Asian Diver – March 2018

ABOVE: Reef-based tourism accounts for more than 15 percent of

gross domestic product in at least 23 countries and territories

(Burke et al., 2011)

IMAGE: Anita Gardener

NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION
ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have difficulty finding us on newsstands,
please contact our distributors: Australia Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd; HONG KONG Times Publishing
(HK) Ltd; INDONESIA Java Books; Malaysia Pansing Marketing Sdn Bhd; Singapore MPH Distributor (S)
Pte Ltd; THAILAND Asia Books Co Ltd; USA Source Interlink

CONTACT INFORMATION

Editorial Submissions | [email protected]

Photo Submissions | [email protected]

Subscriptions | [email protected]

Advertising | [email protected]

WRITE TO US

[email protected]

Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd

20 Bedok South Road,

Singapore 469277

SUBSCRIBE TO ASIAN DIVER

For a free subsciption to our quarterly eMag

and to access recent issues, go to uw360.asia

MCI (P) 014/05/

PPS 1112/08/2012 (022817)

ISSN 0218- 3064

Chairman

Lim Geok Khoon

PUBLISHER

John Thet | [email protected]

EDITORIAL

Associate Editors

Janeen Loh | [email protected]

Ian Bongso-Seldrup | [email protected]

Editorial Intern

Lim Jun Xi

Editorial Consultant

Gao Qiang (China)

Field Editors

Glenn Yong (Singapore)

Jonathan Lin (Singapore)

DESIGN

Graphic Designer

Justin (tin htwe) | [email protected]

Contributing Designer

Rivy Lee | [email protected]

Web/IT

Dutch Catalon | [email protected]

ADVERTISING/MARKETING &

ADEX (ASIA DIVE EXPO)

Account Managers (Regional)

Anne Low | [email protected]

Desmond Ho | [email protected]

PR & Marketing Manager

Cassandra Dragon | [email protected]

Events & Marketing Manager

Berri Tay | [email protected]

Events & Marketing Assistant Manager

Karter Lee | [email protected]

Events & Marketing Executive

Spencer Nah | [email protected]

CIRCULATIONS/PRODUCTION

Traffic/Production/Circulation Senior Manager

Victor Ow | [email protected]

MEDIA CORRESPONDENTS

[email protected]

Indonesia Cipto Aji Gunawan

Japan Keiichi Arantani

Russia Andrey Bizyukin

North America Matt Weiss

Germany Dietmar W. Fuchs

Asian Diver can be found on-board and for your reading pleasure at:

On the cover

The movie poster for Jaws

turned on its head: The

demand for shark’s fin has

decimated the world’s

shark populations

Image © Leo Burnett

MEDIA PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION OF
SINGAPORE AWARDS
Publisher of the Year 2014, 2015
John THET
Editor of the Year 2015
Alice GRAINGER
Designer of the Year 2015
Zoey LIM
Special Interest Media of the Year 2014
ASIAN DIVER

mpas

ASIA DIVE ACADEMY AWARDS
Silent Hero of Marine Conservation 2014
Dive Industry Publisher of the Year 2015
John THET

Editor’s Note
Time and again, human greed and carelessness have been disrupting the
balance formed over generations of evolution and adaptation. Be it in the political,
social, or natural realm, some of these disruptions have been reversible, while others,
not as much.

Inarguably, it is in the environmental realm that the most damage has been done. Sharks
and corals have suffered more than any other marine animals: An estimated 100 million
sharks are killed every year, and half of the world’s corals have already been lost, with as
much as 90 percent of our reefs projected to be gone by 2050. Though both these groups of
animals are at the extreme ends of the ocean’s food chain, they both have vital roles to play
in the ecosystem.

Faced with these alarming figures, an army of scientists and conservationists have stepped
up to defend, protect, and restore. Here, we would like to recognise and celebrate their
achievements – small in their own ways, but significant in the grand scheme of things.
Many of these heroes have dedicated their entire lives to saving our sharks and our reefs,
and it is without a doubt that progress has been made. But if the rest of us sit back and
leave the battle to them, it won’t be long before the figures catch up, and the damage
becomes irreversible.

Associate editor,

78 ECOTOURISM

Where to Dive

By Lim Jun Xi

86 CORALS

The Fight for Our Reefs

By Lim Jun Xi

92 All About Corals

By Nicole Helgason

100 SCIENCE

Globalising Coral

Restoration

By Anuar Abdullah

102 FEATURE

Coral SOS

By Various Contributors

102