Join FiNS Magazine Associate Editors Gunther Deichmann and Tony Wu from 22 to 27 April 2008 for a fun-filled, action-packed and unique photography workshop in the Micronesian paradise of Palau.

This special event will be hosted by Sam’s Tours, and will include opportunities to learn about both topside and underwater photography.

Palau is world-renowned for its spectacular scenery both above and below the waves, so there’ll be no shortage of subjects to pick from, and both Gunther and Tony will diligently devote all their attention to addressing your questions.

More details on the workshop to come shortly. In the meantime, email Dermot Keane of Sam’s Tours for booking information.

Here’s a stupid and cruel gift for the holidays that’s allegedly selling well in Australia.

Dubbed the iPond and sold by Pets Paradise and Pets Good Direct down under, the little tank holds about 650 millilitres of water, barely enough to qualify as a puddle.

You stick a fish in it and blast it with music. Pets Paradise apparently throws in a Siamese fighting fish so you don’t have to find your own victim fish.

Not to worry though. As a spokeswoman for Pets Paradise and Pet Goods Direct noted: “The chains were satisfied that fish in iPonds did not suffer.”

More here.

The deadlines for two photo contests being run by Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide are coming up. The deadline for the Our World Underwater 2008 photo contest is 13 January 2008, and for DEEP 2008 on 15 February 2008.

Get your entries in asap to compete for US$80,000 in prizes! In addition, contest winners will be published in a special issue of Wetpixel Quarterly. For rules and guidelines see http://underwatercompetition.com

FiNS Publisher Edmund Tee (who always wants to be the centre of attention, as in this photo) recently won an award from Microsoft, where he is a consultant (hard to believe, eh?), for helping make possible a simple idea: taking existing technology and adapting it in an innovative way to fill a pressing need.

In this instance, the solution allowed the American Red Cross to deploy cellular phone and wireless internet access in the heart of disaster zones. The project, driven by Edmund’s team, now makes it possible for aid workers to have connectivity to the outside world, enhancing rescue and relief efforts. Specific applications include providing expedited check-in at refugee shelters and also helping refugees track down lost family and friends.

Edmund received his award directly from Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer (far left, second from left).

International conservation organisation Oceana has just released a report indicating that fishing vessels from the European Union are circumventing EU regulations on shark finning by going abroad…essentially cheating in order to reap profit from the seemingly insatiable appetite for shark fins in Asia.

Greed knows no boundaries.

Read the press release here, and download the full PDF report here.

Well-managed marine conservation can significantly help reduce poverty and enhance the quality of life for local communities, according to a new study.

The study, Nature’s Investment Bank, which was released by The Nature Conservancy in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday, was based on more than 1,100 interviews within poor communities in four countries, including Indonesia, from November 2006 to May this year. Read more…

Remember the movie Alien, featuring the nearly indestructible extraterrestrial with the grotesque set of extra jaws that projected forward to grab and rip prey to shreds? Well, sometimes life is truly stranger than fiction. It turns out that moray eels, some of the most familiar residents of the reef, have a second, hidden set of jaws that they use in a manner highly reminiscent of the voracious monster in the hit sci-fi movie.New high-speed videos captured by researchers at the University of California in Davis show a second set of jaws located deep in the moray eel’s throat lunging out to pull prey in, after the front set of teeth (the ones we normally see) have clamped down on the eel’s next meal.Read more about this fascinating discovery and watch the video here.

Probably the most unique image we’ve received to date from one of our readers, this is a photograph of Calvin Lim from Singapore looking through the most recent issue of FiNS Magazine.Calvin clearly has impeccable taste in selection of reading material, though we’re not quite sure about his overall sanity level. The photographer who took this image is Aaron Wong, who deserves a round of applause for documenting such a unique moment.If you’ve got an interesting photograph of you or your friends reading FiNS, send it over and we’ll put you up for public scrutiny.

Check out this recent video of the wreck of the Hydro Atlantic prepared by Lisa Edwards. The Hydro Atlantic sank off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida during a storm in the 1980s and today sits in 172 feet (52 metres) of water, covered with life. Many regard the vessel to be one of the top wreck dives in the world.Join the crew of Dive Rite Express on this brief video tour of the wreck during a 60-minute, open-circuit decompression dive.

One of the many challenges facing tropical reefs is the live reef fish trade. In case there’s any doubt in your mind, the live fish you see in fish tanks in restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and other Asian cities more than likely come direct-to-you from the same reefs you dive.

And unfortunately, if the fish are in the tank, they’re not on the reef. Even worse, for every fish in the tank, there are dozens if not hundreds more that died in transit.

The ever-growing demand for live reef fish is taking an enormous toll on tropical reefs, with fleets going ever farther in search of more supply as reefs in Asia run out of viable fish supplies.

Don’t believe it? Read this account of what’s happening in Palau right now.