1 400 000 trees for Easter Island

Francine Cousteau, President of the Cousteau Society and the Minister of Agriculture of Chile signed on April 16 a historic agreement with the Rapa Nui people representatives to reforest the eroded lands of Easter Island.

Sudan expedition 2013: A blazing experience by Lisa Capelli

When I received the e-mail by the Cousteau Society that said: “Your are the two Cousteau Divers that have been selected for the Shark expedition in Sudan”, I couldn’t believed! It was a dream that I had always desired!!!!!

Jean-Marie France passed away

Jean-Marie France, Calypso's chief engineer from 1966 passed away on Monday 6, May in Belle Îles (France).

Sudan expedition 2013: Observation of a COUSTEAU DIVER by Burçak Öztekin

I come from Ankara, an inland capital city located in the heart of a country surrounded by water on three sides, the city well known to have trained majority of the divers n

Second mission of the shark and ray project in the Red Sea

The Cousteau Society and its partners returned to the field to undertake the second mission of the Red Sea Shark and Ray Conservation and Management project, and conduct wider survey on the reef ecosystem and food web.

End of the CITES Conference: major decision for marine life protection

The triennial Conference of CITES closed yesterday in Bangkok with 55 proposals accepted, 9 rejected and 6 withdrawn.

170 governments have turned to CITES to ensure the legal, sustainable and traceable trade in their precious timber and forest products, with the Conference unanimously bringing hundreds of new timber species under CITES controls, along with a number of tortoises and turtles and a wide range of other plant and animal species. Five shark species and manta rays were also brought under CITES controls following a vote.

Dolphins mimic calls of social group

A team of marine biologists from the University of St Andrews studied the vocal signatures of bottlenose dolphins by analyzing recordings from wild and captive dolphins to identify which animals copy one another's signature whistle. The new study suggests that in fact dolphins are mimicking those they are close to and want to see again.

Second phase of the shark and ray project in the Red Sea

The Cousteau Society and its partners are returning to the field to achieve the second mission of the Red Sea Shark and Ray Conservation and Management project.

CITES conference opened in Bangkok

The Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) opened yesterday in Bangkok (Thailand) for 10 days (3 – 14 march) of discussion.

A new wetland reserve in UK

A 670-hectare island in the United Kingdom, the Wallasea Island is being transformed from farmland into wetland. The island will be transformed into marshes, lagoons and mudflats to attract birds and other wildlife, and create a new reserve.

FIRST PHASE OF MAJOR SHARK & RAY CONSERVATION PROJECT COMPLETED

15-hour days, 22 manta rays tagged and 40 monitors installed across 130 kilometres of seabed: a team from Equipe Cousteau and The Deep today reveal the progress made in their first expedition to Sudan to protect one of the ocean’s most endangered species.

Small islands - Great commitments!

During three days from 28 to 30 August 2012, 16 Small Island countries came together for the 43rd Pacific Island Forum and made some of the largest ocean commitments in history towards the sustainable management of their marine resources.

Europe Parliament vote shark finning ban

European Parliament voted yesterday, November 22, to close loopholes in the European Union ban on shark finning (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea). The measure faced formidable opposition from representatives of Spain and Portugal, Europe’s leaders in catch of oceanic sharks.

Large predators shift due to climate change in the Pacific Ocean

To manage marine ecosystems proactively, it is important to identify species at risk and habitats critical for conservation. Climate change scenarios have predicted an average sea surface temperature rise of 1–6 °C by 2100, which could affect dramatically the distribution and habitat of many marine species. A new study recently published in Nature Climate Change examined top predator distribution and diversity in the light of climate change.

Green turtles find refuge in Marine Protected Areas

A study published in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography looked at the movements of green turtle populations which had been tracked by satellite. They found that 35 per cent of them spend most of their time in shallow seas protected by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

A Cousteau app for Facebook and iPhones!

The Cousteau Collection app is now live and available for Facebook and iPhones!

Cousteau joined EplusGreeen Community

In our continuing effort to protect the seas, we have now joined the ePlusGreen community, which helps preserve the environment by reducing the power consumption of computers.

Bulgaria: Chemical pollution threats the Danube

Leakage from a capsized ship in the major port town of Ruse on the Bulgarian side of the Danube can have serious consequences for the environment. The ship was damaged ten days ago, but news of the leakage only became known yesterday.

Pierre-Yves Cousteau, new IUCN Goodwill Ambassador

Dedicated marine conservationist Pierre-Yves Cousteau has joined IUCN’s global team of Goodwill Ambassadors.Goodwill Ambassadors work hand-in-hand with IUCN to raise public awareness and popularize solutions to global environmental challenges, acting as high-level spokespeople.

Coral bleaching induced by nutrient enrichment

Mass coral bleaching, resulting from the breakdown of coral–algal symbiosis has been identified as the most severe threat to coral reef survival on a global scale. Regionally, nutrient enrichment of reef waters often caused by fertilizers running off farmland is often associated with a significant loss of coral cover and diversity.

Equipe Cousteau welcomed Opel / Vauxhall Project Earth in Mexico

From July 14 to August 4, 2011, the Opel / Vauxhall Project Earth expedition took a group of young students and scientists for a unique voyage to four vulnerable and endangered regions of the world. The team visited four organizations which work to protect habitats and endangered species, and helped the scientists in their work. Equipe Cousteau has been choosen together with three preeminent environmental organizations: WWF Canada, The Rain Forest Foundation US and The Jane Goodall Institute. The expedition explored the Arctic, a National Park in Tanzania, the Gulf of California (Mexico) and the rain forest in Panama.

The project aimed to present major threats to our environment as well as practical solutions for sustainability and conservation. Back in their country, the participants from all over Europe commited to act as ambassadors of the preservation of these fragile ecosystems threathened by human activities.

Launch of the Shark and Rays project in the Red Sea

The Cousteau Society is pleased to announce the first ever collaborative work to study and protect the Red Sea sharks and rays begins today, carried out by a college of scientists working in partnership with The Cousteau Society.

Sea otters as “global warming fighters”?

A new study published in the scientific journal Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment, just concluded that sea otters have a strong influence on the Carbon cycle and CO2 storage. The study is based on a new analysis of 40 years data collected across North America, from Vancouver Island to the western edge of Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

Albert Falco passed away.

Born in Marseille on October 17th 1927, Albert Falco has returned to the silent world at age 84.

Sorry "Captain Planet"... 20 years later, Utopia is being choked!

Since the Copenhagen conference on climate change, as international environmental summits go by one after the other, we get the unpleasant feeling that we are witnessing a series of environmental “Munich conferences". In 1938 in Munich, the Nazi threat and anti-humanist’s foul claims were not sufficient to mobilize the world to counter a destructive logic that would lead to the millions of deaths of World War II. The comparison is daring, yet climate change, the destruction of major global ecosystems, the plundering and the acidification of the oceans, and many other environmental ills, are surely leading mankind to times of chaos if we don’t change our trajectory rapidly.

Award winners - Mediterranea 2012

The International Festival of Underwater Picture and Adventure which was held from March 30 to April 1 in Antibes Juan-les-Pins (France) and gathered as usual many fans of the sea and its underwater landscapes.

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Apologies to our faithful members!

Because of printing complications compounded by the holiday season, the Cousteau Society is very late getting its membership publications to you. The September/October and November/December issues of Cousteau Kids as well as the September and December issues of Calypso Log are en route to printing and should reach you shortly, one at a time. We offer our apologies for the confusion and delay—and make our first New Year’s Resolution: to stick better to the schedule for 2011.

Calypso and Alcyone have been labelled “Boats of Heritage Interest”

Calypso and Alcyone, Equipe Cousteau's floating legends and faithful companions of all Captain Cousteau's adventures around the world, have been awarded the label «Boats of Heritage Interest” (Bateaux d'Intérêt Patrimoniaux), by the French Maritime and River Heritage Foundation, headed by Gérard d'Aboville. This label was founded with the goal to promote and honor most remarkable historic boats.

Social learning in Lemon sharks

A study conducted by the Bimini Biological Field Station showed that Lemon sharks have the ability to learn from each other's behaviour.