Dive Pacific 175 Dec2020 Jan 2021

ISSUE 175 - $9.90 inc GST 

December / January 2021 

NEW ZEALAND'S DIVE MAGAZINE 

NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY DIVE MAGAZINE 

P A C I F I C 


P A C I F I C 

Kermadecs 

spectacular 

LOCKDOWN tales: How are 

our dive operators faring? 

How COVID can affect divers: 

THE definitive advice 

Cousteau on 

plankton, whales 

& trophic cascades 

www.Dive-Pacific.com 

NZUA TAKES OVER DIVE PACIFIC 

What counting fish in the PKI, Moks is telling us 

Top NZ dive destinations for the summer 

Spearfishing Nationals, UW Hockey wins, EMR & Freediving Updates 

PLUS World Wildlife Photo Winners & spectacular NIWA 

www.dive-pacific.com 

staff photos 

1 

(!)

2 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland 

13–16 MAY, 2021 

Put these dates in your diary now! 

The latest boats, motors, trailers & accessories. 

Amazing prizes that MUST BE WON! 

Free fishing tips & expert advice. 

NZ’s biggest fishing supermarket. 

Buy your tickets online now (they make great Xmas gifts!) 

and get even more chances to win! 

www.boatshow.co.nz www.dive-pacific.com 1

contents 

Photo: Janin Alliston 

31 

48 

IN DEPTH 

5 EDITORIAL: NZUA President Tristan Reynard outlines the future being 

mapped out for their new acquisition, this magazine 

SOUNDINGS Local and international news & comment 

4 Winner of Kelly Tarlton Award presented 

9 Snapper research on North Island west coast; Bob Brown Foundation 

greets Antarctica fishing ship with NOT welcome. 

10 The future of diving is green 

Megladon’s hugeness off the scale 

Perfect balance by Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco, Spain 

Winner 2020, 10 years and under 

17 

11 Our blue economy: Big prospect 

Marine biodiversity scholar awarded prestigious fellowship 

12 Massive great white shark Unama’ki spotted south of Miami 

Snake eel dangles from heron’s stomach midair 

Glacier melting threatens mega tsunami 

13 General Marine goes full circle 

14 Titiro kit e Moana - EMR will take you under 

16 William Trubridge to go for new deep diving record 

Tauranga U18’s win Underwater Hockey championship 

Proposed changes to CRA3 minimum legal size crays 

26 Marine heatwave conditions forming: NIWA 

Chance leads to first look at coral larvae 

62 DIAG highlights diver diversity 

Worksafe issues divers COVID 19 Safety Alert 

28 

73 CLOSE CALLS (underwater) and two other book titles to consider 

TUBEWORM 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

6 When Dive mag was free: a brief history, 

BACK IN THE DAY with Dave Moran 

19 Cousteau reports on: Tiny animals and their critical importance on 

entire oceanic food webs, with Holly Lohuis 

20 LOCKDOWN tales: How did COVID impact our dive industry? 

31 Every year NIWA holds a staff photo competition. 

Here’s a sample of the entries! 

55 

43 What counting fish at the Poor Knights, and Mokihinaus is telling us. 

Marine biologist Harry Allard has the update 

47 Paulo the fisherman makes an underwater museum 

48 Winners from the UK’s Natural History Museum WORLD WILDLIFE 

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 

55 TecFest is on again next May! “At TecFest we don’t just talk about 

technical diving, we actually get you in the water to experience it!” 

63 Are you a good Dive Buddy? With dive Instructor Andy Stewart 



P A C I F I C 



NEW NEW ZEALAND’S ZEALAND'S ONLY DIVE MAGAZINE 

P A C I F I C 


P A C I F I C 






Kermadecs 

spectacular 

Cousteau on 







PLUS World Wildlife Photo Winners & spectacular NIWA www.dive-pacific.com staff photos 1 (!) 

Once is not enough for the 

Kermadecs. A Blue Dragon, a 

pelagic nudibranch, (Glaucus Sp.) 

takes a close look at a By the 

Wind Sailor at the Kermadec 

Islands / Rangitā hua. 

Cover photo by Paul Caiger. 

The feature starts on pagee 34. 

40 

34 

BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS 

25 New Zealand diving’s best kept secret - Dive Zone 

27 Fiordland Expedition anyone? It’s a great time to be doing it! 

34 Once is not enough for the Kermadecs: Paul Caiger gives us some 

geology, a brief history, and a great diving destination 

40 ‘MY BEST DIVE’ Sarah Ford zings with enthusiasm about her close 

encounters with whale sharks at West Papua 

OUR EXPERT COLUMNISTS 

8 Scallops are delicious LEGASEA UPDATE 

47 

27 The Spearfishing Nationals: Super weather, great event! 

Spearos Notebook with Jackson Shields 

56 The Clown Toado 

SPECIES FOCUS with Paul Caiger 

58 Skin bend cuts diving holiday short. Plus COVID Update 

INCIDENT INSIGHTS with DAN, the Divers Alert Network 

60 Why a diver should avoid Covid-19 and what happens if they don’t 

DIVE MEDICINE with Prof Simon Mitchell 

64 Automatic camera modes: When to use them 

BACK TO BASICS Underwater Photography, 

A Practical Guide for Beginners 

by Alexey Zaystev. Translated from Russian exclusively for DIVE PACIFIC 

GEAR BAG 

52 All the drama of the Hutchwilco Boat Show next May; C-MAP 

Reveal, Ocean Signal’s new SafeSea Pro EPIRB, the Olympus TG 6 

camera reviewed 

4 

68 Classifieds 

Check out our website www.divenewzealand.co.nz 

www.dive-pacific.com 3

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Underwater Heritage Group 2020 Kelly Tarlton 

Recognition Award goes to Ewan Stevenson 

The 2020 recipient of the Kelly 

Tarlton Recognition Award for 

2020 was presented at the AGM 

of the New Zealand Underwater 

Heritage Group (NZUHG) 

on November 1st to Ewan 

Stevenson. 

Ewan is well known for his 

incredible knowledge locating 

and recording WWII ships and 

planes in the Solomon Islands. 

He was born in the Solomons 

and spent many hours as a 

child/teenager exploring the 

vast debris field that remained 

on land in Honiara. When his 

father introduced him to diving 

a whole new world to explore 

and record opened up. 

Organizations in the US that 

endeavour to return Missing in 

Action (MIAs) personnel home 

have used Ewan on several 

occasions to help locate downed 

fighter planes. 

Now living in New Zealand 

Ewan’s enthusiasm for research 

and planning expeditions to the 

Solomons and here in New Zealand 

has continued. 

Along with other NZUHG members 

he is trying to rediscover the third 


anchor lost in 1769 by French 

Kelly’s wife Rosemary and daughter Fiona 

congratulate Ewan Stevenson 

explorer de Surville which was 

located by the late Kelly Tarlton in 

the 1970’s. 

The first anchor recovered is 

displayed in the entrance hall of 

Te Papa museum, Wellington. The 

second is in the Kaitaia Museum. 

Ewan has also run several expeditions 

to locate anchors lost by 

another French explorer, Marion 

Dufresne, who was here in 1772. 

He is a partner in Sealark whose 

goal is to locate WWII wrecks 

(www.sealark.co.nz), and his own 

man cave contains a vast wealth of 

amazing research material. 

Ewan is the fourth recipient of 

this Award! Well deserved! 

Visit his website 

ARCHAEHISTORIA 

https://archaehistoria.org/ 

The Award 

The Kelly Tarlton Recognition 

Award for Services to Underwater 

Heritage recognizes individuals 

or groups who have made significant 

and lasting contributions 

through research, practice, 

or advocacy to underwater 

heritage, maritime archaeology, 

or maritime history. The award 

recognizes members of the 

underwater heritage community 

for long-term accomplishments 

or those who have made a notable 

impact through a significant innovation, 

body of work or publication. 

A candidate’s contributions can 

include innovative ideas or maritime 

conservation projects, including 

services that have promoted underwater 

heritage in New Zealand or 

wider Pacific communities linked to 

New Zealand. The award includes 

a certificate of recognition, and an 

invitation for the recipient to present 

a keynote talk at the annual NZUHG 

Conference. 

www.underwaterheritage.co.nz 

P A C I F I C 

established 1990 


P A C I F I C 

December / January 2021 Issue 175 


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 

NZUA Publishing Ltd 

New Zealand Underwater Association 

40 Mt Eden Rd. Auckland 1024 

+64 9 623 3252 

Editor 

Gilbert Peterson 

divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz 

+64 27 494 9629 

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) 


Big bright future mapped for Dive Pacific, 

New Zealand’s Dive Magazine 

The New Zealand Underwater 

Association is delighted to 

announce the Association are 

now the proud new owners of 

Dive Pacific, New Zealand’s Dive 

Magazine. 

For our magazine to meet its 

potential we will be engaging 

with sponsors and advertisers, 

so we will be calling on the 

wider dive and marine industries 

for their support. 

Dive Pacific, is an excellent 

platform to promote 

the techniques, expertise 

and experience that our 

dive communities have in 

abundance. The magazine 

will serve to help develop 

these forums; especially as 

we are called on to advise on 

the changes taking place in 

our oceans, and what may be 

done to ensure their health and 

sustainability. 

It’s important too for NZUA to 

record New Zealand’s fascinating 

dive heritage. We have 

some truly great founding 

figures, people like Kelly Tarlton, 

Roger Grace, Wade Doak and 

many others, who have shown 

the way. But the opportunities 

to explore underwater are really 

just beginning, with many more 

of our divers’ feats warranting 

Sharing. 

NZUA has been in the business 

of representing New Zealand’s 

divers and underwater sports 

enthusiasts for 67 years – this 

latest move is another step to 

advance our work. 


Early NZUA records show that 

the first New Zealand Dive 

magazine began in Christchurch 

in 1959 with the enthusiasm of 

Canterbury Underwater Club 

divers, including Kelly Tarlton, 

Keith Gordon, Win Christie 

and Wade Doak. In 1962, at the 

NZUA AGM, it was motioned, 

and carried that each affiliated 

club appoint a Dive magazine 

correspondent to ensure local 

news and articles are provided. 

(See the history from NZUA life 

member Dave Moran on Dive New 

Zealand/Dive Pacific magazine, 

Back in the Day, on page 6 of this 

magazine). 

New Zealand Underwater’s 

acquisition of the magazine is a 

very direct way to: 

1) Promote participation in 

underwater activities. 

2) Support the many, mostly 

small businesses in the underwater 

industry; those geared 

towards recreational diving, 

through lobbying councils and 

government and promoting 

our cause in the media and to 

the public. 

3) Bring you more stories about 

the superb diving in our 

wonderful, big blue backyard: 

destinations, trips away, 

adventures! 

4) Develop as a forum to discuss 

the risks and threats our 

oceans face. 

We have set up a separate 

company for the magazine and 

under the guidance of NZUA’s 

board member Andrew Berry. 

Tristan Reynard 

The Association plans to retain 

the former owners to manage 

and publish the magazine in an 

arrangement we are confident 

will deliver an exciting win-win 

step ahead, both for our recreational 

divers and the wider 

industry alike. 

This initiative will help NZUA to 

engage more comprehensively 

with members and the wider 

community on our three ‘pillar’ 

issues, which are: 

• Flying the flag for diver safety 

by managing services such as 

the Diver Emergency Service 

(DES) and promoting best 

practice on and underwater 

with training and education; 

• Promoting underwater sports 

in particular spearfishing, 

underwater hockey and freediving. 

• Building awareness and 

lobbying for clean seas and 

stewardship of the marine (and 

freshwater) environment. 

We are keen for you to be 

directly involved. Our plans are 

not set in stone. We’re open to 

your ideas. We want your contribution. 

So please send in suggestions 

and ideas! (In the first 

instance to divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Let’s together make the underwater 

world a top of mind 

activity for everyone. 

- Tristan Reynard 

President, NZUA 

Tristan@nzua.org.nz 

P A C I F I C 


P A C I F I C 


P A C I F I C 


BACK IN THE DAY 

Dive mag through the years 

With Dave Moran 

With Dive New Zealand/ 

Dive Pacific changing 

hands it’s timely to review 

how your dive magazine came 

into being, and what it was 

like in the early days. 

In the 1980s magazine 

founder Dave Moran recalls 

commercial dive work was 

often sporadic. He was also 

running his own registered 

electrician business then, 

Moran Electrical, when 

friend and colleague Kelly 

Tarlton called up one day in 

1983 and asked him to come 

and look down a manhole 

above the old sewage tanks 

on Tamaki Drive in Auckland. 

“Do you think we could get some 

lights down here so we can see 

what’s going on?” Kelly said. “I 

admit I thought it was bit crazy,” 

Dave recalled. “And it turned my 

life upside down.” 

Building Kelly Tarlton’s 

Underwater World was an 18 

month project. The electrical 

component was massive! “We 

had a big sign on Tamaki Drive 

‘The Sharks Are Coming”. 

Dave & Petal Moran 

The attraction was funded 

by the Development Finance 

Corporation, one of the few 

projects they funded that was 

repaid in full. It opened in 

February 1985. 

Then sadly Kelly Tarlton died 

suddenly. Dave, who knew 

‘every nut and bolt in the 

place’, was asked to become 

general manager which he 

was for three years. 

With the expertise 

from building such 

a unique aquarium 

experience they went 

onto to planning similar 

developments in San 

Francisco, Melbourne 

and the UK. Then came 

the 1986 stock market 

crash, and the whole 

offshore project team was 

The publishers Dave Moran & 

Gilbert Peterson 

made redundant. 

Dave had all this aquarium 

knowledge, plus commercial 

diving contacts. He specialized 

in explosives. One of his 

biggest jobs was blowing/ 

cutting a well head off on an 

oil exploration rig off New 

Plymouth. But no job opportunities 

came up. 


Then on a trip to Melbourne 

he caught up with his 

old diving friend Barry 

Andrewartha who was 

publishing Dive Log Australia. 

Barry suggested, ‘why 

not start your own dive 

magazine?” You already 

know all the right 

people. 

“So, I contacted all the dive 

wholesale people and asked 

would they support us if 

we started a magazine, 

and they said they would.” 

By then Wade and Jan 

Doak had stopped their 

magazine, DIVE South 

Pacific and others had tried 

to make a magazine work 

without much success. 

At first we put Dive Log New 

Zealand free into dive shops 

– they all said they would 

take 50 to 100 copies. Those 

were the halcyon days 

when diving as a sport was 

growing rapidly. Dive clubs 

enjoyed huge memberships. 

“We went to a glossy format 

after a few years then changed 

the name simply to Dive New 

Zealand in 2002. We also began 

charging for it on the basis that 

people value something more if 

they pay a bit for it! 

At first, we printed only B&W 

in a tabloid size but colour soon 

overtook that”, Dave said. 

“Then in 2002 we moved to the 

glossy style magazine that it is 

today.” 

“The magazine opened a lot of 

doors for us as divers. We met 

people like Jacques Cousteau. 

Interviewed his son Jean-Michel, 

and others like Sir Peter Blake, 

and a lot of other wonderful 

people. 

For 27 years we did this, 

it’s been a helluver ride.” 

Three years ago Gilbert 

Peterson took the helm 

and now the magazine 

is being passed to New 

Zealand Underwater 

Association. “It’s a bit 

like a homecoming.” 


LegaSea Update 

Scallops are delicious 

Divers, divers everywhere, not 

a scallop to be seen. We’ve 

had some grim reports recently 

about the lack of scallops in Opito 

Bay, on the eastern seaboard 

of the Coromandel Peninsula, 

and on the western side of the 

Peninsula too. Sadly, these are 

not isolated cases of depletion. 

They represent further examples 

of poor management of local 

fisheries resources on behalf of 

our coastal communities. 

Scallops are like no other shellfish. 

Abundance can be highly 

variable; there one year and 

gone the next. In Opito Bay the 

locals are concerned that years 

of concentrated dredging effort 

by commercial and recreational 

fishers has depleted the fishery 

and caused long-term damage. 

In the past few years they have 

been worried enough to approach 

Fisheries New Zealand for a 

solution and had no meaningful 

response. 

LegaSea and the New Zealand 

Sport Fishing Council’s Bay of 

Plenty clubs are now working 

with the local community to find 

a solution. Any resolution is likely 

to be at least two years away. 

Rahui? 

There is strong support for Ngati 

Hei, mana whenua of the area, 

to initiate a rahui, a customary 

area closure. Ngati Hei are keen 

to include all of the community in 

discussions to ensure widespread 

support for any outcome. 

Fisheries New Zealand will also 

need to get involved, and later on 

the Minister will need to give his 

approval before a customary tool 

can be applied. 

Back to the future? 

A law change in the early 1990s 

removed the ability of the general 

public to apply a regulatory 

tool to manage local fisheries 

resources. The burden of responsibility 

then has, by default, 

fallen on the shoulders of mana 

whenua, local Maori. There are 

several options available to Maori 

under the Customary Regulations 

or Fisheries Act; all take time 

to implement. Building trusting 

relationships between community 

groups also takes time. 

Change needs to happen because 

it is abundantly clear that current 

management and localised 

depletion is not serving anyone. 

It just doesn’t make sense to 

have such a scarce and fragile 

resource being targeted by fishers 

using dredges that do long term 

damage to the seabed. 

Mission lost? 

In the year 2000 the waters 

surrounding Coromandel were 

carved out as part of the Hauraki 

Gulf Marine Park. This is an area 

set aside so that the marine 

resources could be maintained 

for the enjoyment of the coastal 

communities around the Gulf. 

That mission card has clearly 

been lost over time. 

There is a ray of hope for these 

communities seeking a more 

abundant fishery in their local 

waters. While it may take 

some time to effect change, 

the outcome might be just 

as delicious as a plate full of 

scallops. 

Want to help? 

If you want to help this 

ongoing effort, please support 

us. 

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


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Snapper researched off North Island’s west coast 

People along the Kapiti and 

Wanganui coasts may have 

spotted NIWA’s research vessel 

Kaharoa in close recently as 

scientists carried out a survey of 

snapper, tarakihi, red gurnard and 

John Dory. 

The trawl survey was the third and 

final in a series to establish how 

many fish there are, their ages 

and where they are situated in the 

fishery known as SNA8, the second 

largest of New Zealand’s snapper 

fisheries. 

Voyage leader and NIWA fisheries 

scientist Dr Emma Jones said the 

survey was to provide independent 

data for comparing with similar 

historic surveys to see how the 

fishery may have changed. 

“The surveys provide data 

Hobart’s and Australia’s reputation 

as a bulwark for the 

environment of Antarctica is at 

stake after the controversial killing 

machine, the long liner Antarctic 

Aurora, docked in Hobart on 

November 6th. The view is of the 

Bob Brown Foundation. 

“Antarctica and sub-Antarctic 

oceans are complex ecosystems 

that need protection from longline 

fishing for toothfish - this ship is 

unashamedly on its way to plunder 

Antarctica’s marine ecosystem for 

private profit,” said Foundation 

Campaign Manager Jenny Weber. 

completely independent of that 

collected from the commercial 

fishery. Because we use the same 

vessel, same net design and same 

protocols, our results are comparable 

with results from surveys 

carried out 20 years ago. 

Dr Jones said the data feeds into 

stock assessments determining 

whether a fish stock is at a sustainable 

level. “The most important 

one for this survey is the stock 

assessment for snapper off the 

west coast of the North Island. 

Scientists collected otoliths, or ear 

bones, from the fish to determine 

their age. Stringent processes were 

adopted to minimise the risk of 

encountering any Maui dolphins. 

The survey was outside the West 

Coast Marine Mammal Sanctuary 

“We appealed through letters to 

the Prime Minister and Tasmanian 

Premier to urgently ban this 

Antarctic longline fishing ship 

from Hobart and all Australian 

ports. 

“They have failed to prioritise 

the protection of the Great White 

Continent and its oceans,” she said. 

“What happens in Antarctica 

has a critical impact on the 

global climate. The Bob Brown 

Foundation is on the road to launch 

a campaign to fight for Antarctica’s 

protection from marauding ships 

and is only sampling where the 

commercial fishing boats are 

allowed to fish. A marine mammal 

observer on board was to keep 

watch for dolphins before and 

during trawl activity. 

Fisheries New Zealand’s Team 

Manager Inshore Fisheries North, 

Jacob Hore says the snapper stock 

on the North Island’s west coast 

is an important shared fishery of 

high value to customary, recreational, 

and commercial fishers. 

Snapper in this fishery has been 

steadily rebuilding over the past 

15 years, and information from the 

survey is to support discussions 

on a management review of this 

fishery planned for 2021. 

Giant Antarctic killing machine not welcome 

such as the Antarctic Aurora. 

“Its presence in Hobart will give 

us a good target to highlight 

the problems which continue to 

destroy the great southern Oceans 

wildness. 

“The Antarctica Aurora is 

part-owned by former Japanese 

whalers. This ship has no place 

in Australian waters or any global 

oceans. 

“Earth’s oceans are in urgent need 

of preservation of the remaining 

life left in them,” said Jenny Weber. 


DV005 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

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The future of diving is green 

recent survey by ZuBlu, a dive 

A travel agency, found that while 

divers want sustainable dive travel 

and to conserve the environment, 

they struggle to find sustainable 

options. 

ZuBlu thinks the pandemic could 

be an opportunity to refocus the 

travel industry to ensure the future 

of exploring the blue is very much 

green since: 

• 85% of scuba divers want to 

book eco-friendly options when 

traveling 

• 92% of scuba divers want to 

become more sustainable 

• 75% struggled to know what to 

look for when booking a sustainable 

holiday 

• For instance as vital ecosystems 

supporting 25% of all marine 

species coral reefs also capture 

carbon from the atmosphere 

and produce a lot of the oxygen 

we breathe while providing food 

and livelihoods for millions of 

Megalodon’s hugeness 

‘off-the-scale’ 

Even among its extinct 

relatives, Megalodon 

was unequalled in length 

and mass. 

Megalodon was the most 

massive shark that ever lived, and 

its gargantuan girth was highly 

unusual even among sharks, scientists 

recently discovered. 

In fact, Megalodon’s gigantism, 

estimated to be reach up to 15 

metres in length was “off-thescale” 

researchers wrote in a new 

study. 

Evidence from extinct and living 

Join DAN’s COVID-19 study 

DAN is looking for divers and 

freedivers who have recovered 

from a suspected or confirmed 

COVID-19 infection, for a 

long-term study on the effects of 

COVID-19 on diver’s health and 

fitness to dive. 

In 15-20 minutes you can easily 

people. Yet 50% of the world’s 

coral reefs have gone in the past 

20 years with up to 90% at risk of 

being lost by 2050. 

Coral reef tourism represents a 

$36 billion a year sector of the 

travel industry with 70 countries 

benefiting, according to a recent 

study published in the Journal of 

Marine Policy. And sustainable 

dive travel helps local communities 

harness the reef’s potential 

and encourages conservation. 

The Misool Eco Resort of Raja 

Ampat in the 300,000 acre 

Misool Marine Reserve is an 

example. Village elder and 

Misool Foundation employee, 

Bapak Mohammed, said. “At first, 

fishermen did not welcome the 

idea of a no-take-zone, however, 

as they started to see the changes 

in the environment, they began 

to understand that the future for 

their children is brighter now that 

the reefs are protected.” 

www.zublu.com 

Gigantism was common in extinct 

lamniform sharks but Megalodon 

was the biggest by far. (Image: © 

Getty Images/Corey Ford/Stocktrek 

Images) 

sharks in the order Lamniformes, 

the group that includes Megalodon, 

showed not only was the king of 

sharks an extreme outlier when 

compared with modern species, it 

was substantially bigger than the 

next-biggest extinct shark in the 

Lamniformes order by at least 7 m. 

complete the initial survey then 

over the next five years you will 

be contacted periodically by 

DAN to follow-up on your diving 

career and any possible medical 

issues: 

www.research.net/rDANcovidstudy 


Our blue economy: Big prospect 

comprehensive project 

A researching how Aotearoa 

New Zealand can create 

economic value from our oceans 

while adding to social, cultural 

and ecological well-being, has 

reached Phase II: Creating value 

from a blue economy. 

The major study - The 

Sustainable Seas National 

Science Challenge - is led by 

Nick Lewis of the University of 

Auckland. He says that developing 

the economy is generally 

still seen as separate to, and 

often at odds with, social and 

environmental goals, the two are 

intrinsically linked. 

The Challenge objective is: “To 

enhance utilisation of our marine 

resources within environmental 

and biological constraints” and 

its Mission is: “To transform 

Aotearoa New Zealand’s ability 

to enhance our marine economy, 

and to improve decisionmaking 

and the health of our 

seas through ecosystem-based 

management”. 

Nick Lewis says the long-term 

economic use of marine 

resources depends on healthy 

marine ecosystems. 

He says the concept of the blue 

economy has become a cornerstone 

for debating marine futures 

around the world, and is built on 

four propositions: 

1. Societies must look to the 

oceans to secure their food, 

energy and wider economic 

futures; 

2. Oceans offer enormous opportunities 

for economic development; 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

3. Realising these opportunities 

will require significant 

investment in science and 

technology; and 

4. Growth must involve a fundamental 

transition to ecologically, 

culturally and socially 

sustainable economic activities. 

Four projects in Phase II under 

development are: 

• Encouraging restorative economies 

in NZ marine spaces 

• Indigenising the blue economy 

in Aotearoa 

• Growing ecotourism in a blue 

economy 

• Building a sector for a blue 

economy viz. seaweed 

www.sustainableseaschallenge.co.nz 

Marine biodiversity scholar 

awarded prestigious fellowship 

One of New Zealand’s most prestigious 

fellowships, the Rutherford 

Discovery Fellowship which is 

awarded to 10 applicants annually, 

has this year gone to Dr Libby Liggins 

of Massey University. 

Her fellowship is to study the marine 

biodiversity response to climate 

change. It will allow her to focus 

solely on the issue for the next five 

years. 

Species on the move 

Dr Liggins says species are on the 

move, and the driving force for this 

global redistribution of biodiversity is 

climate change. 

“In many coastal marine environments, 

ocean climate change is 

causing species ranges to shift 

towards the poles of the Earth and is 

also driving native species to extinction. 

“These ecosystem changes have 

resulted in far reaching socio-economic 

challenges, crippling local 

fishing industries and livelihoods. 

“While the degree of oceanic change 

in New Zealand is so far less than 

that of many other countries, it 

remains one of our most pressing 

marine issues. Shifts in coastal 

currents, temperatures, and the 

frequency of marine heatwaves are 

now noticeable. 

Mosaic of change 

“However due to our complex coastal 

oceanography and regional weather 

patterns, poleward range shifts may 

not be the only response… there may 

be a mosaic of changes around our 

coastlines, with an uneven distribution 

of local species decline, growth, 

or relocation. Although difficult to 

detect, quantifying these biodiversity 

responses would give us forewarning 

of greater changes to come.” 

Dr Libby Liggins – to look for 

‘Tohu of change for Aotearoa New 

Zealand’s marine biodiversity’ 

Dr Liggins will study this biodiversity 

response to ocean climate change in 

part by using tohu (signs) of future 

marine biodiversity change by 

modelling species biology with past 

and forecasted ocean conditions. The 

aim is to predict hotspots of significant 

coastal biodiversity change. 

Citizen science 

Dr Liggins plans to use her existing 

citizen science platform to establish 

observer networks for ongoing 

monitoring, and invite local communities, 

iwi, interested agencies and 

industry partners to hui to determine 

which species sightings may be tohu 

of change in different regions. 

Dr Liggins says the Rutherford 

Discovery Fellowships are unique 

in that they invest in the vision of 

individuals: “I am at the career stage 

where I have a clear view of what my 

research trajectory and contribution 

could be - concentrated research 


SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Massive great white 

shark Unama’ki 

spotted south of Miami 

One of the largest great white sharks ever tagged 

was recently spotted swimming south of Miami, 

Florida, according to NBC Miami. 

Unama’ki “pinged” at 5:46 a.m. ET off of Key Largo, 

south of Miami on Thursday (Nov 5), which means that 

its dorsal fin broke the surface of the water, sending a 

signal to a satellite, alerting researchers of its whereabouts, 

according to a previous article from Florida 

Today. 

Unama’ki was first tagged in Nova Scotia in 

September; in the indigenous language of the Mi’kmaq 

people, her name means “land of the fog.” 

Unama’ki seen just below the surface here. (Image: © Robert Snow/Ocearch) 

With a length of 4.7 metre and weighing 942 kilograms 

she is the second largest white shark ever tagged by 

Ocearch, a nonprofit organization that tags and tracks 

large marine animals. 

Snake eel dangles from heron’s stomach midair 

snake eel fighting for its life burst from the 

A stomach of a heron that had just swallowed it 

whole, according to photos snapped by an amateur 

photographer in Delaware. 

The photos show the snake eel, its head dangling in 

midair, as the heron looking unbothered flies onward. 

A heron likely regretted eating a snake eel after the eel burst out of its stomach in 

midair. (Image: © Sam Davis) 

The unusual event attracted a lot of attention among 

the local predators, said Sam Davis, an engineer from 

Maryland who took the photos on the Delaware shore. 

Several juvenile eagles and a fox were following the 

heron, possibly hoping to scavenge a meal in case the 

heron or the snake eel didn’t make it. 

Glacier melting threatens mega tsunami 

giant tsunami in Alaska triggered by a landslide 

A of rock left unstable after glacier melting is likely 

to occur in the next two decades, scientists fear. Or it 

could happen within the next 12 months. 

A group of scientists warned about the impending 

disaster in Prince William Sound in May. 

Analysis of satellite imagery suggests the Barry Glacier 

is retreating from Barry Arm due to ongoing melting 

and a large rocky scarp is emerging on the face of 

the mountain above it indicating an incremental, 

slow-moving landslide is taking place above the fjord. 

Geophysicist Chunli Dai from the Ohio State University 

told NASA’s Earth Observatory: 

“Based on the elevation of the deposit above the water, 

the volume of land slipping, and the angle of the slope, 

we calculated a collapse would release 16 times more 

debris and 11 times more energy than Alaska’s 1958 

Cascade, Barry and Coxe glaciers in Prince William Sound, Alaska. 

(Image: © Shutterstock) 

Lituya Bay landslide and mega-tsunami.” 

The 1958 event is though to be the tallest tsunami 

wave in modern times, reaching a maximum elevation 

of 524 metres. 


General Marine comes full circle as it establishes 

a new shop and workshop 

“When we first started the company we were 

based here then moved many times over the 

years as General Marine changed and developed. 

So now it feels like coming home,” says General 

Marine director Roy Chalton. 

The company has evolved over the years into 

a specialist marine engineering company with 

expertise in engines, generators, compressors 

and propulsion offering customers a complete 

service. Services include fabrication, installation, 

machining, repairs and maintenance. 

He says that General Marine’s staff and company 

culture have been a key aspect of its success. The 

company employs a team of around 30. 

Their systems experience enables them to work 

on, repair, service and diagnose fuel, exhaust, 

bilge, sanitation, generation, water-making, 

ballast, HP compressors, stabilisers, hydraulics, 

HVAC and propulsion systems. They all take real 

pride in their workmanship and delivering top 

customer service,” he says. 

A number of our staff are certified Bauer technicians 

and we are one of a number of Bauer 

breathing air compressor approved distributors 

so we carry all consumables and a large range of 

spare parts for Bauer compressors. 

General Marine also offers a retail arm, which 

sells a large range of highly respected plant and 

equipment. Brands include Scania, Cummins 

Onan, Bauer compressors, Hamilton Jet and 

Gianneschi. Roy says that all products are fully 

backed by the General Marine service department. 

Dive compressor supply and service 

• New BAUER compressors 

We can advise the best model to suit your needs. 

• Preowned BAUER compressors 

Late model, low hours, fully serviced 

in ‘as new’ condition. 

• Service and spare parts 

Regular maintenance to ensure best performance, 

plus supplies including oil and consumables. 

For more info visit: www.generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED BAUER AGENTS 

General Marine Services 

156 Beaumont St · Westhaven · Auckland · Ph 09 309 0048 · sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

65 Gaunt St · Westhaven · Auckland · Ph 09 309 6317 · service@generalmarine.co.nz 


Titiro kit e Moana - EMR will take you under 

Celebrating 20 years! 

The Experiencing Marine 

Reserves (EMR) programme 

started in Taitokerau/Northland 

in 2001 with the idea of taking 

students from local schools to 

see unprotected marine areas 

and comparing them to a fully 

protected marine reserve. Since 

then seeing huge Tamure/snapper 

swimming by in a marine reserve 

has inspired thousands of kids 

to take action for the marine 

environment and exercise kaitiakitanga. 

Over the past 20 years EMR has 

guided 70,928 people through 

marine reserves with a total 

of 132,478 snorkelling with 

us all over Aotearoa. We offer 

community guided, snorkel day 

events and school programmes 

throughout our nine New Zealand 

regions. 

Latest goings on 

The 2020/21 season is already 

underway with our first ever 

Ma – ngere Kayak Day in Auckland. 

Participants got to explore the 

meandering mangroves of the 

Manukau Harbour, and learn about 

the history and biodiversity of the 

area. We partnered with Friends of 

the Farm to make sure locals could 

explore their own backyard from 

a different perspective, and due 

to a great success we plan to do 

many more kayak days around the 

Manukau to highlight the importance 

of protecting this unique 

part of Ta – maki Makaurau’s marine 

environment. 

In mid October 35 lucky participants 

also joined us to explore Te 

Whiti Rahi, Poor Knights Island 

with Dive! Tutukaka. We were 

treated to incredibly clear water 

and a beautifully sunny day, 

discovered large schools of blue 

mao mao, trevally, haku, and even 

a sunfish! A rare treat! 

We try to make all our events as 

accessible as possible so people 

from all backgrounds can get to 

enjoy our wondrous moana. For 

this trip we were able to offer four 

fully sponsored spots to deserving 

rangatahi so we could get them 

out experiencing this very special 

marine reserve first hand. Freshly 

inspired these rangatahi are now 

determined to take action for our 

oceans, and they will be working 

on marine conservation projects 

over the next couple of months as 

well as volunteering at upcoming 

events. 

EMR over the past four years 

has also been involved with the 

Matai Bay rahui helping the iwi, 

hapu and community monitor it’s 

success, and recently we had a 

wonderful day visiting the rahui 

with Kaingaroa school. 

The kids were super excited to see 

lots of snapper, large red moki, 

crayfish, sandagers wrasse and a 

diverse range of other colourful 

invertebrates and seaweed. Over 

50 people came to experience and 

be inspired by the Maitai Bay rahui 

through this event. 

In January next year EMR will be 

hosting a larger community guided 

snorkel day at Matai Bay, which is 

always super popular and a great way 

for locals to celebrate the ongoing 

protection of their watery backyard. 

Upcoming events 

& plans 

EMR has big plans for the rest 

of our 2020/21 season - over 40 

events are coming up around the 

country from Northland all the 

way to Stewart Island. One of the 

Auckland events in late November 

is our annual Rotoroa Island 

Snorkel Day. 

For this event participants will 

be exploring the rocky reef 

surrounding the pest free island 

sanctuary that is Rotoroa. With 

support from the Rotoroa Island 

Trust participants will get to 

discover what lives on the land as 

well as under the sea. Due to the 

hard conservation work done on 

this island, land based rare and 

endangered wildlife have flourished. 

Whilst Rotoroa is fully protected 

on the land unfortunately the 

same cannot be said for the water 

around it. We have noticed over 

the last three years of running this 

event the decline in biodiversity on 

the reef as well as an increase in 

marine pests like Mediterranean 

fan worm. These observations 

highlight the need to protect more 

of Ti Kapa Moana’s offshore islands 

under the waves as well as on the 

land. 


Participants spotting sanders wrasse and schools of sweep during EMRs 

Poor Knights Adventure Snorkel 

Photograph: Sophie Journee – EMR 

Reotahi snorkelling 

Up in Northland we also have 

our annual Reotahi Snorkel 

series kicking off this month. The 

creation of the Reotahi marine 

reserve was the catalyst for EMR’s 

founder, Samara Nicholas, to start 

on her journey getting kiwi kids 

and whanau experiencing our 

moana first hand. Since then the 

Reotahi snorkel series has helped 

locals to explore the colourful 

sponge gardens, octopus hideouts 

and seaweed palaces that make up 

this unique marine reserve. 

Now more than ever we feel it’s 

important for kiwi kids and their 

whanau to get out and experience 

what’s under the sea in their own 

local backyard. By making ways 

for them to do this our aim is to 

inspire new marine conservation 

projects and underwater observations, 

but most of all we hope 

that people will fall in love with ‘te 

moana’ the sea! 

Kaingaora students and parents exploring the Matai Bay rahui 

Photograph: Oliver Bone – EMR 

DNZ163 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

William Trubridge to go for new deep diving record 

William Trubridge has 

announced he will again 

attempt to break his own world 

record for freediving in constant 

weight, free immersion, no fins. 

( williamtrubridge.com ) 

The record attempt will take 

place at Dean’s Blue Hole 

during a time window between 

December 6th - 14th. 

Freediving strong 

Participation in Freediving is growing apace, Joy 

Keene reported at NZUA’s AGM earlier this year. 

She presented two charts shown here, the second 

of which shows the breath holding records in New 

Zealand. 

William first began serious 

training for the sport in 2003. In 

2005 he was the first freediver 

to dive at Dean’s Blue Hole, now 

recognised as the world’s premier 

freediving venue, and site of the 

annual Vertical Blue event. There 

he broke his first world record in 

the discipline of CNF (Constant 

Weight No Fins) in April 2007, 

reaching 81m. 

Since then he has broken this 

record multiple times. In 2010 

he was first to descend to 100m 

during Project Hector, an event 

to highlight the plight of New 

Zealand’s critically endangered 

Hector’s and Maui’s Dolphins. 

William also holds the world record 

in Free Immersion, with 124m set 

at Vertical Blue in May 2016. 

Looking Ahead: National Champs Series - Pool. 

• Queenstown 27-28 August • Wellington 17-18 

October • Auckland/ Northland TBA 

National Champs - Deoth • March 2021 Pan Pacifics 

• Auckland 23-31 October 2021 

Tauranga U18’s win Underwater Hockey championship 

October was a big month for New Zealand 

underwater hockey, with the U18 Interzone 

Championship and the 2020 New Zealand 

Interclub Championships. 

For the first time in 20 years, Tauranga players 

won the U18’s – the trophy has always been won 

previously by teams from Auckland or Wellington. 

The Interclub Championships also saw fierce 

competition with 33 teams and 350 athletes 

taking part in 120 matches. 

The National Rock Lobster 

Management Group (NRLMG) 

is seeking feedback on proposed 

changes to minimum legal size 

(MLS) of crayfish in the area 

CRA3 which extends from the 

North Island’s East Cape, south to 

the Wairoa River. 

Currently, commercial fishers 

there are allowed to catch 52mm 

male crayfish over the springsummer 

period whereas recreational 

fishers have a minimum 

legal size of 54mm for males 

year-round. This has long been 

viewed as inequitable by local 

recreational fisherman. 

The NRLMG are currently seeking 

U18 Interzone Championship 

Results: 

1st Premier Grade – Team Sobek from Crocodylus 

Underwater Hockey Club (Wellington) 

2nd Premier Grade – Team Supernova from Nova 

Underwater Hockey Club (Auckland) 

3rd Premier Grade – Team Furno from Phoenix 

Underwater Hockey Club (Wellington) 

Proposed changes to CRA3 minimum legal size crays 

public support and consultation 

to put forward to the ministry. 

NZUA has representation on the 

NRLMG to provide the recreational 

interest perspective. 

If you have a view on this issue 

contact Andy Stewart at 

andy@nzua.org.nz 


Tiny animals and their 

critical importance on 

entire oceanic food webs 

By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Holly Lohuis 

Ocean Futures Society www.oceanfutures.org 

There is an inner galaxy of alien looking organisms on our own planet. Just night dive in open water 

with a bright light and witness for yourself the water column coming alive with all different forms of 

gelatinous plants and animals, referred to as plankton. It is indeed an unknown world to most of us, 

a world of wandering, drifting plants and animals, which provide the base of the very complex and 

extremely productive oceanic food web on which we all depend in so many important ways. 

The word plankton comes from 

the Greek, planktos, means to 

wander, or drift. These plants and 

animals make up a tremendous 

amount of the biomass in our oceans, 

yet the significance of how they 

influence key planetary functions is 

only being appreciated today as we 

are documenting major changes in 

our oceans. 

While many of these mysterious 

gelatinous organisms provide 

important opportunities to study the 

link between their abundance and 

the health of our oceans, there are 

many things we do know about their 

importance. 

…Every other breath we take is a gift from the sea… 

Phyto (plant) plankton 

Phytoplankton, plant plankton 

thrive in nutrient rich waters and 

are generally found in the sunlit 

waters of aquatic environments. Like 

terrestrial plants, phytoplankton 

contain chlorophyll and require 

sunlight in order to live and grow. 

Through the process of photosynthesis, 

phytoplankton take in CO 2 

and release oxygen. In fact, as much 

as 50% of our oxygen comes from 

phytoplankton. We can think of them 

as every other breath we take as a 

gift from the sea. They are one of the 

world’s most important producers of 

oxygen and they provide important 

food for the first order of consumers 

in the aquatic trophic food web, 

zooplankton. 

Plankton participate in the largest migration on the planet which 

happens under the cover of darkness every single night 

Zoo (animal) plankton 

Many zooplankton, or animal 

plankton, are grazers, filtering the 

planktonic soup of phytoplankton 

and other floating organic material. 

These animals participate in the 

largest migration on the planet which 

happens under the cover of darkness 

every single day. At night trillions of 

tiny plankton move from the deep 

scattered layer well over 300m deep 

towards the surface to feed. Come 

early morning hours, they then dive 

down to escape hungry mouths from 

above. So even though plankton 

are considered wanders, living a 

life adrift in the open ocean, they 

actually make an amazing vertical 

movement every single day. 

The richness of our seas is directly 

related to abundance and diversity 

of these drifting plants and animals. 

They not only provide the base of a 

rich web of life in the oceans, they 

are even preyed upon by the largest 

Inset Photo credit: Richard Murphy, PhD @Ocean Futures Society 


animals ever to exist, blue whales. 

Blue whales filter their favorite food, 

krill (euphausiids) and copepods 

through their large baleen plates. 

During the peak of their feeding 

summer months, one blue whale can 

eat over 3,000 kg of krill per day. 

Whales not only eat these small prey 

animals, they also keep them alive… 

Trophic cascades 

Here is where it gets really interesting. 

One of the more exciting 

scientific findings in the past 

half century is the discovery of 

wide-spread trophic cascades. A 

trophic cascade is an ecological 

process starting at the top at the food 

chain and tumbling all the way to the 

bottom and it can involve powerful, 

indirect interactions that actually 

change entire ecosystems for the 

good or bad, depending on what is 

removed or brought back into the 

system. 

Wolves, for example 

A famous example of a trophic 

cascade is what has been 

documented in Yellowstone when 

wolves were reintroduced in 1995 

after being locally extinct for over 

70 years. Wolves not only helped 

control their prey population, deer 

and elk, from over populating and 

overgrazing, but by keeping their 

prey populations in check, the 

presence helped benefit all levels of 

the complex web of 

life in Yellowstone. 

Since wild wolves 

have returned to 

Yellowstone, the elk 

and deer are stronger, the aspens and 

willows are healthier, the grasses 

taller and the beaver population is 

thriving. 

The same trophic cascade effects 

have also been well documented in 

the ocean with the comeback of the 

great whales, including humpback 

…Some of the large baleen whales.. release vast plumes… 

rich in iron and nitrogen, nutrients that fertilize the plant 

plankton at the sunlit surface… 

whales, fin whales and blue whales. 

Some countries have argued that 

killing whales is good for us; fewer 

whales mean more seafood for us to 

eat. But what scientists have actually 

documented was, as whale populations 

declined around the world, 

so did their favorite prey, small 

schooling fish and krill. What was 

discovered is that whales not only eat 

these small prey animals, they also 

keep them alive! In fact, whales help 

sustain the entire living system of 

the ocean. 

Spreading fertilizer 

When some of the large baleen 

whales, such as blue whales which 

feed on krill at the darker depths, 

rise to the surface, they release 

vast amounts of fecal matter. These 

plumes are rich in iron and nitrogen, 

distributing nutrients that are generally 

scarce in surface waters. These 

nutrients fertilize the plant plankton 

in the only place where plant 

plankton can survive; in the sunlit 

waters at the surface. 

Fertilizing the surface waters is not 

the only thing these whales do. By 

Main Photo credit: Chuck Graham, @chuckgrahamphoto 


plunging up and down through the 

water column, they keep kicking 

phytoplankton back up to the 

surface, giving it more time to reproduce 

before it sinks into the abyss. 

Taking the eco system 

approach 

Today most of the large baleen 

whale populations are still greatly 

reduced in numbers compared to 

just 150 years ago. With less than 

7% of ocean wilderness protected, 

marine scientists are recognizing the 

importance of protecting complete 

marine ecosystems for keeping all of 

us healthy and our oceans thriving. 

With the new knowledge of trophic 

cascades, we can now begin to focus 

on ocean conservation and recovery 

efforts on an ecosystem-wide 

approach. We now know this is 

essential in maintaining the structure, 

function, and biodiversity of 

most natural oceanic ecosystems. 

We owe so much to the ocean. My 

own personal connection to the 

ocean started at a young age when 

…With the new knowledge of trophic cascades, we can now 

begin to focus on ocean conservation and recovery efforts on 

an ecosystem-wide approach… essential in maintaining the 

structure, function, and biodiversity of most natural oceanic 

ecosystems… 

my father strapped on my back his 

newly invented SCUBA equipment 

and allowed me to breathe underwater 

for the very first time. That 

was back in 1945, 75 years ago. Back 

then, the understanding of ecosystems, 

interconnection and trophic 

cascades was not well documented 

in the scientific literature. But since 

then, we have learned a tremendous 

amount about our interconnection 

and dependence on healthy, productive 

oceans. And there is no doubt, 

we still have much to learn, appreciate 

and protect. 

Our water planet, 

our only home 

This water planet is our only home, 

and we must do everything in 

our power to protect it, from the 

microscopic plankton to the giant 

whales whose numbers we hope will 

continue to recover and increase. 

When you protect the ocean, you 

protect yourself. 

Reaching lengths of close to 30.5 metres and weighting over 

150 tonnes, blue whales are the largest animal to have ever 

lived; larger than the largest dinosaur. They number over 

25,000 individuals today, making a slow and steady comeback 

after being hunted to near extinction less than 50 years ago. 


LOCKDOWN TALES 

from around the country 

Dive Pacific asked several dive operators seven questions how they fared this 

tumultuous year, and from their responses we’ve compiled an account of how its 

been, what’s been good, not so good, and where to from here. 

1) Over the last nine months Covid 

19 has disrupted everyone but 

especially your business as a 

dive/tourism operator. How did 

it hit you? 

“Where do I start!” said Craig 

Johnson of Paihia Dive in the 

Bay of Islands. He may well 

have been speaking on behalf 

of all dive operators. “We run 

dive charters with over 80% of 

international visitors so having 

the border closed had a massive 

effect.” 

Then, when Auckland shut down 

the second time, Northland 

was cut off from the rest of 

the country. “That was tough, 

especially as kiwi divers had 

started to travel and book trips.” 

For Waiheke Dive Adam’s short 

answer is “Dramatically. Our 

business had a pretty even split 

between domestic and international 

pre-Covid, so that meant 

that a large amount of our 

market didn’t exist anymore.” 

Brent McFadden of Go Dive 

Pacific in Picton reports that 

“Due to the lockdown cutting 

the summer season short by 

twomonths, we lost a number of 

charters, especially as Easter and 

ANZAC fell within the Alert Level 

4 lockdown. We were able to run 

the usual trips over the winter 

months but lost all our advanced 

“start of season” overseas 

bookings with planned group 

trips heading overseas cancelled. 

Kevin Halverson of Gisborne’s 

Dive & Gas says it decimated the 

Dive shop, but the other side of 

the business got them through, 

and now seems to be growing 

again, with solid local support. 

…Our business had a pretty even split between domestic and 

international pre-Covid, so that meant that a large amount of 

our market didn’t exist anymore… 

Richard Abernethy of Fiordland 

Expeditions reported: “We lost 

70% of our customers overnight. 

Fortunately we were already 

strong in the domestic market 

for dive charters and have 

experienced an uptake as people 

can’t travel overseas.” 

Photo Credit: Fiordland Expeditions 

Fiordland Expeditions offers spectacular crayfish... 

Kate Malcolm of Dive Tutukaka 

says they were fully shut for 

56 days in total. But the Wage 

Subsidy allowed us to keep our 

talented staff, and the place has 

never looked so clean! 

“Our base is a 50/50 split with 

domestic and international 

tourists, so we have missed our 

overseas friends. Our fingers are 

crossed for a Niue Travel Bubble 

where we have our sister centre 

Niue Blue ready to welcome 

Kiwis for diving and humpback 


whale swimming in the 2021 NZ 

winter. 

2) Will business pick up this 

summer? How are bookings 

compared with last year? 

Photo Credit: Cole Johnston and Sole Ventures 

Craig notes summer is our 

season in the Bay of Islands and 

we will have a good one. It won’t 

be as long as normal, and our 

dive charters will be down on 

normal, but “I can see our retail 

side will be busier than previous 

summers.” 

Adam at Waiheke Dive agrees 

this summer will be solid. 

“Bookings are coming in from 

Kiwis looking to explore their 

homeland more this year, and we 

are fortunate to be in an exceptional 

location.” 

Brent said “Traditionally our core 

business in Picton was international, 

however we were able 

to change our business model 

quickly to focus more on the 

domestic market. This has led 

to an earlier than usual start 

to the season due to our large 

base of loyal clients, rather than 

seeing them head overseas. Also 

both recreational and technical 

training bookings are up. 

Kevin emphasises again their 

strong local support which is 

“helping heaps. And they in turn 

support many local causes which 

give back too.” 

Kate says they their Tutukaka 

team are confident the summer 

will be busy. “We have spent 20 

years focusing on the incredible 

Poor Knights Islands as a 

Must-Do destination, so that 

…the international market decreased by 74% while our 

domestic market increased by 63%.”… 

Poor Knights 

The jewel anemone spawn was epic on the Canterbury at the BOI 

when people choose to visit 

our awesome coastline they 

recognise our name, and reputation.” 

However a concern is 

what happens when domestic 

disposable income decreases. 

Their “international market 

has decreased by 74% while our 

domestic market increased by 

63%.” 

3) What’s been the low points? 

High points? 

“Seeing my business that I have 

put my life into shut down, not 

knowing if it would survive. That 

was tough,” Craig’s Paihia Dive 

said. But “Covid has 

given me time to 

focus on running my 

business, refining 

what we do. On the 

up side too it was 

nice to spend more 

time with my wife 

Lisa and my boys. 

I’ve been spearfishing 

much more 

than other years 

- that’s a definite 

upside! The diving was soo good 

when it opened up again in June, 

July and the start of August. The 

Jewel Anemone Spawn in July 

was epic!” 

For Richard the low points were 

having to let good people go and 

the sudden loss of income. On 

the upside they are one of the 

dnz164 

Photo Credit: Paihia Dive 


Photo Credit: NZ Sea Adventures 

The team at Sea Adventures at Mana 

lucky ones that already had a 

supportive, domestic market. 

“The future doesn’t look quite so 

bleak, at present anyway.” 

Adam said keeping his Waiheke 

team employed as much as 

possible, while making sure 

we can pay the bills, was a 

real challenge. A high point 

was “seeing key elements of 

the tourism industry and the 

dive industry come together, 

share ideas and resources to 

ensure we all survive. Its been 

a true ‘warms the heart’ kinda 

moment!” 

Low points for Brent were not 

being able to travel overseas 

with their dive groups while 

high points were having time to 

complete some projects being 

planned for some time, including 

a comprehensive guide to wreck 

diving. 

“This has allowed 

me to re-realise 

that customer focus 

is key,” Craig said. 

“The experience 

that they have in all 

interactions with 

me and my staff 

is critical. Good 

budgeting is pretty 

important too.” 

Adam notes three 

things: accept this 

is how it is, recognise the market 

has changed, and collaborate 

with the community, businesses 

and organisations that align with 

your values. 

Brent suggests more locals 

should be encouraged to get into 

diving. We have a massive coastline 

with very diverse diving 

environments, and dive operators 

need to find ways to retain their 

clients as active divers. He agrees 

with Adam that networking and 

collaborating with other dive 

operators is important to ensure 

clients have a greater menu of 

diving opportunities. 

Kevin in Gisborne agrees 

with Brent and Adam that its 

important not to have all your 

eggs in one basket. As Kevin 

says: “What helps us is not 

relying on one thing and keeping 

an open mind to what our area 

needs.” 

Kate points out everyone has 

been in the same storm, just in 

different boats. “Being nimble, 

and quick to recognise opportunities 

for change, having the 

ability to adapt fast, and being 

open and honest in all dealings, 

is her motto. “Covid is happening 

to everyone, so the ‘be kind’ 

mantra is a fair one,” she says. 

Richard advises: “Do what you 

do well, keep your costs low and 

don’t discount too heavily. The 

yields are already lower in the 

domestic market so compete on 

service, not price.” 

…a big feature of the year has been the general vibe of our 

community intent on looking out for each other -heaps of 

causes helping out those in need in the East Coast… 

5) What do you think the government 

might do to help your 

business recovery from now on? 

Kate and Craig speak as one 

when they express their grati- 

Kate says their Poor Knights 

snorkel market has grown! 

“People are still keen to visit a 

tropical destination with loads 

of fish! The Tourism NZ drive 

to ‘Do Something New NZ” 

has worked well, with a bonus 

being the opportunity to do 

some work on your business 

you seldom find time for.” A 

low point? Not heading out to 

the Knights a lot and not being 

able to dive for that long. 

4) Is there an experience from 

this you would recommend 

other businesses consider? 

A typical ‘perfect day’ at the Poor Knights with Tutukaka Dive 




tude for the wage subsidy. 

Craig says without it we 

wouldn’t have survived 

“so fairly thankful for that 

already.” 

Kate affirms the focus for her 

team is making (the grant) 

work, being accountable, and 

taking on the responsibility of 

the high-trust model that was 

presented. “The Government 

has looked after us, and we 

have faith they will continue 

to do so if necessary.” 

But Richard is adamant 

Immigration could do better! 

“NZ has overseas workers stuck 

in the country and Immigration 

takes too long to process applications. 

Leave the politics out of it. 

We need these workers now!” 

Craig thinks strategic funding 

should have been spread around 

more operators within the 

tourism sector, and now the 

government needs to find a way 

to open New Zealand borders 

to countries that don’t have 

community transmission of 

Covid. “Without international 

tourism we will start to see 

businesses folding fairly soon.” 

But Adam comes at it differently. 

He’d like to see additional funding 

for upskilling. And he says he’s 

not a fan of a ‘cash in the hand’ 

approach from government. 

At the Poor Knights with Tutukaka Dive 

Brent gives a specific example of 

the skills in demand. The government 

could look at changing the 

medical requirements for staff 

CoC’s, he said. The current cost 

and time that it takes to get a 

commercial medical check is 

restricting younger kiwis from 

entering the industry. A more 

practical option would be to have 

an annual recreational medical 

rather than the current three 

year term for a commercial 

medical. 

Kevin wants to see Kiwis encouraged 

more to keep their tourism 

and fun spend local as much as 

possible, and to support local/ 

small businesses. 

6) How long do you think it will be 

until your business gets back to 

the sort of revenues as before 

Covid-19? 

I’m not sure it will, Craig said. 

Adam added, “It’s no longer 

‘business as usual’ 

because there is no 

usual anymore.” Craig 

thinks people will no 

longer be able be able 

to travel internationally 

like they used 

to. “But that’s ok. We 

will adapt to our new 

market/client base and 

cater to that.” 

Waiheke Dive is now 

totally focused helping 

grow their domestic 

industry and demand, 

A group outing with Waiheke Dive 

and widening product offerings, 

Adam says. 

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Richard is optimistic New 

Zealand will be seen as a cleaner, 

safer destination as a result of 

our Covid experience, and reap 

the rewards of our reputation. 

But my expectations are it will be 

a long hard rebuild, he said. 

Brent points out it really depends 

on how long the border restrictions 

are in place. “I think they 

need to be lifted by mid 2021 if 

we expect international tourism 

to get back to pre Covid levels 

for the 2021/22 season. In the 

meantime we are working on 

building our domestic client 

base.” 

Kevin accentuates the positive 

for his local community: “We 

appreciate still being here for our 

area.” 

Kate’s longer term view aims to 

climb to “80% of previous levels 

of international visitors by the 

2024 summer but a long time 

before getting back to pre-Covid 

revenues. 2020 has put us back a 

decade. We may never get back to 

the numbers we once had, but we 

still deliver a world class experience.” 

7) Any interesting stories to tell 

about what happened during 

the last 6 months? 

A big feature of the year for Kevin 

has been the general vibe of our 

community intent on looking out 

for each other. He said there has 

been “heaps of causes helping out 

those in need in the East Coast.” 

Craig is grateful for his locality: 

“How lucky we are to have such 

amazing winter diving in the Bay 

of Islands with vis ranging from 

20 to 30m and the water temp 

isn’t bad, normally down to 16c.” 

Adam found the drama of it all 

an eye opener too: “When we 

first went to Level 4 I set up my 

spare room like a ‘war room’. 

Charts and graphs on the walls, 

scenario planning, the works. 

After about four days of that I 

realised it was a complete waste 

Bright corals in the Southern Fiords 

of time - we didn’t know what 

the next 12 days would bring! We 

changed tack, focusing purely on 

survival.” 

Brent found the lockdown a good 

time to reflect, a bit like a trial 

retirement…. “Not bad really, I 

could quite enjoy being retired, 

as long as I can still get out for a 

dive or two, and the government 

has enough revenue to cover my 

super.” 

Richard highlights the upside 

of local support: “I guess the 

most positive thing is we have 

experienced quite some growth 

from the dive sector domestically 

as overseas trips are not on 

offer currently. And we’ve seen 

an increase in returning clients 

as they look to rediscover what 

Fiordland has to offer,” he said. 

Kate expounds the attractions 

of the Poor Knights, protected, 

and isolated, but still open to 

some travellers! 

“We have had 

humpback whales, 

Brydes, minke, and 

orca, dolphins, mola 

mola and seals, a 

resident turtle, and 

schooling trevally 

and snapper in huge 

numbers. 

“The Buller shearwater’s 

have 

returned from 

North America and are nesting 

and feeding, and from early 

November the pohutukawa are 

already in strong flower, with the 

Poor Knights Lily in full bloom 

through October.” 

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0800 288 882 

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09 217 4892 

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GoDivePacific, Picton 

0274 344 874 

www.Godivepacific.co.nz 

Fiordland Expeditions 

0508 888 656 

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Taking notes with Sea Adventures 

Photo Credit: Fiordland Expeditions 


Product Number 50120UK 

© PADI 2006 All rights reserved. 

New Zealand diving’s best kept secret 

The Bay of Plenty coastline is home to many 

untapped and unexplored dives sites and offers 

a diving wonderland catering for hunter gathers, 

wreck enthusiasts and beautiful scenic dives. 

It is home to New Zealand’s most recent ship 

wreck; the cargo ship MV Rena ran aground on the 

Astroblabe reef on 5 October 2011. The remains of 

the wreck now make a great dive site with an interesting 

back story. 

North West of Motiti island is a Dive Zone favourite, 

Okaparu reef, which is home to an impressive 

5 acres of rocky gardens, swim throughs, schools 

of snapper and kingfish and many crayfish can be 

spotted amongst the crevices. We are pretty sure 

if Jaques Costeau had made it as far as the Bay of 

Plenty he would of named this site in his list of the 

worlds top sites! 

The Jewel in our crown is Mayor Island ( Tuhua ) 

sitting 20 nautical miles of the coast, Mayor island 

is home to the Bay of Plenty’s only Marine reserve, 

with clear water, kelp forests, resident eels, and 

plenty of sheltered bays a dive trip out to Mayor 

Island will not disappoint. 

Dive Zone Tauranga run mid week and weekend 

dive trips on our comfortable 12 meter dive vessel 

Ruku Moana. 

To book visit www.divezonetauranga.co.nz 

Authorized 

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For all things diving in 

the Bay of Plenty 

CONTACT US: 

Phone: (07) 578 4050 

213 Cameron Rd Tauranga 

www.divezonetauranga.co.nz 

facebook/divezonetauranga 

divezonetauranga 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Marine heatwave conditions forming: NIWA 

NIWA forecasters say a marine 

heatwave is forming around 

parts of New Zealand after sea 

surface temperatures (SSTs) 

warmed considerably last month. 

Meteorologist Ben Noll says the 

warmest region is the north of 

the North Island where ocean 

temperatures are 1.6°C above 

the November monthly average. 

In this region, marine heatwave 

conditions are affecting 

Northland and northern 

Auckland’s coastal waters and 

extend west into the Tasman 

Sea. 

In other areas around the 

country, sea surface temperatures 

are between 0.7 to 1.1°C 

above average. 

“High pressure systems in 

October led to warming of the 

sea surface and prevented cooler 

water underneath from mixing to 

the top. 

The east and west of the South 

Island is 1.1˚C above average as 

is the east of the North Island. 

West of the North Island is +0.8˚C 

above average, and north of the 

South Island +0.7˚C. 

New Zealand is now in a La Niña 

climate regime which tends to 

bring more northerly winds and 

has historically been associated 

with warm Tasman Sea temperatures. 

NIWA subscribes to the definition 

of a marine heatwave as 

being an extended period of 

extremely warm ocean temperatures 

that can extend up to 

thousands of kilometres. These 

temperatures must be above 

the 90th percentile – or the 

value above which 90 per cent of 

historical observations occur. 

Chance leads to first look at coral larvae 

Small orange flecks spotted 

floating in a respiration 

chamber at a NIWA laboratory 

have led to a discovery about the 

spawning habits of a deep-sea 

stony coral in New Zealand 

waters. 

NIWA scientists collected 

colonies of the deep-sea stony 

coral, Goniocorella dumosa, from 

the Chatham Rise in June to 

help assess the resilience of 

corals to sedimentation. 

The small orange flecks turned 

out to be larvae that had 

been released from the 

mature coral polyps. This 

coral species is prevalent 

throughout the southern 

hemisphere but its larvae have 

never been seen before. They 

measure about 1.1mm x 0.8 

mm and were covered in small 

hair-like filaments called cilia. 

Deep sea stony coral 

months to reach this stage. It’s 

fascinating to watch and record 

their development as they form 

feeding tentacles and a calcified 

base.” 

Coral lavae 

NIWA scientist Dr Jenny 

Beaumont says they settled 

“within a few days, which is 

a contrast to other deep-sea 

corals, some of which can take 

NIWA’s coral expert, Di Tracey, 

says being able to observe the 

larvae has changed the understanding 

of the reproductive 

process of this species. 

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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 a diver’s paradise 

A bucket A bucket list list destination 

Your multi-day live-aboard 

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www.dive-pacific.com 11 27

S pearos notebook 

Spearfishing Nationals Perfect! 

with Jackson Shields 

Every sport has found 2020 tricky to navigate and for the New Zealand Spearfishing 

Nationals it was no different. This year the event was planned for Easter to be based 

out of Omaha for the first time ever. Easter often offers great diving with clear water, 

high fish numbers and nice weather, so it was an exciting prospect. Of course COVID 

put an end to that. 2020 looked written off until an AGM of Spearfishing NZ voted a 

national competition was still wanted. 

The revised date was Labour 

weekend in October, not 

known as a good time for 

weather or conditions. With 

preparation rushed and a shortened 

event, participant numbers 

were lower than normal but still 

more than enough with the best 

spear fishers congregating from 

around New Zealand. 

Unbelievably the weather for the 

event was absolutely perfect with 

flat seas and clear conditions. 

With such great weather and 

access to lots of big boats, the 

whole of the Hauraki Gulf was 

available for the competition. 

Miraculously the forecast was 

again for two incredible days, so 

the Mokohinaus were selected for 

the competition area. This was 

thought inconceivable prior to 

the competition as it is a fair way 

offshore and the weather doesn’t 

always play ball. 

Reduced fish list 

Competitions in New Zealand 

have changed with the times, 

and for these nationals the fish 

waste, minimum shark attention 

and virtually no bycatch. 

Spearfishing is arguably one of 

the best ways to harvest fish as 

we are can be so selective; we 

take only what we want. Without 

the use of burley and every pair 

having to dive and swim in the 

same stretch of coastline, it can 

be challenging for divers to get 

certain species, especially if they 

are spooked. 

…We struggled throughout the day seeing other species like 

snapper in abundance though they were moving around 

midwater making them difficult to approach… 

Little Barrier 

The Junior’s and Women’s was 

held on the Saturday. With light 

winds forecast Little Barrier was 

chosen. Each junior and woman 

competing has a safety diver 

swimming along throughout the 

competition and I was asked to 

swim with one of the women. 

The water was beautifully clear 

and flat calm, with good scope 

along the weed-edges and 

shallows to hunt for butterfish 

and snapper. Some great fish 

were speared with the biggest 

snapper coming in at 6.8kg 

gutted and gilled! A very nice 

fish! 

The Open competition was 

scheduled for the Monday and 

Tuesday - everyone was given 

a day’s rest after the Junior’s 

and Women’s – and some of 

the juniors and women were to 

compete as well in the two day 

event. 

list was reduced to the most 

sought after eating species. Plus, 

you were not allowed to use 

burley or gut your fish during 

competition to ensure minimal 

Plenty of fish leading up 

Starting gun fires 

Day One was held on the inside 

of Burgess Island group in an 

area about 2 km long marked out 

with large buoys and dive flags. 

All the boats park up together 

and once the starting gun fires 

all the pairs swim off for six 

hours to try and collect the fish 

species on the list. 

Conditions were fantastic - 

12-15m visibility and lots of fish. 

Me and dive buddy Paul picked 

up some nice fish early on. The 

difficulty of the reduced fish list 

was that we were encountering 

a lot of the same species; lots of 

pink mao mao, koheru, kingfish, 

but we already had our quota of 

these. (One only kingfish, or two 

koheru, and pink mao mao). 

Disqualified… 

So we struggled throughout 

the day seeing other species 


Start of Day 1 

tions: you have no one to blame 

but yourself… plus there’s still 

another day of competition to 

try again. One pair was caught 

burleying so they were disqualified…if 

you break any rules, 

especially safety rules, your day 

gets disqualified. 

Dwane Herbert and John 

Anderson cleaned up on the day 

and did extremely well for fish 

diversity, 11, well ahead of the 

competition and very difficult 

to catch. Dwane had flown up 

Jackie Edwards - Women’s 

biggest snapper 

…Dwane Herbert and John Anderson cleaned up on the day 

and did extremely well for fish diversity, 11, …Dwane had 

flown up from Bluff to compete and is New Zealand’s top 

rated spearo… 

like snapper in abundance 

though they were moving 

around midwater making them 

difficult to approach. Without 

burley, apart from kina, which 

the snapper were not feeding 

on, we were not good enough 

that day. It was hard not to 

be disappointed but that’s the 

great thing about these competi- 

from Bluff to compete and is New 

Zealand’s top rated spearo. 

Second for the day with nine 

fish were Dave Mullins and 

Chris Marshall. Dave was 2019 

New Zealand champion, one of 

New Zealand’s top free divers; 

they had both come up from 

Wellington. Then Paul and I were 

trailing too far back with seven 

fish. 

Swimming race, with 

dolphins 

The last thing you want to do is 

be caught in a big swim race after 

six hours diving the previous day. 

Then half way to the desired spot 

a pod of big dolphins swam right 

up amongst us all - very cool! 

They made appearances all day 

too, and I even witnessed them 

chasing kingfish and school fish. 

After my poor effort not spearing 

a snapper the day before I 

Sophie Hamilton - 1st Women’s 

Day Two 

With everyone enjoying their 

day at the Mokohinaus it was 

established Day Two should 

also be there with great weather 

forecast once again, but this time 

on the South side of Fanal Island 

including Navire rock. 

Conditions were again fantastic 

with clear water and flat seas. 

All three top pairs headed off in 

the same direction, not ideal as 

we were likely to be targeting the 

same fish as all are very capable 

divers. A 1.3km straight swim 

race was on. Some chose to put 

their spear guns on their float 

boat and over arm. Others kept 

up though, keeping guns in hand 

ready to spear fish. 

Tyler Maugham - 1st Junior’s 


Dwane and John’s Day 1 catch 

Paul and Jackson’s Day 2 catch 

managed to get very lucky 

straight off the bat spearing two 

nice snapper milling high in the 

water column in deep water. 

…Half way to the desired spot a pod of big dolphins swam 

right up amongst us all - very cool! … 

Big snapper 

Soon after we were amongst 

plenty of school fish, nailing our 

trevally, koheru and kingfish. We 

had made the call to try and get 

our snapper early before they got 

spooked, but we still needed two 

more to fill our quota. Hunting 

along a nice ledge I tucked myself 

in the kelp and lay still in hope 

of spotting a snapper resting 

deep down. To my surprise a big 

snapper glided in to inspect me, 

I waited very still until in range 

then made my lunge from the 

kelp cover. But it spooked just 

as I pulled the trigger and I hit 

it very high. The terrible sight of 

it spinning and tearing off was a 

hard pill to swallow on the way 

to the surface. Fortunately for the 

fish it had more of a fright than 

any real damage. 

But I was disappointed in myself 

letting such a good opportunity 

get away. 

While reloading I looked down 

deep at another big snapper 

cruising along the bottom, I was 

still on the long line so made a 

quick dive in the hope of getting 

close. By trying to anticipate its 

movements I took a long shot 

that connected well. Then, not 

long after hiding in the kelp 

again, I picked up another good 

size snapper, and with that we 

were done with snapper early in 

the competition. 

Tiring out at 30m 

We picked up the odd other small 

species and after two and half 

hours had most of our species. 

We then spent the time diving 

deep hoping for a lucky blue 

moki, boarfish or tarakihi. But 

as the day goes by making dives 

between 30-35m becomes just 

too taxing. 

Weighing in 

Back at the weigh in were lucky 

to have all the basic species in 

the area and at good weight. 

We weighed in 14 fish, Dwane 

and John 12, Dave and Chris 11. 

It was enough for us to sneak 

above Dave and Chris, but Dwane 

and John were too good and too 

consistent, taking out a well-deserved 

win! 

A big thank you to Spearfishing 

New Zealand for organizing the 

competition and all the competitors! 

Anyone interested in 

competing in the Nationals, I 

would highly recommend as 

it’s a great way to meet other 

spearos, sharpen your skills 

and get to dive areas that you 

may not normally dive. The 

next one is to be based out of 

Whitianga in Easter. Look out 

for upcoming competitions on 

www.spearfishingnz.co.nz 


Rare underwater find for 

NIWA photographer 

NIWA’s Annual Staff photo competition 

LIDAR with Milky Way, Arrival Heights, Antarctica. Photo: Mark Murphy 

A NIWA marine ecologist is one 

of very few worldwide who have 

seen and photographed the 

elusive football octopus (Ocythoe 

tuberculate). 

NIWA’s Crispin Middleton was diving 

in November 2019 in the Poor Knights 

Marine Reserve when he spotted the 

football octopus inside a salp. He has 

dived there more than 1000 times 

but this was a first, and he hasn’t seen 

them since. He suspects the 50 he saw 

that day might have been a breeding 

aggregation. 

Salps are barrel-shaped invertebrate 

that resemble jellyfish. Crispin says 

that there aren’t many things that eat 

salps and the football octopus may 

have been hiding in them to avoid 

predation from larger fish. 

The photograph was judged the 

winner of the special award category 

in NIWA’s annual staff photographic 

competition. The NIWA competition 

attracted a large range of entries 

featuring some of New Zealand’s 

most awe-inspiring locations in which 


Octopus in a salp. Photo: Crispin Middleton 

Pelagic octopus (Amphitretis) Photo: Darren Stevens 

staff undertake their environmental science. 

Coincidentally, the winning photograph in 

the People’s Choice section was also taken in 

the Poor Knights. 

Marine ecology technician Richie Hughes’ 

image was taken at Long Cave when the 

sun was low in the sky sending beams of 

light through the water into the cave which 

was full of blue mao mao and two-spot 

demoiselle. 

“Framing an image like this requires the use 

of natural ambient light and light added from 

your camera’s flash guns. It’s the balance 

between these two, along with perfect 

composition, that may create the perfect 

exposure,” he says. 

Other winning shots included Lake Matheson, 

Lake Mangamahoe and Mt Taranaki, and 

koura resting on a fallen nikau palm frond. 

The judges this year were Ross Giblin of Stuff 

and Gerry le Roux from Science Lens. 


Koura resting on a fallen nikau palm frond. 

Photo: Crispin Middleton 

Gaming Southern Royal albatross, Campbell 

Island. Photo: Rob Murdoch 

The longest cave, Poor Knights Marine Reserve. 

Photo: Richie Hughes 


Once is never enough for the 

Kermadec Islands 

Story and photos by Paul Caiger 

As far as remote and rugged outposts go, the Kermadec Islands/Rangitāhua certainly fit the 

bill. Midway between mainland New Zealand and Tonga, these fragments of rock rise up in 

an otherwise vast ocean environment. Their remoteness makes them a hard place to visit; 

rare scientific expeditions, government resupply vessels, and a few intrepid yachties and 

divers. 

As for us, we were a collection of mostly marine science folk who wished to explore the 

Kermadecs on our own time. Four days of favourable winds blew us there north from the 

Bay of Islands on a 60-foot steel ketch, the Dona Catharina. 



The reason the Kermadecs exist 

at all is due to their being on 

the collision zone of two of the 

Earth’s tectonic plates, the Pacific 

and Australian. With a trench 

some 10 km deep adjacent to a 

highly active ridge, this is the most 

linear, fastest converging, and 

most seismically active subduction 

boundary on Earth. Consequently, 

it also has the highest density of 

volcanoes: around 600 submarine 

volcanoes, and of course islands 

along the chain. The Kermadecs 

themselves consist of four groups 

of islands stretching across 240 km 

of ocean. 

Active volcanoes 

This active volcanic region has 

had its influence on attempts at 

human habitation here too, in 

particular on the largest island, 

Raoul. The threat of a wanton 

earthquake or eruption is never far 

away, and it has given would be 

settlers desperate, sometimes fatal, 

challenges to living here. Still, 

the allure of a Robison Crusoetype 

existence has enticed several 

people to try and settle over recent 

history, usually though not for 

long. The ‘King of the Kermadecs,’ 

Thomas Bell, with his family of 

nine, managed a 30-year residence 

on Raoul, working sheep and 

crops, both to subsist and to sell 

back to the mainland. Prior to 

that, evidence suggests Polynesian 

navigators visited and possibly 

settled on the islands for a time 

about 700 years ago. 

Reserved 

By the 20th century, the natural 

significance of the islands was 

starting to be appreciated, with 

its unique floral composition, and 

huge numbers of seabird colonies. 

…Fishes we seldom encounter in New Zealand thrive 

here in abundance… 

By 1934, all the crown land was 

gazetted for a Flora and Fauna 

Reserve, with the remaining 

private land on Raoul obtained by 

the government and added to the 

Reserve in 1992. 

The land under the sea has also 

Left page: Blue dragon and by-the-wind sailor 

Below: Drummer 


Humpback whale breachings 

been protected, becoming New 

Zealand’s third, and still largest, 

marine reserve in 1990. There’s 

a lot to protect. In the desert 

latitudes, the Kemedecs provide 

a surprising hotspot of flora and 

fauna. 

Underwater 

And diving is why we are here! On 

first appearances, the reefs appear 

relatively barren. Absent are the 

lush kelp forests of temperate 

coasts, and missing too are the 

sprawling coral reefs of the tropics. 

Nevertheless it’s quickly apparent 

that most surfaces of boulder or 

bedrock are covered with a blend 

of delicate or turfing algae, and soft 

and hard corals. 

Fish fascinators 

This fascinating mixture of 

tropical and temperate is multiplied 

by the fish life. Of the 175 or 

so coastal fish species currently 

known to live here, 42% are considered 

tropical, 45% subtropical, and 

…We anchored at the islands for a week and found it hard to 

tire of the constant breaching and singing from these gentle 

leviathans. Their vocalisations certainly added a unique 

sensation to our night dives… 

12% of temperate origin, showing 

the mixed nature of their origins. 

Fishes we seldom encounter 

in New Zealand thrive here in 

abundance; the likes of yellowbanded 

perch, gold-ribbon grouper, 

and painted moki. Also, given the 

lack of kelp, there are a surprising 

Spanish lobster & Sandagers wrasse 



number of herbivorous fishes, 

including drummers, marblefish and 

Parma anglefishes. Here they are more 

diverse in their diet, relying more on 

plankton, and it is not uncommon to 

see large schools of drummer feeding 

on salps in the top couple of metres of 

the water column. 

The mobile invertebrates are chiefly 

tropical: crown-of-thorns starfish, 

tropical urchins, exquisite crustaceans 

and gastropods. Perhaps the most 

iconic are the giant limpets, endemic 

to the islands, and dominating the 

shallow surge zone. 

Splendid hawkfish (Notocirrhitus splendens) 

…Gratitude for wild places like 

this, left for nature, without 

human interference… 

However due to its isolation, and 

compared with other places, the 

knowledge of this underwater world 

is relatively low. Even from our few 

days there, between us we recorded at 

least two fish species that we hadn’t 

encountered in New Zealand before. 

Predators 

Two large predators patrol the reefs. 

The Galapagos sharks are very 

common, a great sign of a healthy 

ecosystem, and they are our near-constant, 

yet distant, companions on 

dives. As dusk approaches each day, 

we find their curiosity increasing. 

Several close encounters ensue! 

Fortunately, most are less than a 

couple of metres, and as I consider 

there to be a basic size hierarchy with 

sharks, so as long as I am longer than 

them, I’m happy! 

Hingebeak shrimp & diadema urchin 

Grey moray (Gymnothorax nubilus) in soft coral 

The other large fish predator we 

encounter is the charismatic spotted 

black grouper. The Kermadecs are the 

last bastion of healthy populations 

of this species which reach nearly 

two metres long! Being long lived and 

easy to catch, they are vulnerable to 

overfishing, irrespective of the marine 

reserve status, and they are fully 

protected throughout New Zealand, 

in fact one of only two species of bony 

fish in New Zealand that are. But, here 

there is megafauna even larger than 

either sharks or the grouper. 


Whales! 

Sperm, right, and humpback whales 

traditionally pass by the Kermadecs 

twice a year on their annual migrations. 

In the 19th century they 

attracted whalers from around the 

globe. The Kermadecs find themselves 

in the logbooks of many a whaling 

ship, along with hundreds of barrels of 

whale oil, in particular those from the 

famed whaling haunts New Bedford 

and Nantucket in the US. 

Spotted black groupers (Epinephelus daemelii) 

Toadstool grouper (Trachypoma macracanthus) 

The Donna Catharina 

Since the cessation of whaling, 

humpbacks have started visiting the 

Kermadecs in numbers once more. 

Each spring scores of them, many with 

calves in tow, stop to rest and socialize 

around Raoul for a few weeks on 

their way south to feeding grounds in 

Antarctica. We anchored at the islands 

for a week and found it hard to tire of 

the constant breaching and singing 

from these gentle leviathans. Their 

vocalisations certainly added a unique 

sensation to the night dives we undertook. 

Keen sense of the remote 

One week at the Kermadecs Islands 

was never going to be enough. This 

rugged, swell-battered, volcanically 

active group of rocks really kindles a 

sense of the remote, a feeling not many 

places left on Earth can. And with 

the fascinating blend of human and 

natural history it was easy to be truly 

captivated both above and below the 

water. 

Sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) 


Kermadec giant limpets (Patella kermadecensis) 

Of the many feelings elicited over our seven adventurous 

days at this special place, the most profound 

perhaps was a sense of appreciation. Gratitude too, that 

there are still wild places like this we can visit, wild 

places like this left for nature, without human interference. 

With thoughts like these and a firm easterly filling our 

sails, against the silhouette of Raoul sinking below the 

horizon, we set off on our four-day passage back to the 

mainland. 

Sandagers wrasse 

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My best dive experience 

We had waited all week for 

Leeza, the owner manager 

of Triton Bay Divers Resort, to 

tell us we were going to see the 

incredible whale sharks. 

Whale sharks are a filter-feeder 

carpet shark, and the largest of 

fish species. Some grow to 18m 

making them by far the largest 

non-mammalian vertebrate, and 

the whale sharks around Papua 

are the only known 

non-migratory whale 

sharks in the world. 

Leeza announced 

that tomorrow was 

the big day. Someone would 

wake us at 5am and we had to 

be at the boat with all our gear 

by 6. Nobody needed to wake 

us - we were up and rearing to 

go, nervously hoping that after 

travelling all the way from New 

Zealand to Triton Bay in West 

Papua, we would get to see what 

we came for. 

Other guests had travelled 

greater distances: a couple from 

England; another from France; 

one from Italy. and one from 

Malta. We were three: husband, 

adult daughter and myself from 

Akaroa. 

Expectations were high. We 

excitedly made our way quickly 

to get the best position on one of 

the boats. I get sea sick so needed 

to be out in the fresh air, but the 

sea was flat calm as we made 

…the whale sharks around Papua are the only known 

non-migratory whale sharks in the world… 

the hour long trip to where the 

bagans, and hopefully, the whale 

sharks were. Bagans are lift-net 

vessels and whale sharks are 

attracted to them as fishermen 

hand out baitfish. The bagans 

move around a lot in the area but 

the resort boats knew exactly 

where to look. 

When we came up we went 

from bagan to bagan to see if the 

whale sharks were nearby. After 

the fourth my stomach dropped 

and I began feeling quite despondent. 

But a fifth one was pointed 

out and we headed there. And 

then the excitement mounted 

there were two whale sharks 

there. We had nine people on 

two boats with seven of them 

divers. My daughter, a snorkeler, 

had said she would be too scared 

to get in the water with them 

but she was the first to jump 

in, elbowing 

everyone out of 

the way. 

The two whale 

sharks were 

young males, the larger one over 

six metres and the smaller about 

five metres. Inquisitive creatures 

they were. They came over to 

inspect the boats then gracefully 

circled as they sucked in as many 

bait fish as they could, like large 

puppies. 

Whale sharks passively filter 

everything in their path with 

what’s called “cross- flow filtration” 

– water travels nearly 

parallel to their filter pad, not 


Story and photos 

by Sarah Ford 

perpendicularly through it, 

before passing outside. Denser 

food particles continue to the 

back of the throat. This suctionfeeding 

system allows them to 

swallow schools of small bait 

fishes along with many litres 

of water, retaining the fish and 

pushing the water back out. 

The night before Leeza had 

explained how gentle these 

creatures are. We could approach 

closely to them and, if we kept 

still, they would know where 

we were and avoid us. The dive 

guide signalled for us to come 

and hold a rope right near where 

they were coming to feed. But as 

they came right up it was hard to 

stay our ground. They eye balled 

us, and with their giant mouths 

open. 

…They grow very slowly reaching maturity when around 30 

years of age, and live to be 60-100 years old. They reproduce 

only slowly… 

We were so lucky to spend an 

hour in the water within a metre 

or two of these massive creatures 

as they fed and swam around us. 

When we reluctantly boarded 

the dive boats everyone was on a 

high. The excitement was clearly 

visible on everyone’s faces. We 


Conservation International and like-minded 

organisations do what they can to protect, 

and learn more about them. We took photos 

to share with Conservation International who 

are also tagging and tracking some of them in 

Cenderawasih Bay. Like human fingerprints, 

whale sharks have a unique pattern of spots 

allowing individual sharks to be identified. 

Fortunately in New Zealand they are protected 

in our waters. Let’s hope they will be around 

for many more generations to enjoy. This 

certainly was a life time experience! 

…When we reluctantly boarded the 

dive boats everyone was on a high. 

The excitement was clearly visible 

on everyone’s faces. We all admitted 

having emotional tears inside our 

dive masks… 

all admitted having emotional tears inside 

our dive masks. 

Sadly these beautiful animals are endangered 

around the world. They grow very 

slowly reaching maturity when around 30 

years of age, and live to be 60-100 years 

old. They reproduce only slowly. 

In some areas they are still being hunted 

with their fins used for soup. Others 

are caught in nets, or hit by boats. 


Counting fish at the 

Poor Knights (and Mokihinaus) 

By Harry Allard 

My research based at the Leigh Marine Laboratory focuses on the effects that 

no-take protection can have on fishes, including unexpected flow-on effects. 

At Leigh’s Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve, previous research 

showed how the recovery of predatory snapper and crayfish under protection impact kina, 

slowing their grazing and in turn allowing kelp forests recover, an example of the “indirect 

effects” of reserve protection flowing on from the protection of targeted species. The key 

aim of my PhD research is to investigate whether similar, indirect effects are common among 

fish species, and how they might vary at other marine reserves. 

The Poor Knights Islands are a star 

destination of New Zealand diving, 

previously shown off to television audiences 

around the world by famous people like 

Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough. 

Situated in clear oceanic waters 23 km off 

the Tutukaka coast, these small islands 

are washed by the East Auckland Current 

bringing wildlife from warmer locations 

like Lord Howe Island near Australia which 

contributes to the Poor Knights’ diverse fish 

fauna,. Besides coastal staples like snapper 

and red moki, the Poor Knights are home 

to a host of colourful wrasses and rarer 

species as illustrated on these pages. Here, 

dramatic stone archways, grand caves and 

sheer sunken cliffs provide surreal settings 

for some truly special underwater sights. 

Recognising just how unique 

the Poor Knights were, in the 

1960s and 70s now-legendary 

conservationists like the late 

Kelly Tarlton, Roger Grace, and 

Wade Doak were instrumental 

in affording the islands partial 

protection from fishing in 1981 

moving into full no-take protection 

in 1998. 

Snapper armada 

At the Poor Knights, snapper 

have undergone a population 

boom, with an armada of large 

snapper moving in around 1998 

and holding fort ever since. 

But to figure out what other 

effects protection may have 

had, I needed to compare what 

happened at the Poor Knights to 

another, unprotected location. 

and for this I selected the 

Mokohinau Islands which is open 

to fishing, and has not experienced 

the same snapper boom. 

In the autumn of 2019, our 

small team headed out on 

the University of Auckland’s 

research vessel Hawere, diving 

for several days at both locations. 

We collected data to compare 

with previous fish monitoring 

results, often getting bitten by 

feisty Sandager’s wrasse in the 

process. 

Working on the data, it became 

clear that at the Poor Knights the 

snapper biomass (the estimated 

weight of all the fish combined) 

was on the rise, indicating a 

growing number of large, legalsized 

fish. In contrast, snapper 

biomass at the Mokohinau 

Islands remained low, consistent 

with a popular target species 

whose large individuals are 

frequently fished. 


Counting fish 

As well there were a few other 

long-term positive effects of 

reserve protection, including 

an increase in the likelihood of 

observing kingfish at the Poor 

Knights, and the stable numbers 

of multiple fished species. 

Reverse decline, increases 

In the same time period, we 

observed the decline in numbers 

of three wrasses (spotty, 

banded wrasse, and scarlet 

wrasse) at the Poor Knights, 

while they increased at the 

fished Mokohinau Islands. Such 

changes could be due to competition 

with (or in the case of 

the small spotty, predation by) 

snapper at the Poor Knights. 

While the Poor Knights and 

Mokohinau Islands fish 

communities were consistently 

different, the influence 

of indirect effects of 

protection is likely to be 

weak, and likely to apply 

to just the three of 77 fish 

species we recorded. 

species are gradually lost. 

Tropical fishes show up at both 

the Poor Knights and Mokohinau 

Islands, as well as other North 

Island locales like the Bay 

of Islands. These occasional 

arrivals range from the tiny 

sergeant major to the titanic 

whale shark, and with all kinds 

of interesting species recorded 

at the Poor Knights in warm 

seasons. 

Buffer species? 

At locations where tropicalisation 

has occurred (including 

areas of Tasmania), the recovery 

of predators in marine reserves 

can act as a buffer against the 

process, as the predators are 

likely to eat or outcompete 

small newcomers. It follows 

that if tropicalisation is occurring 

offshore, it may be more 

pronounced at the fished 

Mokohinau Islands. 

However tropical species were 

rare in our data, which spanned 

from 1998 to 2019, and the 

numbers of warm water species 

in general (including subtropical 

wrasses) did not appear to 

be gradually increasing. In fact, 

by looking at past studies by 

other scientists, it’s evident that 

most of the subtropical wrasses 

were far more common in the 

late 1970s. At that time, north 

eastern New Zealand experienced 

a period of particularly 

warm waters, and subtropical 

wrasses were able to estab- 

Climate change 

tropicalisation 

The effects of reserve 

protection were not the 

only source of long-term 

ecological change I was 

interested in. Our climate 

is steadily changing, 

which is leading to a 

whole litany of problems 

from freak weather events 

to melting polar ice caps. 

And where temperate 

reefs are exposed to a 

poleward-flowing current 

bringing warmer water 

and its associated species, 

“tropicalisation” can 

occur. In this scenario, the 

warming of the temperate 

location means that 

vagrant tropical species 

can comfortably settle 

down, while temperate 

species gradually retreat 

to cooler waters. For a 

time, this comingling of 

tropical and temperate 

species boosts biodiversity, 

before the temperate 

Sea surface temperature range 

Sea surface temperature range (°C) at the Poor Knights Islands (PKI) from 

1982-2019, with additional long-term monitoring (1967-2019) from 

Leigh Marine Reserve. Annual mean temperatures from 1982-2019 were 

closely correlated between Leigh and PKI (r = 0.89). Regression lines are 

shown for all time series. Regression lines for Leigh show the full time 

series as well as the 1982-2019 period only. Regression lines for the PKI 

show the 1982-2019 period as mean summer temperature, overall annual 

mean temperature, and mean winter temperature. 


dnz164 

Counting fish 

lish populations at multiple 

locations. Since then those 

populations have depended on 

similar warm water events to 

top up their numbers. Fittingly, 

our data showed spikes in 

the numbers of these species 

following years with high 

summer water temperatures. 

Sea temperature rise 

Sea temperatures for the Poor 

Knights have been recorded by 

satellite since 1982, with the 

average summer temperatures 

increasing at a worrying 0.2°C 

per decade in this time. But this 

is a relatively narrow window 

to draw conclusions from. At 

Leigh, sea temperatures have 

been recorded daily since 1967, 

and when that whole period 

is accounted for, there has not 

been any significant warming in 

average temperature there. 

Nonetheless the existing Poor 

Knights temperature records 

and the Leigh temperature 

records are closely correlated. 

And if pre-1982 temperatures 

were similarly correlated, there 

may have been a similar lack of 

long-term warming at the Poor 

Knights. Though we can’t confidently 

address pre-1982 temperatures 

at the Poor Knights Islands, 

winter temperatures there are 

still cool, and it’s unclear if new 

tropical arrivals would fare well 

enough to establish permanent 

populations. 

Species comings & goings 

Over the years, the Poor Knights 

have been inhabited by collections 

of warm water fishes that 

have waxed and waned with 

warmer periods. Those early 

dives that dazzled spearfishers 

decades ago most likely took 

place during a bumper season of 

diversity, but nothing in nature 

is fixed. 

At this point, a group of the 

subtropical wrasses including 

combfish were extremely 

common in 1975 but virtually 

extinct locally by 1979. However, 

those populations soon got 

topped up, and during my 2019 

dives I saw those same species 

again. 

Whether the East Auckland 

Current will continue to supply 

subtropical fishes to the Poor 

Knights in the decades to come 

remains to be seen. Some oceanographic 

research suggests the 

effects of climate change on 

oceanic currents may eventually 

weaken the connectivity 

between Australia and New 

Zealand. 

All you can eat buffet? 

In the face of long-term changes, 

the Poor Knights Islands Marine 

Reserve is working well at 

maintaining healthy populations 

TUTUKĀKĀ 

NEW ZEALAND 

SIMPLY 

AWESOME! 

New snapper biomass plot 

Snapper Chrysophrys auratus biomass (kg) 125 m-2 

(mean ± standard error), in the Poor Knights Islands 

and Mokohinau Islands across all surveys. 

FREE 

PHONE 

0800 288 882 


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


Coris sandeyeri 

Amphichaetodon howensis 

of targeted species. Snapper are 

thriving, and thankfully aren’t 

treating the reserve as an all-youcan-eat 

buffet of other species. 

But whether the Poor Knights look 

something like an ecosystem that 

was never fished is unclear; the 

reserve currently extends just 800 

m off the islands and is unlikely 

to help deeper-dwelling target 

species. 

Neither are no-take marine 

reserves a silver bullet for the 

problems we’ve lumped on 

the marine world. But when 

carefully designed and properly 

implemented, marine reserves 

certainly provide a tool to secure 

healthier fish populations. 

I hope that during the next 

20-something years, the fishes of 

the Poor Knights Islands continue 

to thrive, supporting our marine 

ecosystems and the humans that 

rely upon them. 

Arothron firmamentum 


Paolo the fisherman: 

Making an underwater museum 

In a bid to stop illegal trawling, an 

Italian fisherman has persuaded 

sculptors to create huge marble 

artworks then drop them in 

the Mediterranean, reports The 

Guardian. 

Paolo Fanciulli is a fisherman in 

the Tuscan village of Talamone. 

Now 60 he still plies his trade but 

in the past decade trawling near 

the coast has been destroying the 

marine ecosystem, and his livelihood. 

Commercial nets are weighted 

with heavy chains and dragged 

on the sea bottom uprooting 

the posidonia seagrass that the 

Mediterranean ecosystem relies 

on for sea bream, lobsters and red 

gurnards to lay their eggs. 

“They don’t care. Nobody is 

watching,” says Paolo. “It’s like if 

a hunter burned a whole forest to 

catch a hare.” 

While Italian law bans trawling 

within three nautical miles of the 

coast, it’s so profitable that boats 

often carry on illegally at night. 

Fanciulli noticed the damage being 

caused by bottom trawling from 

the 1980s. So, along with some 

other local fishermen and activists 

from Greenpeace, he blocked 

a commercial port in Tuscany in 

protest. 

Since then Fanciulli has 

destroyed trawling nets 

with barbed wire. He 

once stopped a trawler 

by pretending to be the 

police. But threats from 

local mafia soon made 

it impossible for him 

to sell his fish at the 

market. 

Instead he turned to 

fishing tourism taking 

visitors out on his boat, 

giving them a chance to catch fish 

and learn about the ecological 

threat of trawling. He also runs a 

small restaurant. 

To stop the illegal fishing however, 

in 2006, a desperate Tuscan 

government dropped concrete 

blocks into the sea to disrupt 

the trawlers. Fanciulli says they 

didn’t work as they were too far 

apart and the nets simply dragged 

between them. 

…Biologist Roberto Danovaro likens trawling to “fishing with 

bombs”. “You catch the fish, but also destroy their habitat,” 

he says. “With no possibility of growing back because 

trawling is so intense… 

Siren, a sculpture by Giorgio Butini, overgrown 

with marine vegetation in the underwater museum 

off Talamone, Tuscany. Photograph: Marta Clinco 

He got permission from Arpa, the 

agency for environmental protection, 

to drop an additional 80 

blocks at his own expense. Then 

he thought, “What if, instead of 

dropping concrete blocks into the 

water, he dropped art?” 

He asked a quarry 

nearby if they 

could donate two 

marble blocks to 

make sculptures. 

“They donated 100 

instead.” 

With contributions 

from tourists and 

online crowdfunding, 

Fanciulli 

persuaded artists 

including Giorgio 

Butini, Massimo 

Lippi, Beverly 

SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Giorgio Butini’s sculpture ‘Acqua’, carved 

from Carrara marble and lying underwater 

off the coast of Tuscany. Photograph: Giovanni 

Cipriano/New York Times/Redux/eyevine 

Pepper and Emily Young to carve 

sculptures from the marble. 

Then he took them out to sea and 

lowered them in. 

…What if, instead of dropping concrete 

blocks into the water, he dropped art?… 

The underwater sculptures create 

both a physical barrier for nets and 

a unique underwater museum. 

UK sculptor Emily Young provided 

four sculptures, each weighing 12 

tons. She calls them “guardians”. 

Nearby lies a mermaid by the 

young artist Aurora Vantaggiato. 

Lippi has contributed 17 sculptures 

representing Siena’s contrade, or 

medieval districts. 

The museum is open to anyone 

who can arrange a visit off the 

Tuscan coast either through guided 

scuba tours or by arranging their 

own dive. 

Biologist Roberto Danovaro, head 

of the Anton Dohrn research institute 

in Naples, likens trawling to 

“fishing with bombs”. “You catch 

the fish, but also destroy their 

habitat,” he says. 

Dr Gioia Benedettini, sea manager 

of Arpat, the local environmental 

agency, says the seagrass is now 

growing back. The statues also 

help “protect the fish resources 

because the nursery areas of 

various commercial fish species 

are located below the coast”. 

Turtles too, are returning. 

“We put in the first statues in 2007 

but our goal is to reach 100,” says 

Fanciulli. 


UK’s Natural History Museum presents 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners 

• Now in its 56th year, the Wildlife Photographer 

of the Year is the Natural History Museum’s 

showcase for the world’s best nature photography. 

• This year’s competition attracted 49,000 entries 

from professionals and amateurs from across the 

world. 

• Follow the competition on Instagram, Twitter or 

Facebook 

• The 2021 competition has opened for entries and 

they close at 11.30am GMT on 10 December 2020. 

The competition is open to photographers of all 

ages and abilities. 

And the Grand Title Winner of the 2020 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 is 

The Embrace by Sergey Gorshkov, of Russia. 

His entry of an Amur tigress hugging an ancient 

Manchurian fir in the Russian Far East was selected 

from over 49,000 photos from around the world. 

Amur, or Siberian tigers are only found in this 

region and it took more than 11 months for the 

Russian photographer to capture the moment with 

hidden cameras. 

The Embrace by Sergey Gorshkov, of Russia. Grand Title Winner 

Chair of the judging panel, Rosamund ‘Roz’ Kidman 

Cox says, ‘It’s a scene like no other. A unique 

glimpse of an intimate moment deep in a magical 

forest. She grips the trunk in obvious ecstasy and 

inhales the scent of tiger on resin, leaving her own 

mark as her message, a story told in glorious colour 

and texture of the comeback of the Amur tiger, a 

symbol of the Russian wilderness.’ 

The fox that got the goose won for Liina Heikkinen 

of Norway the Grand Title of Young Wildlife 

Photographer of the Year 2020. 

The images were judged anonymously from professional 

and amateur photographers by a panel of 

experts for their innovation, narrative and technical 

ability. They will be showcased in displays at the 

Natural History Museum this year before touring 

across the UK, Australia, Canada, Denmark, 

Germany, and elsewhere. 

Entries for the 2021 competition are now open with 

new categories focussing on people’s impact on the 

planet. The new jury for it has also been announced. 

www.nhm.ac.uk 


With an expression of sheer ecstasy, a tigress hugs an ancient Manchurian fir, rubbing her cheek against 

bark to leave secretions from her scent glands. She is an Amur, or Siberian tiger in the Land of the Leopard 

National Park in the Russian Far East, found only in this region, with a small number surviving over the 

border in China and possibly a few in North Korea. The population is threatened by poaching and logging 

which also impacts their prey, mostly deer and wild boar. Low prey densities mean tiger territories are huge. 

Sergey installed his first proper camera trap in January 2019, opposite this grand fir. But it was not until 

November that he achieved this picture, of a magnificent tigress in her Siberian forest environment. Nikon 

Z-7 + 50mm f1.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f6.3; ISO 250; Cognisys camera-trap system. 

The fox that got the goose by Liina Heikkinen, 

Finland Winner 2020, 15-17 years old, 

Young Grand Title Winner 

On a summer holiday in Helsinki, Liina, then aged 

13, heard about a large fox family living in the 

city suburbs on the island of Lehtisaari. The foxes 

are relatively unafraid of humans, and Liina and 

her father spent one long July day watching the 

two adults and their six large cubs. It was 7pm 

when the vixen arrived with a barnacle goose, 

and feathers flew as the cubs fought over it. One 

finally dragged it into a crevice to block access to 

the others. Lying just metres away, Liina was able 

to frame the scene and capture its expression. 

Nikon D4 + 28–300mm f3.5–5.6 lens; 1/125 sec at 

f5.6 (-0.3 e/v); ISO 1600. 

A tiny diamondback squid paralarva flits in the blackness, stops when caught in the light beam, gilds 

itself in shimmering gold then moves gracefully out of the light. The beam was Songda’s on a night‐dive over 

deep water off the coast of Anilao in the Philippines. All sorts of larvae and other tiny animals migrate up 

from the depths under cover of night to feed on surface-dwelling phytoplankton, and after them come other 

predators. A paralarva is the stage between hatchling and subadult, already recognizable as a squid, here 6–7 

centimetres long.. Chromatophores (organs just below the skin) contain elastic sacs of pigment that stretch 

rapidly into discs of colour when the muscles around them contract. Iridophores deeper in the skin reflect 

and scatter light, adding an iridescent sheen. Songda captured the fleeting moment when the diamondback 

paralarva turned to gold. 

The golden moment by Songda Cai, China 

Winner 2020, Under Water 


Eleonora’s gift by Alberto Fantoni, Italy Winner 2020, Rising Star Portfolio 

On the steep cliffs of a Sardinian island, a male Eleonora’s falcon brings his mate food – a small migrant, 

probably a lark, snatched from the sky as it flew over the Mediterranean. When the chicks are fledged, they 

all head south to overwinter in Africa, mainly on Madagascar. Alberto was watching from a hide on San 

Pietro Island, observing the male always seemed reluctant to give up his catch. 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II + 500mm f4.5 lens; 1/2000 sec at f7.1 (+1 e/v); ISO 800; hide. 

One hand raised signals the bear to stand, the other holds a rod as the trainer directs the ice-rink show. A 

wire muzzle stops the polar bear biting back, and blue safety netting surrounds the circus ring. It’s a shocking 

sight – the bear is performing for the entertainment of visitors to the travelling Russian circus in the city of 

Kazan, Tatarstan. When not performing, the bear probably spends most of its time in a transportation cage. 

The polar bear was reportedly captured in Russia’s Franz Josef Land when two years old and still performing 

18 years later for the only circus known to own polar bears. For the photographer who has spent a couple 

of years reporting on 

animal exploitation and 

abuse, this was the most 

symbolically shocking 

of all the scenes of 

exploitation she has shot, 

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 

70–200mm f2.8 lens; 1/500 

sec at f4; ISO 2000. 

Show Business by 

Kirsten Luce, USA 

Winner 2020, Wildlife 

Photojournalism: 

Single Image 


A mean mouthful by Sam Sloss, Italy/USA Winner 2020, 11-14 years old 

On a diving holiday in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sam was watching a group of clownfishes as they swam 

in and out and around their home, a magnificent anemone. Clownfish are highly territorial, living in small 

groups within an anemone. The anemone’s stinging tentacles protect them and their eggs from predators 

while the clownfish develops a layer of mucus to avoid being stung. The tenants feed on debris and parasites 

within the tentacles and aerate the water around them and may also deter anemone‐eating fish. But it was 

only when Sam downloaded the photos that he saw tiny eyes peeping out of its mouth, a ‘tongue-eating 

louse’, a parasitic isopod that swims in through the gills as a male, changes sex, grows legs and attaches 

itself to the base of the tongue, sucking blood. When the tongue withers and drops off, the isopod takes its 

place. Its presence may weaken its host, but the clownfish can continue to feed. Sam’s image captures the 

three very different life forms, their lives intertwined. 

Nikon D300 + 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/250 sec at f18; ISO 200; Nauticam Housing + two INON Z-240 strobes. 

A young male proboscis monkey 

cocks his head slightly and closes his 

eyes. Unexpected pale blue eyelids 

now complement his immaculately 

groomed auburn hair. He poses for a 

few seconds as if in meditation, a wild 

visitor to the feeding station at Labuk 

Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary 

in Sabah, Borneo. Mogens has been 

photographing primates worldwide for 

the past five years. 

Canon EOS-1D X + 500mm f4 lens; 

1/1000 sec at f7.1; ISO 1250; Manfrotto 

tripod + Benro gimbal head. 

The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark 

Winner 2020, Animal Portraits 


GEARBAG 

Tickets on sale 

Viking powered kayak 

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amazing $6500-plus Viking 

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complete with a powerful Bixpy 

electric motor, a 7”Raymarine 

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Tickets to the 2021 Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat 

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The online tickets give faster access into New 

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The 2021 Viking Kayaks’ prize package the 

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• A self-draining Spinlock Belt 

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• A Hutchwilco multi-fit safety 

vest 

• A wide range of practical Viking 

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Bonus Grand Prize Entry 

All tickets bought online also qualify for a Free Bonus Entry into the show’s incredible 2021 Surtees/Yamaha 

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Eden Waddington, bought his ticket online and won the prize with his Free Bonus Entry ticket!) 

Pre-Xmas bonus 

Tickets to the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show make great Christmas presents and stocking fillers, and in 

another bonus buying tickets early, all tickets bought before 5pm on December 18 will automatically go into a 

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Online tickets are $25 each, easy to buy, download and print at home, in the office or on board. 

The 2021 Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show will be held at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, 

Auckland on May 13-16, 2021. www.boatshow.co.nz 


C-MAP Reveal released for 

Australia and New Zealand 

GEARBAG 

C-MAP Reveal offers ultra-high resolution 

bathymetric data of the sea floor to Lowrance, 

Simrad and B&G Customers with its charts 

said to be perfect for diving and fishing as it 

allows you to identify sea floor structure, along 

with reefs and ledges and including: 

• Traditional Navigation Data 

• High Resolution Bathymetric Coastal Data 

• Satellite Imagery Data 

• Genesis Layer Data 

A single chart covers New Zealand at 

RRPNZD399 with four for Australia. 

www.c-map.com 


GEARBAG 

Ocean Signal’s new SafeSea Pro EPIRB 

The world’s most compact “float-free” Emergency Position Indicating Radio 

Beacon, Ocean Signal’s SafeSea EPIRB1 Pro, is also rugged. It boasts a 10-year 

battery life and keeps updating a distressed recreational or commercial vessel’s 

location to rescue services for longer. 

It releases automatically from its holder once submerged in water, floats free then 

emits its distress signal once floating on the surface. 

The Olympus TG-6: New instruction book by Alexey Zaytsev 

Alexey Zaytsev, a contributor to Dive Pacific, has authored a 

comprehensive booklet on the Olympus TG series of underwater 

cameras and illustrated it with his own award winning photos. 

Alexey writes: “Underwater photography has never been more 

affordable now in the era of digital photography. Beginning 

underwater photographers often make the mistake of thinking 

that underwater photography is impossible without expensive, 

high-end photo equipment. But this is not the case. Inexpensive 

compact cameras can do a lot if you know how to use them and 

do it right. The Olympus TG series cameras, immediately after their 

introduction in 2012, became very popular and won many awards. 

“According to independent experts, the Olympus TG ‐ 6 was 

recognized as the best camera in 2019 in the compact camera 

class. 

“This is not accidental because unlike the cameras of competing 

firms and cameras of the same class, this camera was originally 

created as a camera for underwater photography. 

“The company’s engineers put into the camera all the successful 

technical innovation from its early models, and as a “gift” from 

higher-end cameras – those with mirrors – it reaped the benefits 

of many advanced features that greatly facilitate underwater 

photography. 

“It will become your faithful friend and partner for unforgettable 

underwater adventures!” 

Main characteristics: 

• 4.5–18 mm zoom lens f2.0 – f4.9 

(equivalent to 24–100 mm on a 35 mm film) 

• Shutter speed range 1/2–1/2000 sec 

• Minimum shooting distance from 0.1 m in 

normal mode (W / T) 

• Range of shooting in Super Macro and 

Microscope modes from 0.01 m to 0.3 m 

(from f = 5.4 mm to 18.0 mm). 

• 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with a total number of 

pixels of approximately 12.71 million 

• Water resistant to a depth of 15 metres. 

Alexey Zaytsev in the Seychelles 

For more go to https://www.olympuseuropa.com/site/en/c/cameras/tough/ 

tough_cameras/tg_6/index.html 


TecFestnz 2021 gears up 

Michael Gibby explores narrow caves with a sidemount rig 

Covid-19’s major impact on the world at large 

has affected all of us individually in some 

way. But New Zealand has been incredibly fortunate 

and most business have been able to adapt 

to the changes. In many cases there has been an 

upturn in trade due to domestic tourism with 

locals rediscovering what a wonderful back yard 

we really have. Diving is one such business experiencing 

unexpected growth, with people diving and 

shopping locally. 

TecFestNZ 2020 was one of the casualties of the 

lockdown earlier this year, frustrating, but unavoidable. 

Rather than cancel, steps were quickly made 

to reschedule the event for the same time frame in 

2021. 

Doing so has meant we had the benefit of allowing 

more time for planning and to offer a bigger and 

better event, with the possibility of international 

key speakers and more exhibits. 

It has also allowed dive centres, clubs and dive 

operators more time to promote the event to 

old and new clients, bringing the dive community 

together for what is New Zealand’s only dive 

festival. 

With TecFestNZ 2021 at a new location closer to 

Taupo town, there is a greater range of accommodation 

options and far larger audience capacity at 

the Suncourt Conference Centre for workshops and 

presentations. 

Remember TecFestNZ is not only for technical divers; 

there is a big focus at the event for divers interested 

who want to give tech a go, by trying out numerous 

dive configurations while being coached by New 

Zealand’s leading technical divers. 

For more information contact the event organizer 

Brent McFadden 0274 344 874 or info@tecfestnz. 

co.nz 

Check out www.tecfestnz.com 

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SPECIESFOCUS 

Clown toado 

~Canthigaster callisterna 

By Paul Caiger 

The clown toado or sharp-nosed pufferfish is 

a species of sub-tropical origin distributed 

throughout eastern Australia and the southwest 

Pacific up to New Caledonia. 

In New Zealand, whilst abundant at the Kermadecs, 

it is also found in the north, especially in places 

where the tropical currents reach (that is, islands and 

headlands). Recent evidence suggests the species is 

becoming more common at these places, likely as a 

result of the warming seas around New Zealand. 

The clown toado is a member of a very diverse genus 

of pufferfishes, being one of 36 Canthigaster species. 

It’s brightly coloured, green above and white below, 

with two dark parallel stripes running along the body 

and covered in iridescent blue wavy lines and dots 

throughout. In courting males, the dark stripes fade 

completely and the blues and greens become more 

vivid (as depicted in the photograph). 

Males are territorial and likely to breed with 

females exclusively within their territory, 

defending their boundaries against other males. 

Like other pufferfishes, the clown toado possesses 

one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins. 

This neurotoxin called tetradotoxin (named after 

the pufferfish family) is present in the skin and 

other tissues of the fish, thus making it unpalatable 

to predators. Their ability to ‘puff’ or inflate 

themselves with water, together with their 

poisonous skin and tissues, explains why these 

small, slow-moving, colourful fish are often found 

out in the open sand and rubble environs and not 

predated upon by large piscivorous predators such 

as snapper. 

~Canthigaster callisterna 

1 Also known as a sharp-nosed pufferfish or 6 

clown toby. 

2 Found in northern New Zealand but also 7 

Australia and the SW Pacific. 

3 15-20 cm in length. 

8 

4 One of 36 species in the genus Canthigaster. 

5 Males defend territories, primarily for breeding. 

Males display extravagant colouration during 

courting. 

Containing the pufferfish-specific neurotoxin, 

tetrodotoxin which is highly poisonous if ingested. 

Like all pufferfishes, will inflate itself with water 

to become 3-4 times its size when alarmed. 


The Dive Zone group are keen 

to see divers enjoy their own 

backyard this summer and 

looking forward to getting you out 

on, and under the water in each of 

their fantastic dive locations: Dive 

Zone Bay of Islands, Tauranga, and 

Whitianga. 

Each of their stores offer awesome 

service with a full range of dive 

gear to hire or purchase, with 

good quality, reliable brands such 

as Mares and Beuchat leading 

their range. Be it a new dive 

knife, a float or flag or even the 

whole kit; the Dive Zone stores 

are locked and loaded ready to 

help you, our summer visitors, 

enjoy, and get the most out of 

their diving. 

All stores also offer tank filling 

and testing, and BCD and 

Regulator testing. 

Three top dive 

destinations 

invite you… 

Since our stores are located in 

out of the way areas, we are well 

used to assisting divers with last 

minute problems that can pop up 

and prevent you from getting out 

on the water. 

Got a friend or family member 

that wants to learn? Or do you 

want to upskill? All of our stores 

offer a full range of PADI dive 

training courses, and all of them 

are available throughout the 

summer. 

Make the most of our Summer Road 

Trip offer. Dive with all three stores 

and go into the draw to win $1000 

to spend with us. 

What are you waiting for? 

Come and visit us. 

Dive Zone Bay of Islands 

Dive Zone Tauranga 

Dive Zone Whitianga 

Dive at each of our 3 world class dive 

destinations, get your Passport stamped and 

go into the draw to win a $1000 voucher to 

spend with Dive Zone! 

Just a Taste of Some of Our 

Special Spots 

Bay of Islands – Diving the wrecks of the Rainbow 

Warrior & Canterbury, Deep Water Cove Marine 

Reserve or the offshore Cavalli Islands 

DIVE ZONE 

ROADTRIP 

Whitianga – Diving from the Mercury Island group to 

the Aldermen Islands, Te Whanganui A Hei Marine 

Reserve (Cathedral Cove) and the stunning eastern 

Coromandel Coastline 

Tauranga – Dive the impressive swim throughs at 

Okaparu, the Astrolabe reef with the wreck of the 

Rena, or the stunning sheltered bays and marine 

reserve at Mayor Island. 

So get on the road this summer and come diving 

with each of our stores and be in to win! Book your 

trip and pick up your Passport at one of our stores. 

Dive Zone 

Bay of Islands 

5 Klinac Lane 

Waipapa, 

Kerikeri 

Ph 09-4079986 


Whitianga 

10 Campbell 

Street 

Whitianga 

Ph 07-8671580 

www.divezone.co.nz 


Tauranga 

213 Cameron 

Road 

Tauranga 

Ph 07-5784050 


INCIDENTINSIGHTS WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DANAP] 

By DAN World 

Skin bend 

cuts diving holiday short 

The diver made four dives on air, approaching the no-stop limits 

of his dive computer but making three minute safety stops. After 

two days the diver suffered a skin bend, sought treatment for it and 

stopped diving. 

By Divers Alert Network (DAN) 

What happened 

A male diver aged 46 went on a 

diving holiday in Cozumel. He 

made four dives in two days, 

all on air, with his maximum 

depths ranging from 15m 

down to 27m. All his total dive 

times were just over one hour 

long each including his three 

minute safety stops at the end 

of each dive. 

…Two days later the rash 

and soreness returned 

once again… 

He felt no symptoms after 

the first day and went to eat 

dinner. Later that night he felt 

a soreness in his ribs but put 

it down to probably sleeping 

oddly on his pillow. He went 

back to bed and felt fine in the 

morning. He made two more 

dives. 

The pain came back 

noticeably about an 

hour after surfacing 

from the last dive but 

this time it burned 

and itched just a 

little and he noticed 

a blotchy rash on his 

torso (see photo). 

The diver had read 

a case study about 

skin bends in DAN’s 

Alert Diver magazine 

and remembered the 

blotchy rash. He went to the 

dive shop and they supplied 

him with oxygen. After a few 

minutes the rash almost went 

away and the pain reduced. 

By now, the diver was 

convinced this appeared to 

be a case of skin bends, so he 

went to the hospital and was 

assessed by a DAN-affiliated 

medical doctor who confirmed 

the diagnosis. 

The doctor conducted a neurological 

exam to rule out more 

serious signs of decompression 

sickness then advised 

the diver not to dive again 

before flying home. Two days 

later the rash and soreness 

returned once again so he saw 

Skin-bend-cozumel 

the DAN doctor again and this 

time was given more oxygen, 

plus he was hydrated intravenously. 

The rash dissipated, 

the soreness resolved, and the 

diver flew home and made a 

full recovery. 

DAN comments 

This case serves to remind us 

that decompression sickness 

does not always have a clear 

cause. In this case the diver 

seems to have made all the 

right decisions. 

First, he was a member of DAN 

and recognised his injury from 

reading DAN articles. Next, he 

accepted oxygen at the dive 

shop then sought out medical 

…While many divers trust their dive computers completely, 

the fact is that dive computers never know who is 

wearing them… 

advice from a doctor 

familiar with diving 

medicine. Then he took 

it easy and didn’t dive 

again (even though he 

wanted to). 

While many divers 

trust their dive 

computers completely, 

the fact is that dive 

computers never know 

who is wearing it; they 

all simply estimate 

no-stop limits based 

on a theory, and that 


theory may have been tested 

on people who were physically 

different to the diver wearing the 

computer at the time. 

Though probably none of us like 

to admit it, the average diver 

is not as young as we all once 

were and this diver’s plan to dive 

more conservatively sounds like 

a prudent approach for avoiding 

another uncomfortable and inconvenient 

skin bend. 

Read DAN’s Fast Facts about Skin 

Bends: DANAP.org/_pdf/DAN-Fast- 

Facts-DCI.pdf 

Join DAN’s COVID-19 study 

DAN is looking for divers and freedivers who have recovered 

from a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, for a 

long-term study on the effects of COVID-19 on diver’s health 

and fitness to dive. 

If you have been infected with COVID-19, are recovering or 

have fully recovered, and are planning to return to diving or 

have already returned, please consider signing up for our study. 

In 15-20 minutes you can easily complete the initial survey 

then over the next five years you will be contacted periodically 

by DAN to follow-up on your diving career and any possible 

medical issues: https://www.research.net/r/DANcovidstudy 

THANKS! 

Diving after Covid-19: What we know 

COVID-19 symptoms range 

from mild to severe. Some 

people have no symptoms at 

all while others require complicated 

stays in ICUs with ventilatory 

support to recover. In 

addition to the impact of the 

primary viral infection, factors 

such as underlying medical 

conditions, age, secondary 

complications and more will 

affect recovery. 

COVID-19 shares many features 

with other serious viral 

pneumonias and requires a 

period of convalescence before 

YOUR LEADER IN 

GLOBAL DIVE SAFETY. 

returning to normal activities. 

The amount of time needed to 

recover will vary, as will the 

long-term effects of COVID-19 

such as pulmonary function. 

As information becomes available 

it will be incorporated into 

COVID-19 prevention, treatment 

and follow-up guidelines. 

Determination of your fitness 

to return to diving after a 

COVID-19 infection will require 

assessment by your doctor 

confirming your full recovery 

and ability to safely perform 

unrestricted vigorous activity. 

If your doctor needs to consult 

with a dive medicine specialist, 

DAN doctors are here to help. 

We also have a database of 

dive medicine doctors and can 

provide referral information. 

How do you make sure 

your mask stays clear on 

dives? 

If you’re used to spitting in 

your mask to help keep it 

defogged, it may be time to 

opt for commercial defog or a 

creative alternative. In light 

of the recent pandemic, we’re 

encouraging all divers getting 

back to it to do what they can to 

prevent the spread of viruses. 

Tiny changes like opting for 

defog and avoiding communal 

rinse buckets can make a huge 

difference. 

+ 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 

Why a diver should avoid Covid-19 and 

what happens if they don’t 

By Professor Simon Mitchell, University of Auckland 

It is easy to run out of adjectives in describing this very strange year. “Unprecedented” is one you 

hear quite a lot. The truth is most of the hyperbole is pretty well justified. The world has been 

thrown into economic and social turmoil by the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, and tragically, 

a lot of people have lost their lives or livelihoods. 

We in New Zealand have been 

relatively lucky, though 

to a large extent we made our 

own luck. The early successful 

lockdown was a testament to 

both good leadership and highly 

commendable buy-in by the kiwi 

public at large. 

As a sharp end medical practitioner 

(an anaesthetist) I for one 

am deeply grateful. I was on the 

intubation team tasked with 

putting very sick covid patients on 

ventilators at Auckland Hospital. 

We were envisaging Italy or 

the USA or the UK here, and it 

simply never happened. Indeed, 

although we intubated a number 

of suspected cases, not a single 

one actually turned out to have 

the virus. 

The fact that we eliminated that 

outbreak and several subsequent 

ones from the community should 

be a source of great pride. It may 

not last, but let’s hope it does. 

I say let’s hope it does because 

contrary to early opinions, this 

disease is not as forgiving as 

many had assumed it to be. 

Unforgiving 

Early in the pandemic, outcomes 

following covid-19 infection were 

often portrayed as binary: you 

either died, and that was rare, 

or you lived, by far the most 

common outcome, allegedly 

without any problems. “In most 

people its just like a common 

cold” was an opinion often 

expressed. 

No. Its. Not. 

This is a far more serious disease 

…Sicker patients can also develop other strange manifestations, 

like a tendency for blood to clot more easily. This has led to 

events like strokes, sometimes in young patients. Some patients 

also seem to develop a virally induced weakening of their heart 

that leaves them with markedly reduced exercise capacity… 

than the common cold, or influenza. 

Yes, it remains true the 

vast majority of people survive 

Covid-19, but depending on how 

complications are defined, a large 

proportion of survivors suffer 

them, and if you are a diver some 

of those complications could be of 

substantial significance. 

Massive inflammatory/immune 

response 

In some respects, Covid-19 is a 

typical respiratory virus. Early in 

an infection it produces cold-like 

upper respiratory tract symptoms, 

albeit with some unusual variations 

like loss of taste or smell. 

Later, it can spread to the lower 

respiratory tract producing a 

pneumonia-like disease typically 

involving both lungs. Nothing 

particularly unusual there, but 

this is where things can begin to 

go off the rails. 

In some patients, but not others, 

spread to the lungs appears to 

elicit a massive inflammatory/ 

immune response that, simply 

put, does more harm than good. 

The lungs can become extremely 

congested with inflammatory 

material making breathing difficult 

and oxygenation increasingly 

inefficient. This is when patients 

sometimes require intubation 

and ventilation, though the 

more recent trend is to have a 

higher threshold for doing that. 

Experience has shown us that 

patients can do better if we can 

avoid mechanical ventilation. 

Clinicians are getting more accustomed 

to tolerating moderate 

degrees of hypoxia and trying to 

nurse patients through without 

intubating them. 

The sicker patients can also 

develop other strange manifestations, 

like a tendency for blood 

to clot more easily. This has led 

to events like strokes, sometimes 

in young patients. Some patients 

also seem to develop a virally 

induced weakening of their heart 

that leaves them with markedly 

reduced exercise capacity. 

Given that we have only been 

dealing with this disease for a 

short time, we don’t understand 

the natural history of this complication. 

Patients may recover, but 

may not; only time will tell. 

Change in the lungs 

From a diver’s point of view the 

most concerning complication 

is medium to long-term change 

in the lungs. Covid-19 appears 

capable of producing sustained 

changes in the lungs, call it 

‘scarring,’ for want of a simpler 

description, that the patient may 

never recover from. 

Again, the natural history of 


these changes is not known, though experience with the 

SARS-Cov-1 virus some 10 years ago suggests that they 

can be permanent. 

Concerns about such change are at least three-fold. First, 

they may make the diver more vulnerable to pulmonary 

barotrauma with its complications such as pneumothorax 

and arterial gas embolism. 

KEEPING DIVERS SAFE 

AROUND THE WORLD 

Second, they may reduce the diver’s ability to exercise, 

thus rendering them less likely to be able to cope with the 

functional demands of diving. 

Third, the lung changes may make them less efficient at 

filtering venous nitrogen bubbles that most of us form 

on typical dives. These normally harmless bubbles may 

then be able to enter the arterial circulation where their 

presence can increase the risk of decompression sickness. 

This all adds up to a disease that divers should be 

motivated to avoid until there is a vaccine. 

At this point in time, there are probably very few divers in 

New Zealand who have suffered Covid-19, but in case there 

are any, a reasonable rule of thumb is that you should be 

assessed by a diving doctor before returning to diving. 

This would apply even if the case appeared mild, but 

would be critically important for someone sick enough to 

be hospitalized and treated with supplemental oxygen in 

any way. Same for a non-diver who has suffered Covid-19 

and wants to learn to dive. 

Managing risk 

If all this sounds a bit dark, then I am happy to report 

that in the USA there are many divers who have suffered 

Covid-19 and who have returned to diving. The point, 

however, is that such divers should be assessed to derive 

some sense of their risk in diving again so that sensible 

choices can be made. This is likely to involve investigations, 

and colleagues in the USA have recently published a 

guideline for choosing appropriate investigations based on 

the severity of the Covid-19 illness. It has been published 

in diving medicine journal: 

Sadler C, Alvarez Villela M, Van Hoesen K, Grover I, Lang 

M, Neuman T, Lindholm P. Diving after SARS-CoV-2 

(COVID-19) infection: Fitness to dive assessment 

and medical guidance. Diving Hyperb Med. 2020 Sep 

30;50(3):278-287. doi: 10.28920/dhm50.3.278-287. PMID: 

32957131. 

By the time this Dive New Zealand article is published, the 

Sadler paper should be freely available on PubMed Central 

at the following link. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32957131/ 

New Zealand is not out of the Covid-19 woods yet, and 

won’t be until a significant proportion of the population 

has been vaccinated against the virus. 

In the meantime, protect your safety and fitness to dive 

by following the rules. Use the covid app, practice sensible 

social distancing where practicable, wash your hands 

often, and if we get further community spread, use a 

mask. 

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 

www.dive-pacific.com 61 

Dive_NZ_8.5cmx25.7cm.indd 1 

2/6/19 12:51 PM

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

DIAG highlights diver diversity 

Recent work by Worksafe’s Dive Industry Advisory Group (DIAG) chaired by Professor Des Gorman 

of Auckland University, while focusing on updating Technical Bulletins, developing risk models and 

setting guidelines for such as standby divers and aquaculture, also tabled interesting facts on the 

diversity of commercial diving. 

The DIAG group includes reps 

from the Navy, Police, NIWA, 

Aquaculture, other universities, 

film, recreational divers, NZUA 

along with Worksafe. 

From the Certificates of 

Competence for commercial divers 

issued by Worksafe we can assess 

the numbers of divers working 

in different fields. The recent 

numbers of certificates were: 

• Science – 21 

• Construction (various) – 39 

• Recreational (IT/T) – 66 

• Aquaculture – 5 

• Film & Photo – 30 

Science divers represent a growing 

career with there now being: 

• 154 CoC divers in six institutions 

• 5,000 dives a year (160,000 

minutes of dive time) 

• 50% of which is training and 

• 80% of dives are less than 10m 

(95% less than 20m) 

Environment divers include: 

• Fresh water & marine – (some 

remote defined as 2+ hours to get 

to a chamber) 

• Phd/MSc students diving for 3+ 

years 

• Academics/staff diving for 5+ 

years 

• No surface supplied breathing 

apparatus (SSBA) as used in 

construction 

• Very limited archaeological work 

Three recent Worksafe 

occupational tech bulletins 

Three diver Technical Bulletins 

were released recently for 

commercial divers: 

• Use and maintenance of a diver’s 

hose in occupational diving 

• Diving with underwater powered 

tools 

• Breathing oxygen and enriched 

mixtures while diving 

These are on Worksafe’s website 

www.worksafe.govt.nz 

Worksafe issues divers COVID 19 Safety Alert 

Earlier this year Worksafe put 

a COVID-19 Safety Alert for 

Occupational Divers on its website 

as follows. 

The safety alert highlights the 

serious health and safety risks 

posed for occupational divers if 

they are exposed to COVID-19. 

Though many people may not 

be affected, those that are, can 

range from being asymptomatic 

(showing no symptoms) to 

suffering from severe respiratory 

responses. Incidents of respiratory 

distress have resulted in some 

people showing possible longer 

term damage to their lungs. This 

increases the potential for serious 

harm to divers and highlights the 

importance of establishing safe 

medical standards for those who 

may have been infected. 

Respiratory injury can cause 

serious harm to a diver. 

Occupational divers have to pass 

annual medical assessments to be 

deemed medically fit. 

WorkSafe advises anyone with 

respiratory symptoms not to dive, 

and arrange for COVID-19 testing. 

If testing is negative, they should 

see their GP for further advice. 

If someone tests positive for 

COVID-19 they must not dive even 

if they are asymptomatic. 

Any diver who tests positive to 

COVID-19 should seek a full diving 

medical from a Designated Diving 

Doctor, including a full respiratory 

assessment and send it along with 

a completed medical questionnaire 

identifying COVID-19 recovery, to 

the Diving Hyperbaric Medicine 

Service (DHMS) for review by a 

hyperbaric medical specialist. 

Diving should not commence until 

a new Diving Medical Clearance 

has been issued by the DHMS. 

Any diver who has come into 

close contact with someone who 

has tested positive for COVID-19 

should not dive. They should also 

contact the public health service 

for further advice. 

No diving should be undertaken 

until after any isolation period has 

passed, and the diver has sought 

advice from the DHMS. 

The Safety Alert was developed in 

consultation with Diving Industry 

Advisory Group hyperbaric medical 

specialists. 

Certificates of 

Competence (CoC) 

(Occupational divers must hold one of 

these issued by Worksafe) : 

The Diving Hyperbaric Medicine 

Service (DHMS) has advised that 

where a diver is scheduled to 

undertake a five yearly medical 

check with a Designated Diving 

Doctor to obtain their Certificate 

of Compliance, the new Medical 

Clearance can be issued provided 

the online annual questionnaire 

is completed and no new health 

issues are raised. The clearance 

is issued for one additional year 

during which a Full Medical will be 

required to be submitted prior to 

any subsequent Clearance. 

Where an Annual Medical is 

required as stated on the Clearance 

Certificate the DHMS will review 

each case according to the 

questionnaire and medical history 

and advise individually. 

New divers applying for a CoC: 

Divers seeking new registration 

still have to complete the full 

medical examination along with 

the questionnaire. This is on the 

Worksafe website. 


How good a dive buddy am I? 

By Andy Stewart. Dive Instructor 

andy@diveinstructor.co.nz 

Photo: Paihia Dive 

One of the key safety 

messages promoted 

by the New Zealand 

Underwater Association is you 

should always dive with a dive 

buddy. 

The buddy system reduces risks 

and improves divers’ safety, but 

there are also other factors you 

should consider. 

Pre-dive 

First, you should always let 

somebody else know where you 

intend to dive and, ideally, you will 

have at least one person at the 

surface on the boat or shore to act 

as cover while you’re in the water. 

But what should they do if you do 

become overdue, lost, or have a 

diving accident? In case one of 

these things eventuates you need an 

emergency plan, or at least to talk 

through what to do in the unlikely 

event something does go wrong. 

The dive plan 

The key elements of an emergency 

plan at the very least should include: 

• Roles and responsibilities. Who 

does what, who is First Aid trained 

and/or experienced in underwater 

searches? 

• What diver recall procedures 

should you agree on? These can 

be as simple as banging a knife on 

a tank or boat hull to get attention. 

Or four pulls on the surface marker 

buoy if one is being used. 

• What emergency contact details 

will you use? We suggest 0800 

4 DES 111 (0800 4337 111) or a 

Medical Diving Emergency, or 111 

for any other emergency. 

• What emergency equipment do 

you have ready? Where is your First 

Aid Kit located? Emergency oxygen 

etc? 

• Where are your nearest medical 

facilities? This could be a hospital, 

GP practice or even fire station, 

should emergency oxygen be 

required. 

Who’s got first aid? 

Our underwater adventures take 

us to offshore islands or remote 

coastlines where medical help isn’t 

always available quickly should we 

need to call on it so up to date First 

Aid training is an obvious essential 

skill for all divers to have. 

And shouldn’t our non-diving, 

significant others and those 

supporting us on the boat or from 

the shore also be first aid trained? 

Limits 

Another rule is don’t dive beyond 

the limits of the least experienced 

or qualified buddy though confident 

and experienced divers aren’t 

immune from possible problems or 

difficulties on a dive. 

Team of two 

Dive buddies are a team. And all 

divers need to be confident that they 

have the skills and experience for the 

conditions they are diving in, to help 

each other should the need arise. 

‘I’ve got your back’ 

We teach our kids that peer pressure 

is not cool! The same goes for us 

divers. The best diver is not the 

one that dives the deepest, or the 

longest, or catches the biggest 

crayfish. It’s the responsible and 

considerate diver that makes 

good decisions that don’t put 

themselves or their buddies at 

risk or in situations where they are 

uncomfortable. 

Getting cold? 

Thinking about comfort levels in 

the water, appropriate exposure 

protection is important, particularly 

in winter or when the water 

temperature is dropping. Don’t be 

too proud to tell your buddy when 

you’re getting cold and want to end 

the dive; once you are cold you are 

very unlikely to warm up again, and 

hypothermia can set in quicker than 

you think. 

Don’t be put off by cooler winter 

waters though; some of the best 

diving is over winter. But maybe 

for winter you need a hood to add 

to your summer wetsuit, a thicker 

wetsuit, a semi-dry wetsuit or even a 

dry suit. 

So how good a 

Dive Buddy are you? 


Chapter 4: 

Back to the Basics 

A Practical Guide for Beginners by Alexey Zaytsev 

Exclusively for Dive Pacific magazine. 

(All photo's by Alexey Zaytsev) 

Automatic camera modes: 

When to use them 

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. 

We have looked at the technique of shooting in the manual mode ‘M’. What 

about the automatic settings? There must be a reason why all modern 

cameras offer these. Which of them can we use underwater? 

Shoot without strobes! 

1) The ‘green’ mode 

This is fully automatic - the 

camera chooses the main 

shooting parameters (shutter 

speed and aperture). And this 

mode is unacceptable for underwater 

photography. 

When set to this mode, the 

camera chooses average settings 

for shutter speed and aperture. 

It does not take account how 

quickly or slowly a subject is 

moving, whether you would like 

to blur the background or obtain 

the maximum possible depth of 

field. If set to this mode underwater 

the camera will tend to 

overexpose images and produce 

blurred images with overexposed 

areas. 

2) The ‘P’ mode 

This is the same as the ‘green’ 

mode but with an option to 

compensate for exposure. In 

other words, if you see your 

image has overexposed areas, 

you can introduce negative 

exposure compensation and get 

rid of the blown out areas, better 

than the ‘green’ mode but not 

suitable for shooting underwater 

because the camera will always 

arbitrarily choose the aperture/ 

shutter speed pair. 

* On your camera find a square 

symbol with +/- sign. This is the 

exposure compensation button. 

By pressing it and rotating a dial 

on the camera, you can make 

the camera reduce or increase 

exposure (in ‘P’, ‘A’ and ‘S’ 

modes). Exposure compensation 

limitations range from +5 to -5 

f-stops (exposure value). If you 

set your camera to automatic 

ISO selection, then in the ‘M’ 

mode you will be able to use the 

exposure compensation button to 

increase or decrease ISO values 

as necessary. 

3) A or aperture priority mode 

This is very useful and important 

for a serious photographer. This 

is the mode I recommend for 

land photography, especially 

landscapes. You set the aperture 

and the camera chooses the right 

shutter speed. In this way you 

can control the depth of field, 

one of the most powerful artistic 

tools in photography. 

4) S or shutter priority mode 

You choose the shutter speed and 

the camera chooses the aperture. 

This is the best automatic mode 

for shooting underwater without 

strobes. You select the shutter 

speed: remember the safe shutter 

speed rule (SSSR) and don’t forget 


Shark watching in Fiji 

fast moving subjects require shorter 

shutter speeds. The camera selects the 

aperture value and if the image doesn’t 

look right (most likely overexposure), 

you can negatively compensate for that. 

5) All other modes – ‘Active’, 

‘Landscape’, ‘Portrait’… 

These are crutches for a photographer 

too lazy to think. If you know 

that to take an interesting portrait the 

background should be blurred, you can 

open up the aperture, can’t you? If you 

are shooting action, you choose the ‘S’ 

mode, set the shortest possible shutter 

speed (to ‘freeze’ the subject’s motion)… 

There is no need for a thinking and 

knowledgeable photographer to use 

these modes… 

Wreck “Kingston” (1881). Straits of Gubal, Red Sea, Egypt. 

Nikon D700 15 mm F2.8 (f11; 1/60 ñ; ISO100) 

Ikelite housing 

6) The underwater mode 

Almost all Olympus cameras, both pointand-shoots 

and mirrorless, are equipped 

with this. It works fine! When set to this 

mode, the camera automatically chooses 

the right white balance, selects shutter 

speed, aperture and sensitivity values. 

For an owner of a point-and-shoot, who 

is just starting, this is a simple and 

reliable solution. 

Then when you’ve played enough with 

the auto underwater mode, you will 

want to switch to the manual mode. Of 


course, it makes sense to switch 

to the manual mode only if you 

replace your camera with a 

full-featured single-lens reflex 

camera or a mirrorless camera 

with interchangeable lenses. 

Let’s shoot in the automatic 

mode 

For the lucky owner of a first 

underwater point-and-shoot 

camera here is a recipe for 

successful shooting. 

1) Set your camera to the underwater 

shooting mode. Usually 

marked with the icon of a fish. 

2) But before that don’t forget 

to turn on the Highlight and 

Histogram preview modes in the 

camera’s menu. 

3) Dive and snap away! The 

camera’s computer will choose 

the correct shooting parameters. 

4) Some cameras, such as the 

Olympus Tg-4, allow you to select 

other shooting modes when 

set to the Underwater mode: 

Portrait in a swimming pool or 

on a beach; Shooting wide angle 

from a distance (landscape); 

macro and HDR (for images with 

wide dynamic range the camera 

would shoot several frames with 

different brightness levels and 

merge them into one image). 

Select the ‘sub-mode’ before 

shooting. 

5) Take photos and evaluate 

exposure by checking highlights 

and histogram preview screens. 

6) If there are blown out areas, 

press the ‘magic’ exposure 

compensation button and rotate 

the dial toward the ‘-‘sign to 

adjust exposure. Retake the 

image, and play exposure 

compensation again if needed. 

7) You already know what needs 

to be done if the image is too 

dark. Good job. The same as in 6) 

above, only rotate the exposure 

compensation dial toward the “+” 

button. 

If you are experienced photographer 

with a serious camera but 

want to shoot in shallow waters 

without strobes: 

1) Decide on the depth at which 

you want to shoot. If shooting 

playful dolphins or fast moving 

seals, set your camera to the 

shutter speed priority mode. 

Shorter shutter speeds, such 

as 1/500 or even 1/1000 will 

make the animals look sharp by 

freezing their movements. 

2) If you are shooting a landscape 

or beautiful sunrays breaking 

through the water surface, set 

your camera to the aperture 

priority mode. F 8 or even f 11 

will increase the depth of field 

making the rays sharper and 

more pronounced. 

3) In case of overexposure, do the 

same as owners of point-andshoots 

would. 

May the force of the exposure 

compensation button be with you! 

User settings 

Let’s now talk about some tricks 

that can make life easier. Modern 

cameras have a wonderful 

feature allowing us to select user 

settings to pre-set. The camera 

will remember and not forget 

Fiji shark 


them even after you’ve switched it off. 

With the help of these settings you can make your 

camera work within a required range of shutter 

speeds or ISO settings. In doing so, you can obtain 

a new, artistic shooting mode. For example, you 

can allow your camera to select ISO automatically 

while restricting it to using shutter speeds longer 

that certain value, ie longer than 1/125 s. This user 

mode is helpful when shooting subjects underwater 

such as schools of fish, whale sharks, manta rays, 

dolphins or seals. 

I use the following: 

· A (aperture priority) or M (manual) mode 

· Aperture of f 8 

· Shutter speed – 1/125 s or 1/250s if I’m shooting 

fast moving objects; 

· Automatic ISO selection – in poor lighting conditions 

the camera will increase ISO in order to not 

underexpose an image 

· I set the maximum shutter speed (in the automatic 

ISO settings menu) to 1/125 s (if shooting in the A 

mode) 

· I set the maximum possible ISO that the camera is 

allowed to use in insufficient lighting conditions 

(eg when photographing in Bali with a Nikon D700 I 

set the maximum ISO to 1600 to shoot mola-molas 

early in the morning) 

· Automatic auto focusing point selection 

· AF-C as an automatic focusing mode (continuous 

focus for moving objects) 

· Multi-area exposure metering. 

In case of overexposure, press the exposure 

compensation button and rotate the adjustment 

dial toward the ‘-’ sign. The camera will reduce 

the sensitivity of the sensor and the image will be 

darker. 

Improving our images using ‘magic filters’ 

We can get very decent landscape images, images 

of schools of fish and other sea dwellers, or even 

divers at small depths where the water has not yet 

absorbed the red colour and other warm 

tints of the spectrum. In tropical waters the 

depth is up to 10 m. Ideally, visibility should 

be over 20 m with the best time for shooting 

between 10 am and 3 pm, when the sun 

is out and high in the sky. The clearer the 

water, the better your images will be. 

Further adjusting white balance in a RAW 

converter will make colours look even 

more attractive. But there is a better way to 

improve your images while still shooting 

them rather than in post-processing… Magic 

filters. 

Magic filters will make your images more 

colourful and natural looking. These filters 

were created by renowned English underwater 

photography enthusiasts, Alex 

Mustard and Peter Rowland. Using them 

you can bring back colour saturation when 

shooting wide-angle scenes without the use 

of additional lighting. The clearer the water 

and the fewer clouds in the sky, the greater 

the effect from the use of the filter. In very 

clear waters, you can produce very decent 

images even at the depth of 20 m. Magic 

filters will help you obtain excellent results 

when shooting wrecks, large animals and 

landscapes. 

More about them in the next issue! 

“Sponge on a dump” Poor Knights Islands, 

North Island, New Zealand. 

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, 8 mm F3.5 lens 

(f8; 1/125 s; ISO200) 

Nauticam housing and Two Inon 240 strobe 


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, 

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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 

For the latest in maritime news and views, 

from tinny to tanker we have it covered 

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 

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Bay of Islands, P: 09 433 6633, 

E: info@northlanddive.com 

www.info@northlanddive.com 

SUBSCRIBE NOW 

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

For the latest in maritime 

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tanker we have it covered 

DIVE NOW For all your SCUBA Freediving 

and Spearfishing needs. Onsite servicing, 

cylinder testing, Air and Nitrox fills, wetsuit 

repairs, gear hire and full retail store stocking 

most major brands. 5 Star PADI Tec Rec dive 

training facility and breath holding courses with 

onsite training pool. Located at the gateway to 

the beautiful Poor Knights Islands and Bay of 

Islands. 

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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 

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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) 

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! 

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

www.aucklandscuba.co.nz 

VIP0819 

VIP0819 

Dive HQ Westhaven in Auckland's CBD. PADI 

5 Star Instructor Development Centre. Become 

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Part Time and Full Course available. Still Your 

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needs. Mares, Atomic, Oceanic, Pinnacle, 

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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 

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 

DNZ164 

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 

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 

SUBSCRIBE NOW 

www.skipper.co.nz 

phone 09 533 4336 

Performance Diver NZ’s diving superstore! Massive 

stocks of all lines at unbelievable prices. PADI 5 star 

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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 

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 

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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 

DNZ163 


dnz164 


COROMANDEL / BAY OF PLENTY 

TUTUKĀKĀ 

NEW ZEALAND 

Dive Zone Whitianga Far North’s only PADI 5 

Star IDC facility. Open Only PADI 5 Star IDC facility 

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days. 

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

E: info@divethecoromandel.co.nz 

www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz 

Sales and Service of 

Breathing Air Compressors for 

Diving and Fire Fighting 

FREE 

PHONE 

SIMPLY 

AWESOME! 

0800 288 882 


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

• New BAUER compressors 

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• Service, spare parts, oil 

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AVAILABLE NOW FROM 

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www.generalmarine.co.nz 

sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

service@generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED 

BAUER 

AGENTS 

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trips – everyday through the summer at 9.30am 

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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 Mares and Atlantis dive gear 

stockist. A great product range, as well as other Scuba 

and Snorkel gear in-store. 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 

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 

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 

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Dive retail, fills, gear hire & servicing. 

9 Marina View, Mana, Porirua. 

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

www.scubadiving.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. 

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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 

Supplier of 

-Genuine Bauer Spare Parts and 

Consumables 

-High Pressure Regulators 

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Bauer Kompressoren Agents for 

over 34 years 

High Pressure Equipment 

32 Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay, 

Auckland, New Zealand 

PH 64 09 4440804 

info@highpressure.co.nz 

Island Bay Divers New Zealand’s oldest dive retail & 

training business. Off street parking. Full retail range, 

equipment hire, large gear range for snorkel trail divers, 

scuba, Freedivers. Scuba and Snorkel guided tours, 

24 hour turn around on tank testing, repairs on most 

equipment brands, full range of diver training since 

1985. Corner Reef St & the Parade, Island Bay. 

Open 9am to 6pm. 7 days in summer, but 5 days 

(closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays) in winter. 

P: 04-383-6778 E: tim@ibdivers.co.nz 

www.ibdivers.co.nz 

Oceandry suits 

35 Station Road.Wellsford 

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FIJI 

VANUATU 

Subsurface Fiji Visit Fiji for fun, relaxing 

tropical diving. Subsurface Fiji PADI 5-Star Dive 

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Captain Cook Cruises Reef Endeavour and Tivua 

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fiji@captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

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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 

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Volivoli Beach Resort offers you relaxed, unspoilt 

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

SOLOMONS 

Raiders Hotel and Dive Wreck and Reef diving, 

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email raidershotel@solomon.com.sb 

ph +677 7594185 / 7938017 

SIDE Dive Munda – Dive the unexplored 

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divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

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SIDE TAKA Dive See more of the Solomon Islands by 

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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 

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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 

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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 

ESE Ltd 21 

Fiordland Expeditions 27 

General Marine Services 13 

Hecs Drysuit 39 

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Hutchwilco Boatshow 1 

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 

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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 sailing -Programme 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 

P: +678 

(field 

27518 

only) 

or email: 

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Northland Dive www.bigbluevanuatu.com 

39 

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TUBEWORM 

BOOK REVIEW 

Close Calls 

A collection of life changing stories from the 

industry’s greatest: 

If they made mistakes you will too! 

RRP $39.99 Full colour photos throughout, paperback. 

Published by Bateman Books www.batemanpublishing.co.nz 

Greek cave diving instructor and 

adventure filmmaker Stratis Kas 

has released his much-anticipated 

book Close Calls, a collection of 68 

gripping, personal close call stories by 

high profile technical divers including 

Jill Heinerth, Edd Sorrenson, Leigh 

Bishop, Steve Davis, Richie Kohler, 

and Becky Kagan Schott, about diving 

incidents that nearly cost them their 

lives. Incidents include entanglement, 

getting lost in caves, running out of 

gas, equipment failures, hypoxia, 

hypercapnia, caustic cocktails and 

more. 

“My intent was simple,” Kas 

explained. “If high profile divers and 

dive industry leaders were willing to 

share their own mistakes and lapses 

of judgement, many of which nearly 

cost them everything, it would help 

rank-and-file divers realize 

that they are fallible and 

subject to similar errors, 

and hopefully make them 

safer divers.” 

Kas says, “As anesthesiologist 

Dr. Simon 

Mitchell noted at the sixth 

International Rebreather 

Meeting held in Ponza, Italy, 

last year, ‘Human factors 

are the most important, 

but also the most difficult, 

path to improving rebreather diving 

safety.’ The point applies equally to 

open circuit diving…” 

A cave diving instructor and 

filmmaker, Stratis Kas, says he was 

inspired to organize Close Calls while 

attending a diving conference where 

one of his friends and heroes was 

willing to share his mistakes and 

be vulnerable, which helped Kas 

acknowledge his own early mistakes 

learning to cave dive and provided 

the idea for the book. The photos 

throughout are spectacular. 

Close Calls is a print-on-demand book 

available through Kas’ website www. 

stratiskas.com for 40€. 

50% of profits from the book will be 

donated to DAN Europe’s Claudius 

Obermaier Fund, a charitable fund 

which helps divers and their families 

who find themselves in need. 

Photo by Mariona Y. Daviu 

Wild and temperate seas 

For those nostalgic for the UK (how is that possible?) comes 

two recent dive guides: Wild and temperate seas: 50 dive sites, 

and Diving the Thistlegorm. 

Wild and temperate seas is a new-style guide with 50 personal 

favourites at some of the UK’s most popular underwater 

destinations. Author Will Appleyard and his collaborators 

showcase both popular as well as sites seldom seen. 

A wise man once said ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, 

Diving the Thistlegorm 

Diving the Thistlegorm is an in-depth look at one of the world’s 

best-loved shipwrecks, the World War II British Merchant 

Navy steamship wrecked in the Red Sea. 

The guide is highly visual guide with cutting edge photographic 

methods to show off the famous wreck and its 

fascinating cargo. It sits upright in 30m of clear, Red Sea 

waters packed with the materials of war: lorries, motorbikes, 

aircraft spares and airfield equipment are crammed into the 

forward holds and the remains of other vehicles lie amongst 

boxes of ammunition in the exploded aft holds. 

The Thistlegorm is often referred to as an underwater 

museum, and the wreck a place of fascination. The book is 

good for bucket list browsing for when Covid is over, as it 

just the wrong thermal protection’. 

Donning a drysuit is a must for most. 

Author Will Appleyard wrote Discover 

UK Diving and many articles for 

magazines, adventure-based platforms, 

adventure outfitting and travel brands – 

www.willappleyard.com. 

identifies individual items and illustrates 

where they can be found. 

The authors: Simon Brown is a photogrammetry/3D 

reconstruction expert 

who has documented many underwater 

subjects including for National 

Geographic Channel and Discovery 

Canada. Jon Henderson is Reader in Archaeology at the 

University of Edinburgh and Director of their Underwater 

Archaeology Research Centre. Alex Mustard, a marine biologist 

is an award-winning underwater photographer. Mike 

Postons pioneered the use of digital 3D modelling to visualise 

shipwrecks, and processes for reconstructing original ships 

from historic plans. 


1/2/3rd 

• Sidemount, CCR, Drysuit, 

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Presentations on Cave 

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• Equipment Exhibitions 

• 

New for 2020: 

- new venue at Suncourt Hotel 

and Conference Centre 

- new foreshore venue 

Brilliant prizes including overseas trips 

You don’t have to be a technical diver to join in the 

action - come along and see how it is to Go Tec. 

Order your ticket online now at www.tecfestnz.com 

E: info@tecfestnz.co.nz M: 0274 344 874 

or ask at your local dive shop 

Pre-festival ticket purchase required, no entry tickets sold at event 

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Dive Pacific 175 Dec2020 Jan 2021

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