Marine Life & Conservation
Ocean Revival: A New Marine Reserve in the Algarve
Photos by Jeff Goodman and Kam Arya
As all divers know, ship wrecks of all types make great habitats for all kinds of marine life. Unfortunately they are often not protected against fishing and pressures of careless diving. Now there are four new wrecks in the Algarve, Portugal, which have been put on the sea bed to act as sanctuary for marine life and are to be protected by the Portuguese Fisheries Department and the Navy.
I was a guest of Luís Sá Couto, the project leader of Ocean Revival and owner of the SUBNAUTA Diving Centre. I had been invited to see the last ship of the four become a future reef. The Hydrographic ship Ex-NRP Almeida de Carvalho was to be submerged into 30 metres of water where her top decks would only be 15 metres below the surface.
The evening before the event, Luis gave me a tour of the ship while she was still in dock. By the time I saw her she had been fully prepared for sinking. All toxic and dangerous materials had been removed. Doorways opened and passageways all made accessible for the safety of future divers. Whole sections of flooring were removed for easy access to the lower decks and hold areas.
Luis then checked with the demolition crew where the on-board cameras were to be mounted. They would capture the entire sinking from the ship itself. Known to be reliable and produce high quality images, sixteen Gopro were mounted in various parts of the ship on deck and inside the hull. While each camera was being set up we were able to monitor their output on Luis’s iPhone via a Gopro app. Fantastic! (Scubaverse will be showing the actual Gopro videos soon.)
The next day we were in a rib dive boat heading out to the site of the sinking. As we got near the Almeida de Carvalho it was obvious the people on board were making the final preparations for the explosions which would send her to the sea bed. The ship’s hull was filled with tons of concrete so that she would sink in an upright position and not roll over on the way down. This would also give stability to the wreck and minimize any movement during winter storms.
The tugs made their final adjustments to the ships position and the anchors were dropped. Cameras were clicking constantly as the anticipation rose and we were told by the Pilot boat to now head away to the safe perimeter. There would be a five minute warning over the radio to let us know the sequence for detonation of the explosives was about to start.
I looked over to the mainland where I knew Luis was holding a press conference in one of the hotels. It was there that Luis was able to verify from the Minister of the State of the Sea, the Fisheries Department and the Navy, that these four Ocean Revival ships, with a limited area around them, would be a marine reserve and so protected by legislation and enforcement. This was indeed great news for marine conservation and the future.
Then it all happened. Three fireballs rose from the decking. A series of explosions cracked through the air as debris from the ship flew into the sky. All went quiet as the ship sat still in a small pall of smoke. Gradually the bow started to sink. It was very slow, but then it gathered momentum and within a minute the entire ship was swallowed by the blue water, leaving only a tell-tale footprint of froth and air bubbles. Almeida de Carvalho had gone.
A group of Navy divers now had to go down and make sure all the explosives had detonated. Two hours later we were able to dive the ship ourselves. With trapped air bubbles still rising to the surface we made our way down the shot line tied off near the bow. It’s quite surreal seeing a ship on the sea bed that was only a few hours ago sitting up at the surface. The shiny metal looked out of place and there were no fish to ease the desolate feel of the wreck. But that would change in time.
The three previous wrecks, only a few months old, have already become home to marine wildlife. Fish shoal around the rigging and railings while an octopus finds sanctuary in an old vent. Trigger fish patrol the forward decks; smaller fish browse the fast growing algae.
The wrecks will not take long to become mini reefs and as such should sustain a good diversity of life. Before having to return to the UK I had a chance for a dive on one of the local reefs in about 15 metres of water just off a nearby headland. The water temperature was a pleasant 20C and the visibility was an adequate six metres. At first it seemed very similar to diving on a reef at home in Cornwall, but without the kelp. Gradually I started to realise there was an interesting mix of species, both of temperate and warmer waters, Conger eels living next to Morays eels.
On this dive there were no great shoals of fish to see but the small species where abundant.
It was a great dive and only slightly marred for me by the body of a dead fish on the sea bed with wounds from a spear gun. It no doubt suffered before dying but will now go to feeding a host of other marine animals.
The Algarve is not high on the destinations of many divers but after my visit I certainly look forward to going back again. In my next article I shall be interviewing Luís Sá Couto about diving in the Algarve and the high standard of facilities divers can expect.
Blogs
The Ocean Cleanup Breaks 10,000,000 KG Barrier
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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