A Merry Christmas to all Friends of the Last Ocean

Hopefully you get time to check our last newsletter of 2011 before escaping for Christmas. A lot has been going on over the past couple of months. In this issue: Russian Boat foundered in Ross Sea, CCAMLR Update, short film competition winners announced, what's been in the media, Last Ocean documentary update and we meet team member and conservation photographer John Weller.

Stranded Russian Fishing Vessel tip of the Ice Berg (from Peter Young's blog)

I feel for the 32 crew of the Russian Fishing Vessel Sparta. After hitting an iceberg they've been stranded beside their vessel in the middle of the Ross Sea. It's not a great situation in anyone's book and I sincerely hope their boat is repaired and they are returned safely to their families. Read more...

CCAMLR Update

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources convened last Oct/Nov for the last time before they are supposedly going to decide on the extent of marine protection in the Ross Sea same time (in 2012). This year two proposals were tabled for an MPA in the Ross Sea. Read more...

Last Ocean in the media

In the past couple of months, Last Ocean has been making headway in the media both nationally and internationally. Local journalist Michael Field wrote a well-researched article outlining New Zealand’s stand on fishing in the Ross Sea and more recently the controversial stranding of the Russian fishing vessel Sparta. John Weller, Cassandra Brooks and David Ainley also had features in several magazines in America. Click here for more articles.

Last Ocean documentary hits the edit suite

The Last Ocean documentary has finally hit the edit suite. Peter Young’s journey began six years ago onboard a Russian icebreaker after being invited to the Ross Sea by Colorado photographer John Weller. He was blown away by the natural wildlife and beauty of the Ross Sea. For the past four weeks he’s been in a darkened edit suite, putting it all together.  Read more…

Short film winners announced

We announced the winners of the short film competition at an awards ceremony that was held on 15th of September at Heritage Expeditions in Christchurch. It was a great night and it was inspiring to see the local support we had for the competition and the Last Ocean cause. Read more...

Walk on the Wildside

Last Ocean supporter Brandon Stone has been putting in the hard yards for the Ross Sea. Brandon runs an adventure tour business On the Wildside . Starting 21 February next year he’s doing a sponsored walk through New Zealand’s best National parks, trekking 11 trails, over 750km in 32 days non-stop. Read more...

Meet the Team - John Weller, Last Ocean founder and conservation photographer

John B. Weller is a nature photographer and writer based in Boulder, Colorado. He was trained in economics and philosophy at Stanford University and has been photographing professionally since 1999.

His work has been shown in prestigious museums and galleries and is part of private and corporate collections across the world. Read more...

1500 signatures and building

Our online petition continues to grow. It will eventually be presented to the New Zealand Government and if we get enough people signing will be an important tool in our campaign. It asks the NZ Government to phase out fishing in the Ross Sea and promote the establishment of a comprehensive no-take marine reserve for the entire Ross Sea continental shelf and slope. It only takes a minute to sign and you do NOT receive further correspondence from Change.org. who we run the petition through.

Our Blogs

Yes we are still blogging slowly but surely - and it's a great way to keep in touch with us between newsletters. Recent blogs are from Peter Young and U.S. Last Ocean co-ordinator Cassandra Brooks. We also enjoyed this short video of an unusual underwater ice formation that was filmed in the Ross Sea by the BBC for their Frozen Planet Series. The first time anything like this has been caught on film.

700 Facebook fans

It's great to see our Facebook community continuing to grow. We now have 700 plus fans – it’s a wonderful way to keep up with the latest news and developments around Last Ocean campaign. Thanks to all who have joined and please spread the word.

Show your support

The Last Ocean Charitable Trust relies completely on donations. If you feel our campaign for the protection of the Ross Sea is important you can help keep us on track by making a secure donation online here.This is tax deductible for New Zealand residents.

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. Please forward it on to your friends and family. You can keep up to date with the latest from Last Ocean by following us on Facebook.

If you have any comments, feedback or story ideas, please email info@lastocean.co.nz,

Until next time...have a wonderful Christmas and will be in touch in the New Year.

Cheers

The team at the Last Ocean.