The Reef is Your Own! Come and See What You're Missing!
Cheryl our devoted dive instructor is seen here with her budding young diver from France, Arnaud, installing in him the virtues of taking every opportunity to clean up the environment. On this dive finding some fishing line and some bottles. Project Aware is sponsoring the Splash for Trash on the 20th September, with New Horizon being a keen participant organisation. For more details on opportunities to participate please contact us.
With perfect conditions on the Great Barrier Reef it was a great day to be introduced to the sport of diving. These pictures show our divers returning to the boat in about 10 metres of water. This time Cheryl our novice photographer is on her day job and taking an introductory diver for his first dive. Fantastic visibility and 24 degree water temperatures make these conditions unbeatable.
New Horizon, like many good operators on the Great Barrier Reef work hand in hand with the academic community, federal and state governments, charities, as well standards bodies to ensure that the Great Barrier Reef will be there for generations to come. The more we learn about the reef the more we are able to minimize the human impact. Before you book your trip make sure you are doing your bit and supporting operators that support the ecosystem they are part of. I have listed several of them below for quick reference.
There are several government programs that encourage and develop a working partnership between tourism, researchers and government bodies that continually gather information and monitor the health of one of the world’s most precious resources. The highest profile program is the “Eye on the Reef” (eyeonthereef.com.au) program which incorporates several different facets of reef monitoring. This program is run and sponsored by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) from Townsville and incorporates many tourism operators throughout the Barrier Reef.
Reef Check (http://www.reefcheckaustralia.org/)performs regular inspections and colony counts to track and monitor the growth of existing reef as well as new. This active research is designed to understand the recovery and growth that reef undertakes given the impacts that they suffer including human and natural. Donations to support the research are always welcome and can made online here. They are also looking for supporters to donate time and resources to help cover as much as the Great Barrier Reef as possible.
The Australian Marine Conversation Society organizes campaigns to create protected marine areas and species throughout Australia. Their current focus evolves around climate change, marine parks and overfishing.