News round-up

Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as all over our water planet. To find out the most up-to-date news and views, check out the website or follow us on our various social media @scubadivermag www.scubadivermag.com.au/news

TOURISM OPERATORS KEY TO LARGE-SCALE CORAL RESTORATION

Large areas of damaged coral reefs across the length

of the Great Barrier Reef could soon be restored thanks to a unique partnership between scientists and tourism operators in the Whitsundays.

Coral restoration efforts have so far only been conducted on a small scale, but a new project has expanded the programme to partner with tourism operators to deploy an innovative technique to grow baby corals and settle them onto damaged reefs. The technique, successfully pioneered on the Reef by Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison working with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, is known as Coral IVF. Hundreds of tourism operators and citizen scientists could soon learn how to use it to help restore large areas of damaged coral reefs.

This month, four Whitsunday tourism operators joined researchers on the Reef for the annual coral spawning event, when corals release trillions of eggs and sperm into the water in a mass breeding phenomenon. They learned how to collect the spawn and grow baby corals in special floating nurseries. Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden said operators worked hand in hand with scientists to collect the spawn using specially designed larval pools that are small enough to be controlled by their boats.

“This is a critical next step in reaching kilometre-scale coral restoration by working with the hundreds of tourism operators and citizen scientists who are passionate about helping save our Reef,” Ms Marsden said.

“Right in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsundays is a critical sanctuary for the Reef’s diverse marine life. However, like the rest of the Great Barrier Reef, it’s also an area that needs our help to recover from the effects of climate change such as coral bleaching and increasingly severe cyclones. “Innovations like Coral IVF bring us hope for the future of the Reef, but we were previously only able to do it on a small scale. “Through our Reef Islands Initiative, researchers have been upskilling local tourism operators to ignite a local reef restoration movement that is grounded in science and is scalable.”

Southern Cross University Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison said the coral larval restoration technique known as

© Johnny Gaskell / Reef Catchments

Coral IVF harnesses the immense natural abundance of coral spawn after mass spawning events.

“By collecting small amounts of the spawn slicks from the sea surface we can maximise the rates of cross-fertilization and genetic diversity among the breeding corals, and rear many millions of coral larvae in larval nursery pools directly on the Reef. Once the larvae are ready to settle we than deploy large numbers of larvae onto degraded reef sites, and then monitor their survival and growth until they grow large enough to start breeding” said Prof. Harrison.

Australian Institute of Marine Science Principal Systems Engineer Dr Mark Gibbs said: “we are harnessing the power of the local community, their boats and expertise, to overcome one of the greatest challenges in reef restoration, which is to help reefs at a larger scale.

“The floating nurseries we are moving are large, and carry precious coral cargo, so it’s important we develop a routine approach that is as safe and as effective as possible.”

Whitsunday Reef Islands Initiative Coordinator Johnny Gaskell, of Reef Catchments, said “limited coral recovery at some tourism sites has highlighted the need to pilot new approaches to reef restoration. The key to a sustainable approach is the development of programmes that are driven and led by local tourism, community and Traditional Owner partners.

“To guide site selection, baseline maps that integrated current and historical distribution of reef habitats, their environmental regime and exposure to stress, as well as local coral connectivity patterns were created by University of Queensland as part of the Whitsunday Reef Island Initiative,” Mr Gaskell said.

Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association (WCBIA) Secretary, Adrian Bram said: “Marine Tourism operators in the Whitsundays generally view themselves as guardians of the Reef and for many years have committed time and resources to Reef Preservation.

“Participating in this Reef regeneration programme is something done willingly and with enthusiasm by the participating Operators and their Crews. We applaud and support the contribution of WCBIA Operators - Ocean Rafting, Red Cat Adventures, SV Whitehaven, Southern Cross Sailing, as well as Daydream Island and the scientists leading this important trial,” Mr Bram said.

This trial is part of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Reef Islands Initiative, the largest reef island habitat rehabilitation project of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The Initiative is supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation.

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‘FEVER’ OF RARE DEVIL RAYS FURTHER SHOWCASES SABAH’S BIODIVERSITY

The shortfin devil ray, listed as Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is a rare sight in our world’s oceans, yet divers and scientists have worked together to document groups of the rays at Pulau Si Amil, right off the coast of Sabah.

This occurrence has now been published in the prestigious journal Pacific Conservation Biology, formally recording the presence of the species and highlighting Sabah as an area of interest for shark and ray researchers.

“We are so happy that Sabah has once again been noted for the occurrence of rare marine animals,” said David McCann, lead author of the paper. “It was incredible to witness this first hand, an amazing experience for all of the divers with us. There aren’t many divers in the world who have had this experience.”

As close relatives of manta rays, devil rays are less commonly seen by divers underwater, due to their elusive behaviour and, normally, more pelagic nature. However, they are noted for swimming together in aggregations known as fevers, which can number in the hundreds. The shortfin devil ray (Mobula kuhlii) is one of the smaller species of devil ray, with a wingspan of only 135cm max – shorter than an average door.

At Si Amil, the rays were first seen by recreational divers with Scuba Junkie, the award-winning PADI five-star IDC centre. Encouraged by this, the dive professionals adjusted their approach to diving the site and were rewarded by regular sightings of devil rays, including some amazing and remarkable schooling behaviour – up to 100 rays at a time, as well as the occasional manta ray and even the deep sea marlin! The sightings and numbers seen were collated from the divers’ logbooks and passed on to marine biologists at University Malaysia, Sabah (UMS), along with photos and videos of the rays, to further the scientific understanding of their distribution.

Experts identified the rays as the shortfin devil ray (Mobula kuhlii) from photographs and video stills, with spectacular video footage showing the schools of devil rays from a diver’s viewpoint.

“The presence of devil rays at Si Amil provided a unique opportunity for divers to contribute to citizen science efforts, as well as giving them a most memorable experience,” said Dr Mabel Manjaji Matsumoto, Associate Professor at Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). “The video footage and numbers collected were invaluable for our records, and were used to produce the scientific paper, and set the baseline for further studies in this area.”

“Currently, it is not known why the devil rays school at Si Amil, or for what they use the area. Schooling behaviour is normally associated with safety, reproduction, socialising, cleaning or feeding. It could be a combination of these drivers too. It would be fantastic to carry out research in the area to find out more,” said Dr Gonzalo Araujo from Marine Research and Conservation Foundation. “From a threatened and little-known species perspective, Si Amil is definitely an area of interest.”

The publication states that further research would also enable the development of effective management plans to conserve the species and local population of rays.

RICHARD CULLEN APPOINTED TO RAID BOARD

Dive RAID International has announced that there will be a special focus on their adaptive training programme, as Richard Cullen joins the agency staff.

Cullen, well known to Scuba Diver readers as one of the founders of Deptherapy, has been appointed Director Adaptive Training and joins the agency immediately.

Deptherapy develops and delivers specially designed scuba-diving programmes for seriously injured veterans and serving personnel of the British Armed Forces. The Deptherapy programme has helped men and women deal with post-trauma mental and physical challenges following all manner of injuries suffered while serving in the military.

In his new role as RAID’s Director Adaptive Training, Cullen will take over product-development responsibilities for the RAID Adaptive Diver programme. Working with RAID’s VP Training, PJ Prinsloo, Cullen will be rewriting both student manuals, creating new instructor materials inline with RAID’s instructor playbook format. Cullen will also work on related support materials, and new standards promoting what he called a ‘neglected but highly rewarding aspect’ of diver training. Cullen said: “I am honoured and humbled to become RAID’s Director Adaptive Teaching. I hope to bring to RAID the knowledge and experience we have gained over the years in Deptherapy developing an innovative approach to adaptive teaching. My aim is to make RAID the go-to diver training agency for knowledge and advice regarding adaptive teaching.”

He went on to explain that adaptive teaching in most diver training agency has been stagnant for many years and the changes he plans will benefit the community with the development and innovation a major agency brings to the ‘poolside’. “Our new approach at RAID, will make scuba diving accessible to those within our communities who have mental and physical challenges,” he said.

Steve Lewis, RAID VP Marketing, said: “We are excited about Richard joining our training team because he brings to RAID a wealth of knowledge developing teaching strategies and hands-on experience working with people with all manner of different challenges (both physical and mental). That deep knowledge gained from years with Deptherapy will be invaluable for RAID Dive Centres and instructors who are interested in working with and offering scuba instruction at all levels to divers of all abilities.”

DIVING WORLD MOURNS TECH PIONEER TOM MOUNT

The diving world is mourning the death of Tom Mount, who founded the renowned International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) and is credited as being one of the pioneers of technical diving as we know it today.

Tom did much during his long life – he was a US Navy Diver, a NOAA Aquanaut and saturation diver, was one of the four founding members of the USA’s first cave diver training agency (NACD), and wrote many books that are considered ‘go-to’ diving literature, including the Technical Diver Encyclopedia, Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia and Tek Closed Circuit Rebreather. Many people are referred to as ‘pioneers’, but Tom Mount truly encapsulated the meaning of this word when it came to diving.

He was at the forefront from the early cave and deep air diving days, through the introduction of mixed gas diving to the recreational market, continuing on to formulate many of the original concepts now widely accepted in closed-circuit rebreather diving.

Tom received diving’s most-prestigious award, the NOGI (for sports education), as well as numerous other awards. He was also an accomplished martial artist in multiple disciplines, and was a three-time inductee to the United States Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame. Not to mention a pilot, and a boat captain.

XDEEP ISSUES RECALL ON NX700 REGULATORS

Polish dive equipment manufacturer XDEEP is renowned for its robust, well-made products, and its innovative NX700 regulator caused quite a stir on its launch. While there have been no failures of the reg, XDEEP discovered some unexpected signs of wear during routine checks, and as a precaution, have issued a recall notice:

Safety is most important. Although we haven’t noticed a single failure caused by this, we decided to recall our NX700 regulators and update them to the newest version.

Our NX700 regulators are made for us in Italy, by a renowned manufacturer with many years of experience in this type of product. Before market launch, we have extensively tested them during many months of rigorous tests in extremely demanding conditions. Unfortunately, during routine periodical maintenance servicing of some NX700 1st stages, in singular cases, we have detected some traces above-standard signs of the wear of the membrane.

We have not detected nor received any notifications about any failure or abnormalities caused by this potential wear. Nevertheless, we have decided to update all existing NX700 first stages to the newest available version, where any chances of the mentioned abnormalities have now been completely eliminated. If you are an owner of an NX700 1st stage, please stop using it immediately and contact the dealer where you’ve purchased the regulator, or us directly. Please follow this link to get full information about details of this action. To compensate for the inconvenience caused to our clients, we have also decided that every NX700 set owner will get a free XDEEP Signature Hoodie in the chosen size and available colour. www.xdeep.eu

MIKUMBA LAUNCHES NEW LIVEABOARD

Jelajahi Laut was designed from the keel-up by divers for divers, and the Mikumba team are sure everyone will love her. Her name in English means ‘Explore the Sea’.

She was built in Bulukumba, Bira, in South Sulawesi – this is the land of the Bugis traders, Indonesia’s fearless sailors who have sailed the seas for hundreds of years using only wind for power and the stars for navigation.

Completed in 2021, her deck is made of solid teak wood planks from Kalimantan, with the hull being made of iron wood. She features three front sails, two top and bottom sails from the centre mast, and two sails from the rear mast – making the perfect background for drone shots and Instagram stories. The maximum boat capacity is 14 guests for most trips, and for full boat charters it can take 16 guests. Communal spaces include a large sun deck, home theatre in the living room and an indoor dining room.

There are two sea-view cabins with double beds on the top deck, private balcony, and amazing views, and en-suite bathrooms with hot water and AC; two deluxe cabins with one double bed and one single bed, with en-suite bathrooms with hot water and AC; and two standard cabins with three single beds, and shared bathroom with hot water and AC.

The Jelajahi Lau is the prefect liveaboard to explore some of Indonesia’s best diving and land hotspots. www.mikumbadiving.com

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HEALTH PROTOCOLS FOR INDONESIAN DIVE INDUSTRY

The Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority has created a handbook on cleanliness, health, safety and environmental sustainability guidance for Indonesia’s dive industry for the ‘new normal’ post-COVID-19 scuba-diving practises. Here is a summary of some of the main practices to be implemented to ensure that international standards of cleanliness, health, safety and environmental sustainability are met.

Diving tourism facilities

• Handwashing facilities and hand sanitizers are easily available and accessible. • Infrared thermometers for temperature checks are provided and do not require direct physical contact. • All staff wear PPE including masks, facial covering, and latex gloves. • Frequently touched surfaces are properly disinfected at minimum three times per day. • Cashless payment systems are implemented throughout the resort. • Briefings on COVID-19 risk prevention are given to guests partaking in any diving or recreational activity. • The swimming pool water is routinely disinfected and the pH’s levels are tracked and displayed.

Boat diving and activities

• The boat and dive crew, and guests must wear masks before and after diving. • The boat and dive crew wash their hands with soap or use a hand sanitizer and must wear clean latex or rubber gloves before touching diving equipment or while giving any service to guests. • All diving equipment must be fully assembled before being loaded onto the boat. • All divers must use defogger liquid and are prohibited from using saliva to defog their diving masks. • Divers must maintain physical distancing of at least one-metre while on the surface and adhere to all guidance issued by DAN. • Dive crews and dive guides must adhere to recommended safe diving and safe protocol briefings to reduce virus contamination risks, and must consistently implement these protocols. • All cylinder filling facilities and infrastructure, storage rooms, and the cylinders themselves are routinely and properly cleaned and disinfected before and after using or at least 3 (three) times a day in accordance with recommendations by DAN. Please visit their website for more information: www.rajaampatmarinepark.com