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The Real Life Finding

#81274    Kein Model Release;
The Real Life Finding
Like a real-life version of Disney's hit Finding Nemo this spectacular world of underwater colours will become a new haven for marine life. Home to 1397 species of fish, 600 species of rare coral and covering 17,760 square miles, the seas around Raja Ampat, an archipelago on New Guinea, Indonesia, are home to the last pristine untouched reefs in the world.   And now thanks to a sweeping environmental initiative, nippers like popular clown fish Nemo are to be protected.   Known as the Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings Shark Sanctuary, it has been set up to provide full protection to the sharks, manta rays and turtles who live in the tropical Indonesian waters.   Designed to not only protect against pollution and illegal reef farming, the lively sanctuary is also aimed to help rehabilitate shark numbers. The predators have been fished to worryingly low levels because of human demands for delicacies like south east Asian favourite shark fin soup.   Raja Ampat enjoys the highest marine biodiversity in the world, but has until now been the scene of destructive overfishing that has severely threatened that eco-system.   "This announcement is part of a joint venture between the local Misool Eco Resort in Indonesia and Shark Savers to protect the reefs and wildlife of Raja Ampat," said Douglas Seifert, 48, the world editor of Dive magazine.   "This is a step in the right direction for the recovery of the shark population in the area, but because sharks only reach sexual maturity at six years old, it may take up to 15 years to see any progress.   "Over 565 species or 70 percent of the world's coral species live in Raja Ampat and it is at the heart of the Coral Triangle of south east Asia, that rises up to the Malay peninsular in the north and Papua New Guinea to the east.   "The sanctuary will be policed by local fisherman backed by the Regent of Raja Ampat.   "They don't want the seas to be ruined, over fished and laid to waste.   "So they are financially compensated to help patrol the seas for over fishing and destructive actions towards the coral."   "It has taken years of careful negotiations to get to this stage and it is a wonderful opportunity."   The Shark Sanctuary declaration is in direct response to a campaign mounted by Shark Savers, an international shark conservation organisation, in partnership with Misool Eco Resort.   The campaign won the support of over 8,500 divers and conservationists, with hundreds of tourism and diving companies and NGOs from around the world.   The Shark Sanctuary is the first of its kind in Indonesia, the largest island archipelago in the world.   "This new Shark Sanctuary owes its creation to thousands of ocean advocates who expressed the urgent need to protect sharks, mantas, and other marine life,” said Michael Skoletsky, Executive Director of Shark Savers.   “Divers experience the oceans from the inside and are increasingly taking responsibility for ocean and shark conservation.   Underwater ecotourism is a vital tool to counter the rampant exploitation of the world’s remaining sharks and bio-rich marine ecosystems.”   Sharks, as apex predators (no predators of their own), play a vital role in regulating the health of important commercial fish species, population balance, and coral reefs.   Despite this importance, up to 73 million sharks are killed annually with some shark populations declining by as much as 90 percent, mostly for shark fin soup.   In Raja Ampat, three fourths of its shark species are threatened with local extinction.   “Sharks are being killed for their fins, mantas are being killed for their gills, and rare reef fish are being caught for aquariums”, said Peter Knights, Executive Director of ecological group WildAid.   “It’s tragic that so much of Raja Ampat’s biological treasure is destined for consumers who are unaware of the impact."

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