ISSUE
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Conservation • Exploration • Adventure
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Editor’s Letter Th e c o l l a b o ra t i ve case being put f o r w a rd f o r t h e m a ko i s c o m p e l l i n g – e t h i c a l l y, ecologically and e c o n o m i c a l l y.
Inaction can be frustrating. We have all likely experienced instances in which a particular outcome or result appears inevitable, or at least the right thing to do, only for decision-makers to swerve at the last, to take no action. The facts and figures – along with, perhaps, our own experiences and anecdotal evidence from colleagues or peers – all point in the same direction, so how could anything other than the right decision have been arrived at? When it comes to conservation – and without wanting to disappear too deep down either the big business or lobbyist blackholes – it's complicated. This is especially true on the international stage, where often thousands of directly- and indirectly-involved 'stakeholders' spend years negotiating what is often a broadly palatable compromise. The reality is decisions are rarely taken exclusively for the welfare of the habitat or species being debated, even if that ecosystem is on the brink of collapse or that species is fast approaching extinction. There are always other factors at play. Achieving real, undiluted change often therefore comes down to persuasive, multi-faceted arguments that different parties feel good about signing-up to for different reasons – this was true in the creation of the Ross Sea MPA, as John Weller so eloquently spoke about in Issue 05's Behind the Lens, and also of the ratification of West Papua's world-first Conservation Province, as relayed by Candace Crespi in her beautiful story in the same issue. Both were hard-fought victories that involved negotiation, relied on collaborations and harnessed science, politics and media to achieve a meaningful consensus. Inaction, ultimately, was taken off the table.
Will Harrison Editor
During the course of this issue's run, the international community will gather to discuss potential increased protection for a number of vulnerable species, including the mako shark – this issue's cover story (p.20). The collaborative case being put forward for the mako is compelling – ethically, ecologically and economically. Whatever their individual reasons, here's hoping enough delegates view greater protection for the mako as something they simply must sign-up to.
@oceanographic_editor @og_editor Oceanographicmag
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Contents O N T H E C OV E R
FEATURE S
SAVING MAKOS
Shark biologist and freediver Riley Elliott reveals his personal shark story, his connection with mako sharks and why it is critical the species achieves increased protection at the upcoming CITES conference.
A mako shark in clear waters off New Zealand. Photograph by Shawn Heinrichs.
Get in touch PAG E 2 0 ED I TO R Will Harrison A S S I S TA N T E D I TO R
Beth Finney
CR EATI V E D I R E C TO R
Amelia Costley
D ES I G N A S S I S TA N T
Joanna Kilgour
PA RT N E R S H I P S D I R E C TOR
Chris Anson
YOUR OCEAN IMAGES
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I N S U P P O RT O F
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A S S TO C K E D I N
For all enquiries regarding stockists, submissions, or just to say hello, please email info@oceanographicmagazine.com or call (+44) 20 3637 8680. Published in the UK by Atlas Publishing Ltd. Š 2018 Atlas Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Nothing in whole or in part may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.
A collection of some of the most captivating ocean images shared on social media, both beautiful and arresting. Tag us or use #MYOCEAN for the opportunity to be featured.
Printed by the Manson Group ISSN: 2516-5941
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CONTENTS
20%
W H ALE S & PLASTIC
PR O FIT-S HA R ING CO MMITM ENT TO O CEA N CO N SERVAT IO N . A PR O M IS E WE'R E PR O UD O F.
R AG G E D R E V IVA L
TAG G I NG T U RT LES
R E MOT E C L E A N - UP
As the amount of micro and nanoplastics in the ocean rises, what impact is this having on whale populations? A team of scientists and researchers set sail in the North Atlantic to find out.
The Barbados Sea Turtle Project has been running for more than 30 years, its team working to protect foraging and resident sea turtles from myriad dangers. As an endangered and keystone species, what more needs to be done to protect them?
A personal account of a recent multidisciplinary expedition to the most plastic-polluted island in the world, in the recentlyformed Pitcairn Island Marine Reserve. What does the future hold for the protected Henderson Island, and can it be cleaned-up?
After a 70-90% population decline towards the end of the last century due to overfishing, sand tiger shark numbers continue to recover along the east coast of the US. In North Carolina, species recovery is particularly strong. Why?
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COLUMNS
LUCIANO CANDISANI
T HE G UE S T C O L UMN IS T
T HE O C E A N AC T IV IS T
P R O J E C T AWARE
Each issue, we chat with one of the world’s leading ocean photographers and showcase a selection of their work. In this edition, we meet Brazilian photographer and SeaLegacy Collective member, Luciano Candisani.
Freediver and founder of I AM WATER, Hanli Prinsloo, looks at the nature of sharks and how each species is unique from the next. That variety, she says, should be celebrated and enjoyed.
Shark Week presenter and Veterans for Wildlife director, James Glancy, talks about his connection with sharks, the critical role they play in ocean health and his hopes for better protection.
The team at Project AWARE, Oceanographic’s primary charity partner, discuss how community and collaboration are critical to claiming victories for the ocean and the species that inhabit it.
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Cassandra Gleeson Mexico "This image was shot on a single breath," says Gleeson. "I find myself returning year after year to Mexico, to train with freediving competitor and coach, Matthieu Duvault. Thankfully, lighting is best closer to the surface, because my 28-metre PB cannot keep up with Matt’s 82-metre record. SPONSORED BY
#MYOCEAN
Dr Richard Smith Indonesia A pair of golden pygmy gobies share a discarded soda can in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. The image features in Dr Smith's new book, out in September: The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs. SPONSORED BY
#MYOCEAN
Alexander Dawson South Africa A trial liveaboard route between East London and Durban served up perfect conditions and a memorable interaction. “There was no bait ball,” says Dawson, “but scattered sardines in a fairly small area that made the gannets go crazy. They were diving all around us continuously.” SPONSORED BY
John Garza Bahamas
Freediver Alex Lettrich and Queen Emma dance in the pristine waters of the Bahamas. “I encourage everyone I dive with to be respectful to sharks by watching - and reacting to - their body language,” says Garza. “In this photo Alex is demonstrating that mutual respect beautifully.” SPONSORED BY
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Joe Daniels Indonesia
A stingless jellyfish drifts along sponge-encrusted mangrove roots which line Kakaban Island's lake. The lake has been cut off from the outside world for more than 2 million years, allowing its inhabitants to evolve in isolation. SPONSORED BY
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BEHIND THE LENS
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BEHIND THE LENS
The billion $ shark Shark biologist and freediver Riley Elliott reveals his personal shark story, his connection with mako sharks and why it is critical the species achieves increased protection at the upcoming CITES conference. Wo rd s b y R i l e y E l l i o t t P h o t o g ra p h s b y S h a w n H e i n r i c h s
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PREVIOUS: A mako shark skims the ocean's surface, off New Zealand. LEFT: The mako is built for speed, its torpedo shape having evolved over millions of years.
W
hat are mako sharks worth? It’s an almost impossible question to answer. These days, particularly in conservation, it’s important to quantify something in economic terms. Emotion only gets you so far. It’s sad, but that’s the world we live in. Without a value, many people fail to see a reason to conserve. In the case of the mako, it’s true value comes not from its own flesh, but for what it does in the ecosystem it exists within. Mako sharks are the major predator for many tuna species. Science has demonstrated that the absence of an evolutionarily significant predator can result in trophic cascade and a collapse in population structure, often of the prey species. If the global mako shark population were to collapse – which it is on course to do without immediate intervention – there is a real and serious possibility it will adversely affect tuna stocks. So what are mako sharks truly worth? Due to the critical role they play in maintaining certain tuna stocks’ health in what is a global USD $42 billion industry, the answer, in quantifiable terms, is likely billions of dollars. For many, of course, makos are priceless, their value unquantifiable. A beautiful apex predator that has evolved over millions of years simply cannot be summed up in only monetary terms. As a shark biologist and freediver, I agree with that sentiment, but I also recognise the importance of numbers in generating action. For people disconnected with the ocean (including decision-makers who work within government), the loss of a shark species might not register as a globally significant issue; the potential decline of a multi-billion dollar industry on the other hand… that’s something everyone understands. Whether your focus is ecology or economy, the conclusion is the same: mako sharks need protection. The good news is that the international community will soon be presented with an opportunity to do exactly that, by legislating against global trade in the species – the primary factor in its continued population decline. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), a United Nations body of some 180-member nations, will shortly convene (August, 2019) to discuss awarding the mako
shark an Appendix II listing. Such a listing would recognise that “trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilisation incompatible with [a species’] survival”. Given that CITES is the only international treaty with binding provisions upon member nations to protect threatened and endangered species from unsustainable trade in their body parts, the listing would represent a huge victory for the mako. It is moments like this that photographer Shawn Heinrichs and I have spent a great deal of our professional lives working towards. Our desire to protect sharks comes from a position of understanding – an understanding, we hope, that will have been communicated effectively to CITES decision-makers (in conjunction with countless other ocean scientists and conservationists) via an expansive media campaign in the run-up to the conference. Through connecting people with the biggest issues facing our ocean, including the facts around specific issues such as that of the mako shark, those in power can create change from positions of understanding. It’s a process - and one I am all too familiar with, as someone who once misunderstood sharks and their importance to this planet. I’ve always been a keen waterman. While marine science is now my focus, it was once surfing. As a young kid surfing off New Zealand’s south coast city of Dunedin – great white territory – sharks terrified me. My relationship with sharks – all sharks – was one of complete fear. Like so many people of my generation (and the generation before me), I had been impacted by the era-defining cultural wrecking ball that was JAWS. Every time I hit the surf, as far as I understood it, I was getting in the water with monsters. I was rolling the dice. Then, one day, while in the remote Fiordland region of New Zealand completing some fieldwork for my marine biology degree, I had a shark encounter that would change my life. Fiordland is a wild place. Deep, abyssal waters twist and turn through towering peaks. I was actually studying dolphins at the time, but encountered a shark while in the water. As it powered up from the deep, I panicked and jumped to safety. It was only then that I realised the shark was just a foot long. In that moment I realised that I – along with much of society – had a serious problem with how I perceived sharks. I realised I knew nothing about them, and I wanted to change that. I was brought up to be inquisitive, to question things, and to find things out for myself. My father was an academic and would use his sizeable vocabulary around the dinner table. On each instance we didn’t understand a word he had used, he would insist we get down from the table, pull out the dictionary and enlighten the room. It was a lesson in the value of commitment and persistence in obtaining factual knowledge from the source. It shaped me as a person, as a would-be PhD student and, in that singular moment in Fiordland, as someone who wanted to better understand something I suddenly realised I knew precious little about. Those dictionary days played a significant role in me becoming a shark scientist. Fate
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played a part too. When I returned from Fiordland to university, I spotted an advert for an internship to Oceans Research in South Africa. The internship was to study great white sharks. I had to go. The first time I saw a great white (from a boat), I was fascinated but terrified. It breached on a seal – in a demonstration of incredible speed and power – but to my horror, adjacent to the area I had started surfing. The process of learning, of understanding the science behind shark behaviour, had started straight away. I was told sharks are more active at dawn and dusk and that while the sun is up they often reside below us surfers, in the waves, but for the purpose of digesting food through increased oxygen flow through white-water. I realised they could, if they chose to, attack surfers relentlessly, but were far more calculated than that. By the end of my first day, those man-eating perceptions were falling away fast. As time went by, I wanted to push beyond knowledge, into experience. I wanted to get in the water with the sharks we were studying, my life now fully on a new path. Freediving offered me an opportunity to do that. It would be these skills that would enable me, years later, to slip beneath the waterline and dive with some of the biggest, wildest makos ever photographed – those you see on these pages, captured by Shawn. Freediving has been the medium that has allowed me to effectively communicate science and research to a wider audience. The three days I spent in the water with Shawn were no different, allowing us to shape a visual story that would sit alongside powerful facts and figures to – hopefully – better protect the mako. Knowledge combined with an emotional connection is as powerful a change-making cocktail as there is. We had the material to engage. The establishment of a connection between reader/ viewer and the shark is the objective, but the in-water connection on those particular dives was extra special. In his many years photographing sharks around the world, Shawn had only ever seen dead makos, their carcasses piled by the thousands on boats or in illegal fish markets. Nature put on a special show for us on this occasion. “Those days with the mako sharks are honestly some of the most memorable of my life,” says Shawn. “The sharks approached our vessel fast and furious, frenetic with their jaws agape, creating the impression that one would have to be crazy to enter the water! But patience and understanding prevailed, and with experience and guidance, we dropped into the water and I finally met the king of the pelagic realm. Any remnants of that primal fear immediately transformed into a deep respect and appreciation. This shark was highly intelligent, curious yet cautious, not seeking to harm but rather establish her territory and discern whether we were predators or prey. Quickly recognising we were neither, she accepted us, becoming more at ease with each pass and allowing us to interact with her for hours. Mako sharks are highly intelligent and will often approach close for a better look at what is sharing the water with them.
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“Those days with the mako sharks are honestly some of the most memorable of my life. The sharks approached our vessel fast and furious, frenetic with their jaws agape.�
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BEHIND THE LENS
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Encountering makos in the wild is increasingly rare due to a 99.9% reduction in global population figures since the 19th century.
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“Any remnants of that primal fear immediately transformed into a deep respect and appreciation. This shark was highly intelligent, curious yet cautious, not seeking to harm but rather establish her territory and discern whether we were predators or prey.�
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“A CITES listing can be a powerful mechanism to ensure that populations of mako sharks survive and recover. The imagery we captured presents these sharks as they truly are, incredible beings of evolutionary perfection, hundreds of millions of years in the making, perfectly adapted apex predators that regulate the health of the pelagic realm.�
The dividing line: Life below the waterline, and that above.
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Despite how many people view sharks, in-water co-existence is possible.
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“It's important to recognise we are not trying to portray makos - or any shark for that matter - as harmless creatures. Far from it. What we are trying to do is dispel blood-thirsty myths, instil a sense of respect and convince people to care.�
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Mako sharks respond to the subtleties of learned body language.
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Mako sharks typically remain within the top 200 metres of ocean.
“Female makos need to be around 20 years old and 3.5 metres in length before they are capable of reproducing, and then they only have six to 12 pups every other year - hugely problematic for an endangered species with declining populations.�
F E AT U R E
“Are we hopeful? Absolutely. Even those who remain unmoved by those of us championing the mako's cause, there are 42 billion other reasons for them to support change.�
TOP: Mako sharks are regularly caught as bycatch by longline vessels. Those that break free often take the hook with them. BOTTOM: Lifetimes of competing for food and interactions with fishing fleets leave many makos heavily scarred.
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“In the days that followed we interacted with at least a dozen makos, ranging in size from 1.5-metre juveniles to a massive mature female of some 3.5 metres! Each and every interaction was powerful and memorable and in the process, I personally felt like I reached a new level of understanding and appreciation for sharks, and together we succeeded in capturing some of the most inspiring shark imagery of my career.” The images speak for themselves. They capture makos perfectly. Big. Beautiful. Beastly. What they mask, is that sharing the water with them can be scary. And I say that as an experienced shark diver. Makos work on a size-based social hierarchy. I’ve seen large makos cut apart smaller sharks, including blues and smaller makos. I think it’s important to recognise that these are wild animals and it’s ok be apprehensive of sharing the water with them – just as you’d be mindful of lions if you went for a stroll in the Serengeti. I’ve learned over thousands of hours in the water how to communicate with makos using body language – when to be passive or confident, when to use a shoulder drop or turn, when to pivot my chin to make eye contact at an angle, when to curl into a ball or stretch out my arms. Every shark communicates differently and receives information differently, just like people. That knowledge and understanding enabled Shawn and I to enjoy the interactions we did, and to capture the images we did. But it’s important to recognise we are not trying to portray makos – or any shark for that matter – as harmless creatures. Far from it. What we are trying to do is dispel blood-thirsty myths, instil a sense of respect and convince people to care. I know from experience how important moments like those we shared can be – a piece of media or a point in time that has the capability of grabbing public attention, of pushing an agenda, of creating change. I can vividly recall the moment, in 2012, when I found out New Zealand was a major exporter of shark fins. A country that heralds itself as the cleanest, greenest country in the world. And my back yard! I felt obliged to do something. I focussed my attentions on blue sharks, the most ubiquitous and exploited shark in the ocean. Through satellite tagging we collected enough data to use the species as a poster boy to educate the public, with a view to influencing the politics around shark finning by combining data alongside compelling visuals: communication, connection, change. The public sat up and took note. The government had to amend their laws. In 2014, they implemented a shark finning ban, prohibiting fishermen from finning and discarding sharks at sea. We got the change we desired. The blue shark won. For once, the numbers read positively. Landings dropped by a huge 90% - from 150,000 blue sharks landed a year in New Zealand to 15,000. But there was a loophole for the mako. Makos can be landed on a fins-to-bodyweight ratio, rather than having to be landed with their fins – a ridiculous rule given mako meat is one of the few shark meats actually worth something. I found this especially concerning as makos have nowhere near the fecundity of blue sharks. Female makos need to be around 20 years old and 3.5 metres in length before they are even capable of reproducing, and then they only have six to 12 pups every other year – hugely problematic for an endangered species with declining populations. And so my attentions turned to the makos. And once again we find ourselves at a legislative crossroads, only this time internationally. I like to think of my story as being relatable. I am not someone who professes to have been born with an innate connection with sharks. I have, rather, moved from a position of fear to one of ultimate respect and understanding. I acknowledge the majesty of these creatures and the reality that, if we don’t act now, humankind will wipe them out. The Appendix II listing must happen. It is the right thing to do – for makos, for the ocean, even for the fishing industry. Those with the capacity to create change should grab it with both hands, and they should feel good about doing so. “A CITES listing can be a powerful mechanism to ensure that populations of mako sharks survive and recover,” says Shawn. “The imagery we captured presents these sharks as they truly are, incredible beings of evolutionary perfection, hundreds of millions of years in the making, perfectly adapted apex predators that regulate the health of the pelagic realm. Our imagery and story focuses on the truth about these animals – curious yet cautious, powerful but not menacing, beautiful specimens in shape and form, elegant in every moment. But we also tell the story of their suffering, the serious threats they face, and the truth about the fisheries and international trade that are driving their populations to the brink. It’s time to act.” Are we hopeful? Absolutely. Even those who remain unmoved by those of us championing the mako’s cause, there are 42 billion other reasons for them to support change. But I like to think those three days in the water with those magnificent makos, the media we captured and the campaign we’ve run since, have been more than a gift, but a sign. Shawn is certainly convinced: “Nature knew what we were trying to do, so she put on a show”.
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Column
By Hanli Prinsloo
The ocean activist THE DIVERSITY OF SHARKS
“ It's important to rethink our ideas of what a shark is. This way, we can embrace their diversity and enjoy the incredible variety.”
About Hanli Hanli Prinsloo is a South African freediver and ocean advocate. She is the founder of I AM WATER, a Durban-based charity that seeks to reconnect South Africa's underserved urban youth with the ocean. www.iamwaterfoundation.org
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@hanliprinsloo
I
t's a clear blue sky, warm air and a slight breeze - winter in this part of the world is not true to the word. We sit on the boat, drink water, share shark stories and wait. One fin, two fins, three fins, four... the black tips have arrived. As they dash at the sardines thrown in the water, their bright silver flanks make the light dance in the waves. They are oblivious to their own beauty, quietly intent on not missing any fish. I pull on my fins, slip on my mask and gently drop into the water. My silver suit reflects light into the sky, the black tips part and let me through. To them I am just another big fish in the water, scavenging for the same scraps. I float at the surface, breathing deeply and slowly through my snorkel - slowly in, even more slowly out. My heart rate calms down and my mind gets quieter. I am ready to dive. One last deep breath into my stomach, taking in as much air as I can - one small kick forward, then two more and I'm down. I equalise my ears, kick some more - and fall. I relax my muscles and let the water catch me, pulling me deeper, past neutral buoyancy and through the freefall to the sandy bottom below. It’s silent. I am alone at a depth of more than twenty metres, where almost no rays of sunshine can penetrate the dense water. Small particles drift around me and I hang quietly in the dusky light. Looking up, I see the blacktips moving in tiers up to the surface. Silhouetted against the light they create an improvised ballet that could grace the world’s stages. Then I see her. Like a prima ballerina, biding her time in the wings, she is circling on the edge of my field of vision. Immediately I know who she is. Her movements are as different from the blacktips dashing around above as the languid circling of a great eagle bears no resemblance to the flapping wings of a sparrow. I had been a competitive freediver for a number of years when I had my first encounter with a tiger shark. Like most of the great predators on our planet, this striped beauty is as misunderstood as she is complex. An intelligent survivor known for eating just about anything, but also a beautiful animal that is surprisingly easy to interact with on one breath. It was a revelation for me to use my hard-earned skills as a deep diving freediver to explore the ocean wilderness and her animals. I have subsequently dived with numerous species of sharks and other marine megafauna around the world and what never ceases to amaze me is just how different they all are! If you’ve grown up with Labradors and then get to spend some time with a Jack Russell terrier, it quickly becomes apparent that these are two very different creatures. Personally, I love seeing all the
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@hanliprinsloofreediver
ways in which the various sharks I dive with can behave and how these behaviours can be translated using dog species as metaphors. It’s a language many people understand better than philosophical descriptions of the nature of specific shark species. For me, black tip sharks are like a pack of terriers. They are fast and nippy and more interested in food than interacting. Blue sharks are like cocker spaniels, their big soft eyes and tendency to want to get really close is like the snuffling nose of a spaniel. Then there are the shortfin Makos; fast and intent, they waste no time and swim rapidly close the surface. I find them slightly unsettling and deeply inspiring for their speed and agility, so I think they are like Australian cattle dogs, more intent on the job at hand than anything else. Then of course there’s our beloved sevengill sharks cruising in the False Bay kelp forests. They are like lazy old basset hounds that would much rather just lay in front of a fire than go about their daily survival. That being said, I have only met the so-called ‘cow sharks’ at night, and apparently they also have the capacity to transform into pitbulls when the occasion calls for it. I am yet to see this transformation! The lemon sharks in the Bahamas are like a distant relative of our blacktip reef shark terriers, but slightly larger and more sedate, until food appears in the water and they turn at lightning speed - the Weimaraners of the Caribbean! And then of course we have the tiger sharks, graceful and swaying, that reminds me fondly of a Great Dane. Large, personable and, to a certain degree, predictable. I’ve thought long and hard about what breed best describes great white sharks. Our apex predators that have inspired thrillers in a way that no other creature – though so many others are much more threatening – ever have! We love to fear them, we love to study them and we love to shroud them in mystery and myth. I have not yet been freediving with a great white, but I have spent much time studying and observing them from a boat, and I have watched more experienced freedivers swim with them. And truth be told, they’re not a Rottweiler or a Staffordshire Bull Terrier… no dog can match the presence of this creature. Like the solitary grizzly bear or the lone wolf, the great white is a unique creature of beauty and majesty, to be respected and protected. It is not on my agenda to ride the fin of a great white, not out of fear, but because I think some things are sacred and worthy of respect. It’s important to rethink our ideas of what a shark is. This way, we can embrace their diversity and enjoy the incredible variety! HP
Hanli freediving with a tiger shark. Photograph by Peter Marshall.
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Ambassadors OF THE OCEAN As the amount of micro and nanoplastics in the ocean rises, what impact is this having on whale populations? A team of scientists and researchers set sail in the North Atlantic to find out. Wo rd s b y H u g h Fra n c i s A n d e r s o n P h o t o g ra p h s b y C o n o r M c D o n n e l l
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“For the next 30 minutes, the 300-strong pod maintains our sevenknot speed as we race across the ocean towards Iceland. It’s 30 minutes of pure wonder, and we are all in awe of these magnificent creatures.”
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ABOVE: A humpback whale breaches the surface whilst feeding in Skjalfandi Bay, just outside Husavik, Northern Iceland. OPPOSITE: Barba in the midnight sun near Akureyri, Northern Iceland. PREVIOUS PAGE: A humpback cow and her calf feed in Skjalfandi Bay.
“P
ilot whales,” cries Captain Andreas B Heide. “Hundreds of pilot whales off the stern.” Weary eyed and battling seasickness, I shuffle out of bed and climb up onto deck. A relentless 30-knot northwesterly wind has our expedition yacht Barba keeled over at almost 45-degrees, and the sporadic gusts threaten to launch us into the North Atlantic every few minutes. But it all fades to nothing when I see a pilot whale break the surface and rise high into the air, followed by another, and then another, until all that surrounds us is the graceful surging and diving of one of the most remarkable cetaceans on the planet. At 120 nautical-miles off the coast of the Faroe Islands, they’ve likely never seen a sailboat before. For the next 30 minutes, the 300-strong pod maintains our seven-knot speed as we race across the ocean towards Iceland. It’s 30 minutes of pure wonder, and we are all in awe of these magnificent creatures. But their very existence teeters on a knife’s edge. For sailor, adventurer and marine biologist Heide, hardship at sea in pursuit of research is nothing new. Famed for freediving with Orcas in Norway’s High Arctic during the bleakest of winter months, and having guided Attenborough’s Blue Planet team during the Orca season, for Heide, whales are the “superstars of the ocean”. Using his expedition yacht Barba as the research vessel, the purpose of the Arctic Whale initiative is to “use whales as marine ambassadors, with a focus on marine plastic pollution”. It is well documented that some 8 million metric tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean each year, of which almost 240,000 tons are microplastics. In a report published by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection
(GESAMP), microplastics have been documented in 100 species and impact organisms at numerous levels of biological organisation related to changes in gene expression, tumour promotion and death, alongside acting as a vector for invasive species, including harmful algae and pathogens. At a macro level, the hazards of plastics are alarmingly evident, and the result is the death an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, alongside more than one million seabirds per year. Heide says: “The macro plastics in the ocean are eaten by whales and birds and they die. But what happens when it stays in the ocean? It will gradually become smaller and smaller until you can’t see it anymore. It’s just a soup of plastic, and no one knows how this plastic affects the marine environment.” Arctic Whale was conceived in partnership with Impact Manager Sandra C Ness, who is pioneering for change within the shipping industry. A few months after the initiative was launched, a specialist team was assembled, a route was plotted from Stavanger, Norway, to Húsavík, Iceland, via both the Shetland Islands and the Faroe Islands, and the exploratory journey began in earnest. I join the team in the Faroe Islands, and as we sail out from Sørvágur and around the mighty islands of Drangarnir and Tindólmur, the team explain more about the multifaceted data collection undertaken thus far, and what is still to be done. Diane Seda, a sailor and Arctic Whale’s onboard scientist, takes the opportunity to show me the manta trawl, a bespoke net-system that samples the surface of the ocean for microplastics. By doing so, the team can find out how much microplastic is in some of the sub-Arctic’s remotest coastal and offshore
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FB E AH TI UN RD E T H E L E N S
“Rasmussen tells me the primary objective is to catalogue blue whales in the hope of better understanding them, and that 148 different blue whales have been coming to Skjálfandi Bay since 2005.”
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MAIN IMAGE: A humpback's fluke breaches the waterline prior to the whale descending to feed. TOP: Barba at anchor as the weather rolls in. BOTTOM: Landfall - a rare sight for the long-term Barba crew.
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waters. “Within 30cm of the water layer, about 70-80% of all plastic that is in the ocean is floating,” says Seda as we prepare the trawl. “Plastics in the ocean [will] break down into smaller and smaller pieces with UV radiation and the force of the waves. There are two main problems: they can absorb chemicals from the surrounding waters, and they contain, from the beginning, certain endocrine disrupting chemicals such a bisphenol A (BPA), which then accumulate in the body.” The impact? Not only is marine life adversely affected, causing a host of hormone and reproductive failures, but further up the food chain in our own bodies, exposure to endocrine disrupters includes heightened risks of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, altered immune systems and, like our marine counterparts, hormone and reproduction difficulties too. We set the manta trawl into the water and wait the allotted 20 minutes before extracting it. Collected in the small mesh container is a mass of what appears to be biological matter. “Most of this is zooplankton,” says Seda. “They are the foundation of all life in the ocean.” After primary visual analysis, the matter is held in 70% ethanol until we reach Húsavík, on the shoreline of Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland, where it can be analysed under the microscope. Húsavík also forms the culmination of the Arctic Whale’s whale research itself. As the whale-watching capital of Iceland, for the summer months Skjálfandi Bay becomes a hotspot for marine life. Blue, humpback, minke, fin, sei, bottlenose, sperm, pilot and killer whales all feed here alongside white-beaked dolphins and the elusive harbour porpoise. It also attracts seabirds in the thousands, with puffins, gannets, Arctic terns, guillemots, skuas, kittiwakes, cormorants and fulmars, to name but a few. For this reason, it has become a site of immense research importance. After the tough 40-hour crossing from the Faroe Islands, we greet the white-capped peak of Tóartindur in the Breiðdalur valley with welcome relief, and a few hours later we sail into the small harbour of Breiðdalsvík. The clouds part and the early-summer sun warms our faces as we sit on deck. Three days later, we round the easternmost point of Iceland and sail into Skjálfandi Bay under the escort of white-beaked dolphins. Puffins circle in their thousands as we pass the small island of Lundey, and on
Barba at anchor, some of the crew having ventured ashore.
the horizon the fluke of a humpback rises and falls as it dives deep to feed. Skjálfandi Bay is full of life. The reason for this? It’s the confluence of three major currents: two that run around the coast of Iceland, and one that comes down from the Arctic. This causes upwelling, which when coupled with the nutrient-rich meltwater from the surrounding mountains, creates enormous plankton blooms that attract krill and fish, which are subsequently eaten by larger marine mammals and seabirds. With poor weather forecast for the next few days, we take the time to visit the University of Iceland Research and Academic Centre to study the manta trawl samples in their laboratory and meet its Director and our host, Dr Marianne H Rasmussen. A whale research professor at the University of Iceland, Rasmussen's preliminary specialism was concerned with the acoustics of whitebeaked dolphins, but for the past two years her focus has been on blue whales. She tells me the primary objective is to catalogue blue whales in the hope of better understanding them, and that 148 different blue whales have been coming to Skjálfandi Bay since 2005. “However, in last few years the sightings of blue whales have been less, and we have started seeing them more commonly around Svalbard,” notes Rasmussen. “We think this is because of climate change and that the blue whales are moving further north.” In the laboratory, Rasmussen carefully pours the manta trawl samples into petri dishes for closer examination. To our surprise, the samples taken in the waters of Norway, the Shetlands, the Faroes and Iceland appear, at first glance, to be comprised entirely of organic material. “Look closer and the microscopic particles begin to appear,” says Seda. “These are man-made fibres, most likely from discarded nylon fishing nets.” Indeed, when viewed at a microscopic level, it becomes clear just how small and invasive these particles are. With most fibres smaller than the zooplankton themselves, it become alarmingly obvious just how plastic particles are infiltrating the marine ecosystem from the bottom up. And this is just at a micro level. At a nano level, where particles measure less that 100-billionth of a metre, it becomes possible for them to pass through cell walls and penetrate organic tissue. When the weather finally settles, we sail into Skjálfandi
“A drone with a cage holding a petri dish is flown over a breaching whale so that samples of its blow can be collected and tested for pollutants.�
BEHIND THE LENS
Captain Andreas B Heide takes aim to collect blubber samples.
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“A special dart pierces the skin of the whale and removes approximately 2cm of blubber, which can later be tested for pollutants.”
Bay with Rasmussen as our guide. “We’re looking for blows that are ten metres high,” she says. “Those ones are from blue whales.” With years of experience, Rasmussen guides us across the bay, towards the small island of Flatey, some two hours from Húsavík by boat. Here, under a clear summer’s sky, we find both humpbacks and blue whales. “How does it feel to be five metres away from the largest animal to have ever lived?” says Heide, a wide smile entrenched on his face. But while the moment is more magical than one could hope, and their physical size is something to behold, there’s no detracting from the significance of the research to be done and the opportunity to collect data. For the Arctic Whale team, there are two primary ways this is done. The first requires a tissue biopsy to be obtained. In partnership with the University of Iceland, and with the aid of Jessica Emily Roos, a scientist studying the effects of nanoplastics on marine organisms at the University of Oslo, Heide is tasked with firing a biopsy gun at a breaching whale. A special dart pierces the skin of the whale and removes approximately 2cm of blubber, which can later be tested for pollutants. “The sample is very small. It would be like getting pricked by a needle for us,” notes Heide. The samples will be examined further at the University of Oslo, where they can be viewed under an electron microscope to see if, at a cellular level, traces of nanoplastic can be found. The second is a new technique whereby a drone with a cage holding a petri dish is flown over a breaching whale so that samples of its blow can be collected and tested for pollutants. Tom Grove, a PhD student from the University of Edinburgh and founder of Whale Wise, a group that aims to promote better harmony between the whale watching community and the whales themselves, leads the blow sampling. “Blow sampling is essentially collecting samples of whale exhale, its breath,” says Grove. “One of the good things about blow samples is that you can look at hormones from within the whale.” While Grove’s research is focused on discovering cortisol levels related to stress, the samples will also be tested for plasticderived pollutants at a cellular level, from inside the lungs of the whales. Grove is aiming to collect 100 different samples by the end of the summer season. As Barba glides over the ocean's surface, we encounter yet more white-beaked dolphins, dozens of humpbacks and a few blue whales. Each time we spot one, the excitement grows, and as we approach, the entire team falls silent. It’s a subconscious moment of reflection and connection. All of us, in our own way. The scientist, the photographer, the writer. Heide’s mission to communicate the biggest ocean issues through the lives and plights of whales makes perfect sense in these moments: truly, they are the ambassadors of the ocean.
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LEICA NOCTIVID An exceptional viewing experience. Stylish and compact, the Leica Noctivid offer the perfect balance of attributes for crystal clear viewing experiences.
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Oceanographic Issue 08
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BEHIND THE LENS
Q&A LUCIANO CANDISANI Award-winning photographer, ocean conservationist, author, senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and SeaLegacy Collective member. Luciano Candisani is a Brazilian photographer, conservationist and author. He has spent the past 20 years photographing nature in all its many forms, carefully highlighting the link between species – humans included – and the environment. His enduring concern for threatened biodiversity and for natural habitats at risk has motivated him to work tirelessly in the field, the results of which have earned him accolades including the Editorial Abril Journalism award and Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
OC EA NO G R A PH IC M AGAZ I N E (OM ): W H E N D I D YOU FIRST CONNECT WITH TH E OCEAN?
LUCIANO CANDISANI (LC): I connected with the ocean very early in my life. My mother introduced me to the ocean when I was two months old. She dipped me into the water and since then, I have always stayed close to the sea. From a young age, I also had the opportunity to learn and observe traditional fishermen on the beach where I grew up. Now, I live on the island of Ilhabela on the southern coast of São Paulo, which isn't far from my childhood home. Ilhabela means ‘beautiful island’ – it's covered in an Atlantic rainforest, which is a state park so the conservation there is very good. More than 80% of the original forest remains. It's an interesting area and looks very different from the rest of our coastlines, where most of the rainforest has been cleared because of so-called socio-economic development. But I have never been disconnected from the ocean, I have always been linked to it in some way. When I was ten I started diving – the waters around where I grew up were very murky because it is an estuary, but the waterscapes that appeared in front of my young eyes have captured me forever.
OM : W O U LD YO U S AY T H AT L I V I N G N E AR N AT URE IS PARTICULARLY IMP ORTANT TO YOU?
LC: It has been important to me all my life. I don't feel well in cities. City life doesn't make much sense to me. I prefer to stay closely connected with the subject matter I work with. When I chose to dedicate my photography to the natural world, it had to become a way of life. It's in my nature to live what I photograph.
OM : DO YO U T H IN K A L OT OF P E OP L E H AV E B ECOME DISCONNECTED FROM NATURE?
LC: Yes. We all know nature is important, but that disconnection is definitely something that is happening more. People lose touch with their natural surroundings and then can't recognise how important it is to their health and life. The modern comforts in life take priority now, which is completely unsustainable. Our current model of production and consumption largely ignores ethics and environmental considerations.
OM : YO U ’ VE S A ID I N T H E PAS T T H AT YOU S E EK TO REVEAL TH E LINK BETWEEN SP ECIES AND TH E ENVIR O NME N T T H ROU GH YOU R W ORK . WH Y DO YOU TH INK FINDING AND SH ARING TH AT L IN K IS IMPO RTAN T ? LC: It's something that moves me. This link between species and the environment – both wildlife and humans – is so beautiful and essential. One of the main problems for conservation is the loss of original habitats and this disrupts that link. We all need connection, and I think the biggest problems facing the planet have arisen as a result of that connection being broken.
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O M: H OW D O YOU F E E L W H E N YOU SH OOT UNDERWATER?
LC: It is another dimension, which makes it special. There are very few environments where a human is just there to observe rather than to control. You can't control the underwater environment, all you can do is watch what is going on down there, everything working in a natural and uninterrupted way. Observing nature in control like that is a powerful thing - and the feeling that goes with it is just as strong.
O M: W H E RE WAS T H E F I RS T RE M OT E P LACE YOU VISITED ON EXP EDITION WITH TH E U NIVER SI T Y OF SÃO PAU L O? LC: Antarctica, specifically the South Shetland Islands, near the Antarctica Peninsula in 1995. I was a diver, boat driver, photographer and cinematographer, so I looked after the diving equipment, collected samples and shot underwater. I worked with a group that was studying benthic zone life in the shallow waters of the continent. It was my first time cold-water diving, which was an amazing experience. At the time nobody in Brazil really knew what the underwater environment in Antarctica was like, so I had the opportunity to publish my photos in some prestigious magazines, which allowed me to start doing what I do now, telling stories about nature and conservation. I've been back to Antarctica twice since that trip, once the following year and again two years ago, when I spent a month on a sailing boat on an expedition around the southern parts of South America. I got to photograph southern right whales, sea lions and the incredible kelp forests. It's amazing how tall the kelp can grow and how much marine life lives in those forests. I think it's one of the most beautiful marine environments. O M: T EL L U S ABOU T YOU R E XP E RI E N CE OF TH E BRAZ ILIAN RIVER SYSTEMS WH ILE SH OOTIN G YO U R ' U N D E RWAT E R GARD E N S ' S E RIES. LC: It was amazing. I loved that project because we have a lot of incredible freshwater environments and wildlife in the rivers here. However, we rarely get to see these flora and fauna because the water is, for the most part, very murky. But in certain areas you can find these rare, crystal clear spots that act like a small window into these largely unknown environments at the bottom of the country's rivers. The underwater gardens project was all about using those windows to observe and document the biodiversity that exists in these rivers. I think it's important to show people that rivers aren't just water, they are live environments that support a huge array of interesting species. I have worked in the Pantanal wetlands for a number of different projects, so I've learned how to get close to wildlife in a safe way. With the help of experts in this field, I’ve learnt a lot about how to photograph caimans. Caimans aren't as aggressive as crocodiles or alligators – if you go at the right time in the right place, it's possible to do it safely. There is a time of year when they take advantage of a great abundance of fish – they are opportunistic predators. Every year there is a time when the wetlands get flooded, and when that water drains back to the rivers from the fields through narrow channels, the caimans concentrate in those channels to get the fish. During this period, they are really only interested in the fish. Their focus on the fish means they are pretty disinterested in your presence and are less likely to attack. It's without its risks of course, but it's safer than at other times of the year. O M: YO U ' V E BE E N W ORK I N G ON A BO OK, H AENYEO: WOMEN OF TH E SEA. WH AT DREW YOU TO T H E D IVI N G W OM E N OF JE JU I S L AN D ? LC: It's something I'm really dedicated to, working with people of the sea who are so closely linked to it and live traditional lives - I think it's a beautiful way of life. Many of these communities have learned over generations how to explore the marine environment in a sustainable way and I think they can teach us a lot about sustainability, happiness, prosperity and how to care for nature. This is a subject that is becoming increasingly important to me and these women of the sea constitute one of the stories I'm working on. But the Haenyeo project is about more than just sustainability. Most of these women are between the ages of 65 and 92, so they can teach us a lot about the human condition in a number of different ways: longevity, power, friendships and health. These are concepts that I'm sure are important to all of us. I started out investigating their sustainability and how that linked to their future, but having learned more about their 400 years of history, several different aspects of the lives of these amazing women now form the heart of my work.
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Q&A Continued...
OM: YO U O NCE W ROT E T H AT YOU ' D L I K E TO " EXP RESS YOUR DEEP EST RESP ECT AND ADMIR AT IO N F O R T H E S T RE N GT H OF W OM E N". WH Y IS TH IS IMP ORTANT TO YOU?
LC: I lived with the Haenyeo women for 35 days, working with them in the field and staying in their homes. I could feel the power behind them. Historically, because they went to the sea to provide for their families – they had no alternative, and there were many different factors as to why the diving became a female-dominated industry. But I was also amazed by their deep understanding of their environment. I asked one diver why they never introduced scuba diving equipment into their practices, because it would mean that they could dive for longer and collect more seaweed more easily. She looked at me and said: "If we use scuba diving equipment, we will collect more than we need, which would leave our children and future generations without any resources." I realised that maybe this instinct to protect future generations should be more closely linked with sustainable practices. If sustainability is all about taking care of our children - and their children - then we can learn something from these women. Another amazing thing I learned from them is that strength and power doesn't always come from muscles. Their power comes from their knowledge of how to do what they do. They dive in up to 10 metres of rough and cold water, not because they have strong bodies but because they have strong minds and knowledge, and a strong connection with the environment.
OM: W H AT WA S YOU R M OS T S I GN I F I C AN T E X P ERIENCE WH ILE DIVING WITH TH E H AENYEO? LC: It was actually very difficult working with them - they are not interested in photography or photographers while they are collecting. In many cases they didn't really want me there, which I can understand because they are serious about their work and what they need to do. They treated me very well outside of the water though, inviting me for dinner and things. But every second I spent with them in the water, seeing how strong their connection to the sea is, was amazing. It was incredible to see a 92-year-old woman who walks on land with some difficulty, suddenly so young when she dives underwater. The marine environment off Jeju Island is interesting because you have colourful corals, typical of tropical waters, mixed with kelp forests typically found in cold water. In terms of the biological diversity, it's a bit like a mix of the Red Sea and the North Sea. We dived between the seaweed, the kelp forests and the corals - it really is an amazing place. The island has changed a lot – most of it is now urban and the culture has changed a little over the years. They used to dive year-round in just cotton dresses - even in mid-winter - but in the 1970s they introduced wetsuits, masks and fins. Regarding technique though, it's virtually the same as it ever was. OM: YO U W ER E R E C E N T LY I N T H E FAROE I S LANDS AND GREENLAND. WH AT STORY WERE YOU WOR KING O N T H E RE ?
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LC: I've worked a lot in the South Atlantic and in Antarctica, so I was curious to explore the North Atlantic and Arctic in order to better understand the dramatic effects of climate change. I stayed for a few days in the Faroe Islands to see the puffins. Then I had the opportunity to go to Greenland to compare that scenery with what I'd seen in Antarctica. The most amazing thing I photographed there was the feeding behaviour of the humpback whales. I've seen humpbacks all around the world – I was lucky enough to dive with them in the South Pacific – but I'd never seen them feeding. They use bubbles to concentrate schools of fish near the coast and then drive them to the surface of the water. Then they swim up with their big mouths agape to catch the fish. Marine birds take advantage of this process, so you have this dynamic situation of whales and birds competing for the fish – all happening against a beautiful landscape of icebergs and glaciers. It was a powerful and memorable moment.
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BEHIND THE LENS
“The Haenyeo's power comes from their knowledge of how to do what they do. They dive in up to 10 metres of rough and cold water, not because they have strong bodies but because they have strong minds.”
O M: W H AT I S T H E M OS T I M P ORTAN T STORY YOU'VE TOLD WITH YOUR WORK? LC: I think I'm actually telling one story with all the different projects I work on. I'm talking about how important it is to have this link with nature and how we must keep our wilderness protected and unmodified. All my stories are about that. For example, the Haenyeo divers – I wouldn't say it's a story about sustainability specifically, it's about the human connection too, both with the natural environment and with sustainability. O M: W H AT C H AL L E N GE S D O YOU FACE AS A CONSERVATION P H OTOGRAP H ER? LC: As photography is all about visual interpretation, I think a core difficulty can be how little time you often get to spend with subjects that are completely out of your control. It can be tricky to get the perfect combination of variables to both capture a strong image and build a powerful visual narrative. But there are many different challenges. One of the main ones is being a conservation photographer living below the equator. Being in a country like Brazil is difficult because I am where a lot of these stories are unfolding but we don't necessarily have the same resources as elsewhere, and we don't get as much attention as photographers telling stories in other countries. It's more difficult for those of us who live and work down here to get our work published and to tell the relevant stories that are happening in our back yard. O M: CO U L D OP P ORT U N I T Y E V E R P E R SUADE YOU TO MOVE AWAY FROM BRAZ IL? LC: I don't think so. I travel a lot and I would like to experience as many different places as possible. But my place is here on the island where I live. It's part of my story. Now, with everything that's happening in Brazil at the moment, I feel even more responsible to do something here. Of course, I work all over the world, but I always come back to my place here. It's where I feel truly at home. O M: H OW D O YOU F E E L ABOU T T H E CURRENT STATE OF CONSERVATION IN BRAZ IL? LC: It's makes me sad. We have amazing people working in conservation here, in the field, universities and research institutes, but we've had some advances in conservation that are currently being threatened by the new administration. As I travel around the country, I can see with my own eyes that people feel environmental issues are not a priority for this administration, so they are happy to cut down the forests, overfish and do whatever they want to the environment. Deforestation rates have accelerated dramatically. O M: W H AT ARE YOU W ORK I N G ON N E XT? LC: We don't have an official name for it yet, but I'll be doing the underwater cinematography for two episodes in an oceans documentary directed by Lygia Barbosa da Silva and Jin Hyuk Kim. We want to show the main problems facing the world's oceans through the eyes of 'people of the sea', whose sustainable way of life is being threatened by the misuse of resources and climate change. We want to talk about these issues through real people living with the ocean. We started in Brazil's mangrove forests, documenting the communities who collect crabs and fish there. Then we'll head off to film all around the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean, and a number of other spots to capture what will hopefully be impactful stories.
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BEHIND THE LENS
Jeju Island, South Korea A 90-year-old Haenyeo woman out diving for food. A staggering 85% of the 3,000 remaining Haenyeo women are between 65 and 90 years old. These women freedive up to 15 metres below the surface to gather seafood sustainably.
Bailang-bilangan, Philippines A boy named Marven Jay collects nudibranch eggs for dinner during low tide. Shot on assignment for the International League of Conservation Photographers and Project Seahorse.
Elephant Island, Antarctica One of the most isolated islands along the Antarctic Peninsula, landing at Elephant Island is always a challenge. It is always worth it, of course, the resident elephant seals always happy to put on a show.
Pantanal wetlands, Brazil A close encounter with one of the wetlands' resident caimans. Less aggressive compared with crocodiles and alligators, caimans offer striking visuals with (a little) less risk.
Ilhabela, Brazil My home. During the Brazilian winter (June/July) I often go out in my boat to see the humpback whales migrate past. This was a memorable encounter - a big humpback whale with a very small newborn.
Caetê bay, Pará, Brazil A fisherman prepares to step back ashore from his weathered boat, a plastic container filled with the day's catch in his hand.
Haa’pai, Tonga A humpback whale's fluke tips toward a tumbling sky as the individual prepares to dive deep into the ocean. Tonga is one of the most renowned places in the world for humpback interactions.
Rocas Atoll, Brazil The first dive of a baby green turtle in the protected waters of Atol das Rocas, Brazil, one of the primary nesting sites for this species in the Atlantic Ocean.
South Shetlands, Antarctica An Adélie penguin makes its way across rocky terrain in Antarctica. Adélie penguin chicks leave their colony to go to sea at seven to nine weeks old. Most will not return until they are old enough to breed several years later.
Rocas Atoll, Brazil A volunteer helps keep a stranded turtle cool during the baking midday heat. The longevity of nesting females is critical to the species long-term survival.
Parnaíba Marine Reserve, Brazil Traditional crab collection. Extractive reserves were created in Brazil to keep traditional people living sustainable lives, and to promote conservation.
Haa’pai , Tonga A whale watching boat bobs on the surface as a humpback breaches, Whale watching generates more than USD $20 billion dollars worldwide - positive ecotourism.
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Jeju Island, South Korea A Haenyeo woman nets a large octopus, which she caught on a single breath, removing it from under a rock using a traditional – and primitive – tool.
Luciano took his first foray into photography while on expeditions for the Biosciences Institution of the University of São Paulo. Since then, he’s authored nine books about conservation and has dedicated the past 20 years to visual storytelling in that field, focusing on the link between species and the environment. He’s a contributing photographer for National Geographic, a senior fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a member of the SeaLegacy Collective and has won a number of prizes for his work, including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, for which he has also sat on the jury. His work with the divers of Jeju Island will feature in an exhibition at the Museum of Image & Sound in São Paulo this month (August, 2019), which will then travel to Rio and Seoul.
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Oceanographic Issue 08
LEICA NOCTIVID An exceptional viewing experience. Stylish and compact, the Leica Noctivid offer the perfect balance of attributes for crystal clear viewing experiences.
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Oceanographic Issue 08
Photo by ©Hugo Pettit
N O H AT C H L I N G
left behind The Barbados Sea Turtle Project has been running for more than 30 years, its team working to protect foraging and resident sea turtles from myriad dangers. As an endangered and keystone species, what more needs to be done to protect them?
Wo rd s b y B e t h F i n n e y P h o t o g ra p h s b y J o h n A l e x a n d e r
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“She records the turtle's size and weight before fitting it with a metal tag. Tagging can provide information on movement patterns, growth rates, population trends and sargassum strandings.�
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pair of long fins disappear into the hazy teal ocean ahead of me. Local fisherman Stanton Thomas, also known as ‘the turtle whisperer’, stealthily circles behind a juvenile green turtle distracted by the rest of the group. There is a team of 10 people in the water, all there to assist with a tagging programme run by the Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP). Expertly, Thomas moves in, securing the turtle by its shell, before drifting calmly and cautiously back in the direction of the research boat. Carla Daniel, director of public education and awareness at the BSTP, is ready and waiting. She deftly hauls the turtle into the boat while giving instructions to her team. The process looks frenetic, but this is something she has done hundreds of times in her 14 years with the BSTP. She records the turtle’s size and weight measurements before fitting it with a metal flipper tag. This marks it as an individual, meaning it can be easily identified elsewhere around the island. Tagging can provide information on movement patterns, individual growth rates, reproductive life, population trends, habitat residency and sargassum strandings. Tag secured, Daniel lowers the turtle back into the water, where it paddles tentatively in her hands for a few seconds, before zipping away into the blue. “We have a few old turtles that were tagged 18 years ago and are still nesting, [but] there are much higher numbers of turtles that we only ever see once. We can't say what their fate was for sure but there are regional issues,” Daniel explains. “There are some islands that still have open seasons on turtles and our turtles often swim past those islands to return to their foraging grounds when they finish nesting. There's a good chance that a number of them are killed in fisheries off other islands. We do our best but once they leave Barbadian waters, they're out of our hands. We really need a cohesive regional sea turtle conservation policy, with all islands on board.” For many years the turtle shell trade boomed in Barbados, a practice that decimated Caribbean populations. Because it was easier to kill a turtle on the beach rather than in the water, nesting females – which always return to the place they were born to lay their eggs – were often targeted. Thankfully, in 1998 the Government of Barbados implemented a moratorium on all sea turtle harvesting, making it illegal to catch any species of sea turtle or to trade in turtle meat, shells or eggs. However, due to numerous other threats, their population has not yet recovered. There are seven species of turtles worldwide and six of those can be found in the Wider Caribbean Region. Out of those six, there are three that dwell on or around Barbados. Two of those nest on the island, the critically endangered hawksbill turtle and the leatherback turtle, which is listed as vulnerable. Greens are much more common in the water, swimming near the shoreline to feed on algae. "When I first started diving, it was so common to see shells for sale and turtles being butchered. Thanks to the work of the BSTP, Project AWARE and
PADI, people are becoming more aware,” says André Miller, marine biologist and founder of Barbados Blue dive centre. “Should anyone harm a turtle on my island, I am proud to know that the diving and snorkelling community would go crazy. You can’t hurt a turtle in Barbados now." The project started in 1987 when Professor Julia Horrocks was studying a post-doctoral at Bellairs Research Institute. “She realised that people were calling the research centre to report sea turtle issues but there was nobody on the island doing any work with them,” Daniel explains. “There was no one else to call. She gathered a group of other students to respond to the calls and eventually she realised there was a real need.” Horrocks lobbied to end the hunting season on the island and has been implementing a sea turtle recovery plan ever since, drawing attention to their plight and researching solutions. The BSTP emergency hotline is open 24/7 with no exemptions. Daniel tells me about how she had to abandon her 30th birthday dinner with friends to rescue some hatchlings that had fallen into a drain, and how she spent one New Year’s Eve watching a female lay her eggs on the beach as fireworks soared into the sky. They need constant attention and monitoring, because the threats to these gentle and vulnerable animals are numerous, complex and often result in a domino effect of disastrous consequences – one threat, such as brightly lit beaches, will lead them into the path of other hazards. “The marine environment is out of balance. A few hundred years ago, turtles numbered in the millions in the Caribbean region alone,” Horrocks tells me. “However, the simultaneous deterioration of habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds means that fewer turtles can be sustained. Beach erosion and rising temperatures are reducing hatching success and skewing sex ratios, lighting is reducing recruitment of hatchlings to the sea, and plastic ingestions, fishing line entanglements and incidental catch is killing off juveniles and adults. There are still a lot of problems to address before we can be satisfied that humans are not the constraint on their recovery.” Daniel adds: “Lighting is an issue for hatchlings. Once they emerge from the sand they look around and they orientate themselves in the direction that is brightest. On a dark beach this works really well because even when there's no moonlight the water is more reflective and it's always brighter than the land. So even when there's no moon the turtles will look around and then go straight to the sea. But we’ve developed our beaches now – there’s a lot of artificial light. The hatchlings can get confused and start heading inland, towards predators such as rats, cats and land crabs, as well as hazards such as roads, car parks and drains.”
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PREVIOUS: A healthy green turtle in Barbados. THIS PAGE: A volunteer logs the measurements and markings of a female green turtle.
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“In 1998 the Government of Barbados implemented a moratorium on all sea turtle harvesting, making it illegal to catch any species of sea turtle or to trade in turtle meat, shells or eggs.�
A member of the BSTP team returns a tagged turtle to the water.
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TOP: Carla Daniel, of the BSTP, carefully lifts a turtle into the boat to be tagged. BOTTOM: Daniel takes measurements of the turtle's scute and flippers.
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“Every single nesting female in a critically endangered population is precious. They start nesting at 25-30 years old, and it has taken a lot for that turtle to survive [to that point].” Baby turtles can spend the whole night traipsing around dark beaches in search of the sea. If they’ve not been killed by a predator or car, they can walk so far from the sea that when the sun rises, they overheat and die. “There was a situation early in the year that really got to me,” says Daniel. “There were around 30 hatchlings crushed on a road, but some had reached the other side and fallen down in a drain. We were trying to pick them out. While we were there another hatchling we hadn’t seen tried to cross the road. I started sprinting to get to him. Just as I was about to reach out and snatch him a car ran over him.” The BSTP slogan is: “No hatchling left behind”. After hearing so many stories of the hatchlings that didn’t make it, I ask Daniel how she copes. “I'm pragmatic. We do our best. I can't cry for every hatchling that dies because I would never stop. [My job] is about change, and trying to get people to realise that this is not normal, that this does not have to happen.” Horrocks and Daniel are currently assessing the incubation temperatures of nesting sites, a big concern amid rising global temperatures. A turtle’s sex is determined by the temperatures encountered by a developing egg, a process known as temperaturedependant sex determination, or TSD. Eggs incubated above 31°C will produce female hatchlings, while those incubated below 27.7°C will produce males. The eggs that encounter temperatures between those two points result in a mixture of both male and female hatchlings. Discussing their research, Daniel explains: “People are worried about the feminisation of nesting beaches – beaches that are only producing females – and what that would mean for the population. We buried 100 temperature data loggers for a year at a variety of nesting beaches – under vegetation, on the open beach and under shade. We needed to find out what we should be encouraging people to plant on their beaches. We found that tree shade is the coolest.” Other key studies include the satellite tracking of Barbados’ oldest nesting females, a project that was supported by the Tourism Development Corporation on the island and the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund. “Every single nesting female in a critically endangered population is precious. They start nesting at 25-30 years old, and it has taken a lot for that turtle to survive [to that point],” Daniel says. “These are the turtles that have
managed to survive and nest in Barbados multiple times – they beat the odds. We wanted to know where they were going after they nested and where their foraging grounds were.” The BSTP has discovered that the populations of turtles on the island’s east coast are genetically distinct from the population of nesting turtles on the south and west coastlines. They have also learned that some turtles have a high nest site fidelity, returning to the same beach to lay eggs up to five times in a season, while other turtles lay all of their eggs in one nest, or even switch between coasts. One of the reasons the BSTP continues to produce these detailed studies is due to the fact that sea turtles are a keystone species, and their decline is reflected in struggling reef systems all over the Caribbean. “As large herbivores or carnivores they are an integral part of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems. Hawksbills control sponges, which can overgrow corals, for instance,” Horrocks says. “The unhatched remains of their egg clutches contribute nutrients to sustain beach vegetation, which helps prevent beach erosion.” There is a growing pressure to restore their numbers to a point at which they can fulfil their ecological roles in this fragile ecosystem. On the boat, and under an unrelenting sun, the deck is alive with activity. Thomas, Miller and a team of snorkellers are at the ready in the water, while Daniel and her volunteers work aft. There is a sense of community to the process – everyone has given their time keenly to help with the project, including several holidaymakers, part of an increasingly popular ‘voluntourism’ offering in Barbados. Larger numbers of visitors – and residents – are involving themselves in the protection of natural environments and local wildlife. It is a hugely positive movement, though the improper treatment of turtles on beaches remains a cause for concern. “There is good awareness of the turtles – we get around 1,500 calls to our 24/7 hotline each year, and we respond to every single call,” says Daniel. “We sometimes host public hatchling releases that are free for people to come to. Our volunteers are eager, informed and happy to answer people’s questions. Our work has been accepted by the public. That doesn't mean that everybody cares about turtles, of course, but I think people do know what we are doing and that it’s important.” The evidence suggests it is working. In 2015, the BSTP rescued around 63,000 hatchlings, many of those from public tip-offs. Alongside the conduction of valuable research and data collection, organisations like the BSTP are helping people connect with the wild world around us, as well as care for the beautiful, ancient and too often endangered creatures that call it home. “There is something magical about the way in which a sea turtle finds its way back to the nesting beach,” marvels Horrocks, “the way they unpredictably emerge from the sea to nest, and the drive with which the hatchlings race to the sea.”
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Column
By James Glancy
The guest columnist MAKO PROTECTION CANNOT WAIT
W
hen I learned to dive in Florida in 1994 we saw two bull sharks within minutes of entering the water. At just 14 years old, the experience was mesmerising and inspired me into a maritime career in the Royal Marines followed by wildlife and shark conservation. Like so many charismatic animal species, sharks are part of our popular culture, starring in children’s cartoons, literature, popular movies and the Discovery channel even has a dedicated ‘Shark Week’. Today’s generation of young divers are far less likely to see one of nature’s most perfectly evolved apex predators. Our ocean, like so much of our wilderness on land, is now suffering a devastating biodiversity loss that is potentially more catastrophic than climate change. With many of the more than four hundred species of shark now rated as endangered, critically endangered or facing extinction, is it too late to save sharks? Accurate data for shark numbers is incredibly difficult to measure, however it is widely estimated that shark populations have declined between 60-95% globally over the past 40 years. This decline is overwhelmingly driven by industrialised commercial fishing. Sharks are caught as bycatch or deliberately targeted for their fins, meat, liver oil and skin. In some areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, oceanic whitetip numbers have declined by 99%. Other pelagic species such as the mako shark are now suffering similar declines, with Atlantic Ocean populations now on the brink of collapse. New evidence in a Nature report compiled by more than 150 scientists, has shown that major longline fisheries target hotspots for a variety of shark species. The biggest longline vessels can deploy up to 100 kilometres of lines with thousands of hooks. The situation is so bleak that scientists have pushed the earliest possible recovery of mako shark populations in the North Atlantic Ocean to 2045. The fasted shark in the sea, the mako shark, is now in need of urgent protection. Unlike other charismatic animals such as elephants, rhinos or tigers, all of which have also suffered serious population declines, the plight of sharks is less visible to the public, but no less important. Sharks play a critical role in the ecology
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of our oceans, by maintaining the species below them in the food chain and shifting their prey’s spatial habitat. Their role at the top of the food web supports healthy reef systems and indirectly maintains sea grass and other ocean habitats, ensuring species diversity. The removal of large numbers of sharks has a drastic effect on marine ecosystems and leads to the collapse of fisheries. Healthy oceans are critical for the planet and humanity. More than three billion people globally rely on fish as a source of protein. As the world’s population grows, it’s critical that we now take action to protect sharks and all marine creatures from overfishing. The creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have demonstrated that shark populations can recover. In the Pacific Ocean, Palau and Raja Ampat created MPAs after years of intensive fishing destroyed shark and fish populations. I was fortunate enough to film a documentary in Palau for Discovery channel this year and was overwhelmed by the healthy corals and rich diversity of marine life. Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary and consequently it has healthy populations of sharks and rays. Fisherman have reported increased catches in the waters around the sanctuary, demonstrating that protecting areas has a positive spill over effect that benefits fishing. Protecting sharks has proven to have a positive economic effect in Palau and also in the Bahamas, by attracting large numbers of tourists and divers. It’s estimated a single reef shark is worth USD $250,000 as a result of dive tourism compared to USD $50 when caught and sold by a fisherman. The largest fish in the sea, a whale shark is thought to be worth more than USD $2million over its lifetime to the economy of Belize. Sharks are not just a keystone species for the ecosystem, but have proven economic value when alive. Sharks have ruled the oceans for millions of years, yet time is no longer on their side. International organisations and government’s must take strong action to create more marine protected areas and conserve shark species and improve regulation. Governments can sign up and implement the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s pledge to protect 30% of each eco-region, allowing
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@jaglancy
@jaglancy
www.jamesglancy.com
“The removal of large numbers of sharks has a drastic effect on marine ecosystems and leads to the collapse of fisheries.�
It is estimated shark populations have declined by up to 95% globally over the past 40 years.
marine life to recover to its former state. Robust fisheries management creating sustainable fisheries need to be implemented by regions responsible for the largest global catches. The European Union for example, has a responsibility to ban the catch of mako sharks by European national fleets in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, reducing the chance of extinction in these regions. The forthcoming CITIES summit has the opportunity to list even more elasmobranchs (sharks, skates and rays) for greater protection. Beyond governments and international organisations, it also down to individuals to take decisive and bold action to protect sharks. Responsibility lies with the consumer not to buy or eat shark products and insist their fish comes from sustainable sources. Sharks are not the monsters
commonly portrayed in the movies, they are a beautifully evolved cornerstone species of the underwater world, who are not only majestic to witness on a dive, but regulate ecosystems that feed the world. We can all play a part in their protection to ensure future generations enjoy one of the most iconic animals on Earth. JG About James James Glancy is a director at conservation charity Veterans For Wildlife, working to stop illegal wildlife trade worldwide. A passionate shark advocate since childhood he is now a host on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. James previously served as an officer in the Royal Marines.
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L I B E R AT I N G
paradise from plastic A personal account of a recent multidisciplinary expedition to the most plastic-polluted island in the world, in the recently-formed Pitcairn Island Marine Reserve. What does the future hold for the protected Henderson Island, and can it be cleaned up?
Wo rd s b y L u ke H o s t y a n d M a n d y S n o o k / P ro t e c t B l u e P h o t o g ra p h s b y L u ke H o s t y
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tood on one of the remotest shorelines on Earth, I looked back out to sea as the boat that had just delivered me to the uninhabited Henderson Island battled to get back out beyond the reef ’s breakers. The swell was big. Very big. We had been unable to land on East Beach, our initial plan, due to the size of the chop. Getting to North Beach had been no easy feat either. Part of the Pitcairn archipelago, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, these shores are used to big water. A couple of hundred metres from shore, but still yet to reach the reef line, the small rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RIB) stopped making progress. Moments later, its driver unable to out-manoeuvre in the tumbling waves, the boat flipped. Men and equipment cartwheeled into the shallow, coral-filled water. I swam out to assist the two men who had been thrown into the water: Pitcairn Islander Jay Warren and Jon Slayer from Force Blue. Thankfully, neither of them had been injured. We managed to right the boat and return to shore. On reaching land, I asked Jay and Jon what had happened. The outboard motor had snared on a discarded piece of plastic fishing line caught on the reef. In one of the remotest beaches in the world, plastic pollution was causing problems. In a way it was a fitting welcome to Pitcairn: plastic was exactly why we were there. In September 2016, the British Government established one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) in the world. The Pitcairn Island Marine Reserve covers an area of 324,000 square miles (834,000 km2) around the archipelago’s four islands: Ducie, Henderson, Oeno and its namesake Pitcairn. The establishment of the MPA, sealed in consultation with Pitcairn Island Council, represented a huge victory for the islands and the pristine waters and coral reefs that surround them, as well as the numerous and diverse species that inhabit the area. It was a victory for the ocean. The following year, Pitcairn was in the news again. A study by Jennifer Lavers and Dr Alex Bond, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that due to ocean currents and the way debris moves within the South Pacific Gyre, plastic was accumulating on Henderson Island more densely than anywhere else in the world. They estimated that its beaches were covered in 38 million pieces of plastic debris. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1980s due to its near-pristine state, the uninhabited Henderson Island was now the most plastic-polluted island in the world. In that same year, Pew Trusts and the Pitcairn Government (working closely with the Blue Belt Programme) began planning a multidisciplinary expedition to Henderson Island. I was fortunate to be invited along as part of the expedition team. My role, along with Jon Slayer, was to visually capture and share PREVIOUS: A plastic toy soldier found on East Beach, Henderson Island during a beach clean-up. RIGHT: Simeon Archer-Rand (Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) undertaking biodiversity mapping, Pitcairn Island.
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“Moments later, its driver unable to outmanoeuvre in the tumbling waves, the boat flipped. Men and equipment cartwheeled into the shallow, coral-filled water.”
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“Modern castaways, we flew my drone back to the Silver Supporter with a request to tape a lighter to it. We built a fire, used plastic debris to construct an effective shelter and rationed the water.” the story of what is an exceptional ocean conservation project, as well as document the many challenges it faces. On a personal level, the invitation to Pitcairn offered me an opportunity to further explore Wallace J Nichols’ Blue Mind theory, which heralds the vast cognitive, emotional, psychological, social, physical and spiritual benefits we can all derive from connection to healthy waters and the ocean. As a former Royal Marine, I know the power of the ocean. We encourage veterans to become involved in marine projects, not only for the betterment of the ocean, but also themselves. Projects that require gruelling land and sea training provide veterans with a new purpose after service, while the power of the ocean has even been shown to reduce the effects of PTSD. The Pitcairn expedition brought together a number of these things, which made it especially exciting for me. I felt it had the potential to become a healing experience - for ecosystems and humans alike. Our first day on Henderson was, appropriately, World Ocean Day. It was a testing day. After returning to shore following the boat incident in the breakers, we realised there was no way anyone was returning to our supply ship, the Silver Supporter until the weather improved – it was too dangerous. We were stranded. That early demonstration of ocean power, along with our remoteness and the fact it was winter, made us acutely aware that safety and survival would influence expedition decision-making more than objectives and our desire to get to work. The removal of plastic from Henderson’s beaches would certainly pose some logistical challenges. Modern castaways, we flew my drone back to the Silver Supporter with a request to tape a lighter to it. We built a fire, used plastic debris to construct an effective shelter and rationed the water. We were on North Beach for 20 hours, until it was safe to use the RIB. In those 20 hours, we became supremely conscious of our isolated and primitive environment. The night sky was luminous in its intensity. There were no sounds other than the crackle of flames, the chorus of nesting seabirds and the incessant pounding of the waves. We were in a place of timelessness and early creation. Although the swells remained throughout much of our time on and around Henderson Island, we were soon able to get to work. During the two weeks, Jon (with a focus on VR) and I went about capturing the beauty of the underwater world of the MPA, which has never been fully documented. The material Jon captured will be used to update Google Street View of the archipelago area. My objective, using a more standardised film rig,
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was to document the marine life and seascapes that exists in the sanctuary. And what an astonishing place it is. We marvelled at the 80-metre visibility and the tranquil reefs, the shoals of fish and the deep but narrow channels guiding us through the blue. It is a realm that filled us with awe and humility, a place of towering coral cathedral spires, perfect twisted systems that sustain the precious life of the area. It is a sacred space, an extension of dreamtime – and, on this occasion, in such contrast to the churning chaos above the waterline. The conditions topside made for a testing working environment, but we achieved what we set out to. On the island itself, East Beach remained our focus, despite landing on North Beach. When it came to accessing East Beach, tracks had to be cleared through the dense, tropical vegetation away from the coastline. The team trekked daily round three headlands and navigated treacherously sharp coral (both a plateau and areas that required a certain amount of climbing) to access the plastic-strewn East Beach. The team cleared plastic and captured data. During my time on the beach I picked up a faded plastic toy soldier, a misshaped Mickey Mouse and a distorted Sprite bottle, items so disconnected from the uninhabited island on which I found them. Documenting and assisting the science and clean-up teams was satisfying and inspiring work. But it soon became clear that we would not be able to remove the tonnes of debris we had collected from Henderson Island. The ocean conditions made it an impossible task. The only solution was to bag it and wait until conditions in the coming months improved. The clean-up team had enabled the island to breathe again, for a short while at least. Of course, the objective was not simply to clean. A vast amount of data was collected during the two weeks – data that will, it is hoped, offer an insight into plastic pollution and the effect it is having on marine life. The team used the Tangaroa Blue Foundation methodology, a technique which targets materials the size of a bottle top or bigger, records material type (rope, hard plastic fragments, etc), number, weight, origin and provenance – and allows the team to categorise the materials deposited. The team also measured physical properties of the sand and studied micro and nano-plastics at 5cm depth. East Beach is a nesting ground for green turtles and the hatching success of eggs laid there (and the sex of those hatchlings) is dependent on the physical properties of the sand. The threat posed to hermit crabs by bottles and containers was also evaluated, via a survey of hazardous containers across the beach. Jennifer Lavers and Dr Alex Bond sought to build on their 2015 fieldwork that led to the huge 2017 news story regarding Henderson’s position as the most plastic-polluted island in the world. They focussed predominantly on seabirds and plastics, sampling feathers and blood from endemic bird species, analysing genetics and contaminants to give an indication of the interaction between the birds and pollutants. While the debris on the beach was expected, no one anticipated the level of pollution on the reef. The
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TOP: Jon Slayer (Force Blue) removing a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) attached to the coral reef off East Beach, Henderson Island. MIDDLE: Meralda Warren making black pearl jewellery at her home on Pitcairn Island. BOTTOM: East Beach, Henderson Island.
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Jay Warren (Pitcairn Islander) dismantling FADs and tying hundreds of fishing buoys together during a beach clean-up.
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“I was intrigued by the lifestyle of the islanders, so free from the clamour of a materialistic and noisy world – though no longer free from the waste produced by it.”
amount of plastic fishing rope and the number of fishing aggregation devices that were snagged in the coral and not visible from the surface was staggering. Dives were regularly interrupted as we cut away at the enormous quantities of tangled rope. The GPS-tagged rafts had to be rolled up, taken to the surface and lifted onto the ship with the use of an on-board crane. Of course, as a visiting expedition crew to Pitcairn, we were not alone in our mission. One of the greatest joys of being in the Pitcairn Islands was meeting the real guardians of the area. The small Pitcairn community, of less than 100 people, are passionate ocean advocates fiercely protective of the area – especially since it was declared an MPA. There is a sense of pride in the Pitcairn ecosystem, as well as a stewardship of it. Pirate Pawl, one of the last descendants of a Bounty mutineer, Fletcher Christian, is gregarious, warm-hearted and good-natured. He is an authentic storyteller, ready to share a shot of tequila in a skull-shaped bottle, drunk from a whale’s tooth while relaying an anecdote from the distant past. He wears his heritage as a badge of honour, just as he wears strings of black pearls round his neck, hoops of pearls in his earlobes and skull rings on his huge, brown hands. The Warren family members are hospitable, inclusive and resourceful. Jay, our quietly spoken boat driver, is always in the present as he monitors every movement of the waves, watches the weather for change and feels the joy of his world. Meralda, his sister, is an artist and a musician. She places pearls into beautiful settings, which are then packaged in handmade paper - plant waste, pulped, flattened and dried before being woven into beautiful tapestries by her mother, Mavis. They work with humour, dignity and a sense of self-worth. I was intrigued by the lifestyle of the islanders, so free from the clamour of a materialistic and noisy world – though no longer free from the waste produced by it. MPAs are laudable, but they need the conscious guardianship and responsible stewardship of their nearest stakeholders. The Pitcairn Islands plan to invest in a boat that will function as a permanent and practical asset to the Silver Supporter, enabling effective clean-up solutions for Henderson’s beaches. There is also hope that Precious Plastic machines, which can turn waste plastic into products, can be purchased to mould the Pitcairn’s plastic into curios to be sold to visitors, further developing the archipelago’s eco-tourism offering. There are also plans for the plastic to be used in construction. At the heart of this expedition was a shared love of the ocean, everyone speaking the same language of protection and positive energy, and with a willingness to work hard – traits mirrored by the wider MPA community and the people of Pitcairn. It is an example of what happens when individuals, teams and government commit to achieving something impactful. There is still work to do, but for now I believe the waters within Pitcairn’s Marine Reserve are on the right path, and that the Pitcairn Islands are in safe hands.
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U N D E R S TA N D I N G
North Carolina’s sand tigers
After a 70-90% population decline towards the end of the last century due to overfishing, sand tiger shark numbers continue to recover along the east coast of the US. In North Carolina, species recovery is particularly strong. Why?
Wo rd s a n d p h o t o g ra p h s b y Ta n y a H o u p p e r m a n s
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inety feet underwater and 22 miles off the coast of Morehead City, North Carolina we made our way inside the wreck of the US cable-laying ship Aeolus. Carefully unspooling my reel line to navigate through the sunken vessel, I glanced at my instructor. He gave a nod of approval and we continued our slow advance. It was the summer of 2009, and I was making my first dive off of North Carolina to earn a wreck diving certification. Concentrating on the tasks at hand, I turned a corner to enter an open area inside of the Aeolus. That’s when I saw the sharks. Six sand tiger sharks circled inside the shipwreck, rows of jagged white teeth jutting from their jaws. Their bodies were sleek and streamlined. I was in awe as they effortlessly cut through the water. One of the sharks passed only a few inches from me. I felt no fear, just wonderment. These animals were beautiful and graceful - two words I had not associated with sharks before. When my instructor and I began to retrace our steps out of the wreck, I glanced back at the sand tigers. I knew I would have to return to see them again. My fascination with sharks started with that first sand tiger encounter. I quickly realised sharks were not the vicious monsters they are often portrayed to be. I learned about the horrors of shark finning, and how commercial fisheries using longlines and gill nets are depleting shark populations critical to the health of the ocean. I left the corporate world behind to become a conservationist - all because of the sand tigers of North Carolina. Also known as grey nurse sharks or ragged tooth sharks, sand tigers are a migratory species found in warmer coastal waters, with the exception of the eastern Pacific. They prefer shallow water, where they feed on small bony fish, crustaceans, stingrays and smaller sharks. Adults typically measure between seven to ten feet, weighing an average of 200-350lbs. Females are larger than males. While juveniles are sometimes prey for larger sharks, the adults have no major natural predators. Sand tigers can breathe by two means: by swimming forward to push water past their gills or by using their cheek muscles to propel water into their mouth and over the gills. Since they do not have to continually move to breathe, it is common to find sand tigers resting on the sea floor or hovering motionless in the water column. To control their buoyancy, they swim to the surface where they gulp air, holding that air in their stomach like an internal balloon. As they descend, they can expel air through the mouth to fine tune their buoyancy. They are the only shark species known to do this. Male sand tigers reach sexual maturity around six to seven years of age while females reach maturity between nine to ten years. Females have two uterine chambers, one on their left side and one on the right, where 1623 eggs are fertilised after mating. The first embryos to hatch consume the other embryos and the remaining
PREVIOUS: A large summer aggregation of sand tiger sharks. THIS PAGE: A sand tiger swims past the bow of the Caribsea wreck.
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“Between the late 1970s and early 1990s, sand tiger populations declined by 70-90% off the US East Coast due to overfishing.�
A sand tiger surrounded by thousands of mackerel scad.
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unhatched eggs in a process known as intrauterine cannibalism. In the ultimate example of prenatal survivalof-the-fittest, the last remaining embryo in each uterus is born after a nine to twelve month gestational period, with each pup measuring between 37-41 inches long. The mother does not tend to her young after birth; the two new pups are already experienced predators, having hunted and devoured their siblings before birth. Sand tiger sharks only give birth to two pups every two to three years, resulting in one of the lowest reproductive rates of any shark species. Every summer I lead a dive trip to North Carolina. I always look forward to seeing the reactions of my guests who have never dived with sand tigers before. They are often amazed by how docile these sharks are, how close they approach, and the number of sharks present, especially without the use of bait. But what is it about North Carolina that makes it prime sand tiger territory? We don’t have all the answers yet, but we do have clues. North Carolina lies near the Gulf Stream, resulting in relatively warm water with temperatures around 25°C in the summer, and dipping to around 10°C in winter (chilly for a diver, comfortable for a sand tiger). Colliding north and south currents offshore create a biodiversity hotspot with a plethora of marine species from both directions converging. As any North Carolina diver can attest to, large schools of jacks and spadefish are common, as are snapper, flounder, eels, and rays, all of which comprise the diet of sand tiger sharks. Warm temperatures and plenty of prey are doubtless factors in why sand tigers frequent North Carolina’s waters, but there are plenty of areas off the East Coast that have these attributes as well. So what is it that North Carolina has that other areas do not? Thousands of shipwrecks. The waters off North Carolina are often called The Graveyard of the Atlantic - more than 2,000 shipwrecks line its coastline, some dating back to the 16th century. This is likely due to the complicated geography of North Carolina’s Outer Banks (shoals, narrow inlets, small islands, etc.), naval battles, hurricanes and complex currents. A number of ships have also been scuttled to create artificial reefs. Sand tigers congregate around many of these wrecks, though the reason for this is a mystery. One theory suggests the wrecks are used as migration rest areas or navigational aids. Another theorises the sand tigers are taking advantage of the rich variety of marine life that has developed around many of the wrecks. The marine life found around North Carolina’s wrecks is not all prey. The sand tiger has developed a quite beautiful symbiotic relationship with the small mackerel scad, or baitfish, that often form schools around the sharks. Mackerel scad have little to fear from the sharks, which prefer larger prey. By staying close to the sand tigers, the baitfish remain safe from would-be predators. As well as safety, the mackerel scad benefit from feeding on the scraps after a successful sand tiger hunt. The
benefit for the shark? It can remain hidden inside the school, using the element of surprise to ambush prey. In the summer and early autumn, large aggregations of sand tigers can often be found in mid-water, sometimes 20-40 feet above the wrecks. This is a real treat for those fortunate enough to witness it. Interestingly, the majority of sand tigers in these aggregations are female. Females are much more commonly seen in the summer than males, with male sightings increasing as winter draws in. It also seems the sharks are particular about the wrecks they frequent. During the summer months it is unheard of to see sand tigers on one of North Carolina’s most famous wrecks, the German U-boat U-352. Yet in the autumn and winter, sharks descend upon it. We don’t know why, but research efforts are underway to find out. Between the late 1970s and early 1990s, sand tiger populations declined by 70-90% off the US East Coast due to overfishing. The sharks gained protected status in US waters in 1997, and although it has been illegal to catch and retain them since then, they are still listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In my experience diving with sand tigers, it is rare that I don’t witness some sort of negative impact on them from humans - from long rusty hooks dragging from their jaws, to the heart-breaking scene of a sand tiger dying on the sea floor after being hooked, stabbed through the back of the head and tossed overboard. The good news is that populations appear to be recovering, albeit slowly, due in part to their low reproductive rate. In the summer of 2016 I was invited to partner with the North Carolina Aquariums and their research affiliates to develop a citizen science program to study sand tiger sharks off the US East Coast. That program became Spot A Shark USA (www.spotasharkusa.com), and is based around the fact that most sand tigers have a unique spot pattern that can be used to identify it. When a diver takes a photo of a sand tiger that shows these spots, they can upload it to the Spot A Shark USA website where that shark will either be matched to one already in the database, or identified as a new individual. Additional information can also be provided such as the dive site, water temperature and unique behaviours observed, all of which can be valuable in helping to determine the health of sand tiger populations and assessing conservation efforts. The program has already resulted in breakthroughs in our understanding of these sharks, including findings that my colleagues and I recently published in the journal Ecology, where six individual female sand tigers were identified returning to the same North Carolina shipwrecks between one and 72 months apart. As the database grows, we hope to be able to use the information to finally begin to understand why male and female sand tigers segregate during certain times of the year, where females are giving birth, what sand tiger migration patterns are, and why so many of these sharks are finding a home in the waters off North Carolina.
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CHARITY PARTNERSHIP
Project AWARE ® is a global movement for ocean protection powered by a community of adventurers. Project AWARE is an international non-profit organization working to create positive change for the ocean.
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Feature
T H E P OW E R O F C O L L A B O R AT I O N How do we make marine conser vation a reality? I a n C a m p b e l l , P ro j e ct AWA RE ® As s oc iate Direc tor, Polic y and Camp aig ns
Helen Keller, the American author, political activist and pioneer for the visually and hearing impaired once said: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” These words, thought to be spoken in the early 1920s in relation to her academic achievements while coping with both chronic deafness and blindness, can be easily applied to marine conservation today. 2019 is shaping up to be a critical year for some of Project AWARE’s key conservation goals for sharks and rays, and without our strategic partnerships, achieving these goals would unquestionably be more difficult. Over the next few months, Project AWARE will be engaging with different partnerships to secure much needed conservation measures for threatened species of marine life, with CITES*, a global agreement on international trade of animals and plants, being the first big opportunity. The CITES Conference of the Parties happen every three years, and this year, among the fifty or so species proposals up for discussion for trade restrictions, marine species being considered include mako sharks, guitarfish and wedgefish (a type of ray), and sea cucumbers. Each of these species will be voted on by the 183 countries that make up CITES as to whether to restrict trade or not. Project AWARE has been collaborating with other environmental NGOs to push the case for limiting trade on the sharks and rays, and we are also collaborating with US and EU government agencies to secure trade controls for sea cucumbers. But the collaboration and engagement doesn’t stop there. Through our global community of supporters, we have been amassing signatures of concerned ocean enthusiasts through our ‘Make Time For Makos’ petition as well as encouraging support for the listing of sea cucumbers through our ‘Love The Unloved’ photo campaign. With the help of every signatory and every photo submission, we will be able to show that the public demands action. Our partnerships also extend to working towards an end to overfishing of sharks throughout the Atlantic. *CITES - Convention on International Trade of
Project AWARE is actively collaborating with conservation partners as part of the Shark League for the Atlantic and Mediterranean, where we’re working with scientists, government officials and, most importantly, our supporters, to get commercial fishing operations to significantly reduce the catches of mako sharks. This year, one of the most inspiring efforts to secure protection is being led by concerned members of the public. In September, Project AWARE has been invited to participate in the Curaçao International Dive Festival where we will outline the conservation threats facing sharks to both the diving and ocean loving communities, as well as to government decision makers. This partnership will not only present an opportunity to outline the immediate peril facing mako sharks to a wide audience, but it will also provide a reminder to government officials charged with managing fisheries that the people that put them in the job will be monitoring their decisions and taking action. This community-led, grassroots act is exactly the type of advocacy that gets noticed by decision makers. Key Facts: Marine species under threat • All six species of giant guitarfish and nine out of ten wedgefish are Critically Endangered. • There are no fishing limits for mako sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. • Sea cucumbers are some of the highest value seafood on the planet. • Sea cucumber faeces is alkaline and can help fight the effects of climate change on the ocean. • If Atlantic shortfin mako catches ended today, it is estimated that their populations would not fully recover until 2045.
Endangered Species of flora and fauna
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Oceanographic Issue 08
CHARITY PARTNERSHIP
S H A R E Y O U R S TO RY O F C H A N G E JOIN MY OCEAN : HERE!
CHALLENGE YOURSELF FUNDRAISE FOR THE OCEAN : HERE!
P R OT E C T W H AT Y O U L OV E W I T H P R O J E C T AWA R E ’ S C L OT H I N G
A D D Y O U R N A M E TO T H E # D I V E R S 4 M A KO S P E T I T I O N ® “ Th e C u ra ç a o I n t e rn a t i o n a l D i ve Fe s t i v a l i s a h u g e eve n t t h a t b r i n g s t o g e t h e r l i ke - m i n d e d o c e a n l o ve r s for a week of festivities focused o n p ro t e c t i n g t h e o c e a n , a n d t h e n , a f e w w e e k s l a t e r, g o ve rn m e n t re p re s e n t a t i ve s f ro m 5 2 c o u n t r i e s will meet to discuss fishing quotas for Atlantic tuna and other species i n c l u d i n g m a ko s h a r k s . Th e ministers making these decisions a re a l l p u b l i c s e r v a n t s , a n d w e w a n t t o e n s u re t h a t t h e y h e a r, l o u d a n d c l e a r, t h e m e s s a g e t h a t t h e C u ra ç a o c o m m u n i t y a n d i n t e rn a t i o n a l d i ve c o m m u n i t y w a n t t h e m t o h e a r. ” BRYAN HORNE, CREATOR AND FOUNDER OF THE DIVE CURACAO NETWORK
Through collaboration, together with our supporters and partners we are a powerful movement determined to create positive change for the ocean. Project AWARE is actively working towards building on our successful collaborations as we build for the future. 2020 provides us with a chance to evaluate how governments are doing in reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out in 2016. These goals are another example of how tackling some of the biggest issues the world faces, climate change, poverty and biodiversity loss can only be realised through a global partnership. While these high-level agreements can often be viewed as aspirational and not something that we can engage in on a day-to-day basis as individuals, this story changes when we work collectively. Project AWARE’s Clean Ocean and Healthy Ocean work streams help connect our supporters, their actions and global conservation goals (www.projectaware.org/unsdgs). To end this roundup as we started, I'll finish with the poet, author and Father of the Japanese short story, Ryūnosuke Satoro, who made the most appropriate observation for marine conservation: “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” instagram.com/projectaware twitter.com/projectaware facebook.com/ProjectAWAREFoundation
T H E T I M E TO P R OT E C T T H E AT L A N T I C S H O RT F I N M A KO P O P U L AT I O N I S N OW ! www.projectaware.org/divers4makos
Project AWARE connects the passion for ocean adventure with the purpose of marine conservation to create lasting change for our ocean planet. WHAT YOUR SUPPORT HELPS ACHI EVE
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ENTANGLED ANIMALS REPORTED
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Oceanographic Issue 08
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Finally. A dull watch from Christopher Ward
The C60 Trident Bronze Pro 600, made from a corrosion-resistant bronze alloy, swiftly develops a protective layer of copper oxide when exposed to the elements. Whether you take it down to 600m, or no further than the office, the oxidization creates a patina which is unique to the wearer’s environment. One thing that won’t take the shine off it, however, is the price. Do your research.
christopherward.co.uk
Treasure beneath the waves Dive the crystal clear, warm waters of Barbados and experience a world of tranquil serenity and stunning underwater beauty. The reefs that fringe the coastline of the Caribbean’s only coral limestone island teem with tropical technicolour sea life, eagle rays and turtles, and divers flock from all over the world to dive the many wrecks and reefs, including the Bajan Queen Wreck just 35ft below the sparkling waters of Carlisle Bay. For the more experienced divers, the wreck Stavronikita is a must-do, 130ft below the waves. Take your underwater camera for
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@visitbarbados
shots of curious, neon-bright fish and seahorses as you discover the secrets of one of the world’s top dive sites. Not only can you enjoy this underwater paradise, you can play a valuable part in preserving its future. Barbados is carefully preserving and protecting these precious reefs through their eco-tourism programme, and offers visitors the unique opportunity to take part in reconstructing bleached coral, preserving this precious and unique habitat.
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CO L L E CT I O N
©Photograph: Laurent Ballesta/Gombessa Project
Fifty Fathoms
RAISE AWARENESS, TRANSMIT OUR PASSION, HELP PROTECT THE OCEAN www.blancpain-ocean-commitment.com
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