Clean Up The Med 2012

 

On Sunday, May 27, GreenOceanSurfing participated once again in a beach clean-up in Anzio, which was organized by Legambiente. As part of the Spiagge e Fondali Puliti - Clean Up the Med 2012 environmental campaign, which took place in 22 Mediterranean countries, the environmental organization organized more than 300 beach clean-ups in Italy alone from May 25-27.  We met at 10 a.m. and, armed with plastic bags and gloves we started cleaning up the beach, which was full of all kinds of waste (q-tips, plastic bottles, car tires and so on), things we find on our beaches every day, in Italy as well as in the rest of the world. Beach clean-ups are organized all over the world to raise awareness of environmental issues among the public (including people who are at the beach sunbathing or jogging or for whatever reason by handing out leaflets). Actually, some people who were there on Sunday picked up a pair of gloves and joined us.

If we go on like this we’ll soon be living in a world full of garbage!!  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of garbage a day, or a total of 29 pounds (13 kg) per week and 1,600 pounds (726 kg) a year. This only takes into consideration the average household member and does not count industrial waste or commercial trash. To get a better idea of the numbers, consider this: with the garbage “made in USA” alone, you could form a line of filled-up garbage trucks and reach the moon!!

 The moral of the story is: we can all do our share, by buying and wasting less, by properly disposing of the waste we produce and by recycling more!!! And… by participating in events like these, of course!!

Arsenic, Old Lace… and Tap Water?????

I’m writing this article because I’d like our English-speaking friends to know that in many Italian towns people are drinking arsenic, every day. That’s right, because in 128 Italian towns there’s a higher than normal arsenic concentration in tap water. Italian newspapers talked a lot about the issue, so if you live in Italy you’ve probably heard about this. I personally found it out in 2010, when the European Union denied Italy’s derogation request for arsenic concentrations in drinking water of up to 50 mg/l (which had been accepted since 2001!!).  

In fact, under EU legislation, total arsenic levels in drinking water should not exceed 10 micrograms per liter. Because arsenic is known to cause cancer.  But derogations for up to 20 mg/l are still possible.

Out of the 128 Italian towns affected by this “little problem”, 91 are in the Lazio Region (and Anzio, where we live, is one of them!), 16 in Tuscany, and the rest in Campania, Trentino, Lombardia and Umbria. Such high levels of arsenic in drinking water (which, in some cases peak to 50 mg per liter) are supposedly due to  “natural” causes, such as groundwater flowing through areas with volcanic rocks and layers of lava.

Last year, the Lazio Region had assured the situation was under control, and the necessary water treatment and filter systems were practically ready for use.  But actually, in many towns nothing much has changed since then. Only two of them have so far installed arsenic water filters. Some mayors have banned the use of tap water for children under age 3 and pregnant women. (Thereby allowing everyone else to drink it!) Other have made drinking fountains available, from which residents can get their supply of still (for free) or sparkling (5 cents per liter) drinking water. But, in the meantime, contaminated water keeps flowing from our taps at home.   

Moreover, local health authorities have been carrying out inspections and water sampling across businesses, such as coffee bars, restaurants and bakeries, and have imposed upon those businesses whose water samples contain higher than normal arsenic levels the obligation to install arsenic water filters, which they must pay for.  I mean, if it’s supposed to be okay for our health to use tap water for cooking, and even drinking if you’re not a toddler, why is it not okay for businesses to use it? Why should they comply with the EU rules if the public administration doesn’t in the first place?

Codacons, the Italian consumer protection association, has already taken action, and Lazio’s regional administrative court (TAR) ruled that the Italian Ministry of Health and the Environment must pay a compensation of 200 thousand euros (100 euros per resident) in the areas where arsenic was found in the water.

Lazio’s TAR stated that the hazards for human health produced by a prolonged exposition to arsenic in tap water, even if in very small amounts, are certain, based on the results of research conducted on over 11,700 people in Bangladesh, which were published in The Lancet online scientific journal. Such research demonstrated that high arsenic levels in blood significantly increase the risk of cancer. Moreover, according to estimates by WHO, which has referred to the situation in Bangladesh as "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history", at least 35 million people have drunk contaminated water in Bangladesh since the 70s. According to the Heals study (Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study), coordinated by Prof. Habibul Ahsan from the University of Chicago, an estimated 21% of deaths from all causes and 24% of deaths linked to chronic diseases (mainly liver, bladder and skin cancer and heart diseases) could be attributed to drinking arsenic-contaminated well water at concentrations greater than 10µg/L. (for further information: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/l-rod061710.php. )

  

Codacons, however, is not going to stop: they’re promoting another class action, requesting that a compensation of 1500 euros be paid for each person participating in this action, as well as lower water fees in the towns where there is contaminated tap water. Anyone can participate in this class action, but make up your mind soon, because you have to register by February 29 (for further information, check out their website:   http://www.codacons.it). 

Benedetta Ferri _ GOSer

Save Anzio's shore and Italy too - 2

Dear friends, I don’t know whether you’re interested in this, as it’s a local problem, but, since we told you we’d update you on the issue of the public works for the protection against coastal erosion in Anzio, here we go.

There isn’t much to say, actually, except that the works are going on and on. They were supposed to stop at the end of April, but were granted an extension until May 31. Great!! This means another whole month of trucks, scrapers and stones!!! Yup, because right now if you go to the beach in Anzio, that’s all you see: there’s a sort of “highway” right in the middle of the sea, and trucks loaded with stones run up and down the hwy and unload huge rocks. Just imagine the noise they make.

On the weekend you can see lots of people walking on this “wonder of nature”, and I really wonder what they think about it… I mean, at the beginning I thought people would be horrified to see this new “road” about 2 meters above sea level, but now that more than three months have gone by I’m starting to wonder. And why is that? As I said, after months of hard work, in which we tried to inform people and raise awareness of the issue, we tried to attract the interest of the media and environmental associations, we wrote several articles on local newspapers and loads of articles on the internet, we’re starting to have doubts. Not about the fact that this plan is totally insane, nor about its huge environmental impact, but just about one thing: what do people, normal people, who are not surfers, think about it? Do they like it? Are they outraged or horrified by it? Or is it that they just don’t care at all about what’s going on?

And how about the public administration? Don’t they care about the repercussions that these works will have on the environment, water quality, safety and tourism? As we already told you in our previous article, we tried talking to the public administration and the Mayor of Anzio to convince them that something must be done. But they did nothing. Moreover, what is now clear is that they consider us just surfers, and, as such, a great pain in the ass… But we’re more than that: we’re citizens who are tired of watching the public administration destroy the environment.

 

Here’s some interesting news for all the surfers in Lazio: on March 11 the Italian news agency ANSA issued a press release stating that the Lazio Region has allocated 25 million euros for coastal defense and protection interventions. (They’re going to carry out the same insane plan all over the Region!!!!) “The towns where coastal protection interventions will be carried out”, said Mattei - a representative from the Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development of the Lazio Region – “are Ostia, Anzio, Nettuno, Latina, Formia, Fondi, Minturno, Terracina, Pomezia (Torvajanica), Ladispoli. It must be pointed out that the plans, regarding 80% of the interventions, have been carried out and developed by employees of the Lazio Region, thus significantly cutting overall costs”.

Good for us! They even managed to save taxpayers’ money! If this is the solution that the employees of the Lazio Region have come up with, I’m glad to say our coast is in good hands. There’s nothing to worry about!!!!

In the meantime, the construction works go on (even right now, at this very moment, I can hear them from here – it’s 7:30 PM…) while a few weeks ago, something extremely interesting happened in the neighboring town of Nettuno. ARDIS, the same agency that is in charge of the works in Anzio, decided to take immediate action to remove the recently built underwater barrier and only leave the groynes!!! It is worth mentioning what Alessio Chiavetta, the Mayor of Nettuno, said: “… we are working and exerting pressure on the relevant governmental bodies to protect the coast of Nettuno, which is severely hit by coastal erosion. It is now evident that the underwater barrier method is totally insufficient and inadequate: we need to build groynes on the whole stretch of coast to protect it, which is a project I’ve been supporting for quite some time and that is favorably viewed by many private beach clubs”.

So while ARDIS is busy building a Chinese wall in Anzio, only a few kilometers away, in Nettuno, the same agency has just finished removing the underwater barrier, as it was considered an insufficient and inadequate method for the protection against coastal erosion!!!! It’s such a paradox, isn’t it????

Italy is not famous around the world for the great attention paid to environmental protection. However, there are some exceptions: in Sabaudia, the Town Committee, together with the Park Protection Agency, the Province of Latina and the Land Improvement Consortium, stated that they will request ARDIS to review the coastal protection plan, so as to remove the barrier and adopt more eco-friendly methods. Nello Ialongo, a member of the Board of Directors of the Park Protection Agency, firmly opposes the plan and declares that underwater barriers have always devastated the neighboring stretches of coast.

Clearly, Chiavetta and Ialongo must be surfers, to come down so hard on the poor barriers!!!!

GreenOceanSurfing

Save Anzio's shore, and the rest of Italy too....

Dear English-speaking friends, first of all, I’m sorry we’ve neglected you… those of you who’ve been following us since November are probably wondering what happened to us since I haven’t translated any of our articles during the past months. You probably thought: “are they dead or what?” Nope, we’re not dead, but the stretch of coast right is front of Anzio, where we live, is. They’re killing it. Every day, since February, one piece at a time. But let’s go back to the very beginning. 

In February, in Anzio, which is a town on the coast of Lazio, near Rome, public works for the protection against coastal erosion started.  The coast of Anzio certainly needed some kind of intervention in this sense, so what’s the problem? The problem’s the solution they’ve found to the coastal erosion issue. Basically, they’re building a sort of Chinese wall!!! 

Click on the photo to enlarge....

When we realized that the works were starting, we decided to see what they were doing and managed to find the relevant coastal erosion plan. And what we found out was shocking!!  The plan envisages building 15 100-meter-long stone groynes (and this wouldn’t actually be that bad) which are all connected together by a 4.5 kilometer long, 10 meter wide underwater stone barrier (and this is bad!!!) . This barrier is going to be only 50 cm. below mean sea level,  which means that a person standing on it would be in shin-high water.  Since this barrier is going to be 10 meters wide and made up of huge stones and rocks, which will probably be full of seaweed and very slippery in no time, it will be impossible to cross.  The other point that I’d like to stress is that this barrier is going to be 4.5 km. long!!!!!! The whole stretch of coast of Anzio.  There will be a 200 meter distance between the 15  groynes and the plan envisages building 100 meter x 200 meter cells, as they call ‘em.  Surfing’s going  to be impossible.  

But that’s not the only drawback: even swimming will be a problem and this plan also poses great risks not only to swimmers, kids etc. but also in terms of safety. Lifeguards will find it very hard to rescue someone from drowning.  The barrier will entail poor water quality (and marine pollution), thus greatly impacting tourism. And, despite what many may think, it won’t help replenish our narrow beaches. But the fact is that all these issues, all these problems (including safety, tourism, environmental impact, beach replenishment, etc.) are not taken into account. At all. The only variable the plan considers is coastal erosion. Nothing else.  The plan is by ARDIS, the Regional Territory Defense Agency, and the funds are of the Lazio Region.  The construction works are divided into three parts, each envisaging building 5 groynes in a 1.5 km long stretch of sea.  Works for building the first 5 groynes and the first 1.5 km long barrier started in February.  Since then, Green Ocean Surfing, together with other local surfing associations, have been fighting this, in every possible way. 

All our articles have been dedicated to this one and only  massive and urgent problem. WE’VE GOT TO STOP THEM!!!!!  We tried talking to the Mayor of Anzio and the local public administration to make them realize that building a “Chinese wall” in a town that lives on tourism and on the sea is insane. We tried to convince them that the underwater barrier will pose risks to swimmers, boats (stricken boats will have no possibility to be rescued or to reach shore), etc. and to ask the Regional administration to modify the plan so as to only build the 15 groynes. We asked an engineer and a marine biologist to study the problem and write a technical report. Together with other local associations, we managed to draw the interest of the media, and on Monday morning, April 11,  a TV show talked about the issue. But it’s not enough!!! We’ve got  to find a way to stop them. We’re not saying that nothing should be done to protect the coast from sea erosion, but there are other ways, other eco-friendly methods that do not have such a great environmental impact. But, of course, these are not even considered as feasible solutions. 

We just wanted to update you on the issue which, even though is a local problem, might interest you, since solutions like this are adopted across Italy and all around the world. We’ll keep you informed, but if you have any ideas as to what might be done to fight this insane plan or if you have any information that you want to share with us about other interventions of this kind that have been undertaken in your city or town, please write to us and let us know.  

 STOP IT!!!!

greenoceansurfing

Plastic island

A plastic island in the Pacific Ocean: most of us would probably find it unbelievable.

But it's true. We collected some interesting information, that is available online, about this phenomenon. 

Take a look at it.

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between California and Japan, north-west of Hawaii, where many currents come together to form a giant, clockwise moving area of water.

But how did it form? This huge Garbage Patch formed gradually as a result of marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. It occupies a large and relatively stationary region of the North Pacific Ocean bound by the North Pacific Gyre. The gyre's rotational pattern draws in waste material from across the ocean. As material is captured in the currents, wind-driven surface currents gradually move floating debris toward the center, trapping it in the region.  However, this is not a unique phenomenon: a similar patch of floating plastic debris is found in the Atlantic Ocean, i.e. the North Atlantic Garbage Patch, a newly discovered area of marine debris found floating within the North Atlantic Gyre.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered in 1997 by oceanographer Charles Moore when he was sailing off Hawaii. “I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic,” Moore said. “In the week it took to cross, no matter what time of day I looked, plastic debris was floating everywhere: bottles, bottle caps, wrappers, fragments. Half of it was just little chips that we couldn't identify. It wasn't a revelation so much as a gradual sinking feeling that something was terribly wrong here.”  Floating beneath the surface of the water, to a depth of 10 meters, was a multitude of small plastic flecks and particles, in many colors, swirling like snowflakes or fish food. An awful thought occurred to Moore and he started measuring the weight of plastic in the water compared to that of plankton. “Plastic won, and it wasn't even close. We found six times more plastic than plankton, and this was just colossal,” he says. “No one had any idea this was happening, or what it might mean for marine ecosystems, or even where all this stuff was coming from.”

Marcus Eriksen, a research director of the US-based Algalita Marine Research Foundation, founded by Mr. Moore, said: “The original idea that people had was that it was an island of plastic garbage that you could almost walk on. It is not quite like that. It is almost like a plastic soup.”

The size of this rubbish-covered region of ocean is still unknown: some say twice the size of Texas, others twice the size of continental United States... however, knowing how large it is doesn't really matter, what matters is that it's one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in the world and it's getting larger every year!  

Greenpeace said that 10% of all plastic manufactured each year ends up in the ocean! Worldwide, according to the United Nations Environment Program, over a million sea-birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement. Fish and seabirds mistake plastic for food and choke to death.  

Various initiatives have been undertaken to study the phenomenon and educate the public on its implications. To draw attention to the phenomenon, the heir to one of the world's greatest fortunes, David de Rothschild, has undertaken an extraordinary venture: he set sail across the Pacific in a 20-meter catamaran, the Plastiki, made from plastic bottles and recycled waste.  The voyage aims to highlight a variety of environmental threats, including overfishing and climate change, but the most important part of Plastiki's route is its voyage round the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

David de Rothschild's "Plastiki".

Captain Charles Moore, who founded the Algalita foundation, commands a research vessel, ORV Alguita, that has carried its research team to the most remote regions of the Pacific Ocean to study plastic pollution. Since he discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, he has been passionate about investigating it and creating awareness about its significance, the magnitude of marine pollution and its impact on life.

Plastic does not biodegrade; but it does photodegrade. Prolonged exposure to sunlight causes polymer chains to break down into smaller and smaller pieces. So, except for the small percentage that is incinerated, every single molecule of plastic that has ever been manufactured is still somewhere in the environment, and some 100 million tons of it are floating in the oceans. A dead albatross was found recently with a piece of plastic from the 1940s in its stomach. Even if plastic production halted tomorrow, the planet would be dealing with its environmental consequences for thousands of years, and on the bottom of the oceans, where an estimated 70% of marine plastic debris ends up.

“Plastics, like diamonds, are forever” – Charles Moore

>>>>WATCH THIS!!!!<<<<

By: greenoceansurfing

Sources: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/12/david-de-rothschild-plastiki-pacific

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex/

http://maggiemcgeegoesgreen.blogspot.com/2010/05/great-pacific-garbage-patch.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

http://orvalguita.blogspot.com/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/5208645/Drowning-in-plastic-The-Great-Pacific-Garbage-Patch-is-twice-the-size-of-France.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html

SHARK el Sheik or a huge pool without sharks?

Since the July 2005 terrorist attacks, the quiet tourist destination of Sharm el Sheikh, on the Red Sea, had not attracted so much interest from the media worldwide. During the past few weeks, the media have started talking more and more about Sharm. Once again, it’s due to unpleasant facts: a series of unprecedented incidents, actually. No bombs this time, but a shark that bit several swimmers.

Journalists and TV news, not seeming to care much about providing accurate information to their public, and seeming more interested in the sensationalism of a shark biting humans, even said that a great white shark is terrorizing Sharm. Too bad that great whites, i.e. Carcharodon carcharias, live for the most part in cold waters and, so far, have never been spotted in the Red Sea.

But let’s have a look at what happened in chronological order.

October 20: Sharm Club village. First encounter with an adult oceanic white tip shark, i.e. Carcharodon longimanus, which was seen and photographed near shore.

First encounter _ Photo by OnlyOne ApneaCenter

An eye witness said that a woman who was swimming near the floating jetty had started screaming. From shore, it looked like the swimmer’s fins were set wide apart emerging above the water. But in reality the swimmer was not wearing any fins or mask. The fins that the lady onshore had seen were the dorsal and caudal fin of an oceanic white tip shark. Fortunately, the victim was only slightly injured and just needed a few stitches; however, she certainly got a nice scare; the circular injury inflicted by the shark was probably due to chafing by its rough skin, rather than to a shark bite. We must say, however, that it wasn’t the first time that an oceanic white tip shark had been seen roaming curiously in the area close to the dive platform used by free divers for training, but it had never come so close to swimmers before.

Not to create panic, the accident wasn’t disclosed, even though in Sharm rumors spread fast and word got around anyway.

November 30, more than a month later: 3 swimmers were bitten by a shark on the same day. The authorities blamed a single adult oceanic white tip shark about 8 ft. long, which had been photographed by a scuba diver at the Coral Bay resort.  

White tip shark responsible for the Coral Bay attack; it has a semi-circular scar (apparently due to a bite) on its caudal fin_Photo by Fabio Casarotti

All the incidents took place in an area along the coast from the Coral Bay Resort, where a Russian woman was bit, to the tip of Ras Nasrani, an area of approximately 10 km.

In these incidents, 3 Russian tourists, 2 men and a woman, were seriously injured and rushed to hospital in Cairo.     

At this point, Egyptian authorities, in a panic, decided to take measures, since they were facing an unprecedented situation.

December 1: all beaches were closed and all water sports activities, including scuba diving and snorkeling were suspended everywhere, except in the area of the Ras Mohamed marine park. During the night, the shark hunt began. Boats from the marine park chummed the water, i.e. threw huge amounts of blood and cut up fish meat in the water to attract sharks. Official sources reported that 2 sharks were killed, a mako shark and an oceanic white tip, which were immediately blamed for the incidents.

However, a couple of days after the autopsy, the authorities revealed that the two sharks were innocent. They were killed for no reason.

December 4: beaches were reopened, after a series of check dives were conducted to make sure the area was safe. 

December 5: an elderly German woman was bitten by an oceanic white tip shark while she was swimming off the Hyatt Hotel. She suffered serious injuries and died. Eye witnesses reported that, before the incident, some tourists had thrown food in the water, attracting a multitude of coral reef fish to take some pictures. Feeding fish is prohibited everywhere in the Red Sea, but unfortunately people often don’t abide by this rule. Some hotels even give their guests “fish bags”, i.e. bags of leftover food to feed the fish. Before feeding fish, though, it would be wise to think that small fish attract big fish. It’s a law of nature.   

Glass bottom boats usually throw food in the water to attract a multitude of colorful fish for the tourists to marvel at. Nobody does anything to stop them, however, so as not to spoil their questionable business.

On the same day, December 5, all beaches are once again closed. Diving, snorkeling activities and water sports are banned. Several internationally acclaimed shark experts are invited to Sharm to investigate the causes of the atypical behavior of the shark or sharks involved in the incidents.

8-28 December: diving, snorkeling activities, and water sports are allowed provided that a series of safety rules are complied with, following the advice of the team of shark experts.

There is talk of installing shark nets to protect hotel beaches, but this is only possible on shallow and sandy bottoms, without current. The maximum depth of the Red Sea is 2600 meters, the currents are often very strong, and close to shore there are reefs that from the surface plunge straight down hundreds of meters. Then there is talk of erecting watch towers on all the hotel beaches, and lastly of creating a system of buoys emitting electromagnetic signals capable of keeping sharks and rays away from the coast where the hotels are located. If this were the case, the entire coast of Sharm would become a huge swimming pool without sharks or rays. Wouldn’t it be easier to educate tourists entering the water to respect the marine environment and its rules?

Ten years ago, Sharm was mainly a place for divers, who for the most part, are used to respecting the marine environment where they dive.

Today, Sharm is a place for mass tourism. It’s a cheap destination, and ever-growing numbers of people come here for a week’s holiday without having a clue about the fragile marine ecosystem of the Red Sea, nor about the damage that their ignorance causes.  To please the tourist market, is it then more desirable to turn the Red Sea into a gigantic open-air aquarium? So it seems.

Non-official sources report that the shark hunt did not end with the killing of the 2 sharks at the beginning of December, but that at present at least 8 sharks of different species have been killed, including a nurse shark, which is not considered even potentially dangerous to humans. Why?

The HEPCA, Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, condemns without reserve the indiscriminate killing of sharks in Sharm el Sheikh. Since 2006, Egyptian law prohibits the capture, killing, and sale of sharks. Fishing is also prohibited, except for set periods of time and outside national parks. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more common to see small fishing boats stealing away from dive sites at the break of dawn, after a night of illegal fishing. Year after year, diving in Sharm, it’s easy to see the consequences of over-fishing: there is less and less fish in the water. 

A senior official of the South Sinai Protectorate, who is also a marine biologist, defended the SSP from the accusations of HEPCA describing the indiscriminate killing of sharks as a scientifically recognized shark assessment. This “assessment” involves the examination of shark innards, and therefore the killing of all captured specimens. The brilliant biologist, after examining shark innards for little over a week, came to a ridiculous conclusion: in the Red Sea, there would be a “surplus” of sharks. At the global level, many species of shark are endangered, and some even risk extinction. Those who have dived in Sharm know that it is not common or easy to encounter these wonderful creatures underwater, so the question that comes to mind is: how can anyone state that there is a “surplus” of sharks in Sharm?

What were the causes of this atypical behavior of sharks? Let’s start with saying that no shark willingly attacks a human being. Sharks do not eat people. Our meat doesn’t taste good to a shark. If a shark bites, it’s a way of understanding what we are. In fact, if a shark happens to bite a person, it bites and then releases. Sharks don’t eat people, because we’re not its usual preys. All incidents are caused by erroneous human behaviors, often unintentional. When we enter the water, we cross the threshold of a world that is not our own; the possibility of encountering a shark is remote, but it exists. It is our responsibility to understand how to interact with these creatures, that have been the ocean’s top predators for millions of years. We can’t simply chase them away from their natural habitat.

The major cause of the incidents that happened in Sharm is now well known, and it is, as usual, an example of erroneous human behavior. At the end of November, after the Eid, the Muslim sacrifice feast, the crew of a cargo ship threw overboard over a thousand carcasses of sheep, thinking that they would sink. Instead, the carcasses became bloated with water and started floating on the surface of the sea, carried by currents.

Sheep carcass… apparently, a cargo ship threw overboard hundreds of carcasses after the Eid, the Muslim sacrifice feast… it seems like this attracted the sharks…

Sharks are the garbage collectors of the sea, and were attracted by the decaying carcasses. Currents then brought the carcasses and the sharks close to the coast. An excessive abundance of food in the water can also bring about a behavior that in ecology is called “feeding frenzy”, which, as the name suggests, causes predators, such as sharks, to go wild and bite anything within biting range, including other sharks or a person that happens to come between the shark and its food. This is a perfectly understandable behavior. Why, then, the sea and its creatures have to pay for a human mistake?

Curious facts about sharks:

-Among the over 500 species of sharks known to man, only 4 are considered potentially dangerous for man: the great white shark, the oceanic white tip, the tiger shark, and the Zambezi shark, or bull shark.

- A shark only eats 1 and a half kilos of fish 3 times a week.

- How dangerous are sharks? 100 million to 1, this is the ratio of shark/man deaths in 2007; this means that for every man killed by a shark, there are 100 million sharks killed by man.

To know more about these wonderful predators of the sea, to learn how to behave if you happen to interact with them, take a few minutes to watch this amazing video: it makes one think. Enjoy it!  

P.S. Good news: The Governor of South Sinai, on January 2, 2011, stated that he did not agree to install an electromagnetic shield to protect the beaches from sharks as there is no scientific proof that shows that this device actually works. A big thank you from the Red Sea sharks!

Article by: Barbara Ferri 


Barbara Ferri is a pisces, the daughter of a Navy officer and a globetrotter. She arrived in Sharm El Sheikh in 1999 where, bewitched by its underwater beauties, she still lives, dedicating her life to underwater filming. She graduated in creative writing and is a writer.  

www.greenoceansurfing.com

Alessandro Dini Interview: surf, sup, future....

Stand Up Paddle boarding is becoming increasingly popular in Italy too. This sport, which has ancient roots, has now become a reality and is growing worldwide. You can do it anywhere: on flat water or in the surf. The International Surfing Association, ISA, which regulates all official activities associated with surfing – and now also with SUP – is creating a network of instructors who can teach the basics of this fast growing sport. The first official SUP instructor course in Italy was recently held in Viareggio, presented by a renowned name in the Italian surfing world: Alessandro Dini, Italian representative from ISA. We asked him a few questions, which he answered openly and honestly.   

Hi Alessandro, as far as we know, you’re certainly a pillar of surfing… Italia Wave Surf Team, Natural Surf, instructor, representative from ISA; you witnessed the birth of surfing in Italy, something that few would have believed possible; tell us a few comments about it: how do you see the future of surfing in Italy? 

Bright and long-term, but we have to get through this tough time, in which our federation is still not recognized by CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee). The tug-of-war between the two existing associations doesn’t allow surfing to grow adequately, at the same pace as in other countries across Europe and the world.     

The national surfing congress will be held soon, what do you think and, deep down, what do you hope will come out of it?

What I hope is one thing, another thing is seeing that there is no intention to join forces or go for elections with clear rules between the two associations. I just hope I won’t be attacked again, as I was recently by Surfing Italia, just because I confirmed the fact that I’m “equidistant” from both associations, as ISA rightly expects me to be.   

Ok, let’s move to stand up paddle boarding… The first SUP instructor course recognized by ISA was recently held in Italy, of which you were the presenter and supervisor: a lot of people attended the course… did you expect it? 

I did, but I didn’t expect nearly all the leading figures in the Italian SUP surfing world to be there.   

As you said, some of the best SUP surfers in Italy (e.g. Gasbarro, Guglielmetti, Capparella, Onofri…)  attended this course; also thanks to them it wasn’t just an instructor course, but an opportunity to share techniques and experiences.  What do you think about it? Did the same thing happen with surfing?    

No! Surfers who attended the ISA Level 1 course (only nine!) didn’t feel the need to share their techniques because surfing, with respect to SUP, is a sport where athletes use their instincts and adapt their technique to their physical characteristics and to how they read, and therefore ride, waves.  SUP surfing, especially as regards paddling, seems more “standardizable”. Moreover, as it’s a young sport,  there still isn’t a single paddling technique or a single way to execute maneuvers; this opens up interesting opportunities for canoeists and SUP riders to share their opinions and points of view, as we saw during the course.   

Fabrizio Gasbarro (Italian SUP-race champion) during the workshop

 

SUP boarding, at the moment, is a reality which increasingly attracts interest from surfers and the public. In Italy, perhaps, we’re a bit behind, even though it’s a sport that really covers a wide range of people (from wave riders to day-trippers, to women who just want to work out…). How do you see the future of SUP surfing in Italy? 

I think, as everyone else does, that flat water SUP will be a lot more popular than wave SUP, and that its “working out” aspect contributes to its great growth potential, but, for the rest, I don’t want to commit myself: I clearly said that I am and will always be a surfer and even though I also SUP surf on waves, it’s not my “core” sport. I can only say that ISA really believes it can grow in Italy, and an ISA SUP world championship could take place in Italy in the near future.             

In light of your great experience in the surfing world, of the successes and mistakes made in the short history of surfing in Italy - since you certainly know what went on behind the scenes - what advice would you give to those who want to promote this new sport?

To do things with passion, to put their heart in it and join forces, and allow anyone who wants to contribute to the growth of this sport to do so. It’s only fair that those who do all the work get some sort of financial return, but it should all fall within a recognized and controlled entity, which clearly specifies “who does what” and, if necessary, “who gets what”. Clear roles, transparency, consistency.         

How do you think surfers and SUP riders can get along? 

One of the reasons why I think it’s reasonable to require that attendants, in order to attend a SUP course,  must have previously attended a Level 1  SURF course is because the Surf course also covers surfing rules, wave priority, interference and the so-called “surfing Etiquette”, which is key for a peaceful coexistence in the line-up. Depending on the surf spot, surfers and SUP riders can more or less easily coexist, but I think that a trial period is “physiological”, in which I hope intelligence and tolerance will prevail. In certain areas, such as Versilia, I doubt that SUP surfing will grow much, as there’s a long-standing surfing tradition and I don’t expect significant SUP growth there.         

Why do you think SUP surfing has attracted more interest from canoeists and windsurfers than surfers? Just because of the fact that you hold on to something? Isn’t it the same in the surf? 

Well, I don’t want to alienate my SUP riding friends, but for me, since I’ve always surfed, Stand-up Paddling is a great way to work out when it’s flat or the waves are too small to use a normal surf board. Personally, nothing makes me feel better than paddling with my “arms” to catch a wave and riding it with a short- or longboard. I think that most surfers feel the way I do; and then we should also consider that most kids go surfing by scooter, they carry their board under their arm, and jump in the water as soon as possible, they can’t deal with large, cumbersome boards: this feeling of immediate usability and freedom is also part of the spirit of surfing.

SUP: flat water or in the surf or white water or fitness…. You could go SUP surfing in the ocean, on a lake or a river, with a single board… don’t you think it’s a virtually pervasive reality? 

Sure, that’s why ISA is working really hard to organize SUP instructor courses all over the world.  

We believe that SUP riding, as well as surfing, or any other water sports can really help bring people closer to the ocean, make them feel respect for the environment. That’s why we think it is essential to promote these sports by starting from the beginning, from the basics, in a simple and easy manner. Shouldn’t surfers be the first to feel this need to protect nature and the environment?    Stand-up Paddling is closely associated with the roots of surfing, it was born in Polynesia and we all know how ancestrally important marine environmental protection and the respect for the ocean is to native Pacific islanders, first of all Hawaiians.  ISA instructors are first of all ambassadors of marine environmental protection who, with their messages and actions, serve as a model for their students, future surfers and SUP riders.  

The ocean is a source of life 365 days a year. What could we do to bring people closer to the sea and attract their interest apart from just lying in the sun in summer time?

A lot can still be done, but  I think that we, as surfers (and SUP riders), are already doing a lot for the cause. And other categories of users whose means of support is the ocean (like scuba divers) also do their share to make people understand the beauty of the ocean.     

Alessandro Onofri (Italian SUP-wave champ) during water testing 

Do you want to give a few tips to those who are about to enter the water sports world?  

Well, mine’s a stock answer: if you want to start a board sport, go to qualified schools and instructors, who have an ISA license and can make your surfing experience safe and fun. You can get an unpleasant surprise by self-teaching or learning with non-professionals or inexperienced teachers.       

Ok, thanks Alessandro for your time and consideration… see you soon in the line-up!  

Thanks to you guys from Green Ocean Surfing, you’re doing a great job! 

 All photos from supmania.it

www.greenoceansurfing.com