Dive pacific magazine 161 lowres

ISSUE 161 - $9.90 inc GST December / January 2018

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www.Dive-Pacific.com

The sex life of sharks: What do we know?

Solomons Dive Festival: Extraordinary photo gallery Borneo: Poor Knights: Diving the web: New Year, What lies New career?

Rich days of your regular beneath? wonder guide

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There’s more to do in Vanuatu

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contents

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In Depth EDITORIAL: 4 End plastics in our oceans!

Farewell to Russ Cochrane SOUNDINGS: L ocal and international news & comment.

6

Captive Orca teeth in decay

7

Niue declares marine protected zone

8

Seaweek livens up

10 The deadliest marine animal 21 TecFest returns 21 Underwater hockey update COVER STORY 22 The extraordinary photo gallery from the Solomon Islands Dive Festival Plus Report DESTINATIONS 12 Poor Knights: Rich days of wonder Plus A photographer’s tale 40 Beneath Borneo 43 Diving on the Coromandel 44 Wakatobi: The all-access cruise Check out our website www.divenewzealand.com

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Dive New Zealand / Dive Pacific magazine is available in the lounges and inflight libraries of these airlines:

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FEATURES 30 The sex life of sharks: What we know N E W ISSUE 161 - $9.90 inc GST December / January 2018

34 The eels of Western Springs, Auckland

N E W

REGULAR COLUMNS 36 LegaSea update

Z E A LA N D ’ S

O N LY

D I V E

M A G A ZI N E

Z E A L A N D

The sex life of sharks: What do we know?

50 Gearbag: New stuff to capture your wallet 55 Species Science Focus: The mangrove, with Paul Caiger 56 A ccident Incident Insights with DAN, the Divers Alert Network www.DiveNewZealand.com

58 Dive Medicine with Professor Simon Mitchell 64 Digital Imaging with Hans Weichselbaum 66 Diving the Web with Phil Bendle PLUS! 60 O ur Shades of Colour photo competition: the latest winning images 37 N ew diving qualification offered at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

Solomons Dive Festival: Extraordinary photo gallery Borneo: Poor Knights: Diving the web: New Year, What lies New career?

Rich days of your regular beneath? wonder guide

Simon Mallender explores the hold of the Toa Maru during the Solomon Islands Dive Festival.

Photo: Alicia Shaw Photo taken on an Olympus OMD EM5 camera with a Panasonic 8mm fisheye lens at settings of F5.6, 1/80, and ISO 800.

38 N ew Year, new career? With PADI 72 Two books reviewed: The Big Pacific, and Dive Scapa Flow 67 Classifieds

Do you have a possible cover image?

Email: divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz. NZ$100 will be paid if used. Must be relevant to the marine world.

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www.divenewzealand.com 3

INDEPTH EDITORIAL

End ocean plastics!

I

n the early 2000s I travelled to the city of Manado which is situated on the northern tip of North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

On the map it appeared as an extended arm reaching out into the vast Indian Ocean. Because of its seemingly remote location I was excited at the prospect of being in a pollution-free environment.

I was shocked when I walked the city’s streets. The amount of discarded plastic containers clogging the slimy gutters was mind boggling – an absolute mess!

into a small boating harbour to take me out to their resort on Bunaken Island a few kilometres off shore.

We would have travelled a minimum of 500 metres before the boat was free of pushing aside the floating mat of plastic garbage. I could not imagine what the biological condition of the seabed below would be like!

The city’s population has been steadily growing from around 275,000 in 1990 to now approaching half a million in 2017.

The next major shock was when the diving resort’s boat came

At the time I thought, oh well at least New Zealand is 'clean’ as

Farewell Russ Cochrane

a strong sense of community with them all. Many of his students went on to become close lifelong friends.

Well known New Zealand diver, Russ ‘Cocky’ Cochrane passed away suddenly on October 21st, 2017 following a dive at Hahei.

Russ was a pioneer of the diving industry who touched the lives of many throughout his 40 years of involvement in diving. His friendly and generous nature, his warmth and practical approach to all things, his love of diving and the environment, and inquiring nature; he was an example to many. People from all walks of life were drawn to him resulting in a wide circle of friends.

Russ started diving as a young man in Hamilton and went on to open Russ’s Dive Shop in Hamilton East. He became a PADI Instructor in 1980 at a time when PADI members numbered less than 10 nationwide, and went on to certify over a 1000 divers at various levels, passing on his personal values, and establishing 4 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

our population approaches five million. As we know this ‘clean green’ image of New Zealand is promoted to the world. It’s good for tourism and food exports.

Admittedly New Zealand’s coastal city waters are not as polluted as Manado’s. But we do have a problem. The amount of discarded rubbish that lies in heaps beside some of our inner harbour waterways is very evident and of course we have all seen the mindless dumping of household rubbish along our country roads.

Currently Greenpeace are doing a major fundraising promotion: END OCEAN PLASTICS.

Russ was also popular amongst his dive industry peers. He was able to communicate with business competitors and always encouraging young people to join the industry.

In more recent years Russ moved to Hahei on the Coromandel with his partner and soul mate Wendy. Together they set up and developed Cathedral Cove Dive into a successful water sports business and became valued members of the community through their involvement with local groups. He was involved particularly with the local volunteer fire brigade as second in command, treasurer of the tennis and sports club and a member of the golf club.

Life was not without its setbacks, especially with the loss of their son, Rhys, in 2016.

Russ died doing what he loved, on a boat following a cray dive at Hahei. He is survived by his partner Wendy and their son Josh, plus Ryan and Shanna from a previous marriage. The family is surrounded by a legion of friends and family.

- Colin Melrose, PADI Asia Pacific

e s t ab l i s h e d

Troy Mayne, Oceanic Imagery Publications

d i s t r i b u t e d

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o v e r s e a s

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December/January 2018 Issue 161 Publisher Gilbert Peterson +64 27 494 9629 Dive Publishing P.O. Box 34 687 Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand 0746 divenz@Divenewzealand.co.nz

Their lecture has some sobering points: • N ew Zealand uses 1.6 billion plastic bags annually

never seen, so people basically go on their merry way as if there is nothing to worry about!

• M icroplastics are appearing in our sea food

People WILL notice that supermarkets, Countdown and New World, are not going to use plastic bags in the future.

This has come about by public pressure. So just maybe people and businesses have decided it’s time to make some changes in the way we shop. It’s a start in the right direction!

• O ne study suggests you could be eating 11,000 pieces of microplastic a year if you enjoy shellfish! Fish flesh is also showing it can contain microplastics!

As we head into the summer season you will seeing some of Jose’s work supporting Greenpeace’s campaign, End Ocean Plastics on TV and social media. www.greenpeace.org

• T he floating plastic island in the Pacific Ocean is now the size of nine New Zealands • 9 1% of the world’s plastic is not recycled

Most life that either live in or by the sea is being affected; birds, mammals, turtles, etc., are literally choking to death.

I guess we may see a groundswell of people taking an interest in this worldwide problem as people realise that their bodies are also being polluted by microplastics.

Will they begin to worry about genetic problems that may be passed on to their future generations?

Humans are visual animals, so we tend to react to things we can see.

Unfortunately for the world’s oceans, the pollution it carries is rarely seen and microplastics are

Please support the campaign.

In the next issue we will be featuring some stunning mermaid images by Nelson’s professional photographer Jose G. Cano.

We wish to thank our advertisers for their support during the year, also our loyal subscriber and readers. We wish you all a peaceful Christmas and hopefully a chance to enjoy some time beneath the waves – have fun and take care.

Dave Moran Editor at Large

Editor at Large Dave Moran +64-9-521 0684 davem@divenewzealand.co.nz Advertising Sales Manager Colin Gestro +64 272 568 014 colin@affinityads.com Art Director Mark Grogan +64-9-262 0303 bytemarx@orcon.net.nz Printed by Crucial Colour Ltd Retail distribution NZ: Gordon & Gotch Aust: Gordon & Gotch Contributions

Unsolicited material submitted will not be returned unless a stamped self-addressed envelope is supplied. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage.

All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole or part is expressly forbidden except by written permission of the Publisher. Opinions expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily the Publishers Sea Tech Ltd. All material is accepted in good faith and the publisher accepts no responsibility whatsoever.

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz www.Dive-Pacific.com Registered Publication ISSN 1774-5622 (print) ISSN 2324-3236 (online)

Catch us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER Click on the links at www.DiveNewZealand.com

Diver Emergency Number, New Zealand : 0800 4 DES 11 1800 088 200 (toll free) Australia : +61-8-8212 9242

www.divenewzealand.com 5

SOUNDINGS NEWS

Killer tooth ache A new study investigating the teeth of captive orca has found every individual studied had damaged teeth.

age in captivity and that all the orca in the study have issues with their teeth. Teeth are incredibly important to the overall health of an animal.”

“Given how big the root of an orca’s tooth is, and that orca have a nervous system similar to ours, these injuries must be extremely painful,” said Dr Ingrid Visser, a New Zealand scientist who has studied orca in the wild for more than three decades.

Overall the researchers found more than 61% of the orca have ‘been to the dentist’ to have their teeth drilled. Officially termed a ‘modified pulpotomy’ a hole is drilled into the tooth to extract the soft pulpy tissue inside. But unlike us, the resultant hole is not filled or capped but left open for the rest of the animal’s life, requiring daily flushing with chemicals to keep the teeth empty of food and bacteria in an attempt to manage ensuing infection.

“You just don’t see this type or level of damage in the wild,” she said.

“We know that confining them in tanks is bad for the animals and this research now gives us some hard numbers to illustrate just how their health and welfare is compromised.”

Dr John Jett, an ex-orca trainer said, “We investigated 29 orca owned by one company held in the USA and Spain. Every whale had some form of damage to its teeth. We found that more than 65% possessed moderate to extreme tooth wear in their lower jaws, mostly as a result of chewing concrete and steel tank surfaces.

“We have (also) documented that tooth damage starts at a very early

Dr Carolina Loch, a scientist at New Zealand’s Otago University specialising in the dentition of whales and dolphins, said “A drilled tooth is severely weakened and if any other trauma occurs, fractures will happen. We have documented more than 60% of the second and third teeth of the lower jaws were broken and this high number is likely linked to the drilling.”

now a medical doctor said "teeth damage is the most tragic consequence of captivity, as it not only causes morbidity and mortality in captive orcas, but often leads to chronic antibiotic therapy compromising the whale's immune system.”

Study citation details: https://tinyurl.com/y96dooqy

Dr Jeff Ventre, an ex-orca trainer and Photos: I.N. Visser, Orca Research Trust

Close-up, damaged orca teeth, showing chips, cracks, bore holes and wear

Fifth World Ocean Summit coming up The ocean is in trouble. Across the world humans have effected dramatic change upon the seas, and the current course is unsustainable.

To grapple with the issues, and explore new possibilities, the fifth World Ocean Summit will be held at Riviera Maya, Mexico on March 7th-9th in 2018.

Its purpose: to accelerate the transition to the sustainable use of the ocean.

6 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

The hosts, The Economist Group, say the ocean remains a vital resource with the potential to generate enormous economic growth but balancing human activity with the long-term health of the ocean is essential.

2017 they say was decisive. In June the United Nations held its first conference on the oceans to discuss the implementation of an ocean-specific sustainable development goal. The COP23 climate change meeting presented

an opportunity to usher in swifter and more ambitious action than seen so far, with companies, governments and individuals making significant commitments.

“But if 2017 was the year of big promises, 2018 must be about delivery. The World Ocean Summit will bring together political leaders and policymakers, heads of global business, scientists, NGOs and multilaterals for a frank and future-oriented discussion on how to turn their pledges into reality.”

SOUNDINGS NEWS

Niue establishes Marine Protected Area Niue’s Government is to establish a Marine Protected Area (MPA) to covering 40% of the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) which will ban commercial fishing activity throughout the protected area and allow indigenous, artisanal fishing in limited areas.

The 127,000-square km zone includes much of the waters around Niue itself as well as nearby Beveridge Reef, an uninhabited, semi-submerged atoll with the largest density of grey reef sharks in the world.

The formation of the MPA was announced recently at the Our Ocean conference in Malta where Niue Premier Sir Toke Talagi, said “Our commitment is not a sacrifice; it is an investment for our future and a tribute to our ancestors. We are proud of this and know that our ancestors would, without doubt, approve. And for our future generations, we hope, will know that we cared about them.”

Director of the Niue Ocean Wide

(NOW) project, an initiative by the Niuean community to manage its resources, Brendon Pasisi, said, “Giving up a proportion of commercial fisheries opportunities is the foundation of this commitment; it will help Niue safeguard the natural asset, build ecological resilience and allow the island to pursue more sustainable economic, social and environmental opportunities, including greater local food security and more blue tourism.

“It’s no small feat for a tiny, developing island-state to make such a major contribution to ocean conservation,” he said.

The announcement drew praise from National Geographic whose Pristine Seas operation took researchers and conservationists to the island last September, where they mapped the area including Beveridge Reef, as one of 17 pristine natural sites in the world and carried out a comprehensive biodiversity assessment of the area.

Niue snapshot Niue is a large upraised coral atoll 2400km and a 3.5-hour flight northeast of New Zealand, with two flights in and out a week, and a host of natural attractions including some of the clearest ocean water in the world: spectacular snorkeling, diving and fishing, forest and scenic walks and many small coves for safe swimming. The island has a resident Niuean population of around 1600 people and is a self-governing nation aligned closely with New Zealand with its own Parliament and Premier. www.niueisland.com

The lionfish commands attention

Life on Niue is easy-going.

Life under Niue?

That’s a different story.

And with easy access to underwater caves and caverns this unspoilt and majestic world is waiting for you to explore.

Photo by Buccaneer Adventures Niue Dive RUN0945

Start discovering Niue today, www.niueisland.com

www.divenewzealand.com 7

SOUNDINGS NEWS

Seaweek news livens up The theme for the next Seaweek, which runs from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 March 2018, is “Toiora te Moana - Toiora te Tangata, Healthy Seas - Healthy People” highlighting the enormous contribution our beaches, seas and coasts make to our health and wellbeing, and the practical steps we can take to keep our coastline and seas healthy for all.

Many events will be scheduled around the country during Seaweek 2018, including favourites such as ‘Farewell to the Godwits’ bird watching, clean-ups, adventure races, films, lectures and guided snorkelling trips.

Sustainable Coastlines have already announced they will clean-up Tamaki Makaurau during Seaweek. If you are interested in organising an event contact the Seaweek Regional Coordinator for your area to discuss how they can support you. Their contact details and all events are available on the Seaweek website.

Seaweek National Coordinator Dr Mels Barton welcomed new additions recently saying, “We are delighted Experiencing Marine Reserves www.emr.org.nz have joined our family of national supporters. Their established educational programmes are inspiring the next generation of marine scientists and conservationists and they are a perfect fit with Seaweek.”

Major financial sponsor Foundation North is continuing its support as is the Hauraki Gulf Monitoring Project. The dynamic team from Young Ocean Explorers www.youngoceanexplorers.co.nz have just launched their new interactive website which will be the platform for the event’s national Seaweek competition.

Underwater cameraman Steve Hathaway and daughter Riley have created a TV series and written a book to inspire young people to learn about the amazing creatures

that live around New Zealand’s coast.

The Seaweek team would love to hear what events your group or school is doing to explore next year’s Seaweek and help with publicity and resources. Please let National Coordinator Mels Barton know about your ideas and plans. mels@subliminal.co.nz

Seaweek 2018 is coordinated by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education, supported

by Foundation North, Department of Conservation, New Zealand Marine Studies Centre (Otago University), Environment Canterbury Regional Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, The National Aquarium Napier City Council, New Zealand Coastal Society, Young Ocean Explorers, Experiencing Marine Reserves, the Lou and Iris Fisher Charitable Trust and many local sponsors.

‘An evening with Wakatobi’ Wakatobi Resort hosted two highly engaged social events in Auckland and Wellington mid-October for local divers, previous guests at the resort, and others.

The occasion was to introduce ‘in person’ why people travel from all over the world to take in the extraordinary experience that the luxury eco resort represents, along with resort’s live-aboard ship, Pelagian.

The five star resort’s New Zealand and Australian representative Juliette Myers presented videos and other colourful material showcasing the resort’s many special attractions, including why the reefs there are among the most sought out, and healthiest anywhere. She explained the 20 year plus history of the resort, and that Wakatobi is in fact a name made up from the first two letters of archipelago’s four main islands: Wangiwangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binogko.

Though a two and half hour flight from Bali it has its own airstrip, fresh water supply and power generation, Michelin level cuisine and more.

Guests comments post event expressed a common sentiment: “Wakatobi is a must do experience at least once in your life.”

8 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

“An evening with Wakatobi” We’d love the pleasure of your company! Please join us for cocktails and canapés. Mix and mingle with Wakatobi staff and past guests; discover why Wakatobi’s reefs are some of the planet’s healthiest, and consider a visit to our island paradise.

We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, 17 October, 2017 ● 5:30 - 8:30pm Seafarers Members Lounge & Screening Room Level 5, 52 Tyler St, Britomart Auckland 101 RSVP by 10 October to Juliette Myers Email: juliette@wakatobi.com

www.wakatobi.com

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Your controls attach directly to the device you are using it on, whether for diving, snorkelling and swimming, paddle boarding, on a surf board or a kayak. It comes with a wireless remote to go on a paddle or wrist mount, or for scuba diving there’s a hand trigger control with a choice of three speeds.

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SCUBAJET will last up to 2 hours underwater at speeds up to 9kph, and above water for up to 4 hours at speeds of 16kph. It’s eco-friendly, emission free electric jet engine generates 20 kgs of thrust, and lights can even be added.

SCUBAJET is constructed to withstand a maximum pressure of 6 bar/87psi and a depth of 45m/147 ft.

The SCUBAJET 200 retails for under $A2000; the SCUBAJET 400 for under $A2500.

For more information contact Greg Shipton (61) 4 18408200

www.gwmarinesports.com.au

www.divenewzealand.com 9

Outsmart one of the most dangerous forms of marine life a diver will face!

By Dave Moran, Editor-at-Large Just one more, just one more, oh, there’s another heap just over there - just one more, one more!

This is often the effect scallops have on divers. And some divers consider the humble scallop the most dangerous marine life because of the “just one more” effect on them.

Too often we lose a diver while he (males are the predominant casualty) is collecting scallops. The diver runs out of air.

After 50+ years of diving I tell my children and any diver who wants to listen, the following: A few simple disciplines/practices to stick to when on a scallop dive: 1) T he most obvious is of course, monitor your air supply A simple and an almost automatic practice by experienced divers but some do get caught out. The recommended rule is to surface with at least 50 bar in your scuba cylinder. Its often overlooked during the hunt! That extra air can also come in very useful when you are back on the surface.

can land on an area that is very unproductive. You can spend a lot of time covering a large area searching for reasonable scallop numbers that meet the required size limit. Plus, as we also know most divers collect over their 10 or 20 bag limit just in case their diving buddies have lean pickings.

This, despite the fact that Fisheries regulations require you should only bring on board your allowable 10 or 20.

I would suggest it is fairly common for divers to sort out the boat’s total allowable catch as the number of people involved in collecting the scallops once all the divers are back on board. When the counting and measuring is done they need to return any over quota back into the sea.

This apparently non-threatening practice of collecting large scallop numbers for “the boat” can, and does result in divers running out of air!

2) Catch bags. How do you use yours?

Why do divers run out of air?

Firstly, I know divers should always dive at least in pairs but the reality is many do not, or they get separated during the dive.

A diving practice the Police Diving Squad comes across when recovering a body is the practice of divers clipping their catch bag onto themselves. Usually they clip the bag to a D ring on the diver’s Buoyancy Compensator (BC) or weight belt.

Gathering 10 or 20 scallops (allowable numbers depend on the area) can be a piece of cake but as we all know on many a dive you

Some divers argue that if they get into trouble, or are running out of air they will quickly unclip the catch bag. Unfortunately, when

10 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

things turn to custard underwater the most simple of finger manoeuvres seemingly goes out the window. Recovered bodies tell the story.

The safe practice for catch bags, or anything not regarded as essential during a dive, is it should be held in your hand. As the Police Dive Squad continually advise, though not in these exact words: “If things turn to custard all you have to do is let the bag go.” Not fumble with a clip as you begin to panic and struggle to reach the surface, sucking the last remaining litres of air out of your scuba cylinder.

Avoid all this drama. Read Point 3 below.

3) W here are you and where will you surface?

We have all heard of divers either being hit, or narrowly missed by a passing boat, or even their own boat! This occurs even when the dive boat is displaying a diver’s A flag. The skipper on the dive boat commonly does not really know where the diver/s are. This predicament can easily be solved by the diver using a brightly coloured float with a line (preferable a floating line) attached to his catch bag. This simple procedure does the following: a) T he skipper knows where you are. b) W hen you head for the surface you LEAVE the catch bag on the bottom c) Y ou swim up the line, (always

d) O nce back on board you retrieve the buoy and haul up your scallops. Simple!

The Police Dive Squad’s recommendations are: • A lways dive with a buddy (share a catch bag) • Monitor your contents and end your dive with 50bar/500psi • Do not clip catch bags to yourself • Take only your allowable catch • Monitor weather conditions • Dive within your ability • Do not mix alcohol, drugs or medicines (get diving medical advice) with diving • Assume medical conditions are not compatible with diving unless advised by a diving medical expert • Abandon your weight belt when in trouble Scallop season opens, with various closing times, either from 15th or 31st March 2018. To check out the recreational fishing regulations in your area visit: www.mpi.govt.nz click on Menu >Travel & Recreation>Fishing rules>Choose your fishing area to check the rules.

It’s not the easiest of sites to navigate!

Bruce Adams, Senior Sergeant in charge of the New Zealand National Police Dive Squad, comments: Unfortunately, the police regularly see divers not abandoning attached catch bags (containing scallops, kina, crayfish, etc) when an emergency arises, let alone their weight belt.

Since 2006, in the 64 cases we have investigated, weight belts were not abandoned on 48 occasions, and catch bags were attached to the diver in eight cases.

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Often it is a series of events happening all at once that places the diver in a difficult situation to recover from. Despite being a skill taught and talked about, catch bags and weight belts are not being released when the stress of drowning occurs and panic sets in.

Simply carrying the catch bag by hand allows you, when an emergency occurs, to let go of the bag and focus on resolving the issue.

The person in the photo below is a Police National Dive Squad member replicating an actual case, with the actual homemade catch bag holding 55 kina in a bag two metres long. The case has been heard at the Coroner’s court and completed. Police are appreciative of the family involved in that case agreeing to allow us to use the images to promote dive safe messages.

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www.divenewzealand.com 11

Rich days of wonder

Story & images by Dave Abbott As soon as I had dropped a few metres on my way down, I hit ‘record’ to begin filming the descent down the vertical western wall of the Sugarloaf, enjoying the clear turquoise water and flickering light rays.

A

t 25metres I passed through a huge cloud of swirling Pink Maomao, their vivid colour contrasting with the many large, yellow finger sponges quivering in the current. A Short Tail Ray glided past along the wall like a passing plane, and on the wall itself I saw scorpionfish and morays leering out from their cracks and ledges.

At 35metres I eased away from the wall into the blue, just as a vast school of Trevally came bustling in, thousands of fish taking up my whole view, extending from below as far upward as I could see, a solid wall of silver.

As I watched, with the camera

12 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

rolling, a mob of Kingfish came bombing through the trevally sending them on their way, hundreds of speeding torpedo shaped bodies swirling in a whirlwind of activity.

If I hadn’t captured it all in one continuous sequence no one would believe this explosion of life was over in the space of a few minutes on a single descent – just another dive recording the amazing diversity and prolific life that is the Poor Knights Islands!

Most iconic The Poor Knights are New Zealand’s most iconic dive location for good reason; they

Kingfish swirl

Mosaic moray eel instil a real appreciation of the value of marine reserves in protecting our marine environment, and offer divers an intoxicating glimpse of what the marine environment can be like when left undisturbed.

rite places, offering some of the best diving and most prolific marine life to be found anywhere on the planet.

And after 2000 dives there I still get a sense of anticipation every time I jump in the water.

as beneath, with towering volcanic cliffs, spectacular archways and sea caves. But for divers, they are an absolutely unique three-dimensional underwater world teeming with colourful and interesting life!

I have dived all over the world on filming assignments and in many places considered among the ‘best on the planet’, but the Poor Knights remains one of my all-time favou-

Highest marine diversity, accessible

What makes them special? For one thing they are far enough offshore to lie in deep, clean, oceanic water yet close enough to the coast to be readily accessible.

Rising out of deep water 23km off the Northland coast the Poor Knights are as spectacular above the water

Sugarloaf

www.divenewzealand.com 13

Manta visitor

Most significantly they have been a designated no-take marine reserve since 1998; the result is they are home to abundant and diverse arrays of fish and invertebrates. In fact the

…The islands offer divers an intoxicating glimpse of what the marine environment can be like when left undisturbed…

Poor Knights have the highest diversity of marine species of anywhere in New Zealand, and as a marine reserve they have literally proved their value 10 times over. The increase in snapper biomass alone

Dave Abbott

since 1998 has been over 800%!

Distinct dive seasons Being in temperate latitudes the Poor Knights have distinct ‘seasons’; the dive experience varies around the year, from green-tinted, nutrient-rich waters of spring, bringing surreal clouds of salps and jellyfish along with vast, concentrated fish schools feeding on tiny shrimp, to the warm blue-water currents of summer with 30 metre plus visibility, tropical visitors and fascinating pelagic wanderers: including Manta rays, Sunfish and even turtles.

Winter’s cooler waters are also special for the amazing visibility they can bring, along with seasonal visitors such as New Zealand fur seals, which often slip into the water to play with divers when not lazing on the rocks.

…The dive experience varies around the year, from greentinted, nutrient-rich waters of spring,to the warm blue-water currents of summer with 30 metre plus visibility, tropical visitors and fascinating pelagic wanderers…

When sea conditions cause visibility to drop below 10metres the Poor Knights still present amazing diving, with the opportunity to focus in on the small and intricately detailed micro life on the walls, boulders and pinnacles ranging from colourful nudibranchs and cheeky triplefins to an incredible array of sessile and invertebrate life.

New species to northern waters are regularly documented here, from subtropical fish visitors to new species of nudibranchs. It’s a dynamic place!

Volcanic Their volcanic origin means the Poor

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Turtle

Gem Nudibranch 16 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Knights are riddled with numerous caves and archways, where light and shadow create dramatic backdrops to huge fish schools, where shining a torch on a rock wall reveals brightly coloured sponges, jewel anemones and bryozoans. Outside the shadowy archways seaweed forests sway to the pulse of the ocean, giving movement and life to seascapes that make coral reefs seem static by comparison.

Top Five Poor Knights dive sites

King Scorpionfish

The Poor Knights offer dive sites to suit all abilities, from shallow, sunny bays teeming with life for new divers, to challenging caves and deep reefs well beyond recreational limits the domain of experienced and technical divers.

There are around 80 recognised dive sites so choosing the ‘Top Five’ is extremely hard. But here are my top five I’m sure won’t disappoint: 1) Northern Arch: THE classic Poor Knights dive, a spectacular 40metres deep, with a narrow archway home to large schools of Blue and Pink Maomao, Snapper, Kingfish and often stingrays.

2) The Sugarloaf: A huge rock pinnacle rising out from 90 metres where you can regularly see huge schools of trevally and kingfish, as well as numerous stingrays and often Bronze Whaler Sharks.

Sunfish Red Scorpionfish

3) Tie Dye Arch: A spectacular twin archway at the Pinnacles usually packed with schools of fish and cruising stingrays and kingfish, and renowned for its colourful walls.

4) Hope Point: On the eastern side of the islands this site has stunning air bubble caves, great fish life, and a deep wall/ pinnacle off the point.

5) Middle Arch: One of the ‘Knights most consistent dive sites, home to stingrays, moray eels, all sorts of wrasse, large mixed fish schools, many species of nudibranch, colourful walls, and an impressive sea-cave right beside the arch with an air bubble to surface inside!

www.divenewzealand.com 17

Diving the Tie Dye Arch at the Poor Knights A photographer’s adventure Story and images by Alex Stammers I have always had a goal to photograph stingrays stacked up along the walls of the archways for their annual courtship at the Poor Knights, and it’s taken 10 years to get to, due to weather or swell. But now with flat seas and little wind, the local dive operator has put me on one of the best dive sites at the Poor Knights, the Tie Dye Arch, named for its multicolored walls, at the Pinnacles.

I

swam towards one of the three cathedral-like entrances with visibility about 20metres. A large school of small kingfish rushed in for a look before rushing off again.

Beneath me a lone male stingray made his way out of the arch, a good sign.

Entering, and after allowing my

eyes to adjust to the dark, I found to my disappointment the arch was not filled with stacks of stingrays, not one to be seen in fact. However my disappointment was soon forgotten as a huge school of Blue Maomao parted in a hurry as three of the largest kingfish I have ever seen glided through. These guys were massive, the type you usually

…the huge school of Blue Maomao parted in a hurry as three of the largest kingfish I have ever seen glided through…

18 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

see held up on the front of fishing magazines.

Gliding in close they examined me. With their size I presented no threat, then they swam back around in a circle and made another pass through the terrified school of Blue Maomao and demoiselles cowering against the wall of the arch. I have

…the ray slowed, and hovered, just in the right position with the archway behind, it’s wing tip only millimeters away… never seen schools of fish so tightly packed together; they literally overlapped each other for protection.

I followed the path the kingfish had taken, waiting and tracking the lead kingfish as he pushed his way through the school of Maomao like a school bully with two followers close in his wake. I snapped off a few shots as they passed me, and glancing down at the camera’s LCD screen I could see the image of the kingfish shooting through the school of Maomao. Yes, I thought, I have the shot! It’s what I love about digital photography, capturing that special image and being able to see it instantly.

Happily I hung around, capturing the

kingfish as they continued harassing the schools of fish.

Then I looked around to see what else was nearby. A large dark shape was gliding along the sea floor, flashes of its white underbelly showing - a very large stingray was passing beneath. Swimming down towards it I noticed the top of its body was scuffed with the bite marks signs that it had recently mated.

Positioning myself along its path I ducked low and angled my camera up towards the ray to take a photo to show it separate from the sea floor and with the arch behind it. The ray slowed, and hovered, just in the right position with the archway behind.

It’s wing tip was only millimeters

away, brushing my dome port as I fired off several shots, before it turned and swam off. Again, my LCD screen displayed a pleasing photo. I could not believe my luck. I followed the ray up to a ledge in shallower water where it met a large female bearing similar marks, and together they settled down to rest.

As I began my ascent towards the boat I looked behind, seeing flashes of silver as the kingfish came in and went, and thinking: How very special the Poor Knights are. If these fish were outside the reserve they would be the target of a fisherman’s lure, or spear.

Here, they are free to be observed by the very lucky few who get to see them in their natural habitat.

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SOUNDINGS NEWS

to return in 2018 TecFestNZ, the biannual ‘conference’ event for divers, not just technical divers, is scheduled this time to run over three days in Taupo on April 6th, 7th and 8th 2018. Everyone is invited to join in the fun, say the organisers Chris Clarke and Brent McFadden. , the biannual ‘conference’ event for divers, not just technical divers, is scheduled this time to run over three days in Taupo on April 6th, 7th and 8th 2018. Everyone is invited to join in the fun, say the organisers Chris Clarke and Brent McFadden.

“Our goal is to create an event where industry professionals and recreational divers can get together, share experiences, try out and learn about different diving techniques, locations, equipment and rub shoulders with other divers,” they said.

“It is not a sales event. Direct sales of products or services like courses are not to take place during TecFestnz itself.

“Our aim is to create a community where divers, instructors and shop owners feel they can bring along friends and clients without fear of

losing business to competitors.”

TecFestNZ 2018 will again be held at the Mi Camp venue in Taupo and the reserve at Waitekoko.

The format will remain similar to the big success held in 2016, with a combination of try-dives, displays and presentations.

The big change this time is it will be a full two day event starting Friday morning going through to Saturday evening, with try dives held between 9am and 1pm. The change allows more time for staff and guests to attend the afternoon presentations from key note speakers Professor Simon Mitchell and Pete Measley, and for informal discussion.

Another new feature this time is that one and two day passes will be available separately, with or without accommodation to allow for more people to attend beyond the capacity of the Mi Camp accommodation.

shops, instructors and businesses involved in the past do receive long term benefits.

A Two Day Attendance: $250.00 includes all presentations, try dives, goodie bag, 2 nights’ accommodation, meals, plus major prize entry.

Optional 3rd night $45.00 Or $220.00 for the above but with cabin accommodation. (Supply your own bedding.)

Two Day Pass without accommodation: $160.00 includes lunches, evening meals and entry to try dives, presentations, and minor prize entry.

Day Pass: $85.00 Includes lunch, evening meal, try dives, presentations and minor prize entry.

Prizes on offer so far include:

• Truk Lagoon Expedition with Lust 4 Rust.

• Shearwater Perdix. Shearwater Research

• Nomad Sidemount system: Dive

TecFestNZ invites clubs, shops and businesses to make TecFestnz 2018 their own by offering try dives, displays and presentations. History and their 2016 survey show that

Go to www.tecfestnz.com

chance to reconnect with players from around the world.

country to be reckoned with on the world stage.

The New Zealand squad showed great development throughout the week and massive individual improvement, especially for those debuting at the Elite level. Once again New Zealand showed we are a

The squad's focus is now on Quebec with further training camps and trials underway. Dive magazine wishes coaches and players all the best for the long road of hard work and training ahead!

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• $750.00 voucher for technical diver training with Go Dive Pacific.

Underwater hockey joins Hawaii build up New Zealand Underwater Hockey sent four teams to compete in the Pacific Rim Training Initiative in Hawaii in September, as part of the Elite build-up for the world champs being held in July next year in Quebec.

Though not a tournament and with no placings awarded, the initiative was well supported by teams from the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Colombia and New Zealand, whose teams used it as an opportunity to develop players, and get experience in a deeper pool.

It was a fantastic week of underwater hockey played at the Veteran’s Memorial pool on Oahu and a great

www.divenewzealand.com 21

Welkam to the

Solomon Islands

Lunch is served by our three chefs for the kastom lunch on Hopei Island

Report on the Solomons Dive Festival 2017

by Gilbert Peterson

W

e’re tearing across the bay in a freshening breeze, 20 of us in our tropical finery, dressed to the nines for the closing cocktail hour on board the live-aboard, MV Taka. It’s Friday, and the Solomon Islands Dive Festival is winding down. For the first time on the trip, the wind is getting up.

The pair of 180HP Honda outboards push the inflatable along at a fast pace. Everyone’s animated; anticipation palpable. Spray lashes out and polythene sidewalls come down in a bid to keep a semblance of dryness about us. We come alongside the live-aboard, our craft hefting and yawing, banging against the steel of the ship’s hull. But deftly we all step on board the mother ship, to waiting cocktails – a special brew made up,

we’re told, of a third vodka, a third rum and a third coconut, lime and ice. Delicious, and somewhat less lethal than it may sound.

The captain welcomes us again, though we’ve all been on board this ship overnight earlier in the week.

Ship operation’s director, Adam, is at his gregarious best. The hors d’oeuvres are excellent, as befits the occasion. Time for more lively chatter. High spirits all round.

Everyone is reliving the week’s adventure highlights.

The formal part of the evening is to be the announcement of the winners of the festival’s photo competition.

We’re told the prizes in advance; big generous packages, including flights from Australia, and domestically, courtesy of Solomon Airways, plus

full accommodation and week-long diving. Or a stay on the MV Taka.

Expectation levels rise further. Alicia Shaw wins the coveted top award for her photo of a cameraman in the hold of the Japanese wreck, Toa Maru. (The photo is on the cover of this edition of Dive.) Mike Scotland wins too. (Some of his photos follow).

The week long Dive Festival has been

see how seeing and doing more could be fitted in, in the allotted time. The ‘more’ sentiment expresseds regret we couldn’t stay longer, and will have to return.

‘More’ in the island context also takes on an element of intrusion of city borne stress. Here, where island time is the way of life, and where the island pace of things is an inherent part of the festival value and experience, time out is to be cherished. But should slowing down seem unachievable in this quick turnaround of a total of six days, at least we owe it to this paradise to take out some of the time to soak up this soft beauty, and the stories of its wild, violent history.

a full on success. A succession of dive opportunities were interspersed from day one with authoritative presentations on things like the sex life of sharks (see p 23), how to take better photos underwater, aspects of marine biology, and updates on health & safety issues presented on behalf of DAN. For the festival we’ve also been hosted to several special dinners, with traditional cultural performances and ‘kastom singsing,’ lunch at remote Hopei Island prepared in

the customary way over hot rocks, visited a WWII museum, and taken on a visit to Skull Island by the great great grandson of one of the last men to have had his skull preserved there. (see note below.)

Most of all, in the single six day spell, we’ve had our fill of epic dives, up to four a day: on reefs, walls, rock fall drop offs, to two ship wrecks and two aircraft. Nearly everyone seems very satisfied. A couple say they want more. No one disagrees. Who wouldn’t want more? But its hard to

The Dive Itinerary At Gizo Day One: Toa Maru x 2, and Grand Central Station Day Two: The Pinnacles, and No Tree Island Day Three: MV Taka - Mbigo mbigo At Munda Day Four: Kashi Maru, The Lighthouse, Alice in Wonderland (upside down aircraft wreck) Day Five: Barrys Breakfast and reef, and Hapi Reef

Who are these people?

Amongst these professionals I feel like a novice. Mike has done over 5000 dives; Stan is a Dive Instructor with 30 + years’ experience; our guides, Sammy at Dive Gizo, at DIve Munda, and Carmen, on board the MV Taka are highly proficient dive instructors with highly honed people skills. My thanks to Danny and Kerrie Kennedy of Dive Gizo. Alicia Shaw and Belinda Judson are great photographers, (as you can see on these pages), Australians Deborah and Simon are professional dive writers and photographers with the website Dive Planit; David is on assignment from the US for Wreck Diving magazine; Jonathan and Glenn, publishers and underwater photographers from Singapore. www.divenewzealand.com 23

Rudder of the Toa Maru

On behalf of the Dive Festival…

CEO of the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto, thanked everyone for coming, especially Fiona Teama and Belinda Botha, who were responsible for organising the festival. He noted the event wasn’t going for big numbers. “Our approach is to manage our growth,” he said. “You have to be invited to come to the Solomon Islands.”

Machine gun emplacement at the Peter Joseph WWII Museum at Munda

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The visit to Skull Island Sunga Boso hosted our visit to Skull Island and explained it is the burial ground of warriors. Inside the log crypt the skulls are only of chiefs and kings, he said. The last chief’s skull to be interred was in 1934, pointing out his skull, which is that of his great, great grandfather. This was part of a tradition during the times of headhunting and cannibalism, he said, and the keeping of the skulls in this way was to keep their memory, and in a way our visit here paid them a form of respect.

When the last person who knew how to remove the skull from the body for this form of interment dies in 1934, the practice died with him. Shell money used to be placed here as well but a lot of it has been stolen.

Sunga Boso explains shell money in front of the skull of his great great grandfather

Dive Munda takes out Solomon’s ‘Tourism Business of the Year’ Award The Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) has just presented Dive Munda its inaugural ‘Tourism Business of the Year’ Award in recognition of the role the Solomon Islands’ diving sector plays in attracting international visitors.

Dive Munda’s owner/operator Belinda Botha was an organiser of the Dive Festival and one of the hosts. She said she and her team were honoured and humbled to be the first company to receive the newly inaugurated award. “This award will not only help Dive Munda promote the Solomon Islands as a prime dive destination worldwide, it will also help our people and communities to develop and prosper,” she said.

Dive Munda dive shop manager, “Sunga” Osborne Boso (left) and Dive Munda SSI Instructor, Zara Bedford. Dive Munda won the SICCI ‘Tourism Business of the Year’ award presented at Honiara’s Coral Seas Resort & Casino.

“Most importantly, it gives us a voice to continue to advocate the importance of sustainable dive tourism, ocean conservation and coral reef protection in a pristine, untouched and unspoilt destination.”

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Over recent months Dive Munda has won a string of prominent awards.

D157

www.divenewzealand.com 25

Solomon Islands Dive Fest Photo Gallery

Our dive guide behind a fan coral in the sapphire blue waters of Munda.

Photo: Mike Scotland Soft coral garden, at Gap Out, Naru Island is one of the best dives at Gizo.

Photo Mike Scotland

Barrel sponge, Gizo. Photo: Gilbert Peterson Dive guide Carmen poses near a soft coral in the pre sunset light at Mbigo Mbigo. Photo: Mike Scotland

Douglas Dauntless bomber. Photo: Belinda Judson 26 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Coral and seafans. Photo: Alicia Shaw

Blenny. Photo: Alicia Shaw

Shrimp. Photo: Alicia Shaw

Turtle. Photo: Alicia Shaw

Photo: Alicia Shaw

Douglas Dauntless bomber. Photo: Alicia Shaw

www.divenewzealand.com 27

Striped coral hermit crab. Photo: Belinda Judson

Fan coral. Photo: Belinda Judson

More Dive Fest photos Purple shrimp. Photo: Belinda Judson

Ball anemone on plane wreck. Photo: Belinda Judson Porcelain in the Toa Maru wreck. Photo: Belinda Judson

28 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

So Solomons, So Adventurous!

Explore the hidden paradise of the South Pacific archipelago, comprising of a vast group of 922 breathtaking tropical islands. Diving in the Solomon Islands has gained an enviable worldwide reputation that is unsurpassed.

Experience the abundance of World War II history, via the Solomons numerous wreck dives. Get up close to the extraordinary array of differing reef structures and bio-assemblage.

If you are not a diver, but interested in learning, there could be no better place to discover this completely new world, than the warm crystal clear waters around the Solomon Islands.Throughout these magic islands is an endless variety of dive sites to suit all tastes and levels of experience.

With worldclass dive sites in Honiara, The Floridas, Iron Bottom Sound, Gizo, Munda, Western Marovo and Eastern Marovo the Solomon Islands are sure to provide a dive experience like no other.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau Head Office PO Box 321, Mendana Avenue, Honiara, Solomon Islands call (677) 22442 or email info@sivb.com.sb

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What we know about the sex life of sharks This feature is based on just one of the excellent presentations contributing to the success of the Solomon Islands Dive Festival in October 2017 Text and images by Mike Scotland

S

harks have an extraordinary natural history and display incredible variety in their reproductive techniques. Amongst the 400 species of shark their five broad methods of reproduction vary from simple to complex, and the bizarre. (Elasmodiver.com suggests there are now close to 500 species.)

Everyone knows fish lay eggs, with millions of them spawned into the water, fertilised, and drifting off into the plankton where the vast majority simply provide food for countless, hungry plankton feeding creatures.

Fish parents generally take little care

30 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

of their eggs but sharks are far more advanced!

40% of sharks lay eggs they are Oviparous Forty per cent of sharks lay eggs which develop in the typical fashion.

The embryo feeds on the yolk and develops within the egg without any help from the mother. Port Jackson sharks in Australia produce the renowned spiral corkscrew shaped egg the case of which is extremely tough and impenetrable to most predators.

Port Jackson sharks migrate up to 800 kilometres during late winter to join

mating aggregations to what I call PJ parties. They last over a month.

One August I counted 140 sharks on a single dive at Jervis Bay, stacked up two and three deep, resting after another heavy night of activity.

What exactly is a Port Jackson shark party like? What is their foreplay and mating ritual? Because it happens under cover of darkness probably no one has ever witnessed exactly what they do. What a great opportunity to document their nocturnal behaviour.

In fact the mating behaviour of sharks, one of the most successful life forms on the planet in terms of

Female Grey Reef sharks are easy to identify from below

pelvic fins. The inner edge of these has developed a tubular structure able to transfer a sperm packet inside the female’s cloaca.

… Just how does sandpaper on sandpaper work in the act of sexual intercourse in sharks?…

Claspers are not penises. The do not have any erectile tissue. Instead, they stand at right angles for copulation. The tip of the clasper unfolds to reveal clasper spurs which help prevent the clasper from coming out.

(Water is a spermicide and has to be prevented from entering the cloaca so it does not destroy the sperm).

Here is an interesting thought.

Shark skin is made of denticles and used as sandpaper by South Pacific Islanders. I have had a close look at shark claspers, usually when a Wobbygong Shark has its head stuck in a crevice and cannot turn around.

The Ornate Wobbygong seems to have rough shark skin on the lower half of its clasper along its entire exposed length (see the photograph).

The upper side is smooth soft skin.

It looks sand papery but only on the lower half lengthways.

… No male could match the power of a female adult Tiger Shark!…

evolution after the crocodile and turtles, remains a mystery!

Port Jackson sharks have remained virtually unchanged for 100 million years, which means, whatever environmental pressures they have faced, they have survived without the need to change and adapt. They are ideal as they are in terms of their ability to survive.

How sharks mate The reproduction of all sharks and rays is strictly internal. Male sharks have a pair of intro-mittentorgans called claspers, which are modified

I think the lower length of the clasper being covered with the sandpapery denticles may offer the shark some protection. But it represents a mystery since it makes a problem for the female during mating. Female cloacas must also have some kind of adaptation to the sandpapery claspers of the males. Does the internal lining of the cloaca also have a sandpapery lining? Or is it smooth? Just how does sandpaper on sandpaper work in the act of sexual intercourse in sharks?

There’s a fraction too much friction.

Male sharks bite the female during foreplay and also during sexual intercourse. It looks brutal but sharks have had 300 million years to sort out what they do, and we need to learn a lot more to understand the whys and wherefores of shark mating.

Female sharks are often much larger than the males. In the case of the Tiger Shark, females are bulkier and far more powerful, and a magnificent display of strength! No male could match the power of a female adult Tiger Shark! The apparently violent mating process sharks display maybe just that, and obviously our superficial judgements do not reflect on what is really happening.

… It is not exactly a placenta but functions to replenish nutrients to the foetus via the egg sac…

Live birth is termed Vivaporous All other sharks give birth to live young; that is, babies are born from the mother alive. There are four types of live birth.

1. Ovovivaporous ...60% give live birth from an egg Tiger Sharks for example, lay eggs which are retained within their two uteris. The foetus grows over a period of about 16 months, initially getting all its nourishment from the egg yolk. Baby Tiger Sharks can be up to 60 centimetres long and on average, 41 pups are born, and to create such a big baby the egg would have to be the size of a basketball! It stands to reason they must have a supplementary source of nourishment. The way it is done is the uterus secretes a nutritive fluid called uterine milk which bathes the eggs. Nutrients are absorbed into the yolk to supplement the feeding of the foetus. It is not really milk but a simple food source, and the egg is not laid as for Port Jackson sharks, but held within the uterus as it develops entirely from the yolk and the uterine milk.

2. Yolk Sac Placenta Live birth from an egg Hammerhead Sharks and Whaler Sharks have taken birth to the next level. Eggs are laid inside the uterus, and the foetus begins developing from the egg yolk with blood vessels developing from the wall of the uteri and growing into the egg yolk. It is not exactly a placenta but functions

www.divenewzealand.com 31

to replenish nutrients to the foetus via the egg sac. This is called the Yolk Sac Placenta – quite biologically sophisticated for an egg laying fish.

There’s more! The fact that sharks have been evolving for hundreds of millions of years has meant they have developed even more ingenious strategies to ensure the success of the next generation.

The reproductive organs of the male Grey Nurse shark

3. Intra-uterine cannibalism The most bizarre and amazing technique within the womb of sharks is Intra-uterine cannibalism.

It comes in two forms.

3a Egg eating embryos The first is the egg eating embryos, a further level of sophistication up from the yolk sac placenta. When the foetus has developed a mouth and teeth, the mother is able to feed it with a continuous supply of eggs.

The baby shark is fed solids within the womb! This so-called Oophagy occurs in Thresher sharks, Makos, Tawny Nurse Sharks, Basking Sharks and Great White Sharks. (Oophagy means egg eating).

Female Grey Nurse shark showing mating scars

3b Full intra-uterine cannibalism Finally, there is the most gruesome form of all, displayed in the Grey Nurse, where the largest foetus eats its smaller siblings. After cannibalising its brothers and sisters inside the womb, it continues to consume eggs as it develops into a super baby.

This form of nourishment provides powerful evolutionary advantages.

First, it removes opposition. Monster baby has one chance at life but has the deck stacked in its favour.

Second, the single baby when born is a fully developed giant, powerful and well able to take care of itself in the wild from day one.

The reproductive organs of the female Grey Nurse shark

32 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Remember the Tiger Shark has up to 80 babies, most eaten by cod, groper, sea snakes and sharks in the first few weeks. Bigger babies solve the problem!

The claspers of the Ornate Wobbygong show sandpapery skin on the underside

Footnote: Recent research on Manta Rays by Andrea Marshall of the Marine Megafauna Foundation has discovered that they are ovo-vivaporous. The male has more teeth than the female and uses them to bite the female’s left wing to hold her for mating purposes. Male claspers show considerable damage after mating as does the internal lining of the female’s claoca.

Mike Scotland, BSc (Maths & Zoology), was a biology and marine biology teacher in Sydney before retiring to a life given over to diving. He has made over 5800 dives during 41 years and a PADI instructor since 1982. Though he has made dozens of trips throughout the Pacific he says his favourite place is still Sydney for its marine life.

Grey Nurse sharks are territorial and mate in spring

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Photographing the eels of Western Springs, Auckland

Text and images by Alexey Zaytsev

I saw these remarkable beings when walking in the park near Auckland Zoo.

T

e Wai Orea or Western Springs sources feed into the lake in which the eels live.

There are a significant number of eels in the lake, which is reflected in it’s Maori name: 'Te Wai Orea' (The water of the eels). It contains both New Zealand's native species of eel, the shortfin (Anguilla australis) and longfin (Anguilla dieffenbachii).

The long-finned eel has been identified as a species in decline and could become extinct within the next 50 years. They like to swim under the pedestrian bridge from which visitors to the park often feed swans. What the swans do not manage to eat is eaten up by the eels. It’s a mutually advantageous neighbourhood!

The idea to photograph the eels came to mind at once, but the challenge was how to do it without disturbing them? I decided to use the wifi of my camera managed by means of a smartphone.

Water suppresses the weak radio

34 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

waves from the camera if it is completely submerged underwater.

But it is not necessary for shooting of eels floating near the surface.

I fixed the camera on a long stick, about 2.5 metres, and activated the application from the smartphone. I then lowered the camera from the bridge in amongst a congestion of eels.

I waited for the necessary moment and pressed the button. The photo is taken! The only problem is, in this camera mode, there is rather a long delay before the camera’s operation is activated.

My council is to press the button slightly earlier, when the object of the shot is approaching the frame but not quite in the right place.

I used the PT-056 Underwater Housing for an Olympus Tg-4 camera, and also a PTWC-01 wide-angle lens of Olympus.

Lighting is natural. The app for the smartphone is called the "Olympus Image Share".

and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of the South Pacific, including New Caledonia, Norfolk Island , Lord Howe Island, Tahiti, and Fiji. When full grown, they reach about 90 cm.

The short-finned eel has a typical regeneration time of 15 to 30 years for females and reaches a maximum size of about 1.1 m and 3 kg.

The best time for shooting is in winter when the water is cold and transparent.

The eels The short-finned eel (Anguilla australis), also known as the shortfin eel, is native to the lakes, dams

The New Zealand longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is the largest and only endemic freshwater eel species in New Zealand. (The others are the native Shortfin eel, Anguilla australis, and the naturally introduced Australian Longfin eel, Anguilla reinhardtii).

Longfin eels are long-lived, migrating to the Pacific Ocean near Tonga to

breed at the end of their lives. There are records of females reaching 106 years old and weighing up to 24 kg.

Males are shorter and less longer lived. They average 66.6 cm in length and average 23 years (12–35 years).

Females grow considerably larger, from 73–156 cm with an average length of 115 cm.

They are good climbers as juveniles and so are found in streams and lakes a long way inland. They are an important traditional food source for Ma-ori, and are under threat and declining but still commercially fished.

(Information from Wikipedia) Dive NZ will be running more of Alexey’s work in future editions.

www.divenewzealand.com 35

LegaSea Update

Sharing is conservation Manukau sport fishing club members sharing fish (kai).

Since September last year over seven tonnes of fish heads and frames, and offal has been collected from the Outboard Boating Club of Auckland and other fishing clubs, and shared with a local marae.

U

ntil mid-2016 the OBC had used a disposal service to get rid of their unwanted fish heads, frames, and offal. Now, club members carefully sort and refrigerate these fish parts, and Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae of Mangere, South Auckland coordinates their collection, quality control and distribution of this food to an appreciative local community in need of high quality nutrition.

The pilot Kai Ika Project scheme is drawing widespread acclaim for its conservation gains and bringing together people from different walks of life. The joint project is underpinned by principles of sharing and caring for our environment and each other, and could easily be adopted by divers this summer.

With the generous support of a LegaSea Partner, Kiwi Sizzler, the marae now has two smokers to cook selected fish heads and frames before distribution. Another LegaSea Partner, Go Fuel, has donated freezers so other fish parts can be stored before being shared amongst local community groups.

The offal is a welcome addition to

36 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

help fertilise marae-based community gardens. Prior to the Kai Ika initiative Lionel Hotene, Valerie Teraitua, their whanau and volunteer team had grown and shared more than 80,000 kumara to help wean south Aucklanders off fast foods.

There is growing concern at the levels of obesity and our Maori and Pacific people are particularly vulnerable due to diet and economic constraints. Unwellness affects us all. Health budgets are chewed up treating preventable diseases leaving fewer resources available for proactive care.

The Kai Ika initiative provides hope that with inspired leadership we can learn to better utilise the fish we harvest from the sea. We can also conserve our marine resources by taking fewer fish while sharing what we don’t use with our communities.

If you have fish others would enjoy please visit www.FreeFishHeads. co.nz or download the app to find someone in your area who will gladly accept the gift.

This special partnership is enabled by the ongoing support of many

volunteers, Kiwi Sizzler, Go Fuel, the Guardians of the Sea Charitable Trust, OBC and Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae. Kia kaha to all involved.

Fisheries Management Annual Report LegaSea is grateful to New Zealand Underwater for providing a summary of their year’s activities for including in the LegaSea-New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Fisheries Management Annual Report 2017.

The report can be downloaded at www.nzsportfishing.co.nz/userfiles/ file/FM-Annual-Report-2017-web.pdf

Subscribe a mate To be successful we need people engaged and learning about the state of our inshore fisheries. Ask your friends, family, any fishing folk, “May I please have your permission to subscribe to the LegaSea database?”

Then send their email to us at subscribe@legasea.co.nz Or call us on: 0800 LEGASEA (534 273).

Email us info@legasea.co.nz Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

New qualification, same world-class experience

T

oi Ohomai Institute of Technology’s world-famous Marine Studies course has had a makeover. There’s a new name, but the promise stands for the same high quality experience and expert teaching standards.

over two years, and they can now complete the course as a diver or non-diver. If they choose graduates can then go on to study for the third year of Waikato University’s Bachelor of Science in Tauranga and finish up with a degree.

Monitoring option. And employers love our graduates for their practical skills and theoretical knowledge.

The Diploma in Environmental Management (Level 5 & 6) – Marine, gives students the same great mix of practical and academic content

Students have field trips honing their surveying skills in places such as the Mercury Islands or even PNG if they choose the Coral Reef Ecology and

Visit toiohomai.ac.nz for more information and play a part in protecting our future.

If you have a passion for the outdoors, we also have a terrestrial strand on offer.

www.divenewzealand.com 37

New Year, New Career: Becoming a PADI Instructor Becoming a PADI Instructor not only means a new career, it can lead to a life of travel, adventure and so much more. To find out more about what’s involved and how to get started, read on!

What is the IDC? IDC stands for Instructor Development Course and it is made up of two parts: Assistant Instructor and Open Water Scuba Instructor.

Most candidates take both sections together followed by sitting a PADI® Instructor Exam to become fullyfledged PADI Instructors. If you are already a certified diving instructor with another training organisation you may not need to complete the Assistant Instructor portion but rather go directly into the Open Water Scuba Instructor course.

Who can take an IDC? You need to be a certified PADI Divemaster who has been a certified diver for at least six months and meet the following requirements; • Have 100 logged dives before the Instructor exams • Completed Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care(CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months • Have a medical statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months.

38 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

• Be a current EFR® Instructor (or hold a qualifying certification from another organisation)

What will I learn during the IDC? The IDC teaches you how to conduct all core PADI Courses from Open Water Diver through to Divemaster.

You’ll learn the PADI Standards and Procedures and how to find information you need in the PADI Instructor Manual.

You’ll also review: PADI Learning®, Instruction & the PADI System, Risk Management & Diver Safety, The Business of Diving and your role as an instructor as well as Marketing Diving & Sales Counseling.

In addition to studying these key topics you’ll be reviewing your in-water skill demonstrations and learning how to deliver clear presentations for Confined Water and Open Water dives as well as for Knowledge Development presentations.

Your public speaking skills will improve, your confidence will grow and your in-water skills will become perfectly honed.

Is it the right career choice for me?

If you like people, love diving, have a passion for travel and a thirst for adventure then Yes! Becoming a PADI Instructor not only allows you to teach diving and share your passion, it enables you to make real differences to people’s lives.

You’ll teach nervous beginners and give them confidence, you’ll teach teenagers and show them the value of responsibility, you’ll dive with people of all nationalities and ages, from all walks of life and you’ll give them one common gift – the gift of diving and a passion for the underwater world.

For most active divers, diving is more than a holiday activity; it’s a passion and, for many, a way of life. You’ll be giving this gift to each and every one of your students. Think back to your own recreational scuba diving instructors – they must have been inspiring for you to be thinking about following in their footsteps!

Find out more about becoming a PADI Instructor at local PADI Dive Shop or at www.padi.com

TE ACH

“I learn just as much from my students as they learn from me.”

My students inspire me to teach. Being a PADI Instructor has taught me to become a better leader, which ultimately has transformed my everyday life.

Brandon Hamara - PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

Become a PADI Instructor with the world’s largest scuba diving training organisation.

Visit padi.com or your local PADI Dive Shop to find out more.

© PADI 2017.

Experiencing Borneo from below Story and images by Elizabeth Alberts

B

efore my dive trip to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo most of my underwater experience had been around Australia. I’d dived the Great Barrier Reef twice and I imagined the Coral Triangle would be somewhat similar. But nothing could have prepared me for the unique beauty of Borneo and the diversity of aquatic life there.

The initial reason I went there was to write about orangutan conservation but I ended up being introduced to Aaron “Bertie” Gekoski, the presenter of Borneo From Below which showcases the underwater world of Sabah. Once I’d watched a few episodes and acquainted myself with pygmy seahorses and two-headed nudibranchs I knew I couldn’t leave Sabah without diving.

Ric Owen, one of the owners of dive operator Suba Junkie, suggested the following itinerary: spend a day diving Sibuan, transfer to Mabul Beach Resort and dive the next two days around Mabul and Kapalai, then finish the trip with a showstopper: the world famous Sipidan.

40 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Sibuan

tail rays and moray eels.

At a dive site called Froggy’s I saw my first nudibranch - that impossibly small, impossibly colorful mollusk that could easily be mistaken for a bright piece of coral. Once I’d spotted one nudibranch they quickly became an obsession. I spent every subsequent dive searching for these mysterious creatures. But nudibranchs were just the start of it. Over the course of three dives at Sibuan, I saw just about every fish and coral species illustrated in my guidebook. At least it felt like that.

A few favorites included bicolor parrotfish, remora, and orange-lined triggerfish.

Then there was Kapalai, which isn’t actually an island, but a large sandbar. At the island’s House Reef you get to swim alongside wooden chalets, boxes and towers deliberately sunk to form artificial reefs. A host of wildlife lives on and around the structures, including orange-spotted grouper, flasher scorpion fish and long-jawed mackerel.

Mabul and Kapalai While diving at Eel Garden off the coast of Mabul Island I got to see some seriously cool, and seriously tiny animals, like the Anker’s whip coral shrimp, the Bargibanti pygmy seahorse, and yes, more nudibranchs. I also got to see lots of big stuff too, like hawksbill and green turtles, blue-spotted ribbon

Sipidan Everyone raved about Sipidan, and I was a little worried it wouldn’t live up to its reputation. It did, and then some. Thousands of years ago, corals formed this island by growing on top of an extinct volcano. Now it’s one of the richest marine habitats in the world, with hundreds of coral species and over 3,000 kinds of fish taking advantage of the nutrient-rich waters that sweep past the island.

Barracuda Point, as its name suggests, is the place to see awe-inspiring schools of barracuda.

Unfortunately, we didn’t find

www.divenewzealand.com 41

them. But we did descend into a tornado of jack fish, which in my opinion, was just as satisfying.

Other favorites included Napoleon wrasse, barramundi, puffer fish, and snapper.

At one unforgettable moment, I found myself swimming with a school of 15 white-tipped reef sharks, and even became an unwitting observer to green turtles having sex just a few metres away.

While you can certainly go deep at Sipidan most of the interesting things to see are in the top 15 metres, and I ended up averaging only about 5 metres over the four dives I did that day.

The uniqueness of Sipidan makes it one of the most popular sites, and to dive here you need a permit which has to be organized through your dive operator. The permits get booked up days, if not weeks in advance so book early. But if you happen to miss Sipidan, don’t sweat it since there’s so much to see around the other islands.

Elizabeth Alberts is a freelance writer who splits her time between Australia and the United States. She’s dived in many places around the world, including Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Hawaii and Italy.

etting to Sabah: To dive the Semporna archipelago in Sabah you need to catch a flight G to the tiny town of Tawau, Malyasia. Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore all have daily flights there. Once you land in Tawau, get a shuttle to Semporna which can be organised through your dive operator. etting to Sibuan Island: To dive at Sibuan Island, you’ll need to stay in Semporna at G least one night. If you’re diving with Scuba Junkie you’ll probably want to stay at their accommodation, Semporna Dive Lodge. Or you can hop straight on a boat to get to Mabul Beach Resort which offers more luxurious accommodation.

When to go: Diving is great at any time of the year at the Semporna archipelago but the high season is usually between March and December, with visibility at its best in July and August. In January or February, you may get some rain, and the air and water temperature are slightly cooler, but the diving is still great.

42 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Diving on the Coromandel

M

ercury Bay - the great bay named by Captain James Cook, and the home of resort town of Whitianga - is renowned for its stunning coastline, offshore islands, white sandy beaches and crystal waters. It really is one of New Zealand’s magic locations.

The dive sites here are suitable for first time divers through to the very experienced. Mercury Bay is an ideal playground for everyone, with many offshore islands and the outstanding Te Whanganui A Hei Marine Reserve.

Photographers have on offer a wide range of photo opportunities from macro to wide angle shooting. Or put on gloves and try your luck at catching a crayfish, or collecting the renowned delicacy – scallops! (during season.)

Above water, the islands’ spectacular cliffs climb vertically from the sea, remnants of an ancient volcano chain and making many fascinating dive sites that vary in depth and bottom topography. In some places the cliffs

continue straight down beneath the water. And some of the walls display brilliant anemones, hydroids, nudibranchs, soft colourful sponges and spiny sea urchins.

Most dive sites are populated with big and small boulders, cracks and crevasses, swim throughs, and caves.

Kelp and seaweeds of many colours spread over the sea floor. The fish life is many and hugely varied, from schools of trevally and blue maomao to large kingfish during summer months.

An array of other animal inhabitants feature: moray eels, stingrays, wrasse, demoiselles, porcupine fish, snapper and many other vibrant species.

Occasionally Orca swim here in pods of between four and eight chasing the abundant stingrays. But their smaller dolphin cousins are the most common marine mammals witnessed; they frequently visit divers in the area.

And on occasion, especially during winter months, New Zealand fur seals take up residence on some islands, keen players in the water.

All these islands offer sheltered bays too, including safe anchorage for overnight stays. There is always somewhere to go and enjoy your time on the water, no matter what the wind does.

While you’re here, the Coromandel Peninsular calls out for a road trip.

Exploring the many beaches and secluded coves is a must. So when you visit put aside plenty of time for delving as well diving! Check out the ton of history, from kauri forest to old gold mining sites. And delightful eateries to tempt you.

Dive Operator/ Charter: Dive Zone Whitianga Darrell and Linda Bird 10 Campbell Street, Whitianga 3510 Phone: +647-867 1580 info@divethecoromandel.co.nz www.divezone.co.nz/whitianga Open 7am–7pm, 7 days during the summer months

www.divenewzealand.com 43

The all-access cruise

by Walt Stearns

A cruise aboard Wakatobi’s Pelagian dive yacht shows off the full range of Indonesia's underwater wealth

T

he reefs within Wakatobi Resort's marine preserve provide snorkellers and divers a wealth of marine diversity, more than anyone could take in in a single visit. Yet beyond this plethora of underwater opportunity it's only natural to wonder what lies beyond.

The answer is Pelagian.

Taking to sea Complementing the land based Wakatobi Resort is the Pelagian, a 115-foot/36m dive yacht that cruises the Wakatobi archipelago and southern portion of Buton Island.

These waters lie within the Coral Triangle, where the highest coral reef bio-diversity in the world occurs.

The Pelagian follows a seven-day itinerary and some seasonal 10-day trips to take in a diverse range of underwater environments, from steep walls perforated by overhangs

along the outside edge of Karang Kaledupa and Karang Kapota atolls, to the exceptional muck diving opportunities of Buton Island’s Pasar Wajo Bay. The live-aboard also skirts the southwestern edges of Wangi Wangi and Kaledupa Islands, and their magnificent reefs, dramatic vertical drop-offs and pinnacles, each with a kaleidoscopic menagerie of marine life.

A proper yacht

Ready set, reef

The Pelagian is not a typical live-aboard vessel; it is configured to hold a maximum of 10 divers in five spacious cabins, each more akin to a hotel room with en suite bathrooms and showers. A crew of 12 includes an executive chef and stewards, fine dining and five-star service.

Day One of a cruise starts on Wakatobi’s doorstep with a couple of afternoon warm up dives before the Pelagian pulls away to begin the journey towards Buton Island. The next morning finds divers exploring sites between the massive reef atolls of Karang Kaledupa and Karang Kapota.

Diving activities are conducted from a pair of custom-fabricated dive tenders, with the crew handling

The top edges of these structures are carpeted with a wide variety of hard and soft corals. Slopes and walls

Pelagian dive yacht saloon. Photo: Didi Lotze

44 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

all gear management. Dives are led by one of Wakatobi's guides, who are expert at locating rare marine subjects. Because dives are conducted either in shallow-water muck sites or on structures with significant vertical reliefs, bottom times routinely exceed 70 minutes.

The schedule allows for up to four dives a day, including night dives.

Pelagian Superlux cabin. Photo: Didi Lotze

INDONESIA Wakatobi

Wakatobi cuttlefish. Photo: Walt Stearns

www.divenewzealand.com 45

plunge into the depths, covered in vibrant-colored soft coral trees and gorgonians in red, orange, pink and yellow. The dramatic drops extend beyond 75 meters; visibility typically exceeds 30 meters, sites are ideal for taking in the big picture. Sometimes they serve up open-water species like blackfin barracuda, sea turtles and schools of eagle rays.

In addition, these reefs hold a wealth of small finds, excellent places to look for rare, tiny creatures among the sea whips covering the slopes and walls. Though often overlooked by passing divers, feathery corals here are a haven for whip gobies and small shrimp.

Equally abundant are opportuni-

ties to find pygmy seahorses; dives are made in areas home to three of the most prominent species: the bargibant, Denise and pontoh’s. A specialty of the Pelagian’ crew is locating the tiny, white pontoh’s (Hippocampus pontohi) seahorse sheltering among the halimeda algae. Capturing these small creatures can be a challenging exercise in macro photography, but they make great subjects whether viewed through a camera or an underwater magnifying glass.

Muck diving A signature element to Pelagian's itinerary is the muck diving opportunities rare elsewhere in the area but abundant on the southeastern

side of Buton Island. To a neophyte muck diver the question might be “Why am I here?” until you start to see what’s there! A first sight might be the mottled red face of a reptilian snake eel protruding from the sand.

Mandarinfish. Photo: Walt Stearns

46 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Or perhaps a wonderpus octopus, out for a stroll. Closer looks will reveal Coleman shrimp, fire urchins and alien-like peacock mantis shrimp, along with shrimp gobies keeping house with their alpheid shrimp roommates, who seem to do all the work.

Pier dives Any self-respecting muck diving destination should include a pier dive, and in Pasar Wajo Bay, the

Pelagian has three to sample: Asphalt Pier, New Pier and Magic Pier. Among the fan favorites is Asphalt Pier which serves as the island’s primary terminal for loading a natural form of asphalt quarried on the island and loaded onto waiting cargo vessels. Divers can safely hunt around the front of the pier and the clusters of pilings, at depths from five to 15 meters to find shrimp gobies, frogfish, leaf scorpionfish and robust ghost and banded pipefish.

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Fishmarket. Photo: Walt Stearns

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www.divenewzealand.com 47

While the New Pier pilings are a great spot for finding blue ribbon eels, ringed pipefish and spiny devil scorpionfish, the adjacent debris field is a good place to hunt for octopus and gobies, which take refuge in shells, cans and bottles.

Saving the best for last, Magic Pier is Pelagian's most talked about dive site. For good reason. Besides being home to a menagerie of cephalopods including cuttlefish and blue-ringed octopus, frogfish and various nudibranchs, the site is loaded with mating mandarinfish. Each evening just before sunset, coral formations and rock piles around the base of the pier come alive as scores of mandarinfish emerge from their hiding places for their nightly ritual. Males gather to stage elaborate mating displays, and when they attract the attention of a willing female, the pair begins a spiraling dance that culminates in the release of eggs and sperm.

Reefs, walls and pinnacles The third leg of the Pelagian’s itinerary targets coral-rich shallows, slopes and steep drop offs between Wangi Wangi Island and Hoga, adjacent to Kaledupa Island. Here reef profiles rise to within a meter or two of the surface allowing bottom times of 70 minutes or more.

Among a broad list of sites there is Komang Reef, an elongated sea mound alive with vibrant growths of soft corals and sponges swarmed by plenitudes of fish life that peak when the tide changes. Another site is aptly named Fishmarket for the high numbers of schooling fish it attracts, including a rather huge school of blackfin barracuda. Fishmarket features a steep wall with two deep ravines and a detached pinnacle rising to within 10 meters of the surface.

On the way to and from home base at Wakatobi Resort, Pelagian may stop at other sites such as the seamounts of Blade, an unusual structure consisting of a series of knifeedged pinnacles running in parallel connected by a lower ridge giving the entire structure the appearance of a giant serrated knife blade set on edge. Just one more of the many memorable sites divers can experience aboard Pelagian.

Blue ribbon eel - Asphalt Pier. Photo: Walt Stearns

And by combining a cruise with a stay at Wakatobi Resort, guests can experience the best that Indonesia has to offer.

For more information contact the Wakatobi team at email office@wakatobi.com www.wakatobi.com Pontohs seahorses. Photo: Marco Fierli

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48 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY and go in the draw to

DIVE is giving away a new PARALENZ video camera*

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to a lucky new subscriber

As reviewed in July/August issue #159 *Valued at $NZ1000!

Subscribers will also receive our newsletter keeping you up to date with diving news from home and around the world.

Note: You are automatically included in all on-going competitions open to current, financial subscribers only. (note: not available to subscribers to the digital version.) Automatic inclusion means you agree to receive any promotional material on the competition prize/s from any of the manufacturers/distributors. [ ] DO NOT automatically include me in any subscriber only competitions.

YOUR DETAILS: Start with [ ] Current issue or [ ] Next issue This subscription is: [ ] New or a [ ] Renewal Name ____________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Post code __________ Daytime ph/mobile _________________________________________________ Email ____________________________________________________________ I would like to give a gift subscription to: Name ____________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Daytime ph/mobile _________________________________________________ Message on gift card ________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Send to: Freepost Dive NZ, Dive New Zealand, PO Box 34 687, Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand 0746. Ph 64-9-4833 914 Email divenz@DiveNewZealand.co.nz or subscribe on line at www.DiveNewZealand.com or contact us for direct credit bank account details.

PLEASE TICK YOUR REQUIRED SUBSCRIPTION (NZ$) Destination (air) 1 Year (6 issues) 2 years (12 issues) New Zealand $57.00 $103.00 Australia $97.50 $185.00 South Pacific $117.00 $222.00 Asia $127.00 $241.00 UK, North America, Europe $133.50 $253.60 Rest of World $137.50 $270.00

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New metal detector transmits by vibration

T

he SAR-1, a new metal detector, alerts the operator to the presence of metal by vibration transmitted through the handle. It’s specially designed for use by public safety dive teams, law enforcement agencies, and military units that need to locate metal objects in underwater environments with poor visibility.

In addition to vibration, the detector also has a high intensity LED display which is directly in front of the diver's face and easy to see in all conditions.

It’s snareless design has no external wires or cables to prevent it becoming entangled, while its and bright yellow search coil helps the operator find any target in zero visibility water.

An example: Recently, a woman lost her ring in about 3 to 4 metres of water while on a swim 50 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

raft at Woodruff, Wisconsin. The bottom was a metre of weeds with silty muck on the bottom.

She recruited local company Timber Bay Sports to help find

her irreplaceable ring and they located 23 small targets before discovering the ring, all in just under an hour. www.JWFishers.com

Metal detector’s 136 year history The first metal detector was invented on July 2, 1881 after U.S. President James Garfield was shot in the back. While he survived the assassination attempt temporarily, the problem was his doctors could not locate the bullet.

Alexander Graham Bell, then 34 years old, learned of this and set out to build a device that could detect it. Though his machine worked properly, Bell deemed it a failure because it was unable to locate the bullet and the untimely death of President Garfield resulted.

What Bell didn’t know was that the President’s mattress was filled with metal springs that interfered with the magnetic field surrounding the search area.

Bell’s detector was a precursor to modern metal detectors, an example of which are those manufactured by JW Fishers Mfg. Some of those using Fishers

detectors are the US Navy’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit, the, the US Coast Guard, US Border Patrol, Colorado Springs Fire Department, Detroit Police Underwater Recovery Unit, the

Houston Police Dive Team, New York State Police, National Police Dive Squad in New Zealand, the Swedish Coast Guard, Japan’s National Police Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

www.divenewzealand.com 51

GEARBAG Garmin® debuts first dive computer, the Descent Mk1 Garmin New Zealand has launched the Descent™ Mk1, a dive computer housed in a watchstyle design offering surface GPS navigation and rich colour mapping.

The watch is designed for recreational, technical and free divers so they can plan their underwater adventure on the watch and use GPS waypoints to automatically mark dive entry and exit points.

The Descent Mk1 supports up to six gases including air, nitrox and trimix. Underwater, it keeps useful information such as depth, dive time, temperature, NDL/TTS, ascent/descent rates, gas mix, PO2, N2 loading, decompression/safety stop information, time-of-day, and more on its 1.2-inch colour display.

When paired with a compatible smartphone, it allows a user to receive and view text messages, emails and smart notifications right on the watch.

The Descent Mk1 is available at a recommended retail price of NZ$1,599 for the stainless-steel and NZ$2,499 for the premium version. To learn more, visit www.garmin.com/descent

http://www.garmin.co.nz facebook.com/garminNZ/

Humminbird® introduces compact solid-state CHIRP radar module Humminbird® has introduced a new, compact solid state radar module for radar imaging over short and long range. It claims exceptional target separation technology to display approaching weather, boats, rocks, buoys and landmarks.

Its ‘CHIRP’ Pulse Compression uses multiple radar pulses which translates to better situational awareness in low-visibility conditions, and a capability to track weather, vessels, obstacles, and monitor birds with amazing definition.

Says Humminbird Product Manager, Shaun Clancy. “Our new allows for improved navigation, and gives anglers an upper hand birds and floating obstacles, which are often the markers of

CHIRP Radar for monitoring gamefish.”

SRP: $3,299

www.humminbird.com

New Clarion marine receiver (USB/MP3/ WMA) builds in BlueTooth Clarion's new GR10BT has a • High Visibility Oversized LCD Display • Bluetooth for stereo audio streaming for playing music stored on your connected Bluetooth smart phone, tablet or whatever, with wireless convenience.

• USB Connector to connect a variety of sources, or even charge your smartphone. Or playback music files stored on a USB memory device as well as smartphone.

• MP3/WMA USB File Playback. Plug in your USB memory device and bring the music onboard.

• Global Radio Tuner with Weather Band

www.clarion.com

52 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Radio station reception from just about anywhere in the world. The unit has four internal 45W amplifiers to pump the music over your onboard system. SRP: $258

GEARBAG Buy boat show tickets online now and win.

Powered $8000+ Viking Reload Kayak up for grabs People buying tickets online now for the “new look” 2018 Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show automatically go in the draw to win a fully kitted out Viking Profish Reload kayak worth over $8000 and complete with the latest, super-efficient electric motor.

ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland on May 17-20, 2018.

All tickets bought through the show’s website www.boatshow.co.nz will be eligible, but hurry before entries close.

Pre-Xmas bonus Those buying tickets online as a Xmas present or stocking filler will also go into the draw to win a Pre-Xmas Bonus Pack worth over $300, and tickets bought online are $18 each instead of $20 at the gate.

The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, will be held at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland on May 17-20, 2018.

On line ticket buyers to the 2018 Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show go in the draw to win an $8000-plus Viking Profish Reload kayak prize package.

www.divenewzealand.com 53

GEARBAG Inflatable solar lights great for boating, fishing, outdoors New LuminAID solar-powered lanterns were originally designed to provide safety and comfort to victims of natural disasters – they quickly inflate to provide powerful LED lighting – but are finding many other uses.

They boast an inflatable transparent bladder to diffuse their solarcharged LED light, are long-lasting, rechargeable, waterproof to IP67, 100% PVC and phthalate free, weigh no more than 141 grams and are easily collapsible.

Light output ranges from 50 to 150 lumens, with most offering both solar and USB charging - a great addition to a home or vessel’s emergency kit by offering compact and lightweight lighting.

Product and dealer information is available from Lusty and Blundell on (09) 415-8303 or at www.lusty-blundell.co.nz.

Seiko watches built for the underwater challenge Model SRPB51K from the Seiko Prospex Collection, is definitely built for the challenge. Its specifications include: • Automatic movement • 200m water resistance • Stainless steel case & bracelet • one-way rotating bezel and a screw-down crown • Case size: 43.8mm. www.seiko.com

Price: $NZ860

LightHouse upgrades to 3.2 The latest upgrade to Raymarine’s award-winning LightHouse navigation operating system is now available free for existing AXIOM and AXIOM Pro owners and for selected older Raymarine MFDs running LightHouse II. Among other things the new LightHouse 3.2 upgrade introduces a new Nearby Waypoint Display, which appear live on the RealVision3D sonar display so users can instantly see how close they are to their favourite fishing spots.

Owners can also build their own detailed live sonar and bathymetric charts to show contour intervals as small as 300mm apart. The update is now available from the Raymarine website: www.raymarine.com

54 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

SPECIESFOCUS

Mangrove ~Avecinnia marina

By Paul Caiger

Mangroves are one of the few true plants that can make a life in the sea, as algae are not a true vascular plant. They’re an estuarine species tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including hyper salinity which is achieved partly by excreting salt through their leaves, and they thrive even more when the water is more brackish. Being so affected by both tides and fluvial input, their habitat is also usually hypoxic, and to counteract this mangroves have aerial roots, called pneumatophores which permit them to absorb atmospheric oxygen.

The species is also a resource for many people in the various regions of the world where they grow. For instance, the strong, even-textured wood is used extensively as materials for housing and boats, and as fuel for fires and kilns. Near the Red Sea the leaves are used as camel fodder; in Australia its branches are fed to cattle, and the bark is widely used as a brown dye.

Even more intriguing is its use in medicine. There are tales that the root and bark are used as an aphrodisiac, and with parts of the wood also used to treat snakebite! More credible is that the juice from the seeds and leaves can be made into a poultice to treat sores and wounds.

Mangroves are a pioneer species

adept at colonising new territories.

Their iconic green floating, salt-tolerant seedlings can disperse far and wide along ocean currents which is an attribute that has led to their disfavour among some, when an area once a sandy embayment, or with shellfish-harvestable mudflats, becomes quickly overgrown by fields of mangroves. However, when this occurs it is usually as a result of prior human interference in a waterway, for instance when a causeway is built across the arm of an estuary.

Mangrove

1 An estuarine species of tree, tolerant of hypersaline conditions.

More importantly, their ability to rapidly colonise an area, and their strong resilience means mangroves are hugely beneficial for the environment and for human habitation since they provide food and shelter for many species, and act as nurseries for fish species. They also protect the shoreline from ever increasing storm surges and wave action.

All in all, mangroves are a hardy species of integral importance for the health of our estuaries.

~Avecinnia marina

5 It has aerial roots (pneumatophores), allowing the plant to absorb oxygen.

2 Native to northern New Zealand and with a large 6 Very effective at sequestering atmospheric global distribution.

3 A pioneer species that can form on muddy/sandy habitats.

4 Its Ma-ori name is ma-nawa.

carbon, known as ‘blue carbon�.

7 Act as nursery habitats for many species.

8 Have great dispersal abilities, with seed pods moving by sea.

www.divenewzealand.com 55

INCIDENT INSIGHTS

By DAN Asia-Pacific

WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DANAP]

Stranded while drift diving

By DAN's Brittany Trout This was a scheduled series of dives between a charter boat and a dive boat. Conditions on the first dive of the day included a fairly swift current and excellent visibility. Five divers between the ages of 30 and 70 went on a drift dive for the second dive of the day in the late afternoon. The plan for the drift dive included the dive boat taking the divers to the dive site and the charter boat remaining stationary.

T

he captain of the dive boat accompanied the divers as divemaster, and a designated crew member remained aboard the dive boat to monitor and retrieve the divers after they surfaced. Post-dive the dive boat was expected to return the divers to the charter boat.

Unfortunately, the dive boat experienced complications when the crew member fouled the prop in the line floating off the rear of the boat and was therefore unable to follow the divers while they drifted. It took a significant amount of time to cut the line and free the prop, so the crew member was unable to simultaneously monitor the divers. By the time the dive boat was mobile again, he could not locate the divers, and he had not let the charter boat captain know about the delayed status of the dive boat.

56 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Meanwhile, the divers surfaced with no boat in sight. It is estimated the divers had drifted a few miles from their entry point. One diver had an inflatable signalling sausage, but the crew member on the dive boat did not see it. The dive group decided to swim for 45 minutes until they reached the shore of a deserted island.

They had no means of communicating to any boats or calling for help.

Having had no communication from the dive boat, the charter captain felt the divers were long overdue so using a smaller console boat he began searching for them and he eventually found and retrieved the entire dive party approximately one hour after they had reached the shore. Other than exhaustion, the divers experienced no injuries.

DAN comments

Thorough pre-dive planning for a worst-case scenario may seem excessive. However, this case shows the benefit of critically discussing and reviewing dive operation plans.

Details disregarded as minor may be crucial in an emergency situation.

Diver monitoring, communication protocols and diver preparedness are three areas in which this dive operation plan could have been improved.

Drift diving from a boat is when divers ride the current through a dive site and, instead of swimming to the boat upon surfacing, are followed and picked up at the conclusion of the dive. Following divers’ bubbles can be an effective monitoring plan; a more dependable way is to utilise a float line. This requires a diver to tow a line and a surface marker,

usually consisting of a float with an attached diver-down flag. The surface marker provides a more noticeable reference of the diver's location than bubbles, especially in rough waters.

‘Ideal’ conditions

The divers reported ideal diving conditions; even so, a surface marker could have provided a better reference point than bubbles alone, especially as the dive boat crew member was distracted by freeing the boat prop.

It is unknown if there were any other crewmembers or "bubble watchers" aboard the dive boat but it is helpful to have more than one person observing from topside to ensure the location of the divers is known.

Communication failure

An important detail in this incident is the failure of communication between the two boats. Had the charter boat been notified of the mishap with the dive boat's prop, the charter boat captain could have provided assistance sooner, potentially preventing the divers from becoming stranded. Just as dive buddies need to ensure effective communication via hand signals, dive boat operators should also maintain effective communication devices and protocols when dive planning.

The preparedness of the divers should also be considered. The diver reported a safety sausage was deployed once the divers realised the boat was nowhere in sight.

Unfortunately, the safety sausage went unnoticed, and the divers had no other signalling devices available.

Visual signalling devices should be large enough and brightly coloured to be noticed from afar. To be prepared for various scenarios, it is recommended to have a variety of signalling devices available while diving.

Being stranded at sea is psychologically taxing as well as physically demanding. Hazardous marine life encounters, dehydration, exhaustion and hypothermia are all possible life-threatening scenarios. This case serves as a reminder that thorough dive operations planning and thoughtful consideration to details can have a big impact on dive safety.

References:

1. D oolette DJ, Gerth WA, Gault KA. Redistribution of decompression stop time from shallow to deep stops increases incidence of decompression sickness in air decompression dives. Technical Report.

Panama City (FL): Navy Experimental Diving Unit; 2011 Jul. Report No.: 11-06.

2. S pisni E, Marabotti C, De Fazio L, Valerii MC, Cavazza E, Brambilla S, Hoxha K, L'Abbate A, Longobardi P. A comparative evaluation of two decompression procedures for technical diving using inflammatory responses: compartmental versus ratio deco. Diving Hyperb Med. 2017;47:9-16.

3. B latteau J-E, Hugon M, Gardette B, Sainty J-M, Galland F-M. Bubble incidence after staged decompression from 50 or 60 msw: effect of adding deep stops. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2005;76:490-2.

4. L jubkovic M, Marinovic J, Obad A, Breskovic T, Gaustad SE, Dujic Z. High incidence of venous and arterial gas emboli at rest after trimix diving without protocol violations. J Appl Physiol.

2010;109:1670-4.

Not yet a DAN member? Join at danap.org Engage with DAN on Facebook for insights into various dive-related safety and medical issues.

DAN Dive Safety 8x6cm Dive Log NZ Search ‘DAN Asia Pacific’ or scan here.

dive safety A diver collapses after a dive.

He urgently needs oxygen.

20/5/15

12:46 PM

begins with me.

Do you know Pantoneto Colorsdo?

Version what Contact DAN: the Specialists CMYK Version www.danap.org

in Oxygen & First Aid Training and Equipment.

www.divenewzealand.com 57

Pa

DIVEMEDICINE

Temperature and decompression sickness: Is cold a risk factor?

Professor Simon Mitchell, University of Auckland One of the subjects of consistent interest to divers is the issue of how to minimise their risk of suffering decompression sickness (DCS).

O

f course, everybody appreciates that the depthtime profile of a dive is of paramount importance in determining this risk. But what divers are frequently referring to when they ask questions about risk minimisation are those factors other than depthtime profile that may be relevant. For example, a diver may ask “assuming I adhere to the no decompression limits prescribed by my dive table or computer, are there any other things I can do that will materially lower my risk”?

Minimising risk This question has become even more relevant to the activities of technical divers performing deep decompression dives. In this setting we sometimes see DCS despite adherence to the decompression prescribed by the divers’ computers or planners, and the divers naturally want to know what they can do to try to minimise the risk of it happening again.

Over the years various risk factors for DCS have been proposed.

Examples include exercise during diving, dehydration, cold water, and obesity. Although some of these are discussed with great enthusiasm and conviction in diving courses, the data supporting their status as risk factors are often surprisingly weak.

Three risk factors Indeed, there are probably only three risk factors that are very strongly supported in the diving medicine literature. One of these, patent foramen ovale, is a physiological risk factor which I have discussed in a previous article. The other well supported risks are exercise during the bottom time, and cold. I will discuss exercise in a future article. It is cold that I will focus on here.

58 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Cold It has long been taught that diving in cold conditions increased the risk of DCS. This was certainly the message when I learned to dive. One plausible explanation for a detrimental effect of cold was its potential effect on blood flow if body tissues became cold during a dive. To understand this we have to briefly consider how dissolved nitrogen reaches tissues when we breathe compressed air at depth. Since we are respiring air at greater pressure, more nitrogen can be dissolved in the blood, and ultimately in the tissues as the blood carries the nitrogen to all parts of the body.

…The most important determinant of how fast any tissue accumulates nitrogen at depth is the tissue’s blood flow.

The greater the flow, the faster the nitrogen loading…

Blood flow The most important determinant of how fast any tissue accumulates nitrogen at depth is the tissue’s blood flow. The greater the flow, the faster the nitrogen loading.

Importantly, the same is true for nitrogen elimination during ascent and arrival at the surface. As the pressure of inspired nitrogen in the air falls at shallower depths, the nitrogen moves from the tissues into to the blood which carries it back to the lungs for elimination. Once again, the greater the blood flow to a tissue, the faster it will eliminate nitrogen.

This gives us a potential explanation for an effect of cold on risk. If for example, a tissue is warm and well supplied by blood early in the dive

when nitrogen is being absorbed it would tend to take up a lot of nitrogen. But then if the same tissue became cold during the dive and its blood flow decreased (cold tends to cause blood vessels to constrict thus reducing flow), it would eliminate nitrogen more slowly. This hypothetical scenario of warm tissue during nitrogen uptake and cold tissue during nitrogen elimination potentially creates an increased risk because there is rapid gas uptake but slower gas elimination. If you think about it, this is certainly the most likely scenario during a typical dive in cold water; we start out warm and become progressively colder over the course of the dive.

Recent US Navy study A recent study by the US Navy Experimental Diving Unit has effectively confirmed this hypothesis. They conducted a remarkable experiment involving 400 dives by humans, in which clinical DCS was the outcome measure. [1] They performed dives mostly to 36m with a standard approach to decompression. To increase the risk of DCS the divers performed moderate work throughout their bottom time. The researchers were able to arrange what were effectively two separate pools of water adjacent to each other in their depth simulation facility. In one pool they had warm water and the other contained cooler water. The divers wore no thermal protection so that their exposure to the ambient water temperature was standardised and repeatable.

This arrangement allowed them to vary the temperature conditions of the dive, either running the whole dive at one temperature, or getting the divers to change pools at the start of the decompression and thereby changing the temperature

Temperatures reversed It was a complex study, but for simplicity, it was the latter experiments which are of greatest interest to us. Basically, they ran a series of dives to 36m for 30 minutes in which the conditions were either warm on the bottom and cool during the decompression (warm-cold series), or the opposite (cool on the bottom and warm during decompression (cold-warm series)). In the warm-cold series they had seven cases of DCS in 32 dives (22%), and in the cold-warm series they had zero cases of DCS in 80 dives (0%).

‌Getting cold after being warm during the bottom phase of a dive is a bad thing. There is no doubt about it‌ These numbers speak clearly for themselves. Although the experimental conditions are difficult to interpret in terms of real world diving, there is a clear signal that what we have always suspected is true: getting cold after being warm during the bottom phase of a dive is a bad thing. There is no doubt about it. However, there is equally no doubt that this disadvantageous state of affairs is more typical of what happens to divers in the real world than starting the dive cold and ending it warm.

Practical application So what is the practical application of this finding?

Well, no one is suggesting that one intentionally starts a dive cold and tries to warm up during decompression. That would be a hard thing to achieve for a start.

I suppose the most plausible practical message is fairly simple one: try to minimise the process of getting cold during a dive. This means having good thermal protection. If you are doing a lot of diving, particularly deeper longer dives in temperate water, then it is worth considering using a dry suit. If you are already a dry suit user, and you use actively heated undergarments, then it would be reasonable to consider not turning the heating on until the decompression phase when you actually want to be warm. Turning your heating garment on at the bottom may promote inert gas uptake.

In the next article I will discuss the other physiological factor that is known to affect risk of DCS: exercise during diving.

Imran Ahmad Photographer

Why I’m a DAN Member As a professional photographer, husband and father, I need to be confident I will be looked after if I happen to get sick or injured after diving. Having suffered DCI only a few years ago, I know how valuable my DAN coverage is. I spend a lot of time underwater, all over the world, and DAN is the only name I trust.

www.escapeinc.com.sg

conditions between the bottom and decompression phases.

www.danap.org www.divenewzealand.com 59

SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

Wonderful selection

By Dave Moran, Editor at Lage

W

hat a wonderful selection of images the judges had to narrow down to select the eventual winners.

Their final selection shows us a mix of macro, close-up and wide angle, static and moving subjects.

Such a wonderful blend of images, showcasing the vast range of

photographic opportunities that are available to the diver.

For those of you who did not make the final cut – do not despair – by entering this fun competition you are becoming more critical of your own photography results. Which, believe me, is a good thing!

The judges and the team at Dive New Zealand/Dive Pacific magazines look forward to receiving your personal masterpieces. See: www.divenewzealand.com click on Photo Competition. It’s free to enter.

Thanks for taking the time to enter!

Congratulations to this issue’s winners.

dvanced Category A Winner: Congratulations Gaetano Gargiulo, Australia.

Gaetano was on a photographic mission to capture images of little critters! As you can see in the photo’s caption he had quite a set-up with twin strobes, LED lighting and of course a macro lens. Spotting this very small seahorse is also a mission!

Gaetano receives a Sea Tech Gift Voucher for $100.

Judges’ Comments: A stunning portrait composition with a natural frame A seahorse version of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa! We believe this subject has a more alluring stare!

The image could have been improved by: Using a graduated filter on the bottom of the frame to slightly reduce the exposure and the distraction of the branches. A little more exposure would have improved the colours.

Seahorse Portrait; Leigh, New Zealand: Nikon D800, Nauticam housing, Nikon 105mm lens, one Ikelite DS125 strobe with a snoot attached – f/22, 1/250 sec, ISO 200.

60 60 Dive DiveNew NewZealand Zealand| |Dive DivePacific Pacific

dvanced Highly A Commended: Congratulations Alexey Zaytsev, New Zealand.

Alexey and his family arrived into New Zealand about two years ago I believe. Fantastic to see he is exploring New Zealand’s great outdoors! Lake Taupo is an ideal location to investigate different photographic opportunities.

Alexey receives a Sea Tech Gift Voucher for $75.

Judges’ Comments: A nicely composed image using the Snell’s Window effect. The abstraction and colours in this image set an idyllic mood.

‘Solar glade’; Lake Taupo, New Zealand: Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II, , Panasonic 16–35mm lens, Nauticam housing, Inon Z-240 strobe – f/4, 1/320 sec, ISO 200.

Novice Highly Commended: Congratulations, Simone Matucci, New Zealand.

Simone, like many divers, travelled to the Ha'apai Islands, Tonga to have a chance of photographing majestic humpback whales.

This image of a mother and calf will, I’m sure, be a highlight of Simone’s trip!

Simone receives a Sea Tech Gift Voucher for $50.

‘The beauty into the blue’; Ha’apai, Tonga: Sony RX100 Mark IV, Acquapazza housing, Dyron wide-angle lens – f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO 80.

Judges’ Comments: The shafts of sunlight on the left of the image convey a feeling of

movement plus they highlight the texture of the whales. A wonderful image. Slight cropping on the left

side would have improved this image.

www.divenewzealand.com 61

SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

‘Feeding time’; Moorea,Tahiti: Canon 7D Mark II with Tokina 10–17mm fisheye lens, Ikelite housing, natural light – f/11, 1/60 sec, ISO 160.

Novice Category Winner: Congratulations, Dan Westerkamp, New Zealand Dan was on a winter escape to Moorea island in beautiful Tahiti. While freediving he was enjoying the company of a few sharks and a school of stingrays. He waited for the right moment to capture the total scene!

Dan receives a Sea Tech Gift Voucher for $75.

Judges’ Comments: Dramatic action! Lovely composition. A fraction of a second later would have been too late. Capturing the shockwave of the sand beneath the ray is impressive!

A selection of notable photos entered for this edition's competition

Thanks to all those who entered this fun competition. The judges and the team at Dive magazine look forward to receiving your photographic masterpieces in December for the February/March 2018 issue of the magazine.

See: www.divenewzealand.com click on Photo Competition.

It’s free to enter.

62 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Sea Tech is the official New Zealand distributor of Ikelite, Fantasea, Recsea, Inon, Bigblue, Nauticam and other leading brands of underwater photographic equipment.

Visit: www.seatech.co.nz or for personal service email: info@seatech.co.nz

(A) David Haintz

(N) Mike Loughran

(A) Lee Findlay

(N) Sara Kulins

(A) Andy Wingate

(N) Stuart Loubser

(N) Sara Kulins

www.divenewzealand.com 63

DIGITALIMAGING Hans Weichselbaum www.digital-image.co.nz

Beyond the Rainbow

I

nfrared (IR) photography opens up a whole new universe for the creative photographer. You’ll need plenty of sunshine and that’s why summer is the best time to get into IR photography.

Unfortunately IR from sunlight will be filtered out once you take your camera underwater though you might get some interesting results when experimenting with a flash. But our topic this time is mostly for your photography in daylight.

In the days of film there were IR sensitive films on the market, but they were also heat sensitive and generally not a pleasure to work with.

Secondly, you had to have an IR filter on your lens which is basically black, letting no visible light through – not very helpful on an SLR. However, digital photography has changed all that.

IR photography relies on IR radiation reflected back from objects so to begin let’s look at the spectrum of visible and IR light.

Image 1 - At the Auckland Domain on a bright summer afternoon The visible light spectrum extends from around 400 to 700 nm (nanometers), but sun light stretches well beyond both these limits. IR comes after the red end of the rainbow. The photographically interesting near IR region extends from 700 to around 1200 nm. Further down the line you get the far IR, which is heat.

IR photography is not simply an extension of the visible light region. Visible light is deliberately blocked out and IR filters have a certain cut-off between 650 and 850 nm. The camera captures only the IR reflected off whatever is in front of your lens. Blue sky turns dark simply because it doesn’t reflect any IR. What stands out most in IR photos is bright foliage. It often looks like a winter landscape. This strong reflection from green vegetation is called the “Wood Effect” (after the IR photography pioneer

Image 2 - The photographically interesting spectral range

Robert Wood, around 1910). There is a small contribution to it from chlorophyll fluorescence, but that

is marginal and not the real cause of the brightness of the vegetation.

Digital IR photography In contrast to photographic film, all image sensors are sensitive to IR and have been used, for example, in security cameras long before they got into our cameras. In fact, IR needs to be blocked out for normal photography. If you wanted to be absolutely certain of losing any guarantee on your camera you might try and replace the built in IR-block filter in front of its sensor with a suitable IR filter (which blocks out visible light). This is not for the faint of heart, and it makes the camera useless for conventional photography.

To explore the world in IR we have two options. You can use your existing camera and put an IR filter in front of the lens. There are different types available that cut off visible light below around 660, 710 or 850 nm. Cutting out the visible light is a fancy way of saying that these filters are black! Because of the built-in IR block filter, only a trickle of IR is going to get through to the sensor. A tripod is essential and you need to compose your image, then put the filter on, refocus (because IR focuses differently to shorter wavelengths), and then work out the exposure. Expect exposure times ranging from several seconds into minutes.

The other option is to get a dedicated IR camera, assuming you didn’t go for the DIY job!.

Choosing a camera and filter There are a number of companies that offer to convert one of your existing cameras into a dedicated IR shooter, or they will modify a brand new one for you. I chose Kolari Vision (kolarivision.com) and can highly recommend them.

sensor. The 720 nm is the standard classic IR filter. If you want a bit more colour coming through you can opt for 590 or 665 nm. Then there is the 850 nm deep IR filter for the hard-core IR addict, which is only suited for B&W work.

Shooting in IR and post processing If you opted for a simple point-andshoot camera you’re ready to go. The camera will set the right focus and exposure for you. With DSLRs you need to watch out for focus correction and exposure compensation.

IR photography is best done in mid-day under full sunshine! White balance is a nuisance - the experts recommend setting the custom white balance by pointing the camera at a batch of grass. Most IR photos are viewed as B&W images and if you opted for the classic 720 or 850 nm IR filters you’ll get B&W images anyway. They might be a bit dull-looking, but that is easy to fix by simply pushing the contrast.

IR photography is full of surprises.

A blue shirt might come out light or dark, depending on the material. A good example is my camera bag: it is black, but turned white in the IR shot. This makes sense, because the manufacturer used a material which reflects IR to keep the contents cool.

If you choose the 665nm filter for your conversion (and even more so, the 590nm filter), you’ll have plenty of colour to play around with. When opening the shot everything looks dull and pinkish. To get a blue sky

Image 3 - Swapping channels using the Channel Mixer you need to swap the red and blue colour channels. This is best done with the Channel Mixer which you’ll find in any image editor. The Kolari Vision website has a tutorial on how to use the free Gimp editor.

If you use Photoshop, go to Image > Adjustments > Colour Mixer. Select the Red channel, reduce the red to 0 and set the blue to 100 (Image 3). Then do the same for the Blue channel, reducing blue to 0 and pulling the red up to 100.

This will give you a blue sky which you can selectively target with the Hue/Saturation tools. Leaves and grass take on a yellowish hue, which you can also perfect to your taste, or you might prefer the white leaves in Image 4 by desaturating the yellow in the leaves.

If you have an older point-andshoot camera lying around, why not convert it to IR? IR photography is fun, full of surprises and will greatly enhance your creativity.

Image 4 - Clipping preview while adjusting the Blacks

Point-and-shoot cameras are a great option for getting started on IR photography as they are small and light and don’t give you a hard time with focussing and exposure. On the Kolari website you’ll find lots of information about choosing the right camera.

Next you need to select an IR filter which will be fitted in front of the

www.divenewzealand.com 65

DIVING THE WEB Phil Bendle e: pbendle@gmail.com

In the shallow temperate waters in the winter each year off South Australia thousands of giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) gather to mate. The link below will take you to an amazing video of this aggregation. http://tiny.cc/sepia

Brandi Mueller is a fantastic underwater photographer based in the Marshall Islands. She is also scuba diving instructor, and boat captain Visit her spectacular photo galleries at http://tiny.cc/siren

5 strange underwater mysteries we still can't explain. During the past century with the advent of sonar and better diving equipment, numerous underwater anomalies have been discovered, but many are still not solved. http://tiny.cc/uwmysteries

Pete Mesley of Lust4Rust and Aquatic Adventures is one of the Southern Hemisphere's most experienced Technical divers. He is also a PADI Course Director, Tech CCR Diving Instructor Trainer, TDI Advanced Trimix Instructor, and CCR Inspiration Advanced Trimix Rebreather Instructor.

This link is to a page of his adventure trips in New Zealand. http://tiny.cc/pmesley To visit Lust4Rust Facebook page http://tiny.cc/a5skoy The tragic fate of flight MH370 is unlikely to ever be solved. Geoscience Australia who was coordinating the intense search, have now released a vast sum of data and maps created during the operation. The results are an astonishing glimpse into a little studied region, showing twisting canyons, rocky outcrops, and expansive plateaus. http://tiny.cc/mh370

Christopher Bartlett professional photojournalist who has been published in numerous national and international magazines.

Browse his UW images at http://tiny.cc/bartlett

66 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

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More information on Dive Stores, Clubs & Travel at www.DiveNewZealand.com

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Open 7 days! 5 Klinac Lane, State Highway 10 Waipapa. 09 407 9986. www.divezoneboi.co.nz, info@divezoneboi.co.nz (DNZ161) Paihia Dive Dive training, charter and retail in Paihia.

Dive the Rainbow Warrior, frigate Canterbury and the Bay of Islands. PADI courses: Open water to Instructor. Quality scuba brands: Aqualung, Tusa, Faber, Luxfer and Wettie spearfishing. Open 7 days.

Williams Rd, Paihia, P: Craig or Lisa 09-402 7551 E: info@divenz.com www.divenz.com (DNZ161) Northland Dive World Class Diving package – Great diving mixed with even better accommodation, meals and hospitality. Dive with the team that instigated the sinking of the Canterbury Frigate. Full Gear available incl NITROX – PADI /TDI/ SDI training “Unbelievable value for money”. 3851 Russell Road, Whangaruru, Bay of Islands, P: 09 433 6633, E: info@northlanddive.com www.info@northlanddive.com (DNZ162) Dive HQ Whangarei One of Northland’s premier dive training facilities. Highest standard instruction and equipment. With their own on-site heated training pool and classroom. Staff and instructors have extensive knowledge of diving, marine environment and diver safety. At the gateway of the beautiful Poor Knights Islands. 41 Clyde Street Whangarei Freephone: 0800 102 102 or P: 09 438 1075 E: info@divenow.co.nz www.divenow.co.nz (DNZ162)

Dive! Tutukaka The Poor Knights Islands experts – professional, fun and safe – “It’s what we do” – With 5 boats, catering for all abilities; Adventure Audited, Qualmark endorsed, PADI 5 star IDC; air fills, nitrox, gear hire. Shed 7 with salt-water pool and training facilities – Behind Schnappa Rock. Marina Rd. Tutukaka, Whangarei. Open 7 days, 7am-7pm. Always someone at the end of the phone 0800 288 882. Phone: 09 4343 867 E: info@diving.co.nz www.diving.co.nz (DNZ162)

AUCKLAND / DISTRICTS New Zealand Diving Charters to the Hauraki Gulf incl marine reserves, Little & Great Barrier Islands.

Also overseas trips. NZ’s leading SDI & TDI 5 star IDC & PADI with a wide selection of courses. Qualmark endorsed. Nitrox, 300bar fills, servicing & rental hire.

Full selection of gear for sports & tec divers.

22 Whitaker Rd, Warkworth.

P: 0800 NZDIVING. E: Neil@NZDiving.co.nz www.NZDiving.co.nz (DNZ164)

Auckland Scuba on Auckland’s north shore.

PADI 5 STAR IDC diver training specialists. PADI dive courses beginner to instructor and tec rec. Part time/full time tertiary (student loan approved), NZQA credits. Dive trips, air/nitrox fills, cylinder testing, equipment servicing. Top quality equipment!

Unit I, 121 Rosedale Rd, Albany.

P: 09 478 2814 E: info@aucklandscuba.co.nz www.aucklandscuba.co.nz (DNZ160) KIWI DIVERS SSI, TDI/SDI, RAID dive centre.

Recreational and Technical dive courses (rebreather friendly). Regular trips from our own boat. Equipment sales, servicing and hire.

Cylinder testing, air/nitrox trimix/oxygen fills.

Open 7 days. 8 Keith Hay Court, Silverdale (just 20 mins north of Akld) P: 09 426 9834 E: info@kiwiscubadivers.co.nz www.kiwiscubadivers.co.nz (DNZ162) Performance Diver NZ’s diving superstore! Massive stocks of all lines at unbelievable prices. PADI 5 star Instructor Development Centre offering training from beginner to Instructor. Local & national dive charters, overseas trips, servicing, air fills and rental. Open 7 days!

74 Barrys Point Road, Takapuna (behind Avanti bikes). 09 489 7782 www.performancediver.co.nz (DNZ159) Dive HQ Westhaven in Auckland's CBD. PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre. Become a PADI Dive Instructor with us. NZQA approved Part Time and Full Course available. Still Your Local Dive Shop for all your SCUBA dive, freediving, spear-fishing and gear-servicing needs. Mares, Atomic, Oceanic, Pinnacle, Beuchat, and Zeagle. Fully equipped dive equipmentservice centre and dive cylinder testing facility onsite.

Corner (101) Beaumont & Gaunt Sts, Westhaven, Auckland. P: (09) 307 3590, E: info@divehqwesthaven.co.nz www.divehqwesthaven.co.nz (DNZ162) Global Dive NZ’s favourite technical and recreational dive store. All top brands stocked and serviced. Our active dive club meets monthly with guest speakers and BBQ. Experts in photography and tech diving.

Quality rental gear, inc 2, Helium, 300 BAR air fills. A full selection of quality products as well as hard to find items for the technical, recreational and commercial diver.

20R Sylvia Park Rd, Mt Wellington www.divedoctor.co.nz P: 09 5308117 E: info@divedoctor.co.nz (DNZ165) Go Dive Center For All Your Diving Needs. SSI Training Facility. Authorized Mares Dealer. Servicing, Tank Fills and Trips. Come in and let us take you on a journey of discovery in the underwater world.

Unit 3/30 Tironui Road, Papakura, Phone 09 298 6431 or 0210 385 940 www.godivecenter.co.nz (DNZ159)

COROMANDEL / BAY OF PLENTY Dive Zone Whitianga Only PADI 5 Star IDC facility on the Coromandel Peninsula. PADI courses from Open Water to Instructor. Dive trips from boat, shore and kayak, to many amazing dive sites. Full gear service and extensive retail store. Open 7 days.

10 Campbell Street, Whitianga, P: 07-867 1580, E: info@divethecoromandel.co.nz www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz (DNZ159) Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel Half day trips – everyday through the summer at 9.30am & 1.30pm. Marine reserve or outer reef diving for new and experienced divers. Full gear hire.

Individuals & groups welcome. Check out our website for a full list of dive sites and prices, or link onto our facebook page for an up-to-date

DIVE STORES / TRAVEL weather/sea/dive report in the Hahei & Mercury Bay areas. 48 Hahei Beach Rd, Hahei Phone 0800 CCDIVE (0800 223 483) www.hahei.co.nz/diving

CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Wainui Dive Gisborne’s authorised Aqualung dealer with full product range. PADI instructor, air fills, tank testing and qualified service of all brands of gear. Plus current Commercial Dive ticket. Cliff Blumfield, cnr Carnarvon Street and Childers Rd, Gisborne.

P: 06-867 9662 or 0274-469 526.

E: wainuidive@clear.net.nz (DNZ160) Dive Zone Tauranga is Tauranga’s only PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre offering everything from Open Water courses to Specialty Instructor training. Gear sales for all scuba, spearfishing & snorkelling needs.

Hire equipment, gear servicing, air fills, dive charters, cylinder testing and more! See us at 213 Cameron Road, Tauranga, P: (07) 578 4050, 0800 DIVE ZONE

E: info@diveshop.co.nz

www.scubadivingtauranga.co.nz

(DNZ162)

Dive HQ Rotorua Start your diving adventure with this PADI 5 Star training centre, your leading BOP dive & kayak shop. Showcasing a great range of quality diving, spearfishing, kayaking & water sports equipment. Filling and testing of dive cylinders, servicing of regulators and BCD’s. An IANZ certified cylinder test centre. 290 Te Ngae Rd, next to Repco.

P: 07-345 3047 E: info@divehqrotorua.co.nz www.divehqrotorua.co.nz (DNZ159)

WELLINGTON / DISTRICTS Dive Wellington Become a Padi Dive Instructor with our fulltime Diploma course.

NZQA approved and eligible for student loans and allowances. Contact us for a course prospectus. Dive Wellington is an audited and approved sub contractor of Academy of Diving Trust E: dive@divewellington.co.nz P: 04 939 3483 www.divewellington.co.nz (DNZ163) NZ Sea Adventures PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre – also TDI Technical diver training including CCR. Open 7 days. Dive courses – beginner to Instructor. Club dives and trips in NZ and overseas.

Dive retail, fills, gear hire & servicing. 9 Marina View, Mana, Porirua.

P: 04 233-8238 E: nzsa@scubadiving.co.nz www.scubadiving.co.nz (DNZ160) Dive Kapiti Your scuba, freediving & spearfishing specialists in the heart of the Kapiti coast. Quality servicing, airfills, dive training, Kapiti Island dive & spearfishing trips and retail sales. Full range of Cressi products, our friendly staff are always happy to help!

27 Milne Drive Paraparaumu 5032.

P: 04 297 0075 E: craig@divekapiti.co.nz www.divekapiti.co.nz (DNZ162) Island Bay Divers NZ’s Pro Gold Centre, Wellington’s oldest dive shop. Top brand retail, equipment hire, servicing all brands. Tanks tested within 24 hours.

CMAS, NAUI & PADI training. Club dives every Saturday. Corner Reef St & The Parade, Island Bay. Summer open 7 days 9am–6pm, winter closed Tues & Wed. P: 04-383 6778, E: tim@ibdivers.co.nz, www.ibdivers.co.nz (DNZ164)

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www.divenewzealand.com 67

DIVE STORES / TRAVEL Dive & Ski HQ Wellington PADI dive courses – beginner to professional qualifications, tertiary courses available. Dive club with regular local, national & overseas trips. Wide range of diving/ spearfishing equipment and accessories.

Equipment servicing/tank testing. Open 7 days.

14 Waione St, Petone. P: (04)568 5028. www.diveski.co.nz E: diveskihq@xtra.co.nz www.facebook.com/DiveSkiHQ (DNZ161)

SOUTH ISLAND Dive Kaikoura is the only dive shop on the North Canterbury East Coast. Located 180kms North of Christchurch off State Highway 1 in the beautiful South Island. Specialists in having Fun, Tours, Shore Dives, Spearfishing, Air Fills, Nitrox, PADI 5 Star Courses.

Servicing of all gear AND we’re a Cressi Premium Dealer! Dive Kaikoura 13 Yarmouth St, Kaikoura.

03 319 6622. www.divekaikoura.co.nz.

Open October to June.

Fiordland Discovery Fiordland boasts some of New Zealand’s most spectacular diving, fishing and hunting.

We offer six-day, five-night private charters in the Fiords and the Tasman Sea. Be one of the first to discover Fiordland aboard our luxurious new cruise boat, the Fiordland Jewel. Multi-day cruises, private charters and individual bookings are available for diving, fishing & hunting. #Fiordlandjewel P: 0800 100 105 or +64 3 441 3322 E: hello@fiordlanddiscovery.co.nz www.fiordlanddiscovery.co.nz www.facebook.com/FiordlandDiscovery (DNZ160) Go Dive Marlborough Specialist TDI technical diver training facility. Mixed gas, decompression and advanced wreck courses. Operate Lermontov Lodge (Port Gore) our base to diving one of the world’s biggest wrecks the Mikhail Lermontov. Weekly tours ex Picton from 1–6 days. Direct flights from Wellington to Port Gore. Group charters by arrangement. www.godive.co.nz Freephone 0800 GODIVE Email info@godive.co.nz (DNZ161) Waikawa Dive Centre located at Waikawa Marina, Picton. Offering dive training and trips through the Marlborough Sounds. Fully-certified dive cylinder filling/testing, dive gear servicing/repairs, hire gear.

Carrying a multi-brand range of diving equipment.

Open 7 days during summer. Ready to take care of all your diving needs.

P: 03-573-5939, F: 03-573-8241 waikawadive@xtra.co.nz www.waikawadivecentre.co.nz www.facebook.com/WaikawaDiveCentre (DNZ160) Deep Blue Diving Making diving affordable for all divers. The Deep Blue brand is well known for its value for money and has a strong company reputation for delivering quality and excellent service. Visit our website or come in and see us for a huge range of dive gear, equipment servicing, tank filling, gear hire and Padi training.

15B Byron St, Sydenham, Christchurch 8025.

P: 03 332 0898 E: sales@deepbluediving.co.nz www.deepbluediving.co.nz (DNZ163)

More information on Dive Stores, Clubs & Travel at www.DiveNewZealand.com

Dive HQ Christchurch 30 years industry experience, Christchurch’s only PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre and Adventure Activities Certified for SCUBA diving and snorkelling. Busy retail store selling the world’s leading brands and offering PADI recreational and tertiary SCUBA qualifications. Full range of spearfishing equipment including breath hold courses. Quality gear hire, service centre, Enriched Air training and filling station, local and international dive and spearfishing trips.103 Durham St Sth. Sydenham, Christchurch.

Freephone 0800-DIVEHQ. P: (03)379- 5804 www.diveskiworld.co.nz E: sales@diveskiworld.co.nz (DNZ162)

INTERNATIONAL DIVE OPERATORS AND RESORTS AUSTRALIA Pro Dive Cairns Offers the highest quality, best value PADI dive courses and 3-day liveaboard Outer Great Barrier Reef dive trips in Cairns. We have 16 exclusive dive sites across 4 different reefs to choose from and departures 6 days/week. Check out www.prodivecairns.com or call us on +617 4031 5255 or E: info@prodivecairns.com (DNZ161) Spirit of Freedom visits the remote dive destinations of Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, and Coral Sea. The 37m vessel offers spacious en-suite cabins, every comfort on board, and exceptional service. Marine encounters include the potato cod feed, Minke whales in season, and the shark dive at Osprey Reef.

E: info@spiritoffreedom.com.au www.spiritoffreedom.com.au (DNZ164) Tusa Dive Cairns local day dive operators with over 30 years experience diving the Great Barrier Reef.

Tusa’s fast modern catamaran the Tusa 6 will visit two unique sites where you can enjoy up to three dives in the day. Tusa Dive also offer a great day out for snorkellers. P: 00617 4047 9100 E: info@tusadive.com www.tusadive.com (DNZ164)

COOK ISLANDS Dive Aitutaki with Bubbles Below Explore Aitutaki’s underwater world with Bubbles Below. Only 40 minutes from mainland Rarotonga to the picturesque island of Aitutaki.PADI dive courses Beginner to Dive Master. Manned boats during dives! Safety and enjoyment paramount! ‘Take only Memories & Leave only Bubbles Dive Safe, Dive Rite, Dive Bubbles Below!’ www.diveaitutaki.com E: bubblesbelow@aitutaki.net.ck (DNZ164) The Dive Centre – The Big Fish PADI 5-star dive operator. Services: intro/lagoon dives, dive trips twice a day, courses, retail and rental gear. 2 boats, boats are manned with an instructor, 7 days, night dives. Aroa Beach by the Rarotongan Resort.

P: 682 20238 or 682 55238 E: info@thedivecentre-rarotonga.com www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com (DNZ159)

FIJI Wananavu Beach Resort – Suncoast Fiji The legendary Bligh Waters are waiting for you at our PADI 5 star Dive Resort and with PADI qualified Dive Staff that know the dive sites like the back of their hands.

Offering Viti Levu’s first onsite Nitrox, and rated in Trip Advisor’s top 10 resorts in the Fiji Islands in 2014 , 2015 and 2016. This means you have the best ResortDive Combo in Fiji. So come and see for yourself! dive@wananavu.com www.wananavu.com (DNZ160) Captain Cook Cruises Reef Endeavour and Tivua Island are 5 star PADI operations – Discover Scuba – Scuba Dive – Open water dive – Advance Wreck Dive, MV Raiyawa at Tivua Island. Fiji P: +679 6701 823 E: fiji@captaincookcruisesfiji.com www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com (DNZ160) Subsurface Fiji Visit Fiji for fun, relaxing tropical diving. Subsurface Fiji PADI 5-Star Dive shops are located in the beautiful Mamanuca Islands, offering daily trips and courses to some of the best dive spots in Fiji. Subsurface provides full diving services from Musket Cove, Plantation, Malolo, Likuliku, Tropica, Lomani, Funky Fish, Namotu, Tavarua, Wadigi & Navini Island Resorts.

E: info@subsurfacefiji.com www.subsurfacefiji.com (DNZ159) Mantaray Island Resort Yasawa Islands – Fiji – Over 40 dive sites ; vibrant reefs, stunning coral gardens, caves, swim throughs, wall dives, drop offs, shark dives, turtles, and a stunning house reef. Fiji’s only accredited free-diving school, Mantaray swimming May–Oct. Small group diving in a safe and enjoyable environment visit us at www.mantarayisland.com (DNZ164) Volivoli Beach Resort offers you relaxed, unspoilt white sandy beaches in a spectacular part of Fiji. Ra Divers operates from the resort giving you a water wonderland on the worlds best soft coral dive sites.

The Fiji Siren is a livaboard boat offering you 7 and 10 night dive packages. www.volivoli.com E: info@volivoli.com P: +679 9920942 (DNZ160) Wananavu Beach Resort – Suncoast Fiji The legendary Bligh Waters are waiting for you at our PADI 5 star Dive Resort and with PADI qualified Dive Staff that know the dive sites like the back of their hands. Offering Viti Levu’s first onsite Nitrox and rated in Trip Advisor’s top 10 resorts in the Fiji Islands in 2014 , 2015 and 2016 means you have the best ResortDive Combo in Fiji. So come and see for yourself! dive@wananavu.com www.wananavu.com (DNZ160)

SOLOMONS Raiders Hotel and Dive Wreck and Reef diving, Accommodation, Bar and dining, Snorkelling Hiking and more. Located 1 hour from Honiara on the waterfront of the historic Tulagi harbour. Dive Discover – Relax. www.raidershotel.com email raidershotel@solomon.com.sb ph +677 7594185 / 7938017 (DNZ162)

Aimed to reach the beginner through to the advanced diver. This edition refers to local conditions and fish species of New Zealand. Sections include: equipment, diving and hunting techniques, diving situations, medical, fish id characteristics, useful contacts.

A5 Soft cvr, 48 pgs, b&w, colour sections.

68 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Ph: 09 521 0684 info@seatech.co.nz

Available at your local dive store DV014

www.seatech.co.nz

or order online at www.DiveNewZealand.com

DIVE STORES / TRAVEL

SPEAKERS/LECTURERS Available for talks to dive clubs etc. You can find full details on these speakers/lectures at www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz/dive-in-nz/dive-shops/ Terry Brailsford Wreck diving for gold & treasure. Incl the Rothschild jewellery, search for General Grant.

0274 958816, theadmiral@xtra.co.nz

Dive the unexplored

www.divemunda.com

Tony Howell History and entertainment with lots of rare historical photos and illustrations – 12 powerpoints in total. 45 mins –1 hr each.

Contact me for topics. 04 233-8238, www.scubadiving.co.nz tony@scubadiving.co.nz

Experience Magical Munda at Agnes Gateway Hotel Award winning service and pristine diving SSI Instructor Training Centre WWII wrecks, caves and reefs – untouched and unspoilt divemunda@dive-solomon.com SIDE Dive Munda – Dive the unexplored Experience Magical Munda at Agnes Gateway Hotel.

Award winning service and pristine diving. SSI Instructor Training Centre. WWII wrecks, caves and reefs – untouched and unspoilt. www.divemunda.com divemunda@dive-solomon.com Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram (DNZ162) SIDE TAKA Dive See more of the Solomon Islands by liveaboard! Save $700 on a 7 night booking on board MV Taka: 7 Nights Accommodation; 3 gourmet meals daily; 24 Dives – sharks, WWII wrecks, manta rays, night dives; Round trip airport transfers. Conditions apply. For more information or to make a reservations: book@dive-solomon.com (DNZ162) Tulagi Dive Solomon Islands An underwater paradise for marine life and explore the many ships and aircraft wrecks at the famous Iron Bottom Sound. We offer the PADI and TDI courses. Phone (+677) 25700 www.tulagidive.com dive@tulagidive.com (DNZ162)

VANUATU Nautilus Watersports Vanuatu’s longest running dive operation in Port Vila with 30+ years’ experience.

Nautilus offers 4 dives a day (double dive both morning and afternoon). We also offer PADI course from Discover Scuba right through to Dive Master. For dive groups we can also offer diving/accommodation packages. P: Peter or Leanne +678 22 398 www.nautilus.com.vu E: nautilus@vanuatu.com.vu (DNZ160)

Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

D157

DIVE HOLIDAY Travelandco Holidays Experience amazing diving holidays in some of the best dive locations in the South Pacific and beyond. Our team can provide you with expert advice on the best diving options. Learn to dive, enjoy a liveaboard adventure or talk to us today to arrange a holiday for your dive group or friends.

Make your Diving Holiday DREAMS a reality.

P: +64 (9) 479 2210 Toll Free NZ: 0508 348 334 E: divetravel@travelandco.nz www.travelandco.nz (DNZ161)

Darren Shields Spearfishing titles,uw cameraman, author. Motivating/compelling/innovative/inspiring/ entertaining 09-4794231, 021839118, darren@wettie. co.nz Jamie Obern Technical instructor/cave diver, 20+ years exp. globally. Photos/video: uw caves in Mexico, USA, UK, NZ, Australia. Techdive NZ/GUE NZ instructor. P: 021 614 023, www.techdivenz.com jamie@techdivenz.com Dave Moran Ching Dynasty porcelain from the Tek Sing. P: Dive New Zealand 09-521 0684, E: divenz@DiveNewZealand.co.nz

TRIPS/CHARTERS CRUISE FIORDLAND fish

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Fish, Hunt, Dive or Cruise aboard the fully refurbished MV Cindy Hardy. Fiordland or Stewart Island, our scenic cruises will provide you with a once in a lifetime experience.

Everything is provided regardless of how short or long your time on board with us is.

Cruise options available on our website. www.cruisefiordland.com info@cruisefiordland.com +6421 088 14530

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Dr Roger Grace ‘Why do we need no-take zones?’; ‘20 years as a Greenpeace photographer’.

021 126 5292, gracer@xtra.co.nz

Outer Gulf Charters One hour north of Auckland CBD Providing divers with the ultimate diving day out with diver lift, fast/comfortable travel, hot water shower, and all the tea and coffee you want.

Recommended Dive Sites: Goat Island Marine Reserve, Mokohinau Islands, Great/Little Barrier, Sail Rock/Hen & Chickens in style. Trip schedule and info www.outergulfcharters.co.nz or phone Julie 021 827 855

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX (DNZ156)

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PRODUCTS | SERVICES

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suit repairs, seals, zips, boots, leaks Viking • Otter • Fourth Element

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DNZ161

Manufacturing Quality Wetsuits in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions.

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PRODUCTS | SERVICES | BOAT CHARTERS BY AREA

PADI 5 STAR DIVE CENTRE – COOK ISLANDS/RAROTONGA Opportunity of a lifetim

We have built The Big Fish into a vibrant growing business with a reputation for safety, quality and enjoyable diving experiences.

We are looking to transfer our business to dive professionals committed to continue growing the business.

Included is everything needed to run a fully operational dive shop: dive gear, 2 compressors, 2 boats (1 RIP and 1 aluminum), workshop, 4 cars, hotel & resort relationships, all licenses and insurance up to date and much more.

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Perfect for a couple that want to live on a tropical island like Rarotonga.

For further information please contact sabine if you would like this view as your office.

DIVE COMPRESSOR

sales and servicing

High Pressure Equipment NZ Ltd

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Master Agents for Bauer Kompressoren in New Zealand and have been for the past 20 years.

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• Servicing & repairs of all compressor brands: Bauer, Poseidon, Coltri, Bristol, Brownie. and most other brands.

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Photographers!

Strobes Lighting Systems Camera Housings Camera and Housing Packages

Trusted Brands Trusted Distributor Sea Tech Ltd P: (09) 521 0684 E: info@seatech.co.nz www.seatech.co.nz www.divenewzealand.com 71

TUBEWORM

BOOK REVIEW

Big Pacific A journey of exploration and revelation

By Rebecca Tansley Reviewed by Gilbert Peterson

www.batemanpublishing.co.nz RRP NZ$59.99

T

he Pacific Ocean, says author Rebecca Tansley in her opening paragraph, defies definition – it’s greater than all the planet’s land masses combined, contains half the world’s water, hides its deepest places and is home to some of the world’s most dazzling creatures.

How then to deal with such an enormous topic? To her credit Tansley does this by telling many, many stories about the different places and creatures found in the Pacific vastness. Her approach is as if to say, the best way to get to grips with the huge importance of the Pacific is to zero in on some of its fascinating details. By doing this the wonder of the big picture may well strike home. Big impressions are created by focusing on the lesser known or ‘new’ facts about the animals and places featured. It’s an approach that takes the book a long way towards success. The stories read as original, well told, with a welcome absence of clichés.

Big Pacific’s intriguing mix of anecdotes draw the reader onto the

next page: what’s the next bunch of interesting facts about? Which animals get the most attention? (Top predators and whales of course).

Which environments are most represented? (corals, volcanoes). Which places and territories are most represented? New Zealand gets more than its fair share of attention, for the local market no doubt. The US attracts solid coverage too, though neither are so deserving perhaps as Alaska, or Antarctica, or even Chile, none of which feature. The biggest question was always going to be what to leave out.

Compelling though are the stories about things I knew nothing about; the annual harvest of the Palolo

worms considered a delicacy in Samoa and other Pacific Islands; that giant kelp is not a plant but a marine algae; the golden pearls of Palawan Island. The information is abundant if rather ad hoc.

Perhaps too, Big Pacific doesn’t pay sufficient heed to environmental threats; fish pillaging and plastics pollution for example. But it’s mission might equally be held to be to inspire readers with the Pacific Ocean’s grandeur and variety thereby motivating us to respect and protect it. There is no doubt everyone will find here many tales of the unexpected that will wow, fascinate and surprise them into doing just that.

Dive Scapa Flow 100th anniversary edition

By Rod Macdonald Reviewed by Gilbert Peterson

www.whittlespublishing.com RRP £30.00

recently qualified sports diver…I was surprised to find there was virtually no information on the wrecks available…”

And he has been writing on them and many others ever since.

The first edition of this book was printed in 1989; other books by Macdonald include Great British Shipwrecks, Dive Truk Lagoon-Japanese WWII Pacific Shipwrecks, and Dive Palau–the shipwrecks.

I

n his acknowledgements in this, the sixth reprinted edition of his authoritative account of the WWI wrecks of Scapa Flow, author Rod Macdonald writes: “(When) I first came to Orkney in 1982 as a young fresh-faced

72 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

On June 21st, 1919, their German commanders ordered the scuttling of 74 German war ships interned at Scapa Flow north of Scotland at the end of WWI as the terms of the Armistice were still being deter-

mined. Rod Macdonald writes with clarity and enthusiasm about those circumstances, and the subsequent history of the ships after they became available for diving on in 1977. He’s been diving there now for 35 years, and there is no question that this is the definitive account The book is loaded with facts and figures about the battleships, cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and other craft sunken in the Scapa Flow harbour, with maps and b/w photos from the times. It’s a history too of the dive record, with colour photos of the ships as they are now, how they are lying and their condition.

Anyone wanting a dive adventure at the fabled Scapa Flow, or just with an interest in shipwrecks, surely needs this book.

“catch fish...not cables” There are a number of international submarine cables which come ashore in the Auckland area. These cables supply international communications for both New Zealand and Australia to the rest of the world.

New Zealand is a very isolated nation and as such is extremely reliant upon global communication via submarine cables. Here in New Zealand over 97% of all international communication is carried via submarine fibre optic cables. These cables are a key component of New Zealand’s infrastructure and play a significant role in our everyday lives, the general economy and future growth of New Zealand.

These cables are laid in three submarine cable corridors in the greater Auckland area where anchoring and fishing is prohibited under the Submarine Cables & Pipelines Protection Act.

These areas are:

Symbols Relating To Submarine Cables

• Muriwai Beach out to the 12 mile territorial limit where both anchoring and fishing is prohibited.

Submarine cable

• Scott Point to Island Bay in the upper Waitemata Harbour where anchoring is prohibited.

Submarine cable area

• Takapuna Beach this runs from Takapuna Beach in the south to just north of the Hen & Chicken Island (opposite Taiharuru Head) where anchoring and fishing is prohibited.

Note: These protected areas are monitored by sea and air patrols.

These are some of the penalties • A maximum fine of $20,000 for a non-commercial vessel.

• A maximum fine of $10, 0000 for a comme • A maximum fine of $250,000 for damaging a submarine cable.

Anchoring prohibited

Additional to the fine for damage, the cable owners would inevitably pursue the recover of costs associated with repairs, this could be up to $750,000 plus a day; a typical repair can take up to two weeks (around $10 million).

Fishing prohibited

Be Aware These International submarine cables carry up to 10,000 volts to power the system repeaters along the cable.

Figure 1.

For more detail refer to appropriate marine charts.

Kaitaia

Islands

Bay of

Russell

Kerikeri

Kawakawa

Kaikohe

To download Spark Undersea Cable Awareness Charts visit: boaties.co.nz/useful-info/cables-underwater.html

What should you do?

• If you are going into any of these areas, be sure to check your marine charts and/or GPS plotter so you know the exact locations of the prohibited zones. The relevant charts are NZ53, NZ5322, NZ532, NZ522, NZ52, NZ42 and NZ43. The symbols used to mark the zones are detailed in Figure 1.

Poor Knights Is.

ANCHORING AND FISHING PROHIBITED ZONE

Hikurangi

WHANGAREI Dargaville

Marotere Is.

Hen & Chicken Is. The Pinnacles

• If you suspect you have snagged your anchor or fishing gear on a submarine cable in one of these areas, don’t try to free it. Note your position, abandon your gear, then call 0800 782 627.

Mokohinau Is.

Little Barrier Is.

Wellsford

Kawau Is.

What happens outside the prohibited areas?

These cables are covered by the Submarine Cables and Pipelines Protection Act regardless of whether they are inside or outside a prohibited area. Beyond the confines of the “anchoring and fishing prohibited” areas, the cables are clearly marked on the appropriate marine charts.

Considering possible positioning inaccuracies and repaired cable section deviations, fishermen are advised to keep a minimum distance of one nautical mile from either side of charted cables.

ANCHORING AND FISHING PROHIBITED ZONE

Whangaparoa Peninsula

Takapuna Muriwai Piha

Great Barrier Is.

Flat Rock

Kaipara Harbour

Tiritiri Matangi Is.

C.Colville

Hauraki Gulf.

Mercury Is.

Rangitoto Is.

AUCKLAND

Waiheke Is.

Papatoetoe Manukau Harbour

Manurewa

Coromandel Peninsula

Papakura Pukekohe

Waiuku

Thames

Note this number:

For any queries regarding submarine cables call: 0800 782 627

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