Ocean's Giants

For those of you who caught "Ocean Giants", screened in the UK this week, courtesy of the BBC...here is some more footage to inspire your next dive trip!  Diving with Whales is possible in many locations around the world...

These shots aren't from the series, but from a photo shoot with the Giants in Hawaii, 2009...although a little older, images like these don't age!

In the deep blue waters of the South Pacific, cameraman Marco Queral gets up close and personal with a humpback whale. Queral has spent 17 years taking these remarkable pictures and says 'Whales are extremely intelligent. Just like humans, they have their own mind and come with strong personalities'.

'They decide whether I can take pictures of them or not. They must be in a right mood to let me get into this position.'

With a playful flick of his colossal tail Queral could be dead.

But instead this curious, intelligent humpback whale takes a shine to Queral, and the two end up drifting through the seas together.

The astonishing contact between the 50ft king of the ocean and the minuscule human was captured off Hawaii in the South Pacific in 2009.

Queral said the jaw-dropping moment was all down to luck, and little to do with the skills he has mastered over 17 years. He said: 'The success in getting these shots is pretty much always down to the whale.'

To get his spectacular images of marine life the world, South American Marco relies on various tricks to catch the attention of passing creatures.

'Perhaps the most effective and possibly only way to help my photography is to try to stimulate their curiosity.

'Dolphins, for example, sometimes love to hang out with me when I do some acrobats underwater like spinning and turning.

'They get as curious about me as I am about them, and that is the right time to take pictures of them as they show their individual personalities.'

But mammals as large as whales are a different and much more dangerous affair. Marco said: 'Their enormous size itself must be considered as an immediate life-threatening danger.  I must be very cautious when they approach and investigate me.  I believe they are gentle by nature but I am always aware their kind greeting of a tail swing may easily kill me by accident. Also, they are usually more shy and cautious toward humans and boats than dolphins are, perhaps because they are not so accustomed to seeing humans offshore.'

'I think their bashfulness and timidity have been ingrained into their DNA as they have been chased and hunted by humans for centuries.'

3m Great White Shark breaches and lands in Oceans Research boat!

The following report and accompanying photos were provided by Cassie Heil and Oceans Research.

Great white shark in the back of this Oceans Research vessel after breaching into the boat.
(photo courtesy of Oceans Research)

Mossel Bay, South Africa, 18 July 2011:
The Oceans Research team, a marine research organisation working in Mossel Bay, got the surprise of a lifetime today when a 3 meter great white shark breached into their research vessel, shocking a field specialist and her crew.

Field Specialist Dorien Schroder of Mossel Bay, and six crew members had been chumming since 7:30 this morning with sardines off of Seal Island, conducting research for a population dynamics study that has been ongoing for the past three years. They had been chumming for over an hour and had a fair amount of activity around the boat, taking data on at least 4 sharks, including a shark named Pasella, which has been frequently seen in the bay since 2008.

Activity around the boat had ceased for about five minutes and all was pretty quiet at the stern. Schroder describes the incident; Next thing I know I hear a splash, and see a white shark breach out of the water from side of the boat hovering, literally, over the crewmember who was chumming on the boats portside. Schroder automatically sprang into action and pulled the crewmember quickly away towards the stern of the boat’s platform into safety. The crewmembers all jumped towards the stern of the boat as the 3m, 500kg, shark landed on the top of the fuel and bait storage containers. The shark had landed with only half of its body onto the boat and Schroder and her team hoped that as it thrashed it would make its way back into the water. But instead the panicked shark worked itself into the boat getting stuck in between the 1.5x2m area behind the container and boats stern. The shark began thrashing around, destroying equipment and cutting the fuel lines as it twisted and turned on the boats deck.

In the meantime, Schroder was able to calm her stressed crew and direct them to walk along the railing towards the bow of the boat to safety. Schroder immediately radioed Enrico Gennari, and Ryan Johnson, both Directors of Oceans and world renowned shark scientists about the incident. Gennari and Johnson quickly assembled a team as they raced to assist Schroder and her crew. Schroder then began pouring water over the shark’s gills consistently until Johnson, Gennari, and their crew of field specialists Riley Elliott and Rob Lewis arrived 15 minutes later. They immediately pulled their boat Lamnidae, alongside the vessel Cheetah, and climbed aboard. Once aboard they made sure that no one was injured, all crew members were safe, and the environment was secure before working their best to figure out how to get the shark back into the water quickly and safely. Johnson and Gennari secured a rope around the tail of the shark and tied the other side of the rope to the vessel Lamindae and attempted to use the side of the boat as leverage to tow the shark out of the boat into the water but were unsuccessful. They then tried this method again using Lamnidae to tow the shark off the platform through the opening in between the motors, but both methods failed. Port authority was then contacted regarding the incident and was requested to assist in getting a crane so that the 500kg shark could be safely lifted off of the boat and released. Since the fuel lines in the vessel had been cut by the shark, Lamnidae had to tow Cheetah back from the island into the harbour with the shark still onboard.

Scientists work to help rescue the trapped white shark.
(photo courtesy of Oceans Research)

Once back in the harbour, Cheetah moored next to a fishing boat and they assisted giving the crew a water hose which was immediately placed inside the mouth of the shark so that water could further ventilate the gills. The Smit Lombok then moored alongside Cheetah and they connected one of their large lifting hooks to the rope which was secured to the shark’s tail and began to lift the shark off of the boat and into the water. The shark immediately began thrashing as soon as it hit the water and Johnson and Gennari quickly cut the ropes as the shark swam away from the stern, and underneath the Smit Lombok. The shark was then seen swimming towards the harbor mouth.

The Oceans team had hoped that the shark would be able to orient itself out of the harbour however about 30 minutes later the shark had beached itself onto a small beach inside the harbour. Enrico Gennari and Ryan Johnson returned to aid the shark in its orientation by physically trying to walk it however the shark was unable to orient itself and again veered towards the beach. The team of scientists then decided to fasten the shark to Lamnidae using two ropes attached to both the tail and behind the pectoral fins with the sharks head tilted upwards in order to ventilate the gills properly and slowly made their way out of the harbor. About one kilometer from the harbor the shark began to regain its orientation and strength and as the ropes were cut the shark powerfully swam away.

When working with animals this large you have to take every precaution possible to ensure the safety of the scientists and sharks. However, it is impossible to predict everything that can happen. What is important is how you respond to such situation. No one was injured and the shark survived, this is a credit to our team, the port authorities and members of the community who assisted.

Dive Adventures: Britain By Snorkel with Andy Torbet

To all those divers in the UK this summer who fancy engaging in something a little different, why not join Andy Torbet on one of his "Britain By Snorkel" adventures. 

For those of you who don't know Andy, he is an all round adventurer, but he particularly loves diving. He started diving at the age of 12 and has been at it ever since; from diving operations in the forces to commercial diving, technical diving, caves, deep diving as well as visiting many reefs across the world.

This summer he is touring "Britain by Snorkel", leaving his mountain of cave, trimix and rebreather diving equipment at home and striking out around the UK with just a snorkel and a smile. 

He will be visiting locations from Cape Wrath to Lands End and hopes to swim with sharks, seals and otters, freedive through flooded mines, swim into shipwrecks, high altitude lakes, low altitude lakes, rivers, rapids, waterfalls, caves, canals, offshore islands, night snorkelling, some classic shore dives and more. 

The tour has only just started and will be kicking off in earnest in the next week or so.  Plenty of time to plan a trip to get involved or watch from the shore...alternatively, you can stay totally dry and just follow all of the news and see all the photo's on his blog here.

Trip Report: Sardine Run 2011

Trip Report: Sardine Run 2011
Brought to you by ApexPredators:

The Sardine Run takes place most years along the east coast of South Africa. Although the sardines do not migrate they do follow the current as it pushes further north east at this time of the year, creating a feeding corridor for marine predators between Port Elizabeth and Port St Johns.

This movement of a huge bio mass of potential food is vital to a whole variety of predators. It provides 9 month old Common dolphin their first big feed and up to 15 000 common dolphins can make up of various mega pods as they frequent this area. Bronze whalers, dusky and black tip sharks also drop their pups in this area to give them the greatest chance to feed. Up to 180,000 Cape gannets also benefit from this mass feeding event and if you are very very lucky divers may even glimpse a brydes whale as it lunge feeds on a bait ball that has so nicely been worked by the dolphin.

A lot has to go right to even have the privileged opportunity to dive in a bait ball feeding event. The current needs to have worked its way up the coast, ideally the water temp needs to be 17 C. You have to pick to right location to have the activity taking place within rubber duck range, you have to have good weather and as with everything you need to have a good experienced team guiding you. This sounds like risky business but if you strike it lucky the rewards are huge and you will find yourself experiencing the most exhilarating nature experience.

Apex had employed the expertise of Mark Addison and our group was the first boat out on The Sardine Run this year. After day 3 we all started to be a little concerned. Day 1 was spent being pounded out at sea in a very exposed rubber duck. We were soaked by the end of the day, and not due to diving. On Day 2 there were a few signs of activity with dolphin and gannets in the area, although no sign of the sardines. Day 3 was bad weather… So, things were not looking good but we had a fantastic group of people with us who were very understanding with a lot of laughs to go with it.

The highlight from Day 2 is well worth mentioning. We came across a humpback whale that was swimming very close to a school of bottlenose dolphin. As we approached we could see there was some interaction between the two so we quickly lined up in the water ahead of the whale. To our immense surprise the humpback swam straight towards us with two bottlenose dolphins just to the left and right of its head. It appeared as if the dolphin were herding the whale and I am certain that the two species were playing with each other. It was a truly beautiful sight and definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Mark had told us that the bad weather could just be what we needed to change the conditions. Heading out on Day 4 we knew it could go either way. The immediate change we saw was 3 times the amount of cape gannets. They were all mostly rafting on the water but it was a good sign as we headed further south.
After about 10 kms from our launch site the engines on the rubber duck suddenly kicked into over drive as Mark & Chris spotted was we were looking for, Gannets diving! Things happened really fast once we arrived in the area as dive kit was thrown on and we were all yelled at to get in as quick as possible!

I felt quite stunned at the first sight I saw. It was a large sardine bait ball that was being neatly herded by dolphin and the dusky and bronze whaler sharks from below. Sardines use the school as a defence, the safety in numbers theory. They also do better in their escape from predators deeper below but the dolphins try their best to school the sardines to the surface. They do this by sonar stunning them and blowing bubble curtains.
Once the dolphins school the sardines the various species of sharks are able to rush the ball and catch what they can. When both dolphin and sharks go into the ball, the ball itself parts like a curtain and despite the carnage it is actually a beautiful sight to behold. The first ball we had was large so although there was a huge amount going on the energy did not quiet reach fever pitch. After a while the dolphin and sharks stopped working the ball and it was all over.

Just as we come up Mark spotted another bait ball in progress which we yet again raced over to at great speed. This one was a little smaller and had both dolphin and sharks working it. Added to this a big (as in size as well) surprise was on its way to us…a brydes whale. This was the first time I have ever seen a brydes whale underwater so the excited scream through my snorkel was pretty loud! This animal was so fast and came blitzing past us like a freight train. In a few gulps the ball was gone. This was just a mind blowing thing to see and I can still feel my excitement as I sit here writing.


I guess diving in a bait ball that is being attacked by all sides by such a variety of predators is a risky thing to do. However, I never felt threatened by the sharks, they were just pretty intent on what they were doing and only gave the divers an occasional inspection. The dolphins were unfazed by our presence and we got amazing views of their hunting prowess. I tell you what though, sometimes you can’t help moving into the ball either as it moves towards you suddenly or the current takes you in. When that happens you are left with a very unsettling feeling while you imagine that huge open mouth of the brydes whale as he completely swallows the ball. In all seriousness, being swallowed by a whale was by far the biggest risk!

After having 2 very good bait balls we felt our trip was more than a success. We still had 2 days left and although the next day was quiet we managed to finish the last day on a major high by finding and diving with another 3 fabulous balls.

One ball actually spit into 2 and we dived on them for 2 hours. The balls were smaller and the action was much more frantic. The sardines were trying to use us for cover and the dolphin and sharks would flash by with great bursts of speed in pursuit of them. Sometimes the action would quieten down and then pick up again as the dolphin stepped it up a notch. These ebbs and flows persisted until it was all gone and the scales of the sardines were left drifting down to the depths below.

Another amazing event we came across was a “shark bait ball”. Normally the dolphins do all the hard work and the sharks are able to benefit from their balling. From afar I spotted a brydes whale spouting, on closer inspection the sea was a froth of disturbance as about 30 bronze whalers and large dusky sharks were working a very small bait ball on the surface. I am not sure how rare this is but it is only the third time Mark has seen it. The brydes whale had also picked up on the activity so we all knew it was biding its time before stealing the ball. Everything was happening really fast and people were anxious to get in. I jumped over board first with Espen and although the brydes whale was my main concern we were suddenly surrounded by a feeding frenzy of sharks! It was manic, there is just no other way to describe it. Within 10 seconds the whole boat was screaming at us to get back on board. The sharks did nothing to us but we really did put ourselves is a bad situation. It was a good thing we could just laugh about it afterwards and nothing worse than that!
Shortly after we were back in the boat the brydes came through the ball 3 times. Not only was that the end of the bait ball but also very sadly the end of our Sardine Run.

To end off I have to say that our experiences underwater on The Sardine Run rate as one of the most intense and exciting wildlife experiences I have had. When it comes to predatory behaviour in wildlife you are either on a boat watching or watching safely from a car. Here, you are in the ball and part of the activity. As with most wild animals, the various predators here, and prey, were very accepting of our presence and I take it as a great privilege to have been able to witness and be a part of this. I for one can’t wait for 2012 Sardine Run! 

Citizen Science: A nice round up where we are in the Battle to Save Earth's Sharks

There has been loads of press over recent weeks and months regarding 

new Shark Fin legislation in the US and with the re-launch of Project Aware 

and its focus on Shark Population Depletion as a focus for how Divers can 

protect the Ocean environment, this is a nice round up of where we are:

Battle to Save Earth’s Sharks

by Jaki Teo 

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Courtesy of Shawn Heinrichs

Here at the Farallon Islands, 27 miles west of the famous bridge that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean, some of the world’s largest great white sharks can be seen as they fill up on a hearty buffet of elephant seals and sea lions. Cage diving in the Farallons is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the battle between life and death as blubberous pinnipeds struggle to escape the jaws of nature’s perfect predator. An hour away, back in San Francisco, a different battle is being fought with regard to the great whites — a battle that very well might determine the fate of their entire species.

The idea that shark fin was a delicacy originated in the south of China some 500 years ago, when provincial officials sought out the rarest of creatures for the imperial dinner table to laud the rulers of the Ming dynasty (and secure a nice promotion). Bear paw, camel hump, gorilla lips and shark fin were part of an average Sunday brunch for the Emperor, and the rich and powerful soon adopted the royal dining catalog as a way to overstate their social standing to the general populace.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, where advances in maritime and fishing technologies have made it easy to land shark. Shark fin now floods the Asian seafood market, and the general populace scrambles to cement their nouveau riche status, ordering anything they can afford — from bowls of juvenile blue-shark fin to a tian jiu stew containing the meter-long dorsal fin of a whale or basking shark.

“Sharks are being killed at unsustainable levels,” said Michael Skoletsky, executive director of Shark Savers (sharksavers.org), a nonprofit organization founded by divers. “Excessive overfishing has resulted in one-third of sharks and rays being listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as threatened or near threatened with extinction. Many shark populations have been depleted by up to 90 percent.”

Whale sharks, basking sharks and even the mighty great white are now vulnerable to extinction, with scalloped hammerheads officially reaching endangered status. Sharks are slow-growing, taking years to reach reproductive maturity — 30 years for whale sharks and 15 for great whites — and they birth very few off- spring at a time. With fishing occurring at unprecedented levels worldwide, shark populations are at a breaking point.

Deadly Catch
While the trade in species like whale sharks and great whites is restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the trade in other species remains unregulated. A startling majority of sharks consumed today are caught by foreign fishing fleets in developing or Third World countries — legally or illegally — in both international seas and national marine sanctuaries.

In his high-profile exposé series, Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, the celebrity chef documented Taiwanese fishing operations flagrantly disregarding anti-shark-finning laws in Costa Rica, processing boatfuls of shark fin within their fortified private docks. Closer to home, the United States Coast Guard estimates that more than 50,000 sharks are poached from American waters annually, as Mexican fishermen move out from their overfished waters.

The black market for shark fin not only drives fishermen to break laws, but in the case of many poorer communities, also encourages them to exchange the long-term sustainability of their local resources for a “quick fix.” In fact, the illegal shark-fin trade is similar to the drug trade, often involving criminal organizations that control the harvest and trafficking of shark fins across international borders.

Cheap and easy to use, longline fishing is common for shark-fishing fleets. A longline can be up to 60 miles long and, armed with thousands of baited hooks, catch anything from sharks and tuna to turtles and albatross. A single longline is capable of wiping out an entire school of hammerheads, as was seen with pirate vessels in the Galapagos National Park providing a graphic demonstration in the 2007 documentary Sharkwater.

Once hauled onto dock, a shark might be brought to market whole, but more often than not, has its fins sliced off and its body thrown overboard to suffer a slow, agonizing death by suffocation, blood loss or being eaten alive. An incredible amount of wastage occurs in a shark-fin fishery, with fishermen discarding about 95 percent of each shark and storing only the lucrative fins.

“The most comprehensive study of the fin trade estimates that up to 73 million sharks are killed annually,” explains Skoletsky. “That figure is several times the total shark catch worldwide reported to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. This suggests that most sharks are being killed just for their fins, with their carcasses never making it to shore to be included in fishery reports.”

Despite its unsustainability, cruelty, wastefulness and often just plain illegality, shark finning continues to be one of the most heinous crimes against nature committed in the name of gastronomy. Thankfully, while shark-fin consumption is on the rise, the movement against shark finning is also gathering steam.

Saving Sharks
The first major act of international shark conservation came in 2009 from Palau, which created the world’s first Shark Sanctuary by banning commercial shark fishing in its waters. Raja Ampat, in Indonesia, followed suit a year later.

The war against shark finning officially arrived in the United States in July 2010, when Hawaii became the first U.S. state to legally protect sharks by enacting a ban on shark-fin possession. Dismissing claims that shark fin was central to Chinese culture, half-Chinese, half- Hawaiian senator Clayton Hee called it the culinary equivalent to ivory.

Earlier this year, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the Republic of the Marshall Islands subsequently introduced legislation (based on the Hawaii bill) to prohibit shark-fin possession, with Shark Savers looking to help more Pacific nations do the same.

“As apex predators, sharks have a profoundly positive impact on maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems. Research indicates that shark eradication can result in the loss of other marine species further down the food chain and degradation of coral reefs,” said Skoletsky, highlighting the importance of shark conservation for regions dependent on marine resources and dive tourism.

Similar bills have been introduced in California, Oregon and Washington, but not yet passed (as of this writing). According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, California is one of the largest markets for shark fin outside of Asia, with San Diego and Los Angeles having two of the highest numbers of shark-fin imports within the United States.

“Current laws that ban the practice of shark finning are insufficient when we have species of sharks depleted up to 90 percent,” said California assemblyman Paul Fong, an American-born Chinese who introduced bill AB-376. “It is time to remove shark fin from the menu.”

Divers Speak Out
Removing shark fin from the menu was exactly what the Las Vegas Hilton did in response to a walkout and letter-writing campaign organized by delegates at the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association trade show last November. Witnessing the degradation of coral reefs and the loss of vital species over the years, the dive community has rallied, becoming the most vocal advocates of the anti-shark-fin cause.

“The ocean and its sharks need the support of the diving industry,” said Wayne Brown, CEO of the Aggressor Fleet, a sponsor of Shark Savers. “As divers, we actually experience the undersea world and come to know its beauty.” And while dive-industry stakeholders like the Aggressor and Dancer fleets, Aqua Lung and Suunto show support through corporate sponsorships, divers are also doing their part, having sent more than 56,000 signatures to the Project AWARE Foundation’s petition for global shark protection.

A point often neglected by shark-fin proponents is that the anti-shark-fin movement isn’t just occurring in the Western world. Supporters of the Project AWARE petition include divers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. Last year, WildAid’s anti-shark-fin billboard campaign in China featuring Shanghai-born, NBA Houston Rockets star Yao Ming received a positive response, and through my work I have met hundreds of Chinese who have sworn off shark fin.

The international shark-fin trade is prolific and established, so while recent developments are encouraging, the battle is far from over. Thousands of finning vessels continue to ply the oceans, and restaurant-goers continue to order shark fin. There’s still much work to be done on legislation, enforcement and education.

Watching these amazing great whites here in the Farallons, I cannot accept the trade-off between an irreplaceable species and an unnecessary kitchen ingredient, and especially not in the name of culture or tradition. As Yao Ming wrote in an e-mail to The New York Times, “How do you maintain this so-called tradition when one day there is no shark to be finned?” Culinary trends will come and go, but extinction is forever.

5 Easy Ways to Help Save Sharks
1. Never order shark fin or support establishments that sell or serve them. If you find yourself in a restaurant that serves shark fin, inform the manager politely about the issues involved before leaving.
2. Choose to dive in regions that have shark-protection legislation. When other countries or regions see an incentive in protecting sharks, they will be more likely to follow suit.
3. Sign the Project Aware Foundation’s “Help Give Sharks a Fighting Chance” petition at projectaware.org/givesharksachance.
4. Join the Shark Savers Facebook page to keep up to date on current support actions in the U.S. and worldwide at Facebook.com/sharksavers.
5. Show your support for the bill banning shark fin in states, like California, Washington and Oregon, by writing to your senator and requesting a state-wide ban of shark fin.

Dive Spot & Dive Trip: Divequest Launches Two Custom-Designed Trips to Indonesia for Photographers

Martin Edge

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For divers interested in underwater photography, Divequest has planned two incredible new Indonesian trips that are tailored-made for photographers. Both trips offer unparalleled opportunities to not only shoot some of the most photogenic dive spots on the planet, but also learn tricks of the trade from two world-class photographers.

Damsels and Dragons with Mustard
Dates: Sunday, September 18th to Saturday, October 1st 2011

This trip features a 12-night cruise to Komodo and Rinca aboard the liveaboard Indo Siren. The cruise will be led by world-famous photographer and marine biologist, Dr. Alex Mustard. The trip has been specifically planned for the benefit of underwater photographers, and guests will get to visit dive sites not available on standard Komodo cruises. The cruise is also longer than standard charters, so guests will have time to reap the photographic benefits. The plan is to find sites that are really hot, and then stay there and dive them repeatedly. With such a richness of subjects, one dive is never enough on the best sites in Komodo. The trip is also timed for the dark phase of the moon, which many critter-lovers believe always leads to the richest sightings.

Underwater photographer and marine biologist, Dr Alex Mustard will lead this trip, drawing on his extensive experience across Indonesia. There will be no formal photographic teaching during the trip, but Alex will always be on hand to give informal advice on underwater photography techniques and information on the marine life.

For more details on this trip, visit Damsels and Dragons with Mustard

The Raja Ampat Photoquest
Dates: Friday, November 2nd to Sunday, November 18th 2012

The Raja Ampat Photoquest will take guests to the world-renowned Misool Eco Resort in the Raja Ampat Islands, where professional photographer Martin Edge and his wife Sylvia will provide hands-on tutorials and presentations for guests looking to enhance their photo skills. The Photoquest isn’t about how much you know about photography, how much equipment you use or even how much experience you have. It’s about shooting wonderful images, achieving your potential and, ultimately, having fun. Being amongst a group of like-minded friends who are also eager to improve their photography is a huge advantage over taking a trip with the general diving public.

Martin and Sylvia have worked with Divequest from its inception and have many years of experience developing the most stimulating, rewarding and enjoyable trips. Your photography skills will be propelled towards that ultimate, perfect underwater image. Martin is a great underwater photographer, for sure, but what really drives him and stimulates his interest more than anything else is teaching others. Little wonder that Martin’s students refer to him as their “guru!”scubadiving.com

Science & Technology: Google Earth Shows Marine Prey and Predator Interactions

Source: SCUBA News

Watching Google Earth over time could show the effects of predator removal, such as through fishing, nearly anywhere on Earth, according to a study published this week in Scientific Reports.

A Google Earth image survey of the lagoon habitat at Heron Island within Australia’s Great Barrier Reef revealed distinct halo patterns within algal beds surrounding patch reefs. Underwater surveys confirmed that, as predicted, algal canopy height increases with distance from reef edges. This was due to herbivore grazing. In conjunction with behaviour studies, this shows that the actions the herbivores collectively took to avoid predators could be seen from space. Watching this over time provides and amazingly low cost way of monitoring the effects of predators. And indeed of the herbivores.

Freely-available satellite imagery of the entire Earth’s surface via Google Earth allows examination of landscape features in even the most remote areas, including difficult-to-access habitats within them. But the study has shown that it is possible to remotely observe the landscape-scale footprint of behavioural interactions between predators and prey on shallow coral reefs.

Grazing halos—rings of bare substrate devoid of seaweed—have long been noted surrounding coral patch reefs. Halos have been attributed to fish or urchins, suggesting that they shelter from predators within reefs and take foraging excursions that radiate outwards from this central refuge.

The study concludes that the technique could allow remote monitoring of indirect effects of predator removals (e.g., due to fishing; hunting) and/or reintroductions (e.g., North America’s wolves; India’s cheetahs; African game reserves) anywhere on earth. In nations with limited conservation resources, this technique may prove particularly valuable.

Dive Spot: New UK Wreck Dive for 2011...The Coronation Trail, Plymouth

Coronation trail prompts large response
Source: Divernet

Divers have been travelling from far and wide to dive a new trail which opened on the protected 17th century Coronation warship wreck off Plymouth, Devon in mid-April.

Even before the trail’s opening, some 450 divers from 55 clubs
had registered to dive the site this year. And it looks as though news of the opening has led to an even greater number of divers keen to explore the site.

“There's been such a fantastic response to the opening of the trail,” Visitor Licensee Mark Pearce tells Divernet. “We had 194 divers and 20 groups in May, and have recruited more diver guides from the local community to help us share the load.

“One group moaned that their dive organizer had made a big mistake in booking just one dive on the site, so they are coming again in July.

“We have started 'singles evenings' on local charter boats to help non-club divers to come and visit. So far, the furthest traveller has been from Nottingham, just for the dive evening.

“The rest of the season looks as busy.”

The Coronation, a 90-gun Second Rate warship, sank in 1691 with the loss of 600 lives, off Penlee Point. It was one of the first wrecks to be protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.

Wreckage lies in two areas, each in about 16m of water. The trail runs around the more offshore of the two, which features 17 guns, from small cannon to larger pieces nearly 4m long, and three large anchors.

Further debris includes cannonballs and ironwork, largely concreted into the seabed of rock and sand.

After diving the new trail on its launch open day of 16 April, DIVER magazine contributor John Liddiard said: “What really made it was the combination of the new underwater booklet they’ve produced and the pre-dive briefing.

“That brings the whole thing alive.”

Applications to dive on the Coronation can be made via the official website, www.coronationwreck.co.uk.

Life Log: Sharks survive the extinction which killed the dinosaurs but may not survive shark fin soup

Shark guardians see momentum to save predator from finning

By Alex Ogle, AFP

Activists are pushing for a sanctuary in the Bahamas in a bid to halt drastic overfishing and finning that sees 73 million sharks killed each year.

SHARK FINS: The practice of "finning" — hacking off fins from live sharks and throwing them back in the water to die — is responsible for a 90 percent decline in some species. (Photo: ZUMA Press)

Shark defenders hope to capitalize on a series of victories in their fight against the lucrative fin trade, releasing a report Monday calling for sanctuaries to save the world's oldest predator.

As legislation inches forward in California to ban the import and purchase of fins used in gourmet Chinese soups — source of the global shark population crash — activists are pushing for a sanctuary in the Bahamas in a bid to halt drastic overfishing that sees 73 million sharks killed each year.

"We've begun removing them from the oceans at an unprecedented rate in their 400-million-year history," Global Shark Conservation at the Pew Environment Group director Matt Rand told AFP, as activists heading the conservation movement convened in Washingtonlast week for a strategy meet.

"They predate dinosaurs by about 100 million years, and somehow survived the extinction that killed those creatures. But they're not surviving the situation they're in today. All for a bowl of soup."

Hunger for their fins has exploded with the growing practice of "finning" — hacking off fins from the live animals and throwing them back in the water to die — responsible for a 90 percent decline for some species.

Some 30 percent of all shark species are immediately threatened or near threatened with extinction, according to the report.

The sharks' own biology make them especially vulnerable to overfishing as they are more akin to mammals like whales and dolphins, reaching sexual maturity in their teens, and then only have a few pups at a time.

Activists hope to replicate Palau's success story.  In a landmark 2009 move, the Pacific territory became what Rand called a "preeminent champion" in shark conservation, as the first nation to declare its waters — about the size of Texas — a shark safe haven. The Maldives followed suit a year later, and Honduras has a moratorium on finning.

But if the Bahamas resolves to make such a commitment, Rand said, its wealth of sharks and dedicated shark tourists could make it the "crown jewel of shark conservation in the Atlantic."

Financial reasoning is a key weapon in the defenders' arsenal: according to a Pew-commissioned study released last month, a single reef shark can be worth nearly $2 million in tourism revenue over its lifetime.

In the Bahamas, similarly, the shark diving industry is already worth some $80 million a year, a figure likely to rise if a sanctuary is imposed, said Bahamas National Trust Council executive director Eric Carey.

The payoff appears fruitful, but fishermen who have seen their regular fish stocks decline in recent years have been particularly receptive to raiders of the pervasive fin trade who reach out to communities wherever sharks are found, touting the fins' high value at around $700 per kilo.

In California, the ban moving through the state house builds on the US Shark Conservation Act, signed by President Barack Obama in January, which clamps down on finning.

The measure is seen as strongly backed by California voters, but has divided the West Coast state's Asian-American communities.

It's seen especially stiff opposition from lawmakers with strong Chinese constituencies, where the practice is defended as a tradition, and the proposed law slammed as an attack on heritage.

"Shark fin soup is considered an honored traditional delicacy and is served at many of our sacred occasions," Fiona Ma, a San Francisco Democrat, told The San Diego Union Tribune.

The effort to stem the biggest demand — from the Chinese mainland, and Hong Kong — is a key aim for the movement.

Just how to do that, though, remains a major question.

"If the dynamics of the trade are not changed quickly, we will lose many species of sharks within a generation," Rand warned amid the days-long strategy sessions in Washington last week, where the Pew group was joined by dive shop owners and ecologists from around the world.

In a rare boost for activists from within the Asian giant, billionaire delegate Ding Liguo at the National People's Congress proposed a shark fin trade ban earlier this year in the face of huge opposition.

In a bid to shift in opinion there, he insisted "only legislation can stop shark fin trading and reduce the killings of sharks."

Saving the top marine predators means "using this growing momentum," according to Karen Sack, Pew Environment Group's director of International Ocean Conservation, who urged the visiting shark activists "to keep bringing it to the desks" of those in a position to affect change.

Talking and Scuba...do they mix?

DiverWire reported today that Scuba students can now take to the water in full face masks if you dive with Atlantis Resorts in the Philippines. I applaud the initiative and quest to make the sport more accessible to divers...but for those of you have been diving a while...what do you think?

According to Marketing Director John Boozer, guests can now sign up for guided tours and training using full-face masks for interactive, real-time communication with the guides during a dive. “Working with OTS, we now have a supply of Guardian full-face masks with Buddy Phones. We’re pleased to be among the first resorts in our region to offer this unique amenity.”

For me, the thought of a Buddy Phone has about as much appeal as being able to use your mobile phone on a flight...yes, its probably useful for some and I can see plenty of safety advantages...but one of the great things about scuba will be lost...the peace, serenity and other-worldliness of the experience.

What do you think?

Life Log: Seahorses in the UK - Studland and beyond

If you've been inspired by Britain's Secret Seas this evening, check out the Studland Seagrass and Seahorse study group's website.  Here you can find out more general info and how to get involved in the survey's that are taking place to protect their habitat.

Mad about Seahorse's and can't get to Studland? Then check out the Seahorse Trust and find out where to find them in the UK and how as a diver you can make a valuable contribution to their protection.