will be able to update our passengers on all the latest news”.

A taste of some of his guest lectures will cover topic areas such as Wildlife of the Pacific Region, Where Fiji sits in Biodiversity in the Pacific, Coral Reefs with the latest findings from the LIRRF, Preservation of the Biology of Reefs, Life as a Species Discoverer, and more. Reef Endeavour’s voyage to the Remote Lau and Kadavu islands is only a few times a year. Due to popular demand an additional Lau departure has just been announced for 1 – 8 February. This remote bucket list destination provides an opportunity to immerse the visitor in the pristine natural environment and experience this unique culture first hand. Other voyages from January 2022 include sailings to the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands most Tuesdays and Saturdays, plus a monthly remote Discovery cruise on selected dates on one of three incredible itineraries - the seven- and 11-night Lau and Kadavu and the seven-night Remote North Discovery cruise to Levuka, Savusavu and Taveuni. www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com

Raja Ampat-based Meridian Adventure Dive was excited to have been nominated for the World Travel Awards 2021 under the category Asia’s Leading Dive Resort, and now they are pleased to share the news that the company is the winner of this category! A Meridian spokesperson said: “This wouldn’t be possible without our incredible team and all our supporters, thank you for voting for us, and for your continued support.” You can see the winning video on their Facebook page. www.facebook.com/meridianadventuresdive

In 2022, you can scuba dive in the comfort of your own home with the incredible Virtual Divers Simulator - more than a game, this diving simulator puts you in the diver’s seat! Virtual Divers International (VDI) is the world’s first realistic diving simulator. This App is as close to diving as you can get on your mobile device while playing a game at the same time. VDI has changed the game, both literally and figuratively, and this is only the beginning!

The Virtual Divers International App allows you to perform skills like mask clearing, regulator removal and recovery, equipment assembly, descents, and ascents and even hand signals. This game will engage new and experienced divers or anyone just wanting to learn more about our sport or even preparing for a course. If you just want to find out about the latest innovations in equipment, you will love the VDI app. There are two primary sections to the game: • The first is a training module that simulates a training section with an instructor. You will practice actual diving skills the same as you would learn in a classroom. • The other section is more like a traditional game, but you get to perform many of the same virtual activities you would perform on an actual dive, there is an element of gaming with gold coin collection you can use to buy equipment in the virtual store. There are two difficulty levels within the game.

The first is Easy Mode which allows you to cruise around discovering new parts of the reef and finding new marine life. The Pro Mode level is more difficult and includes many real-world skills like controlling buoyancy and equalizing your ears.

Like a lot of traditional games, you can explore, collect gold, and get points. There are additional skills and fun like a swim through ‘the rings of destiny’. There are literally hours of fun and education for the whole family. Virtual Divers International has multiple courses due for release soon where you can explore options for future real certifications.

To introduce the VDI App, there is a one-time introductory offer of just $35 USD (normally $49 USD) including all features and updates for next twelve months. You can find the App in the App Store or Play Store.

© Marie Roman

The Great Barrier Reef is booming with new life after the world’s biggest reproductive event – coral spawning – giving scientists a narrow window to help secure its future. In one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena on the planet, corals simultaneously reproduce once a year, releasing enough spawn to produce trillions of baby corals. This spawning event provides scientists with an opportunity to fast-track world-leading research to help the Great Barrier Reef resist, adapt to and recover from the impacts of climate change. Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said, “The Morrison Government’s $150 million Reef Restoration and Adaptation Programme includes world-leading scientific research into spawning and ‘Coral IVF’ to strengthen and restore reefs.”

“This time of year is an exciting one for everyone on the Reef but particularly for our scientists,” Minister Ley said.

“Latest reports on the Reef show that we are seeing strong increases of hard coral cover but there are still significant threats from rising sea temperatures and we are working with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Marine Scientists to ensure the resilience of the Reef.”

Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden said, “Climate change is the greatest threat to our Reef. In addition to reducing emissions, we need to pioneer new solutions to create a toolbox of techniques that can be used to help protect the reefs we have left, restore lost reefs and help corals adapt to warming ocean temperatures.”

“From Lizard Island in the far north to Townsville and Heron Island further south, scientists are busy collecting spawn as part of the world’s largest collaborative effort to protect an ecosystem from climate change, the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Programme,” Ms Marsden said. Southern Cross University Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison was part of the small team of researchers to discover mass coral spawning 40 years ago. He is on Lizard Island with research partners, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and QUT to carry out a novel coral larval restoration technique that he’s spent many years developing and refining.

“We’re excited to be scaling up the coral larval restoration process on the Great Barrier Reef collaborating with research partners at Lizard Island, and our aim to optimise large-scale larval production directly on the Reef,” Professor Harrison said.

This research is part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program which is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Partners include the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, CSIRO, The University of Queensland, QUT, Southern Cross University and James Cook University.