Nubian Oasis ( The Sudan )

"The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for scientists but are available to anyone who will place himself under the influence of Earth, sea and sky, and then amazing life"

Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

American scientist and writer

• The augmentation of 0,6°C of the earth's average temperature since the early in the last century, affects the biodiversity and set the question about his capacity for adaptation to that quick and violent climat change.

A movie ( cartoon ) which is worth watching at: http://www.exxposeexxon.com/movie/

Lemon Shark

The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), unlike some other sharks, doesn't have to swim constantly in order to breathe, so it often spends the day lying on the sandy seafloor. Since it is fairly common, easy to find, and not aggressive, the lemon shark is a popular research subject for scientists.
It is also a popular catch for commercial and recreational fishers. Nearly all of the shark is used in some way: the meat is eaten, the fins are used in soups, liver oil is extracted for vitamins, the hide is used as leather, and the carcass is used as fish meal.
The fisheries in the Mesoamerican Reef ecoregion are largely unsupervised, and biologists are concerned about the status of all sharks in the region of Honduras.

Reefscape in the Sea Red, The Brothers islands ( Egypt )

• An estimated 10% of the world's corals have been degraded beyond recovery. More than 60% of the world's reefs could be destroyed within 50 years.
• The global fishing fleet is 2,5x larger than what the oceans can sustainably produce;
  75% of the world's fisheries are classified as "fully" or "over-exploited"

• Unfair "Access Agreements" means rich countries are taking fish from poor countries.
• At least 25% of all fish caught is by-catch; Annually, 30 million metric tons of this by-catch is being thrown over the side of fishing boats, dead or dying.
  In the Mediterranean, over 60,000 turtles are caught annually in fishing gear. One industry source estimates1300 fishing vessels of significant size are flying flags of convenience (ie, ships which are likely to be involved in contravening international and local fishing policies, guidelines and protected areas) .
• Chemicals painted on the sides of ships can directly poison marine life and/or cause chronic disease, reproductive failure, or deformities.
  More oil reaches the sea each year from sources such as leaking cars than was released by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
• Poorly thought out industrial scale aquaculture can lead to the severe destruction of marine habitats

Village of Seaweed Fishermen - The Sulu archipelago ( Borneo)

• More people have travelled in to space than have ventured into the deep... In fact, humans have explored less than 10% of the oceans and have protected less than 0,5% of it. Of that small percentage, 80% are "protected" in name only.
• 60% of the global human population live within 64km (40 miles) of the sea. Fish from our oceans provide the principal source of protein for more than 1,000,000,000 people (estimated Jan 04)
• Around 90% of trade between countries is carried by ships, More than US$15 billion is spent by governments each year on subsidising fishing fleets

Iceberg ( Groenland )

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. "

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

English dramatist poet

• Oceans account for 95% of all the space on this planet available to life, produce 70% of our oxygen .
• The oceans dominate the world's weather systems, they absorb heat and re-distribute it around the world
• Estimates of the range of species in the ocean vary from thousands to tens of millions ...from the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, the blue whale, to the tiniest plankton.This diversity far outweighs the diversity of life on land