Dive Pacific Iss 171 Oct- Nov 2019

NEW ZEALAND'S DIVE MAGAZINE 

NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY DIVE MAGAZINE 

ISSUE 171 - $9.90 inc GST 

October / November 2019 

P A C I F I C 


P A C I F I C 

Shooting big sharks, up close 

How a professional does it 

www.Dive-Pacific.com 

Wade Doak, great Kiwi dive pioneer 

Diving the Kamikaze drop off 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year ! 

Vanuatu wreck’s forgotten 

claim to fame 

Challenging yourself 

- Freediving Nationals 

Pretty, venomous & invasive: 

THE LIONFISH 

www.dive-pacific.com 1

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2 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

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This unmatched combination of worldrenowned 

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contents 

36 

12 

IN DEPTH 

5 EDITORIAL: Endeavour found. Time to celebrate! 

with Editor at Large Dave Moran 

SOUNDINGS Local and international news & comment 

4 Regulator hoses recalled 

7 Dive boat tragedy kills 34 in California 

8 The Tane Mahuta of NZ diving has fallen - Tributes to Wade Doak 

10 New protections for bottlenose dolphins; 

Hector dolphin sighted in the north; 

Scientists study eels by moonlight; 

15 New history of Poor Knights Marine Reserve Out Now 

16 Explore the world AND earn your Master Scuba Diver rating 

20 Dive study pays off; 

New eyeless worm found; 

Methane seep bubbles trouble 

28 More electric eel species found 

32 

29 AUT signs on 10 year ocean research programme. 

New whale species identified 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

12 TALKING TECH DIVING: The Kamikaze Drop off 

36 Pretty, photogenic, venomous, predatorial & invasive: The Lionfish 

SPECIES IN DEPTH 

41 UK’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year images go on display 

45 BACK IN THE DAY: Sportways Ad published in Wade Doak’s Dive 

Underwater magazine in 1963 

BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS 

11 Dive Fiordland! 

21 

21 Vanuatu’s forgotten wreck. The long proud tale of the SS Empire 

Shirley aka Tapuhi aka Tui Tawate 

31 Tulagi’s reefs; Unexpected wow factor. 

New discoveries in the Solomons 





www.dive-pacific.com 1 

P A C I F I C 

NEW ZEALAND'S DIVE MAGAZINE 

ISSUE 171 - $9.90 inc GST 

October / November 2019 

P A C I F I C 

Photo Etienne Menger, Sony A7III, - 

(Dave Abbott filming Tiger sharks in Tahiti). 


Wade Doak, great Kiwi dive pioneer 

Diving the Kamikaze drop off 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year ! 

P A C I F I C 


How a professional does it 

Vanuatu wreck - forgotten 

claim to fame 


- Freediving Nationals 

Pretty, venomous & invasive: 

THE LIONFISH 

Filming big sharks, up close 

“Ever since I was knee-high I’ve had 

an enduring fascination for sharks, 

fuelled by endless hours watching shark 

documentaries and reading every shark 

book and paper I could get my hands 

on,” writes professional cameraman, 

Dave Abbott. He talks about his 

experiences on page 32 

41 

18 

OUR EXPERT COLUMNISTS 

6 How many versions of sustainability are there? 

LEGASEA UPDATE 

22 Spearfishing at night! 

SPEARO’S NOTEBOOK! with Jackson Shields 

51 The Black Angelfish 

SPECIES FOCUS with Paul Caiger 

52 Symptoms return after flying: Did the diver fly too soon? 

INCIDENT INSIGHTS with DAN, the Divers Alert Network 

54 The fascinating problem of inner ear decompression 

DIVE MEDICINE with Prof Simon Mitchell 

58 SHADES OF COLOUR: 

More stunning images from our regular photo competition 

31 

62 Why pay for Photoshop? Are there alternatives? 

DIGITAL IMAGING with Hans Weichselbaum 

64 Focus, frame, shoot! 

BACK TO BASICS Underwater Photography, A Practical Guide for 

Beginners Ch 3 Pt IV 

by Alexey Zaystev. Translated from Russian exclusively for DIVE PACIFIC 

GEAR BAG 

46 Washing your dive gear made easy; MagicJet u/w scooter. New 

from Cressi. WA govt. subsidises shark repellent! Where you can 

get Suunto’s dive computers; New rescue vehicle ready; Buying 

gifts for u/w photographers 

68 Classifieds 

41 

Check out our website www.divenewzealand.co.nz 

Dive Pacific magazine is available in the lounges & 

inflight libraries of these airlines. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Dive Rite recalls low-pressure regulator hoses 

RUBBER LOW-PRESSURE REGULATOR HOSE SAFETY NOTICE 

The hoses, in lengths between 

six and 84 inches, were sold 

between February 2018 and July 

2019, either individually or as 

part of a regulator or rebreather 

package, Undercurrent reported in 

August (www.undercurrent.org). 

The hoses are suspected of not 

meeting design and performance 

standards. The specific hose 

assemblies recalled are marked 

with the codes: 0308, 0388, 0598, 

0808, 1648, 1738, and 1998. Look 

for the coding on the ferrule or 

hose itself. 

Dive Rite was notified by its 

long-term vendor Danicorp Inc. in 

July 2019. Below is the statement 

received by the hose manufacturer: 

“This product is now suspected of 

not adhering to the ANSI Z86 7.1 

standard. Hose material marked 

Julian date code on hose 

with the Julian date codes of: 

0308, 0388, 0598, 0808, 1648, 1738, 

and 1998 are the only hoses in 

question. These hose assemblies 

will have Danicorp's date coding 

(on the ferrule), as early as, D0218 

(February 2018) through D0918 

(September 2018). Return your 

recalled hose to the dealer from 

which you bought it for a replacement.” 

“Dive Rite hoses affected by 

this notice were sold between 

February 2018 and July 2019. The 

suspect Low-Pressure Regulator 

Hoses sold by Dive Rite include 

the following sizes only: 6”, 11”, 

18”, 22”, 28”, 36”, 40”, and 84”. 

Hoses were sold individually 

and as part of regulator or CCR 

packages. 

“Dive Rite rubber high-pressure 

and BC hoses as well as 

all braided low-pressure, high 

pressure, and BC hoses are not 

affected. 

“Dive Rite has reviewed the 

ANSI standard referenced above 

and it covers many aspects of 

TecFestNZ on again 

Danicorp date code on ferrule 

hose construction, labelling, and 

testing. Unfortunately, Danicorp 

has not specified which part of the 

standard that the hoses potentially 

do not conform to. Because of this 

we must recommend to immediately 

discontinue use of any 

affected hoses. 

“Due to the widespread effects 

of this safety notice and that 

Danicorp supplied many different 

distributors, manufacturers, and 

dive shops, Dive Rite will only be 

able to issue replacement hoses 

through its dealer network. If 

you have an affected hose, please 

contact the Dive Rite dealer that 

you purchased the hose from for 

assistance.” 

TecFestNZ is on again next year on May 1st, 

2nd and 3rd 2020. Due to popular demand 

Chris Clarke and Brent McFadden are 

organising the event again in Taupo but at 

a new venue close to the city’s foreshore. 

It will follow the same proven format with 


interesting speakers, equipment exhibits 

and try-dives from the lake foreshore. 

Visit the TecFestnz web site for more 

information and like the TecFestNZ 

Facebook page to get up-to-date info as it 

comes to hand over the next few months. 

More in next issue of Dive mag. 

P A C I F I C 

established 1990 


P A C I F I C 

October / November 2019 Issue 171 


Find us on facebook - 

follow the links on our website 


P A C I F I C 

Diver Emergency Number, New Zealand : 

0800 4 DES 11 1800 088 200 (toll free) 

Australia : +61-8-8212 9242 

Publisher 

Gilbert Peterson +64 27 494 9629 

Dive Publishing 

P.O. Box 34 687 

Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand 0746 

divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Editor at Large 

Dave Moran +64 9 521 0684 

davem@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Advertising Sales Manager 

Colin Gestro +64 272 568 014 

colin@affinityads.com 

Art Director 

Mark Grogan +64 9 262 0303 

bytemarx@orcon.net.nz 

Printed by Crucial Colour Ltd 

Retail distribution 

NZ: Ovato NZ Ltd 

All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole 

or part is expressly forbidden except 

by written permission of the publisher. 

Opinions expressed in the publication are 

those of the authors and not necessarily 

the publishers. All material is accepted in 

good faith and the publisher accepts no 

responsibility whatsoever. 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz 


Registered Publication 

Dive Pacific ISSN 2624-134X (print) 

ISSN 2324-3236 (online) 


INDEPTH EDITORIAL 

Tuia Encounters 250 - Time to celebrate! 

By Dave Moran - Editor at Large 

Twelve months ago, in the 

October/ November, Dive 166 we 

published an item on the possible 

discovery of Captain James Cook’s 

HMB Endeavour in the waters off 

Newport Rhode Island USA. 

At the time I expressed my disappointment 

to the Minister of Culture 

and Heritage, Jacinda Ardern, the 

Prime Minister, and her department’s 

lack of any positive interest 

in New Zealand putting its hand up 

as a country that had an interest 

in the wreck of arguably the most 

significant European ship to map 

New Zealand’s coastline and interact 

with various Maori iwi. 

As you know New Zealand is 

commemorating the meeting of 

Europeans and Maori from October 

through to December 2019. The 

Government has allocated $13.5 

+ million to celebrate this historical 

meeting, though some New 

Zealanders would not use the word 

‘celebrate’! 

Australia is also in full production 

to mark this historical event in their 

history, allocating $60 million. 

In New Zealand, the intention is 

to bring to life the discovery of 

New Zealand by many great ocean 

navigators stretching back 700 plus 

years when Polynesian explorers 

arrived on our shores, and the later 

arrival 250 years ago of British 

explorer, Captain James Cook in 

1769. 

Interestingly a point that has 

been completely omitted by the 

mainstream media is that the 

French explorer, Captain Jean 

François Marie de Surville, was also 

mapping the coastline at the same 

time. Cook and de Surville were 

unaware of each other’s presence 

though they passed each other by 

approximately 20 nautical miles! 

Over the last 12 months the 

Australian Government and the 

Australian National Maritime 

Museum have been supporting the 

Rhode Island Marine Archaeology 

Project (RIMAP) in their efforts to 

identify which of five wrecks is 

the most likely to be the Endeavour 

(renamed Lord Sandwich) from 

13 vessels that were scuttled in 

the harbour entrance there by 

the British during the American 

Independence Revolution in 1778 as 

a blockade for the possible arrival of 

the French. 

Recently the RIMAP team excavated 

a small section of the buried hull 

taking various wood samples that 

will be analysed at a new conservation 

lab built with Australia’s 

help and private donations at the 

Herreshoff Marine Museum in 

Bristol, Rhode Island. 

You may recall from the article in 

our DIVE coverage last year that 

New Zealand Marine archaeologist 

Dr Bridget Buxton, Associate 

Professor of Ancient History and 

Mediterranean Archaeology who 

is based at the University of Rhode 

Island (URI) is very keen to have 

New Zealand involved in the process 

of verifying 100% that the remains 

are that of the Endeavour. The URI 

have all the conservation facilities 

and expertise to accomplish this to 

the highest marine archaeological 

best practice standards. 

PM Jacinda Ardern in an email 

(3rd Oct 2018) to Dr Bridget Buxton 

finished with: “We are in regular 

contact with relevant Australian agencies 

and, given the participation of the 

Australian National Maritime Museum, 

will certainly talk with them about 

progress and potential of this work.” 

Seeing that the Australians, God 

bless them, are in boots and all, 

it may be time for our Minister of 

Culture and Heritage to give them 

a call, if she or her Department 

have not already? Maybe it’s time 

to reconsider showing New Zealand 

Government’s interest in the wreck 

by accepting Dr Bridget Buxton’s 

offer to be an integral part of a 

professional team to establish once 

and for all, 100%, that the final 

resting place of this historic ship has 

been found. 

The Tuia Encounters 250 has become 

a public relations nightmare for the 

Government with Maori protests 

being planned. These protests are 

obviously being taken seriously 

by the Government. (The https:// 

mch.govt.nz/tuia250 website has 

the following notice: Due to security 

issues the Tuia 250 website is unavailable. 

For updates on the Tuia 250 project 

follow us on Facebook). 

Meanwhile news videos taken in 

Gisborne show young Maori calling 

the Endeavour the Death Ship! 

Nonetheless let’s hope ALL New 

Zealanders, no matter their ethnic 

backgrounds, can come together to 

enjoy the three months of celebrations 

of the Tuia Encounters 250! 

- Dave Moran 


LegaSea Update 

How many versions of 

sustainability are there? 

LegaSea is clear that decisive 

action needs to be taken now 

to protect our fish stocks from 

collapse. 

That means putting the 

handbrake on catch increases 

until we know more about how 

many fish are in the water. No 

such restraint is evidenced in 

the latest management proposals 

from Fisheries New Zealand. 

…Fisheries New Zealand seems content to do the bidding 

for quota shareholders – nor do we see any precautionary 

advice being presented to the Minister (by them).… 

FNZ has just reviewed 13 inshore 

shellfish and finfish stocks 

including gurnard, rig and john 

dory, and seven deep water 

stocks. The Minister’s decisions 

for these reviews have applied 

since October 1st. 

Thanks to your support, our 

fisheries management team 

managed to submit in response 

to eight proposals by the end 

of July. In our submissions we 

expressed concern about the lack 

of principles and rigour being 

applied to these management 

reviews. 

When a fish stock shows some 

sign of rebuilding there are 

repeated examples of commercial 

catch limits being exceeded. 

…Sustainability is not discretionary. In 2009 the Supreme 

Court clearly stated that sustainability is to be “ensured”… 

Then there is vigorous lobbying 

to increase the Total Allowable 

Commercial Catch (TACC) to 

legitimise this excess catch. This 

is particularly worrying where 

there is no stock assessment, 

just some theoretical measure 

of ‘abundance’ like commercial 

catch rates or trawl survey 

results. 

It is a major concern that the 

Ministry barely raises a whisper 

of objection to the lobbying of 

commercial fishing interests, 

nor do we see any precautionary 

advice being presented to the 

Minister by FNZ. Instead, FNZ 

seems content to do the bidding 

for quota shareholders. 

For example, the Ministry 

proposed there be catch 

increases for three stocks at the 

top of the South Island. Those 

stocks were red gurnard, rig and 

john dory. None of these stocks 

have a reliable estimate of their 

stock size. Just a preliminary 

trawl survey which shows that 

abundance has peaked and is on 

the way down. 

It is frustrating to be continually 

arguing that fish stocks must 

be rebuilt when, as soon as they 

rise above historical levels, there 

is a rush to fish the stock down 

again. 

Just because all the quota can be 

caught does not mean the fish 

stock is abundant. Quota being 

caught is a very poor measure 

of overall abundance. To then 

suggest that data is sufficiently 

robust to justify catch increases 

is ludicrous. It is shallow and 

self-serving, so much so that 

for the Ministry to embrace and 

advance these claims on behalf 

of the fishing industry, diminishes 

their standing as a management 

authority. 

We urged caution in our recent 

submissions in response to 

the review. We said there is no 

place for the Ministry’s habit 

of proposing increased Total 

Allowable Commercial Catches 

so they impose no constraint on 

catch. It is their job to manage 

catch limits. 

Moreover, Stuart Nash as the 

Minister of Fisheries has the 

statutory duty to act in a precautionary 

manner when information 

is uncertain. 

Sustainability is not discretionary. 

In 2009 the Supreme 

Court clearly stated that sustainability 

is to be “ensured”. 

Over time the concept of 

‘sustainability’ has been twisted 

depending on the story being 

told. 

But there is one certainty. The 

Minister has a legal obligation 

to ensure fish stocks are 

maintained at levels that provide 

for healthy ecosystems, and for 

the social, economic and cultural 

wellbeing of all New Zealanders. 

For many of our inshore fish 

stocks this obligation is not being 

met. 

More info 

Red snapper: 

tinyurl.com/y53stn67 

Tarakihi: tinyurl.com/y4lvdf6b 

John dory & other South Island 

stocks: tinyurl.com/y5tdk7rx 

Hoki: tinyurl.com/y2qyut2b 

Want to help? If you want to 

help this ongoing effort, please 

support us. 

More info 

Full submission – Fisheries 

Change programme 

https://tinyurl.com/yycmf5zg 

Submission summary – one pager 

https://tinyurl.com/yxekmlwc 

Want to help? 

If you want to help this ongoing 

effort please support us. 

https://legasea.co.nz/support-us/ 

Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273) 

Email us info@legasea.co.nz 

Subscribe at 

www.legasea.co.nz/subscribe 

Read more at 

www.facebook.com/legasea 


Dive boat tragedy kills 34 off 

California coast 

Investigators in the US have 

been examining potential 

ignition sources, including 

overloaded electronics 

causing a short, of the deadly 

fire that swept through the 

scuba dive boat Conception 

off the coast of Southern 

California killing 34 people on 

board. 

The boat was gutted and sank 

in 20 metres of water before 

dawn on Monday September 2nd 

while anchored off Santa Cruz 

Island. 

Jennifer Homendy, a member of the 

US National Transportation Safety 

Board, said she had inspected a 

vessel similar to the Conception 

and was concerned about the 

accessibility of its emergency exit 

hatch and possible difficulties 

getting to safety. 

Other officials reportedly said 

those who died were below deck 

after flames blocked the one 

stairway and the hatch leading 

from sleeping bunks to the upper 

decks, giving those below virtually 

no chance of getting out. 

But preliminary findings on the 

causes of death, announced by 

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill 

Brown, raise the possibility the 

victims inhaled highly toxic smoke 

and died in their sleep before being 

burned beyond recognition. Twentythree 

of the 33 bodies recovered 

were identified through DNA. 

The Conception’s captain and four 

other crew members were asleep 

above deck at the time and jumped 

overboard. They told investigators 

of trying to go back to help 

those who died, but being driven 

back by flames, heat and smoke. 

They could not get to firefighting 

equipment because everything was 

engulfed. 

Officials said the Conception had 

been in full compliance with Coast 

Guard regulations. 

Victims included a prominent 

marine environmental scientist 

and her husband, high schoolers, 

a hairdresser, a marine biologist, 

software engineers, a special 

effects designer for Disney, nature 

photographer, nurse and a family 

of five celebrating a birthday. They 

were all on a planned three-day 

excursion to the Channel Islands. 

The four crew members were 

tested for alcohol, which were 

negative, and all five survivors had 

drug tests with the results pending. 

The Conception wasn’t required 

by federal regulations to have fire 

sprinklers aboard, according to the 

US Coast Guard. 

Other California divers have said 

Truth Aquatics, which owned the 

Conception, and its captains, were 

very safety-conscious and the 

tragedy shocked the industry. The 

boat’s owner and others were interviewed 

for hours as the National 

Transportation Safety Board investigated 

the fire. 

Later in Santa Barabara 34 

scuba tanks lined the stage 

where thousands gathered to 

remember those who had died. 

Truth Aquatics pre-emptively 

filed a lawsuit Thursday under 

a pre-Civil War provision of 

maritime law that could protect 

it from potentially costly pay 

outs to families of the dead, 

a move condemned by some 

observers as disrespectful and 

callous. 

DV005 

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SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

The Tane Mahuta of diving has fallen 

Wade Doak 23 February 1940 – 12 September 2019 

Thursday the 12th of 

September was, I guess, 

for most just another day 

in this beautiful country. 

But by day’s end many of 

us were in shock at the 

sudden death of one of New 

Zealand’s most recognised 

diving personalities and 

conservationists, Wade 

Doak. 

This whole magazine 

could be filled with 

Wade’s adventures and 

accomplishments. 

I first met Wade and his 

lovely diving buddy and 

wife Jan in the early 1970s. 

I recall a group of us 

heading up north to dive. 

My teenage spearfishing 

mate Barry Andrewartha, 

the publisher and editor of 

Dive Log Australia and I think 

the late Neville Coleman, 

who later became renowned 

for his marine natural history 

photography and publications, 

especially about identifying 

Nudibranchs. 

Happy days. Wade & Jan Doak, after Wade received the Wyland 

Foundation - Dive New Zealand Magazine Recognition Awardone 

person can make a difference. Presented at the NZUA’s 

AGM, Tutukaka 8th April 2006 

You can imagine how the 

conversation went… diving… 

diving… have you seen this or that 

– just wonderful. 

When my wife Petal and I started 

publishing Dive Log New 

Zealand in the late 1990s, 

Wade was always on my 

radar for articles and he 

knew the magazine was an 

excellent vehicle to spread 

his love of the marine 

environment and how it 

needs protection. 

I see in the December 1990/ 

January 1991 Issue #1 in the 

news section: “Poor Knights 

– Fear for Fish life”. It was 

about the important species 

being fished out. It reads: 

“Wade Doak, who has been 

diving intensively at the 

Poor Knights recently during 

filming for TVNZ’s Wild 

South series said the ban 

on using sinkers for fishing 

was a farce considering the 

methods now being employed 

to catch fish” etc. 

Issue #2 has a “Stop Press: 

Friday January 1991 – Wade Doak 

witnesses a yellow banded perch 

that has been jigged at the Poor 

LETTERS WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. Tribute to Wade Doak 

Dear Dave, 

Like you I have been saddened to 

hear of Wade’s passing. He was one 

of my very special friends and we 

had corresponded since I was at 

school and he at university. 

I hope that, in addition to his 

conservation work, he will be 

remembered as an international 

pioneer with regard to diving 

equipment during his Dive 

Underwater magazine days. 

New Zealand was the first country 

that accepted that a contents gauge 

was always part of Scuba, and 

reserves were purely a possible 

back up. As you know, Rob Davy 

made the first Compensator 

which Wade and Kelly used and 

publicised, such that it became 

everyday dive gear. 

And then he publicised the DCP 

(automatic decompression meter) 

which was the first generation 

of dive computer and this also 

became everyday equipment. 

Those were all colossal strides and 

should be remembered. 

Quentin Bennett 

Marine values survey. Please do it 

Hamish Howard is a post 

graduate student in Wellington 

researching how our values 

influence our perceptions, 

attitudes and behaviours 

towards the marine 

environment. The aim is to learn 

how we can all work together 

more effectively to get better 

outcomes for our seas. 

So he has developed a survey 

and you are invited to complete 

it, at the link: 

https://tinyurl.com/y5zh4sn6 

More info on the New Zealand 

Marine Values Survey is at www. 

nzmvs.org. Its also on facebook, 

twitter, linkedin, and instagram. 

Send it on. 

The survey takes about half an 

hour and you can return to it at 

any time (on the same computer/ 

device). And its anonymous even 

if you provide your name and 

email at the end. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Knights. Wade had been searching 

for months to film this now rare 

fish at the Knights. 

Fortunately, Wade’s son Brady was 

able to vent the fish’s air bladder 

and return it to the sea.” 

Wade’s first feature article 

appeared in the April/May 1991 

Issue #3. Titled: “Crazy Yellow Sub,” 

an hilarious account of Wade’s 

first dive in Dr Walt Starck, a 1,400 

pound sub that was aboard Walt 

Starck’s research vessel El Torito. 

In all Wade contributed over 50 

articles. 

As the years thundered by, I 

got to know Wade and Jan and 

considered them very good friends. 

Wade’s love of writing started 

before he became a member of the 

Canterbury Underwater Club at the 

Club’s inaugural meeting in the 

1950s. Christchurch was a breeding 

ground of divers who sure had an 

adventurous spirit. The late Kelly 

Tarlton and veteran diver Keith 

Gordon were some of Wade’s close 

diving buddies. 

The club started a magazine, with 

the first issue called Bulletin; the 

second issue was changed to DIVE 

Underwater magazine. 

Wade already had an interest in 

writing when he joined up with his 

mate Keith Gordon and took on the 

publication with the 3rd issue in 

July 1959 (60 years ago) and started 

distribution nationwide at one 

shilling a copy. 

(Keith Gordon tells me that, also 

in the 1950s, the first New Zealand 

dive magazine to be produced for 

public sale cost of one shilling - 

Underwater was published by DW 

& ER Lynch who were members of 

the Auckland Underwater Club.) 

Wade, a schoolteacher, and his 

wife Jan, a nurse, headed north to 

Wellsford around 1963 where Wade 

took up a teaching job at the local 

high school. 

Kelly Tarlton was living in 

Matapouri and encouraged Wade 

and Jan to join him and his wife 

Rosemary nearby. So began the 

ever-increasing love affair with 

the Poor Knights Islands right at 

their front door. 

He and Jan continued publishing 

DIVE Underwater magazine. They 

changed the title to Dive South 

Pacific Underwater magazine with 

the March 1966 Issue: Vol 5 No 5; 

price: 2 shillings. 

Through the magazine he was 

instrumental in bringing new 

diving technology/equipment 

and photography equipment to 

light. But most importantly, they 

inspired divers to get out there 

with adventurous articles. The 

expedition adventures of Wade are 

numerous. 

He has published over 20 books, 

the most recent being e-books. 

Some tell tales of sunken treasure, 

or meeting witch doctors in remote 

Pacific islands and, of course, the 

love he shared with Jan for marine 

mammals and all life in the sea. 

I guess he may be most proud of 

being involved (based information 

he provided and his passion) in 

having his beloved Poor Knights 

Islands declared a partial Marine 

Reserve in 1981 (only 5%!) and 

finally a full Reserve – including 

the Principals being legislated 

totally a NO fishing reserve – in 

1998. It was not an easy time 

as there were many interests 

against the islands becoming fully 

protected. Some of that strong 

resentment lingers today! 

Wade received numerous 

recognitions for his 

conservation work. 

A few that spring to mind: 

2006: Wyland Foundation - 

Dive New Zealand Magazine 

Recognition Award: One person 

can make a difference. The advocate 

for marine conservation in New 

Zealand. 

2012: Queen’s Service Medal. 

2016: Life Member, New Zealand 

Underwater Association. 

July 2019: The New Zealand Marine 

Science Society’s John Morton 

Award. 

To finish here’s a little from one of 

2012: Wade Doak received his Queen’s Service Medal 

from then-Governor General Jerry Mateparae 

his last e-books: Bring Back the Bird 

Song. 

It shows how his and Jan’s 

love of nature continued when 

diving became difficult. They 

strengthened their love of the bush 

around their Ngunguru home and 

coastline. 

He and Jan have spent years 

exploring the shoreline and estuaries, 

walking cliff-top paths, studying 

the mangroves and roaming the 

forest. Wade’s engaging text tells a 

remarkable story, illustrated with 

an incredible photographic archive 

of trees, shrubs, vines, orchids, 

ferns, birds, and attendant wildlife, 

displaying an area rich in diversity. 

Many of you would have been 

friends on Facebook with Wade 

– we will all miss his regular 

postings. 

He his has left a huge legacy. 

Recorded via millions of typed 

words, our history of diving, 

marine life and conservation 

struggles. 

I’ll miss our long phone 

conversations. The “shifting 

baseline” was always a hot topic. 

Rest in peace my friend – you 

achieved so much – time to rest. 

Wade is survived by his wife Jan, 

his son Brady, daughter Karla and 

their three grandchildren. Our 

thoughts are with his family. Jan is 

an amazing person. Her support for 

Wade is too huge to measure. From 

typing up book manuscripts and 

endless documents to providing 

his dinner. Being his loveable 

diving, sailing and tramping buddy. 

She is a true saint. 

- Dave Moran Editor at Large 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

New protections for bottlenose dolphins introduced 

New permits to reduce viewing 

and interaction time with 

bottlenose dolphins came into 

effect for commercial operators 

in Northland on 1 July 2019. They 

also limit the locations for these 

activities and prohibit swimming 

with bottlenose dolphins. 

Research shows interaction with 

bottlenose dolphins is significantly 

impacting on the population’s 

resting and feeding behaviour 

Two sightings of a Hectors Dolphin, 

likely to be the same dolphin, were 

reported in August near Napier 

Port and verified with a photo. 

“It’s really exciting that a Hector’s 

dolphin has been spotted in this 

area because they’re generally 

only found in the South Island,” 

said Hannah Hendriks, a Marine 

Technical Advisor for DOC. 

Hector’s dolphins grow to about 

1.5m, have a rounded black dorsal 

fin and their bodies are a grey 

colour, with white and black 

and that people are “loving the 

dolphins too much”. 

The local Bay of Islands population 

has fallen by 66% since 1999 to 

a core group of only 19 dolphins 

frequently visiting the Bay of 

Islands now, DOC reports. The 

latest research shows a 75% calf 

mortality rate, the highest in New 

Zealand, internationally or in 

captivity. 

A moratorium in place since 2009 

Hectors dolphin sighted near Napier 

markings and a short snout. 

means permits for viewing whales 

and dolphins in the region have 

been restricted to five permit 

holders operating commercial 

vessels. Currently four permit 

holders run out of the Bay of 

Islands and one out of Tutukaka. 

In addition to the tighter permit 

conditions, DOC says it is 

investigating a proposal to create a 

marine mammal sanctuary for the 

Bay of Islands. 

Reporting a sighting is particularly 

valuable for Hector’s dolphins 

which are unique to New Zealand 

because there are so few of them, 

just an estimated 15,000. The 

sightings come after a Hector’s 

dolphin was photographed in the 

eastern Bay of Plenty in May this 

year. 

Hectors Dolphin 

Reporting a sighting is easy and 

can be done online or the Hector’s 

dolphin sightings app, or via the 24 

hour DOC hotline. 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468). 

Photos: NIWA 

Scientists study eels by moonlight 

“You’re standing in the surf at 

night, there’s no lights and you 

can’t see what you’re trying 

to catch.” says freshwater fish 

ecologist Dr Eimear Egan 

Dr Egan is leading a project to find 

out more about the mysterious 

marine lives of longfin and 

shortfin eels. She wants to find out 

NIWA researchers sample glass eels at the mouth 

of the Rangitāiki River to find out where the fish 

come from and how they get to New Zealand's 

coast. 

where their larvae come from, and 

whether shortfin and longfin eels 

use different spawning grounds 

and ocean currents to get here. 

When the larvae near the coast 

they turn into what are known as 

glass eels about 6cm long. It’s not 

until they enter freshwater that 

they change colour and become 

elvers (juvenile eels). 

“The bulk of them 

usually arrive two 

hours after sunset 

and we will be 

sampling when there 

are new and full 

moons and when 

the tides are at their 

highest,” she says. 

They are targeting 

the Rangitāiki, Grey 

and Ashley rivers in 

the South Island. 

The glass eels will 

have their earbones 

or otoliths extracted 

to assess vital 

Glass eels 

information on growth rates, hatch 

dates, age and environmental 

history. 

“Ear bones can tell us so 

much information about the 

environment a fish experiences. 

Each day they add a layer of 

calcium carbonate which is almost 

like keeping a diary of their lives,” 

Dr Egan said. 

In June, NIWA scientists tagged 

female longfin eels before they left 

New Zealand in a related project to 

pinpoint their spawning grounds, 

which is most likely to be in a 

large area between Tonga and New 

Caledonia. 


Diving Fiordland! 

The great Jacques Cousteau placed Fiordland in his 

Top 10 destinations for diving! We’ve had dive photo 

journalists rate it much higher than that with one 

recently placing it ‘if not the best, then in his top 

three’. 

Scenic diving can be amazing. Though the waters are 

cool the visibility can be extreme - over 40m visibility 

occurs regularly. 

The internal waters of Fiordland with their micro-habitats 

are interestingly different to the waters of the 

coast, or entrances where fish life abounds; and the 

colours are diverse so even an inexpensive camera can 

get awesome photos when you dive in Fiordland. 

There’s the odd wreck to be explored too, and wall 

dives that trigger vertigo. 

And there’s always plenty of kai Moana to gratify the 

appetite at the end of a busy day. 

Fiordland Expeditions have been operating throughout 

Fiordland for 15 years and are well versed on a range 

of sites to be explored. If you are keen to tick this one 

off your bucket list, then contact us today. We’d love 

to discuss how we can tailor a trip to meet your own 

specific desires. 

Call us on 0508 888 656 or check out: 

FiordlandExpeditions.co.nz 

Fiordland – a diver’s paradise 

A bucket list destination 

Your multi-day live-aboard 

charters can comprise: 

• Live-aboard charters all year round 

• Two vessels, both with own compressors, 

tanks, weights and belts 

• Fully catered (except alcohol) 

• Experienced dive crew 

Photography by Darryl Torckler 

Phone 0508 888 656 or +64 3 249 9005 

Email charters@fiordlandexpeditions.co.nz 

fiordlandexpeditions.co.nz 


Talking tech diving 

Diving the Kamikaze Drop-off! 

Story and photos by Martin Wallis 

This is where it all 

started. This was the 

preparation dive to check 

out our safety procedures 

and protocol with Yukon 

Dive Charters before 

undertaking the Puriri 

and Niagara dives which 

I covered in the previous 

two editions of Dive 

Pacific. 

This was also the most 

technical of the three 

dives due to our surface 

support and boat crew 

needing to look after two 

separate teams of divers. 

The Kamikaze Drop-off is a 

smallish reef about 200-300 

metres east of Serpent Rock at the 

Poor Knights Islands, and while it 

has obviously been named I don’t 

believe it had ever been properly 

dived before. A pity, because in my 

opinion this is the most picturesque, 

diverse, photographic, and 

hence best dive sites at the Poor 

Knights. 

The Kamikaze Drop-off at the top 

is a plateau with a diameter about 

40m across and which is at a pretty 

constant 67-70m depth. 

Our two teams were made up 

of three divers each and we 

separated the descents of each 

team by 30 minutes, perfect for 

this reef. Having two small teams 

do separate dives meant we would 

not excessively clutter the reef, and 

leave plenty of opportunities for 

taking wide-angle photos. 

We were keen to spend as 

much time as possible in 

this untouched place so 

we planned for a bottom 

time of 40 minutes, 

which required a total 

run time, using our 

chosen gases, of just over 

three hours. It meant we 

had to carry plenty of OC 

(Open Circuit) bail-out 

gas between each team. 

Shot line 

Glenn Edney, our favourite 

technical expedition 

skipper, put a shot line 

down beside the reef, not 

on top of it, so as to not 

inadvertently damage 

any of the abundant reef 

life there. 

Team One consisting of 


myself, Guy Bate and Dave Pearce, 

went down the shot line, spent our 

allocated time on the reef, and on 

the way back were passed by Team 

Two - Andrew Simpson, Darryl 

Lowndes and Ian Skipworth – who 

came down the same shot line that 

we ascended 

…We were keen to spend as much time as possible in this 

untouched place so we planned for a bottom time of 40 

minutes, which required a total run time, using our chosen 

gases, of just over three hours… 

…We were keen to spend as much time as possible in this 

untouched place so we planned for a bottom time of 40 

minutes, which required a total run time, using our chosen 

gases, of just over three hours … 

Marker buoys deployed 

From the first decompression 

stop, Team One deployed the 

SMB to which the surface crew 

then attached our floating deco 

buoy with additional bail-out 

gases. There was next to no water 

movement so keeping the floating 

deco line attached to the shot line 

was relatively simple. 

This was indeed part of 

the plan so that Team 

Two would meet up 

with us during decompression, 

release the 

floating deco line from 

the shot line, and have 

all six divers decompress 

together under 

the floating deco buoy, 

and this would allow the 

surface crew to follow 

us in the tender if we 

should drift. 

The one unforeseen 

scenario that occurred 

was that the deco buoy 

pulled on the shot line 

somewhat, dragging 

it out across the sand 

away from the reef, so 

Team Two found they 

had to follow its drag 


marks in the sand to find the shot 

line. 

The reef 

There is basically nowhere 

on the reef not colonized 

by some form of life. Black 

coral with snake stars, 

jewel anemones and 

leopard anemones live 

here, a myriad of sponges 

and other encrusting 

life, barrel sponges, pink 

maomao, scorpion fish, 

butterfly perch, splendid 

perch and a good-sized 

school of golden snapper! 

Yellow gorgonian fans and 

Oculina coral smother the 

place. 

Big thanks 

A big thanks to Kirsten Henry, Marcel Groonheim, Nahuel Kondratzky. 

These technical dives simply can’t be done without surface support 

provided by people like these with the technical diving know how. 

With the significant bottom 

time we had planned for 

we found the time for 

Team One to traverse the 

plateau twice. No part of 

the reef was left unseen or 

unexplored. Nevertheless 

I for one can’t wait to 

get back there. The site 

definitely deserves to be 

dived multiple times. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

New book on 

Poor Knights Marine 

Reserve published 

The first level of protection for the Poor Knights 

Islands Marine Reserve, ‘for perhaps the most 

bio-diverse assemblage of marine organisms in New 

Zealand’ was won 38 years ago. Now a new book 

details the struggle to bring this about, the people 

involved, and what happened over the years since. 

During the environmental awareness times of the 

early 1970s a national campaign was instigated to 

protect the islands as a marine area. It had the full 

backing of the community, but there was disagreement 

over what form the protection should take. 

The Poor Knights Marine Reserve, The protection of a 

unique marine environment, relates some of the islands 

early history before going into more depth on the 

people, the issues and debate over some 21 years until 

the islands won total protection in 1998. 

Keith 

Hawkins 

indicated possible funding for such a project, then 

budget cuts put an end to that. 

Keith decided to collect the information needed in a 

private capacity in the hope someone would pick up 

the task. And over a 10 year period he has spent many 

weekends and evenings phoning and interviewing, 

and working through the archives. Dave Moran, NZU 

and many others helped out. 

But those involved with useful knowledge who he had 

interviewed kept on passing away. They including 

Rob Dinsdale, Yaan Voot, Brian Main, Sport Conway, 

Barbara Cotterill, Lew Ritchie, Phil Bendle (Dive NZ, Oct 

2018, Issue 166) and this year, Roger Grace. 

Keith says “To do nothing would see the information 

lost and the contribution by many people, individually 

and in a number of organisations, would be unknown.” 

“I have self-published the material and the book is 

currently being printed (mid-September 2019).” 

The Poor Knights Marine Reserve, The protection of a 

unique marine environment contains recollections from 

20 ‘old timers’, 50 shorter anecdotal stories, over 100 

photos and 10 maps to flesh out this previously undocumented 

account of New Zealand’s community driven 

conservation history. 

A4 landscape, soft cover, 168 pages. ISBN: 978-0-473- 

47110-1. 

Available by email PoorKnightsBook@gmail.com and at 

Dive Tutukaka RRP $45.00 

Author Keith Hawkins, a keen recreational diver 

and angler, was responsible for the day to day 

management of the Poor Knights Islands Marine 

Reserve from 1992 to 2013. His interest and 

research led him to become intimately familiar 

with the people involved and with the reserve’s 

history. 

At a formal celebration at Tutukaka to celebrate 

the first 25 years (See Dive New Zealand, Feb/ 

March 2006) it was mooted ‘someone’ should 

document what had occurred to bring the 

reserve about while those involved were still 

around. The Department of Conservation 


Explore the world and earn your 

Master Scuba Diver rating 

Most divers love to travel. After all, divers have a 

thirst for knowledge, adventure and exploration. 

Working towards your Master Scuba Diver rating has 

many benefits: fine-tuning your diving skills, gaining 

confidence and of course bragging rights to joining the 

top two percent of elite recreational divers around the 

world. 

If you’re passionate about travel, earning your PADI 

Master Scuba Diver can be an excuse to do more of 

what you love. 

First, here’s a quick overview of what it takes to earn the 

title of Master Scuba Diver: 

• Complete the Open Water Diver, Advanced Open 

Water Diver and Rescue Diver courses, plus five 

PADI Specialty Diver courses 

• Log a minimum of 50 dives 

• Be at least 12 years old 

Earn Certifications in different destinations 

Every scuba diving destination has something special 

to offer. Learn Dry Suit diving in the cooler waters of 

New Zealand. Pick up your Drift Diver certification 

in Indonesia or other iconic drift diving destinations. 

Visit Coron, Malta, Florida’s Shipwreck Trail, or any 

of the world’s best wreck diving destinations for your 

wreck diver specialty, and learn underwater photography 

and videography while exploring the colourful 

reefs of Fiji or The Red Sea. 

Taking a PADI course is also a great way to meet 

people while travelling. During the PADI Rescue 

Diver course you’ll learn important skills through 

role-playing. The Rescue course is a fun way to make 

new dive buddies while improving your diving confidence 

and skill. 

Choose an Eco Tourism focus 

Distinctive specialties also count towards your Master 

Scuba Diver rating, which is great news for travellers 

who seek out ecotourism opportunities. Contact a local 

PADI Dive Centre or Resort about enrolling in a Project 

AWARE Dive Against Debris specialty. You’ll learn how 

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use to advocate for ocean protection. 

An increasing number of scuba diving destinations 

offer coral reef restoration training with a distinctive 

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corals. 

The Master Scuba Diver path is yours 

Becoming a Master Scuba Diver is a personal journey 

and a fulfilling one! You can also create a Master Scuba 

Diver program customized for the diving in your local 

area, just talk to your PADI Instructor or local dive shop. 

No matter which path you choose, becoming a Master 

Scuba Diver is a major achievement that will earn you 

recognition for life. 

If you are already a diver or considering to join the 

best of the best recreational divers, there is no better 

time than now. Start your 2019 PADI Master Scuba 

Diver Challenge journey today and you may win a trip 

to the Caribbean, Maldives or Thailand based on your 

location! Even better, explore the world with your dive 

buddy and earn your PADI Master Scuba Diver ratings 

on this epic journey. 




Kat Mager reports on the recent Freediving 

New Zealand Pool Nationals 2019 

The man floating face down in 

the pool had been there almost 

seven minutes. He was turning 

an alarming shade of purple, 

but let us know with a flick of a 

finger he was ok. Shortly afterwards 

he broke the surface, taking 

some huge breaths of air, and was 

awarded a white card for a clean 

dive by the judges. Guy Brew had 

just won the Statics event at the 

Freediving New Zealand Pool 

Nationals 2019 with a breath hold 

of 7 minutes 30 seconds. 

Great diversity 

In addition to Kiwis and Aussies, 

divers from many countries such 

as Taiwan, Germany, Argentina, 

the UK, Saudi Arabia and even 

Mauritius participated at this 

year’s event. And we were joined 

by athletes of all performance 

levels and physical disadvantages. 

The age of competitors ranging 

from 16 to 65 years - being young 

or getting older was not about to 

stop anyone. 

…at its core, freediving is about the struggle each diver fights 

within themselves… the better you understand yourself 

and your body, the better your dives… 

Said principal organiser Nick 

Rhodes, “I am pleased to see a 

small team from Whangarei Boys' 

High School, part of the Northland 

Freediving Club, competing in the 

recreational grade. It's great to see 

them getting involved in our sport 

at a younger age in a safe, educated 

way.” 

The challenge within 

At its core, freediving is about the 

struggle each diver fights within 

themselves. These competitions 

are less about being better than the 

Preparing for a long dive with his 

monofin: Ali Khalifah from the 

Auckland Freediving Club 

34 freedivers from all over New 

Zealand and overseas visitors 

came to Auckland in September to 

compete at the Nationals freediving 

pool championships. Held 

by Freediving New Zealand and 

hosted by The Auckland Freediving 

Club the competition took place 

at the beautiful National Aquatic 

Center AUT Millennium pools. 

Athletes challenged themselves 

over a long weekend of apnea in 

three disciplines: Statics, Dynamics 

with Fins in the 50m pool, and 

Dynamics No Fins in the 25m pool. 

Photo by Kat Mager 


Winners in the men’s division 

Photos by Ben Cook 

Winners in the women’s division 

next athlete, but about striving to do better yourself. 

The deeper goal is to bring out one’s own best, and 

hopefully set a new personal record, either as a top 

performer or as a novice trying out a competition for 

the first time in recreational grade. 

Freediving is about mastering mental and emotional 

challenges as well as pushing physical limits. 

The better you understand yourself and your 

body, the better your dives. 

Competing together 

Just as much, our sport is about sharing the 

triumphs and the bad days within a tightknit 

community. During the Pool Nationals 

we helped each other reach our potential, 

celebrated victories together, and gave advice 

and hugs when things didn’t go so well. As 

coaches and safety divers we kept each 

other safe in the water, proving that trust is 

definitely a big part of the sport of freediving. 

course we love celebrating the longest dive times and 

greatest distances! They’re inspiring and just plain 

mind-blowing! 

In addition to his 7:30 min in Statics, Guy Brew also did 

a 223m dive with a monofin. And swam 128m without 

fins in the underwater, which earned him first place 

Photo by Ben Cook 

Winners 

Despite this unusual attitude towards competitions of 

Amber Bourke doing a turn during her 

Dynamics With Fins dive 

and the title of National Champion (again). He was 

flanked on the podium by Australian divers Matthew 

Chew, second, and Benjamin Eckert, third. 

In the women’s, Kathryn Nevatt regained the National 

Champion trophy with a Statics dive of 6:42min, a 

stunning 192m in Dynamics With Fins, and 150m in 

Dynamics No Fins. Amber Bourke from Australia came 

second, and I managed to sneak third. 

Thanks everyone who helped out with this successful 

and memorable championship, and a special big thank 

you to our supporters and sponsors. 

Underwater videos of all dives are on the Auckland 

Freediving YouTube channel: 

https://tinyurl.com/y5wudmq5 

Find more at freediving.co.nz and 

aucklandfreediving.co.nz 

Never dive alone. 

Always dive with a safety-trained buddy. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCALNEWS 

Dive study pays off 

Studying marine science topics at 

Toi Ohomai in the Bay of Plenty is 

paying off for marine technician 

Jon Stead. He says the Diploma in 

Marine Studies course there taught 

him practical skills needed for his 

career. 

Jon is employed at NIWA where 

he says, “Basically I do the 

fieldwork and collect the data 

for the scientists. The marine 

studies course set me up with a 

wide variety of practical skills 

like diving and dive surveys, 

familiarisation with 

scientific equipment, 

boating knowledge 

and most of all, an 

understanding of how 

science works.” 

“I loved it,” he says. 

“I enjoyed the diving field 

trips, staying in remote 

places and getting to dive 

some of New Zealand’s 

best dive spots.” 

www.lawa.org.nz 

Marine technician Jon Stead learns diving as part 

of hi Toi Ohomoi course 

New eyeless worm found 

A worm that feeds on bacteria 

and has no eyes is one of the 

standout stars of 583 unfamiliar 

and potentially new ocean species 

identified at NIWA in the past year. 

The worm was found burrowed 

into a piece of sunken wood 

found North east of the 

Chathams group from 900 m 

depth last year. 

Marine biologist Dr Geoff Read, 

an Annelida (worm) expert, 

determined the specimen 

was most likely a new species 

of Thermiphone scale worm. 

Thermiphone belong to the 

uncommon deep-water family 

Iphionidae and are not at all 

earthworm-like but broadly 

oval. 

Only 13 species are known 

globally, a very distinctivelooking 

group with thick scales 

divided into polygons with minute 

areolae. They have no eyes, are 

usually found associated with 

hydrothermal vents, and seem 

to graze on microorganisms and 

bacteria. 

The NIWA Invertebrate Collection 

contains more than 300,000 

samples including corals, 

sponges, crustaceans, 

anemones and amphipods. 

Whether it’s capturing a shot 

of a sunken ship in the local 

quarry, an unforgettable turtle 

encounter or a freedive over 

a vivid reef, participants can 

enter for the opportunity to win 

valuable prizes. 

To get CAPTURE tips from 

GoPro ambassador Jeb Corliss 

and enter the contest. 

www.padi.com/dive/goproevolution 

Methane seep research bubbles trouble 

A chance discovery off the 

Gisborne coast five years ago has 

prompted research on the links 

between methane seeps bubbling 

out of the sea floor and landslides 

under the sea which lay lead to 

tsunamis. 

The field of 630 methane seeps was 

discovered in 2014 in a 90 square 

metre area 40km from Gisborne at 

800m depth. 

A paper just published in the 

scientific journal Marine Geology 

outlines the find and calculates the 

amount of methane the seeps are 

releasing. 

Dr Joshu Mountjoy says “We have 

been able to calculate how much 

methane is coming out of the area 

and we also suspect the methane 

is making it to the ocean surface 

which is quite unusual.” Normally 

methane exchanges with C02 

before it reaches the atmosphere. 

He says the underground gas 

source is significant enough 

to be suspected of causing 

underwater landslides and may 

be related to deeper fluids in the 

subduction zone that can influence 

earthquake behaviour. 

“A lot of landslides have happened 

here in the past, so it looks like 

this gas is a piece in the puzzle of 

what is going on.” 

Dr Mountjoy estimates the seeps 

have been present for thousands 

of years. Large carbonate mounds 

have formed around each one 

which have created unique 

ecosystems. They are situated 

within the Hikurangi Subduction 

Zone, off the North Island’s east 

coast, potentially the largest 

source of earthquake and tsunami 

hazard in New Zealand. 

Dr Mountjoy says his best 

hypothesis is that tectonic 

behaviour in the subduction 

system is controlling the seeps. 

“I think it’s all linked into the 

seamounts making their way 

through the subduction zone 

and potentially even slow slip 

processes in the area.” Slow slip 

events are bursts of slow tectonic 

plate movement that last from 

weeks to months. 


Lady with a valiant heart 

The long, strange, proud tale of the 

SS Empire Shirley aka Tapuhi aka 

Tui Tawate at Luganville in Vanuatu 

Most of us are familiar with the iconic, bucket list dive 

that is the SS President Coolidge and her resident Lady, but 

only some of us know the valiant lady abandoned not so 

far away whose history rivals that of the President. 

By Anne Simmons 

The SS Empire Shirley was a 

steel tug boat built by A. 

Hall & Co of Aberdeen in 1945, 

an Empire Class tug designed 

for WWII naval support work 

in the India to Singapore area. 

After the war she was sold 

to the Union Steamship 

Company of New Zealand 

where she was renamed the 

Tapuhi. From 1947 to 1973 the 

Tapuhi worked between the 

ports of New Zealand carrying 

fuel oil then, on April 10, 1968, 

she faced her greatest challenge 

and claim to fame. 

To the rescue 

On this morning the New 

Zealand inter island ferry TEV 

…On April 10, 1968, she faced her 

greatest challenge and claim to fame… 

the rescue at the Wahine disaster… 

Wahine was on her regular 

trip between Lyttleton in the 

South Island to Wellington 

in the North Island carrying 

600 passengers and 125 crew. 

Shortly after 0600 the ship was 

hit by a gale force storm and 

driven ashore at the entrance to 

Wellington harbour. Taking 

on water, her pumps in full 

force, the TEV Wahine was 

blown off course and started 

drifting northwards into 

the harbour with a huge list 

to starboard. At 1100 the tug 

Tapuhi arrived and managed 


to get a line onto the ship. The 

valiant wee tug commenced 

towing, but after 10 minutes 

the lines broke and attempts to 

re-attach them failed. Shortly 

the order to abandon ship was 

given and within minutes 

the Wahine turned over and 

sank. The Tapuhi rescued 174 

people from the sinking ship in 

mountainous seas. But at the 

end, a total of 51 passengers 

and crew died. Today there 

is a memorial to the Tapuhi in 

Oriental Bay in Wellington for 

her brave efforts that day. 

Pacific salvage 

In 1974 the Tapuhi was on 

sold to the Narain Shipping 

Company of Suva, Fiji. Here 

she was renamed the Tui 

Tawate. However a year later 

Reece Discombe of Vanuatu 

purchased her with the 

purpose of salvaging the oil 

from the bunkers of the SS 

President Coolidge. The suspicion 

was that the oil in her bunkers 

was at risk of leaking, and a 

sample had been sent to Shell 

in Sydney for testing and, even 

after 30 plus years underwater, 

the oil was found to be in good 

condition. The Vanuatu government 

contracted with P&O, who 

owned the cruise ship Arcadia, 

an older ship to use the oil. 

The Tui Tawate, by now in poor 

condition, only just made it to 

…Three of us picked our way up the line, hanging out like 

sheets in the wind with the current now strong. Then, when we 

reached the buoy, we found it submerged, with 10m of water 

between us and the surface… 

Espiritu Santo where she was 

converted to hold oil in all her 

compartments including the 

crew’s quarters. In 1977 over 

600 tons of oil was pumped 

into her and from there into 

the Arcadia to be used in her 

furnaces. 

A return home? 

In 1986 she was purchased 

by Clement Griffiths of 

Wellington with the intention 

of moving the Tui Tawate back 

to Wellington and renovate 

her as a floating restaurant to 

memorialize Wahine Day. But 

it was soon apparent she was 

no longer seaworthy enough 

to withstand the tow, so she 

was left abandoned in the river 

beside Luganville. A sad end for 

such a brave lady. 

In the mid 90’s the Santo 

Fisheries Department began an 

expansion project near where 

she rested and the contract 

company requested the vessel 

be removed. So she was towed 

out into the Segond Channel 

and sunk. 

Finding the wreck 

The first time we dived the Tui 

Tawate was in 2009. She had 

been seldom dived before and 

no commercial dive operators 

saw any merit in it. The 

currents can be fierce, they 

said, the visibility poor. We 

have never experienced this, 

and of course most divers are 

happy to dive the SS President 

Coolidge. 


We had the co-ordinates and 

we managed to convince Alan 

Powers to take us out. We 

dropped a shot line where 

we hoped she lay and down 

we went. Reaching the sandy 

bottom at 45 metres we were 

disappointed to see nothing but 

huge sandbanks. Then looking 

behind us we saw a bow wave 

of sand, and looking up, the 

bow of the Tui Tawate. Here 

she was, proudly upright, facing 

south west, just waiting for us. 

Soft and hard corals taking 

hold 

We had little current at this 

stage so we swum her length 

to the prop at the stern then 

up to the deck at 41m. Then we 

made our way back to the bow. 

Beautiful soft corals blossomed, 

hard corals were taking hold, 

and schooling fish were taking 

advantage of the shelter in the 

desert-like sand surrounds. 

The current picked up and all 

too soon we had to start our 

ascent, which we did on the 

mooring buoy line we had 

found attached midship. Three 

of us picked our way up the 

line, hanging out like sheets 

in the wind with the current 

now relatively strong. Then, 

when we reached the buoy, we 

found it submerged, with 10m 

of water between us and the 

surface. 

Dilemma. But as we searched 

for an answer, we realised our 

shot line was only a couple of 

metres away. So we transferred 

over and completed our safety 

stop there. 

Reaching the surface we were 

jubilant. We had “found” her 

and proven she is indeed a 

very worthwhile dive. Sharing 

the video footage Russell had 

taken certainly gave the dive 

operators 

at that time 

a different 

perspective 

on the dive 

opportunity. 

Nowadays 

Since then we 

have dived the 

Tui Tawate 

several times. 

She is always 

a stunning 

dive. The 

corals are still 

there, varying 

in condition 

and type each 

time. She is 

always a very 

fishy dive, 

and there are 

often pelagics 

lurking on 

the edges. 

Last time we 

saw three small Mahimahi 

and a dog tooth tuna. Schools 

of yellow snapper loiter on 

…She is always a stunning dive. The corals are still there, varying 

in condition and type each time…there are often pelagics…last time 

we saw three small Mahimahi and a dog tooth tuna… 

the decks, and bright orange 

Fish on the Tui Tawate 

Kingsley hanging on - note the bubbles! 

anthias hover in the entrance 

ways to the holds below. 

Nowadays a maintained 

mooring has been placed on 

the wreck, and she is offered 

by Aore Adventure Sports & 

Lodge and Coral Quays as an 

alternative to divers wanting a 

change from the SS President 

Coolidge. But note this is a dive 


Kinsgley wedged in 

for experienced divers only - 

she lies at 45metres and the 

currents can be extreme and 

change quickly. So, if you are 

diving the SS President Coolidge 

Schooling fish on the Tui Tawate 

make some time to go and 

visit this valiant lady with an 

amazing New Zealand history. 

She is sitting there waiting for 

your visit. 

WWII relics 

In fact Espiritu Santo is full of 

WWII relics. And a visit to the 

Project Development office of 

the South Pacific WWII 

Museum in Luganville is 

well worth while, and not 

too far from where the Tui 

Tawate was left abandoned. 

Here you will find plenty 

of stories and artefacts 

gathered and ready for 

display in their new 

building. 

When completed it too 

will add an amazing asset 

to Luganville, perfect for 

those sad, though necessary, 

long surface intervals 

we divers must endure 

between dives. 


LIVE VOLCANO 

There’s more to do 

in Vanuatu 

LAND DIVING 

DIVING & FISHING 

T A N N A IS L A N D 

P E N T E C O S T I S L A N D 

E S P I RI T O S A N T O 

generated at BeQRious.com 


S pearos notebook 

Night spearfishing! 

with Jackson Shields 

Photo Sam Power 

This is something I have done a few times and really enjoy. 

It’s a different world out there at night. Sea life emerges that 

normally stays in the depths, or in the darkness during the 

day. 

The main target for me spearfishing 

at night is SQUID! This 

is my favourite seafood and they 

can be abundant during the night 

as opposed to seasonal during the 

day. 

7 metre shallows… 

So it was a fresh winter weekend in 

July, perfect conditions for a night 

dive out at Great Barrier Island. 

We used the equipment we had, 

which included just cray torches 

and short spear guns. The narrow 

beam of our torches was not ideal 

but well workable. We picked a 

nice spot to anchor and swim from 

into the shallows. Figuring around 

9.30pm a good starting point we 

slid into the cool winter water. 

Visibility seemed good at around 

seven metres, all we needed in the 

shallows. 

Scary? 

People always ask is it scary with 

the thought of sharks at night 

time, but once in the water any 

fear is replaced with interest and 

excitement of what we might see. 

The sea life was abundant; the 

sparkling eyes of many crayfish 

made them easy to spot from the 

surface, and they were wandering 

around active and lively in the 

open, unlike many of the other 

species. But they were also nervous 

at our approach and would take off 

into the darkness or duck into a 

hole very quickly. 

It didn’t take long to find our 

desired species, the squid! 

Sometimes in packs we would find 

them hovering above the weed 

or patrolling barren rock in the 

shallows. We made quick work 

of them getting as many as we 

could find. They are interesting 

to hunt too, as they take off when 

seeing you but stop after a short 

period and hold their ground, 

either trying to be aggressive or 

camouflage themselves against the 

bottom below. It’s also important 

to dive after them once shot so 

they don’t tear off. 

In the shallows, where we spent 

most of our time, we only encountered 

broad squid, whereas a friend 

fishing from the boat anchored 

out on the sand only caught arrow 

squid. The boat was not far away 

from us but maybe the arrow squid 

prefer the deeper open water out 

above the sand. 

Unafraid fish 

It was soon apparent there were 

plenty of snapper too, though 

at night they don’t present a 

challenge at all. But it was great 

getting up close to them for photos 

and also to see the areas where 

they would rest at night. We found 

them parked up in unlikely spots 

between small bald, white rocks, 

not the areas where we would 

normally hunt them during the 

day. Also unlike the daytime they 

were not bothered by our presence 

but seemed happy enough to sit 

still in the beam light and not 

spook. 

It’s an exciting feeling not knowing 

what you are going to see 

in the next beam stroke. 

Darting big eyes normally 

dwelling in caves during the 

day are out and about and 

high in the water column… 

Conger eels out of their 

holes swimming along the 

bottom… 

Dangers? 

The biggest danger I found 

was to practice being 

careful you don’t get hit by 

a confused eagle ray that 

would come whizzing past 

through the beam of the 

torch light. The odd piper 

would crash into you on the 

surface too, no doubt dazed 

and attracted by the bright 

light. 




The more we swam the 

braver we got 

We would start off in a close group 

together but soon enough get 

distracted by something or other 

with each of us following different 

contours on the bottom. Constant 

communication with “come look 

at this” or “hurry” was required so 

everyone could experience what 

each one of us was experiencing 

separately. And the more we swam 

the braver we got, so much so we 

ended up out on a point getting 

pummelled by wind and tide. Such 

a place was not as fishy as the 

more sheltered quiet spots, and 

dense kelp areas made it difficult 

to spot the sea life. At one point 

we ventured out a little deeper 

towards the weed-edge but soon 

convinced ourselves the reality of 

that was not nearly as much fun as 

it might seem. 

Doing it all over again 

We enjoyed the squid rings 

and the adventure so much 

we decided we had to give it 

another shot the next night 

at a different spot. We tried 

to replicate a similar bottom 

structure as for the previous 

night, and it was just as 

successful. Plenty of fish to 

look at, and we added more 

squid to our tally. But after an 

excitable shark sighting during 

the day at a near-by spot one 

of our divers decided the 

boat was the best place to be. 

Nonetheless and undeterred 

we kept diving til 2am, 

always finding very different 

and abundant ecosystems 

compared to those of the day 

light hours. So much so we 

are already planning our next 

night dive. 


Provided by ABC 

SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Newly discovered electric eel has the most 

powerful shock 

After years thinking there was 

only the one species in the 

genus Electrophorus, researchers 

now characterise the electric eel, 

Electrophorus electricus, as three 

species. And a recent addition, 

Electrophorus voltaic, has been 

recorded generating 860 volts, 

far above the previous record of 

650 volts, reports ABC Science in 

Australia. 

E.voltai is now thought to be 

the most powerful electricity 

generating animal in the world, say 

the authors of a report in Nature 

Communications. Their research 

aims to identify and describe the 

electric fishes of the Amazon 

rainforest, said zoologist and lead 

author of the paper Dr David de 

Santana of the Smithsonian’s 

National Museum of Natural 

History. 

Though their discharge is high 

voltage its low amperage and 

wouldn’t necessarily be dangerous 

to humans. 

The electric eel is not actually an 

eel at all but a type of knifefish 

that grow up to 2.5 metres in 

length. It was first described by 

Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus in 

1766. 

Electric 

Electric fishes are said to be 

electrogenic (produces electricity) 

as opposed to others described as 

electroreceptic, or able to detect 

electric fields, with some species 

both. Other electric fish include 

electric rays and electric catfish. 

Electrophorus voltai has the most powerful electric discharge 

of any known animal. (Supplied: L. Sousa) 

Dr de Santana and his colleagues 

collected 107 electric eel specimens 

over six years from across the 

Amazon basin. Though they look 

very similar, differences in their 

DNA showed they were made up of 

three different species with each of 

the species living in different parts 

of the Amazon basin. 

“The discovery 

of hidden 

species diversity 

and of such an 

eye-catching 

and long-known 

organism as 

electric eels 

indicates that 

an enormous 

amount of 

species are still 

waiting to be 

discovered in 

the Amazon 

rainforest,” 

Dr de Santana 

said. “Many 

may harbour cures for diseases or 

inspire technological 

innovations, 

reinforcing the critical 

need to protect 

Earth’s hotspots of 

biodiversity.” 

Electric fish use three 

electric organs to 

generate electricity 

made of modified 

muscle cells called 

electrocytes which 

can produce strong 

electrical discharges 

as well as weaker ones, 

and they typically 

use them arranged like 

batteries in series fired 

by entire-body muscle contractions 

caused by the direct stimulation of 

spinal motor neurons. 

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and 

Romans all used electric fish for 

their medicine to numb people 

or treat conditions like gout and 

headache. 

Dr de Santana said electric eels 

inspired the design of Italian 

physicist Alessandro Volta’s first 

electric battery, and an enzyme 

extracted from their electric 

organs has been used as a target 

for drugs to treat Alzheimer’s 

disease. 

More recently electrical eels have 

promoted the advance of hydrogel 

batteries (made of a substance 

similar to gelatin) that might be 

used to power medical implants. 

An electric ray residing in Sydney 

Harbour called the coffin ray 

(Hypnos monopterygius) can grow 

to 40 cm. Biomedical engineer 

Professor Alistair McEwan of the 

University of Sydney said they use 

electrical sensing like a shark to 

see around them, not just passively 

by listening into the electricity, 

but also by sending out their own 

electric field to map the world 

around them”. 

Researchers have looked at how 

to emulate this system to monitor 

internal cardiac surgery, and in 

the brain. Professor McEwan and 

his colleagues are also looking 

at how they might be able to use 

Sydney Harbour’s coffin ray 

(Hypnos monopterygius) 

the electroreception abilities 

of Australia’s platypus and the 

echidna. 

“We thought the electroreception 

would only work well with water. 

It’s amazing the platypus works 

well in fresh water without 

conductive salt, but even more 

amazing that the echidna can 

electrically sense in the dry 

desert,” he said. 

Provided by ABC 


SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

AUT signs up for 10 year international ocean research 

Auckland University of Technology 

(AUT) has joined 45 national 

and international partners on 

a 10-year research programme 

exploring how to utilise the 

oceans for aquaculture and energy 

production. 

The Blue Economy CRC is an 

Australian A$329 million project 

combining expertise on seafood 

production, renewable energy and 

offshore engineering. 

Australia's Cooperative 

Research Centres undertake 

joint programmes between 

research institutes, industry and 

government aimed at finding 

solutions to major issues; in this 

case sustainable food production 

and renewable energy sources. 

The 'Blue Economy' is an emerging 

concept to encourage better 

stewardship of our ocean or 'blue' 

resources. 

AUT is New Zealand's core 

research partner in the programme 

with Associate Professor, Dr 

Lindsey White co-leader for the 

seafood and marine products 

programme. New Zealand King 

Salmon, Plant and Food Research 

and the Cawthron Institute are the 

other New Zealand-based research 

partners. 

White says the funding will be 

used to innovate and transform 

how we utilise our oceans for 

sustainable food and energy 

production. 

Australia and New Zealand 

combined have the second largest 

exclusive economic zone on the 

planet behind the EU. Involvement 

in the CRC allows the opportunity 

to integrate aquaculture of 

numerous species, including fish 

and seaweed, with marine-based 

renewable energy generation, that 

is to partner aquaculture with 

energy production, a world first. 

Associate Professor White says 

energy generated from solar, 

wind, wave and tidal sources 

could be harnessed and used to 

run aquaculture operations with 

excess energy used to split water 

into hydrogen, and oxygen for use 

in aquaculture operations. 

Fish farm operators worldwide 

are moving their farms offshore 

to take advantage of larger spaces, 

better water quality to produce 

healthier fish and lower water 

temperatures in the face of 

warming temperatures. 

https://blueeconomycrc.com.au 

New whale species identified off Japan coast 

Japanese scientists have confirmed 

a new whale species has been 

identified off Japan’s coast after 

carrying out DNA testing, Science 

News reports. 

The new species has often been 

previously spotted by whalers in 

the north Pacific Ocean but never 

before officially recognised as it 

continued to elude researchers. 

With carcasses of several 

unidentified whales washing up on 

Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost 

island, while others caught by 

fishing vessels, researchers carried 

out DNA testing to find a complete 

new species now named Black 

Baird's beaked whale (Berardius 

minimus). 

Six specimens were studied 

in terms of their morphology, 

osteology, and molecular 

phylogeny. The results 

published in the journal 

Scientific Reports showed 

that the body length of 

physically mature individuals 

is distinctively smaller than 

B. bairdii (6.2-6.9m versus 

10.0m). Detailed cranial 

measurements and DNA analyses 

further emphasized the significant 

difference from the other two 

known species in the genus 

Berardius. Due to it having the 

smallest body size in the genus, 

the researchers named the new 

species B. minimus. The new 

species while similar to the 

Baird's beaked whale is also 

darker in colour and with a 

shorter beak. 

All beaked whale species prove 

hard to document since they 

prefer deep ocean waters and 

have a long diving capacity. 

Takashi Matsuishi of Hokkaido 

University who led the research 

team said "There are still many 

things we don't know about B. 

minimus. We still don't know what 

adult females look like, and there 

are still many questions related 

to species distribution. We hope 

to continue expanding what we 

know." 

Local Hokkaido whalers also 

refer to some whales in the 

region as Karasu (crow). It is still 

unclear whether B. minimus (or 

Kurotsuchikujira) and Karasu are 

the same species or not, and the 

research team speculate that it 

is possible Karasu could be yet 

another different species. 

Black Baird’s beaked whale 

Photo by Associated Newspapers Limited 


Solomon Airlines flies directly every week from Brisbane to Munda 

Magical Munda 

-Dive the unexplored 

www.divemunda.com 

Dive Munda is a multi award winning SSI Instructor Training 

Centre in the Western province of Solomon Islands committed 

to sustainable dive eco-tourism. Scuba dive unexplored reefs, 

WWII history, Kastom culture, hard and soft coral, cuts and 

caverns along with pelagic life and shark action, all in one of the 

last wild frontiers left on planet ocean. 

Experience Magical Munda 

at Agnes Gateway Hotel 

Award winning service and 

pristine diving 

SSI Instructor Training Centre 

WWII wrecks, caves and reefs 

– untouched and unspoilt 

Winner 

30 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

New discoveries in the Solomons 

Tulagi’s reefs unexpected wow factor 

Story and photos by Nigel Marsh and Helen Rose 

www.nigelmarshphotography.com 

With a wealth of World War II ship and plane 

wrecks Tulagi rightfully has a reputation as a 

wreck diver’s heaven. But on a recent visit we 

discovered the area also offers a rich collection of 

reefs, as good as those anywhere in the Solomon 

Islands. 

Tulagi is just an hour’s boat 

ride from Honiara, one of the 

easiest dive destinations to reach. 

Taking divers to the wonderful 

reefs and wrecks there are the 

Raiders Hotel and Dive, a small 

hotel run by expat Kiwis Bob and 

Yvie Norton who daily offer visits 

to their lovely array of dive sites. 

On our four day stay we dived four 

seaplane wrecks; amazing. Plus 

a large American fuel tanker, the 

USS Kanawha, a Kiwi minesweeper 

HMNZS Moa, a scuttled fishing 

trawler and a vast pile of World 

War II junk at Base One. 

While all that was totally 

fascinating, what surprised 

us most was the reef 

diving - we simply hadn’t 

expected it! 

Our first reef dive was on a 

large pinnacle called Twin 

Tunnels Reef. Rising from 

60m to 12m, the top is 

covered in hard corals with 

walls of lush, soft corals - a 

great place to see sharks 

and pelagics. But the main 

feature is an L-shaped cave 

starting on the top and 

exiting on the reef wall at 33m. 

Equally good was 

Tanavula Point. 

Coating this wall were 

beautiful soft corals, 

sponges and gorgonians 

- a truly sensational 

drift dive; reef 

sharks, humphead 

parrotfish and schools 

of fusiliers. 

The most surprising 

reef though was right 

A large map pufferfish at Tanavula Point 

in front of the hotel, the Raiders 

House Reef. Only 10m deep, this 

reef and muck site was a delight, 

full of critters - shrimps, pipefish, 

gobies, anemonefish, scorpionfish, 

nudibranchs and even a pair of 

common seahorses. 

We always thought Tulagi was 

just for wreck divers, but discovered 

this wonderful destination 

was something else again - with 

something for everyone. 

www.raidershotel.com 

Helen with a group of pink 

anemonefish at Twin Tunnels Reef. 

Gorgonians and soft corals decorate the wall at 

Tanavula Point 



What I’ve learned from years of close encounters 

By Dave Abbott, Liquid Action Films 

www.liquidaction.co.nz 

Images © Dave Abbott, unless otherwise credited. 

Dave has worked on productions for Discovery 

Channel, PBS and National Geographic in the US, 

Arte & ZDF in Europe, NHK in Japan, Globo TV in 

Brazil, NHNZ here in New Zealand, Channel 1 & 

BBC in the UK, and IMAX. His work has featured 

for shows like Shark Week, Big Pacific, Great 

White Shark 3D, Untamed, Coast New Zealand 

and Our Big Blue Backyard. 

Ever since I was knee-high I’ve 

had an enduring fascination for 

sharks, fuelled by endless hours 

watching shark documentaries 

and reading every shark book and 

paper I could get my hands on. 

I know I am not alone in having 

such a fascination, but for me this 

obsession resulted in my pursuing 

a career that has seen me spend 

hundreds of hours underwater 

filming these marine predators. 

Misconceptions 

From a filming perspective sharks 

take some beating. Most people 

love to see big, dangerous predators 

on their screens, and shows 

like Discovery Channel’s Shark 

Week have drawn millions of 

viewers for 30 years now. 

While some of the entertainment-focused 

documentaries made 

for Shark Week have been overly 

sensationalized and included 

dubious science, there are plenty 

of others that feature fascinating 

shark research and go a long way 

to correcting common misconceptions 

about shark behaviours. 

Shooting for this type of shark 

documentary and working alongside 

shark scientists is a rewarding 

process, and assignments filming 

big sharks have given me some of 

the most memorable moments of 

my life. 

Risk factors 

I have been lucky enough to work 

with most of the big ‘iconic’ shark 

species from Great Whites and 

Makos to Bull and Tiger sharks, 

…all have one thing in common; they are innately cautious 

and usually non-confrontational but… 

Night dive in the midst of a hunting pack. 

…all have one thing in common; they are innately 

cautious and usually non-confrontational but… 


A healthy ecosystem 

and while each have differing 

characteristics and behaviours, all 

have one thing in common; they 

are innately cautious and usually 

non-confrontational. 

That’s not to say diving with 

sharks is risk-free. 

Most sharks that the average 

diver sees underwater are in 

cruise mode; calm, controlled 

and cautious, even in an artificial 

‘shark feed’ situation. But a shark 

in hunting mode, or feeling threatened 

or agitated is a different story 

altogether! 

gaping mouth full of massive triangular 

teeth, and pectoral fins as 

wide as the cage. 

Another surreal moment from a 

shoot earlier this year was hanging 

mid-water with eight large and 

pushy Tiger Sharks as they tore 

into a dead cow. These sharks 

weren’t accustomed to divers and 

they saw us as competitors. They 

were extremely interactive! It’s 

not easy keeping track of eight 

constantly moving sharks in a 

3-dimensional world, especially 

with blood clouding the water! 

Getting bullied 

I have been bullied by a pack of 

Lemon sharks in Tahiti, bumped 

by Sevengill sharks in Fiordland, 

surrounded by 40 or 50 hunting 

reef sharks in an intense night 

dive in Tahiti, had my dome 

port scratched by a very close 

encounter with a Great White, and 

been forced out of the water by an 

agitated Mako. 

While those experiences were 

all pretty intense, none made me 

feel that filming sharks is overly 

dangerous - as long as you prepare 

Tearing into a dead 

cow 

Broadcasters want 

sequences of shark 

behaviour and close 

encounters with big 

sharks, and filming 

sharks for TV gets you 

into some very different 

situations to those the 

recreational shark diver 

experiences. 

One I won’t forget is 

diving with Great Whites 

in an open filming cage 

at night. There can be 

very few experiences as 

intense as seeing a huge 

shape looming out of the 

blackness, head rapidly 

filling your field of view, 

Dave up close with a Tiger shark 

Photo Etienne Menger 


Rush hour 

properly, stay focused, and work 

with the right people. 

Yes but how dangerous are 

they? 

People tend to get very opinionated 

on whether sharks are dangerous 

or not. They seem to fall into very 

polarized camps: those who think 

sharks are all mindless man-eaters 

out to get us, or at the other end of 

the spectrum, those who believe 

all sharks are safe to swim with. 

I think the reality is somewhere 

in between; sharks are potentially 

dangerous predators that deserve 

respect, but in general are not 

likely to pose a problem unless 

you put yourself in a risky situation, 

ie diving in low light or poor 

visibility in areas frequented by 

large sharks; diving in sharky areas 

without local knowledge; diving 

alone or out of your comfort zone; 

or not giving sharks the 

respect they demand. 

Obviously diving with shark 

species that hunt large prey like 

seals, turtles and game fish pose 

significantly more potential risk 

than diving with smaller reef 

sharks. However all sharks are 

opportunistic and if you don’t 

maintain regular eye contact or 

let your attention wander, they 

are instantly aware and will take 

advantage of your inattention. 

Blue sharks fighting 

…sharks are opportunistic and if you don’t maintain 

regular eye contact or let your attention wander, they 

are instantly aware and will take advantage… 

A huge 5.5M female White shark 


Reef sharks in Tahiti 

Photo Anthony Berberian 

Great White about to breach 

Staying confident 

Maintaining eye contact, showing confidence without 

aggression, and projecting awareness is a big part 

of staying safe in the water with large sharks, as is 

becoming more attuned to their body language. 

Spending more time in the water with sharks does 

help you understand them better, but it is a mistake 

to become complacent around any shark, or think you 

can always ‘read’ them. Yes, they usually signal their 

mood with body language, but sometimes that mood 

can change so quickly they are at warp speed before 

you can react. 

While regularly diving with sharks makes you more 

objective about the relatively low risk of most shark 

dives it also hones your respect for them. It pays to 

recognise that even a small shark can give you a bite 

requiring 20 or 30 stitches. This is not to demonise 

sharks, just to acknowledge what they are capable of! 

Watch your back 

Certainly when filming sharks in open water it is 

important to have someone you trust watching your 

back. It is pretty difficult to see what is going on 

behind you when you’re focused on framing a shot, 

and that second pair of eyes makes all the difference. 

It also pays to remember that when shooting sharks 

with a wide-angle lens, ‘filling the frame’ means the 

shark is going to be on your camera dome, literally! 

400 million years of evolution has honed sharks into 

superb predators, and to my mind one of the beautiful 

animals on the planet. I count myself very fortunate 

to have had so many opportunities to get into the 

water to film these amazing creatures; they are intelligent, 

intensely aware, often curious, and incredibly 

graceful …don’t ever miss a chance to do a shark dive! 

Looming out of the darkness - night dive with a Great White 


Species in depth 

The lionfish 

The first in a new series where we will look at a marine species in some detail 

Pretty to look at, venomous to hold, and 

if allowed, an invasion will unfold. . . 

By Aimee van der Reis 

Lionfish are mesmerising. They have majestic manes, bold 

colours and an incredible ability to ‘hover-swim’, all of 

which makes them great to photograph. 

These cryptic fish are found belly-side against rocks/ 

wrecks/reefs with their fins flared in all directions. They 

are definitely not afraid of the limelight, and you often see 

them upside down, or confidently parading. I knew they 

were venomous but never seemed threatening, and so after 

a recent trip to Port Vila, Vanuatu, I decided to investigate a 

bit more… 

The lionfish taxonomic family is 

Scorpaenidae which contains 

other venomous species such as 

scorpionfish (Scorpaena cardinalis) 

and in fact they can also 

be grouped on the structure of 

their venom organs. Their venoms 

are similar but potency differs 

with the lionfish envenomation 

symptoms being the least severe 

and the notorious stonefish the 

most severe with scorpionfish 

somewhere in between (1, 2)! 

What’s in the venom? 

Lionfish venom has so far been 

found to contain a toxin; acetylcholine 

and hyaluronidase. The 

toxin affects neuromuscular transmission 

(think motor neurons and 

muscle contractions) and is a heat 

labile antigenic substance (which 

evokes an immune response, eg 

swelling) (1, 3, 4). Research suggests 

that the toxin produces nitric 

oxide which causes muscle relaxation 

and thus the inhibition of 

neuromuscular functions (2, 4). 

The non-proteinaceous substance, 

acetylcholine, is essential for 

muscle contraction to occur and 

is a vital substance occurring 

naturally in the human body (3). 

Hyaluronidase is an enzyme that 

functions as toxin-spreading factor 

which can also possibly act as an 

allergen (5) which may explain why 

some people react more adversely 

to lionfish venom than others. 

No precise treatment or antidote 

exists for lionfish venom and only 

in severe cases will the antivenin 

for stonefish be considered for it. 

(4, 6, 7). 

Hunting 

Lionfish hunt use their natural 

camouflage while ambushing or 

stalking their prey. At the right 

moment they lunge with lightning 

speed, then generally swallow 

their prey head first (8). As you may 

For a list of the references numbered throughout this feature please email 

us at DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Photo: Hammer 


Fiji sunset 

Lionfish hovering just above the wreckage of 

the Semele Federesen wreck, Port Vila, Vanuatu 


A scorpionfish watching oblivious divers from below the kelp at Maitai Bay, Karikari Peninsula, New Zealand 

have noticed, they do not tend to 

move much when hovering while 

staring at you through their beady 

eyes. This is most likely because 

they are a confident solitary territorial 

fish, probably sizing you up 

trying to see whether they could 

get their mouth around your head 

or not... Their spines coupled with 

their venom are purely a form 

of defence playing no role as a 

weapon as they are already very 

successful hunters. 

Perfect invader 

Invasion of a non-native species is 

usually a man-made accident with 

dire consequences. High densities 

of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (P. 

volitans and P. miles) have established 

themselves on the east coast 

of Florida (USA), the Caribbean 

and the Gulf of Mexico. And they 

are claiming more territory for 

example near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

and in the Mediterranean Sea (14, 

15). 

The origin of the lionfish invasion 

in the western Atlantic remains 

unknown though thought to be due 

to the release of ornamental pet 

lionfish when aquarium owners 

tired of them. There is evidence 

lionfish were present in the Florida 

region as early as 1985 when, in 

1992, six lionfish were seen alive 

and well in a Florida bay after a 

private aquarium became a victim 

of Hurricane Andrew (16-18). Genetic 

evidence showed as few as three P. 

volitans and one P. miles females 

were needed for the founding of 

the Atlantic populations, and that 

their introduction was more likely 

to have occurred through a single 

event with ocean currents the 

main means of dispersal (14, 18-20). 

If you are wondering why these 

strong, independent female 

lionfish didn’t need a man...well, 

this particular genetic study was 

based on a gene region in the 

mitochondrial DNA passed on from 

females to their offspring, thus 

researchers could only determine 

how many females initially played 

a role in this lionfish population 

explosion. Maybe the Hurricane 

Andrew lionfish are partly to 

blame though the accuracy of this 

report is questionable to say the 

least… 

Unprecedented invasion 

speed 

Nevertheless the speed and 

scale of the lionfish invasion was 


unprecedented, spurred on by their 

(I) venomous defence mechanism, 

(II) lack of predatory pressures, (III) 

ability to reproduce all year round 

(though temperature and food 

dependent), (IV) thrive in a variety 

of habitats, (V) immunity to certain 

fish pathogens, (VI) unique hunting 

techniques and (VII) high rates of 

survival despite long periods of 

food scarcity (8, 26-33). 

The invasion led to competition 

with native fish (eg groupers) 

seeking similar prey on the reef 

(34). Researchers across certain 

study sites found a 65% average 

decline in the biomass of affected 

native fish (26) The lionfish diet is 

generalist by nature and known 

to include many different species 

including (35, 36) trumpetfish, 

chromis, grouper, parrotfish, 

snapper, pufferfish and squirrelfish. 

Shrimp identified have 

included mantis shrimp and 

cleaner shrimp (37, 38). The diet 

includes somewhat larger (adult) 

species than the lionfish itself and 

thus it is likely they are targeting 

the juveniles which in turn may 

alter the functioning of the food 

web and thus the structure of coral 

reef ecosystems (38). 

Underwater visual censuses 

suggest the densities of lionfish 

in invaded areas are far greater 

than in their natural habitats, up 

to 400 fish per hectare (29)! That’s 

up to 15× the density of their own 

natural habitats! 

Control options? 

So what options are there to 

decrease these invasions and 

restore the natural populations? 

Larger native fish may learn to 

eat the lionfish while preyed-on 

smaller native fish may come to 

identify lionfish as a threat (39). A 

more proactive approach has been 

lionfish removal events such as 

the Reef Environmental Education 

Foundation’s (REEF’s) lionfish 

derbies, and promoting lionfish 

as a desirable fish to eat, such as 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration’s (NOAA) “Eat 

lionfish” campaign. These actions 

also provide education about 

handling and preparing a potentially 

harmful fish which is in fact 

completely safe to eat (34). 

Developing a market for them 

would be cost-effective for 

controlling their populations, 

alleviate over-exploited native 

fish, relieve stress occurring on 

the reefs, and provide an opportunity 

for small scale commercial 

fishing (27). Where a market for 

lionfish has been explored it looks 

promising, and may be a means to 

control this invasive species. 


Fun facts 

What are the possible side 

effects if injury occurs? 

(1, 2, 9-13) 

Mild to medium side effects: 

Redness around site of injury, severe pain 

(immediate throbbing), swelling and possible 

discolouration of the skin where the injury 

occurred, pins and needles, dizziness or 

feeling faint (coupled with looking pale), 

nausea, sweating, and possibly bullae (type of 

blister) formation at site of stings. 

• Lionfish are suction feeders, feeding on crustaceans 

and fish mostly at dusk and dawn and use their cryptic 

nature to their advantage by ambushing their prey (32, 40-42). 

Research suggests cannibalism occurs, but this is linked to 

fish size and density within an area (43). 

• They can hover due to their specialized bilateral swim 

bladder muscles allowing them to alter their centre of 

gravity (the reason they are often seen upside down/head 

down). So they can orientate themselves strategically before 

striking their prey (44). 

Severe side effects: 

Delirium, seizures, anaphylactic shock 

(if stung more than once), limb paralysis, 

vomiting (watch out for dehydration) and 

shortness of breath. After several weeks 

you may feel a loss of sensation (anesthesia), 

abnormal perception of sensation (paresthesia), 

or an increase in sensation (hypesthesia). 

Local necrosis (dead tissue) at site of 

injury could occur. 

• Lionfish can produce jets of water in the direction of their 

prey when stalking which are thought to confuse or distract 

the prey, and make them orientate head-first for an easy 

swallow (8). 

• Lionfish fins give the illusion the fish is larger than it 

actually is. Specifically their pectoral fins allow it to ‘herd’ 

potential prey into areas of no escape. They also have been 

seen to team up to hunt and alternate the fish that gets 

to strike and eat the prey (45). Their pectoral fins also are 

handy for flushing benthic invertebrates out of substrates 

by palpation (applying pressure to determine if invertebrates 

are present in the substrates) (46). 

• Research has described distinct vocalization of lionfish. 

They make different calls when alone (repetitive pulsecalls), 

or together (multiple fish vocalize concurrently with 

less rapid repetitive pulse-calls at a lower frequency), or 

when agitated (hum call) (47). It is thought this calling may 

have be to do with seeking a friend to hunt… 

• They occupy a wide range of thermal environments, from 

13 to 32°C. But about 23°C suits best. They have been found 

at depths greater than 75 m (29, 32) too which means they 

populate a range of habitats including reefs, mangroves, 

soft bottoms, nearshore seagrass beds and near estuaries 

(28, 29). 

• The bacterial community found on lionfish skin is diverse 

and is capable of producing antibacterial metabolites and 

thus help defend the lionfish from fish pathogens (the 

bacteria promotes disease resistance to its host) (30). 

• Tagged lionfish movement records show they tend to 

move relatively little depending on the lionfish density in 

the area, body size and seascape structure (41). 

• They can change their physiology to meet their energy 

demands, for eg lowering their metabolism when food is 

scarce (31, 32). 

Actions to take: 

Firstly, it is important to get the diver out of 

the water as soon as possible after injury. 

Pain will be most severe an hour to an hour 

and a half after the venom has been injected 

and persist for 6-12 hours or longer. The 

persistent pain is likely due to the fact that 

the toxin cannot be inactivated immediately 

after injury has occurred. Immersing 

the affected area in hot water, no more than 

45°C for 30-60 minutes will help neutralize 

the toxin and provide relief. If the spine and/ 

sheath is embedded it should be removed. 

But when cleaning the wound use warm 

saline solution as alcohol based solutions 

may cause further tissue damage. The wound 

will need to drain so should be left open. It 

is always advisable to consult a doctor and 

wise to make sure that tetanus protection 

is up to date (Clostridium tetani, the bacterium 

responsible for tetanus, can be found in 

marine sediments. 

Better safe than sorry!). 


Sleeping like a Weddell by Ralf Schneider 

Highly Commended 2019, Black and White 

reaching up to 3.5 metres, with the females somewhat larger than the 

males. 

Lying on fast ice (attached to land) off Larsen Harbour, South Georgia, 

this Weddell Seal was relatively safe from its predators – killer whales 

and leopard seals – and so could completely relax and digest. Weddell 

seals populate inshore habitats around the Antarctic continent, 

They can descend to more than 500 metres and stay under water for 

long periods, sometimes more than an hour. 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II + 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 400mm; 1/500 sec 

at f8; ISO 400. 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 

2019 images go on display 

The world-renowned World Wildlife Photographer of 

the Year display opens this month at London’s Natural 

History Museum. 

The exhibition showcases the world's best nature 

photography and photojournalism is in its 55th year. 

Again this year Dive Pacific publishes a selection of 

highly commended images relating to the oceans, 

among them a black & white photo of a Weddell seal 

described by Chair of the competition jury Roz Kidman 

Cox, as 'a portrait of pure, relaxed bliss', and a black 

water photo by Fabien Michenet who we featured in 

our last issue. 

The overall winners will be announced on 15 October 

with the exhibition opening on October 18th. Winning 

images are selected for their creativity, originality, 

technical excellence. This year's competition attracted 

48,000 entries from professionals and amateurs in 100 

countries. Just 100 images made it to the exhibition. 

Dr Tim Littlewood, Director of Science at the Natural 

History Museum and member of the judging panel, 

said “We hope this year's exhibition will empower 

people to think differently about our planet and our 

critical role in its future.” 

After the flagship exhibition the images go on a UK 

and international tour. 

Facebook: 

www.facebook.com/wildlifephotographeroftheyear 

Twitter: @NHM_WPY Instagram: @nhm_wpy 

Hashtag: #WPY55 

The 56th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition 

(for 2020) will open for entries on Monday 21st 

October 2019 and close at 11.30am GMT on Thursday 

12 December 2019. Its open to everyone - the competition 

welcomes entries from photographers of all ages 

and abilities: 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy/competition.html 


Touching trust by Thomas P Peschak, Germany/South Africa 

Highly Commended 2019, Wildlife Photojournalism 

A curious young grey whale approaches a 

pair of hands reaching down from a tourist 

boat. In San Ignacio Lagoon on the coast of 

Mexico’s Baja California, a World Heritage Site 

where whale‐watching is carefully managed 

by the community, baby grey whales and their 

mothers actively seek contact with people for 

a head scratch or back rub. The trust between 

whales and humans has built up relatively 

recently. Fishermen have also gained a 

whale‐watching income in winter, now vital 

as fish catches decline. 

Nikon D3S + 16mm f2.8 lens; 1/400 sec at f9; 

ISO 1250; Subal housing. 

Jelly baby by Fabien Michenet, France 

Highly Commended 2019, Under Water 

A juvenile jackfish peers out from inside a 

small jellyfish off Tahiti in French Polynesia. 

With nowhere to hide in the open ocean, 

it has adopted the jelly as an overnight 

travelling shelter, slipping under the umbrella 

and possibly immune to the stinging 

tentacles, which deter potential predators. 

In hundreds of night dives, says Fabien, ‘I’ve 

never seen one without the other. Diving 

in deep open water in darkness is Fabien’s 

specialty. (see Dive Pacific Issue 170 for more) 

Nikon D810 + 60mm f2.8 lens; 1/320 sec at 

f22; ISO 64; Nauticam housing; Inon Z-240 

strobes. 


If penguins could fly, by Eduardo Del Álamo, Spain 

Highly Commended 2019 

A gentoo penguin, the fastest underwater 

swimmer of all penguins, flees from a leopard 

seal. Eduardo was expecting it. He had spotted 

the penguin resting on a fragment of broken 

ice. But he had also seen the leopard seal 

patrolling off the Antarctic Peninsula coast, 

close to the gentoo’s colony on Cuverville 

Island. Leopard seals are formidable 

predators. Females can be 3.5 metres long 

and weigh more than 500 kg, males slightly 

less. They hunt almost anything, from fish 

to the pups of other seal species. They also 

play with their prey, as here, with the leopard 

seal pursuing the penguin for more than 15 

minutes before finally catching and eating it. 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II + 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 

lens at 110mm; 1/2500 sec at f10; ISO 1000. 

Last gasp by Adrian Hirschi, Switzerland 

A newborn hippo, just days old, was keeping 

close to its mother in the shallows of Lake 

Kariba, Zimbabwe, when a large bull suddenly 

made a beeline for them chasing the mother, 

then seized the calf clearly intent on killing 

it with the distraught mother looking on. 

Adrian’s fast reaction and fast exposure 

captured the shocking drama. Infanticide 

among hippos is rare but may result from 

the stress caused through overcrowding 

when their day-resting pools dry out. A male 

may also increase his reproductive chances 

by killing young that are not his, triggering 

females to go into oestrus, and becoming 

ready to mate again. 

Nikon D750 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/2000 sec at 

f6.3 (-0.7 e/v); ISO 640; Gitzo monopod. 


Circle of life by Alex Mustard, UK 

Highly commended 2019, Black and White 

In the clear water of the Red Sea, a shoal 

of bigeye trevally circle 25 metres down at 

the edge of a reef. For the past 20 years Alex 

has travelled to Ras Mohammad, a national 

park at the tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, 

a no fishing marine reserve. Their circling 

behaviour is a dating exercise prior to pairing 

up, though it also deters predators. Using a 

lens system with a 130‐degree angle of view, 

Alex captured the shape of the shoal against 

the deep blue water below, the iridescent 

angled fish reflecting the light from the sun 

and his strobes. 

Nikon D850 + 28–70mm f3.5–4.5 lens at 

31mm + Nauticam Wide Angle Conversion 

Port; 1/60 sec at f11; ISO 500; Subal housing; 

two Seacam Seaflash 150D strobes. 

Beach waste by Matthew Ware, USA 

Highly Commended 2019, Wildlife Photojournalism 

From a distance, the beach scene at Alabama’s 

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge looked 

appealing: blue sky, soft sand and a Kemp’s 

ridley sea turtle. But as Matthew and the 

strandings patrol team got closer they could 

see the fatal noose around the turtle’s neck 

attached to the washed-up beach chair. The 

Kemp’s ridley is not only one of the smallest 

sea turtles just 65 centimetres long, it is also 

the most endangered. 

Canon EOS 700D + 18–55mm f3.5–5.6 lens at 

18mm; 1/1250 sec at f4.5; ISO 100. 


BACK IN THE DAY 

DIVE Magazine Vol 7. No 1 Price 25 cents 

Sportways bouyancy compensator 

Sportways ad published in 

Wade Doak’s DIVE magazine 

These Buoyancy Compensators were 

referred to by divers as toilet seats! 

Note: 1) The clear tube running from 

the diver’s regulator. This fed the 

diver’s exhaust air into the black tube 

that has the fine netting on the end. 

The air created a mini airlift for 

removing fine bottom particles, 

exposing a seam of coins. This creative 

airlift was a Kelly Tarlton invention. 

Quite amazing! 

2) The DCP decompression meter 

on the diver’s right hand. This was 

one of the first times these new 

decompression meters were used on 

extended decompression dives in NZ. 

The silver coins pictured above were 

uncovered at the wreck site of the 

Elingamite at the Three Kings Islands 

1965. 

Expedition members were: Wade 

Doak. Kelly Tarlton, John Pettit, John 

Gallagher, Peter Clemens, Geoff Pearch 

and Jaan Voot. Kelly Tarlton most 

likely took the picture. 

Sightings of pest fish Gambusia wanted in Nelson Tasman 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Gambusia prey on native insects 

and fish including whitebait, one of 

the world’s most invasive species. 

A small, robust fish, it breeds and 

spreads very rapidly in spring and 

summer with populations able to 

expand to 17 times their original 

number within five months. It is 

illegal to possess, release, buy, sell 

or breed them. 

“Gambusia threaten native whitebait 

species and mudfish by 

nipping their fins and eating eggs 

and juveniles,” said DOC ranger 

Renan Falleiros. “They also reduce 

native insect populations.” 

Commonly known as mosquito 

fish, Gambusia were introduced to 

the North Island in the 1930s in the 

belief they would control mosquito 

larvae. Recent studies have shown 

that they are not effective and 

can even increase them by eating 

mosquitoes’ native predators. 

Gambusia were first discovered 

in a Tasman pond in 2000. DOC’s 

Pest Fish Programme eradicated 

Gambusia from over 23 sites but 

they are still found at many sites 

around Waimea Inlet, Moutere 

Inlet, Motueka and Riwaka. 

DOC is asking anyone who sees 

fish they believe to be Gambusia 

to take photos and email details 

to rfalleiros@doc.govt.nz. Include 

your name, contact number and 

details of where and when they 

saw the fish. 

Male Gambusia grow to 3.5 cm and 

females to 6 cm. The fish prefer 

slow moving water in creeks, 

wetlands, ponds, and estuaries 

where there is a mix of salt and 

fresh water. 


GEARBAG 

MagicJet Underwater Scooter 

debuts at Sydney dive expo 

After success with their Nemo underwater drone, Aquajet 

took it and their new MagicJet underwater scooter to the 

Australia International Dive Expo in Sydney (AIDE-organised 

by the Australian Diving Association). The expo has been 

running in September since 2014 with 60,000 people and over 

500 companies attending this year. 

The MagicJet scooter allows you to use one unit or combine two to double the thrust 

(up to 10 Kg) and it comes equipped with a choice of three Gropo camera mounts. It is 

claimed to run for 100 minutes on its 155.4Wh rechargeable battery in 2 speed settings, 

and go to 50 metres depth. 

RRP for the Nemo drone is $US1399-1799 and for the scooter $US699 

www.aquarobotman.com 

New product releases from Cressi 

Cressi Calibro mask and Corsica Snorkel set RRP $159.99 

• Highly popular Cressi Calibro mask with patented For Stop system 

now comes in a convenient package with the Corisca snorkel. 

• Minimal internal volume 

• Raked frame angle for phenomenal field of view 

• Highly technical snorkel designed specifically for deep freediving 

and spearfishing. 

• Matte coating - available in green and black 

Cressi F1 frameless mask RRP $99.99 

• Ultra low-volume, single lens design for excellent field-of-view 

• Silicone skirt bonds directly to the lens for lower weight and reduced drag 

• Fast-adjust ratcheting strap buckles mounted to skirt 

• Supple, high-grade silicone seals gently and securely against the face 

• Available in Blue, Pink, Yellow and White 

Cressi Action Camera mask and Mexico snorkel set RRP $149.99 

• Highly popular Cressi Action camera mask with mount for camera 

now comes in a convenient package with the Mexico snorkel. 

• Hypoallergenic dark silicon mask skirt for comfort, fit & durability 

• Classic twin lens design mask with a good field of vision & low 

internal volume 

• Frame molded mount to fit Garmin Virb or GoPro action cameras 


GEARBAG 

LET’S 

EXPLORE. 

TOGETHER. 

SUUNTO D5 

The new Suunto D5 is designed to be so clear and easy-to-use that you can 

just enjoy and focus on exploring the wonderful underwater world. Play with 

style by changing the strap to match your looks. After diving, connect 

wirelessly to the Suunto app to re-live and share your adventures with friends. 

www.suunto.com Suunto Diving @suuntodive 

Visit one of our nationwide stockist to view our SUUNTO products 

ADVENTURE DIVE BAY OF PLENTY 290B TE NGAE ROAD LYNMORE ROTORUA 

BIG BLUE DIVE & FISH CNR AKERSTEN ST & WILDMAN AVE PORT NELSON NELSON 

BLENHEIM DIVE CENTRE 9 SCOTT STREET BLENHEIM 

DEEP BLUE DIVING CO 15 BYRON STREET SYDENHAM CHRISTCHURCH 

DIVE! TUTUKAKA MARINA ROAD TUTUKAKA WHANGAREI 

DIVE CENTRE AUCKLAND 97 WAIRAU ROAD WAIRAU VALLEY AUCKLAND 

DIVE HQ CHRISTCHURCH 103 DURHAM STREET SOUTH SYDENHAM CHRISTCHURCH 

DIVE DOCTOR 20R SYLVIA PARK ROAD MT WELLINGTON AUCKLAND 

DIVE ZONE TAURANGA 213 CAMERON ROAD TAURANGA 

DIVE WELLINGTON 432 THE ESPLANADE ISLAND BAY WELLINGTON 

DIVE ZONE WHITIANGA 10 Campbell Street WHITIANGA 

DIVE OTAGO 2 WHARF STREET DUNEDIN 

DUTCHYS 12 THE MARINA TAIRUA WAIKATO 

GLOBAL DIVE 132 BEAUMONT STREET WESTHAVEN AUCKLAND 

KIWI DIVERS NZ 8 KEITH HAY COURT SILVERDALE AUCKLAND 

NZ DIVING UNIT 2, 9/23 MORRISON DRIVE WARKWORTH AUCKLAND 

OCEAN HUNTER AUCKLAND UNIT 12, 2 TAWA DRIVE ALBANY AUCKLAND 

OCEANS ALIVE 35a Ocean View Parade Breakwater Bay NEW PLYMOUTH 

OCEAN HUNTER WELLINGTON 2/56 KINGSFORD SMITH STREET LYALL BAY WELLINGTON 

WAIKAWA DIVE CENTRE UNIT # 2 (REAR) WAIKAWA MARINA PICTON 


GEARBAG 

West Australia invests $1 million in personal shark deterrent subsidies 

The West Australian Government has announced an 

additional 1,000 subsidies for Ocean Guardian’s shark 

deterrent devices. Resident local surfers and divers there 

have been taking up a government subsidy programme 

in big numbers - the increase brings the total cost to the 

government up to $1 million. 

The subsidy programme, the first of its kind in the world, 

has so far paid out 3,800 rebates to local surfer and divers 

worth $200 each. The only devices qualifying must be 

scientifically proven and the only ones that meet that 

criteria are Ocean Guardian’s FREEDOM+ Surf (Bundle) and 

the Ocean Guardian FREEDOM7. 

With the $200 Government rebate, the surf bundle is $299 

and the dive device $399 available through the programme 

from a registered retailer. 

Both devices are shown to significantly reduce the risk of a 

negative interaction with great whites and other sharks. 

The Shark Shield Technology also prevents the unnecessary 

killing of sharks by environmentally fatal shark nets, 

drum-lines and shark culling. It works by generating a 

three-dimensional electrical field which causes spasms in 

the sensitive receptors of sharks’ snouts, with no known 

harmful effects to the sharks or to humans. 

www.ocean-guardian.com 

...reducing shark tax 

Ocean Guardian launched their new FISH01 

at a recent Sydney International Boat Show. Its 

developed for the fishing industry to improve 

catch rates by reducing ‘shark tax.’ That is, it helps 

avoid sharks taking the catch. 

The FISH01 has between 10-12 hours of battery 

life, delivers a protective field up to 15m deep and 

6m wide, at a maximum depth of 200m. 

www.ocean-guardian.com RRP $2,999. 

New community funded rescue vessel ready for the Gulf 

Auckland Coastguard has 

worked for two years to get the 

funding and commission its 

latest rescue boat Trillian Trust 

Rescue. 

Designed by Naiad Boats and 

built in New Zealand by Alloy 

Cats the new 15m rescue boat 

extends the range from North 

Cape through to East Cape and 

the ability to engage in overnight 

and extended search and rescue 

operations. 

Significant grants from 

Trillian Trust, Lion Foundation, 

Foundation North, the Lotteries 

Grants Board and Kelliher 

Charitable Trust along with 

funding from Coastguard, made it 

possible. 

The Trillian Trust Rescue complements 

the existing Lion Foundation 

Rescue, a 15m semi-foiling 

catamaran, and Trillian Rescue 

Alpha, a 9.5m fast response vessel. 

Based at Mechanics Bay, Auckland 

Coastguard comprises 150 volunteers 

staffing 24 hours a day, 365 

days a year. Over the previous 

12 months they attended 430 

incidents from mechanical 

difficulties to search-and-rescue 

emergencies. 

The new purpose built rescue 

vessel features include: 

• 700hp Scania inboard diesel 

engines 

• Fuel range of 200 nautical miles 

• A fully integrated Simrad navigation 

suite including a Radio 

Direction Finder and a Thermal 

Search Camera 

• Full first aid and resuscitation 

equipment 


Washing your dive gear made easy 

Salt-Away is the cheapest and most 

concentrated product available, says 

Shane Housley warming up on the 

subject of salt water corrosion. 

As the Salt-Away distributor in New 

Zealand of course he would say that, 

but he has the facts to back up the 

claim. 

With Salt-Away diluted 500 to one 

it takes just a few millilitres to 

fully protect costly bits of kit like 

camera housings, regulators and 

BCDs - and you can keep on using 

the same bucket of solution for 

several months – it’s a persuasive 

argument. 

“Its water based, a green product, 

and you can be 100% certain 

you can soak your gear in it at no 

risk,” Shane says. “It won’t attack 

any metal or alloy and it protects 

rubbers too; it doesn’t make them 

go hard. I’ve got sensitive skin but 

I’ve never had any skin reaction to 

it either.” 

He said the active ingredient, 

Cortec N370, makes the corrosive 

properties of salt inert whereas 

competitor products attempt to 

dissolve or counteract the salt. 

A keen diver himself Shane says he 

always squirts it into his BCD, forcing 

it up the dump valve. You can use the 

Salt Away mixing unit attached to a 

garden hose back at home, swishing it 

around and over the tank, putting the 

GEARBAG 

regulator into a bucket of diluted Salt- 

Away overnight then just letting it dry. 

No rinsing in fresh water required. 

For regulators he recommends first 

blowing water off the first stage inlet 

using air from the cylinder, replacing 

the dust cap, then soaking it overnight 

in the same way. The same general 

process should be followed for 

wetsuits, dive computers, goggles, 

flippers, tanks and other gear. 

For outboards he recommends 

adding 200 to 250 ml to salt 

water then rinsing it through the 

heat exchanger. Salt-Away also 

supplies collapsible flush bags 

for the purpose in varying sizes, 

which are also ideal for dive gear. 

But head to their website for more 

comprehensive info on washing 

engines, boats, and fishing gear. 

Salt-Away products are widely 

available, probably at your nearest 

boat or dive shops but it's just as 

easy to shop online at 

www.salt-away.co.nz 

FLUSH YOUR DIVE GEAR WITH 

MULTI-FUNCTION 

ENGINE FLUSH 

AND SPRAY GUN 

KILLS SALT CORROSION 

SALT REMOVING TREATMENT 

Best value for money • Most concentrated (500.1) 

Making it perform best with outstanding results 

WARNING Dive gear fails due to salt 

corrosion. ACT NOW AND FLUSH YOUR REGS! 

WHOLESALE MARINE DIRECT 

0800 272 589 www.salt-away.co.nz 


GEARBAG 

Buying gifts for underwater photographers 

We know it’s hard to know what you can get for that underwater photographer in your life. Not for lack of choice – it’s the 

opposite – there’s so much! And how do you know what’s good to get and if it will even work with their system? So we’ve 

written this rule-of-thumb guide to safe gifts. 

1. Lenses – The most common thread is M67 (AKA 67mm) 

– and even if the housing has a different thread, 

adaptor rings are readily available and affordable. 

2. Macro lenses are usually a good choice for any 

system and most can be stacked to make even higher 

magnifications – so even if the person who you’re 

buying for has a macro lens, another one can still be 

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SPECIESFOCUS 

Black angelfish 

~Parma alboscapularis 

By Paul Caiger 

Black angelfish are a charismatic 

addition to any northern New 

Zealand reef scene. As their name 

suggests, they are black. However 

they are not an angelfish, but 

rather belong to the damselfish or 

demoiselle family more common 

to the tropics of the world. And 

unlike their tropical cousins 

they are far larger, up to 30 cm, 

as are a handful of other Parma 

species, and the Garibaldi, found in 

temperate locations. 

As juveniles, black angelfish are far 

more colourful (see photo) and far 

more like their tropical counterparts; 

bright yellow with iridescent 

lightning-blue dots adorning them. 

Black angelfish are predominantly 

herbivorous fish and live in fairly 

shallow depths where sunlight 

fuels algal growth. Their incisorlike 

teeth are arranged into cutting 

plates, perfectly adapted to nip 

and shear small delicate seaweed 

with their favoured types being 

greens and reds. So these fish are 

usually found in areas devoid of 

the thicker brown kelps, some of 

which is their own doing. 

These fish are avid gardeners, 

removing undesirable algae 

and encrusting invertebrates to 

encourage the growth of their 

favoured food. Consequently, they 

are highly territorial, a territoriality 

that is enhanced during 

the breeding season when males 

will aggressively seek out and 

defend optimum terrain. Such 

terrain includes not only favoured 

resources and a lack of large kelp, 

but also large boulders or rocks 

that include vertical rock faces 

which serve as nests. In defense of 

their territory, and particularly to 

guard their nests, adult males will 

chase off intruders, racing at them 

with a strong “bark”, and flashing 

a white patch on the top corner of 

their gill plate. Similarly they will 

happily target divers too, chasing 

at any that get too close to their 

nest, even nipping at stubborn 

intruders. 

This ability to vocalise is a trait 

shared in damselfishes; black 

angelfish are one of the few very 

actively vocal species in northern 

New Zealand reefs. In the tropical 

species, sound cues emanating 

from reefs has been shown to 

provide orientation and settlement 

cues for larvae looking for 

a suitable home. It is unknown if 

this is the case with Parma though 

certainly very feasible. 

Black angelfish are an extremely 

long-lived species; up to 90 years 

old! This is up there with some the 

longest lived reef fish anywhere. 

Remarkably too, they grow to adult 

size in under two years, a factor 

that permits them to put energy 

into maintaining territories and 

gardens, along with putting huge 

investments into courting females 

and protecting their offspring until 

they hatch. 

~Parma alboscapularis 

1 

2 

3 

4 

“alboscapularis” refers to the white shoulder 

patch that flares up when excited. 

Brilliantly coloured yellow and electric blue 

juveniles. 

Herbivorous, feeds on red and green algae. 

Marine gardeners, removing unwanted algae 

and invertebrates in their garden. 

5 

6 

7 

8 

One of the most vocally active fish species in 

New Zealand. 

Extremely long lifespan, living up to 90 years 

old. 

Grow to adult size in under two years. 

Aggressively defend nests laid on rock faces. 


INCIDENTINSIGHTS WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DANAP] 

By DAN World 

Symptoms return after flying: 

Did the diver fly too soon? 

In this incident a diver was evacuated for recompression, but flew home sooner than DAN 

advised and, unfortunately, the symptoms returned and persisted for some time. Could this have 

been avoided if the diver had delayed his flight home? 

The dives 

A 28-year-old dive 

instructor completed a long 

45m dive on mixed gas 

with decompression. The 

next day he completed a 

dive (on air) to 26m for 65 

minutes, and afterwards 

noted that he felt more 

tired than usual. 

Symptoms present 

The following day, more 

than 24 hours since his 

final dive, he felt an ache/ 

burn in his right shoulder, 

and the next day, when 

DAN was called, he had 

some altered sensation 

in his hip and elbow. By 

then he had been receiving 

oxygen first aid for six 

hours without any significant 

improvement when the call 

to DAN was made. 

DAN’s advice 

The DAN Diving Emergency 

Service (DES) doctor was not 

certain the diver was experiencing 

DCI based on the information 

provided. The diver was 

asked to continue breathing 

oxygen for a few more hours 

that evening and take Ibuprofen, 

and in the morning, he would be 

re-assessed. 

As the diver was in Timor where 

there are no chamber facilities he 

would need to be evacuated for 

treatment if symptoms did not 

improve. 

When DAN spoke to the diver 

the following day he told them 

that he remained on oxygen 

for an additional six hours and 

continued breathing pure oxygen 

for an hour that morning. He 

thought the Ibuprofen relieved 

the ‘pressure’ he felt in his lower 

back but mentioned that pain in 

his right shoulder and the hypersensitivity 

in his shoulder, arm 

and chest area were still present. 

He also mentioned that he was 

continuing to experience discomfort 

in his right hip, felt waves of 

pain flow through his right elbow 

and had a stiff right little finger. 

When he attempted some light 

activities with his clients he had 

difficulty breathing and experienced 

shortness of breath. 

Evacuation required 

The DAN doctor recommended 

the diver be seen by a Hyperbaric 

Medical Specialist and told him 

that recompression treatment 

was a possibility. DAN determined 

that the closest facility 

capable and available to treat this 

diver at the time of his accident 

was in Singapore, so DAN began 

to coordinate his evacuation. 

While waiting to be evacuated 

to Singapore the diver breathed 

oxygen for another three hours 

and reported feeling much better. 

In fact, he felt so much better that 

he considered calling DAN to say 

he was better. But that evening 

his symptoms returned. 


Treatment 

Once in Singapore the diver 

was evaluated and ended up 

receiving two recompression 

treatments. His symptoms 

mostly resolved but he did 

express to the doctor that he 

still had shoulder discomfort 

post treatment. The doctor 

felt it wasn’t DCS and he was 

discharged from the hospital. 

Conflicting ‘Do Not Fly’ 

advice 

The diving doctor advised the 

diver not to fly for three days, 

but DAN advised that this was 

insufficient and that he should 

wait at least a week before flying 

back to Timor given the remoteness 

of his destination. 

The diver ended up flying home 

back there four days after treatment 

and upon his return he 

advised DAN that he was again 

experiencing residual symptoms 

in his hip, shoulder and elbow. 

The DAN doctors advised 

the diver to continue taking 

Ibuprofen for several days to 

help with the residual inflammation, 

remain hydrated, and 

refrain from exercising, or going 

to altitude. The diver’s condition 

did not deteriorate further. 

However his improvement was 

very slow, to his frustration. 

Cost: Emergency Evacuation 

USD$34,500 

DAN comments 

While the diver’s symptoms in 

this case were mild, they were 

persistent. The diver was evacuated 

to Singapore and received 

two treatments and, unfortunately, 

DAN’s advice to avoid 

flying for at least a week was not 

followed. 

In many cases divers are cleared 

to fly after three days from their 

final treatment if they remain 

asymptomatic. This is often fine 

and many divers following this 

advice have no further issues - 

although a small number will. 

In this case, DAN’s recommendation 

was more conservative 

than the doctor’s recommendation 

as DAN factored in 

the remoteness of the diver’s 

location. The reason behind this 

more conservative approach 

stemmed from the fact that once 

the diver flew home to Timor, 

he would be back in the same 

situation should symptoms 

reappear: Stuck in a location not 

equipped with the necessary 

medical facilities or equipment, 

including a chamber, to treat his 

injuries. 

It is not surprising that flying 

prematurely aggravated this 

diver’s condition because it is 

likely he had residual bubbles in 

his system. When divers have 

residual bubbles it often takes 

a longer time for persistent 

symptoms to fully resolve. 

This case serves as an important 

reminder to adhere to the advice 

of DAN as our case managers 

factor in all aspects of a diver’s 

situation when providing advice. 

Visit “Diving Safety” at DANAP. 

org for more diving health and 

safety information, including 

DAN Doc. 

YOUR LEADER IN 

GLOBAL DIVE SAFETY. 

+ 39 Years 

Divers Helping Divers 

+ 24/7 

Emergency Medical Services 

+ 150,000 

Emergency Calls Managed 

+ 2,000,000 

Members Served Worldwide 

Experience Matters. 

Join DAN 

DANAP.org 

For more diving health 

and safety articles 

DANinsider.org for 

weekly posts discussing 

recent incidents, and 

diving health and safety 

content. 

Visit: daninsider.org and 

follow us on Facebook by 

searching DAN World. 

Need more information? 

Send DAN World an email 

(info@danap.org) or call 

+61-3-9886 9166 


DIVEMEDICINE 

The fascinating problem of inner 

ear decompression sickness 

By Professor Simon Mitchell, University of Auckland 

In this incident a diver was evacuated for recompression, but flew home sooner than DAN 

advised and, unfortunately, the symptoms returned and persisted for some time. Could this have 

been avoided if the diver had delayed his flight home? 

Decompression sickness 

(DCS) is the well-known 

diving disorder caused by 

bubbles formed from inert 

gas (usually nitrogen) that we 

have breathed and absorbed 

during a dive. 

Everyone who has done an entry 

level dive course knows the 

story. We absorb nitrogen into 

blood and tissues from the air we 

breathe during a dive. The deeper 

we go the more nitrogen we can 

absorb, and the longer we stay at 

depth the more nitrogen is taken 

up. Most dives are performed 

according to time and depth 

guidelines that allow us to make 

a direct ascent to the surface 

at the end of the dive (so-called 

“no-decompression diving”) but if 

we exceed certain depth and time 

limits then we have to ascend 

more slowly and make “decompression 

stops” to allow time for 

nitrogen or other inert gases we 

may breathe to be eliminated 

from the body. 

What dive tables and computers 

attempt to do in prescribing 

no-decompression time limits, or 

in prescribing a pattern of decompression 

stops during ascent, is to 

prevent the pressure of dissolved 

gas in our bodies from exceeding 

the surrounding pressure (a 

condition known as supersaturation) 

by more than is considered 

safe. Supersaturation of dissolved 

gas in our bodies is the primary 

driver for bubbles to form, so by 

controlling supersaturation we 

control bubble formation and 

lower the risk of DCS – that’s the 

theory anyway! 

Nothing is simple about DCS. 

Bubbles can form in tissue 

themselves, or in the blood 

(typically the venous blood 

because it drains from the tissues 

where all the nitrogen has 

accumulated). 

Organs can be affected 

Many organs can be affected, 

producing confusing patterns of 

symptoms of varying severity. 

Some symptoms are caused 

by those bubbles that form in 

tissues, and others are thought 

more likely related to bubbles that 

have formed in the blood. Some 

organs can be affected by both. 

The inner ear is a tiny organ 

that lies in the bone deep to 

the ear. It is responsible for 

processing the neural signals of 

hearing and balance. It is easy 

to understand how something 

going wrong with it can produce 

very unpleasant and potentially 

disabling symptoms, like intractable 

vertigo, nausea, vomiting 

and deafness. 

Why now? 

Why write about it now? Well, I 

was reminded of the issue this 

month in processing the next 

issue of Diving and Hyperbaric 

Medicine to be published at the 

end of September. In It there is 

an article by a group from Malta 

describing their DCS caseload 

since the late 80s. Around 1990 

about 5% of their DCS cases had 

inner ear symptoms but by 2017 

this had risen to 50%, an extraordinary 

increase [1]. 

Our DCS case numbers are low 

across the board in New Zealand, 

…The inner ear is tiny, but it contains several relatively 

large pools of fluid that can absorb and eliminate gas from 

the blood – but only through the sensitive neural tissues. 

These pools of fluid have no blood supply of their own… 

but we too are seeing more inner 

ear cases. The obvious question 

is why? And the answer is that 

it probably reflects the nature 

of the diving going on. Basically, 

with the increasing popularity of 

technical diving and rebreather 

use we are going deeper. 

Going deeper 

To understand why depth can 

be a particular issue for inner 

ear DCS we need to consider its 

fascinating pathophysiology. 

Here it can get a little complicated. 

The inner ear is one of 

those organs we believe can be 

injured by bubbles forming in the 

organ itself, and also by bubbles 

reaching it in the blood. 

Let’s start with bubbles forming 

in the inner ear itself. That seems 

like a fairly simple concept. If the 

inner ear tissue became excessively 

supersaturated with inert 

gas then bubbles could form, 

disrupt the inner ear function, 

and cause symptoms. This has 

often been seen during decompressions 

from very deep dives 

(I’m thinking typically more than 

100m). 


Fig. 1 Advantageous counter-diffusion after a helium to 

nitrogen switch during decompression. This situation 

would likely apply in all tissues except the inner ear. 

Fig. 2 Disadvantageous counter-diffusion in the inner 

ear after a helium to nitrogen switch during decompression. 

The fluid pools are represented by the darker blue 

panel. 

Terrifying instance 

I had one particularly terrifying 

experience with a buddy 

suffering this problem during a 

decompression from a 120m dive 

when we still had two hours of 

decompression to go. He was so 

dizzy he could not open his eyes 

and spent those hours coming off 

the rebreather to vomit on open 

circuit scuba, and going back on 

the rebreather again. It was a 

remarkable feat of diving skill and 

endurance that we were able to 

complete the decompression. The 

puzzling thing is that, as in this 

case, it is often only the inner ear 

affected by the problem. Why only 

the inner ear? Why aren’t other 

organs affected at the same time? 

Unique risk factor… 

The answer is that the inner 

ear has a unique risk factor for 

developing excess supersaturation 

during decompression from deep 

dives: it is the one and only organ 

in the body vulnerable to isobaric 

counter-diffusion problems 

(there’s a term you can drop into a 

diving medicine conversation!). 

In deep diving helium is typically 

blended with oxygen and nitrogen 

as ‘trimix’ and used for its 

non-narcotic, low density properties. 

In decompressing from deep 

dives it has been common practice 

to switch from helium breathing 

to nitrogen breathing (air or 

nitrox) during the decompression. 

In theory, this should result in 

faster reduction of tissue inert gas 

because the helium being a light 

molecule will diffuse from tissue 

to blood faster than nitrogen will 

diffuse from blood to tissue. 

The principle is illustrated in 

Figure 1 which shows a theoretical 

tissue with a blood vessel 

passing by just after a switch from 

…normal scuba air divers are also vulnerable to inner ear 

DCS, particularly if they venture down around the 

25-30m depth much… 

breathing primarily helium to 

primarily nitrogen. The helium 

diffuses rapidly into the blood 

(large arrow) because there is 

little helium there after the gas 

switch to nitrogen breathing, and 

nitrogen diffuses into the tissue 

but more slowly (smaller arrow) 

than the helium diffuses out. The 

net effect is a faster reduction of 

inert gas pressure in the tissue 

and this process of the two gases 

diffusing in opposite directions is 

called isobaric counter-diffusion. 

Figure 1. Advantageous counter-diffusion 

after a helium to 

nitrogen switch during decompression. 

This situation would 

likely apply in all tissues except 

the inner ear. 

…because of unique 

anatomy 

Unfortunately this does not quite 

work for the inner ear because of 

some unique anatomy. The inner 

ear is tiny, but it contains several 

relatively large pools of fluid that 

can absorb and eliminate gas from 

the blood – but only through the 

sensitive neural tissues. These 

pools of fluid have no blood supply 

of their own. If this fluid has 

absorbed a lot of helium during 

the dive, and it only loses it slowly 

through the tissue space, then a 

switch to nitrogen will have the 

opposite effect to that described 

above. Yes, helium moves from 

the tissue into the blood faster 

than the nitrogen diffuses from 

the blood into the tissue, but the 

helium pressure in the tissue is 

constantly topped up by helium 

moving into the tissue from the 

adjacent pools of fluid, and so the 

helium pressure in the tissue does 

not fall. 

The net effect is that the diffusion 

of nitrogen into the tissue will 

transiently increase the dissolved 

gas pressure in the inner ear, thus 


increasing any supersaturation that already exists and 

potentially being the final straw that leads to bubble 

formation. This process is illustrated in Figure 2. 

One way of avoiding this problem is simply to avoid gas 

switches during decompression, or taking care with 

the depth at which you make such switches, but the 

latter discussion is beyond the scope of this article. 

Figure 2. Disadvantageous counter-diffusion in the 

inner ear after a helium to nitrogen switch during 

decompression. The fluid pools are represented by the 

darker blue panel. 

KEEPING DIVERS SAFE 

AROUND THE WORLD 

Normal scuba air divers vulnerable too 

Non-technical divers may be feeling smug that this 

mechanism does not apply to them, but normal scuba 

air divers are also vulnerable to inner ear DCS, particularly 

if they venture down around the 25-30m depth 

much. Dives to these depths (or deeper) are almost 

certainly associated with a greater degree of bubble 

formation in the venous blood on surfacing. 

Some bubbles form in the veins relatively commonly 

and rarely do us harm. But if you form a lot of venous 

bubbles, and combine that with a means by which 

these bubbles can avoid being filtered by the lung 

capillaries, and enter the arterial circulation (such as a 

patent foramen ovale (PFO)), then problems can arise. 

Small venous inert gas bubbles entering the arteries 

can distribute around the body in the blood. Problems 

can arise if they find their way into the capillaries of 

functionally important organs that remain supersaturated 

with inert gas after the dive at the time these 

bubbles arrive. The inert gas dissolved in the tissue 

can then diffuse into the bubble and cause it to grow 

and create problems – where normally it might not. 

The inner ear tissue remains supersaturated with inert 

gas for about 30 min after a dive, so that is a danger 

period should any small bubbles arrive there in the 

blood. It is no surprise that the typical inner ear DCS 

case in a recreational air diver arises around 30 min 

after an air dive to 25-30m, and that most of these 

cases turn out to have a large PFO. 

In summary 

The reason we are seeing more of this fascinating but 

distressing problem is almost certainly more divers 

are becoming adventurous and going “tech” or pushing 

their scuba air diving a little deeper than previously. 

Inner ear DCS is treatable with recompression, so don’t 

ignore severe dizziness/vertigo arising early after 

diving (or during decompression from deep trimix 

dives). It may be inner ear DCS and you need to contact 

the DES line as early as possible. 

Reference: 

1. Azzopardi CP et al. Increasing prevalence of vestibulo-cochlear 

decompression illness in Malta – an analysis 

of hyperbaric treatment data from 1987 – 2017. Diving 

Hyperb Med. 2019;49(3):161-6 

SAFETY MATTERS 

JOIN DAN 

+ 24/7 Emergency Medical Services 

+ Emergency Medical Evacuation 

Assistance 

+ Membership & Assistance Coverage 

+ First Aid Training 

+ Online Dive Safety Resources 

DANAP.ORG 


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SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

Image Post Editing can make 

a huge difference 

By Dave Moran, Editor at Large 

The variety of images received for this fun 

competition sure makes you think, I need to go 

diving more often! The variety of subjects is just 

amazing. It’s great to see a mix of local and international 

dive locations represented in the final winning 

mix. 

The judges again remind us to use Post Editing tools 

such as Lightroom and Photoshop to improve your 

images. 

We ask entrants to advise us if Post Editing has been 

done as we see this as a skill that should be encouraged 

as it is now a big part of how images are finally 

presented/displayed. 

Simon Pierce, Advanced Highly Commended, used 

both Lightroom and Photoshop to improve his entry of a 

close encounter with a whale shark Good skills Simon! 

Novice category winner, Sarah Ford was advised 

by judges on editing tools to remove a subject that 

detracted from the main image in the picture. 

Graeme Lynam, Novice highly commended, was justifiably 

proud of the image he entered taken by a simple 

point and shoot camera to snap a beautiful image. The 

judges advised a little cropping could greatly improve 

the image. 

You can have a lot of fun editing but it takes TIME to 

fully master the various tools a program can deliver. 

Once mastered it can be a very quick process to 

enhance your chosen images. 

It’s just a matter of asking yourself, do I want to 

develop skills that can improve my images? 

The judges and the team at Dive New Zealand/Dive 

Pacific magazines look forward to receiving your 

personal masterpieces. See: www.divenewzealand. 

com click on Photo Competition. It’s free to enter. You 

can view galleries of all the entries over www.seatech. 

co.nz/blogs/shades-of-colour-photo-competition 

Thanks for taking the time to enter! 

'Winter light' (freediving in Goat Island marine reserve on a cold winters day) 

Canon 7DMKII, Tokina fisheye lens, Ikelite housing, ikelite DS-125 , DS-150 strobes – f/7, 1/250, ISO100 

Advanced Category Winner: 

Congratulations Dan Westerkamp, New Zealand. 

Dan was diving on a cold winter’s day at Goat island 

Marine reserve, north of Auckland. He became very 

creative shooting a half and half image of three 

stunning snapper with the island in bright sunshine 

above! 

Dan receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$100. 

Judges’ comments: 

This is a beautiful split level image and deserves to 

win. Even the exposure is correct on both levels. Well 

done. 

58 58 Dive Dive New New Zealand Zealand | | Dive Dive Pacific Pacific

Advanced 

Highly Commended: 

Congratulations Simon Pierce, NZ 

Simon was diving off St Helena 

island (British Overseas 

Territory) with a group of four 

whale sharks when one came 

over to check him out! 

Simon used Post Editing 

software Lightroom for basic 

cropping, colour and contrast. 

Any backscatter was removed 

in Photoshop. 

Simon receives a Gift Voucher 

for NZ$75. 


Fantastic sharp close image 

and very colourful. The darker 

background really brings it to 

life. 

A great recording of a close 

enciounter with a gentle giant! 

‘St Helena whale sharks’; St Helena Island: ony A7rIII camera, Nauticam NA-A7RIII housing, Canon 

8-15 mm lens with Metabones V adapter, Zen 100mm port – f/9, 1/250, ISO400 

‘Can I join you?’; White Island, New Zealand: Nikon AW130 full auto, no flash, no editing. 

Novice Highly Commended: 

Congratulations, Graeme Lynam, New Zealand. 

Graeme was off the coast of White Island, New Zealand 

when this formation of dolphins came zooming by! 

Graeme receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$50. 


An impressive image. A little Post Editing cropping 

would have made this image even more impressive! 

Well done. 

www.divenewzealand.com 59

SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

‘Bigfin Reef Squid’; Arefi Beau Dive Site, Raja Ampat: Sealife DC2000, wide angle lens – f/2.0, 1/160, ISO125 

Novice Category Winner: 

Congratulations, Sarah Ford, New Zealand. 

Sarah was enjoying the diving at Raja Ampat, 

Indonesia when she came upon a group of Bigfin reef 

squid at a dive site named, Arefi Beau. The squid 

were placing their numerous eggs on a sandy bottom 

amongst some red coral. 

To witness these beautiful, translucent squid laying 

their eggs is the type of diving experience we all hope 

will come our way during our time underwater! 

Sarah receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$75. 


An impressive image. A little Post Editing cropping 

would have made this image even more impressive! Well 

done. 

Thanks 

to all those 

who entered this fun 

competition. The judges, 

Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher 

and the team at Dive New Zealand/ 

Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces 

in October for the December/January 

2020 issue of the magazine. 

See: www.seatech.co.nz 

click on Photo Competition. 

It’s free to enter. 

The judges, Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher and 

the team at Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces in October 

for the December - January 2020 issue. 

Sea Tech is the official New Zealand distributor of Ikelite, Fantasea, 

Recsea, Inon, Bigblue, Nauticam and other leading brands of underwater 

photographic equipment. 

Visit: www.seatech.co.nz or for personal service email: info@seatech.co.nz 


A selection of notable photos entered for this edition's competition 

(N) Talia Greis 

(A) Dave Weeks 

(N) Robert Spankie 

(A) Jon Lyall 

(A) Dan Ruglys 

(A) Mark Blomfield - New Zealand 

(A)Matt Dowse 

www.divenewzealand.com 61

DIGITALIMAGING 

Hans Weichselbaum www.digital-image.co.nz 

every month? 

In May this year Adobe quietly debuted new pricing for its photographer bundle. The monthly cost went from 

$9.99 to $19.99 in some countries. Adobe officials said they were ‘testing’ new pricing tiers. The reaction from 

photographers round the world was not pretty, and Adobe didn’t quite follow through with their plan, but it left 

a bitter taste. 

Currently you pay $A14.95/month 

in Australasia, which gives you 

full access to Photoshop, Lightroom 

and a 20 GB Cloud storage facility. 

Most importantly, you automatically 

receive regular upgrades. 

My personal experience over the 

last few years is the benefits from 

those updates is very modest, 

hardly noticeable. The cost of using 

Photoshop comes to almost $NZ200 

per year, plus the constant threat of 

a price increase at any moment. 

Alternatives 

Little wonder then that many 

photographers, professional and 

amateur, have started to look around 

for alternatives, and they are discovering 

there are lots of image editors 

out there which can easily compete 

with Photoshop. 

I have been following the various 

tests and rankings over the last few 

months and found that Affinity 

Photo regularly got the top spot. 

It’s a program developed by Serif, a 

European company which has been 

around for 12 years. 

Affinity Photo is available for Mac 

and Windows platforms, as well 

as iPad. It currently costs NZ$90 

one-off. The latest version 1.7 came 

out in June this year and was a 

major upgrade, especially in terms 

of improved speed. It was free for 

existing customers and the company 

forum states that future upgrades 

are going to be free too until the 

next full version is released. This 

looks promising and I want to give 

you the results of my three weeks of 

testing it. 

Starting up Affinity Photo 

Downloading and installation on a 

Windows machine was straightforward. 

Image 1 shows you the interface 

with the familiar toolbar on the 

left of the image. One way of opening 

an image is through the File menu: 

File > Open (Ctrl+O). Thankfully, 

you’ll find that most of the keyboard 

shortcuts familiar from Photoshop 

are working just fine. 

On the right, underneath the histogram, 

you have a number of tabs: 

Adjustments, Layers, Effects, Styles 

and Stock with more farther down. 

Image 1 - The Affinity Photo Interface 


Let’s first look at the five buttons 

on the top left, circled in red. These 

are modes specific to Affinity, called 

Personas: Photo Editing, Liquify, 

Raw Developing, Tone Mapping 

and Export. These Personas switch 

Affinity into different operating 

modes, translating to distinct 

toolbars, menu options and side 

panels. Typically, you’ll spend 

most of your time in the Photo 

Editing Persona, which offers 

access to the main toolkit, and the 

Raw Developing Persona which is 

designed for pre-processing of RAW 

files. 

In this introduction we’ll only look at 

the leftmost Persona - Photo Editing. 

Basic Image handling 

The first steps you are likely to take 

after opening an image is to crop, 

optimise overall lightness, contrast, 

colour balance and colour saturation. 

The Crop tool in the Tool bar comes 

with additional settings such as ratio 

and image size. It also allows you to 

rotate and straighten your image. 

Have a look at the long list of 

Adjustments on the right in Image 

1. Very importantly, any of the 

image corrections are applied 

non-destructively on its own layer, 

similar to the Adjustment Layers 

in Photoshop. This allows you to go 

back anytime and fine-tune or get 

rid of any adjustment previously 

made, without affecting the pixels of 

the image. 

Image 1 shows you the simple 

two-slider Brightness/Contrast 

control in action. Depending on 

your skill level you might prefer 

adjusting these parameters with 

the Levels or the Curves interface. 

This also allows you to fine-tune 

individual colour channels for colour 

corrections. More commonly the 

Colour Balance adjustment is used 

to optimise the colours. This interface 

looks and feels familiar if you 

come from Photoshop (Image 2). It 

has three sliders for the primary 

colours and lets you adjust the 

colour balance independently in the 

highlights, mid-tones and shadows. 

Image 3 shows you the Layers 

Palette with a couple of Adjustment 

Layers. The Curves Adjustment 

Layer has an added Layer Mask 

Image 2 - The Colour Balance Interface 

allowing you to affect only part of 

the images. Coming from Photoshop 

this will make you feel completely at 

home. 

Affinity Photo has a large bank 

of filters. Image 4 shows you the 

Colours filter with its many options. 

Many (but not all) are available as 

Live Filter Layers, which act non-destructively 

like Adjustment Layers. 

Image 3 - The Layers Palette with 

some Adjustment Layers 

Under the Sharpen filters you’ll only 

find three options: Unsharp Mask, 

Clarity and High Pass. Though 

Photoshop gives you more options 

the Unsharp Mask filter is the only 

one I’ve ever used, besides the very 

useful High Pass filter. 

Selections and other tools 

The selection tools are what you’d 

expect: Rectangular, Elliptical, Free 

Hand (Lasso), Flood Select (Magic 

Wand) and Selection Brush - all at 

your finger tips. Cleaning up difficult 

selections like hair in a portrait 

works surprisingly well, often just 

with a simple click of the Refine 

button. 

The Tone Mapping persona does 

a good job merging a range of 

exposures for HDR photos. You’ll 

find tools for stitching panoramas 

and focus-stacking. There is even 

a Live Projection mode for editing 

360-degrees photos. 

For saving your images you need 

to go to the Export Persona which 

allows you to pick the right file 

format and other parameters. 

Image 4 - The Colours Filter with all 

its options 

For more on other tools such as the 

RAW converter engine, or the Tone 

Mapping and the Liquify personas 

there are dozens of good tutorials 

on the Internet that go into all the 

details. 

Should you get Affinity Photo? 

If you are already familiar with 

Adobe’s flagship, it won’t take you 

long to orient yourself in Affinity. If 

photo editing beyond the basics is 

new to you, you’ll pick it up quickly. 

Affinity Photo can be yours forever 

for less than half of a year’s 

subscription of Adobe’s photography 

package. The program might 

seem priced for the amateur, but 

the developers are keen to stress a 

professional feature set. You also get 

CMYK and LAB colour space support, 

necessities in the print industry. 

Affinity Photo has its own native 

.afphoto format but also extensive 

support for the Photoshop 

PSD format. However if you 

exchange layered PSD files with 

other Photoshop users you will 

run into problems. But this is the 

only limitation I can think of which 

could prevent you from switching to 

Affinity. 

In the next issue we’ll be looking 

at other features of Affinity Photo, 

especially its handling of RAW files in 

comparison with Adobe’s Lightroom. 


Chapter 4: 

Back to the Basics Pt.IV (abridged) 

A Practical Guide for Beginners by Alexey Zaytsev 

By Alexey Zaytsev, exclusively for Dive magazine. 

(All photo's by Alexey Zaytsev) 

Alexey Zaytsev is well known 

amongst Russia’s dive and 

underwater photography 

community, and has undertaken 

professional photographic 

assignments in many 

places around the world, 

including many visits to Egypt, 

Sudan, Bali and elsewhere. To 

illustrate the book, and also 

his own credentials, Alexey is 

making available a selection of 

his fine photographic work for 

this series. 

Focus, frame, shoot 

Focusing points and focusing areas 

You can choose a focusing point with almost all modern cameras that 

makes sure the camera will focus where you want it to. But older 

digital cameras and cheaper modern camera models do not have many 

focusing points. The more expensive the camera, the more focusing points 

it has and the more precisely it focuses. 

Focusing areas are groups of focusing points which the camera will prefer 

during focusing. For example, if a wide-angle focusing area is set, the 

camera will choose the largest objects within that area to focus on. But 

underwater, the camera may not focus where you want it to. The unpredictability 

of automatic focusing makes autofocusing area selection an 

unnecessary option, while being able to select a focusing point is a very 

useful and must-have option. 

“Whale shark” Sail Rock, Gulf of Thailand, Koh Phangan, Thailand. 

NIKON D700 15 mm F2.8 and Magic filter (f8; 1/60; ISO800) Ikelite housing 

Focusing point selection. Or are there more options? 

It is quite easy to choose a focusing 

point. There is a controller (Nikon), 

a dial (Canon) or a cross-shaped 

button on a camera body. By 

pressing or turning it we move the 

autofocus point around the frame 

to place it where we want it to be. 

On land this is easy to do because 

the buttons or controls are located 

right under the thumb of your 

right hand. You can use the same 

finger to easily change the location 

of the focusing point within the 

frame while looking through the 

viewfinder. But underwater it is 

much harder to do, especially with 

big rig DSLRs. 

Generally, you will not be able 

to reach these buttons with one 

finger without letting go of the 

housing handle. It is even harder 

if you are wearing thick gloves. 

What to do? Use a separate shutter 

release from autofocus! Awkward? 

But once you know this technique, 

you will forget about autofocusing 

problems once and for all! 

AF-ON, the saviour button for an 

underwater photographer 

Canon was the first to add the 


AF-ON button to its cameras. Now, 

almost all modern cameras have 

the function. The AF-ON button 

activates the autofocus of the 

camera independent of the shutter 

release button. Press the AF-ON 

button and the camera will focus. 

While holding the button down 

you can recompose your image as 

you need and take as many photos 

as you want, because pressing the 

shutter release button will not 

cause the camera to refocus. 

Imagine you are taking a portrait 

of a fish. Place the 

focusing point in the 

centre of the frame. You 

won’t have to change its 

location again. Move your 

camera so that this point 

is aligned with the fish’s 

eye, press the AF-ON 

button and the camera 

will focus. Now, holding 

down this button, recompose 

the image and press 

the shutter release button. 

By pressing the AF-ON 

button you will be able to 

take as many frames as 

you need and not waste 

time refocussing. You will 

appreciate this focusing 

method even more when 

shooting macro. 

Shutter(s) 

A shutter is an electronic 

mechanical device that 

consists of metal curtains 

which open for the period 

of time required for an 

exposure (exposing a 

photosensitive material or 

a sensor). 

Simply put, exposure or 

shutter speed is the time during 

which the light hits the sensor. 

Each exposure value on the scale 

(from the shortest to the longest) 

doubles the amount of light that 

goes through the lens. 

Set your camera to M. Rotate the 

shutter control dial and you will 

see how shutter speed changes on 

the monitor. For shooting underwater 

we will be interested in 

exposures of 1/30 and shorter. A 

standard sequence of consecutive 

values looks as follows: 1/30 s; 1/60 

s; 1/125 s; 1/250 s; 1/500 s. 

Modern digital cameras offer 

fractional shutter speed values for 

exposure fine tuning. By rotating 

the dial toward slower shutter 

speeds you will hit the value ‘B’. 

When you set your camera to this 

value and press the shutter release, 

the curtains will remain open for 

as long as you keep the shutter 

release pressed. 

A short shutter speed ‘freezes’ the 

motion of the subject. With longer 

shutter speeds, subjects may come 

out blurred. By playing around 

with the shutter speed we can 

also determine the mood of the 

photo we are taking. You as artists 

should make the call: to blur the 

subject to convey its motion, or to 

‘freeze’ a unique moment of its life. 

Like aperture, shutter speed can 

be one more artistic brush for the 

photographer. 

Of course you may produce a 

blurred image of a stationary 

object - the photographer’s hands 

may shake, or the camera may 

move when you press the shutter 

release button. A tripod can help 

avoid this motion blur but tripods 

are almost never used underwater. 

So to do? We can use the rule of 

‘safe shutter speed’. 

SSSR – the safe shutter speed rule 

The longest shutter speed when 

you are hand holding the camera 

is the shutter value closest to 

the focal length of your lens. For 

example, if you are shooting with 

a 35 mm lens then use a shutter 

speed of 1/30 s, but you will be 

safer shooting at 1/60 s. However 

with a 15 mm lens you can shoot at 

1/15 s though safer with 1/30 s. 

A practical piece of advice: if your 

ISO is set to 100, then most of 

the time you can shoot with the 

shutter speed at 1/60 s. 

Some models of modern 

cameras have a minimum 

ISO of 200 and in this 

case you can use a faster 

shutter speed of 1/125. 

Shutter speeds of 1/250 

and 1/500 are particularly 

useful for shooting 

flickering sunrays on the 

surface and underwater. 

Fisheye recipes 

1) You are shooting in the 

morning, the sun is bright, 

the seawater is clear. Your 

background is blue water 

or a coral reef. The camera 

is horizontal. For ISO-100 

use shutter speed 1/60 s. 

2) You are shooting in 

the afternoon, the sun is 

bright and the seawater 

is clear. In addition you 

now have a water surface 

in the background - you 

are shooting in relatively 

shallow waters with a 

fisheye lens or pointing 

your camera upwards 

toward the surface. For 

ISO-100, use shutter speed 

. 1/125 s. 

3) You are shooting in the afternoon, 

the sun is bright, the 

seawater clear. Your background is 

the surface of water. The camera is 

pointed vertically upwards toward 

the surface. For ISO- 100, use 

shutter speed 1/250 s. 

4) You are shooting in the afternoon, 

the sun is bright, the 

seawater is clear. The background 

has the water surface, the sun is 

in the frame. You are shooting 

in relatively shallow waters with 

an ultra wide-angle lens, or your 

camera is angled toward the 


surface or vertically up. Use ISO 

-100, shutter speed 1/500 s. 

Sensors (ISO) and pixels 

A camera sensor is an electronic 

microchip that consists of photodiodes 

(pixels) that absorb light 

and transform it to a flow of 

digital data which the camera 

then records on a memory card. 

Resolution, or the ability to show 

fine detail, defines the total 

number of photodiodes or pixels of 

a sensor. 

The number of pixels on the 

sensor of a modern camera can 

reach tens of millions and keeps 

on increasing. Not too long ago 

a camera with a 6 million pixel 

sensor was considered top notch; 

now a 24 or 36 million pixel camera 

surprises no one. 

First place in the category of 

“Wide Angle” White Sea Cup 2006 

Russia 

Nikon D70 10,5 mm F2.8 

(f3,5; 1/80 ñ; ISO400) 

The physical dimensions of 

individual pixels are currently 

0.005-0.006 mm. The larger 

the pixel, the larger the area it 

occupies and the amount of light 

it absorbs, hence higher sensitivity 

and better signal-to-noise ratio 

(colour noise). The pixel size also 

determines another important 

characteristic: photographic tolerance 

or dynamic range. This is 

the ability of a sensor to properly 

render the brightness of a subject 

being photographed. The wider the 

dynamic range, the smoother the 

transition from bright to dark. For 

example, the sun photographed 

through the water surface by a 

camera with a sensor that has a 

narrow dynamic range will look 

like a ‘hole’ with ragged edges. 

Sensors of modern cameras use 

different technologies to capture 

light. We will not get into that. 

Use cameras with the best sensors 

you can afford. A general rule of 

thumb is: the larger the physical 

size of the sensor, the higher the 

quality of images. So a lot of underwater 

photographers today prefer 

cameras with sensors at maximum 

size, or full-frame sensors. The size 

of the sensor is the same as the 

size of a 35 mm film: 24x36 mm. 

*Digital cameras with a similar 

size sensor are called full-frame or 

1.0xcrop sensor cameras (FX). All 

other digital cameras have smaller 

or cropped sensors (DX). A crop 

factor is a value by which the sensor 

is smaller than the 24x36 mm full 

frame. For example, the crop factor of 

Nikon SLR camera sensors is 1.5x. In 

other words, the sensor is 1.5 times 

smaller than the full frame; for Canon 

it is 1.6x. The sensor of Olympus 

cameras is exactly twice. Generally, 

compact camera sensors are even 

smaller. 

Why do we have to know that? The 

thing is that the majority of interchangeable 

lenses that were designed 

and made for analogue cameras are 

still manufactured and successfully 

used with digital cameras. But there 

are some nuances: lenses designed 

for film or digital full-frame cameras 

when used on a crop-sensor camera 

lose part of their angle of coverage. 

Because the crop sensor is smaller, 

part of the image is left out of the 

frame as if a 24 mm lens were used 

instead of a 16 mm one. That’s why 

special lenses were developed for 

cropped sensor cameras, and the 

diameter of the image they produce is 

equal to the diagonal of the cropped 

sensor. For example, the angle of 

view of the Nikon 16 mm lens is 180 

degrees on a full-frame camera, but 

the same angle of view for a croppedsensor 

camera can be obtained only 

with the help of a 10.5 mm lens. 

Conclusion: specially designed lenses 

should be used with crop cameras in 

order to obtain the maximum angle 

of view. The only exception is macro 

lenses (lenses that shoot with a 1:1 

or even higher magnification). When 

used on cropped-sensor cameras, 

macro lenses for full-frame cameras 

will give you an additional magnification, 

which will be beneficial. 

So what sensor should we go for? 

Naturally, the larger the physical 

size of the sensor, the better 

quality images we will produce: 

greater detail, better dynamic 

range, and less noise. But is 

their superiority over smaller 

sensors that obvious? Not at all! 

Manufacturers of cropped-sensor 

cameras are constantly working 

to improve the quality of their 

products and the capabilities of 

cropped sensors are more than 

enough to achieve most of the 

photographic objectives of amateur 

photographers. 

Sensitivity (ISO) 

The sensitivity of a sensor (or 

film) shows how much light is 

needed for your exposure. ‘High’ 

sensitivity requires less light to 

expose an image and can be used 

in relatively low lighting conditions, 

for example, at dawn, late in 

the afternoon or at deeper depths. 

‘Low’ sensitivity requires more 

light and therefore is used in bright 

conditions. 

International Standards 

Organization (ISO) uses a simple 

and easily understood system to 


define sensitivity: the higher 

the number, the higher the 

sensitivity. The number 

always follows the ISO abbreviation. 

Consecutive sensitivity 

values 

Every time when the sensitivity 

value doubles, the 

sensor requires two times 

less light to correctly expose 

an image. For example, 

ISO400 would require two 

times less light than ISO 200 

and four times less light than 

ISO100. 

Whole sensitivity values are 

100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 

etc. There are also fractional 

values between them at 1/3 

and 2/3 steps. In the past, 

during the camera film era, a 

correct choice of film determined 

whether your photo 

shoot would be a success or 

a failure. Now, the choice 

of the sensor sensitivity is a 

matter of a few seconds: all 

you need to do is press the 

proper buttons and voila! 

The viewfinder 

A viewfinder allows a photographer 

to see a future image, 

compose it, and assess the focus. 

For an underwater photographer it 

is of a paramount importance! You 

need to be able to see well through 

the viewfinder. 

Modern cameras use two types of 

viewfinders: liquid crystal display 

(LCD) in compact cameras and 

mirrorless camera, and mirror 

reflex optical viewfinders on DSLR 

cameras. The mirrorless cameras 

have an electronic analogue of the 

optical specular viewfinder which 

are very similar to the viewfinder 

of an ordinary DSLR, and even 

better. 

At first glance the large LCD screen 

of a compact camera is more 

convenient than a mirror reflex 

viewfinder. For example you see 

an interesting subject under a 

coral (where you don’t fit) but can 

easily place your camera there. 

You look at the screen at arm’s 

length, frame the image and shoot! 

However… 

The mirror reflex optical 

Shag Rock, Goat Island Marine Reserve, NZ 

Olympus Tg-4 on 25 mm with wide lens 

PTWC-01 (f2,8;1/200; ISO100) 

Olympus PT-056 housing 

Nauticam with mirrorless Olympus. 

viewfinder more than makes up for 

any drawbacks. With it: 

1) Even in the brightest conditions 

you can see a clear picture of the 

image. It gives you the possibility 

to easily frame your image and 

assess its sharpness. 

2) There is no shutter lag. As soon 

as the subject is framed and in 

focus, the shutter opens up instantaneously. 

3) It doesn’t matter whether you 

are short sighted or farsighted: all 

modern reflex cameras have a +/- 

diopter adjustment option. You can 

see everything clearly and sharp. 

4) An electronic “mirror” 

viewfinder mirrorless (also called 

optical), allows you to see right in 

the shot. 

Special adapters can be used to 

install a third-party 45-angled 

viewfinder on almost all housing 

models. For example, I was able to 

install an Inon viewfinder on my 

Ikelite housings and am now using 

a similar viewfinder by Nauticam 

with mirrorless Olympus. 

But to use all the advantages 

of a mirror (optical) 

viewfinder you need to learn 

how to use it well. So: 

1) Use low-volume masks! 

A one-window mask would 

not allow you to bring your 

eye close enough to the 

viewfinder to be able to see 

the whole field of the frame. 

2) Press the housing 

viewfinder to the mask 

window. Don’t be afraid! This 

is the only way you can see 

the whole frame. 

3) Learn to look through the 

viewfinder properly. Because 

you are looking through it 

with one eye, the first thing 

you see is the central part of 

the frame. If you don’t take 

your time, you could end up 

with things in your image not 

supposed to be there. Before 

pressing the shutter, look 

around the whole frame. Pay 

special attention along its 

perimeter. So, first the centre, 

then the edges, then press the 

shutter button! 

4) To make it easier to focus, 

some housing manufacturers 

produce magnifying viewfinders. 

These can be used even by divers 

with full-face masks. There are 

straight and angled types of 

magnifying viewfinders, and when 

you use an angled viewfinder, you 

don’t look straight through it but 

rather at a 45-degree angle and 

slightly downwards. They are very 

helpful when you are shooting 

close to the seabed, from top down 

or taking above and below (splitlevel) 

shots. Some models can be 

adjusted to change the angle of 

the viewfinder. The only disadvantage 

of such viewfinders is their 

relatively high price. 

Next time: ISO, exposure and other 

underwater “spices” 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL 

By region. To list your dive/sports stores contact Dive New Zealand for information. 

More information on Dive Stores, Clubs & Travel at www.DiveNewZealand.com 

NORTHLAND 

NEW ZEALAND 

A to Z Diving & Cylinder Services IANZ accredited 

SCUBA, LPG & Industrial cylinder testing. Certified 

in servicing all brands of dive gear. Supplier of 

compressor consumables: carbon, molecular sieve, 

felt pads, oil, O-rings etc. Certifiers of Air & LPG 

Fillers. All major gases available onsite. 

235 Wiroa Rd, Kerikeri. P: 021 508 707 

www.atozdiving.co.nz 

E: andre@atozdiving.co.nz 

Dive Zone Bay of Islands Far North’s only 

PADI 5 Star IDC facility. Open Water to Instructor 

courses. Freedive and spearfishing training & trips. 

Dive trips,On-site equipment servicing & cylinder 

testing. Aqualung, Mares, Scubapro, Beuchat. 

Open 7 days! 5 Klinac Lane, State Highway 10 

Waipapa. 09 407 9986. 

www.divezoneboi.co.nz, 

info@divezoneboi.co.nz 

Paihia Dive Dive training, charter and retail in Paihia. 

Dive the Rainbow Warrior, frigate Canterbury and 

the Bay of Islands. PADI courses: Open water to 

Instructor. Quality scuba brands: Aqualung, Tusa, 

Faber, Luxfer and Wettie spearfishing. Open 7 days. 

Williams Rd, Paihia, P: Craig or Lisa 09-402 7551 

E: info@divenz.com www.divenz.com 

Northland Dive World Class Diving package – Great 

diving mixed with even better accommodation, meals 

and hospitality. Dive with the team that instigated the 

sinking of the Canterbury Frigate. Full Gear available 

incl NITROX – PADI /TDI/ SDI training “Unbelievable 

value for money”. 3851 Russell Road, Whangaruru, 

Bay of Islands, P: 09 433 6633, 

E: info@northlanddive.com 

www.info@northlanddive.com 

DIVE NOW One of Northland’s premier dive 

training facilities. Highest standard instruction 

and equipment. With their own on-site 

heated training pool and classroom. Staff and 

instructors have extensive knowledge of diving, 

marine environment and diver safety. At the 

gateway of the beautiful Poor Knights Islands. 

41 Clyde Street Whangarei 

Freephone: 0800 102 102 or 

P: 09 438 1075 E: info@divenow.co.nz 

www.divenow.co.nz 

Dive! Tutukaka The Poor Knights Islands experts – 

professional, fun and safe – “It’s what we do” – With 

5 boats, catering for all abilities; Adventure Audited, 

Qualmark endorsed, PADI 5 star IDC; air fills, nitrox, 

gear hire. Shed 7 with salt-water pool and training 

facilities – Behind Schnappa Rock. Marina Rd. 

Tutukaka, Whangarei. Open 7 days, 7am-7pm. 

Always someone at the end of the phone 0800 288 

882. Phone: 09 4343 867 

E: info@diving.co.nz www.diving.co.nz 

AUCKLAND / DISTRICTS 

New Zealand Diving Charters to the Hauraki Gulf 

incl marine reserves, Little & Great Barrier Islands. 

Also overseas trips. NZ’s leading SDI & TDI 5 star IDC 

& PADI with a wide selection of courses. Qualmark 

endorsed. Nitrox, 300bar fills, servicing & rental hire. 

Full selection of gear for sports & tec divers. 

22 Whitaker Rd, Warkworth. 

P: 0800 NZDIVING. E: Neil@NZDiving.co.nz 

www.NZDiving.co.nz (DNZ164) 

Go Dive Center For All Your Diving Needs. SSI 

Training Facility. Authorized Mares Dealer. Servicing, 

Tank Fills and Trips. Come in and let us take you on a 

journey of discovery in the underwater world. 

Unit 3/30 Tironui Road, Papakura, Phone 09 298 

6431 or 0210 385 940 www.godivecenter.co.nz 

Performance Diver NZ’s diving superstore! Massive 

stocks of all lines at unbelievable prices. PADI 5 star 

Instructor Development Centre offering training from 

beginner to Instructor. Local & national dive charters, 

overseas trips, servicing, air fills and rental. Open 7 

days! 

74 Barrys Point Road, Takapuna 

(behind Avanti bikes). 09 489 7782 

www.performancediver.co.nz 

Dive HQ Westhaven in Auckland's CBD. PADI 

5 Star Instructor Development Centre. Become 

a PADI Dive Instructor with us. NZQA approved 

Part Time and Full Course available. Still Your 

Local Dive Shop for all your SCUBA dive, 

freediving, spear-fishing and gear-servicing 

needs. Mares, Atomic, Oceanic, Pinnacle, 

Beuchat, and Zeagle. Fully equipped dive 

equipmentservice centre and dive cylinder 

testing facility onsite. 

Corner (101) Beaumont & Gaunt Sts, 

Westhaven, Auckland. P: (09) 307 3590, 

E: info@divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

www.divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

Global Dive NZ’s favourite technical and recreational 

dive store. All top brands stocked and serviced. Our 

active dive club meets monthly with guest speakers and 

BBQ. Experts in photography and tech diving. Quality 

rental gear, including technical and drysuits. Nitrox fills. 

132 Beaumont St, Westhaven, P: 09 9205200 

www.globaldive.net E: info@globaldive.net 

Dive Doctor Mt Wellington New Zealand’s specialist 

dive servicing company, regulator servicing, drysuit & 

wetsuit repairs, compressor servicing, cylinder testing, 

NITROX, O2, Helium, 300 BAR air fills. A full selection 

of quality products as well as hard to find items for the 

technical, recreational and commercial diver. 

20R Sylvia Park Rd, Mt Wellington 

www.divedoctor.co.nz P: 09 5308117 

E: info@divedoctor.co.nz 

DNZ161 

Auckland Scuba on Auckland’s north shore. 

PADI 5 STAR IDC diver training specialists. PADI 

dive courses beginner to instructor and tec 

rec. Part time/full time tertiary (student loan 

approved), NZQA credits. Dive trips, air/nitrox fills, 

cylinder testing, equipment servicing. Top quality 

equipment! 

Unit I, 121 Rosedale Rd, Albany. 

P: 09 478 2814 E: info@aucklandscuba.co.nz 

www.aucklandscuba.co.nz 

KIWI DIVERS SSI, TDI/SDI, RAID dive centre. 

Recreational and Technical dive courses 

(rebreather friendly). Regular trips from our 

own boat. Equipment sales, servicing and hire. 

Cylinder testing, air/nitrox trimix/oxygen fills. 

Open 7 days. 8 Keith Hay Court, Silverdale 

(just 20 mins north of Akld) P: 09 426 9834 

E: info@kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

www.kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

Manufacturing Quality 

Wetsuits in New 

Zealand 

for New Zealand 

conditions. 

www.seaquel.co.nz 

15G Porana Rd, Glenfield, Auckland 

wetsuits@seaquel.co.nz Tel: 09 443 2771 

For the latest in maritime news and views, 

from tinny to tanker we have it covered 

VIP0819 

SUBSCRIBE NOW 

www.skipper.co.nz • phone 09 533 4336 

68 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

DNZ164 

VIP0819

dnz164 


COROMANDEL / BAY OF PLENTY 

TUTUKĀKĀ 

NEW ZEALAND 

SIMPLY 

AWESOME! 

Dive Zone Whitianga Only PADI 5 Star IDC facility on 

the Coromandel Peninsula. PADI courses from Open 

Water to Instructor. Dive trips from boat, shore and 

kayak, to many amazing dive sites. Full gear service 

and extensive retail store. Open 7 days. 

10 Campbell Street, Whitianga, P: 07-867 1580, 

E: info@divethecoromandel.co.nz 

www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz 

Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel Half day 

trips – everyday through the summer at 9.30am 

& 1.30pm. Marine reserve or outer reef diving 

for new and experienced divers. Full gear hire. 

Individuals & groups welcome. Check out our 

website for a full list of dive sites and prices, or 

link onto our facebook page for an up-to-date 

weather/sea/dive report in the Hahei & Mercury 

Bay areas. 48 Hahei Beach Rd, Hahei 

Phone 0800 CCDIVE (0800 223 483) 

www.hahei.co.nz/diving 

CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND 

Dive & Gas Gisborne's authorised Aqualung dealer 

with full product range. A great range of other Scuba 

and Snorkel gear in-store as well. Plus we test and 

fill all Scuba Tanks. Kevin & Tracey Halverson, cnr 

Carnarvon St, and Childers Rd, Gisborne. 

P: 06 867 9662 E: diveandgas@gmail.com 

FREE 

PHONE 

0800 288 882 

www.diving.co.nz 

3-5 Rona Place, Tutukaka, Whangarei, SOUTH PACIFIC 

Dive Zone Tauranga is Tauranga’s only 

PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre 

offering everything from Open Water courses 

to Specialty Instructor training. Gear sales for 

all scuba, spearfishing & snorkelling needs. 

Hire equipment, gear servicing, air fills, dive 

charters, cylinder testing and more! See us at 

213 Cameron Road, Tauranga, 

P: (07) 578 4050 

E: info@divezonetauranga.co.nz 

www.divezonetauranga.co.nz 

DNZ163 

• New BAUER compressors 

• Late model, low hours, 

preowned BAUER 

compressors 

• Service, spare parts, oil 

and consumables 

AVAILABLE NOW FROM 

General Marine Services 

65 & 90 Gaunt St, Westhaven, 

Auckland. Phone 09 309 6317 

www.generalmarine.co.nz 

sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

service@generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED 

BAUER 

AGENTS 

WELLINGTON / DISTRICTS 

Dive Wellington Become a Padi Dive 

Instructor with our fulltime Diploma course. NZQA 

approved and eligible for student loans and 

allowances. Contact us for a course prospectus. 

Dive Wellington is an audited and approved sub 

contractor of Academy of Diving Trust 

E: dive@divewellington.co.nz P: 04 939 3483 

www.divewellington.co.nz 

NZ Sea Adventures PADI 5 Star Instructor 

Development Centre – also TDI Technical diver training 

including CCR. Open 7 days. Dive courses – beginner 

to Instructor. Club dives and trips in NZ and overseas. 

Dive retail, fills, gear hire & servicing. 

9 Marina View, Mana, Porirua. 

P: 04 233-8238 E: nzsa@scubadiving.co.nz 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

Island Bay Divers NZ’s Pro Gold Centre, Wellington’s 

oldest dive shop. Top brand retail, equipment hire, 

servicing all brands. Tanks tested within 24 hours. 

CMAS, NAUI & PADI training. Club dives every 

Saturday. Corner Reef St & The Parade, Island Bay. 

Summer open 7 days 9am–6pm, winter closed Tues 

& Wed. P: 04-383 6778, 

E: tim@ibdivers.co.nz, www.ibdivers.co.nz 

Dive & Ski HQ Wellington PADI dive courses 

– beginner to professional qualifications. Dive 

club with regular local, national & overseas trips. 

Wide range of diving/ spearfishing equipment 

and accessories. Equipment servicing/tank 

testing. Open 7 days. 

14 Waione St, Petone. New Zealand 

P: (04)568 5028 mob 0210369996 

www.diveski.co.nz E: diveskihq@xtra.co.nz 

snow ski and board rental available 

www.facebook.com/DiveSkiHQ 

SOUTH ISLAND 

Go Dive Marlborough Specialist TDI technical diver 

training facility. Mixed gas, decompression and 

advanced wreck courses. Operate Lermontov Lodge 

(Port Gore) our base to diving one of the world’s 

biggest wrecks the Mikhail Lermontov. Weekly tours 

ex Picton from 1–6 days. Direct flights from Wellington 

to Port Gore. We offer Inner Sounds Tours from Picton. 

South Island’s only SSI Dive Centre. 

www.godive.co.nz Freephone 0800 GODIVE 

Email info@godive.co.nz 

Dive Kaikoura is the only dive shop on the North 

Canterbury East Coast. Located 180kms North of 

Christchurch off State Highway 1 in the beautiful South 

Island. Specialists in having Fun, Tours, Shore Dives, 

Spearfishing, Air Fills, Nitrox, PADI 5 Star Courses. 

Servicing of all gear AND we’re a Cressi Premium 

Dealer! Dive Kaikoura 13 Yarmouth St, Kaikoura. 

03 319 6622. www.divekaikoura.co.nz. 

Open October to June. 

Oceandry suits are at 35 Station Road.Wellsford 

www.oceandry.co.nz 

Call Paul on 021 425706 

Email: info@oceandry.co.nz 

MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

Colin Gestro - Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL / PRODUCTS / SERVICES 

Dive HQ Christchurch 30 years industry 

experience, Christchurch’s only PADI 5 Star 

Instructor Development Centre and Adventure 

Activities Certified for SCUBA diving and 

snorkelling. Busy retail store selling the world’s 

leading brands and offering PADI recreational 

and tertiary SCUBA qualifications. Full range 

of spearfishing equipment including breath 

hold courses. Quality gear hire, service centre, 

Enriched Air training and filling station, local and 

international dive and spearfishing trips.103 

Durham St Sth. Sydenham, Christchurch. 

Freephone 0800-DIVEHQ. 

P: (03)379- 5804 www.diveskiworld.co.nz 

E: sales@diveskiworld.co.nz 

Waikawa Dive Centre located at Waikawa Marina, 

Picton. Offering dive training and trips through the 

Marlborough Sounds. Fully-certified dive cylinder 

filling/testing, dive gear servicing/repairs, hire gear. 

Carrying a multi-brand range of diving equipment. 

Open 7 days during summer. Ready to take care of all 

your diving needs. 

P: 03-573-5939, F: 03-573-8241 

waikawadive@xtra.co.nz 

www.waikawadivecentre.co.nz 

www.facebook.com/WaikawaDiveCentre 

Deep Blue Diving Making diving affordable for all 

divers. The Deep Blue brand is well known for its 

value for money and has a strong company reputation 

for delivering quality and excellent service. Visit our 

website or come in and see us for a huge range of dive 

gear, equipment servicing, tank filling, gear hire and 

Padi training. 

15B Byron St, Sydenham, Christchurch 8025. 

P: 03 332 0898 E: sales@deepbluediving.co.nz 

www.deepbluediving.co.nz 

MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

Book an ad space today! 

Colin Gestro - Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


INTERNATIONAL DIVE 

OPERATORS AND RESORTS 

AUSTRALIA 

Pro Dive Cairns Offers the highest quality, best value 

PADI dive courses and 3-day liveaboard Outer Great 

Barrier Reef dive trips in Cairns. We have 16 exclusive 

dive sites across 4 different reefs to choose from and 

departures 6 days/week. 

Check out www.prodivecairns.com 

or call us on +617 4031 5255 

or E: info@prodivecairns.com 

Spirit of Freedom visits the remote dive destinations 

of Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, and Coral Sea. The 37m 

vessel offers spacious en-suite cabins, every comfort 

on board, and exceptional service. Marine encounters 

include the potato cod feed, Minke whales in season, 

and the shark dive at Osprey Reef. 

E: info@spiritoffreedom.com.au 

www.spiritoffreedom.com.au 

Tusa Dive Cairns local day dive operators with over 

30 years experience diving the Great Barrier Reef. 

Tusa’s fast modern catamaran the Tusa 6 will visit two 

unique sites where you can enjoy up to three dives 

in the day. Tusa Dive also offer a great day out for 

snorkellers. P: 00617 4047 9100 

E: info@tusadive.com www.tusadive.com 

HDS Australia-Pacific 

PO Box: 347 Dingley Village Victoria 3172, 

Australia. www.classicdiver.org 

COOK ISLANDS 

Dive Aitutaki with Bubbles Below Explore Aitutaki’s 

underwater world with Bubbles Below. Only 40 

minutes from mainland Rarotonga to the picturesque 

island of Aitutaki.PADI dive courses Beginner to 

Dive Master. Manned boats during dives! Safety and 

enjoyment paramount! ‘Take only Memories & Leave 

only Bubbles Dive Safe, Dive Rite, Dive Bubbles 

Below!’ www.diveaitutaki.com 

E: bubblesbelow@aitutaki.net.ck 

The Dive Centre – The Big Fish PADI 5-star dive 

operator. Services: intro/lagoon dives, dive trips 

twice a day, courses, retail and rental gear. 2 

boats, boats are manned with an instructor, 7 days, 

night dives. Aroa Beach by the Rarotongan Resort. 

P: 682 20238 or 682 55238 

E: info@thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

DIVE COMPRESSOR 

sales and servicing 

High Pressure 

Equipment NZ Ltd 

ph 09-444 0804 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Master Agents 

for Bauer 

Kompressoren in 

New Zealand and 

have been for the 

past 20 years. 

Servicing & repairs of all compressor brands: 

Bauer, Poseidon, Coltri, Bristol, Brownie. 

and most other brands. 

High pressure regulators. 

High pressure pumps. 

Compressor consumables and spare parts. 

Customised filling panels. 

Breathing air equipment. 

New Zealand Master 

Agents for: 

BAUER KOMPRESSOREN 

compressors/spare parts 

BAUER-POSEIDON 

compressors and spare parts 

DNZ163 

Contact us at: ph 09 444 0804, fax 09 443 1121 

32 Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland. 

Email info@highpressure.co.nz 

www.highpressure.co.nz 

dnz164 



FIJI 

VANUATU 

Subsurface Fiji Visit Fiji for fun, relaxing 

tropical diving. Subsurface Fiji PADI 5-Star Dive 

shops are located in the beautiful Mamanuca 

Islands, offering daily trips and courses to some 

of the best dive spots in Fiji. Subsurface provides 

full diving services from Musket Cove, Plantation, 

Malolo, Likuliku, Tropica, Lomani, Funky Fish, 

Namotu, Tavarua, Wadigi & Navini Island Resorts. 

E: info@subsurfacefiji.com 

www.subsurfacefiji.com (DNZ159) 

Captain Cook Cruises Reef Endeavour and Tivua 

Island are 5 star PADI operations – Discover Scuba – 

Scuba Dive – Open water dive – Advance Wreck Dive, 

MV Raiyawa at Tivua Island. Fiji P: +679 6701 823 E: 

fiji@captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

Mantaray Island Resort Yasawa Islands – Fiji – Over 

40 dive sites ; vibrant reefs, stunning coral gardens, 

caves, swim throughs, wall dives, drop offs, shark 

dives, turtles, and a stunning house reef. Fiji’s only 

accredited free-diving school, Mantaray swimming 

May–Oct. Small group diving in a safe and enjoyable 

environment visit us at 

www.mantarayisland.com 

Volivoli Beach Resort offers you relaxed, unspoilt 

white sandy beaches in a spectacular part of Fiji. Ra 

Divers operates from the resort giving you a water 

wonderland on the worlds best soft coral dive sites. 

The Fiji Siren is a livaboard boat offering you 7 and 10 

night dive packages. www.volivoli.com 

E: info@volivoli.com P: +679 9920942 

SOLOMONS 

Raiders Hotel and Dive Wreck and Reef diving, 

Accommodation, Bar and dining, Snorkelling 

Hiking and more. Located 1 hour from Honiara on 

the waterfront of the historic Tulagi harbour. Dive - 

Discover – Relax. www.raidershotel.com 

email raidershotel@solomon.com.sb 

ph +677 7594185 / 7938017 

SIDE Dive Munda – Dive the unexplored 

Experience Magical Munda at Agnes Gateway Hotel. 

Award winning service and pristine diving. SSI 

Instructor Training Centre. WWII wrecks, caves and 

reefs – untouched and unspoilt. 

www.divemunda.com 

divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram 

SIDE TAKA Dive See more of the Solomon Islands by 

liveaboard! Save $700 on a 7 night booking on board 

MV Taka: 7 Nights Accommodation; 3 gourmet meals 

daily; 24 Dives – sharks, WWII wrecks, manta rays, 

night dives; Round trip airport transfers. Conditions 

apply. For more information or to make a reservations: 

book@dive-solomon.com 

Tulagi Dive Solomon Islands An underwater paradise 

for marine life and explore the many ships and aircraft 

wrecks at the famous Iron Bottom Sound. We offer 

the PADI and TDI courses. Phone (+677) 25700 

www.tulagidive.com dive@tulagidive.com 

THIS SPACE 

COULD BE YOURS 

ADVERTISERS’ 

INDEX 

PLACE AN AD WITH US 

Enquiries to: Colin Gestro 

Affinity Ads M: 027 256 8014 


Airtec 7 

Air Vanuatu 

25&OBC 

DAN 53&56 

Dive Pacific subs deal 72 

Fiordland Expeditions 11 

Nautilus Watersports Vanuatu’s longest running 

dive operation in Port Vila with 30+ years’ experience. 

Nautilus offers 4 dives a day (double dive both 

morning and afternoon). We also offer PADI course 

from Discover Scuba right through to Dive Master. For 

dive groups we can also offer diving/accommodation 

packages. P: Peter or Leanne +678 22 398 

www.nautilus.com.vu 

E: nautilus@vanuatu.com.vu 

TRIPS/CHARTERS 

CRUISE FIORDLAND 

fish • hunt • dive • cruise 

Fish, Hunt, Dive or Cruise aboard the fully 

refurbished MV Cindy Hardy. Fiordland or 

Stewart Island, our scenic cruises will provide 

you with a once in a lifetime experience. 

Everything is provided regardless of how 

short or long your time on board with us is. 

Cruise options available on our website. 

www.cruisefiordland.com 

info@cruisefiordland.com 

+6421 088 14530 

(DNZ156) 

DIVE HOLIDAY 

Travelandco 

At travel&co (previously Dive Fish Snow 

Holidays) we’ve been crafting tailor-made active 

travel trips and experiences for over 30 years. 

Our team of active travel experts share your 

passion for adventure and can help book an 

exceptional active travel experience that goes 

beyond the ordinary. From wreck or reef diving, 

learning to dive, to liveaboard adventures - for 

insider tips on the best dive locations and 

tailormade diving experiences let your active 

travel journey start with us. 

t: 09 479 2210 Toll free NZ: 0800 555 035 

e: enquire@travelandco.nz 

www.travelandco.nz/dive 

Outer Gulf Charters 

One hour north of Auckland CBD 

Providing divers with the ultimate diving day 

out with diver lift, fast/comfortable travel, hot 

water shower, and all the tea and coffee you 

want. 

Recommended Dive Sites: Goat Island Marine 

Reserve, Mokohinau Islands, Great/Little 

Barrier, Sail Rock/Hen & Chickens in style. Trip 

schedule and info 

www.outergulfcharters.co.nz 

or phone Julie 021 827 855 

Harcourts - Dive Zone 

IBC 

PADI 17 

SeaTech 50 

SIDE Dive Munda 30 

Subscription 72 

On the seafront downtown Port Vila. 

• Certified dives • Snorkel Tours • Training to 

Instructor Level • Full gear hire available • 

Very friendly, professional & experienced 

local Instructors & Dive Masters. 

20 dive sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 

(including 4 engine QANTAS Sandringham flying 

boat and 150 year old sailing ship Star of Russia) 

Temp 24-28°c. Viz 10m to 

40m. Free pickup from 

Resorts in town. 

P: +678 27518 or email: 

dive@bigbluevanuatu.com 

www.bigbluevanuatu.com 

For your safety Vanuatu has 

recompression facilities. 

SPEAKERS/LECTURERS 

Available for talks to dive clubs etc. You can find full 

details on these speakers/lectures at 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz/dive-in-nz/dive-shops/ 

Terry Brailsford Wreck diving for gold & treasure. Incl 

the Rothschild jewellery, search for General Grant. 

0274 958816, theadmiral@xtra.co.nz 

Tony Howell History and entertainment with lots of 

rare historical photos and illustrations – 12 powerpoints 

in total. 45 mins –1 hr each. 

Contact me for topics. 04 233-8238, 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

tony@scubadiving.co.nz 

Darren Shields Spearfishing titles,uw cameraman, 

author. Motivating/compelling/innovative/inspiring/ 

entertaining P: 09-4794231, 021839118, 

darren@wettie.co.nz 

Jamie Obern Technical instructor/cave diver, 20+ 

years exp. globally. Photos/video: uw caves in 

Mexico, On USA, the UK, seafront NZ, Australia. downtown Techdive Port NZ/GUE Vila. NZ 

instructor. • Certified P: 021 dives 614 • 023, Snorkel Tours • Training to 

www.techdivenz.com Instructor Level • Full jamie@techdivenz.com 

gear hire available • 

Dave Very Moran friendly, Ching professional Dynasty porcelain & experienced 

from the Tek 

Sing. P: Dive local New Instructors Zealand & 09-521 Dive 0684, Masters. 

E: 20 divenz@DiveNewZealand.co.nz 

sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 

(including 4 engine QANTAS Sandringham flying 

Samara boat and Nicholas 150 year M.O.N.Z old -Programme sailing ship Star Director: of Russia) 

Experiencing Marine Reserves Temp 24-28°c. – Te Kura Viz Moana: 10m to 

samara@emr.org.nz 40m. Free pickup from 

www.emr.org.nz www.facebook.com/emr.mtsct 

Resorts in town. 

P: 09 4338205 or 0210362019 (field only) 

P: +678 27518 or email: 

dive@bigbluevanuatu.com 

Saltaway www.bigbluevanuatu.com 

49 

Suunto 

For your safety Vanuatu has 

recompression 47 facilities. 

Travel&co 57 

Wakatobi IFC - 1 

ALPHABETICAL ORDER 

• C 

Inst 

Ve 

20 d 

(inc 

boa 

• C 

Inst 

Ve 

20 d 

(inc 

boa 


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Dive Business For Sale - PADI 5 Star-Rated 

Whether you are a snorkeler, scuba diver, diving instructor or just love the ocean and want to live and work 

in paradise, then this business in the world-renowned Bay of Islands is just what you need. 

great owner-operated business in the fabulous Bay of Islands. 

A This could be one of the best located and operated full dive 

facilities in the country and the growth opportunities it offers are 

significant. 

move on too, after 15 rewarding years in a fun business and industry. 

A full and comprehensive Information Memorandum is available. In 

the first instance call Dennis Corbett for details. 

Originally from the Bay of Islands, Kelly always wanted to return so 

in 2004 he and his wife Mie made the move back from Japan to start 

their dive business. The owners have thoroughly enjoyed running 

this business but now, after an upbringing many only dream of, their 

two lovely daughters have finished school and are ready to move 

onto the next phase of their lives. Now it is Kelly and Mie’s turn to 

Dennis Corbett Business & Commercial Specialist 

Harcourts Kerikeri M +64 275 925 880 P +64 9 407 6677 

E dennis.corbett@harcourtsboi.co.nz 

Bay of Islands Realty Ltd Licensed Agent REAA 2008 


LIVE VOLCANO 

There’s more to do 

in Vanuatu 

LAND DIVING 

DIVING & FISHING 

T A N N A IS L A N D 

P E N T E C O S T I S L A N D 

E S P I RI T O S A N T O 

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Dive Pacific Iss 171 Oct- Nov 2019

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