Quest Volume 23, No. 4 November 2022 - free sample article

Quest The Journal of Global Underwater Explorers

PHOTO GRAPH ER PORTF OLIO: JULIA MŰHLE N NHAUS

S

A

M

P

LE

Vol. 23, No. 4 – November 2022

SHARKS AND HUMANS

UNDERWATER HABITATS

GUE TECH 1

LINE FUNDAMENTALS

Man’s problematic impact on the top predators in the Maldives

How is it structured, what do you learn, and what is the outcome?

How to build places to hang out during long deco stops in caves

Develop proficiency in handling lines, spools, and reels

EDUCATION · CONSERVATION · EXPLORATION · COMMUNITY

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DIVING

$24.95 €19.95

NEW EDITION AVAILABLE NOW!

Order today at www.GUE.com

Available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Pics or it didn’t happen

U

nderwater photography has always been an integral part of diving. Early scuba pioneers like Hans Hass (pictured here) and Jacques Cousteau knew they could tell compelling stories only if they visually documented their underwater adventures. So, they developed and used underwater cameras almost from the beginning.

In the early days of underwater photography, divers could take only a single exposure before surfacing to change their burnt-out flash bulb.

I imagine they carefully selected the motif and settings before firing that shot.

If you’ve been diving for more than twenty years, you can probably remember when underwater photographers were limited to 36 exposures and by the film’s ISO properties. The interval from when the image was shot until you returned from the dive trip and got the film developed could be weeks. And, when you did get your finished photos, you most likely did not even remember which settings produced the result.

Fast-forward to the evolution of the digital consumer camera—a blessing for underwater photographers. With digital, the feedback is instant. You immediately see the result on the camera display, and you can adjust accordingly to improve the shot. And you can glean valuable and useful information from the embedded EXIF file.

Digital photography and YouTube—a medium that has propelled almost all human endeavors into the stratosphere by making nerdy knowledge more accessible—have raised the bar for contemporary underwater photos. But, at the end of the day, it’s not about the camera, the lens, or megapixels. It’s about visual storytelling.

How does the image resonate with the spectator? How does it make them feel?

Tabloid journalists used to say that all stories can be boiled down to two opposite reactions: “I’m so glad that’s not me,” and “I wish that was me.” I usually try to evoke the latter when working with images as a photographer or magazine editor.

The portfolio pages in Quest are an homage to underwater photographers and visual storytelling. I understand the energy and resources it takes to reach the quality level embodied by the portfolio contributors, so I appreciate the opportunity to highlight their work.

We have come a long way since Hass and Cousteau, but the game is still the same: Creating images that make the spectator go, “Man, I wish that was me.”

Dive safe and have fun!

Jesper Kjøller Editor-in-Chief jk@gue.com

November 2022 · Quest

3

Quest IN THIS ISSUE The Journal of Global Underwater Explorers

Vol. 23, No. 4 · November 2022

Editor-in-chief // Jesper Kjøller

6

QC CORNER // INTRODUCTION

10

HUMAN IMPACTS ON SHARKS

24

HABITATS // A DRY PLACE TO HANG OUT

34

PORTFOLIO // JULIAN MŰHLENHAUS

Editorial panel

// Michael Menduno // Amanda White

Design and layout // Jesper Kjøller

Copy editing

// Pat Jablonski // Kady Smith // Nic Haylett // Catherine Taber-Olensky

Writers

// Brad Beskin // Arzukan Askin // Kirill Egorov // Dan Mackay // Daniel Riordan // Fred Devos // Todd Kincaid // Chris Le Maillot // Jarrod Jablonski // Jesper Kjøller

Photographers

// Kirill Egorov // Julian Műhlenhaus // Arzukan Askin // Jono Allen // Matt Porteus // Alex Mustard // Derk Remmers // Jesper Kjøller Quest is published quarterly by Global Underwater Explorers 18487 High Springs Main Street, High Springs, Florida 32643 www.GUE.com Follow Quest on Facebook www.facebook.com/QuestJournal

4

Quest · November 2022

In each issue of Quest, the new Director of GUE Quality Control, Brad Beskin, will contribute with a regular column. He will address issues, opportunities, and resources that affect your pursuit of diving excellence.

Arzukan Askin is one of the driving forces behind shark projects in the Maldives to raise awareness of the problems with human impacts on whale sharks, tiger sharks, and other endangered shark species in the atoll nation in the Indian Ocean.

The possibility of finishing a long and deep cave dive in a dry habitat is appealing. However, whether to install one is a risk-versus-benefits decision. After spending a fair bit of time on decompression stops in water and in habitats, Kirill Egorov shares his habitat experiences.

His passion started when snorkeling in his local dive club in Germany. He then started discovering the underwater world in many ways. In the early 2000s, he was finally able to take his photography below the surface, capturing his first real pictures underwater.

40

GUE GEAR // ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

48

GUE TECHNICAL DIVER LEVEL 1

60

CAVE DIVING // LINE FUNDAMENTALS

In addition to the standard base equipment necessary for all dives, GUE divers often carry extra equipment that can be situation dependent.

In the last issue of Quest, Guy Shockey’s article guided you through the optimal preparation before taking the GUE Technical Diver Level 1 course. Now that you know how to prepare, let’s go over the course and examine how it is structured and what the outcome is.

The most obvious risk in overhead diving is the possibility that divers may be unable to quickly reach the surface in the event of a problem with navigation, equipment, or a team member. Cave divers minimize the risk of becoming lost by using guidelines that begin at the cave entrance.

6 10 24 50

40 40

60

34

COVER PHOTO JULIAN MŰHLENHAUS

November 2022 · Quest

5

FISH WITH ON ITS BAC TEXT ARZUKAN ASKIN PHOTOS ARZUKAN ASKIN, JONO ALLEN, MATT PORTEUS, ALEX MUSTARD & MALDIVES WHALE SHARK RESEARCH PROGRAMME

10

Quest · November 2022

STARS CK

PHOTO JONO ALLEN

Human impacts on sharks in the Maldives

Fuvahmulah is home to the world’s largest known population of tiger sharks. Arzukan Askin enjoys a close encounter.

November 2022 · Quest



11

German/Turkish marine scientist, GUE diver, and 2021 Rolex Scholar, Arzukan Askin is one of the driving forces behind the Miyaru Programme and the Fuvahmulah Shark Project being established in the Maldives to study and raise awareness of human impacts on shark species in the atoll nation and beyond.

12

Quest · November 2022

PHOTO JONO ALLEN

“F

ehurihi!” Fehurihi! someone shouted pointing to the starboard side of the Maldivian dhoni, our floating research base in South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area. “Fehurihi” is the word for whale shark in Dhivehi, the national language in the Maldives. After a year of pandemic-induced cancellations of grants, constant changes in risk assessments and permits placed on hold, I was finally able to swap out my trusted seat at a library desk at Oxford University for my spot on board the field vessel of the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) supported by a joint scholarship from Rolex and the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society.

The South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area (dubbed SAMPA by scientists in the area) in the Maldives is a globally significant aggregation site for whale sharks. Unlike other aggregation hotspots that witness seasonal whale shark movements, such as Mexico, SAMPA is among

Every whale shark has a unique pattern, almost like human fingerprints. In many coastal cultures, the spots are referred to as stars. a handful of globally unique places with a year-long presence of large numbers of whale sharks. Past research led by shark experts such as Dr. Simon Pierce has determined that the sharks exhibit significant levels of residency and a tendency to return to sites on the southern fringes of the atoll. The frequency and regularity of whale shark sightings have also made SAMPA a popular destination for divers and snorkelers wishing to observe this species. In the Maldives, snorkeling and scuba diving tourism geared to provide whale shark encounters have grown rapidly and provide significant economic value yet remain largely unregulated.

Threats to whale sharks

My MSc degree in conservation science at the University of Oxford was almost exclusively dedicated to sharks where possible, covering critical issues such as illegal wildlife trafficking, bycatch of sharks and fisheries interactions, international treaties, human-shark relationships, and tourism. The latter is what my research thesis focused on, and I spent my summer months November 2022 · Quest



13

analyzing whale shark injuries from collisions the day cruising up and down the Marine Prowith vessels as well as behavioral changes in tected Area documenting the presence of whale these mega-vertebrates to assess the impact sharks, vessel activities, and assessing the of tourism on them. The findings my research number of people in the water during encounbrought forward were highly concerning, and I ters with these large vertebrates. Occasionally, had the opportunity to present my work at the we would also attach long ropes to the back of Maldives Marine Research Symposium held by the boat to conduct tow surveys. Aside from the National University. The dataset I analyzed— the high-pressure moments when we would spanning over nine years of data from South Ari encounter whale sharks and attempt to conduct Atoll Marine Protected Area—revealed a 52% microbiome sampling of their skin using big decline in encounters cotton buds, being pulled with whale sharks through the water behind All of this proceeded under and a staggering injua vessel while attached ry rate of 70%. Almost to a rope was certainly the watchful and demanding three-quarters of all everyone’s highlight. As eye of a prototypical GUE whale sharks sighted scientists, we do many instructor. The course was in the atoll’s waters strange things in the well-tuned to both macro and displayed grave name of data collection. micro skill adjustment, both injuries from vessel Mostly, our work consiststrikes. While working ed of freediving surveys of which lead to excellence. with these numbers to collect Photo IDs and on a spreadsheet identify the sex of the was challenging, whale sharks to build on repeatedly witnessing the consequences of poor the MWSRPs long-term monitoring database. diving skills, failure to adhere to wildlife codes During every encounter, we also collected data of conduct, and lack of regulation highlights the on environmental variables in situ, including magnitude of the issue and the multi-layered cloud coverage, wind speed and direction, sea solutions that are needed to address it. How is surface temperature, and visibility. Crucial data, this possible in a Marine Protected Area? Well, such as cyclical and climatic shifts, have also SAMPA currently exists as a “paper park” with no been shown to affect the occurrence and abunmanagement plan implemented to date by the dance of whale sharks, and the individuals in island council or Maldivian authorities despite South Ari Atoll in particular are now known to ongoing discussions between stakeholders—a show monsoonal movements across the atoll. stark reminder that effective ocean conservation Space technology starts on land. Many sharks, including whale sharks, were once actively hunted in the Maldives Every evening, when it was time to enter all our data from the day into the MWSRP spreadfor their prized liver oil used to waterproof dhosheets, and then run the ID software to crossnis, traditional fishing vessels. The introduction check for potential matches, I could not help of synthetic coating reduced this practice until but smile and think back to the role of space the ban on shark fishing in 2010 brought it to a technology in the development of the technolocomplete end. gy we now use for shark conservation. Did you Monitoring whale sharks know that for many island cultures in places Today, dhonis serve as dive boats, and in our with large seasonal aggregations of whale case as our scientific vessels. Our days in South sharks, the unique spot pattern of these aniAri Atoll were spent patrolling the atoll’s waters mals (resembling a starry night sky) has earned in search of these endangered sharks. We would them the role of mystical connectors between wake up, transfer from our mother ship to the the unknown ocean and unexplored space. The survey vessel, and spend the next eight hours of cosmological significance attributed to the ani-

“

14

Quest · November 2022

PHOTO JONO ALLEN

PHOTO BORI BENNET

Whale sharks suffer greatly from the impacts of human activities. Maldivian diver and shark guide Lonu dives down to free a whale shark entangled in industrialgrade plastic waste.



November 2022 · Quest

15

PHOTO BORI BENNET

A tiger shark approaches a diving vessel from below.

“

In partnership with the island council, we will now be the first organization to conduct long-term comprehensive studies of tiger sharks in Fuvahmulah.

PHOTO JONO ALLEN 16

Quest · November 2022

PHOTO MICHAEL LEWINGTON

 November 2022 · Quest

17

PHOTO MATT PORTEUS

18

Quest · November 2022

Underwater photographer Jono Allen captures a large approaching female tiger shark.

mal is also reflected in the local names given to encounters used to be several minutes long them. In Madagascar, for example, whale sharks just a few years ago, allowing people to observe are referred to as “marokintana” (Malagasy: these gentle giants and swim next to them, “many stars”). Likewise, the Javanese name for today many whale sharks quickly dive down whale sharks is “hiu geger lintang,” translating to when approached by people and boats. The “fish with stars on its back.” The widespread per- extent of human pressure on these sharks left ception of whale sharks as swimming “undersea some of our volunteers on board baffled when constellations” is not only part of long-standing we logged more than 10 vessels—each with an oral traditions in coastal cultures but has also average number of 15 tourists on board—crowdfound its way into ing one whale shark. contemporary science.

Over the next weeks, Moving away from the old And here is where similar stories unfolded narratives of how sharks the magic happens: and our concern for the The spot patterns on sharks grew steadily injure humans, we want each whale shark are when we observed countto highlight how humans as unique as human less vessels speeding injure sharks and shine a fingerprints, and the through the MPA, injuring light on the complexity of software applied by sharks in the process. human-shark relationships researchers to idenIronically, most of these tify individual whale vessels are speeding to in Fuvahmulah. sharks was develquickly reach a whale oped in collaboration shark sighted by other with NASA astronomers and adapted from the boats. Recommendations by research groups star-matching algorithm used by the Hubble and online campaigns across the Maldives space telescope. Confirming the identity of a have raised some awareness of this issue, but whale shark will never cease to be an exciting without enforcement by rangers or the threat of part of my work and continues to serve as a refines, it has proven challenging to prevent boats minder that the natural world is interconnected from doing so. The case of SAMPA highlights in unexpected ways. global lessons regarding the uncertain future of this endangered species. Like many other areas Tourism: a sustainable alternative? with large numbers of whale sharks, SAMPA too Photo IDs of whale sharks are also a critical tool provides critical habitat for this rapidly declining that allows us to accurately track injuries and shark species and if managed well, can continhealing rates as well as observe behaviors over ue to serve as a critical nursery site for juvenile time. Most importantly, they provide a window of whale sharks. Not only does the current pressure insight into encounter data that would otherwise from tourism impede their feeding and thermonot reflect the full picture of what is happening in regulation behavior, but it also jeopardizes the SAMPA. My thesis showed that the encounters health of the population in the long run. What is have declined by 52%. We are only seeing half as often overlooked is that this is not only an issue many whale sharks in South Ari Atoll as we used threatening these animals; current practices also to… or do we? Photo ID data of the sharks still reduce the economic sustainability of the inencountered in the MPA reveals that the area dustry. A decline in the very species responsible has not lost its sharks or experienced a decline for attracting tourists is bound to impact local in their population size. The same individual development. Successful whale shark tourism in sharks are still present, they simply return to the SAMPA needs to protect wildlife and their habisurface significantly less, most likely due to distats while also balancing its social and economturbance from tourism. Many whale sharks have ic values—an issue that is not only present in been displaying increasingly evasive behavior South Ari Atoll but also across the Maldives and in the presence of boats and tourists, and while the world.

“



November 2022 · Quest

19

Fuvahmulah: Maldives’ shark island

Since the inception of the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme to study whale sharks in South Ari Atoll, reports of identified individuals have led to the expansion of data collection to other atolls. While in most of these cases the sighted whale sharks are resident juvenile males, in the waters of Fuvahmulah, a small remote island in the deep south of the Maldives large female whale sharks have been sighted. A significant finding, as encounters with females globally are rare and only recorded in a handful of places, such as the Galapagos Islands and St. Helena. The most recent comprehensive assessment of extinction risk for all 31 oceanic species of sharks and rays has determined a decline in their global abundance by 71%, resulting from an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure since the 1970s. Amidst these statistics, the Indian Ocean stands out as the epicenter of megafauna loss, and in the middle of it is Fuvahmulah, a beacon of hope for the conservation of our world’s apex predators. It is known

as “Shark Island” among the locals. Located in the deep waters of the equatorial channel, the island not only witnesses the presence of whale sharks but is also a vital pathway for the migration of endangered oceanic manta rays and schooling hammerhead sharks, has a cleaning station frequented by endangered pelagic thresher sharks, and is home to a resident population of over 200 tiger sharks—the largest population of tiger sharks in the world that we know of to date.

Shark hospital

Sharks have thrived in the waters of the island after the national ban on shark fishing ten years ago. But despite this positive development, human impacts continue to negatively affect the species through increasing pressure from rapidly expanding and unregulated dive tourism, conflict with tuna fishermen, and incidental bycatch

PHOTO MALDIVES WHALE SHARK RESEARCH PROGRAMME

The question is not how sharks hurt humans but how humans hurt sharks. A boat propeller injured this whale shark.

20

Quest · November 2022

PHOTO JONO ALLEN

in artisanal fisheries. Baseline data derived from photos taken by our team members over nine months suggests that about 30% of the sharks have suffered anthropogenic injuries, with many of them being named “Half-fin,” “Joker,” or “Pirate” by local dive centers, names reflective of the amputations, dislocated jaws, and cuts they have sustained. Several individuals are estimated to be pregnant, and together with the injured individuals seem to display strong site fidelity, according to observations from local dive centers with regular resightings of the same shark over the last two years. This suggests that Fuvahmulah might act as a “rehabilitation station” or “hospital” for weaker and energetically compromised sharks. Together with some of Fuvahmulah’s most passionate shark conservationists, I had the opportunity to meet with with the mayor of the island and highlight the importance of Fuvahmulah for the conservation of sharks globally. All signs pointed to the island being a globally significant shark hotspot with an uncertain future, yet aside from photo IDs collected by one dive center and individual research projects conducted by visiting marine

A tiger shark with an eye injury, possibly from a fishing hook.

biologists, little comprehensive research effort has been focused on the sharks in this tiny speck of land on the equatorial channel. To fill this critical research gap, we decided to establish the Miyaru Programme—Fuvahmulah Shark Project. “Miyaru” means “shark” in Dhivehi. Our name not only represents our dedication to the research and conservation of the understudied shark populations of the Maldives but also our firm commitment to collaborative, transparent, and inclusive research that is reflective of our values. We strive to become a research team that consists of 3/4 Maldivian and 1/4 international scientists to ensure sustainability and capacity-building on the ground.

Fuvahmulah Shark Project

Working in partnership with the island council and local community groups, we now seek to conduct the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary studies of sharks in Fuvahmulah through monitoring of tourism pressure and advanced classification of anthropogenic injuries.

Our collaborators include researchers from around the world, including NatGeo Explorer



November 2022 · Quest

21

PHOTO JONO ALLEN

The Maldivians call Fuvahmulah “Shark Island.” A local freedives with a tiger shark.

PHOTO ARZUCAN ASKIN

The harbor on Fuvahmulah, one of the most southern islands in the Maldivian archipelago.

22

Quest · November 2022

and PecLab FIU Director Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou, who has over 26 years of experience studying our world’s apex predators. Once we have gathered enough funding, we are seeking to employ novel technologies and use touchless ultrasound devices underwater to confirm pregnancies. Globally, there are still large gaps in our knowledge of tiger shark reproduction and the presence of several pregnant sharks could indicate that mating grounds could be near.

Most importantly, our objective is to monitor the health and residency behavior of these beautiful predators and generate knowledge that will feed into the island’s shark conservation and management plan, serving both local livelihoods and wildlife.

highlight how humans injure sharks and shine a light on the complexity of human-shark relationships in Fuvahmulah. The first phase of our work will be dedicated to tiger sharks; however, the deeper waters of the island offer encounters with rare species such as pelagic threshers— one of the most elusive oceanic shark species.

For phase two, our goal will be to put together a highly qualified technical dive team to descend beyond recreational limits and gather data in the deep. Rebreathers will be a critical tool for this mission, as threshers are shy and quickly get scared away by divers’ bubbles. GUE Fundamentals training—which has never been done in the Maldives—will allow our team to refine the core skills required to conduct these challenging dives. As divers, we have access to a world so Rare encounters few people get to experience, and as a research Our approach is multidimensional and will not team, we are incredibly privileged to spend so only bring together science and conservation much time in the presence of our ocean’s giants. but also storytelling underwater. We believe in That access comes with responsibility. A new the power of science, communication and trans- and mostly unexplored world of sharks awaits parency. Our research processes, outcomes, and in the deep reefs of Fuvahmulah, and with it the the stories of the people we work with will be discovery of new knowledge that could help us captured by professional underwater photograto protect what might be the last shark sanctuphers and videographers to reach more people, ary of the Indian Ocean. share new shark stories, and make an impact For information on the projects, visit on the conservation of sharks locally as well as internationally. Moving away from the old narra- www.fuvahmulahsharks.org and www.miyaru.org tives of how sharks injure humans, we want to

Arzucan Askin

PHOTO ALEX MUSTARD

Arzucan Askin is a marine scientist, technical diver, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and National Geographic Explorer. Her scientific work at the intersection of oceans and society has taken her across the globe, from the monitoring of coral reef health in the waters of Hong Kong, the tracking of illegal fishing activities in Malaysia, ghost gear removal from wrecks in Turkey, all the way to acoustic monitoring of blue whales in uncharted Arctic waters. Awarded the 2021 European Rolex Scholarship

for a year of advanced dive training and marine science in the field, she spent the last year travelling the world to learn from leading researchers and dive professionals in the underwater world. As co-founder of the Miyaru Programme, she currently works on setting up shark science and storytelling projects that illuminate the intersection of human societies and sharks. She also hosts specialized shark dive expeditions together with underwater photographer Jono Allen. www.arzucan-askin.com November 2022 · Quest

23

SUPPORT GUE

Become a member today and get full access to the rest of Quest!

Sign up at www.gue.com/membership Additional benefits include: