This is afollow up to the blog I wrote about non-divers always asking me what is the most dangerous thing in the ocean.

Most of you guessed right but here is how i came to the same answer.

I would usually start off by telling people that diving is one of the safest sports in the world. "really?' they would say. "yes I would reply, "and you know why?" I would then proceed to tell them that diving is so safe because, generally, you have to take lessons before you can dive and that you should not be able to buy gear without showing that you are certified. If you want to Ski, you can go anywhere, buy all the gear, then severely injure yourself on a slope, all with no training!

I then tell them about a study of the 20 most dangerous sports which included scuba because everyone thought it was dangerous. Scuba came last! it had an incident rate per 10,000 participants of 0.008%. top of the list was American Football and I would always get a laugh when I told them that they were more likely to suffer an injury 10 Pin Bowling than Diving

Anyway back to the 'Most Dangerous'. yes there a plnty of "dangerous" things in the ocean but the closest i have ever come to injury under the water has always been because of a human activity, i've been caught in a net, surfaced in an oil slick! (wearing a white bcd!). got 60+ urchin spines in my knee saving a guest from getting them in his arse, been bitten by a moray eel while pulling a student away from it (he was jabbing it with a pencil0 and to cap it all i have had my mask knocked off by someone who decided that it would be a good place for them to drop their anchor!

So when asked what is the most dangerous thing in the ocean i do not reply man( hah fooled you), because I am included in that and i do everything i can to keep the ocean safe. My answer?

Someone else

And be careful out there friends because "someone else" might be you

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 I was glad when I joined this site recently to see how open and honest everyone is, though things did get a bit heated when we welcomed another brach of divers into the fold. While acknowledging their right to be here and definately all for freedom of speech, it has motivated me( hey, and maybe some of you) to say my piece about my love for the oceans and why I would like to keep them that way. I welcome any responses as long as they are in the currently supported vein of education about different types of diving.

Diving for me is visiting that wreck where I know the huge VW sized Goliath lives and sharing this wonder of nature with as many people as possible over and over again without fear that we would return and find it gone. Diving for me is seeing that eagle ray glide gracefully past KNOWING that there will be a Cobia in attendance, afterwards explaining how so many divers mistake them for sharks, NOT wondering if there may be a Cobia.

By way of educating readers to the other side of the argument against spearfishing I have been given the opportunity to respond. Facts do speak for themselves and believe it or not people who spearfish have a very negative effect on fish populations (as you will read later on) despite what they might say. Really all they do is say, 'hey there are plenty of fish down there and I take only what I need'. Unfortunately this does not take the place of an official fish census, or a population study nor does it take into account the 'domino effect' of removing target fish from a population.

Now I don't wany to be accused of tarring everyone with the same brush, I mean, I have been called a tree hugger but I am far from that. I just don't eat anything from the ocean because of the abuse it suffers at our hands. I am sure there are some 'environmentally aware' spearfishers who go out once a year or so and take a fish or two, they do not fit the stereotype of the Macho guy with the big gun, catching as much as he can (or allowed) then telling everyone how big the fish was etc....Probably has a big gas guzzling truck and a bunch of pit bulls, oh and guns too.

Anyway enough of that here are some facts about how spearfishing has a negative impact on the environment a target fish species EVERYWHERE it is practised.

Removal of larger fish – is it important?

Spearfishing is a selective sport, and spearfishers tend to harvest larger individuals within a species – partly driven by the ‘trophy status’ of the larger fish. In some cases the larger individuals are less timid and are easier to spear.

Birkeland and Dayton (2005) have reviewed the effects of removing larger individuals from populations. At least as far as long-lived reef fish are concerned, the available data indicate a variety of important effects:

• larger females are proportionately more fecund, yielding more eggs per gram of body weight;


• the larvae of larger females of some species have better survival rates;


• larger females spawn over an extended period, thus providing more resilience to changing environmental conditions;


• larger fishes can be more experienced and more successful in spawning;


• larger fishes of some species provide leadership in migrations to spawning aggregation sites;


• reduction of larger fishes may reduce genetic heterogeneity; “potentially leading to reduced adaptability, population productivity and persistence”;


• for sequential hermaphrodites, where all the larger individuals may be of the same sex, significant removal of large fishes may prejudice spawning success of the metapopulation; and


• larger fishes can have different and important ecological effects; Birkeland & Dayton quote studies showing larger parrot-fish create important erosive effects which smaller individuals do not.

Birkeland & Dayton conclude that: “the selective removal of larger individuals probably contributes significantly to the impact of recreational fisheries, and to the difficulty that some populations experience in recovering from overfishing”.

Birkeland & Dayton suggest that “spearfishermen could also be encouraged to take intermediate-sized fishes” rather than larger individuals. Speaking from my personal experience as a spearfisher, I believe such “encouragement” would undoubtedly fall on deaf ears – this approach is likely to be completely useless. In my view, the only way to protect larger individuals is through two strategies: either ban the spearing of the species in question, or create large networks of marine no-take areas.

In a marine protected area at Looe Key, Florida USA, all 15 species that were spearfishing targets increased in abundance after spearfishing was banned: snappers (Lutjanus spp.) by 93%, grunts (Haemulon spp.) by 439% (Clark et al. 1989). Looe Key Reef was the site of an earlier study (Bohnsack 1982) which found significant depletion of spearfishing target species in the period before the site was protected in 1981. So far I have not been able to obtain the full version of Bohnsack 1983, however the summary states: “In particular, the observed frequency of grey snapper (Lutjanus griseus) increased dramatically [following the spearfishing ban in 1981] although population levels remain well below those on the control reefs [fully protected since 1960].”  Clearly spearfishing had a major impact on local populations of this target fish. The summary continues: “Thalassoma bifasciatum, the most abundant prey species, showed a drop in abundance correlated with increased predator populations. T. bifasciatum population levels at Looe Key Reef prior to sanctuary establishment had been double those on control reefs.”

So make your minds up, do you believe the hype? or the facts?

I know what I believe.

Please don't anyone take it personally, there are 2 sides to every story and we are all here because we love it

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Many thanks to QQUERO and ANNIE1 for their comments on the photo posted of the filefish. concensus was reached with pic #1 being chosen

It was a very similar shot to one that, unfortunately, I could not show which was used in a publication.

So well done you guys, maybe we can do it again sometime

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It is true to say that I don't do much teaching nowadays, i thought that after close to 500 certs in 12 years that a rest was well earned.

I still itch to feel the thrill of passing on knowledge to wide eyed newbies eager to see what awaits beneath the surface.

So recently a friend asked me, what is probably the most common question I get asked by non divers, 'what's the most dangerous thing in the sea?

Let's see what you think and then I will tell you what my answer is

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After the recent incident of an Oil Spill adjacent to a Marine Sanctuary in British Columbia, what sort of penalties do you think should be imposed on the companies responsible? Or maybe you think it's a cost of supplying our economies with essential fuels.

Lets hear what you think?

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On a regular photography dive shooting with a housed SLR camera there a many challenges to getting the 'right' shot. Things such as composition, the rule of thirds, proper exposure etc. I have uploaded 5 shots of a Scrawled (sometimes called Scribbled) Filefish that I came across on a dive, I took about 15 of this subject, I picked 5 to illustrate how i decide what shots to keep or throw away. Have a look at them and see which one you would have chosen, I will keep it to myself until I see if there are many responses.

Some of the angles on the pictures show my particular style as i take pictures, i never rush directly towards a subject (that scares them) as a predator might, I tend to intersect them or try to anticipate where they will be and meet them there. Also I have spent my whole diving career (4,000 plus dives) perfecting my buoyancy control and my spatial awareness. I always survey the area and make a mental map so that I do not inadvertantly kick or disturb the environment whether it is coral or not. Occasionally I will lie on sand but only after i have had a close look at it, you never know what you can find in the sand!

Anyway I would appreciate some feedback on the shots and if you would like any further hints about approaching wildlife underwater please let me know.

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I just read an article in the Cayman Net News, I won't just cut and paste it here. Instead I will 'reflect and comment' on it

In essence it said that ilegal poaching was making the local populations on Sea Turles in the Cayman Is. close to extinction. In fact, nesting turtles that once numbered in the thousands are now reduced to less than 10!

Also, hawsksbill and leatherback no longer nest at all.

I actually wrote to the net news and said that i thought one big reason that people are still slaughtering turtles in cayman is that they are still exposed to the meat. On cayman they raise turtles on a farm for consumption. Admitedly they do release a great deal of turtles into the wild but what use is that if the locals are going kill them whenever they get a chance to save or make a buck. Just completely ban the farming and the hunting, take away the market

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Sounds like a few people prefer digital. Right now the high end digital slr cameras are really expensive (for 14mp and up). I am trying to see if i can save some cash by fitting a newer nikon digital slr inbto the same housing that i have for my 801s.

anyone tried this?

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