|
Hawaii
Archaeologists have located British whaler sunk by bad weather in 1837 off Kure Atoll Artefacts from the remains of a wreck believed to be of the British whaling vessel Gledstanes lost for 171 years have been found off Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The artefacts include four large anchors, cannons and cannonballs. The Gledstanes is the fourth whaling vessel found in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, evidence of the area's significance as a 19th-century whaling area. The divers who found the shipwreck were taking part in the 2008 Maritime Heritage Expedition, sponsored by NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries.
Philippines
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Michael Aware presented with awards for outstanding marine conservation Underwater photographer Michael Aw was awarded the prestigious 2008 Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award by the Shark Research Institute (SRI) president Stan Waterman. The award, sponsored by Rolex, honours the memory of the late Peter Benchley, a staunch advocate for the protection of sharks. Michael Aw, director of Ocean Geographic, has been conducting an unrelenting campaign against shark finning in the Asia-Pacific region. President of the Philippine Republic Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, received the award in recognition of her decades of efforts to protect sharks and the ocean ecosystem. President Arroyo, who recently designated the whale shark as the icon for marine conservation, has made many efforts to protect unique marine resources throughout South Asia’s Coral Triangle. A diver for 30 years, she has created and expanded marine parks throughout the Philippines, funded marine conservation projects, and hosted marine conservation symposiums in the Asia-Pacific region. |
