Saving Seas or Feathering His Nest: Will the real Jean-Michel Cousteau please stand up?Powered by CDNN - CYBER DIVER News Network| Shark riding stuntman Jean Michel Cousteau demonstrates why the sequel is never as good as the original... |
Due to high-profile battles with respected international environmental organizations over shark feeding and other eco-issues, the dive industry desperately needs a makeover. Enter Jean-Michel Cousteau, hotel developer slash eco personality who knows a good business opportunity when he sees one. Son of Jacques Cousteau, renowned explorer and environmentalist, Jean-Michel has milked a small fortune out of the family name despite a
bitter court fight with Cousteau Sr., who objected to slapping the family name all over a resort development in Fiji. Now Jean-Michel wants to bring his eco-marketing sideshow to 'interactive' diving, an eco-friendly misnomer dive marketing types use to describe poking, petting, prodding, riding and feeding marine wildlife. According to DEMA, the dive industry marketing association, "Jean-Michel Cousteau has
offered to be the official spokesperson for DEMA..." and "Mr. Cousteau would make himself available exclusively to DEMA for ten (10) days each year to support whatever activities DEMA wishes on behalf of diving." Cousteau's suggested price tag for all this 'good will'? "Wants $100,000+ per year...". Unfortunately for Jean-Michel, DEMA begged poverty and turned down his business
proposition but all was not lost; DEMA's Board of Directors decided that, "DEMA may be able to use him on a project by project basis, such as Project Yukon, the Fish-Feeding initiative, and the L.A. County ordinance" (dare we ask what the Yukon and L.A. County assaults on DEMA were, and how they were resolved?). Go to Saving Seas or Feathering His Nest | 
