The week of 16 to 19 January members of Blue World Foundation presented the project entitled “Participatory Solid Waste Management Initiative” with the Community Development Council of El Quetzalito (COCODE). This was the beginning of this project, which focuses on countering the problem of solid waste affecting the distant community of Izabal. 

With a previous survey in their survey mode, young volunteers contributed by re-digging data to know what kind of management is given to solid waste in each of the households in the community. 

With this first phase we obtained essential data to know how and how to deal with the problem of solid waste in the community and the measures to be taken to solve the problem. This project starts its execution phase in February. 

#KnowandLove

We present the cover of our calendar of species 2018 that will soon be in our files shared on the website of Blue World Foundation.

 We keep what we love, we love what we know, we know what we have been taught. (Baba Dioum).

The calendar 2018 of Blue World Foundation seeks to disseminate the mission of the same in favor of the preservation of sharks. 

The people who use this calendar will be able to know some of the species that exist in the Caribbean of Guatemala, which are unique and have different biological characteristics, in their reproduction and feeding. In this way we will disseminate the importance of these majestic predators to the health of our oceans, because at this pace, many of these species are about to disappear. 

This calendar was made thanks to the effort of the graphic design student of the Universidad Rafael Landívar, Melisa Ortega. 

We also want to thank the photographers who allowed the use of their photographs, Alan C. Egan, Simon Rogerson, Alex St. Jean, Andy Murch, Eduardo Lopez Negrete and Discovery Communications.

Oceans are the soul of the earth and of humanity. They occupy about three quarters of our planet and contain approximately 97% of the planet’s water. Oceans produce more than half of the oxygen by absorbing the carbon found in the atmosphere. 

No matter how far from the shore you live, the health of the oceans affects your life and the life of your family, friends, companions and all the humans who inhabit the Earth. 

The air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, the products that keep you warm, safe, informed and entertaining, all come to you by being transported by the oceans of the world. 

About half of the world’s population lives within the coastal zone, and all ocean productivity-based businesses contribute more than $500 million in the world’s economy. Historically we wanted to adopt the idea that it is impossible to subtract all the renewable resource from the oceans or that it is impossible to fill the oceans of all the global waste, this idea is wrong because today you can notice the consequences of the Human unconsciousness. 

The total number of people using and depending on the ocean and the unsustainable practices that we have adopted have produced overexploitation of marine resources, significantly reducing biodiversity, degrading marine habitats and species in addition to us risking ecosystems from which the survival of humanity depends. 

Environmental awareness is a virtue that is developed and learned. 

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A new species of shark was discovered about 314-384 meters deep in Sotavento, one of the islands of Hawaii. 

The species named, Etmopterus Lailae has an elusive behavior, making it extremely difficult to observe in a wild state. 

Much of this shark’s biodiversity is still unknown because it is very small and lives in very deep waters. This type of shark is bioluminescent which means it glows in the dark. Given this quality, several scenarios have been proposed: it uses its quality to ensure that it mates with the right species, uses it as camouflage and thus defend itself from its predators or uses it as a lure to attract small fish or other prey. 

It is not the first bioluminescent shark that has been discovered until now, but its characteristics differentiate it from other sharks of its type: its head is oddly shaped and has a large, bulging snout where the nostrils and olfactory organs are located , has distinctive side marks that go back and forth over the belly, has fewer teeth and vertebrae than the average shark.

Although for scientists the bioluminescence of this shark is still a mystery, it is a fact that does not take away the brilliance of this interesting discovery.

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How much do you know about the rays? We show you some basics about them. 

1. Rays are fish, although they do not resemble friends with fins in your fishbowl at home, the rays belong to a group of Fish called Elasmobranch. 

1. Around 200 different species of rays have been discovered in total. 

1. The poison of the streaks was used as an anesthetic. Although painful, streak venom is usually not fatal unless the victims are stung in the chest or abdomen. In ancient Greece, the venom was extracted from striped thorns in order to be used as an anesthetic by dentists. 

1. The jaws of the rays can crush the shells of the mollusks. Although the jaws of the rays are cartilaginous, you are strong enough to crush the clam shells and other mollusks. The calcified cartilage in its jaws has several layers of thickness, the softer nuclei of the elements of its jaws are supported by hollow and mineralized struts. This makes the jaws of the rays strong and light at the same time. 

1. Some rays move like waves and others like birds. Most rays swim across the ocean waving their bodies in a wave-like motion. Others depress their sides up and down, giving them the appearance of a bird through their journey into the ocean. 

1. Electric rays are named for their ability to generate and discharge electric currents strong enough to stun their prey or to defend the potential predators that can stalk you. 

1. Rays can vary greatly in size. The smallest ray is the short-nosed electric ray that is approximately 10 cm wide and weighs about 400 g. 

The oceanic blanket is the largest ray that reaches up to 7m in wing length and weighs 2,000 kg.

1. Most shark species drown if they stop moving. White sharks, Mako sharks and salmon sharks (to name a few) do not have the muscles they need to pump water through their mouth and onto their gills. As they continue swimming, the water keeps moving on its gills, keeping them alive. 

1. Sharks’ livers contain a lot of oil. This causes the liver to be a buoyant organ, which helps the sharks to keep the balance in the water. 

1. Sharks do not follow the same routine of three meals a day as humans, they eat when they find food, no matter what time it is. 

1. Surfers are more likely to die from drowning than by a shark attack, but it is true that big white sharks can be confused and feel intrigued by the way of a surfboard. Below the surface, a large white shark could confuse the outline of the board with that of a sea turtle, a seal, a walrus, or a sea lion. 

1. Skeletons of Sharks are made entirely of cartilage, an elastic tissue that is much softer than the bones. When a shark dies, the salt from the ocean water completely dissolves its skeleton, leaving only the shark’s teeth behind. 

1. The eyes of the sharks are on the sides of their heads, so they have an incredibly wide line of sight covering almost 360 degrees. Its panoramic view of the underwater world is inhibited only by two blind spots, one in front of the snout and the other directly behind the head. 

1. Between 30% and 80% of the meat of a shark is made of water. A protein network gives the flesh its structure. 

1. The size of a shark species are defined where they hunt: smaller sharks tend to feed near the bottom of the ocean, and larger sharks hunt in the middle depths and near the surface where they can more easily catch prey Bigger. 

1. When hunting, the sharks stalk their victims, staying far enough away to remain hidden, but close enough to attack when the opportunity arises. 

1. Big white sharks are fussy eaters. Their diet requires a lot of fat, and after a bite a big white shark can determine if the food will satisfy their nutritional needs. If not, the shark will leave the rest and swim away.