October 1999

Vol. 14, No. 10     What's this?

Flotsam & Jetsam

from the October, 1999 issue of Undercurrent  

WANT TO SEE YOUR PHOTO PUBLISHED? In their calendar for 2001, The Coral Reef Alliance will be showcasing photos taken in marine preserves to illustrate what can be done to protect reefs. If your shot is selected, you’ll get credit, of course, along with a stack of calendars to show your friends. Final date for submissions is March 1, 2000. For more information, contact CORAL at 64 Shattuck Square, Suite 220, Berkeley, CA 94704; phone 510-848- 3720 or 888-CORALREEF; e-mail info@coral.org; or visit their website at www.coral.org.

NON-ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTALIST? Although Cousteau Society president Francine Cousteau, Jacques’ widow, proffered a great sound bite about the impact of hordes of whalewatching tourists on animals that need peace and quiet, a Cousteau Society film crew was accused of providing the mammals anything but. According to a Reuters report, the Cousteau crew was kicked off the St. Lawrence River September 10 after Canadian television broadcast videotape footage of Cousteau boats charging fin whales and injuring them. Quebec naturalist Chantale Sainte- Hilaire said Cousteau Society inflatables negotiating the river near the popular whale-watching resort community of Tadoussac headed “towards the whales in such an aggressive way that boats literally climbed on their backs,” adding that she had seen the whales’ wounds. Though a Cousteau spokesman denied the accusations, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans revoked the society’s film permit and is launching an investigation.

BOGGED DOWN: The winner of the 14th World Bog Snorkeling Championships in Waen Rhydd Bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, shaved a second off last year’s world record. On August 30, Peter Owen, a 38-year-old from Bristol, negotiated two lengths of the dark, stinking 60-yard trench in one minute, 52 seconds. Competitors are allowed only a snorkel and fins and cannot use a conventional swimming stroke.