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Email: peopleofthewaternonprofit@gmail.com

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We combine diving and teaching to connect all aspe

We combine diving and teaching to connect all aspects of conversation. Understanding how caves work in relation to land, ocean, creeks, mangroves and ultimately sharks and other creatures can help people make better decisions in all aspects of their lives. One small action is better than no big action.
With @cristinazenato and @kewinlorenzen

Addressing the double standards of animal cruelty.

Addressing the double standards of animal cruelty.
Is there a different between the catch and release of a shark or a cat?
A blog by @cristinazenato
Link in bio

Such a great capture with information from our tea

Such a great capture with information from our team member @kewinlorenzen

#Repost @kewinlorenzen with @use.repost
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Mutualism symbiotic relationship

Remoras are known to hitchhike on sharks. But it's not a free ride they pay their dues, by keeping the shark clean from parasites, dead skin and in this instance personal dentist by cleaning the food scraps from the sharks mouth. This is known as

#Repost @owuss_ with @use.repost ・・・ APPLICA

#Repost @owuss_ with @use.repost
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APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

Applications are now open for Our World Underwater Scholarship Society’s #Internship and #Scholarship programs.

Since 1974, #OWUSS has been fostering the next generation of dive leaders and explorers by providing experience-based year-long #scholarships and summer #internships.

These experiences give young #diving enthusiasts the opportunity to explore the #underwater world, work on cutting edge #research, develop photography and media skills, undertake dive training and #education, and participate in #conservation initiatives.

OWUSS is accepting applications for 7 different internships, with the inaugural Paul L. Schutt Underwater Photography Internship being offered for 2023 and the #Scholarship programs in North America, Europe and Australasia!

The deadline for applications is January 15th 2023. For further information on the application process and requirements, please go to owuscholarship.org.

Take your shot and apply today!

#Rolex @rolex #NPS @npssubmerged #REEF @reef_org #DAN @diversalertnetwork #AAUS @aaus.scientific.diving #scuba #scubadiving #scientificdiving #marineconservation #oceanconservation #marinescience #marinelife #marinebiology #oceanscience #underwatervideo #exploration #divingphotography

Why are the sharks not eating the fish around them

Why are the sharks not eating the fish around them?
Sharks, especially Caribbean Reef, are designated to clean up the ocean. Like many predators, they go for the weak, the sick, the dead, and the decaying.
Sharks are very unlikely to go after the strongest, fastest, and most powerful, so even when they go after live prey, they will try to find the isolated one.
They only take what they need, not more, and do not waste a killing. This behavior, from which we should learn a little, allows us to witness these fantastic predators sharing the same space with their prey in a mutual understanding of natural balance.
Image by @kewinlorenzen with @isotta_underwater_housings @waterproofinternational @scubapro @neptunic_com

#Repost @belindabussottibeli with @use.repost
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A l’approche des fêtes de fin d’année , pourquoi ne pas opter pour un ou des cadeau(x) qui aide aussi des artistes engagés pour l’environnement ainsi qu’une association qui s’emploie à l’améliorer ? 😉 🦈👍🏼🌊. Visitez le site de @aa_artaction

@cristinazenato @peopleofthewater @aa_artaction #cadeauxdenoël #ideescadeaux #lamernestpasunepoubelle #sharksarebeautiful #sculptureenbronze #sharksarebeautifulalive

Team work makes the dream work. Our core team is

Team work makes the dream work.
Our core team is made of two people, @kewinlorenzen and @cristinazenato with a few professional we outsource on the island, many of which we worked or I trained in the past.
We love to work with native teams and share our business with them to further the importance of fueling local economy.
We have an extremely specialized crew in working with sharks, photography and videography.
They are technical diving instructor, with cave diving credentials and experience.
They are explorers, surveyors, repair technicians, know how to handle every aspect of the day and operation.
They didn't get here in one day, nor one year, but with time and dedication they have become this well organized partership.
@neptunic_com @scubapro

A lot of our outreach and educational work is done

A lot of our outreach and educational work is done via remote connection and at the weirdest hours of the day.
It is not uncommon for @cristinazenato to wake up early in the morning to connect with another part of the world, as in this case South Africa to speak about her work in #exploration #education and #conservation
If you are interested in reading more check out www.pownonprofit.org Link in bio

Crook, a Caribbean Reef shark, sits on the ocean f

Crook, a Caribbean Reef shark, sits on the ocean floor while @cristinazenato takes a frontal image.
When Cristina posts a videos of the sharks in her lap, many reactions revert back to the notion that sharks need to swim to breathe, called ventilation. While all sharks possess a RAM Ventilation system that allows them to extract oxygen from the water while swimming through it with a slacked jaw, most species also use a second method called Buccal Pumping. It is generally used by bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes like sharks. It allows for sitting motionlessly and pumping water through their gills by siphoning the water in and pushing it out through the gills with a gentle movement of the jaw. Like anything else about sharks, one size does not fit all, but contrary to popular belief, most shark species can use Buccal Pumping. Some species that don't have it include Great White, Whale Shark, Basking Shark, Blue, and Mako.
In the image the little fish on the jaw is called remora.
@neptunic_com @scubapro @waterproofinternational

We are currently hosting @jennelizabeththomson for

We are currently hosting @jennelizabeththomson for her cavern and intro to cave training.
Jenn has a master from the University of St. Andrews, she is the 2022 NextGen Global Scholar at GUE, the Sea-to-Space Ambassador at Blue Abyss, Honorary Research Fellow at Wits University and from her own words an aspiring Ocean Astronaut.
We have invited Jenn to complete her overhead training with us because of her desire to learn about all aspects of ocean exploration, the understanding that growing laterally is fundemental to the growing vertically and because of her continued dedication to improve her skills and knowledge. We hope that receiving a technical and overhead training will support some of her future endeavors and provide with a wider understanding of how everything is so vitally interconnected.
With @cristinazenato and @kewinlorenzen

Watch Cristina Zenato and Kewin Lorenzen as they h

Watch Cristina Zenato and Kewin Lorenzen as they help the incredible team from "Random Acts of Kindness" and Dive Heart, help Nathan Ogden, a quadruplegic, make his dream of diving with sharks come true.
Link in bio

Want to support our organization while enjoying yo

Want to support our organization while enjoying your time under the sun?
@neptunic_com and @cristinazenato have created this lycra UPF50 performance hoodie.
For each sale, Neptunic will donate 20% to our organization to continue the work in shark education and conservation.
Images @kewinlorenzen

One way to help protect sharks is to give them bet

One way to help protect sharks is to give them better value alive rather than dead and use local resources to provide a form of income to those involved in the process. @cristinazenato and @kewinlorenzen teach shark courses, live and operate in the country and use only locals to assist them with their work.

The Star Thrower Have you ever heard the story of

The Star Thrower
Have you ever heard the story of the man walking the beach and watching a young man throwing something back in the water over and over again?
When the man approaches the young man, he sees he is throwing starfish into the water, stranded on the beach due to the low tide. He proceeds on telling the boy that what he is doing is pointless, that the beach is miles and miles and that there are 1000s of starfish stranded, and that he will never make a difference.
The young man stops in his tracks, thinks about it, and picks up another starfish; as he throws it back in the water, he replies, “it made a difference for that one.”
The story is the foundation of my work; a small action is better than no big action. Each person counts, and if each one starts throwing a starfish back into the water, we are not only making a difference for that one, but we will collectively make a difference for many of them.
We can be star thrower in the way we approach life.
The best way is to start with one section of our lives, and as we implement a change and are comfortable with it, we move to the next step.
We can start from our kitchen and the way we plan our day. We can work and travel with containers we can refill and reuse, never purchase to-go coffee or drinks. Similar actions include always carrying reusable shopping bags, preparing what we need for the day at home, and carrying it with us.

Another step might include changing our dietary choices; selecting one day per week to be meatless helps tremendously reduce our carbon footprint.
In our story there is a link to a blob on how to help the oceans from our gardens.
The important thing is to start and ignore the negative feeling that one person won’t make a difference; the ocean is made of drops.
Image courtesy of former scholar Chris Millbern.

We are so in love with this creation by @delanecoo

We are so in love with this creation by @delanecooper inspired by the life and work of our founder @cristinazenato
Proceeds from the sale of Thrive the Five go to supporting our educational programs.

Each time we dive with the local group of Caribbea

Each time we dive with the local group of Caribbean Reef sharks, we log the individuals present during the dive and annotate particulars on their behavior, together with recording weather, additional human presence, unique activities in the area.
Through the years we have gathered a considerable amount of information on shark's behavior, understanding of their seasons and what might affect changes in the short and long term.
We also collect visual videos and images of each shark and catalogue their specific identifying marks, eyes and total body size and shape.
Image of Peggy by @kewinlorenzen. With @cristinazenato
When you support our organization, you help continue this work and promote shark conservation through knowledge and understanding.

One of the significant roles that caves play in ma

One of the significant roles that caves play in many locations and the Bahamas is being freshwater reservoirs. The nature of the above limestone is to filter the rainwater, which deposits itself on top of the salt water, due to different weight (density.) These supplies become at risk when the land over the cave is developed, and the natural filtering system of the limestone is affected by external agents, such as pollutants, oils, diesel, and poisons, ultimately obliterating such a vital resource. Part of our work is to identify, classify, and collect data related to underground flooded caves and provide this information for better land management.
In this image, a diver floats between the saltwater layer (dark) and the freshwater layer (clear) during a tour dive of Ben's Cave in the Lucayan National Park.
Image by @kewinlorenzen

To work in the fields of conservation we are most

Caves are fundamental part of complex eco-systems

Caves are fundamental part of complex eco-systems above and below the water, and one of our goals is to explore and put on the map as many of these systems as possible and provide their data to local government to assist with a better future land planning. Our other goal is to bring their beauty to the surface through videos and images to expand the interest and love towards these very unique yet unknown places.
Image by our team member Kewin Lorenzen.

Caves are fundamental part of complex eco-systems

Caves are fundamental part of complex eco-systems above and below the water, and one of our goals is to explore and put on the map as many of these systems as possible and provide their data to local government to assist with a better future land planning. Our other goal is to bring their beauty to the surface through videos and images to expand the interest and love towards these very unique yet unknown places.
Image by our team member @kewinlorenzen

Happy team after discovering a possible new cave.

Happy team after discovering a possible new cave. Stay tuned for more details as exploration continues.
With @kewinlorenzen and @kewinlorenzen

Education is the key. We are so happy to have been

Education is the key. We are so happy to have been able to provide Nathan, a local young diver, with the experience of Ben’s Cavern tour. Nathan is trying to decide what to do with scuba diving and in which capacity make it a career and expressed an interest in tech and caves. After meeting and discussing for a while, @cristinazenato and @kewinlorenzen decided to offer the opportunity to experience the overhead under careful guidance and within appropriate limitations. We hope to be able to host Nathan again in the future.

@cristinazenato shows the hook removed from a new

@cristinazenato shows the hook removed from a new shark who just showed up on the dive. Your support helps us continue our mission of direct removal of hooks from sharks and propagate the education needed to change our views on sharks and the oceans. #exploration #education #conservation
With @kewinlorenzen

Making the difference one hook at the time. Thank

Making the difference one hook at the time. Thank you @cristinazenato and @kewinlorenzen for removing three different hooks from the sharks. Each hook removed makes a different for one shark and we believe that one small action is better than no big action. #starthrowers

From our founder @cristinazenato "He who takes no

From our founder @cristinazenato
"He who takes no interest in what is small, will take false interest in what is great" - John Ruskin.
Many believe that because I am so involved with sharks that I always and only have to be in the water with them, but as someone who understands the vital inteconnection of each aspect of our lives, I am extremely attracted and interestd in the small creatures as well as the big ones. I always check the health of the reef, record presence as well as numbers and notice and report when something seems out of normalcy (there is a lot but some events are way more evident than others)
In this image I am admiring a cluster of eight different species of sponge in just one corner of this coral head, during a regular reef dive.
Image by @kewinlorenzen

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