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Splash Dive Center Shares Expert Methods for Finding Whale Sharks bait fish. Whale sharks also feed on bait fish and they do that on surface. When we see the birds, we head for the spot. Usually in this situation, the divers tend to Splash Dive Center uses stay at snorkel depths. Most two methods to find whale April 2018 sightings were shark: 1. Looking for the reported when we used this snapper and 2. Looking for method. the birds. Whale shark diving is blue Looking for the Snapper: water diving with no visuWe use fish finders to loal reference – that means, cate the snapper as the you cannot see the reef or whale sharks come to feed the bottom. For that reaon the spawning aggregason, with diver and guest tion and position the divsafety paramount, Splash ers in the water above the only takes advanced or exsnapper. The divers make perienced divers who have an effort to stay with, but logged 30 or more dives, well above the snapper, and to lead whale shark tours. try to stay in a tight group Splash also requires all parso that the bubbles remain ticipating divers to have concentrated. The idea is done at least one dive tour that the whale shark will with us before we take them see the bubbles, think that to dive into the whale shark they are the spawn and will zone or to the famous Blue make their way directly to Hole wonder up north. the divers. As the bubbles rise to the surface, often the The dates for the next two whale sharks do too, which whale shark moon seasons allows the snorkelers to get are May 29 to June 10 and a close encounter. We have June 28 to July 12. ▪ had some situations where the whale sharks come from the side rather than from the Ralph Capeling of Splash deep, giving the snorkelers a Dive Center reports on show, but the divers who are whale shark sightings on looking downwards, none. ScubaBoard each year. His At other times, the whale posts for 2018 to date can sharks have come close to be seen on Scubaboard. the divers and then swim com at https://tinyurl.com/ back down into the abyss y9fq3zj9. without tasting the bubbles leaving the snorkelers with- His reports for 2017, which was a poor year for whale out a sighting. shark encounters can be Looking for the birds: found at Scubaboard.com When using this method, at https://tinyurl.com/ we watch for a flock of ycvhl2uz. His 2016 posts birds circling over the sea can be found at https://tibecause they are feeding on nyurl.com/yd7l8mxs
OBITUARY
Clarence "Dada" Lopez Nov. 20, 1924 - May 11, 2018
water; however, snorkelers have an excellent chance of seeing the whale sharks as they come to the surface to feed.
By RALPH CAPELING Owner Splash Dive Center ralph@splashbelize.com
Every year, divers and snorkelers from all over the globe travel to the Placencia Peninsula to book an adventure with one of our tour operators to go into the Caribbean Sea for a chance to witness the magnificent sighting of a whale shark. The area near the Peninsula is one of the few places in the world where the gentle giants are expected to arrive on a scheduled basis (although they do not always seem to carefully check their calendars). The Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve located 22 miles (36 km) off the coast of Placencia in Southern Belize, is a spawning aggregation site for many different tropical fish species including cubera, mutton and dog snappers which produce tons of spawn. This spawning occurs around the full moon to the third quarter moon phases during the months of March to June. This incredible sight in itself is what attracts the whale sharks to Gladden Spit. These sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean growing up to lengths of 60 feet (18 meters). Divers and snorkelers visiting our area get a rare opportunity to swim along with the sublime creatures. The wall at Gladden slopes down to 160 feet (50 meters) then drops off into the blue abyss. Diving is done in mid water at a depth no deeper than 80 feet (24 meters) in groups of no larger than 12 divers led by their dive masters. Special procedures are followed on this dive to ensure safety and to limit any harm that may be caused to the sharks. Snorkeling is done on the surface in open
Where in the World is the Breeze?
Placencian at heart Jennifer Crooks uses Buddy Holly's iconic spectacles to read The Placencia Breeze at the plane crash site memorial in Clear Lake, Iowa where Holly tragically died along with other American rock 'n' roll legends, Ritchie Valens and Big Bopper, in 1959. (Photo: CHERYL HATHCOCK)
Co-Founder of Placencia Fishermen's Cooperative Passes at 94 Years Old By OMAR SIERRA
C
larence William Lopez of Placencia Village passed away in the caring embrace of his family on the 11th of May, 2018. "Dada" as he was affectionately known by his family and all denizens of Placencia, was a man who was blessed with life long enough to see his children bring forth 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. He was born to Christopher and Agnes Lopez on Nov. 20, 1924 in Placencia Village, and let’s go back, way back. His first level of schooling was done in Dangriga Town then in Placencia where he eventually grew up as a young man. One of his first professions was being a carpenter. Dada was known for being a perfectionist in everything he did, so much so, that if he hung a door and it seemed a bit off level by half a millimeter he
would take down the entire door, fix it and reinstall it. Eventually he found a life in fishing and made it his livelihood. It is said that when Dada came in from fishing he would take his time and scrub, wash and clean his boat from bow to stern until not even a grain of sand or fish scale could be found. Remember, he was a perfectionist. One of his favorite hobbies was playing the harmonica. He looked forward to playing it on special occasions especially during Christmas time when they would all have Christmas brams [Editor's Note: Brams are a longtime Creole tradition where revelers would go from house to house to feast and play Creole music during the Christmas holidays.]. Dada looked forward to times like these and would normally be spotted in a mischievous trio made up of himself, Mr. Villa and Bobo. See OBITUARY on page 10
