Earlier this month, Oceana completed an expedition to the Juan Fernandez islands to document habitat with its ROV and complete publicity work with world-class freediver Carlos Coste. The ROV, piloted by Oceana Chile Science Director Matthias Gorny, captured never before seen images of Juan Fernandez's deep sea habitat and marine life at over 500m depth.
Joining Oceana for the trip to Juan Fernandez were Coste and other freedivers who put on an exhibition intended to help establish the Juan Fernandez archipelago as a premier worldwide destination for freediving training and competitions. By spotlighting the area's vibrant habitat and encouraging additional recreational uses for the area, Oceana hopes to increase national support for the protection of these essential habitats from industrial fishing activities.
Coverage of the freediving exhibition was picked up in several Chilean publications, including Publimetro and BioBio, and will help drive interest in an upcoming Juan Fernandez event on March 14 - the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the SMS Dresden at the Battle of Mas a Tierra. Similar to the freediving exhibition earlier in the month, the Dresden event aims to bring much needed attention to Juan Fernandez's vibrant underwater habitat and reinforce the area's economic viability as a premium ocean recreation destination, rather than industrial fishing area.
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