For years, biologists studying the deep Pacific had been listening for a mysterious underwater signal: a beaked whale call labeled BW43. The signature appeared in hydrophone data beginning in 2020, but no one had ever seen the animal that produced it. That changed on a June morning in 2024, off Baja California, Mexico, aboard Oregon State University’s research vessel Pacific Storm.

Scientists on deck were preparing for another day of searching when a call came from the bridge — whales surfacing on the starboard side. For hours, two small beaked whales appeared and vanished in the distance, long enough for brief looks but not long enough to identify them with certainty.

Then researcher Robert Pitman, a now-retired scientist from Oregon State University, managed to take a small biopsy using a crossbow fitted with a sampling arrow. The fragment of skin — about the size of a pencil eraser — would later confirm what the team suspected: the whales were ginkgo-toothed beaked whales, a species never before documented alive in the wild.

The confirmation, published later in Marine Mammal Science and led by Elizabeth Henderson of the US Naval Information Warfare Center, marked the end of a five-year search. Henderson and colleagues from Mexico and the United States had been tracking the BW43 call since 2020, originally believing it might belong to Perrin’s beaked whale, another species never seen alive.

The team returned to the same area for three seasons, first with a sailboat and later a Mexican fishing vessel, without success. In 2024, working with Oregon State University and its more advanced equipment, they were finally able to pair the acoustic signal with a live animal. The Pacific Storm towed an array of hydrophones capable of identifying specific beaked whale calls and carried high-powered binoculars suited for long-distance visual searches.

Beaked whales are among the least understood mammals on Earth. There are 24 known species, most of them rarely seen because they dive deeper and stay underwater longer than any other marine mammal. Many species have only been described from stranded carcasses, and new species continue to be identified, including one as recently as 2021.

Their sensitivity to sonar is well-documented; exposure in certain circumstances can disrupt foraging or cause rapid ascents that lead to fatal injuries similar to decompression sickness. Understanding where these species live is essential for reducing the risk from naval activities and other noise disturbances.

The biopsy itself was almost lost. Before the researchers could retrieve it from the water, an albatross attempted to take it, forcing the crew to scare the bird off before recovering the sample.

The find also shifted assumptions about the whales’ range. Ginkgo-toothed beaked whales were previously known mostly from strandings across the Pacific, particularly Japan. The team’s analysis of acoustic databases suggests they live year-round off California and northern Baja California. Two previous strandings on the west coast of North America, once considered rare anomalies, now appear consistent with this distribution.

Many beaked whale calls remain unmatched to species, and several species still have no confirmed call at all. Researchers are now working to link additional acoustic signatures with specific animals so that long-term monitoring can rely on underwater listening rather than visual sightings — often the only viable method for such elusive species.

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Deep sea mining involves the retrieval of minerals and deposits from the ocean floor found at depths of 200 metres, up to 6,500 metres. From the 10 to 28 of July the world’s governments will convene in Kingston, Jamaica to negotiate rules and regulations that if agreed and adopted, would open up our ocean to the largest mining operation humanity has ever seen. This emerging industry if unregulated properly will destroy pristine ecosystems untouched since the beginning of time.

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), founded in 2004 in response to international concerns over the harmful impacts of deep-sea bottom trawling is calling on countries of the world to draw a line and stop this potentially devastating emerging industry.

Today over 100 non-government organizations, fishers organizations and law and policy institutes worldwide are working together under the DSCC to protect vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems with the goals of reducing the greatest threats to life in the deep sea, and to safeguard the long-term health, integrity and resilience of deep-sea ecosystems.

Working with scientists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations and governments, we target the United Nations and other bodies to call for action. Members of the DSCC will be present in Kingston throughout the International Seabed Authority’s Council and Assembly meetings, urging governments to support a moratorium on the destructive, emerging industry.

The meetings coincide with the deadline of a 2-year legal loophole triggered by Nauru on behalf of would-be mining company, Nauru Offshore Resources Inc, a subsidiary of Canadian company, The Metals Company.

According to the DSCC, “This loophole stipulates that mining be given the greenlight by July 9, irrespective of whether regulations are in place. Nevertheless, an increasing number of governments are recognising that the only responsible way to prevent irreversible damage to our critical, fragile deep ocean is to support a moratorium.”

The Canadian newspaper The Star has a good back report on how a Canadian company The Metals Company partnered with a tiny nation of Naura in Micronesia to trigger the loophole.

Please register using this Zoom link to join the conversation on July 5 at 14:00 -15:00 BST with the DSCC, Greenpeace, The Ocean Foundation and others for a media briefing ahead of negotiations where panellists will explore the issues surrounding the emerging industry and upcoming negotiations and answer key questions.

Speakers will include:

• Sian Owen – Deep Sea Conservation Coalition Director
• Louisa Casson – Global Project Leader for Greenpeace’s Stop Deep-Sea Mining campaign
• Bobbi-Jo Dobush – Legal Officer at The Ocean Foundation, focusing on deep-sea mining

Greenpeace is calling leaked undercover footage of wastewater pouring into the Pacific ocean during deep sea mining tests “damning”. The undercover footage shown above of the latest deep sea mining tests in the Pacific Ocean shows wastewater being dumped by Canadian miner The Metals Company at the ocean surface, with unknown toxicity and ecological impacts.

What you can do? Send this Zoom call link to journalists heading environmental news locally and nationally. Every nation in the world needs to be onboard knowing how our shared resource and lifeline is at risk. It’s not only the prospect of deep-sea mining that worries scientists today, but existing activities such as offshore oil exploitation and natural gas drilling need to be part of the conversation.

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Microplastics aren’t just polluting the sea. They are polluting us. 

Plastics from dollar store products, packaging for our every day lives and industry have been a problem for decades, and the more scientists learn about plastic pollution the more serious the problems are shown to be for the environment and the health of all living things.

Today there are about 380 million tons of plastic produced each year, a similar weight to all the people on earth. At the same time, it is estimated that only 60% of that production gets landfilled, burned, or recycled.  The rest of the plastic production ends up somewhere in the environment. Like in our bodies. 

Consider that one study found that bottled water contained an average of 10,000 microplastic particles per liter.  The researchers concluded that the source for the microplastic particles was composed of PP and PET, which are major ingredients of bottle caps. The problem of microplastics in bottled waters is widespread geographically.

Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), a non-profit organization of physicians and public health professionals, is releasing its newly published research report on the dangers of plastics and microplastics to the environment and to health. Green Prophet offers you the link the report here. Links to PDF. 

The report calls for sweeping policy initiatives that need to be enacted by international, federal, state, and city governments, as well as calling on corporations to institute new policies that will better protect the public from harmful plastic and microplastic exposures. Some consider the surge in Covid due to microplastic exposure. 

Plastic formulations include numerous additives, often toxic substances, that are incorporated to give the plastic products their desired characteristics. In addition, plastics can absorb an endless number of chemicals and harbor microbes, both of which can be harmful to plants, wildlife, and humans. They are in cosmetics, shampoo and microplastics get ejected from our clothing in the washing machine. 

Forget about BPA. That’s the smaller problem.

Large plastic items – like bottles, food packaging and bags – break down into microplastics, that are tiny bits of plastic smaller than a grain of rice, and sometimes even much smaller than that.

There is probably no other contaminant as abundant as microplastics or one so widely distributed in the global environment. Because of their small size they are found in fruits, vegetables, in water, in beer and even our salt. That’s why many people buy pink salt from the Himalayas to avoid ingesting more plastic. 

How this affects health varies with the size. We know that fish eat microplastics and big fish and large birds eat large pieces of plastic.  Whales have been found to die from eating too many plastic bags. Plastic fish netting entangles marine life, often killing turtles, seals, and other large marine animals.

Gaboury Benoit, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Chemistry, Yale University, Member of EHHI, and author of the report, explained, “Almost 500 scientific studies were reviewed in the writing of this report, and they show that each of us ingests and inhales millions of microscopic plastic particles each year. 

Microplastics carry chemical additives and coatings as well as potentially pathogenic microbes. Disturbingly, their impact on human health is not yet known.”

Plastics in your fetus

Hugh Taylor, M.D. Chair of Yale’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and member of EHHI said, “Exposures to microplastics is perhaps most concerning during pregnancy.  Microplastics are found in the placenta and can cross the placenta.  The developing fetus is particularly vulnerable to toxic exposures. Pregnant women should avoid plastics as much as possible and our legislators should prioritize protecting them.”

“Dr. Taylor’s observations concerning microplastics, made from the vantage point of the Chair of Yale’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, are extremely important, given the long term and multigenerational actions of some of these chemicals, and the fact that microplastics are extensively distributed through food and water which creates a threat to future generations,” said David Brown, Sc.D., toxicologist and member of EHHI.

In laboratories researchers working with microplastics have found that they cause irritation and inflammation of the digestive tract. Microplastics also trigger toxic responses in human cells and model organisms. The possibility that these findings translate into animal and human health effects are yet to be fully researched and determined.

People routinely ingest microplastics when eating food and drinking beverages. They inhale microplastics by breathing indoor and outdoor air.

Because almost all microplastics come from the breakdown of larger plastic items, it is impossible to control the amount of microplastics without reducing or stopping the production of plastic. A single plastic water bottle can break down into many trillions of microplastic particles.

“We need to stop plastic production at its source. This will take international agreements between nations, regulations in the United States at all levels of governments, and include the cooperation of industry and the efforts of individual citizens,” said Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health, Inc.

A solution? Go plastic free if you can. Lobby. Support research for plastic alternatives. Buy products that last. Avoid Dollar Store throwaways. Buy clothes made to last, made from natural fibers.

Read the report so you can be armed with facts, and not just opinions. 

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Bluewater, a world leading water purification technology and solutions leader, today called on global energy, finance and environment ministers attending the UN’s Climate Conference in Madrid to take a powerful approach to tackling water quality issues that are spurring sales of polluting single-use plastic bottles of water.

“We urgently need a ‘can do’ approach by the world’s governments to address the issues of water quality that are driving people in rich and poorer countries alike to distrust municipal water and instead purchase bottled water, which often is packaged in single-use plastic containers,” said Bengt Rittri, founder and chief executive of Bluewater.

A Swedish environmental entrepreneur, Mr. Rittri noted how a report by the Center for International Law (CIEL) estimating the cradle-to-grave impact of plastic concluded that plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and the climate emergency at every stage of its lifecycle, from production to refining, its use and how it is managed as a waste product.

UN Environment says one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world with most, according to a recent study from the Veolia Group, ending up in landfill or environments like the oceans where they pose a grave threat to the marine life.

The UN has warned that the planet is on course for more than a three-degree spike in global temperature over pre-industrial levels even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Ahead of the Madrid gathering, the UN said the global warming would lead to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts that would bring mass extinctions and make large parts of the planet uninhabitable.

“Governments must supercharge their efforts across the board to adopt cleaner technologies at an ever faster pace that can deal with issues such as poor water quality and help turn the tide on single-use plastics and other non-sustainable products that threaten the world’s health and economy,” said Mr Rittri.

A recent study by a team of researchers at Bangor University, UK, found plastic outnumbers baby fish by seven to one in waters off Hawaii. The study also discovered microplastic particles in the stomachs of commercially fished species such as swordfish.

Bluewater has won global acclaim for its compact water purifiers for residential, business and public dispensing that remove chemicals, toxic metals, pharmaceutical residues, and micro-plastics from tap water. Bluewater hydration stations today are used at global sporting, musical and other events taking a stand against single use plastic bottles, from the UK’s The Open golf tournament to the Cape Town Marathon. Fashion brands are also leading with marketing eco-awareness.

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Sharm el-Sheikh already relies on solar power for 70 percent of its lighting, but the Egyptian government wants to improve this figure even more.

The Governor of South Sinai, Khaled Fouda, has indicated that Sharm el-Sheikh hopes to be fully powered by solar energy within the next three months.

Last week Egypt launched a new power plant generated by solar energy in Siwa in the  west of the country.

The move towards alternative energy sources has been a growing trend by the Egyptian government due to an energy shortfall within the country.

Egypt has been facing an energy crisis for years. It aims to build solar power plants and wind energy facilities within the next three years, with a capacity of generating 4,300 megawatts.

Egypt has also signed an agreement with Russia that will assist in the building of a nuclear power plant.

Sharm el-Sheikh will host a major investment summit from 13th-15th March with hopes that there will be investments to help Egypt’s economy.

The government recently said that it expects to start signing deals for solar PV projects at the conference.

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There’s been a revolution in Iran, and we’re not talking about the one that resulted in overthrowing the Shah in 1979! The latest one involves an Irish environmentalist and surfing champion, and her mission to bring the sport to Iran, and its women.

When a young boy stood on the beach in a fishing village in one of Iran’s least known areas, and saw three women catching waves, it was the first time he had seen females surfing. Actually, it was the first time he’d seen anyone surfing! One of them was Easky Britton. We featured her first visit to Iran before, but now there is a documentary about her incredible mission to introduce surfing to Iran.

A passionate environmentalist, Easkey started surfing when she was just four years old. She first came to Iran in 2010, her curiosity and attraction to the unknown taking her to a remote and dangerous part of the country that even many Iranians don’t travel to: Balochistan. Marion Poizeau, a French film maker came with her, and created a short video about Easkey being the first woman in Iran to surf. It quickly drew media attention.

In 2013, after hearing lots of positive of feedback from Iranians about this new sport, the pair returned to make a documentary. With Marion’s passion for film-making and Easkey’s thirst for surf, the two were an inspiring combination. Into the Sea follows the journey of Easkey, Iranian snowboarder Mona and Iranian diver Shalha, who are introducing surfing to Iran. The film was a project based around an objective of sharing a passion for surfing in the country, and at the same time making it accessible to everyone, including women.

“Scariest little corner of the world”

Iran has a lot to offer, but it’s never really been a country renowned for its beaches or its surf. Many people haven’t even heard of Balochistan.  It’s rarely mentioned in guidebooks. Poor life expectancy, high poverty levels and low rates of adult literacy; the picture hasn’t been a rosy one for this remote area that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.  In fact The New York Times branded Baluchistan as “The scariest little corner of the world.” But with vast stretches of empty, crowd-free beaches, for Easkey it meant a “guaranteed adventure in a little-understood country.”

Making waves in the local community

Easky and Marion ended up in the city of Chabahar, and the the small village of Ramin just to the east of the city. From her first visit Easkey wore a hijab and full-length wetsuit in the water. She wanted to challenge perceptions about women and sport, but was also careful to respect the local culture and Islamic religion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD6VV2HDjB0

Marion who was filming the experiences said that the support they received touched her deeply: “We had a sit-down with the elders and the tribesmen. We drank tea for about three hours with them. They spelled out the rules: women surfers must cover their hair and separate surfing lessons would be given for men and women. After that, we were under their protection.”

The enthusiasm of the Balochi people was overwhelming, but it was apparent there was a long way to go. Easkey at times has struggled to accept how much local women were kept in the background; how invisible they seemed. In Chabahar, despite the positive reaction by the local community, Shalha expressed her uncertainty about whether the local women would be allowed to surf or swim in the future. When she and Mona asked local women if they wanted to go surfing, they declined. Shalha explained that “It looked like they wanted to go, but they weren’t allowed.”

But surfing has empowered the women of Balochistan in some way. For Easkey, introducing surfing to them has meant that Balochi women and girls no longer on the sidelines. “What’s most inspiring, is the enthusiasm and vision of the young people here, with young women making an important, change making role, leading the way in a new frontier sport,” she said.

Surfing into the future

Into the Sea, screened in Tehran and London, has been critically acclaimed. Marion said: “This film is a message of tolerance and shows that by following our passion we can create nice stories even in unexpected places like Balochistan. It’s a great perspective of a beautiful story that is still ongoing.”

In September 2014, Easkey, Mona, Shalha and Marion went back to Balochistan and put on more surf classes. They created the group “We surf in Iran” where Iranians – both male and female – from all around the country went to participate in classes. Next the women hope to establish an Iranian national federation of surf and be able to organize international events and encourage foreigners to experience the region, one that the Easkey and Marion now consider a second home.

For more information on where to watch the film visit: http://www.x-tremevideo.com/films/into-the-sea/

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When we talk about global carbon fixation in the context of climate change “pumping” carbon out of the atmosphere and fixing it into organic molecules by photosynthesis – proper measurement is key to understanding this process.

By some estimates, almost half of the world’s organic carbon is fixed by marine organisms called phytoplankton – single-celled photosynthetic organisms that account for less than one percent of the total photosynthetic biomass on Earth.

Algal blooms are good

Assaf Vardi, a marine microbiologist of the Weizmann Institute’s Plant Sciences Department, and Prof. Ilan Koren, a cloud physicist, and Yoav Lehahn, an oceanographer, both from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, realized that by combining their interests, they might be able to start uncovering the role that these minuscule organisms play in regulating the carbon content of the atmosphere.

Green slime. Red tide. Brown scum: Tiny and “ugly” as they are, phytoplankton can be seen from space: They multiply in blooms that can reach thousands of kilometers in area, coloring patches of the ocean that can be tracked and measured by satellites.

These blooms have a tendency to grow quickly and disappear suddenly. How much carbon does such a bloom fix, and what happens to that carbon when the bloom dies out? That depends, in part on what kills the bloom.

If it is mostly eaten by other marine life, for example, its carbon will be passed up the food chain. If the phytoplankton are starved or infected with viruses, however, the process is more complicated. Dead organisms that sink may take their carbon to the ocean floor with them. But others may be scavenged by certain bacteria the surface waters; these remove the organic carbon and release it back into the atmosphere through their respiration.

Algal patches fix as much carbon as rainforests

The scientists estimated that an algal patch of around 1,000 sq km – which forms within a week or two – can fix around 24,000 tons of organic carbon – equivalent to a similar area of rain forest.

Since a viral infection can rapidly wipe out an entire bloom, the ability to observe and measure this process from space may greatly contribute to understanding and quantifying the turnover of carbon cycle and its sensitivity to environmental stress conditions, including marine viruses.

See related: Red Tide in Sinai Treats Blindness

Vardi, Koren and Lehahn asked whether one can use the satellite data to detect the signs of the demise of a bloom due to viral infection, an occurrence that Vardi has investigated in natural oceanic blooms and in the lab. During a recent research cruise near Iceland with colleagues from Rutgers University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the researchers were able to collect data on the algal-virus interactions and their effect on carbon cycles in the ocean.

Studying viruses and algal blooms

By combining satellite data with their field measurements, they were able, for the first time, to measure the effect of viruses on phytoplankton blooms on large, open ocean areas. To do this, the scientists first had to identify a special subset of ocean patches in which such physical processes as currents did not affect the blooms – so they could observe just the biological effects.

Then, following a bloom in one of these patches, they managed to trace its whole life cycle. This enabled them to quantify the role of viruses in the demise of this particular bloom. Their conclusions were verified in data collected in a North-Atlantic research expedition.

The post How freak algae blooms can solve climate change appeared first on Green Prophet.

The political news from Egypt doesn’t look promising: Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula appear to be more unsettled than ever, with questions about how the military and police maintain the law of rule. That said, brave travellers are still heading to Sinai, the only place in the world where you can do nothing and feel like you are having the most spiritual experience on Planet Earth.

Maybe it’s because of God’s Mountain, the easy-going good nature of the Bedouin (and their coffee!), or the combination of white sand, turquoise sea and pink and purple mountains, I don’t know. But visiting Sinai will change you.

I have a friend who has been updating her Facebook status with photos from the sparse and simple Ras HaSatan (Head of the Devil) camp along the North border of the Red Sea. But if hash-smoking hippies (if only for a week) and questionable security is not your forte, there are a number of holiday companies organizing very low cost Red Sea coast holidays to Sharm el sheikh. While hotels are not the most ecological way to spend your time in Sinai (I prefer the hut in the sand with hot wind as my air conditioning), all inclusives are a good bet for holiday makers who have a short time, and a fear of security situations.

In my opinion it’s better to go to Sinai to a resort to support the local economy than not go at all. The more tourists that get there to dive and enjoy the sea and desert, the more people of this world can learn about Sinai’s fragile ecosystem, its Bedouin people in dire need of recognition and support, Sinai’s collapsing coral reef, unnoticed oil spills, and animal abuse. It was, after all, a tourist spotter who reported dolphins being kept in a local Sinai swimming pool. Avoid the routine and book your exotic winter holiday to the Middle East.

Photo of Ras Hasatan from Shutterstock

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You’re weightless. You drift over a technicolor landscape of sponges and soft corals. Beams of sunlight filter through glinting swarms of jellyfish and waiting barracuda. You gaze down upon the whorled shell of a leatherback turtle. Trumpet fish tilt towards the lips of an invisible Lois Armstrong as ten thousand blue tang shimmer in the hull of a sunken ship.

No, it isn’t possible to describe this underwater dreamscape. Finding Nemo captures a hint of this cartoonishly real world, as do the films of Jacques Cousteau and David Attenbourgh. But unless you’ve been there, it’s like explaining stars to a blind person or Bach to someone who was born deaf. I’m a fair-weather diver and when I found that I was no longer using my SCUBA gear I decided to give it to away to a friend who lives in Egypt.

But a recent experience snorkeling in the north Atlantic reminded me just how much I miss the sea. I can’t afford a submarine so I was happy to hear that Google is expanding their street view maps to cover parts of the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii and the Philippines.

Could Bahrain’s new artificial reef be next?

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?cbll=-23.442896,151.906584&layer=c&panoid=CWskcsTEZBNXaD8gG-zATA&cbp=13,332.33,,0,11.68&ie=UTF8&ll=-23.442896,151.906584&spn=81.250434,158.554687&t=h&z=3&source=embed&output=svembed&w=425&h=350]

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Despite appeals from Lebanese leaders, Gulf states are advising their citizens not to travel to Lebanon and those already there to leave, thus boding ill for this summer’s tourism industry. Beirut, once known as the Riviera of the Levant, has thrived through turmoil as a place where visitors from the oil-rich states like to spend their summers and a few billion dollars on everything from renting luxurious apartments on the waterfront, to fancy cars, restaurants, clubs and hotels.

But current political turmoil and security developments in Lebanon have forced many Gulf Arabs to cancel their summer bookings or put them off until the situation in the country stabilizes.

On top of that, Beirut has now replaced Abu Dhabi as the most expensive city in the Middle East, according to the new Mercer’s 2012 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey released last week.

To make matters worse, swaths of the country including Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon plunged into darkness as one of the country’s major electric power plants broke down this week. The perpetual electricity crisis caused tempers to boil over this time and protestors blocked main highways across the country with burning tires.

And to add pain to misery, Foreign Policy released a study Monday saying Lebanon was “one of the least stable states in the world.” The country was ranked 45 on the list of most failed states in the world, which is better than the 18th position it received in 2008, but not yet up to its post-2006 war level of 65.

The index ranked countries around the world by their potential for failure based on 12 indicators of state stability, including human flight, security apparatus, and public services.

The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism advertises the country as the “land of golden beaches and stunning mountain landscapes.” That may be, but their Internet page hasn’t been updated since last year. Still, last week they launched a media blitz on international television stations to promote Lebanon.

The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, citing security concerns, have urged their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon, where clashes linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria have left several people dead in recent weeks. Emiratis who were currently in Lebanon were also advised to leave.

Evidence of the rebellion in Syria spilling over into Lebanon was again seen this weekend when gun battles broke out between the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Bab Al-Tabbaneh and the majority Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli.

In the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared, two Palestinians were killed on Monday in clashes with the army. These incidents threaten to drag the country into a deepening security crisis and further summer chaos.

The British Foreign Office issued an advisory back in May against all but essential travel to most parts of the country, but not Beirut. The US State Department has also urged its citizens to completely avoid travel to Lebanon.

But the country long ago gave up on European and Western visitors, relying mainly on the wealthy, jet-setting Gulf Arabs, who appear to be heeding their governments’ advice and quit the country.

Kamal Mohammad, manager of the Dubai-based travel agency Dan Travel, confirmed to The Media Line that bookings to Lebanon were down and trips were being cancelled due to the travel warnings.

“It is only a general trend that usually happens when there is political unrest in the area and this is usually an up-and-down situation,” Mohammad said.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that there was no reason for Arabs to avoid visiting his country and called on Arabs to come and fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Lebanon because “we have to cooperate together to shake up this summer. It’s going to be full of festivals and events that we must support.”

The holy month of Ramada is expected to start in the first week of July and Mohammed said that most of the bookings were Lebanese citizens who wanted to see their families for the holidays.

“Ramadan time is an event for social interaction with family and friends and usually people prefer to postpone their travel plans until Ramadan so that they have time to spend with their families. It is seasonal. It is like the Christmas season,” he said.

Lebanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Adnan Mansour has urged the Gulf countries to review their decisions because the security situation in Lebanon does not require such steps.

Furthermore, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and Hizbullah have struck a deal to shield Lebanon from regional tensions and attempt to preserve tranquility, despite the rising social tensions.

In the southern ancient resort town of Tyre, there was a cautious optimism with the opening of the summer season with crowds swarming the beaches. But many restaurants and cafes have reportedly caved into threats and have decided not to serve alcohol. The popular beaches are still smarting from a series of bombings last year targeting establishments that serve liquor. This predicament certainly isn’t a positive incentive for tourists. An annual international festival has been cancelled this summer.

As it is, beach access in Lebanon is not gratis, and to make matters worse, entry fees have risen by about $3.30 this year. The Daily Star reported that entry to beaches costs between $13 to more than $30 per person, which shows that despite everything, the Lebanese are pinning high hopes on the visits home by wealthy expatriates and Gulf Arabs.

“Gulf citizens mainly travel to Lebanon during the festive season which is after the end of the month of Ramadan so during this three day holiday there will be a whole spectrum of activities night and day so the Gulf region inhabitants usually go to that place to have a sort of vacation after the end of Ramadan,” said Mohammed.

Mohammed said that the political and security unrest was affecting tourism to Lebanon, but he didn’t think it manifested a “major change.”

Teacher Ahmad Aladdine said he and his family are heading to Beirut on July 6 — despite everything.

“Everybody I speak to in Beirut says the situation is ordinary although the country is empty of tourists, unlike the last few years,” Aladdine told Gulf News.

This story is reprinted courtesy of the Middle East news source, The Media Line

Image of Beirut beach from Shutterstock

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