Dear friends diver and non-diver, Welcome to the first Skubaskool News page, which will be published every month. As you already figure out, the News Page purpose is to keep you inform on what’s happening in Bali, sharing our dives, our emotions and our questions. Reading this page you will find a Bali News section where we will present a special event, a Balinese custom, news from Skubaskool team, a comment from an extraordinary dive or joke from divers. If you know jokes, don’t be shy and send them to info@skubaskool.com. The next section of this News page is about your photo. Every month, we will choose the best photo that one of you took while diving in Bali…don’t forget your camera, we will need nice photos! The last section is about Info Bio. We will give information about one underwater species, its feeding habits, and its habitat… Although, we will answer to your question and post our question. If you know the answer, send us an email sophie@skubaskool.com or arnaud@skubaskool.com.

	BALI NEWS Good news for the Balinese turtle, which has been killed since years for ceremony purpose, or commerce with restaurant, the “National Workshop of Turtle conversation” has been carried out for 3 days beginning of June. Indonesian government has signed the agreement note about Conversation and supervision on sea turtle and its habitat in Indian Ocean and South East Asia, recognised as IOSEA-MoU (Indian Ocean and South East Asia Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding). IOSEA-MoU instructs the conservation and supervision of the sea turtle into 6 divisions: 1. Decrease the turtle’s death 2. Protect, conserve and re-habilitate the sea turtle habitat 3. Increase understanding on ecology and turtle population through observation, supervision and information exchange 4. Increase awareness and public participation within conversation activity 5. Increase national, regional and international cooperation 6. Implant the agreement note into the Conservation arrangement Planning. The Species Program Director of WWF Indonesia, Nazir Foed, one of the workshop participants, said, Indonesia has 5 from 7 world species: Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys Imbricate), Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta), Leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys Olivacea)
	PHOTO OF THE MONTH This month the big news is we discovered a big rock where 2 superb Harlequin Shrimps (Hymenocera Elegans) hide. A romantic love story, Harlequin shrimps always live in pairs and may stay together for years! During the Underwater photography dive of the PADI Advanced Course, Peter took a beautiful photo of the stunning, colourful animals. Thank you Peter for this photo!
	INFO BIO Every diver on earth, who heard about the Harlequin Shrimps, knows how rare and beautiful they are. For this reason, we decided to dedicate this first News pages to this incredible animal. CLASSIFICATION Family: Hymenoceridae Genus: Hymenocera Species: Elegans WORLD HABITAT Blue Harlequin Shrimp are found in the Indo-west Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to northern Australia in the intertidal and subtidal zone of coral reefs. Encounter with this shrimp is rare but when they are seen they are usually tucked into crevices in male-female pair. FEEDING BEHAVIOR Blue Harlequin shrimp feed on starfish. They use their petal like antennae to pick the scent of their prey. Then, using their unique paddle like pincers, they work as a team to flip the starfish onto its back, piercing the skeleton to get to the soft tissue. The shrimps cleverly keep their pray alive while feeding by beginning with the tip of the arm working towards the central portion of the starfish’s body. The starfish’s only defence is to abandon the arm on which the shrimp is feeding… Devilish, isn’t it? REPRODUCTION Harlequin Shrimp reproduce sexually. The mating happens without shell after a courtship dance from the pair. The eggs are release 15 days after the mating, females releasing 100-5000 eggs per season. As for many fish species, Harlequin shrimp larvae start out looking very different than adults. The larvae will swim around feeding on plankton until they 8 weeks old depending on the food supply. When they first settle out from the plankton, they are quite transparent. Although attracted to starfish, they don’t begin serious eating until their new shell has hardened a few days. These shrimp are found in mated pairs that stay together for long periods of time. Females are larger than males and differ slightly in the second colour patch on side of abdomen. Male Harlequin shrimp remains monogamous with their mate because receptive females are scarce in Harlequin shrimp population. Left alone, it is likely the female would quickly find a new mate.