Diario del proyecto Port Phillip Bay, Victoria

19 de octubre de 2019

Night diving

Im a shift worker, and until i started working night shifts out on the road i never truly understood that the world is a different place at night.
People are mostly tucked up in bed, the roads are empty, streets are silent and the noises are totally different. The world is actually a beautiful place at night!
If you sit quietly you will also notice how many animals are out and about after dark.
This is absolutely true of our underwater world.
I dive mostly shore dives and during the day the marine life is often hiding from swimmers, boats, fishermen etc etc. At night they are 'protected' by the darkness and come out for all to see. Our torch beams will also attract some marine life, so we get an up close look of an otherwise very shy animal. They come to check out the light, feed on the smaller animals that are attracted to our light or just dont mind and go about their business un-deterred.
It is very easy to get spooked on a night dive, with shadows playing tricks on your mind, the darkness beyond your torch often being totally black and things like to bump into you as you swim along, almost as if to test your nerve. But, if you can relax and move past that fear you will be hooked.
If you have never tried a night dive, get yourself a buddy, have an afternoon siesta and plan your next dive. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Publicado el octubre 19, 2019 02:27 MAÑANA por christophermark christophermark | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario

21 de junio de 2019

Giant Spider Crabs (Leptomithrax gaimardii)

Each year we are lucky enough to be graced with an awesome underwater sight. The annual Giant Spider Crab march. If you have never witnessed it, think of an underwater moving hill of spider crabs, and when i say hill i mean thousands and thousands of crabs as far as you can see!
In about June each year thousands and thousand of spider crabs have been coming into the shallows to mate and moult. When i first started to dive it was mid to late March and Rye pier was the venue, the last few years it has been early June and Blairgowrie pier has played host.
What do they do, why do they come and where do they go? Other than to mate and moult, we dont know.
This leads into a debate that has only this year raised it's head. Fishing.
This year for reasons no one knows hundreds of people flocked to the pier to fish and catch the spider crabs. By law they can do this, 30 crabs is the bag limit i believe.
I went for a dive yesterday and where i would usually expect to see a carpet of moulted shells there were barely any at all. Speaking with regular swimmers and divers they report that the fishermen (fisher people for the politically correct) have taken hundreds of thousands over the last few weeks.
What impact does this have? Well without more information on what the crabs do and why they come into sore we can give it our best guess. My worst case scenario is that we have fished out a species during its annual breeding march. We have cut them off before they have mated and cut the cycle of life.
Could this single season of fishing have almost wiped out the bay's Spider crabs?
The Blairgowrie spider crab march is not the only swarm (whats a group of crabs called?) of crabs in the bay, but it is the only one that we have been viewing with any regularity.
A solution that i like is something similar to lobster fishing. A ban on fishing during the mating season. Fisheries can simply ban the fishing of the crabs during March and June, giving them a chance to come in, do what they do and go back to deeper waters.
Food for thought, and discussions happily accepted.
p.s if you havnt seen the spider crab march, keep your ears to the ground around late March early June next year, grab your extra thick wet suit and snorkel and make your way to Blairgowrie. It is something you absolutely must see

Publicado el junio 21, 2019 04:31 MAÑANA por christophermark christophermark | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

18 de mayo de 2019

Boat Dives

Im fortunate enough to get out for a dive almost every week, and over the last few years of diving have racked up about 180 dives. 90% of those are shore dives down along the Mornington Peninsula.
There is no questioning the quality dives sites available straight out from the beach, but what about the rest of our wonderful Port Phillip Bay?
The last few months I've been making a real effort to get out for a boat dive and have used Red Boats on all occasions. ( i would love to have my own boat or 'good' friends with a bot, but im still searching).
Diving sites in the channel, reef and bombies and even some of our wreck dives. The fish are bigger, more plentiful and less skittish. The soft corals, kelp and other plant life is spectacular and as we head into winter, if you can bare the cold, the water is clearer and conditions more stable.

For those of you who havnt got out on a boat dive, do a quick search for whats available local to you and i highly recommend that you book one soon.....You may even spot a new species!

Publicado el mayo 18, 2019 12:11 TARDE por christophermark christophermark | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

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