With the Jellyfish isolated in the lake, their stings weakened and these amazing images show tourists can now swim alongside the jellyfish without fear of being stung.

Photographer Kevin Davidson has been visiting the lake for 15 years to capture photos of tourists swimming with jellyfish.

Not for the faint hearted: A swimmer takes a dip in the lake, which now contains an estimated 8 million jellyfish.

Photographer Kevin Davidson has been visiting the lake for 15 years to capture photos of tourists swimming with jellyfish.

Photographer Kevin Davidson has been visiting the lake for 15 years to capture photos of tourists swimming with jellyfish.

Swimmers feel hundreds of “soft blobs” gentle touching their skin as they paddle in Palau Lake.

The latest FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) world statistics for both imports and exports of ornamental fish have been recently released. Although we are now well into 2012, the figures relate to 2009 (for technical reasons, it takes this long for data to be collected, collated and updated).

At a quoted value of US$59,940,000,Singapore once again tops the list of exporting countries. This figure marks a drop from 2008 (US$68,706,000), but still easily outstrips those of its nearest competitors. In fact,Singaporestill commands a healthy lead, accounting for 18.4% of the total 2009 value of world ornamental fish exports, which amount to US$326,667,000 (consisting of both freshwater and marine ornamental aquatic organisms).

On the import front, the FAO statistics show thatSingaporeimported US$23,336,000 worth of ornamentals in 2009, accounting for just 6.3% of the world total of US$371,426,000 and, thus, clearly demonstrating its predominantly exporting nature.

While, at first sight, the decline in the value of exports may seem a little disappointing to some, one needs to bear very much in mind that we are still in the middle of a serious world economic crisis, with some of the major traditional markets forSingaporeornamental fish being particularly hard hit.

As a result, there has been a detectable shift in buying trends among consumers with regard to ornamental fish. According to Aquarama consultant, John Dawes, “Specialist fishkeepers will always be prepared to spend a little extra in order to obtain their pedigree specialist fish. However, the bulk of the fish-buying public is represented by non-specialists and these are tending, more and more, to go for the more inexpensive, colourful, so-called ‘bread-and-butter’ fish. So, while the pubic is still buying fish…and doing so in large quantities…it does not appear to be spending as much on individual higher-priced specimens as they used to.”

This trend is best represented by the Japanese export figure, which has increased from US$22,352,000 in 2008, to US$30,075,000 in 2009.Japanis, perhaps, the best-known ‘specialist’ fish producer and supplier, with its famed pedigree koi being highly sought after by specialist hobbyists the world over…crisis or no crisis. It is therefore worth noting thatJapanis the only exporting country that has shown any significant increase in exports between 2008 and 2009. All the other leaders have either experienced a drop in the value of their exports, or have more or less stood still.

Encouragingly, though, and despite the ongoing unfavourable economic climate, Singapore still stands ‘tallest among the tall’, leading the way yet again, just as it has done for so many years.

Footnote: The FAO statistics placeSpain in second spot with regard to ornamental fish exports. However, this figure is widely believed to be anomalous and could be the result of some submission or recording error made some years ago (2002) but still, somehow, passed on down the line. It is interesting to note that the 2002 export figure forSpain was just US$3,579,000, while that for 2009 is quoted as US$46,836,000, indicating a staggering jump of US$43,257,000 in just seven years!

Visit Skimz at Interzoo, Hall 7 Stand 537-1

Nuremberg, Germany

17 to 20 May 2012

www.skimz.sg

AQUATRONICA MOON LIGHT LEDs (ACQ510-xx) shape is thin and pleasant to the eye, their design is elegant and technologic. Thay allow to create stunning moonlight effects in aquarium.

Their installation is quick and easy thanks to a plastic velcro fixing system or screws and can be totally independent from the aquarium main control system being they a stand-alone system. Moreover, their power consumption is extremely low.

They are availble in three models, differing for lenght:

ACQ510-60 (60cm)

ACQ510-90 (90cm)

ACQ510-120 (120cm)

Press Release

The world’s leading fair for pet supplies, Interzoo, is registering an outstanding exhibitor response: so far around 1,100 manufacturers have registered their participation. The worldwide pet supplies industry, ranging from small manufacturers right up to the global players, will present their comprehensive range of pet foods and accessories, grooming aids, garden and equestrian articles along with services from 17th to 20th May 2012. The growth in trade fair participation mainly comes from Europe, Asia and Australia.

“Even at this stage there are indications that Interzoo 2012 will once again be the world’s largest show for the pet supplies sector at which all the key sector players will come together. Of the previous total of around 1,100 registered companies, well over two-thirds come from abroad. We are also equally delighted about the clear increase in booked stand space and exhibitor numbers from Germany”, says Norbert Holthenrich, President of the honorary sponsor of the trade fair, German Pet Trade and Industry Association (Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe Deutschlands e.V. – ZZF).

In Europe registrations for increased stand space and new exhibitors are mainly coming from the Netherlands, France, Poland and Czech Republic. Overseas the trade fair is registering high exhibitor participation figures, especially from Asia and Australia. Numerous countries will once again be presenting themselves within the framework of large pavilions, including Brazil, Canada, China, Great Britain, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the USA and recently Hong Kong.

Registration forms can still be obtained from:
NürnbergMesse GmbH
Projektteam Interzoo
Messezentrum
90471 Nürnberg
Deutschland
Tel +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-81 07, -81 28
Fax +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-82 87

www.interzoo.com

The frigid waters of the Arctic are home to near-mythical creatures, sometimes called the “unicorns of the sea” for the long, ivory tusk that spirals several feet out of the top of their heads.

Worldwide there are only about 50,000 to 80,000 narwhals, as they are more commonly known, with about two-thirds of these whales summering in the fjords and inlets of Nunavut in northern Canada.

Scientists are hoping to learn more about narwhals through a new effort to track them as they move around the icy waters of northern Canada, as well as more about how declining amounts of sea ice are affecting the creatures.

“Although we’ve been working on a better understanding of the narwhal in the past seven or eight years, it was only recently that people have figured out how to fit satellite radios to them, so we know where they go and what they’re eating,” said Pete Ewins, an Arctic s pecies specialist for the environmental group WWF-Canada.

Narwhal transmitters

A new project tagged nine narwhals in Tremblay Sound off the coast of the northern province of Nunavut back in August. The scientists restrained the whales, which can weigh up to 3,500 pounds (1,600 kilograms), and fitted them with a satellite radio that has a transmitter mounted with Teflon rods to the blubber near the whale’s dorsal area.

“The whole system is no bigger than a Blackberry cellphone, with a little transmitter the length of a pencil that sticks up,” Ewins told OurAmazingPlanet.

When a narwhal comes to surface, the radio unit contacts with the air and activates the signal transmission. The animal’s location is then sent via satellite to the researchers.

Of those nine whales fitted with the device, seven still have trackers that are transmitting information. For the others, the system likely malfunctioned or fell off. Eventually all of the trackers will be slowly expelled by the animals’ immune system.

While seven whales isn’t a huge sample size, Ewins said that a lot of information can be gained by watching where the whales go. “Their position tells you depth of water over which they’re spending the dark days of winter,” he said.

Preserving Arctic waters

In addition to the basic coordinates, digital sensors also record the depth and the duration of each whale’s dive. From that information, scientists can infer what the whales are eating during different times of the year, and how the thickness of sea ice in different parts of the Arctic impacts their behavior. [Infographic: Tallest Mountain to Deepest Ocean Trench]

The information can also be used to make a case for keeping these northern waters free from oil and gas exploration. Since narwhals are both protected and acoustically sensitive, knowing their locations could help the government make better decisions to preserve marine environments.

“The local native Inuit, who are our partners, are concerned about the changes in the sea ice but also the prospect of noisy ships and explosions to test for oil and gas,” Ewins said.

If you ever come by near the coast of Belize, you shouldn’t miss an opportunity to visit the Great Blue Hole, one of the world’s most recognizable natural wonders. The Great Blue Hole is located in Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, about 60 miles away from Belize City. It is believed that this hole is the world’s largest sea-hole. It is about 125 meters deep and its diameter is about 300 meters wide. It has been created as a cause of sea level increase about 65,000 years ago.

Its almost perfect circular shape made it very popular amongst tourists who often visit this place. This place is most attractive for scuba divers who are exploring the depths of this hole. It is known that there are a plenty of cave networks in this place. Divers are also attracted with plenty of rare animal species and forms of life which can be found only in this place.

This image, taken in 2002, about one mile deep near a huge underwater volcano near Monterey Bay, provided by NOAA shows this strange marine animal, thought to be a new species that has yet to be described or named. It is a type of mollusk, called nudibranch, that sheds its shell early in life. Scientists think there are millions of species, like this one, that have yet to be named or even discovered.

24 Aug 2011, AP

23 Aug 2011, MailOnline

A Japanese diving instructor managed to survive being abandoned by a boatman in shark-infested waters by swimming 20 miles to shore in 24 hours.

Hishashi Koze had been left for dead following a routine dive off Borneo’s Santubong peninsula with two other diving colleagues.

The three men had gone underwater for a third dive, only to be abandoned when boatmen on the surfrace lost sight of their air bubbles underwater and assumed they were in trouble.

Mr Koze, 39, was then left alone himself after trying to swim after the boat and losing sight of his two colleagues.
Exhausted, sunburned, dehydrated and emotional, Mr Koze managed to swim back to Malaysia’s Borneo island, where he told how the dive boat he was on had headed back to the shore after the boatman had decided there was no hope of finding him and his two companions alive.

But Mr Koze’s friends, Satoo Makoto, 40, and Ngu Teck Hua, 52, were soon picked up by a passing fishing boat.
Mr Koze, however, lost touch with his friends and did not see them being rescued – he did not even see the fishing boat that picked them up.

‘I kept thinking “I must survive – I must survive”,’ he told The Star newspaper of Malaysia.

‘I swam backstroke against the waves, covering, I think about 30km through the afternoon, through the night and through until this morning when I reached the shore.’

Mr Koze and his companions had been taken to the site of a Japanese shipwreck, some 50 minutes from Borneo’s Santubong peninsula.

The dive was routine for the three men – and none dreamed it would turn into a nightmare, particularly for Mr Koze.
‘We made two successful dives and then we decided to dive for a third time,’ said Mr Koze.

‘The third dive lasted for about an hour. Then when we surfaced I saw the boat was quite far away.’
What the three men did not realise was that the boatman had panicked after losing sight of the trio’s air bubbles, a common safety indicator between divers and boatmen.

‘I left the two in order to swim to the boat and get it to pick us up, but then I lost sight of it. I then couldn’t find the two other divers, but made up my mind it was my responsibility to get rescue.’
Unaware that his friends were later picked up by a fishing boat, Mr Koze struck out for what he hoped was the direction of the shore.

‘As the light faded I followed the stars as I swam. I realised I had to be calm.

‘The direction of the current told me I was in the right direction and I also had the help of a compass.’

All three men were kept under observation in the Sarawak General Hospital before being released.

Asked if he would go back to sea again, Mr Koze, who manages a dive shop on Borneo, said: ‘Oh yes – maybe in a week or so.’

The Aquarama 2011 International Marine Tank Competition was won by AquaMarin Aquatic Pets. This is the second time Aquamarin has won the 1st Prize , the first time in 2009.

Ado and Steve of Aquamarin Aquatic Pets

Janet of Aquamarin Aquatic Pets

The Aquarama 2011 Marine Tank Competition was organised by UBM