News
Sharks, Turtles & Pigs in Abaco (watch video)
Another island on our hit list of places to dive that we had not previously visited was Abaco in The Bahamas. This part of our island-hopping tour was to see us landing on the main land of Abaco and then jumping on the ferry to take us to Bluff House Beach Resort on Green Turtle Cay.
The ferry ride is about 20 minutes and they pull up on the resort’s own dock. There we were given a golf cart to use for our short stay so we could easily move all our diving and camera gear from our house to the dock each morning and evening.
We were going diving with a legend over the next couple of days, with Brendal’s Dive Centre, and we were looking forward to hearing a bit about the history of diving in The Bahamas, as well as seeing what these islands have to offer divers.
We were not disappointed. Brendal’s is a family run dive shop, so while mum, Mary, got our paperwork and equipment sorted, dad and son, Brendal and Kyle, were preparing the boat and they soon had us heading out to dive a wreck of the first US steamship the San Jacinto, which sank in 1865. The wreck is broken up and scattered over a large area in shallow water that makes it home to a huge array of marine life. It was a great start!
On the way back we explored a pristine reef, checking out lobster and eels hiding in every crevice as the sun shone down on us on this shallow and relaxing dive. We stopped for a bite to eat in a shallow sandy bay and watched in amazement as eagle rays glided by. Then, to top off an already excellent day of diving, we spent the rest of the day being entertained by the swimming pigs.
The following day, we headed out to do a shark dive, attracting Caribbean Reef Sharks to the reef by hanging fish scraps in a box off the bow of the boat. Soon we had five big sharks, and one tiny one circling us, occasionally letting their senses get the better of them and trying to grab a scrap from the box. Large grouper also hung around in the hope of getting left-overs at the end of the dive.
As we surfaced, the conditions which had threatened to prevent us diving at all, had started to worsen. We feared the worst, but Brendal and Kyle steered the boat towards shore and a sheltered bay and started throwing some fish scraps into the water. Soon we were joined by sharks, turtles and rays in shallow water over sand and seagrass. We were left to decide whether to scuba dive or just snorkel. The storm broke as we entered the water, but a bit of heavy rain was not going to stop us enjoying this experience! We enjoyed the company of Lemon Sharks, Caribbean Reef Sharks, Hawksbill and Green Turtles and Southern Stingrays all in about 3 meters of water. They were going to have to drag us out!
We celebrated an excellent couple of days diving with a super meal back at Bluff House. Alas, the weather did prevent us diving with Dive Abaco the next day, and so instead, Keith gave us a fantastic tour of the island. For us, it was time to move on once again.
For more information please visit:
Images & text by Frogfish Photography
Equipment used:
- Olympus OMD EM-1 MKII
- Nauticam Housing
- Inon Strobes
- Paralenz Dive Camera
News
Euro-Divers to close dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda
Euro-Divers have announced that as of 15 April 2024, they will no longer be operating the dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda (formerly known as Amari Havodda).
The popular dive centre chain released this statement regarding the closure:
Dear valid customers, business partners and friends,
We are leaving NH Collection Maldives Havodda – former Amari Havodda as of 15th of April 2024.
Unfortunately, the information reached us on short notice that we are no longer operating the dive centre at the resort.
It was a great pleasure to work with the Amari Hotel group and continue to work with the NH Hotel group.
We wish our partners great success with all their new changes.
Thanks a lot for cooperating during our time at the resort. We wish everyone with whom we have worked a good and hopefully successful future.
Euro-Divers continue to operate in several other dive resorts throughout the Maldives in addition to other locations.
To finds out more about Euro-Divers, visit www.euro-divers.com.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: Undulate Ray
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re looking at the Undulate Ray. Easily identified by its beautiful, ornate pattern, the Undulate Ray gets its name from the undulating patterns of lines and spots on its dorsal side.
This skate is usually found on sandy or muddy sea floors, down to about 200 m deep, although it is more commonly found shallower. They can grow up to 90 cm total length. Depending on the size of the individual, their diet can range from shrimps to crabs.
Although sometimes called the Undulate Ray, this is actually a species of skate, meaning that, as all true skates do, they lay eggs. The eggs are contained in keratin eggcases – the same material that our hair and nails are made up of! These eggcases are also commonly called mermaid’s purses and can be found washed up on beaches all around the UK. If you find one, be sure to take a picture and upload your find to the Great Eggcase Hunt – the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen science project.
It is worth noting that on the south coasts, these eggcases can be confused with those of the Spotted Ray, especially as they look very similar and the ranges overlap, so we sometimes informally refer to them as ‘Spundulates’.
Scientific Name: Raja undulata
Family: Rajidae
Maximum Size: 90cm (total length)
Diet: shrimps and crabs
Distribution: found around the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat: shelf waters down to 200m deep.
Conservation Status : As a commercially exploited species, the Undulate Ray is a recovering species in some areas. The good thing is that they have some of the most comprehensive management measures of almost any elasmobranch species, with both minimum and maximum landing sizes as well as a closed season. Additionally, targeting is entirely prohibited in some areas. They are also often caught as bycatch in various fisheries – in some areas they can be landed whilst in others they must be discarded.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Image Credits: Banner – Sheila Openshaw; Illustration – Marc Dando
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