Help Preserve Marine Environment With The HCNSO

As you dive into Florida’s sapphire waters, you enter a world of vibrant color and rippling light. Wild and wonderful creatures hide shyly under drop-offs, mysterious blue holes are home to strange life forms deep beyond the reach of sunlight, and schools of tropical fish swim slowly above the endless folds of sand on the sea floor.

There’s a busy world underneath the water, yet from our Florida condos, waterfront restaurants and sugar-white beaches we see very little of it. Perhaps occasionally we see a dolphin breach a wave, or come across an interesting fish or piece of coral washed up on shore- serving to remind us momentarily of that other vibrant world below the surface.

A Forgotten, Fragile World

It is so very easy from shore to forget this busy, spectacular underwater world even exists -and how fragile it is. Our yachting, fishing and tourism lifestyle here in Florida revolve largely around the sea — the coral reefs of SE Florida bringing in $6 billion alone — but these leisure and commercial activities can also take a toll on the very same marine life and underwater landscapes that we love (and rely on) so much.

With the dangers of climate changing looming and a growing human population putting new pressures on our marine environment, it’s never been so important to look after the sea around us.

Who is HCNSO?

Luckily, there are people who study the waters of Florida and the health of its underwater residents, and who then make important suggestions on how we can happily co-exist with the marine environment (while not having to sacrifice our yachting, diving, fishing, or our famously good beach tourism). The simple truth is that in order to make the most of Florida, we must act to protect Florida’s watery treasures in a sustainable and practical way.

Which is exactly what the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography are doing-and have been doing on our behalf since 1966. HCNSO is a department of the Nova Southeastern University, and its students and faculty engage in research in a wide range of marine-conservation fields- including work on fisheries, oil spills, climate change, biodiversity, coral reefs, conservation and ecology.

Current activities of the college include generating two- and three-dimensional maps of coral reefs from Miami to Martin County, documenting reef health and fish populations, maintaining coral nurseries for reef restoration, conducting damage assessments of reefs, shark tagging and DNA studies, sea turtle monitoring, determining electromagnetic properties of the ocean, unraveling dynamics of the Gulf Stream, and predicting hurricanes.

How can I help?

This kind of important conservation research takes money- and HCNSO needs your support. The school is engaging in a massive fundraising effort that will see this local Florida college ultimately recognized as one of the global leaders in the study of Oceanography and the Natural Sciences. As well as financial donations, the college is calling on the yachting community to donate two vessels to replace obsolete ones in their 25-year- old research fleet.

The request is for two reliable (~26-30’) research vessels/dive boats that can each carry six divers and 18 tanks. The vessels need to be twin engine (outboards or in-board diesel) and easy to pilot since the boat drivers are students who are competent but not highly experienced. One of these boats will need a cabin to support operations that require dry space. There are lots of ways to help their campaign if you don’t have a spare boat handy- so just jump on the NSU website to find out more.

Why is this so important?

Everyone who enjoys the beautiful Florida coast and waterways will appreciate the need for keeping this stunning ecosystem in good health- for our enjoyment now and for our descendants long into the future.

Here at Denison Yachts we love discovering good people fighting to protect our marine resources, and we encourage everyone to spread word of the good work of HCNSO.

Oh, and if you have a boat that you don’t really need, or that you think could serve a higher purpose saving our oceans… you know who to call.