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Fish 'n Fins - News
| First day of diving SHARK Week Palau | Posted March 9th 2009 |
(Photo right)Tova Harel Bornovski briefs one of the dive groups about Shark Count at dive sites during shark week (Photo left) Shark week participants before leaving for shark diving.
| Shark Week Palau 2009 opens! | Posted March 8th 2009 |
Eight years ago Tova Harel and Navot Bornovski have realized the importance of promoting shark protection and awareness in Palau. In 2003 we have created the 1st annual event of SHARK WEEK PALAU. To celebrate the uniqueness of shark diving in Palau we invited divers from all over the world to join us for a week of shark diving, lectures, movies and fun.
Over the last 7 years we hosted some of the world’s most amazing shark experts and environmentalists.
Among our friends and colleagues that joined us in previous years are:
World famous photographer David Doubilet and Dr. Jennifer Hayes
Sharks’ most famous ambassador Rodney Fox and his wife Kate.
Dr. Mark Meekan from AIMS who is leading a shark research program in Palau.
Greg Marshall from National Geographic with his critter cams
Dr. Phil Lobel from Boston University who lead the pilot research program for the Micronesian Shark Foundation.
Rob Meyers- fish expert
In 2009 we are proudly hosting Dr. Mark Meekan who is leading the Micronesian Shark Foundation shark research and Mrs. Christine Gstettnoer, VP of Shark Project.
Minister of Tourism and resources, the Honorable Harry Fritz welcomed more than 100 participants which more than 40 are divers who came specially to the event from Holland, UK, Germany, Austria, USA, Russia and Guam, The Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Japan. Mr. Fritz was emphasizing during his speech of the importance of the sharks to the world wide environment and Palau Economy and promised to support the protection and research of sharks in Palau.
Minister of Resource, Development and Tourism Honorable Harry Fritz opens Shark week Palau 2009 at Palau International Coral Reef Center
| New Websites | Posted February 26th 2009 |
Welcome!! If you've been here before you might have noticed that something has changed - yes, we've launched two new look websites! Both the Fish 'n Fins and Oceanhunter.com websites are now hopefully easier on the eye and more simple to navigate, making it easier for you to find the information that you need. Plus we've added some new content, including a Movie Gallery to showcase some of the fantastic video shot by Richard, our Fish 'n Films Photo Shop videographer.
So take some time to look around and see what's new on both the sites.
| Seasons Greetings. | Posted December 25th 2008 |
All of us at Fish 'n Fins and Ocean Hunter would like to wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.
| New Year, New Reefs. | Posted December 2nd 2008 |
Ocean Hunter III will be spending this Christmas and New Year on a fantastic trip to the Southwest Islands of Palau - and there's still time to book your place! This special 14 day journey will take you 
through all the famous dive sites of Palau such as Blue Corner and Peleliu, then onwards to virtually undived waters and pristine reefs.
The Southwest Islands of Palau are the most remote part of the Palau island chain, stretching almost 400 miles SW of the capital, Koror. With no scheduled transportation links, no airfields and occasional visits by government vessels every 3 or 4 months, these remote and sparsely inhabited locations offer pristine reef and outstanding opportunities for exploration. On our last trip there sightings included Great Hammerhead sharks and a shoal of over 50 Silky Sharks, in addition to masses of Reef Sharks and stunning coral reefs absolutely full of life. Departing Koror on December 21st 2008, you can spend both Christmas and New Year with world class, exclusive diving on Ocean Hunter III, Palau's most luxurious liveaboard.
Cabin 1 is available for a couple or two singles, and we also have vacancies for two males (singles in shared cabins). Prices start at just $7,775 for 14 days of fun and adventure, all in true Ocean Hunter comfort.
For more information, or to book your place on the best way to ring in the New Year simply email us at info@oceanhunter.com
| German Channel - it's Manta-stic! | Posted December 2nd 2008 |
Although present throughout the year December through March is generally regarded as prime Manta season at German Channel, but this year the Mantas came early. We had a perfect combination of a full moon, good currents and a plankton bloom which sent the Mantas into a feeding frenzy. For more than 10 days in Mid-November our guides and divers were enjoying themselves with utterly fantastic daily Manta action, with each dive producing non-stop fun as anything from 3 to 12 or more Mantas filled themselves up on plankton, looping and dancing with each other as they stuffed themselves. Divers were coming back with tales of having to duck to avoid collisions as a train of 4m(14ft)+ rays would cruise by out of the blue, or having the beautiful creatures feeding close enough to touch (not that we did of course!!) And every day the Fish 'n Fins dock would be full of customers proclaiming their "greatest dive ever".
For those of you who have never been lucky enough to see the graceful beauty of these magnificent fish feeding, Richard Brooks, our videographer at Fish 'n Films has given us this snippet of a Manta strutting its stuff at the Channel (Quicktime movie, 1MB, right click to download).
They're still there too, although not in quite the same numbers, as most dives there are still producing good action with 2 or 3 Manta to be seen - it's shaping up to be a fantastic season.
Dive guide Steve was lucky enough to see the Mantas 4 days out of 5."It was a truly spectacular sight" he said "having 6 or 7 huge Manta in a row come flying past you, watching them dance as though they knew they were putting on a show for us. Plus I was especially lucky that week - on the one day we didn't dive at German Channel a Dugong put in an appearance, swimming around and popping her head up right next to the boat as we cruised through the surrounding shallows".
On the first day of his sequence, Steve took a group of Spanish divers on an afternoon that went from massive to minature, as they dived with the Mantas at German Channel, then 90 minutes later were looking for one of our smallest, but no less beautiful fish, at Mandarinfish Lake. It was on that dive that photographer Mikel Martinez Echeveste captured this lovely image of two Mandarinfish, showing that size doesn't matter when it comes to beauty.
| New boat launched | Posted November 2nd 2008 |
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Fish 'n Fins are pleased to announce the launch of our latest and largest day boat. Named Triton after the Greek God, she is 38' (11.5m) long and is powered by twin 225HP Yamaha four-stroke engines. Amazingly spacious, she can hold 16 divers (plus crew) with plenty of space for everyone. With 4 tank holders in front of each double seat and ample drybox storage under the seats everything you need will be right there with you all day. Triton is ideal for the larger groups who would like to dive together but without being squashed, as can happen at other dive schools with smaller boats.
| Ongoing education | Posted October 4th 2008 |
We've been spending some time recently on the program of continuing education for our guides and drivers. Firstly Andrea r
an an EFR refresher for us. Then last week we spent 2 evenings together, pooling our knowledge so we can carry on showing you the very best of Palau. Although used mainly as an open forum between our staff, things were kept on track with short but educational presentations by Elise (dive sites and currents), Kenneth (Palauan migration to Palau), Navot (World War II, geography and tides) and Andrea (dive sites). Thanks to all of them, and for the rest of the staff for their time and effort into what became 2 enjoyable and educational evenings.
| We've got Hoop Dreams! | Posted October 3rd 2008 |
Here looking smart is our new Basketball Team, the Fish 'n Fins Hunters. The boys of Fish 'n Fins and Ocean Hunter have recently taken their teamwork to new heights by entering a team in the Palau Business league. Playing their games mainly on Tuesday nights, the guys have been pretty successful so far, winning this week by nailing the final shot at the buzzer, while the non-playing staff members cheered them on from the stands.
| Planning your next trip? | Posted Aug 6th 2008 |
It's never too early to start planning your 2009 dive trips, so let us make the decision easier for you - why not come to Shark Week 2009? We've set the dates (March 8th-15th), we've checked the tide tables and the moon phase (it's Full Moon, good for diving, good for romance!) and we've even worked out how much of a bargain we can make it for you. So pop over to our Shark Week page where you can download our PDF guide to next year's event.
| The Eagles have landed | Posted Aug 5th 2008 |
We've been having fun with Eagle Rays lately at Fish 'n Fins. Firstly we've had some sightings of the 
rare Ornate Eagle Ray at Ngerchong. These beautiful rays, which boast amazingly long tails, are a lovely and unusual sight and made 2 groups of Fish 'n Fins divers very happy. Then our resident Fish 'n Films guru Richard recently came across a very sociable Spotted Eagle Ray whilst diving at New Drop Off. The friendly elasmobranch allowed Richard to film nice and close while the ray foraged for food amongst the corals.
(Eagle Ray, Quicktime Movie, 5MB)
| Flat seas, warm sun | Posted July 8th 2008 |
Well this is supposed to be the slightly wetter time of year here in Palau, wi
th slightly rougher seas and a slightly higher chance of rain. Someone forgot to tell the weather though, as we've currently been enjoying gorgeously sunny days and flat calm seas. The diving has been good too, the real benefit of diving in Palau at this time of year is the lack of boats out there, meaning you can go days without meeting another group underwater. The fish are enjoying themselves too - we've seen manta a few times lately, and 2 days ago one of our groups saw a Tiger Shark in the shallows around German Channel. Clear blue skies, warm water and big sharks - what more can you ask for?