For those of you who wonder why I love scuba diving... well, here's one of the reasons.
This past April, I gave a free presentation at the local Fernwood Community Centre in Victoria, BC. My goal was to try and get kids interested in diving and the ocean at a young age with the hopes that they will become stewards of our oceans for the future and a very smart five year old named Luc attended.
He was quite astounding as he paid attention and asked relevant question about topics which can be quite difficult to understand no matter how simple I try to make them. At one point, during a conservation about the differences between hard and soft corals, he looked up at me and asked, 'Steve, are soft corals animals too?'. I was amazed at how well he was retaining and processing the information...
Today, I received this e-mail from him (via his Mom).
Dear Steve,
I watched two Scuba Diving movies. One was about dolphins and one was about different sea animals and coral.
Where do you like to Scuba Dive the best?
When I am eight or past eight I will be able to go to Scuba Diving classes.
And if my mom doesn't have enough gas she'll just go to the gas station and get some gas and she said that when I was eight she would take me to Sidney to the classes.
Learning about diving from you, this is what I like the best. I like breathing through those things that go in your mouth. And I also liked putting my arms in that backpack thing and making it puff up and puff down.
And I liked looking at those little pieces of coral.
Bye Steve!
From, Luc
(Hi, I hope you remember Luc. He sure remembers you. He and I came to see you speak at the Fernwood Community Centre. The above note was dictated by Luc to me, his mom (Emilie). He became more inspired after seeing your presentation and plans to move us all to the Bahamas one day. A venture I will certainly not hinder. In fact, his teacher told me that he sadly announced the news to his class and told them that it was probably too far away for him to keep attending kindergarten with them.)
My thanks go out to Luc and his Mom for attending.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Anthony's Key Video.
For those of you joining us on our trip to Anthony's Key in Roatan next January, here is a short video of what you can expect.
We still have room for four to six people so sign up soon if you would like to join us.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mo'orea
I've been reading The Fragile Edge by Julia Whitty recently and she talks about Mo'orea and the fact that it is between 1.2 million and 2.5 million years old and was in it's prime, a towering island of 10,000 plus feet and has been slowly slipping back into the ocean, and now sits with a maximum elevation of just over 4,000 feet.
The island was formed as a result of a geologic hotspot in the mantle under the oceanic plate that formed the whole of the Society Archipelago.
But I guess what crossed my mind is the fact that these islands are all slowly slipping away to become atolls or perhaps, if the coral problems continue and no barrier reef is formed around the island, a flat topped Guyot.
A guyot, also known as a tablemount, is a flat-topped seamount. Guyots are most commonly found in the Pacific Ocean.
Guyots show evidence of having been above the surface with gradual subsidence through stages from fringed reefed mountain, coral atoll, and finally a flat topped submerged mountain.
I highly recommend the book. Very interesting.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sharks decline by 97 percent in Mediterranean.
Sharks decline by 97 percent in Mediterranean - Reuters - Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The number of sharks in the Mediterranean has fallen by 97 percent over the past 200 years, putting the sea's ecological balance at risk, a report released Wednesday said.
The report by the Lenfest Ocean Program, which is based in Washington, used records like fishermen's logs, museum specimens and sightings to estimate the number and size of Mediterranean sharks over the past two centuries.
There was only enough data on 5 of the 20 big shark species present in the Mediterranean to be useful to the study: the hammerhead, thresher, blue and two species of mackerel shark, which averaged a decline of 97 percent.
"It will have a major impact on the ecosystem because large predatory sharks are at the top of the food chain," said Francesco Ferretti, the lead author of the report. Losing the top of the food chain can mean smaller fish thrive and consume more of their prey, upsetting the ecological balance.
"If we lose these sharks, we are going to lose this important portion of the ecosystem functioning," Ferretti said.
A report last month by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that 11 kinds of shark faced extinction due to overfishing, partly caused by booming demand for shark fin soup in Asia.
Fishers from all over the world catch and trade sharks for their lucrative fins, often discarding their carcasses, the report said, citing Indonesia and Spain are among the top culprits.
Ferretti said the practice was not thought to be common in the Mediterranean due to the small number of sharks now present there. A greater problem is that sharks are caught in long lines meant to snag tuna and swordfish.
"The Mediterranean has been fished since Roman times, it's a historical thing," said Ferretti. "But now, fishing has put big impact on the shark population."
The number of sharks in the Mediterranean has fallen by 97 percent over the past 200 years, putting the sea's ecological balance at risk, a report released Wednesday said.
The report by the Lenfest Ocean Program, which is based in Washington, used records like fishermen's logs, museum specimens and sightings to estimate the number and size of Mediterranean sharks over the past two centuries.
There was only enough data on 5 of the 20 big shark species present in the Mediterranean to be useful to the study: the hammerhead, thresher, blue and two species of mackerel shark, which averaged a decline of 97 percent.
"It will have a major impact on the ecosystem because large predatory sharks are at the top of the food chain," said Francesco Ferretti, the lead author of the report. Losing the top of the food chain can mean smaller fish thrive and consume more of their prey, upsetting the ecological balance.
"If we lose these sharks, we are going to lose this important portion of the ecosystem functioning," Ferretti said.
A report last month by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that 11 kinds of shark faced extinction due to overfishing, partly caused by booming demand for shark fin soup in Asia.
Fishers from all over the world catch and trade sharks for their lucrative fins, often discarding their carcasses, the report said, citing Indonesia and Spain are among the top culprits.
Ferretti said the practice was not thought to be common in the Mediterranean due to the small number of sharks now present there. A greater problem is that sharks are caught in long lines meant to snag tuna and swordfish.
"The Mediterranean has been fished since Roman times, it's a historical thing," said Ferretti. "But now, fishing has put big impact on the shark population."
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A little bit about Shark Finning...
Shark finning is a practice where sharks are caught, hauled on board, have someone slice their fins off, and then the still-living, finless bodies are tossed overboard.
Unable to swim or breathe by keeping in motion, the sharks endure a painful death from suffocation, blood loss, or predation by other species.
Why is this happening?
Shark fins have become a hot commodity. With shark fin soup costing as much as $100 a bowl in Asia, the fins themselves cost up to hundreds of dollars per kilogram.
I went searching for a Shark Fin soup recipe and came across the following;
---
“A shark's fin is tasteless, but has an amazing ability to bring out and enhance the flavor of other foods cooked with it. It is usually simmered in rich flavorful broth. In making shark's fin soup, first class restaurants would use superior stock or "high soup", a bowl of which is made from hours of simmering chickens, fine pork and ham, and at times with dried scallops and abalone into concentrated essence.
Other ingredients like crab meats and eggs can be added while black vinegar makes a good accompaniment with shark's fin soup. A dash of whisky or brandy can be used in replace of vinegar to add a zip to it.”
---
So, in fact, the shark fin adds absolutely no flavour and at best offers the unproven ability to ‘add flavour’ to other foods cooked with it. In fact, it is the chicken, pork or ham that actually add any flavour… or the also endangered abalone used in preparation.
Shark Fins also presents the lovely risk of Minamota Disease. Just Google that and take a read if the sheer brutality of shark finning is not enough to trigger a deep awareness of the need to stop this practice, perhaps learning a bit about this disease is.
In comparison to the fins, shark meat has a relatively low commercial value, netting only $865 per ton. While the fins are like gold, the rest of the shark is not worth the space on the boat to fishermen.
This is resulting in sharks being killed at wildly unsustainable rates for their fins. In a study of the shark fin trade published in the October 2006 edition of Ecology Letters, it was estimated that the harvest of sharks for their fins is between 38 million and 73 million sharks each year.
There are 17 nations that have outlawed the practice of shark finning and yet the practice continues. Poaching goes on in national waters, in off-limits preserves, and in the largely un-policed international seas.
Countries such as Ecuador and Costa Rica have strong shark finning regulations but don’t aggressively police the shark-rich, protected areas of the Galapagos and Cocos Island, mostly due to the isolated natures of these reserves and the lack of funding. Sharks are poached in the Pomene reserve of Mozambique, where fishermen get $280 per kilo of shark fins. Wherever there are sharks, there are people after their fins. While there have been cases of illegal shark fin activity being stopped, most of it is not.
Customs data shows that more than 100 countries are involved in the business of trading in shark fins. Most are exporters while the main consumer nations are mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The United States and the European Union also import significant quantities to local Chinese communities.
While there are many causes for the decline in shark populations, shark finning is no doubt one of the main contributors. Shark finning is a worldwide problem that can only be solved by a conscious effort on a global scale.
Here is a list of nations and regions that have passed some shark finning regulations:
American Samoa
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Costa Rica
Ecuador
European Union
Nicaragua
Oman
Palau
Panama
USA
I suggest, if you are a diver, that you place these nations higher on your list than all others.
Yim and I have been face to face with sharks, myself on many occasions and have never once felt even the least bit endangered. In fact, in my interactions with sharks, sharks usually got out of our way so fast, we usually only got a brief glimpse of them.
If you are a scuba diver particularly, I believe you have an obligation to learn more about this brutal practice and use your skills, education and platform as a diver to make all your students and guests aware of Shark Finning and urge all of them to take some type of action, however small, to make their friends and families more aware of the brutality.
Knowledge will help us save the sharks.
Unable to swim or breathe by keeping in motion, the sharks endure a painful death from suffocation, blood loss, or predation by other species.
Why is this happening?
Shark fins have become a hot commodity. With shark fin soup costing as much as $100 a bowl in Asia, the fins themselves cost up to hundreds of dollars per kilogram.
I went searching for a Shark Fin soup recipe and came across the following;
---
“A shark's fin is tasteless, but has an amazing ability to bring out and enhance the flavor of other foods cooked with it. It is usually simmered in rich flavorful broth. In making shark's fin soup, first class restaurants would use superior stock or "high soup", a bowl of which is made from hours of simmering chickens, fine pork and ham, and at times with dried scallops and abalone into concentrated essence.
Other ingredients like crab meats and eggs can be added while black vinegar makes a good accompaniment with shark's fin soup. A dash of whisky or brandy can be used in replace of vinegar to add a zip to it.”
---
So, in fact, the shark fin adds absolutely no flavour and at best offers the unproven ability to ‘add flavour’ to other foods cooked with it. In fact, it is the chicken, pork or ham that actually add any flavour… or the also endangered abalone used in preparation.
Shark Fins also presents the lovely risk of Minamota Disease. Just Google that and take a read if the sheer brutality of shark finning is not enough to trigger a deep awareness of the need to stop this practice, perhaps learning a bit about this disease is.
In comparison to the fins, shark meat has a relatively low commercial value, netting only $865 per ton. While the fins are like gold, the rest of the shark is not worth the space on the boat to fishermen.
This is resulting in sharks being killed at wildly unsustainable rates for their fins. In a study of the shark fin trade published in the October 2006 edition of Ecology Letters, it was estimated that the harvest of sharks for their fins is between 38 million and 73 million sharks each year.
There are 17 nations that have outlawed the practice of shark finning and yet the practice continues. Poaching goes on in national waters, in off-limits preserves, and in the largely un-policed international seas.
Countries such as Ecuador and Costa Rica have strong shark finning regulations but don’t aggressively police the shark-rich, protected areas of the Galapagos and Cocos Island, mostly due to the isolated natures of these reserves and the lack of funding. Sharks are poached in the Pomene reserve of Mozambique, where fishermen get $280 per kilo of shark fins. Wherever there are sharks, there are people after their fins. While there have been cases of illegal shark fin activity being stopped, most of it is not.
Customs data shows that more than 100 countries are involved in the business of trading in shark fins. Most are exporters while the main consumer nations are mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The United States and the European Union also import significant quantities to local Chinese communities.
While there are many causes for the decline in shark populations, shark finning is no doubt one of the main contributors. Shark finning is a worldwide problem that can only be solved by a conscious effort on a global scale.
Here is a list of nations and regions that have passed some shark finning regulations:
American Samoa
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Costa Rica
Ecuador
European Union
Nicaragua
Oman
Palau
Panama
USA
I suggest, if you are a diver, that you place these nations higher on your list than all others.
Yim and I have been face to face with sharks, myself on many occasions and have never once felt even the least bit endangered. In fact, in my interactions with sharks, sharks usually got out of our way so fast, we usually only got a brief glimpse of them.
If you are a scuba diver particularly, I believe you have an obligation to learn more about this brutal practice and use your skills, education and platform as a diver to make all your students and guests aware of Shark Finning and urge all of them to take some type of action, however small, to make their friends and families more aware of the brutality.
Knowledge will help us save the sharks.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Botanical Beach, Vancouver Island.
Botanical Beach offers one of the best opportunities to view intertidal marine creatures and plants on Vancouver Island and is on my list of one of the Top Ten things to do on Vancouver Island.
It is one of the most amazing places on the entire West Coast, particularly at low tide. This is when you can walk a long way out across flat sandstone and granite outcroppings to view tide pools filled like jewel boxes with brightly coloured marine animals. Purple, red and orange starfish and sea urchins, blue mussel shells, white gooseneck barnacles, and green sea anemones and sea cucumbers only begin to hint at the spectrum of intertidal life that thrives here.
It's a great day trip.
Read more at www.oceansedge.com
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