Debbie Wallace
Portfolio
issue n°51
- nov 2020
Travels: Mont Conero
Travels: Blue EmOcean Resort
Review: Sea Save Foundation
Travels: Night Dive in Puolo
Biology: Hammerhead
Review: Sharks Secrets
Dear friends, it is now some time that we’ve raised our attention towards the smartphone cameras as a new underwater photo possibility. As so, this new opportunity is going to be cheap, affordable and available to nearly any human being on the globe. The biggest issues about bringing your smartphones underwater were linked to the fact that only a few would have had a housing, normally iphones and Samsungs and those housings were model specific and their lifespan would have been linked to the smartphone’s one. That’s why back in 2014 we started thinking about a solution to extend housing’s lifespan and offering any smartphone the underwater capability. The housing had to be universal and with an affordable price. It took us nearly 6 years to bring what was just an idea into matter but today we are extremely proud to introduce you our latest product, Nautismart Pro the universal housing for smartphones, fully mechanic for maximum safety and reliability, at a very affordable price and 100% made in Italy. Visit www.nautismart.net for pre orders. Stay tuned for more!
Marino Palla Owner and Founder Scubashooters Network
Cover image by: Debbie Wallace
Contents
Issue
n°51
-
nov
2020
pag. 60
P ortfolio Debbie Wallace Editorial: by Marino Palla
Travels: Night Dive in Puolo by: Marco Gargiulo
pag. 3
Travels: Mont Conero By: Yann Toso
pag. 40
Biology: Hammerhead by: Emilio Mancuso and Massimo Bicciato pag. 90
Review: Sharks Secrets by: Sergio Riccardo e Francesca Reinero pag. 102 Travels: Blue EmOcean Resort
pag. 8 Review: Sparklight Action 7F by: Sparklight
Dan: How I Learned To Be My Doctor By: DAN Europe
pag. 28
Review: Sea Save Foundation
pag. 116 pag. 126
Editor: Fabio Strazzi Assistant Editor: Isabella Maffei
pag. 34
Scubashooters - Via Barucchi 37, 37139 Verona Graphic Design and Supervising: Elisa Furlani Layout: Elisa Furlani Alessandra Suppo Translations: Piera Pirini
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A New Partnership PADI and
We’re excited to be collaborating with
PADI to help share your incredible imagery with more divers across the globe!
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Travels
Mont Conero
A Pearl In The Adriatic
Words and pictures: Yann Toso
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hen you think about the beauties of the Italian North Adriatic coast, you’ll probably focus on long sandy beaches, terrestrial and incredible avifaunal biodiversity in estuarine and brackish environments of Po river delta and Comacchio Valli, the channels of Venice and so on.
do-Pacific macro hotspots in terms of critters and biodiversity.
You will easily notice that scuba diving is not even mentioned.
This allows near coast scuba diving between 6 and 15m depth with a definitely high probability to get into something rare.
By the way, somewhere into this long shoreline characterized by sandy and muddy bottoms that only allow scuba diving far from the coast, there is a hidden paradise where divers come from all over the world. A paradise that nothing has to envy to In-
Monte Conero is situated in the immediate South of the city of Ancona and it’s the only rocky coast in the Italian High Adriatic until Trieste (another incredible biodiversity hotspot).
Shallow water, bottom granulometry and high tax of nutrients make visibility a little bit poorer than tropical paradises and rarely allow wide angle photography, but these factors are the ones that permit the presence of such a high quantity of critters.
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Dive sites and Critters Macro photographers love this place because every dive site is peculiar for some species. Several species of astonishing nudibranchs
can be found everywhere, with a biodiversity and population high during Spring and early Summer.
sandy bottom. Years ago here was successfully transplanted a Leptogorgia fan coral that today is very healthy and hosts some incredible creatures such as Balssia gasti, a beautiful and very rare gorgonian shrimp, and Simnia spelta, the gorgonian cowrie. In the same divesite, on the beautiful anemones little walls forming a little canyon under the two rocks, it’s also easy to find heart and arrow ghost shrimps Periclimenes spp. Numana here is considered the muck dive capital and it’s the only remarkable site easily reachable with a beach dive. You can dive here whenever you want during Winter but only at night on Summer, due to the bathing season.
‘Sassi Neri’ dive site is always full of crustaceans like crabs and hermit crabs of various colours and species. Just below the ‘Two Sisters’ rocks (Le Due Sorelle, called because seen by far from the sea they look like two praying nuns) there is a wreck called Potho. Now this wreck is completely destroyed by Winter sea storms and you can only see rests and pieces around the
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M/N Nicole is a 119m long wreck sunk in 2003 and it’s situated in a perfect navigation trim at 10m depth 2 miles away from Numana harbour. Its being the only hard substrate in the middle of soft bottoms makes it a very peculiar divesite, full of life and completely covered by benthic organisms like sponges and bivalves. Huge numbers of nudibranchs live here, expecially the ones of genuses Flabellina and Paraflabellina, but you can easily spot many other species from the more common Felimida luteorosea, Felimare villafranca and Cratena peregrina, to some more rare ones. A particular fact of this dive site is that there is a large quantity of fishes swimming around the wreck and many of them are parasite by sea fleas, opening a lot of possibilities in fish photography.
Anyway this spot shows incredible organisms expecially during night dives: on Summer nights lots of Sepiola spp. and other cephalopod mollusks swim very close to the beach, and beautiful jellyfishes like Rhizostoma pulmo, Carybdea marsupialis and Coylorhiza tuberculata do the same.
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There are also different other very good dive sites all along the ‘Conero Rivera’, where you can actually see all the more classic inhabitants of the Adriatic Sea: from beautiful coloured blennies and gobies to other fishes like breams, boops, congers,
mullets, to octopuses and lobsters. How to reach Thanks to its central position in the Italian peninsula, Monte Conero is very easy to reach with only few hours of car/train/bus from the main airports (Bologna, Rome, etc.). Diving centers are located in Numana and Porto Recanati and they provide very good guides and courses of different didactics. Their diving season usually starts in April and ends in October.
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GAMMA
WATERPROOOF Flashlight
The essence of form + function now 60% brighter thanks to the latest LEDs and special light concentrating optics. Each Gamma starts with aircraft grade aluminum, precision-machined into a supremely ergonomic, no-slip contour grip. Military-grade anodizing and a double o-ring seal provide corrosion-proof and waterproof operation up to 400ft (120m).
SPECIFICATIONS • • • • • • •
400 ft (120m) depth rating 350 lumen concentrated 10° beam Color temperature 6500K Over 10 hours run time Accepts 2 CR123 batteries Dimensions 5.6 x 1.4 in (142 x 36 mm) Weighs only 4 oz (113 g)
Review
Review
Sparklight Action 7F Mukltifunction Diving Light
Website: www.sparklight.eu
Multifunction Diving light • 6 functions + SOS flash,4 levels of lights • High brightness LEDS • Small size • SECURE battery with UN 38.3 test report (24 Wh) • Rechargeable through external interface, with (1A) USB charger • Rechargeable, every smartphone or tablet charger • Can function without water, and below freezing point • Battery status indication • Practical accessories • Premium, unbreakable packaging • Durable aircraft-grade aluminum, surface is premium type anodizing , strong and flexible plastic • Waterproof: 100M • 115mm (length) *54mm (dia. of lamp head), weight: 285 gr, weight in water: 102 gr
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• European product • Combined White lights (max. 2500 lumen, 90°+10°, 4 x CREE 10W XM-L2 white LED’s) • Video-Photo light (max. 1900 lumen, 90°, 3 x CREE 10W XM-L2 white LED’s, Color t: 5500 K) • White Spot light (max. 600 lumen, 10°, 1 x 10W CREE XM-L2 white LED) • Red light (90°, 2 x 3 W CREE LED’s) • UV light ,biofluorescent (365 nm, 90°, 2x3 W LED’s) • Blue light ,biofluorescent (455 nm, 90°, 2x3 W LED’s) • Runtime hour(High/Low level): Video-Photo light-1/16 h; SOS-5h; Spot-3/48h; Red,UV,Blue-4/55.
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Review
Package contents: • 1 Sparklights Action 7F light • 1 Premium Storage Box • 1 pistol grip • 1 USB charging cable • 1 Hand strap • 1 Photo Mount • 1 pc USB wall adapter (EU) • 1 pcs Yellow mask filter with maskstrap
• With this product, you only have to take one lamp with you, but because of its functions it can replace many others. • It can be used as a light source for action cameras. • This lamp is waterproof, it does not have to be disassembled for charging. The Action Light 7F can be charged with any USB power supply (phone charger, cigarette lighter chargers with USB input, etc.) that is capable of min. 1A amperage, so there is no need to use any special kind of charger. Our product contains a battery that has the capacity of 5200 mAh, in order to be reliable, to have a longer run- and lifetime. It has excellent quality, and is also suitable for the prescriptions of the EU. • Our lamp has an indicator light that indicates the current status of the battery, while it
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is being used, or charged. • The Action Light products are made of strong and flexible plastic components, and metal components that are used in the aircraft industry. The products have been tested for dropping from 1 meter high to concrete, at least 100 times and they passed these tests. • High capacity: its capacity is equal to a lamp, which has the output of 200W. • 6 functions +SOS flash • Its Spotlight (that covers 10°) can be used as a searchlight. • White Video-Photo light (that covers 90°) helps taking proper pictures and recording videos under the water, as it is able to fully cover what the human eye sees. • Combined lights (10°+90°) there is no need to switch between the functions, either. • As most of the sea animals are unable to see the red light, it does not bother them. • With the Blue and UV lights you can see the biofluorescence. • It operates in 7 different functions in order to fulfill every demand. • Full function: (SPOT, SPOT +VIDEO-PHOTO, VIDEO-PHOTO, RED, BLUE, UV, SOS flash) • Basic functions: (SPOT, SPOT + VIDEO-PHOTO, VIDEO-PHOTO, SOS flash) • Combinations of the functions: (one optional function + SOS flash)
匀䤀吀䤀伀 䈀䄀䰀䄀䜀䈀䄀䜀 䈀䄀刀䄀一䜀䜀䄀夀 䈀䄀䜀䄀䰀䄀一䜀䤀吀 䴀䄀䈀䤀一䤀ⴀ倀䠀䤀䰀䤀倀倀䤀一䔀匀
• This diving lamp can be used at dry conditions, as well. On max. 25°C, it operates with 70% capacity. It can also be used, below freezing point, because of the formation of its switches, as they will not freeze in fresh water. • It is extra small, it even fits in the palm of a ten-year-old child, thus it is comfortable to use
⬀㘀㌀ 㘀㌀ 㠀 㐀 䀀䌀䄀匀䄀䈀䄀䠀䤀䄀
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Review
Sea Save Foundation
Helping Our Buddies
Website: www.seasave.org
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Review
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ea Save Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 non- We seek solutions, advance public policy, and profit ocean conservation organization. drive advocacy. We believe that because oceans do not recognize political borders, we must work at the global level if we are going to bring about real change. To that end, we have been official participants at the Conference of International Traded of Endangered Species (CITES) for more than
a decade and are also official participants in the United Nations: Ocean Conference. The majority of our workforce comes from volunteers who leverage their professional skills to help promote our efforts. The Sea Save Foundation Impact Statement: Sea Save Foundation strives to protect oceans by raising awareness about the beauty of marine ecosystems and their fundamental importance to human survival.
We are currently working to help SCUBA crews around the world through the COVID crisis. Jacques Cousteau once accurately surmised: People love what they know and protect what they love. Donate https://seasave.org/scubaambassadors/
We believe this is true, and as such, many of the primary ambassadors who show people the beauty of ocean ecosystems are SCUBA resort and liveaboard crews. To this end, Sea Save Foundation set up a series of fundraisers for these crew members. These diligent workers, often support extended families and rely heavily upon tips for their revenue stream.
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Sea Save Foundation has created these fundraisers as a service and are taking zero percent of any funds raised.
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Please consider helping your favorite crew:Â Â https://seasave.org/scubaambassadors/
Travels
Night dive
in
Cala di Puolo
Words and pictures: Marco Gargiulo 40
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iving at night is in itself a very different situation compared to daytime diving. Even in the same dive site there can be sensational changes between day and night. In the Mediterranean Sea, in particular, a sandy-muddy substrate can transform during the hours of darkness from a desert expanse to a crowded apartment building. This is the case, for example, of one of the diving spots I mostly frequent, both during the summer and winter, the Cala di Puolo in Massa Lubrense. We are, in fact, in Italy, more specifically in Campania, in the province of Naples, in the Sorrentine Peninsula.
In this bay, both in summer and in winter, it is possible to make beautiful night dives, thanks to the great wealth of species present in this site of the Gulf of Naples. By virtue of this faunal richness, it is no coincidence that in Naples there is the seat of the historic Anthon Dohrn Zoological Station. The dive site is located inside the Marine Protected Area of Punta Campanella and is available for divers under accompaniment from authorized diving centers, while local divers, gathered in small groups, have the opportunity to dive independently in B and C zones of the marine park, on payment of an annual fee. Usually I dive in Puolo making use of the collaboration with my reference diving center,
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the Punta Campanella Diving Center, located in Marina della Lobra in Massa Lubrense. The diving center is very popular within underwater photographers and is therefore UW Photographers Friendly - that is open to satisfy the thousands of needs of its underwater photographers guests, who are not always welcome due to the different needs compared to divers without a camera. In fact, where possible, the choice of dive sites is shared, but a longer and calm time for the shot is also supported. There is also the possibility of rinsing the camera separately from other equipment, to avoid any damage to them. When the weather is favorable, we usually wait for darkness to fall before leaving the embarkation dock. Our experience confirms that it is always better to wait for the evening to “mature� to allow the creatures of the night to populate the sandy desert which is not very frequented during the day.
The dive begins in the center of the bay, in the shape of a mirrored J. On the sides there are rocky walls while in the center of the bay, starting from the beach, we first find large pebbles and boulders at about 8 meters deep, which around 15 meters deep turn into gravel, where a Posidonia oceanica meadows has settled up. Going deeper, along the slope that leads to over 50 meters, the gravel turns into sand with some more muddy areas. This is precisely the most interesting area, where we immediately go in search of subjects. During the night, in fact, all the inhabitants hidden under the sand come out of the substrate, but at the same time they come out in search of food, both prey and nocturnal predators. Thus it is possible to meet dozens of very interesting subjects who make diving in this site something almost always worth to remember. On the sand, in fact, we immediately find some small eel fish, Ariosoma balearicum, the
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be careful not to lift up the inevitable dust that the photographer raises when approaching.
lizard fish with sharp jaws, ready to catch some fish while they are buried in the sediment. Common is also the encounter with the mullets Mullus surmuletus and Mullus barbatus, in addition to the two-banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris, the picarels Spicara maena and Spicara smaris, but also with the red porgy Pagrus pagrus and the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus. After having moved away from the rocky dens found along the walls of Cala di Puolo, it is also possible to meet some moray eels Muraena helena and conger Conger conger, caught hunting on the bottom. On the rocks rising from the bottom, you can meet one of the most beautiful anthozoans of all, the Alicia mirabilis, a nocturnal anemone that shows all its beauty as soon as it is illuminated by the lamps. After a few moments, in fact, the animal retracts its beautiful and long tentacles that uses as a net to capture its prey, and begins to retract them by twisting them, creating beautiful transparent coils. In order to avoid this and be able to photograph without disturbing it, it is necessary to turn on the red focus light and
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It is fairly common to meet some cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, the tiny Sepiola rondeleti, some common octopus Octopus vulgaris, but also some less frequent species such as the Octopus macropus and the rare sand octopus Octopus dephilipii. In truth, those who are the most sought-after subjects are others ... in particular, on the sandy expanse below 40 meters of depth, it is common to meet above all one of the most beautiful fish by far, my favorite subject, the John Dory a.k.a. Zeus faber. Its shapes are unmistakable and its charm remains unchanged despite I met and photographed it hundreds of times in over 45 years of diving. Usually it can be seen from afar, asleep near the bottom, then under our powerful lamps it starts to set in motion and usually begins its descent towards greater depths. Knowing its habits, however, we know well that it is necessary to circumvent and approach it from below to bring it to moving towards the surface. Normally, it starts swimming in the water column and you can photograph it for a long time if not annoyed. Yet, it will always turn its tail towards the camera lens. With experience, one learns to anticipate its movements to being able to intercept it when it changes direction, with its angular face facing the camera. However, it often happens that the fish is faster than the photographer,
who’s left to watch as it swims away to over 50 meters deep. Another very interesting and quite frequent subject is the Trigloporus lastoviza, or streaked gurnard. Usually, it is surprised motionless on the bottom, but as soon as the underwater photographer approaches it begins to move showing the brightly colored ventral part of the pectoral fins, which it uses as wings to take flight. It is common to hear the grunt it produces when it is frightened, while it quickly moves away from the diver. More rare is the encounter with the Torpedo ocellata and the Raja sp., while it is possible to see different species of sole, but also crustaceans such as the striped shrimp Penaeus kerathurus, large mollusks such as the sidegill (turtle) slug Pleurobranchus testudinarius and the umbrella slug Humbraculum mediterraneum. Our stay at these bathymetric is always limited, so we usually go up the sandy slope, approaching the vertical rocky wall of Punta Lauro, the long side of the J, the promontory that juts out into the sea, where the sand turns back into crushed stones and pebbles.
Here it begins a different habitat, always very interesting, gradually more rocky, where we begin to see many sponges and sessile annelids, but above all, in each ravine, the shrimps Stenopus spinosus and Lysmata seticaudata, some
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Gnatophyllum elegans, some crustaceans such as lobsters Palinurus elephas, the sponge crab Dromia personata, the Galathea strigosa, the hermit crabs Dardanus arrossor, but also painted combers, groupers, croakers, blennies, gobies, scorpion fish and sea breams of all species.
to make very interesting encounters on the rocky walls.
In the small cavities that open along the wall, it is possible to meet some Cymatium like Cymatium (Monoplex) parthenopeum - the giant triton - and the cowrie Luria lurida.
Instead, the encounter with the endemic species Aplysia punctata has now become much rarer.
There are some large specimens of bearded fireworm Hermodice carunculata and an “alien” but now settled population of spotted sea hares Aplysia dactylomela.
Next to the beach, among the large pebbles where the big-scale sand smelt Atherina boyeri and the goldlines Sarpa salpa rest in the water column, it is possible to surprise some large mullet Mugil cephalus but also some sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. It is time to go back up, but during surface navigation to returning to the boat, if you are lucky, you can end the dive by photographing some Loligo vulgaris squid, momentarily attracted by the powerful lamps.
On the wall there are some tufts of Posidonia, among whose leaves it is common to meet the pipefish Signathus acus and some seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus, but also, to the expert eye, it is possible to see very small shells, the Smaragdia viridis, from the bright green color and other small gastropods. In between the rocks there are many sleeping fish, like the wrasses Symphodus tinca and Symphodus rostratus, parrotfish Sparisoma cretense, but it is also possible to see very small transparent shrimps Pereclimenes sp. among the branches of the sea fans or, amid the arms of the Antedon mediterranea sea lilies, the camouflage Hyppolite prideauxiana. Our dive is coming to an end, but even in the last few meters of water it is possible
Despite dozens of dives, I always come back to this site with pleasure, because every dive is accompanied by strong emotions. Obviously there are also normal evenings, or disappointing evenings, but mostly a lot of “super” evenings in which I realize most of the images I use in photographic competitions.
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Puerto Galera - Oriental Mindoro - Philippines
Share your passion for diving wishlist exploring the magical underwater world of Puerto Galera. This fabulous destination offers the perfect mix of diving and culture, hiding surprises for even the most expert of divers in its unique biodiversity and colourful marine creatures. An ideal destination for macro photographers.
www.fishermenscove.com
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+63 917 533 2985
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info@fishermenscove.com
Debbie Wallace
Portfolio
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first started diving in March 1980 and really didn’t like it very much initially on my checkout dives in a Wisconsin quarry during a snowstorm.
Everything that could have gone wrong did so on that frigid weekend. But I had a scuba instructor who persistently kept after me to continue diving, and I’m so very grateful that he did.
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Over the decades I’ve done just about every type of diving including wreck, ice, night, drift, cave and cavern, search and recovery, shark, blackwater, etc. The only type of diving I haven’t done is technical….yet. I’ve traveled the world diving and never seem to tire of it. In 2012, I went on a scuba trip to Bonaire where I met a guy who introduced me to the world of underwater photography, and I was HOOKED!! I knew absolutely nothing about photography let alone underwater photography, so I had a huge learning curve in deciphering f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO, bokeh, depth of field, macro, wide angle, etc. However, our world underwater was so teeming with life and beauty that I was determined to learn how to digitally capture its essence. I do macro and blackwater photography, but it’s wide angle and SHARKS that excite me the most. I love being in close proximity to a large apex predator, having them look me in the eye – I believe they are as curious about us as we are of them! It’s truly an adrenaline rush seeing a beautiful hammerhead or tiger cruise right up to you to check you out. I hope you enjoy the beauty I’ve tried to capture beneath the sea in my images. Best fishes!! Debbie www.debbiewallacephotography.com
Crystal Blue Resort~Anilao
Dedicated to Underwater Photographers Worldwide • • • • • • • •
Nitrox 32 Chef Prepared Meals On-Sight Photo Pro Camera Room Workshops Highly Skilled Spotters 4:1 boat loads Rental Gear
Contact Mike@DiveCBR.com saltwaterphoto@live.com
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DEEP
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Explore Cape Town’s top dive sites
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Kelp Forests
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+27 (0)83 268 1851
Biology
Hammerhead:
Blue Elegance
Words and pictures: Emilio Mancuso and Massimo Bicciato
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B
IOLOGY
Sphyrnidae is the family to which they belong, represented by ten species only and
very peripheral eyes and nostrils, from which derives the common name of “Hammerhead”.
distributed almost in all the warm and temperate seas of the world.
DEPTH
They tend to be coastal organisms, distributed along the continental shelves and, unlike many other sharks, they swim in even very numerous aggregations during the day, to be more dispersed overnight.
As mentioned above, they are organisms that are not observed in the open sea, but remaining near the continental shelves they manage to have a remarkable vertical distribution that depends on their “biological moment”, on the average temperature of the stretch of coast etc...
Almost useless to say, they are recognizable by the very sideways expanded head, with
Probably the most famous among the Ham
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merhead Sharks is Sphyrna lewini (Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, less nobly known as crutch fish), which has an average vertical distribution that goes from the surface to 270 meters deep, and it seem to having been filmed, certainly not by scuba divers, at 500 meters of depth. CURIOSITY It is precisely the most striking feature that is probably the most curious. A lot has been written about why such a head has evolved, and perhaps it is the mix of all the “discovered” reasons that gives us the sense of this unusual shape: the flap shape would appear to be a hydrodynamic support that helps the animal’s trim.
The peripheral nostrils, aided by the classic sinuous movement of the shark, encounter a greater portion of water and therefore they “sniff” better. Let us also remember that the famous seventh sense of sharks, in other words the possibility of sensing electromagnetic fields, is placed on the rostrum: such an expanded rostrum will allow hammerhead sharks to be very “electro receptive”. Small but fascinating curiosity: the only species of hammerhead shark not belonging to the genus Sphyrna is the winghead shark (Eusphyrna blochii), which lives only in the Indo-Pacific to the north Australian coasts. I invite all science fiction fans to “recognize” it in at least a couple of movies.
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APPROACH AND OBSERVATION Despite their size, some include hammerhead sharks on the list, on which there would be so much to discuss, of potentially dangerous sharks. However, most divers know that approaching these organisms is never a simple matter. Shy by nature, they will counteract to an incoming too noisy and intrusive with a very correct reaction of defense: they will disappear leaving the impolite diver alone, to observing the blue
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and his dive computer only. A more discreet presence with a slow approaching almost to the limit of immobility, never frontal and noiseless, could instead make us “run the risk� of an encounter with a rare emotional power: being in the blue with these fascinating and elegant creatures swimming around us, which is something that many people dream of and that, fortunately, someone will never forget.
Books
Shark Secrets
The Realization Of A Dream by: Francesca Romana Reinero and Sergio Riccardo
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harks Secrets is the realization of a dream: since I was a child I wanted to write a book that spoke about sharks and I remember that, leafing through the pages of books by great scholars, my desire to bring my knowledge and my experiences back to paper got stronger and stronger. My name is Francesca Romana Reinero, I am 30 years old, I am a scientist of the sea and, in February 2020, I obtained my first PhD in Italy on a shark species present in our seas. It was 2018 and two years had passed since the release of the first book “Ocean Life, a journey beneath the sea” that, through the extraordinary images by the photographer Sergio Riccardo and the scientific texts by the undersigned, described a 360 ° tour of the underwater world, from the polar seas to temperate and tropical. Despite the great success of this book, I decided to be daring and go further. In February 2018, I called Sergio proposing to create a second book, but which this time spoke about sharks only. I was ready to take a step perhaps longer than my leg, but I immediately had Sergio’s approval: he would have supported, with his photographs, my scientific texts. We promptly got to work, creating an important team: the AreaBlu publishing house would remain the same as Ocean Life, as well as the graphic designer Antonio Bergamino.
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This time, however, my texts deserved to be accompanied by color plates and drawings by the illustrator Carlo Castellani that, in addition to photographs, would enhance the scientific and popular content of our new book: Sharks Secrets. The choice of the title took us a lot of time, but we both knew that this volume would tell the secrets not only of sharks in general, but above all of the most well-known species, highlighting their little-known peculiarities and the most recent discoveries. Thus began the drafting of Sharks Secrets: 248 color pages that contained the essence of ten long years of scientific studies on sharks and forty years of underwater photographic journeys around the world to immortalize them. The book, which is the result of our passions, accurately describes the biological and physiological aspects of sharks, focusing on the anatomy, morphology and the biology and physiology of internal organs, apparatus, systems and structures, both external and internal, which make up this amazing fish. Beyond the purely scientific part, Sharks Secrets also emphasizes the evolution of sharks, starting right from their origins up to the Megalodon and modern sharks, but the most important message that the book wants to convey is conservation and protection of these animals. Sharks are apex predators of the marine food chain and play a fundamental role in the maintenance and structuring of marine ecosystems but, despite their evolutionary and ecological success, many species are threatened with extinction due to increasingly invasive anthropogenic activities. Their decrease, or worse, their extinction, would cause huge trophic cascades in marine ecosystems with rather pronounced ecological consequences. Sharks have very slow growth rates,
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low reproductive capacity and late development of sexual maturity that make them even more vulnerable to overfishing, marine pollution and habitat destruction. Even today, the concept of man-eater and its obsessive and persistent search for human flesh is a myth and a belief that cannot leave human minds, especially after the release, in 1975, of the movie “Jaws� by Steven Spielberg. It should be noted that every year, on average, about 8-10 people lose their lives due to shark attacks, 45 due to the explosion of a toaster, 450 because they fall out of bed and 24,000 because they are struck by lightning. At the same time, on average, 70-90 million sharks are killed by humans every year. These are statistics that cannot be ignored and that must make us reflect on who the real monster is. The blame for this massacre is mainly linked to the illegal practice of shark finning (cutting shark fins) in place in Asian countries, where the fins are used to produce sharkfin soup. However, commercial fishing also has its responsibilities, since often different parts of the shark are used as a source of food, as fertilizer, weapons, and tools, in cosmetics and to produce medicines. We must not forget the bycatch, or the accidental capture by fishermen that caused the killing of one third of the sharks caught worldwide; anti-shark nets, to limit attacks off the areas fre
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quented by swimmers, and sport fishing, where the only purpose of catching these fish is the sale of jaws and teeth as trophies. In both types of fishing, recreational and commercial, the problem lies in the capture of small specimens that have not yet had the opportunity to reach sexual maturity, precluding the sharks from the possibility of reproducing and perpetuating the species. Last but not least, habitat and climate changes, as well as pollution, can have short or longterm effects, which must not go unnoticed. This is the purpose of Sharks Secrets: to engage the reader in a world that is still little known but excessively exploited, perhaps out of fear or perhaps out of ignorance‌ Enjoy your reading!
Order the book at: www.francescareinero.it
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We are located exactly 74 km far from Trieste, near the small town of Kantrida, which is about 5 to 6 km before downtown Rijeka. Our Diving Centre is right under the swimming pools area, directly in front of the open beach. On one side, we are overlooked by Mount Major (Ucka) and on the other, we face the beautiful islands of Krk and Cherso: in brief, we are right inside the Kvarnaro Gulf. Our flagship is wreck diving by boat: three wrecks situated at different depths, each one no farther than maximum 20 minutes boat ride. And there’s more! Our shore dives directly from our Center’s beach offer an easy and colorful training ground for any kind of diving courses. Finally yet importantly, our diamond tip dedicated to macro photography lovers: a wide variety of critters to increase the pleasure of diving.
From our beach, with our boat... ...come with us and enjoy your dive!
www.diving-marcopolo.com
唀渀搀攀爀眀愀琀攀爀 攀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀
挀⼀漀 匀琀愀戀椀氀椀洀攀渀琀漀 戀愀氀渀攀愀爀攀 ᰠ匀琀攀氀氀愀 䴀愀爀椀渀愀 渀⸀㜀ᴠ 一甀洀愀渀愀Ⰰ 䤀琀愀氀礀 吀攀氀⸀ ㌀㤀 ㌀㌀㔀 㘀㘀㈀㔀㌀㌀㤀 䔀洀愀椀氀⸀ 椀渀昀漀䀀挀攀渀琀爀漀猀甀戀洀漀渀琀攀挀漀渀攀爀漀⸀挀漀洀 眀眀眀⸀挀攀渀琀爀漀猀甀戀洀漀渀琀攀挀漀渀攀爀漀⸀挀漀洀
Travels
Blue emOcean Resort Moyo Island
info@bluemoceanresort.com
Travels
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lue emOcean Resort is set on a 1 hectare beachfront land on Moyo Island, Indonesia. It is surrounded by a dense jungle and faces out onto the Flores Sea.
Rooms also come with plenty of power sockets to charge comfortably any appliance. The Blue emOcean’ s restaurant is located a few meters from the beach and offers the best sunset view of the island.
The resort boasts the only swimming pool of the island, a private jetty and a private beach.
Indonesian and international food and some Italian specialties are available along with beer, wines and a selection of spirits.
Every room at Blue emOcean features a 2 meters long desk, giving a large space for photographers to work on laptops and set up cameras, housings, lights and flashes.
Our Dive Center is located inside the property and offers scuba diving trips, snorkeling
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trips and scuba diving courses for beginners up to the Instructor level.
store dive equipment as well as for equipment maintenance.
Our resident Course Director and Instructor Trainer has been training instructors in multiple countries since many years.
Moyo island is a Marine Protected area since 1990 and it is home to reef sharks, healthy soft and hard corals, seahorses, moray eels, rays, frog fish, octopus and even whale sharks and manta rays occasionally visit the island Aside of diving and snorkeling, Moyo offers plenty of activities.
The dive team speaks English, Italian, French and Indonesian. The dive center offers facilities to wash and
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The island is covered for its 95% by a dense jungle that hosts monkeys, deers, wild buffalos, parrots and other birds, various species of butterflies, flying foxes, wild pigs and many more species. The jungle of Moyo island has been declared National Park in 1980, to protect its flora and fauna as well as its world class waterfall.world.
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Via Milano 177/B 37014 Castelnuovo d/G Verona - ITALY 0039 45 6450480 info@isotecnic.it
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DAN Europe
How I Learned To Be My Own Doctor
Website: www.daneurope.org
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In situations like these, you have to react straightaway. Although John, my buddy, was older and more experienced, I felt responsible for him. I was lucky I had remained calm and decided to take the lead.
ETTING LOST AT SEA: NIGHT DIVE IN THE GALAPAGOS So we surfaced. And it was pitch black. My buddy and I were 3 miles out at sea, at night, in the Galapagos - an unfamiliar territory to us, subject to rough currents, sharks...
I immediately asked him to switch off his torch to conserve our lights and to be prepared to ditch all his equipment so we could swim as fast as we could. But even that was a no-no if you have a 5 knot current taking you out.
What happened was, I relied too much on our boat diver even though my instincts told me otherwise. We went out to dive in this reef without a dive buoy and before jumping into the sea, I asked: “How is the boat going to follow us?”
“I think the choices you make before a dive are fundamental to the consequences that might arise.”
The Ecuadorian boat driver reassured me he’ll see our lights underwater and I trusted him. Even though I knew this was a crazy idea, I didn’t question. “Over the years you sort of learn to never take anything for granted.”
Eventually I got my photography strobe light and lifting it over my head, I drew a circle — hoping it would grab someone’s attention and the guys on the boat would see us. Luckily, they picked it up.
So we went for the dive. We did about 35 minutes underwater, which is quite a decent period. And during that entire time, the boat had lost us straight away.
We had been lost in the water for 15 minutes, but it felt as if it were forever. In the end it was a happy ending, but living it was scary. Over the years you sort of learn to never take anything for granted. I think the choices you make before a dive are fundamental to the consequences that might arise.
You know, the boat was driving around in circles, speeding, seeing a light here, there... So surely enough, by the time we surfaced, we didn’t see anything except darkness.
Ultimately, we weren’t designed to live underwater — so we need to make sure we have all the right equipment, done all the checks, respect the elements, know what our abilities are and when
We were lost. In the distance we could make out the lights of the Galapagos but next stop would have been Antarctica with all the currents pushing and pulling beneath us.
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to say “no, this is too much for me” and also ask the right questions.
Different people do things differently, so being your own doctor is crucial to understanding how your body will react in different situations. Personally, I’m very active — I do a lot of sports, including open-water swimming, so I am very comfortable being in water and I’m in tune with my body. However, I still do a full medical check-up once a year.
DON’T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED Basically, the more you know before your dive, the easier it is to factor in the possibility of what could go wrong. I always do the standard checklist as part of my preparation. I start by making sure I have the basic things: my own mask, regulator, fins and that all my dive gear is in order. Using equipment you’re already comfortable with makes your underwater experience and safety so much easier!
Being your own doctor means understanding your physical ability and knowing your physical restrictions. It is crucial to be in tune with your body. This makes it easier for you to react if something doesn’t feel right underwater.
As a precaution, I always like to make sure I’m using equipment I’m comfortable with. If you’re going on a dive and trying something new, there will always be that element of surprise. So it is crucial to be wearing something you have been trying on and practicing with. Knowing what works for you also comes with experience.
That way, you can be conscious of your limits. For instance, if you’re out diving, taking pictures, and you’re carrying lots of equipment you need to be sure you can react quickly in case something goes wrong. Ultimately, it’s important to feel comfortable underwater, to be aware of your limits and to dive in territory you know and are familiar with.
Physically, it’s also important to be selfaware and acknowledge when something doesn’t feel right. It pays to listen to your body. Whether it’s an earache, sinuses or bad stomach you need to gauge to what extent this would impact your dive and ultimately your health.
Avoid getting lost and increase your chances of getting found. As part of its mission to promote diving safety, DAN Europe is currently running an awareness campaign to help divers reduce the risk of getting lost at sea.
It’s one thing having an injured finger, but a bad leg means you probably won’t be able to fin properly.
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匀 吀䄀夀 䤀 一 倀䄀 刀 䄀 䐀 䤀 匀 䔀
䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀䄀 䤀 匀 䰀 䄀 一 䐀 Ⰰ 刀 䄀 䨀 䄀 䄀 䴀 倀䄀吀Ⰰ 䤀 一 䐀 伀 一 䔀 匀 䤀 䄀 䤀 一 䘀 伀 䀀 䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀 䄀 刀 䔀 匀 伀 刀 吀⸀ 䌀 伀 䴀 䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀 䄀 刀 䔀 匀 伀 刀 吀⸀ 䌀 伀 䴀
Review
Hollis
200lx dcx Regulator
Website: www.hollis.uk
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he 200LX + DCX Regulator is our flagship regulator; designed for extreme environments. Every feature and detail of this new product provides you with the confidence of 40 years of manufacturing life support systems. The 200LX can be converted from a right-handed to left-handed hose configuration, in a manner of minutes without the use of specialty tools or calibration. The valve and every other metal component of the 200LX is “PVD” Industrial Plated, added to outperform and outlast any other regulator finish.
Pneumatically balanced PVD plated brass valve results in smooth, easy breathing Reversible demand valve, can be converted from right-handed hose configuration to left-handed hose configuration Diver adjustable inhalation knob, allows diver to customize inhalation effort Adjustable Dive/Pre-Dive switch: Large Venturi lever has a soft rubber grip, which makes it easy to locate and use Ergonomic exhaust channels bubbles away from field of view and reduces exhaust effort Improved orthodontic mouthpiece with dual color tabs PVD plated stainless steel metal ring, adjustable knob and Dive/Pre-Dive end cap MiFlex® braided hose Din or Yoke options available Paired with the new DCX 1st stage Lifetime Warranty Free Parts for Life 2-Year Service Interval with Inspection
All LX regulators come standard with Lifetime Warranty, 2 Year Service Interval and Free Parts for Life
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Indonesia MOYO ISLAND
See it, Dive it, Love it A top natural wonderland A place where the beauty of nature exceeds expectation. An exotic and luxuriant island paradise. An extremely peaceful place where you can relax in tranquility. A world-class diving destination.
info@bluemoceanresort.com www.bluemoceanresort.com +62 813.3794.6294