Scuba Diving the Farne Islands

Scuba diving with seals has to rank as one of the best marine encounters any diver can enjoy.

The ear-to-ear grin that is left on your face as they buzz around you, nibble your fins and rub their noses in the port of your camera can leave you in danger of letting your regs accidentally fall out of your mouth.



This time last year, a group of us 'intrepid' divers headed for the Farne Islands which lie two to three miles off the Northumberland coast midway between the fishing village of Seahouses and the Castle of Bamburgh.

As well as being the most famous Sea Bird Sanctuary in the British Isles they also have a large colony of Atlantic or Grey Seals with between 3,000 and 4,000 of this rare species on and around the islands.

The colonies here are said to be one of the most important in Europe, and this species of seal is the largest surviving in the British Isles. Resident throughout the year, an estimated 1,000 pups are born each year in late October and November.



Best Time to Go - As with anywhere in the UK with its unpredictable weather, you pays your money, you takes your chance. October is always a popular time because the seals have pupped and there are many little ones swimming around. But that can make them more wary. According to our dive boat skipper, the seals are most playful up the age of about one and then after that couldn't give a monkeys about divers. We went in June, when the more playful ones were about six or seven months, and thankfully enjoyed fantastic conditions with the sea like a mill-pond and the surface temperatures about 20C.

Best Dive Sites - The Hopper, without a shadow of a doubt. A sheer cliff down to about 30m, the submerged island is home to a colony of seals. It has a deep kelp-covered gully running through it which is a perfect obstacle course for seals to test their agility. We dropped down to 20m for a few minutes and headed up the gully. A movement or two in the murk and flashes of silver in the sunlight told us the seals were around but they stayed agonisingly out of sight. As we hit the top of the gully we spun left and on top of the pinnacle at a snorkeling depth of about two metres for the next 40 minutes. This was the seal playground and where all the fun took place. The inquisitive creatures buzzed, nibbled, examined and played with us as we wielded our cameras, tantalising us with a grace you can't imagine comes from a creature so unwieldy on land.



Viz - Typical UK dive at that time of years of between five and seven metres.

Biggest gripe(s) - That the dive was a maximum time of 60 minutes, that I couldn't be in there longer and that my air levels were always decreasing. Seriously, there was nothing to gripe about diving with seals. It was simply a case of wanting to stay down there with them. The Pinnacles wasn't as impressive, but that might have been more down to the fact that we had just spent an hour with seals. And the endless drive from the Midlands was a pain.

What suit to take - It's the UK so a drysuit all the way. It's more comfortable in the water and easier out of it. The water temperature was about 14C so 3mm gloves for comfort as well.



Who to dive with - We dive with small family-run business Sovereign Diving. A fantastic operation that, as well as good hardboat diving and knowledgeable and friendly skipper, can do you accommodation and hire out extra cylinders as well. So good that, according to their website, they only have one weekend still free between now and early November. They do have spaces available in the week from mid-September. That in itself speaks volumes.

Where to Stay - We stayed at Sovereign's Old School House B&B about five minutes drive from Seahouses harbour and walking distance to a decent pub.



Miscellaneous Diving Info - Our hardboat offered hot drinks but remember to take some food and water on board with you as you will be out for most of the day. You have to drive down to the harbour (£4 parking) kit up and take everything to the boat so remember spare cylinders and any other odds and sods you might want for the day. Sovereign's dive shop is about five mins drive away and cylinders can be left with them overnight for collection on the morning of the second days diving. They also stock plenty of bits should you need any spares. Check out their website for full details of everything.

Worth Going -Hell yes!



Ripped this off from YouTube to give you an idea but if you've dived the Farnes or with seals elsewhere, let me know what it was like.

Tables turned on invading Lionfish

To scuba divers armed with cameras, they are the perfect spot, flamboyant, exotic and also beautiful to photograph.

Unfortunately, lionfish are also a damned fine predator that is threatening a number of eco-systems in which it has 'invaded'.

Now environmentalists around the Bahamas and Cayman Islands are fighting back to protect their pristine coral reefs.

Lionfish are native to the indo-Pacific waters and were until recently rarely found elsewhere. That was until a ten or so years ago when they began turning up in waters off the east coast of America and around the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.

How they got there is open to debate, but they posed a threat to the eco-system.
With no natural predator, their population exploded and with prey unaware of their voracious hunting skills, native reef fish numbers were decimated.

The fightback has seen divers capture more than 200 red lionfish on Cayman’s reefs since the ferocious species first invaded the local waters early last year, in a move copied from the Bahamas.

Licenced scuba divers, authorised by the Department of Environment and the Marine Conservation Board, have caught 233 of the fish on all three islands in the last 16 months and handed them over to the department to be destroyed.

Bradley Johnson, research officer with the Department of Environment, told CayCompass.com: "The invasion of the Caribbean by lionfish started in the Bahamas. They came from the east coast of the US to the Bahamas and then into the Caribbean.

“Our intention is to remove any and all lionfish we find in Cayman waters. The more we remove, the fewer native fish will be eaten by them.”

He said all the divers can do is keep removing them from the underwater habitat and hope that native species begin to adapt to this new predator.

Sharks are NOT like Jack the Ripper

GREAT white sharks are just like sea-rial killers!

Terror of the seas target victims in the same was as psychopaths!

Er well, not exactly. You could be forgiven for thinking that the much maligned Great White shark was in for another kicking this week with headlines like that.

But they sadly missed the point of research by scientists at the University of Miami into hunting habits of the apex predator.

The scientists did use geographic profiling, a mathematical technique developed as a criminal investigation tool, to investigate the hunting habits of great whites - and found they picked their targets in a highly focused fashion.

They observed the location of 340 shark attacks at Seal Island, in False Bay off the coast of South Africa and used the data to locate the sharks' "anchor points".

The shark scientists found that mature sharks had a well defined search base with an "anchor point" tended to be 100 metres seaward of where the seals accessed and left the island where they lived - but not where the chances of prey interception were greatest rather where there was an optimal balance between detecting prey and capturing it.

Smaller, younger, sharks exhibited more dispersed search patterns and were less successful hunters, possibly indicating that hunting is refined with age or that smaller sharks are excluded from the best areas.

Neil Hammerschlag, from the University of Miami, who conducted the research, emailed sharkdivers blog to set the record straight.

In the posting Shark Science - Run Over by the Media, he wrote: "This study is getting a lot of attention; however it is as misunderstood as sharks.

"The study does not characterize sharks as serial killers in anyway, just that white sharks are more complex than we originally thought. Sharks are constantly swimming, and unlike other animals they do not have the equivalent of a den, nest, or burrow.

"Therefore, establishing the existence (including location, size, and shape) of a search base or “centre of gravity” for a search pattern could provide important insight into their hunting behavior.

"By applying geographic profiling, the study found that sharks are not mindless killers, but are in fact using sophisticated hunting strategies."

The full story is reported in the Journal of Zoology, published by the Zoological Society of London. You can purchase on on-line version or read a more balance piece on the BBC.

Readers of sharkdiver will also be excited by the news that Shark Divers CEO Patric Douglas will unveil the world’s newest white shark aggregation site exclusively for film and television productions on July 4 2009.

Typically divers are encountering up to 10 animals a day in 100 foot visibility.

“I have not seen anything as pristine, accessible, and ready made for television productions since the discovery of Mexico’s Isla Guadalupe in 2001,” said Douglas.

"You only discover new sites like this once every then years.”

So, we can expect a plethora of new great white docs next year then?

mega shark vs giant octopus - best film ever

You take your Shawshank Redemptions, your Pulp Fictions and Godfathers. They don't hold a candle to this classic that is about to hit the shelves.*

"The California coast is terrorized by two enormous prehistoric sea creatures as they battle each other for supremacy of the sea," screams the plot synopsis.

The basic premise seems to be that the titular prehistoric giants were frozen mid-battle in an iceberg only to be released from their suspended animation ten million years later to resume their fight.

Who cares about plot when it's this silly. With a premise like this I bet Steven Spielberg wishes this had been the real follow-up to Jaws.

Unfortunately we're going to have to wait until August 10 to get our sticky mitts on this actioner with Lorenzo Lamas and former 80s singer Debbie, no Deborah Gibson.

In the meantime, enjoy the trailer.
* Not really

Pierce Brosnan protects the whales

Continuing the Hollywood love-in with one final posting featuring a famous actory-type person, it seems Bond, James Bond, has now stepped forward to help save the whales.

It seems various US politicians more than met their match when Pierce and his wife went to the White House to discuss a new Whale Conservation and Protection Bill under consideration in the States.

Writing about the visit on his website, the passionate whale conservationist said the legislation would make a "critical difference in protecting whales worldwide".

"These magnificent and intelligent mammals are under continuous threat," said the star, who is Global Whale Ambassador for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

"There are few causes I feel more passionately about than protecting our planet's great whales and their ocean habitat because it directly affects us all.

"For if we cannot save such magnificent, intelligent, socially complex, gentle and sentient beings like the whales, how can we have any chance of saving the marine eco-systems that they live within? And ladies and gentlemen, if we cannot save the oceans, we will ultimately fail to save humanity for the simple ecological truth is, that if our oceans die, we will not survive as a species ourselves.

"It is up to each of us as individuals to lend a hand, and to do what we can to bring about the change we all believe in."



Well said, Brosser. Now if you wouldn't mind donning the tux and picking up the Walther PPK to do a number on the whaling boats like you did to Jonathan Pryce in Tomorrow Never Dies. There's a good fellow.

Amazing scuba diving entry

Just found this on YouTube while searching for some footage of scuba diving at Stoney Cove. Just watch the guy in the background. he'll win no prizes for a splash like that.



For any new divers out there - this is not the way to do it!

jessica Alba fights for great white sharks

First Elle MacPherson, now Jessica Alba.

You've got to hand it to Tinsletown's female elite, they are doing their bit for raising awareness of the plight of endangered underwater species.

The star of scuba diving movie Into the Blue was reported to have been photographed earlier this month putting up posters of great white sharks in Oklahoma, where she is shooting her new movie The Killer Inside Me, in an effort to draw attention to the species' dwindling numbers.

Following an outcry - over the posters not the slaughter of the sharks, heaven forbid there is any outcry to save Jaws - the 28-year-old "Fantastic Four" actress issued an apology for her actions and the owners of the properties on which Alba glued the posters said they didn't want to see her prosecuted.

In her apology released to EW.com, Alba said: “I got involved in something I should have had no part of. I realize that I should have used better judgment and I regret not thinking things through before I made a spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved with the people behind this campaign.”

Hell, no Alba. Have the courage of your convictions. You were absolutely right to get involved. Without people in the public eye getting involved, these issues could be missed by the general public until it is too late.

Thanks to the Rad Report, the shark is actually called White Mike and he is the face of the campaign to protect Great Whites.

The posters have been appearing all over LA and Malibu.

In a message on his blog (go and visit, now) White Mike, he said: "Some have asked why these images of the Great White Shark were posted in Oklahoma, a place far away from the slaughtering waters off Ecuador’s Galapagos or the booming shark fin markets of Hong Kong.
"The reason is that illegal shark fin hunting affects the people of Oklahoma. It affects us all.
"There is a dire need for us as a human race to try and stop the devastation of the Great White Shark. International pressure is the only way to do it and that starts in Oklahoma, the heartland of America."

White Mike, if you are reading this, make the posters available for us to download in whatever size is possible, I'm sure there are a few of us in Blighty who will post them around our neck of the woods.

Elle's Bells

Far be it from me to miss an opportunity to get my childhood fantasy woman Elle MacPherson on these pages - but thanks to a facebook message from Bite-Back she is doing something for the welfare of our oceans.

'The Body' has joined a roll-call of stars, including Sienna Miller, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron and brainbox Stephen Fry, campaigning to stop endangered bluefin tuna being served in celebrity restaurant Nobu.


see, she even likes the sea

According to Tim Ecott's piece in the Daily Telegraph, they have written to the restaurant's owner, Nobu Matsuhisa,asking that the expensive bluefin be removed from the menu because it is "an extremely endangered animal".

Graham Buckingham, founder of the marine conservation movement 'Bite-Back' (www.bite-back.com) told the Telegraph: "It's great news that high profile media personalities are joining the campaign for bluefin tuna.

"Fine, stop a few branches of Nobu selling bluefin tuna, but when it comes to teaching consumers about the sustainability of fish stocks we need to get the message across at a more basic level.

"Consumers tend to assume that if the supermarkets sell something then it can't be morally questionable. Perhaps unwittingly, the supermarkets are endorsing underwater genocide. I want to change the way Britain goes shopping."

Carl Spencer: a tribute

Friends of renowned cannock scuba diver Carl Spencer, who died while leading national Geographic's Britannic expedition have posted a moving tribute to him on Divernet.

Technical diving trainer and computer developer Kevin Gurr submitted his personal thoughts with the help of writer, underwater photographer and Spencer's fellow expedition-member Leigh Bishop.

All divers should read the memorial to one of the world's scuba diving pioneers.

Basking Sharks Are Back

Basking sharks are back in British waters.

In the last week the first basking sharks of the summer have been spotted off the Cornish coast as their annual migration brings them to Britain in their hundreds.

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust has again launched its Seaquest Basking Shark Project and is looking for volunteers to help provide a deeper understanding of basking shark distribution and behaviour from Gwennap Head.

Last year 86 volunteers were involved in 71 days of surveys, and during that time basking sharks, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, harbour porpoises and seals were seen, with the highlight being the sighting of a fin whale!

The surveys began on June 1 running from dawn until dusk.

BBC reporter Alex Bushill has filed an interesting piece on the BBC after joining volunteers going in search of a site of the mysterious creature.

He wrote: "On the afternoon I caught up with them at Sennen Cove, nearLand's End, I was blessed with not one but two sightings - their distinctive dorsal fin clear to see."

He added for a fish's eye view of this magnificent creatures you really need to be underwater which is exactly where Dan Burton was on Wednesday of last week.

The unrivalled footage of basking sharks arriving here to feed on clouds of plankton was posted on the BBC website and is featured below.

Advanced Open Water

Thanks to Neil and Adam for making a wet weekend so enjoyable.
The rain torrential at times, soaking us through to the skin, (and that was before we got into the water) it could have been a bleak two days.
But we had a blast and they both successfully completed their PADI advanced course and Peak Performance Buoyancy.
The viz on the deep dive was pretty decent because the bottom draggers (who needs fins when you can trample over the silty bottom) stayed at home because of the weather.
They should take a few lessons from our students - I even got to see parts of Dosthill I'd not seen before.
Bosses have launched a new website with a good map and some pics that are worth a look for those new to diving or the wonders of Dosthill

Should scuba divers eat fish?

Over-fishing is as big a problem to humanity this century as global warming, according to the man behind documentary, the End of the Line.
Yet research shows most of us don't realise that our seas are under such a pressing threat.
Journalist Charles Clover's film exposes the impacts of fishing on marine life, the plight of species such as bluefin tuna, and the profound implications of a future world with no fish.
But a key message from the film is that actions individuals can take will help bring change.

Which raises the question, should scuba divers eat fish?

For us the underwater world is our playground. Healthy reefs are what draw us to far-flung locations around the world. I'm sure we've all had a moan when dive sites haven't lived up to expectations and been shorn of life.
Yet I'm sure we've all enjoyed a sneaky piece of local fish afterwards.

It's diffiuclt for us Brits, we have been brought up on a diet of fish and chips. Sea bass cooked simply with a twist of lemon and some black pepper over sweet potato mash and some veg has to be one of my favourite tuck-ins.

But seabass are also among the Marine Conservation Society's list of 69, yes 69, fish to avoid. While it states some seabass fisheries are okay, how can I be certain whether the fillet on the plate has come from a sustainable source or not? Is it best to just so no full-stop.

Some scientists have warned the oceans are in so much peril world's fisheries could face collapse by 2048. This will have a devastating impact on our environment.

As previous blogs have touched on, we need a healthy marine ecosystem to absorb carbon dioxide from the air but, such is the damage to the underwater world, ocean acidity is increasing and threatening the very ecosystems and coral reefs that we enjoy.
According to the latest research, fish play their part in regulating acidity, secreting a compound called calcium carbonate, which if it dissolves in the upper levels of the oceans could help replenish the alkalinity of the seas.
Therefore fewer fish contributes to greater ocean acidity = destroyed coral reefs.
If that happens every dive, no matter where in the world, will be like a desert.

Quoting a friend: "For centuries we have taken our marine riches for granted. But in recent decades we have taken too much, with too little care. Fragile habitats have been destroyed, fish stocks have collapsed and valuable resources have become dangerously depleted. The marine environment is on its knees. Now it is time to give something back."

Charles Clover called on consumers to demand sustainably-caught fish from retailers and restaurants. Which is a start. It's taken almost 20 years for politicians (short-termists by nature) to understand the impact of global warming but the oceans can't afford for them to catch up here.

The EU has proposed some new measures of shark finning in European waters. If they can drop national interest and have a look at the ridiculous rules around fishing we might have something to go on.

We can also support the development of Marine Conservation Zones, contained in a bill working its way slowly through Parliament.

But back to my earlier question. Should we divers lead by example and so no to the fish on the menu to do our little bit to reduce demand? Just as it is in the long term interests of fishermen not to empty the oceans, it is also in ours. Travelling half way around the world for a dive site that resembles a lifeless quarry doesn't hold much appeal

After all, Mother Nature has a way of bouncing back if we relieve the pressure and give her time.

Dolphins in British waters

We normally travel halfway around the world to catch glimpses of the amazing sealife that holds us in rapture. But how many would be surprised to learn that dolphins are resident in the UK as well.

Cardigan Bay in Wales is one of two spots that is is home to a population of about 200 bottlenose dolphins. While enjoying a short break to the area around New Quay we were treated to a awe-inspiring surprise show at the sunset as they played in the water in front of us.

The pics don't do it justice (zoom lens not as powerful as binoculars) but I thought I'd share them with you.

We had gone down to enjoy a romantic sunset on the headland above the beach at Mwnt when they made an appearance and we sat enthralled for the next 45 minutes taking in the free show.

According to experts at Ceredigion County Council, the inshore coastal waters around Mwnt are ideal for seeing dolphins, porpoises and seals. Nearby New Quay sees them approach the harbour walls.

The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, established in 1996, is now carrying out research on the pod, primarily through photo ID. The Centre works in collaboration with Dolphin Survey Boat Trips to collect vital research data and information on the marine mammal populations found in Cardigan Bay.

Every year they also run 'Dolphin Watch' and researchers believe sites like Mwnt are important for foraging as well as centres for social interaction and transit routes and sightings here have increased between 1995 and 2007.

While sightings can never be guaranteed, as long as you are patient the chances are high. A calm sea with the sun behind you makes it easier and sea birds such as gannets circling above can help pinpoint areas of interest. With the naked eye, scan for dark blips of dorsal fins, the splash of white water or sun glinting off their wet bodies. Then train your binoculars in that area for when they next pop up for air.

Scuba diving Stoney Cove

The weekend was blisteringly hot so what better time to dress up in a thick undersuit, drysuit, hood and gloves and go scuba diving.

Alison wasn't enamoured with the thought of two temperature extremes - baking it's bits off on the surface and freezing the cobblers off beneath - but I convinced her Stoney Cove, in Leicestershire, was a wonderful place to spend a warm weekend and she finally relented.

Thankfully she had a great time.


Nautilus

Stoney is perhaps the most popular of inland dive sites in the UK. There's plenty to see, you can get a bit of depth and the above water facilities are pretty good.

We arrived later than planned which meant all the car parks were full. Not such a bad thing as we could park much closer on the site road.

The walk may have been a bit much in the hot temperatures but once in the water (a less than respectable 11C) we were glad of the thermal protection.

As it was Alison's first trip to Stoney we kept it simple with a tour of the popular sunken sites; the Stanegarth wreck, Wessex helicopter, Viscount fuselage, bus and Nautilus sub.


Alison on the Stanegarth


Alison on the Stanegarth

The reason for writing though was I finally managed to get her to understand the benefits of a wide-angle lens for my U/W camera.

My Canon G9 in its Canon housing takes fantastic images but has no option to add a wide-angle lens (thanks Canon). if I wanted one I'd have to go for the big and bulky Ikelite housing.

But with prices staying high because of the exchange rate that's not a possibility.

Having spoken with Adam at Cameras Underwater in London, he suggested the next option was to keep the G9 for close-up work and go for something like the new IXUS 980 with a wide angle conversion as my next set up.

The G9 gives some manual options missing from other compacts allowing me greater control and is my next step up before going full digital SLR, hence why I'm thinking of the IXUS 980. A full set up with strobes will cost around £1,100.

"Not another camera!" was the stock answer from Alison. But having dived Stoney and looked at the images on their website compared to mine, she can now understand what I've been talking about all this time.

Take my shot of the Viscount (a quick snap for memory rather than anything set up) and the professional's shot on the Stoney website.
The wide-angle will allow me to get closer without losing the whole subject either through cropping or because of the gloom. After a few years of point-and-shoot snap-happyness, I want to do something more creative with my U/W photography.


mine


professional

Then there is the pic above of Alison taken from the wheelhouse of the Stanegarth. I had another image in my head but my current set up wouldn't do it.

What the trip did do was also give me some other photo ideas for Stoney. So I'm going to have to pick a quiet weekday when the viz is no so churned up and go and have a play. If I can get anything like the professional's image below of the bus then I'll be happy.


Bus