New Awareness Video for Divers and Snorkelers

The Belize Tourism Board continues its ongoing efforts to develop one of the most important elements of the tourism industry- Belize's human resources and presented a check in the sum of US$5,000 to South Shore Productions, Inc.

The funding provided by the BTB will assist in the production of a four minute scuba video as well as a five minute snorkel video.  The videos will aim at giving divers and snorkelers tips on how to lessen their impact on coral reefs.  The videos are a viable educational component in increasing awareness and protection of our world heritage sites on the Belize Barrier Reef.

The idea for the production of the videos first surfaced a few years ago when South Shore Productions filmed the "Rio Bravo Project" for National Geographic Society in Belize.  Whilst in Belize the group had the opportunity to snorkel at Caye Caulker and it was here that they discovered that some snorkelers unknowingly destroy corals by touching or even standing on them.

Though visitors mean well and are amazed by the experience of scuba diving and snorkeling along the Barrier Reef, many do not understand the importance of these living corals and how fragile they are.  Corals may take years to recover from such damage.

Apart from the Rio Bravo Project, South Shore Productions has also done a recent documentary called "No Boundaries" which addresses overfishing in Belize and is shown internationally to other fishing communities.

Organizations who are also lending their support in this initiative include Royal Caribbean Cruises, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Project Aware, and Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL).