Our oceans are more than
fish and ships...

The oceans are suffering.
The main source of food for two billion people, a key element in climate control and a largely untapped reserve of vital resources, they deserve to be managed better.

This is why the United Nations this month celebrated the first ever World Ocean Day, read the complete article @

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion
%20&%20Analysis/-/539548/611562/-/u1r1yyz/-/

Latest NEWS...

Associated Press
Palau cites human rights in resettling detainees
Associated Press, 06.11.09, 12:44 AM EDT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Palau's president says his tiny Pacific island state considered human rights - and not China's reaction - when it agreed to take in 17 Chinese Muslim separatists detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong says his country has agreed to a U.S. request to resettle the detainees out of humanitarian concerns and because their imprisonment is unlawful...more at;
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap

More links to this breaking story you find at the following links.

Latest News and info on the Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009!

Please follow the links below for the latest updates on the very first Kids Sea Camp (KSC) to be held in Palau.
Sam's Tours is the host tour operator for Kids Sea Camp Palau with accommodations provided by Palau Royal Resort. The program is limited to 50 persons on this inaugural year.
Kids Sea Camp is an award winning educational program for children and is supported by major sponsors including PADI, SPORT DIVER MAGAZINE, SCUBAPRO and DAN.

KSC is a very important and prestigious event for Palau and one that Sam's Tours should be very proud to have been selected to host. Top dive destinations go to great lengths and compete heavily to be selected as KSC destinations and it is no small feat to have been chosen as a KSC destination. Other KSC host destinations include Grand Bahama, Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Curacao, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Roatan, Fiji, and now finally PALAU!
More information is forthcoming and in the meantime, please visit the URL's below and familiarize yourself with Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009 and start speading the word!

http://www.kidsseacamp.com/
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palauhomepage.html
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palaudivesams.html
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palauresort.html

Dermot Keane,
GM Sam’s Tours Palau

© Gunther Deichmann - It is never to early...learn how to dive.

We have picked up this post from Sam’s Tours Palau, see below the details.

Monday, May 11, 2009
Late Breaking News! KIDS SEA CAMP coming to Palau!
We’re delighted to report that Sam’s Tours has been selected to host the very first KIDS SEA CAMP (KSC) in Palau slated for this November. Kids Sea Camp is an award-winning educational vacation program for families that love the ocean.
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28, 2009.

Kids Sea Camp is the brain child of Margo Peyton, a scuba diver since 1989. This Scuba mom with husband Tom, two kids of her own, Jen and Robbie, decided it was important for her family to spend time together doing what she loved the most, scuba diving & travel.
Kids Sea Camp is a full week's schedule of events and educational programs that promises great times and learning experiences for families with kids age 4-15. Each week includes 7 nights accommodations, diving, meals, excursions, activities for both adults and kids including, diving, snorkeling and many PADI Specialty courses.
KSC is hosted at PADI 5 Star Dive Resorts around the world which include Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Roatan, Fiji, Curacao, Galapagos and now in PALAU! Sam’s Tours and Palau Royal Resort, a Nikko Hotels International partner http://www.palau-royal-resort.com/ are teamed up to host this exciting event. Space is limited so get in touch with Sam’s Tours right away if you’d like to participate.
Families can spend a week scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, discovering underwater photography, meeting other families and making friends from all around the world. Kids Sea Camp is the perfect family vacation for those that love to scuba!
Sam’s Tours PADI Five Star National Geographic Dive Center is proud to have been selected to host Palau’s very first Kids Sea Camp and we are already in full swing planning an exciting action-packed week of fun in the sun!
For more information on Kids Sea Camp please visit http://kidsseacamp.com/ although details of the Palau Kids Sea may not be posted yet.

For bookings please contact: kids@kidsseacamp.com or e-mail Sam’s Tours Reservations Desk at: reservations@samstours.com
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28, 2009.

Rare Megamouth Shark Caught In Philippines

Author: Jason Heller / April 07, 2009 12:00AM CDT Category: Marine Conservation
Megamouth, rare, Shark, Philippines, Donsol
So rare are these sharks that each of them is designated with a number.

Fishermen based in Donsol were trawling for mackerel along the eastern coast of Burias Isle on the morning of 30 March when they caught a strange-looking shark from a depth of approximately 200 meters. WWF’s satellite tagging initiatives have already shown that pelagic filter feeders such as whale sharks and manta rays regularly prowl through the region. It was only a matter of time before something else was discovered.

Megamouth SharkThe shark was brought to Barangay Dancalan in Donsol, Sorsogon for assessment. WWF Donsol Project Manager Elson Aca immediately arrived to assess the haul – and promptly identified it as a megamouth shark... MORE

© Gunther Deichmann - next time you come across an Octopus remember that they have been around for million of years.

Knowing and understanding Fossils this discovery really amazes me, very rare indeed since Octopuses don’t have any hard shell like Ammonites, Belemnites and other species in the this family group.
Read below excerpts from the science report, for the complete story and Photos go to the LINK below.


Rare Fossil Octopuses Found
By Live Science Staff
posted: 18 March 2009 10:32 am ET

It's hard enough to find fossils of hard things like dinosaur bones. Now scientists have found evidence of 95 million-year-old octopuses, among the rarest and unlikeliest of fossils, complete with ink and suckers.
The body of an octopus is composed almost entirely of muscle and skin. When an octopus dies, it quickly decays and liquefies into a slimy blob. After just a few days there will be nothing left at all. And that assumes that the fresh carcass is not consumed almost immediately by scavengers.
The result is that preservation of an octopus as a fossil is about as unlikely as finding a fossil sneeze, and none of the 200 to 300 species of octopus known today had ever been found in fossilized form, said Dirk Fuchs of the Freie University Berlin, lead author of the report.
Fuchs and his colleagues now have identified three new species of octopuses (Styletoctopus annae, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante) based on five specimens discovered in Cretaceous Period rocks in Lebanon. The specimens, described in the January 2009 issue of the journal Palaeontology, preserve the octopuses' eight arms with traces of muscles and rows of suckers. Even traces of the ink and internal gills are present in some specimens.
"The luck was that the corpse landed untouched on the sea floor," Fuchs told LiveScience. "The sea floor was free of oxygen and therefore free of scavengers. Both the anoxy [absence of oxygen] and a rapid sedimentation rate prevented decay."
Prior to this discovery only a single fossil species was known, and from fewer specimens than octopuses have legs, Fuchs said...
More @ http://www.livescience.com/animals/090318-fossil-octopus.html

Graphic © palautours.com

Explore Palau below the waves with Sam’s Tours and pamper yourself at the Palau Pacific Resort.

Palau is famous for its outstanding Landscapes and spectacular Dive Sites, a dream for every Nature Lover & Diver on the Planet.

After a good day of hiking, exploring, snorkeling or kayaking what better place to relax then at the Palau Pacific Resort. Tied from walking? Why don’t you view Palau from the air, take a great Helicopter ride with Palau Helicopters and get a birds eye view of the Rock Islands.
In the evening you have the choice to wine and dine at the Palau Pacific Resort or venture to the Taj for some exquisite authentic Indian food, or you can hang out at Kraemers for some good food and a drink or two.
Watch the Sunset with your Dive Buddies at the Bottom Time Bar and Grill right at Sam’s Tours after your Dive.
New to Palau, don’t know what to do? You can check always with the Palau Visitors Authority or with your local Tour Operators what is happening around town or what trip to take.