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Marine Life & Conservation

Diving with Dolphins

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It is said that the best way to swim with and video dolphins is to free dive with them. I’m not sure that’s true. There are of course occasions when marine mammals are very nervous of things they don’t understand. A diver blowing noisy bubbles would be one of those things. Let’s think about dolphins. They are extremely smart, a master of their environment. No matter if you are free diving or wearing an air tank, the dolphins know exactly where you are and quite possibly what you are.

As soon as you enter the water, what happens next is entirely up to the dolphins. If they want to play they will, if they are feeding, then you probably won’t be able to keep up with them. If they are simply hanging out then who knows?

There are occasions when free diving does seem to work better and allows for closer contact but this is not the golden rule.  Not being a very good free diver I have always, where possible, used air tanks and mostly come away with great results. There are advantages and disadvantages to both free diving and scuba. As already mentioned free diving may on occasion let you get closer but air tanks give you a lot more time and you don’t have to surface for air just as things are starting to get good. Air tanks also allow you time to think about your sequence.

A good example of this is two very different films I have worked on with groups of Spotted Dolphins on the Bahaman Grand Banks.

The first occasion I met and filmed with them was from a boat that had very strict rules about how to behave when encountering dolphins. It was free diving only and absolutely no physical contact. We were to observe the dolphins in the wild, video what behaviour we could and that was all. I could understand this as people do get extremely self centred and start to chase and harass dolphins just to get that ‘dolphin experience’. So although a little frustrating, it made perfect sense to me for the rules of this particular boat to be so strict. We swam with the dolphins and filmed while free diving. We got some nice stuff and felt quite pleased at the end of the shoot.

It was two years later that I was sent to film the same groups of dolphins using another boat, only this time the approach of the skipper was very different indeed. As with the previous skipper two years previously, an association with the dolphins had been going on for many years, only here, play was the order of the day as well as observation.

Within the first day of being out at sea we came upon a group of fifty dolphins. It was one of those typical Bahaman Bank days. The sea was pond calm and clear. The golden sand below shimmered up through the two or six metres depth of water and the pale blue of it merged effortlessly on the horizon with the vivid blue sky.

The dolphin pod could be seen hundreds of metres away and were very slowly and deliberately cruising towards us. The camera gear had been ready on deck since the early hours of the morning, before we even left port, so I had a moment just to stand and look. It was like a perfect painting where all the colours, light, composition and animals are all meticulously placed in an impossibly wonderful arrangement. But this was real and I was spell bound.

But I was here to film so I picked up the camera and started with a few wide GV’s (general views) just to set the scene. Then as the dolphins came closer I went for a few mid shots and close ups. It was all so easy.

Then I noticed our skipper was sat on the back platform starting a petrol driven water scooter. Its 2 stroke engine coughed into life and was thrown into the water followed almost immediately by our skipper. I must confess to being more that a little surprised. Surely he doesn’t hope to get near them with that? Within seconds he was careering through the water surrounded by a very playful group of Spotted Dolphin.  Noisily with protesting puffs of exhaust, the little scooter was weaving and dancing with the excited dolphins.

After a few minutes, the scooter was discarded and bobbed silently and alone while our skipper simply swam and played with the dolphins as they played just as enthusiastically with him. Having covered things from the surface it was at last time for me to get into the water. We had two cameras on the shoot and so one was dedicated to the underwater housing which meant I could get in without any delay. There was absolutely no need for any lighting under the high bright sun. Unlike our skipper I was wearing a tank. Within moments I was in the water spinning, tumbling and rolling, with dolphins doing the same all around me. Then after about half an hour of playing we all relaxed and simply chilled out together in mid water and on the shallow sandy sea bed. Now I was really getting some beautiful video. Gentle dolphin to dolphin interaction, mothers and calves, feeding, playing……. And most importantly of all for the premise of the film, human and dolphin together in perfect harmony and acceptance. You know, it’s quite hard to smile underwater and keep a regulator in your mouth.

I must say at this point that this particular encounter was not just a chance meeting. Our skipper had been developing a friendship with these dolphins for nearly 20 years. Slowly at first and then gradually evolving into personal contact and recognition from both man and dolphin as the years went by. It was wonderful to see and be part of. It was sharing, for a brief moment of time, an ocean with another species. It was a mutual attempt at understanding.

Needless to say the following few days resulted in some fantastic video of dolphin behaviour both human induced and natural.  All done on scuba.

I do believe that success in filming animals in the wild is greatly a state of mind. Be relaxed, non threatening, understanding and when possible try to get the attention and curiosity of the animals you are filming. Give them the opportunity to look at you.

Jeff is a multiple award winning, freelance TV cameraman/film maker and author. Having made both terrestrial and marine films, it is the world's oceans and their conservation that hold his passion with over 10.000 dives in his career. Having filmed for international television companies around the world and author of two books on underwater filming, Jeff is Author/Programme Specialist for the 'Underwater Action Camera' course for the RAID training agency. Jeff has experienced the rapid advances in technology for diving as well as camera equipment and has also experienced much of our planet’s marine life, witnessing, first hand, many of the changes that have occurred to the wildlife and environment during that time. Jeff runs bespoke underwater video and editing workshops for the complete beginner up to the budding professional.

Marine Life & Conservation

New report shows simple measures needed to cut beach plastic pollution

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The Marine Conservation Society has launched its annual State of our Beaches 2023 report, highlighting the need for less single-use plastic items and more refillable options.

The charity’s beach cleaning programme, now in its 30th year, asks volunteers to record all litter that they find within a 100-metre stretch of beach. By gathering vital data from across the UK and Channel Islands, the charity creates change for cleaner seas and a healthier planet through policy and industry change. Last year, over 148 kilometres of beach were surveyed by volunteers, who removed 17,208kgs of litter from our coast.

Using data collected by over 14,000 volunteers, the State of our Beaches 2023 report shows that half of all litter collected came from public sources – either dumped, blown or washed onto our beaches.

Drinks-related litter, such as plastic bottles, caps and cans were one of the most found items, with an average of 16 found per 100 metres of beach surveyed. This figure is up 14% compared to the charity’s 2022 report.

Plastics caps and lids were recorded on 89% of surveys, with over 30,000 found in total. Plastic bottles were also commonly collected, with 73% of surveys finding this single-use item – a 4% increase compared to 2022. The charity’s inland litter pick survey, Source to Sea, also reported finding plastic bottles on 92% of cleans.

However, the charity’s State of Our Beaches 2023 report also indicates that some types of litter are on a downward trend. Although still in the top 10 litter items, disposable plastic cutlery, trays and straws were found on 5% fewer beaches across the UK, showing that bans on these plastic items between 2022 – 2023 could be working. The presence of plastic cotton bud sticks also dropped by 14%.

Lizzie Price, Beachwatch Manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said, “Half of the litter found on our beaches originates from public sources, underscoring the pressing issue of single-use plastic. Evidence shows that refillable alternatives and litter return schemes effectively reduce rubbish, as demonstrated by the decline our data has shown in items like plastic bags and disposable cutlery.

“Urgent and decisive action from UK governments is needed to accelerate our shift towards a circular economy, where we reuse, repair and recycle. The public needs greater access to refillable products and systems need to be implemented in which manufacturers are responsible for their waste.”

Governments across the UK have committed to delivering deposit return schemes from October 2025. However, the proposed scheme in England does not include glass items, despite glass being found on 52% of beaches in 2023. The charity is calling for governments across the UK to introduce compatible all inclusive deposit return schemes as soon as possible. This would see aluminium cans, and plastic and glass bottles have a 20p deposit which would be returned when recycled which would reduce drinks-related pollution.

Businesses are, however, starting to take refillable and reusable options into their own hands. Supermarket chain, Aldi, the largest corporate funder of the charity’s 2024 Beachwatch programme, is already leading the charge in refillable items by trialling refillable options for cereals and porridge oats in their stores over the past 5 months.

Plastics and Packaging Director, Luke Emery, from Aldi, who are running 4 beach cleans for staff and volunteers in 2024, said, We are continually working to reduce single-use plastics and packaging, and making unpackaged product options more commonplace for our customers is a key part of this. We are really pleased with the uptake of our refillable range so far by customers. Not only are we making sustainable shopping more accessible, but we also offer refill products for a better price than the packaged alternative, helping our customers save money.”

Marine litter is one of the biggest threats to our seas, with plastic breaking down over time into microplastics and threatening marine life which can ingest or become entangled in them. The Marine Conservation Society is urging the UK Government to move faster on its policies to cut down plastic waste and prevent items from reaching our seas.

To find out more about the charity’s beach cleans and how to get involved, please visit mcsuk.org/beach-cleans

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Guarding Against Coral Invaders

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Protecting (Dutch) Caribbean Reefs from Unomia stolonifera

Recent reports highlight the concerning spread of the invasive soft coral, Unomia stolonifera, currently devastating Venezuela’s marine ecosystems and detected in Cuba. With the potential threat of its expansion to the (Dutch) Caribbean islands, urgent action and awareness are essential to safeguard marine biodiversity and local economies from possible catastrophic consequences.

Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world that don’t belong in their new environment. These species can have major ecological effects by decimating native flora or fauna. They can also cause large economic losses and impact human health. Invasive species also pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems worldwide, including the Dutch Caribbean. Among these invaders is the octocoral species Unomia stolonifera or “Pulsing Xenia”, originally from the Indo-Pacific. With its rapid growth and lack of natural predators, this species can outcompete native species and disrupt fragile marine habitats such as seagrass beds and coral reefs.

Background

The invasive soft coral U. stolonifera was first identified in 2014, off the coast of Venezuela. It is believed to have been introduced via the illegal aquarium trade.  Since this species can reproduce sexually and asexually (or fragment), even small pieces can regenerate to spread.  Once introduced it quickly took over shallow reefs and hard substrate at depths of 0-50 meters, outcompeting local corals and seagrass for space.  Follow on surveys found that this coral species exhibited average percentage cover as high as 80%, vastly outcompeting native corals. In highly colonized areas, fish are disappearing due to loss of habitats.

In 2022, during a survey conducted in Cuba by the University of Havana, an unknown octocoral was discovered which was later identified as the invasive Unomia stolonifera. It is suspected that the coral larvae arrived in ballast water from fossil fuel ships originating from Venezuela, as nearby sites adjacent to Venezuelan ports have been heavily affected by the invasion.

How to help

Prevention through continuous monitoring, particularly in high-risk areas such as marine harbors and oil facilities, is paramount. Early detection plays a pivotal role in mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera.

The public’s involvement and awareness are also vital. Local communities, recreational divers, tourists, and all stakeholders are urged to participate in early detection efforts by reporting sightings (photo, location and date) of this invasive coral to their respective Protected Area Management Organization (PMO’s)- the Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA)STINAPA BonaireCARMABI Curaçao Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF)Nature Foundation St. Maarten (NFSXM) and St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA). If an invaded area is confirmed, follow the recommendations by the local PMO’s.

Keys to Success

Despite the challenges, early detection is key to mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera. With continued vigilance, research, and community engagement, there is hope for containing this potential issue before it becomes a major threat.

About the DCNA

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) supports (science) communication and outreach in the Dutch Caribbean region by making nature related (scientific) information more widely available through amongst others the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database, DCNA’s news platform BioNews and through the press. This article contains the results from several scientific studies but the studies themselves are not DCNA studies. No rights can be derived from the content. DCNA is not liable for the content and the in(direct) impacts resulting from publishing this article.

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