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Newsletter September 2006
Check out the special offer for this newsletter!We offer a special discount rate for the cruise from October 20-29 in Banda Seas. Please be quick and contact [email protected] and [email protected] for details. The reefs and outer walls of the islands that Seven Seas will visit are extraordinary and offer spectacular diving and snorkeling. The islands themselves are a tropical paradise. In our itinerary, we include Ambon, Saparua, Nusa Laut Seram, Lucipara atol and Gunung Api. » Check out the destination description.In the news: Papua the Bird's Head - Fak-Fak, Triton Bay, Raja Ampat and Cendrawasih BayPerhaps you missed it, you must have spent all of the past 3 weeks underwater!, but some of the areas that Seven Seas offers in Papua, were the subject of the most recent international media hype. Led by Mark Erdmann, working for Conservation International, a team of scientists found more than 50 new species of underwater creatures. Check out the news!The Birdshead Seascape, encompasses the peninsula in the North West of Papua, that got its name from its distinctive shape. The scientific survey found that of more than 600 known species of coral in the region, nearly all were found during the expedition. Six sites surveyed proved to have the highest diversity of hard corals ever recorded, each with more than 250 species within a single hectare! 
Erdmann was quoted saying: "That's more than four times the number of coral species of the entire Caribbean Sea in an area roughly the size of two football fields. These reefs are literally 'species factories' that require special attention to protect them from unsustainable fisheries and other threats so they can continue to provide benefits to their local owners." Seven Seas will do some special biodiversity cruises in early 2007. Check out our schedule for the Bird's Head cruises at www.thesevenseas.net/schedule.php. Something different - Sea Kayaking in Raja Ampat - Papua
In this newsletter we like to share some of our experience with sea kayaking in Papua. The Raja Ampat area is obviously very special under water, check out the latest news on the scientific discovery of new species, but it is ALSO something else above the surface. Seven Seas has 6 sea kayaks available that will allow you to enter the extensive mangrove forests, cross small sand banks into hidden bays and 'lakes' and even enter some of the larger caves!
In the early morning or late afternoon, or just when you think you want to visit some deserted island to take a break from the scenery on the reefs, get into a canoe and paddle around the area of SE Misool, visit the karst islands, that rise up from water so blue and bright that it hurts without wearing sun-glasses and get close and personal with some of the most beautiful wild orchids you can imagine. In some of the lagoons you will float over dozens of baby black-tip reef sharks and you'll only hear the birds of paradise...ConservationFacilitated by the Coral Alliance, Friday Sept 29 a meeting will be held amongst live aboard operators who cater the Raja Ampat area during parts of the year. Ms. Helen Newman, whom we talked about in the July newsletter when she initiated the mooring buoy project in Komodo, is now starting to facilitate arrangements for community and conservation fees between Live aboard operators and the "Dewan Adat" of Papua. There are rudimentary traditional systems valid in Papua where non-local people pay for the 'use' of an area or resource. This has led in some places along the coasts of the Birdshead and Raja Ampat islands to unclarity between live aboard operators/captains and local communities as to whether divers can dive on the reefs near these villages. With the growing interest in Raja Ampat and the larger Birdshead region in Papua, it is time to set up some mutually agreed upon systems, that will allow for preservation of the beautiful nature and helping local communities share some benefits from keeping the reefs in healthy conditions. We will keep you posted on how this develops!
The Seven Seas - Kuta Poleng D7 - Jl. Setiabudi Simpang Siur - Kuta 80361 - Bali - Indonesia
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