PEACE PADDLE 2011
About: A ceremonial paddle-out is a long honored Hawaiian tradition to commemorate an event or honor the passing of a loved one. The 2011 Malibu Peace Paddle will honor the ocean - and those who love, respect and defend her.

Legendary big-wave surfers Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama will lead surfers from the Southern California community in this paddle-out ceremony. Participants will paddle out off the beach at Paradise Cove and work in harmony to form a peace sign. This wonderful visual will serve as a compelling example of unity for an important cause: raising awareness about the threats to ocean health.

Date: June 4, 2011

Time: 4:00 PM

Location: Paradise Cove, Malibu California

Bring: Your Paddle board and your smile.

Application Fee: Free

pictured: Bob Hurley, Claudia Taylor, Rob Taylor, Chris Jensen

Amazing event at SeaThos Venice California headquarters last night- big ups to Bob Hurley for sponsoring, and highlighting Brandon Boyd's art and pro-ocean, anti-plastic pollution message- please go to SeaThos .org for more information on how you can help.

Malibu High School Sharks Surf Team competes at the NSSA Championships and now off to the Nationals! SurfMonk hoodies are well represented by the Sharks!

Pictured: Skylar Lawson, Colton Sarlo, Andrew Jacobson, Sara Toussieng, Dimitri Papavassilliou, Moorea Maguire, Trevor Robbins, Chris Finck

Surfmonk is proud to be a sponsor of the 2nd Annual Punta Sayulita Longboard and SUP Contest and support
the Punta Sayulita Foundation's continuing work with Reef Check Worldwide.

Founded in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr. Gregor Hodgson, Reef Check is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. Reef Check works to create partnerships among community volunteers, government agencies, businesses, universities and other non-profits. Reef Check goals are to: educate the public about the value of reef ecosystems and the and the current crisis affecting marine life, to create a global network of volunteer teams trained in Reef Check's scientific methods who regularly monitor and report on reef health, to facilitate collaboration that produced ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions and to stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide.

Punta Sayulita is pleased to invite interested volunteers to participate in the Reef Check organization’s EcoDiver Certification Training Workshop that will provide training and certification for volunteers to participate in periodic surveys of local area reef ecosystems as part of the Reef Check Foundation’s “Adopt a Reef” program.

Additionally Surfmonk is proud to sponsor this event because of the gathering of like minded watermen and women who will come together to celebrate the Surfmonk way of life, conditioning the body and mind through the appreciation of water, nature and spirit. Pictured: Jerry Lopez

Shark Week, shark conservation, and vote to help sharks!

Posted by David Whysharksmatter Shiffman

Hello, friends!     Last week was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Last year, I (and many others) were critical of the fear-mongering and lack of conservation focus. This year was MUCH BETTER! Please read my detailed review (including clips from several of the shows), and join in the discussion. If the Discovery Channel sees that lots of us are happy with the changes they've made, they will likely continue them! Please, please, please join in the discussion here:
http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?...

In honor of shark week, I wrote a detailed post about shark conservation. It's an excellent background resource if any of you don't know why sharks are in trouble or how you can help them- and it's an excellent resource to share with friends and teachers. Check it out here, and let me know what you think:
http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?...

Finally, the University of Miami's Shark Research program is up for a Pepsi Refresh grant. Please take a minute to register (it's free) and vote for them. You can vote every day, and they would appreciate the help.
http://www.refresheverything.com/savi...

Feel free to add David WhySharksMatter as your facebook friend, and follow me on Twitter @WhySharksMatter to learn more about sharks!

Thanks, everyone!
Sincerely,
David Shiffman