| Shark Week 2007
Well another Shark Week
has come and gone, and by all accounts Shark Week 2007 was one of the
best yet! As well as the evening programme of talks, lectures and films
there were all the thrills of the special shark dives, including early
morning specials to observe the sharks hunting at the world-famous Blue
Corner and other superb dive sites.
 What
can you say about a man that has barely survived a Great White attack
and became a great ambassador for the cause of shark conservation? We
call him a prophet. Our special guest of Shark Week 2007 , as you may
have guessed, was Rodney Fox. Rodney is a very special man,
who comes complete with lots of scars and some of the most fascinating
stories you could imagine. Our main scientist for 2007 was Dr Mark
Meekan from AIMS, who will be returning for the 2008 week and
who is planning to start the first shark satellite tagging research
program in Palau. As well as the experts our international group of
highly enthusiastic divers from all walks of life managed to breathe,
dive and sleep sharks for the whole week.
The Micronesian Shark Foundation has now launched its regional ties and
is in contact with the islands of Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Chuuk. Selected dive
operators are working closely with the Foundation, collecting and
reporting extremely valuable data about the local shark populations.
This data gathering is scheduled to continue for a period of at least
two years.
Shark Week is specially planned to take place during the shark mating
season, where numbers of big predators come in close to the reef to
fulfil their biological imperative and create the baby sharks who will
hopefully go on to become the stars of future shark weeks! So if you
fancy a close-up look at some of natures most beautiful and specialized
predators then start your planning now – Shark Week 2008 will
take place from March 27th – April 2nd 2008 and
we’d love to see you here!
Wrexpedition 2007
 As one
special event passes so another approaches hot on its heels. Yes,
it’s nearly time for the second of our annual feasts of
speciality diving – Wrexpedition 2007, running from June 7th
– 13th 2007. Join us and wreck lovers from all over
the globe on the 4th annual Wrexpedition as we explore the many WWII
wrecks of Palau, both the famous wrecks such as the fantastic Iro and
Helmet wrecks, and many other less dived vessels. With a full programme
of seminars and films to fill the time when we’re not in the
water there’s plenty of wreck filled fun to be had. So come
and get wrecked with us – for more information just email info@fishnfins.com
Photograph by Kevin Davidson
Dive
of the Month
This month we witness an annual event here in Palau – the
aggregation of Moorish idols around Ngemelis, moving in to breed. Dive
guide Terue Shimura left Fish n Fins dock on 3nd May with a group of
divers and our in-house film guru Mark Thorpe, heading for Ngemelis
island to dive at Blue Corner then New Drop Off, before retiring to the
beach for lunch. “It
was the day after Full Moon” says Mark “so we
knew that Ngemelis should be rocking. The current was outgoing, my
favourite side, so we dropped in along the wall from Blue Holes and
drifted towards the corner. We hooked on  at
the corner for a while and watched the action. 15-20 Grey Reef sharks
cruised apparently effortlessly in the current, while there were plenty
of Whitetip Reefs patrolling close above the coral cover immediately to
our front. Big Napoleons would surprise us by swimming past us from
behind, while Giant Trevally circled higher in the water column, hoping
to surprise some unwary prey.”
Little did Mark know that another excellent Blue Corner dive was about
to get much, much better. “After
20 mins of this I unhooked, intending to drift over the plateau and
film the turtles that are often seen there, when I noticed something
strange about the behaviour of the sharks and trevally – they
were all going the same way! I wanted to see what all the excitement
was about, so I followed. As I moved around the edge of the plateau
into slacker water I saw what the fish had sensed before me –
an
immense shoal of Moorish Idols was moving around the reef top. This is
something we see 2-3 times a year and it is always a sight to
behold”.
When the Moorish Idols come together to breed they form huge
aggregations of several hundred
individuals or more. When swimming close together and in the same
direction their distinctive coloration makes it difficult for predators
to pick out individual Idols to target for dinner. But that
doesn’t stop them trying!
“As
the shoal moved
towards and around me, so the carnage began” continues Mark.
“Giant and Bigeye Trevally were swarming around the idols,
hitting into the crowd at high speed. Whitetip reefs hunted close to
the coral, hoping to ambush the passing school. Some of the big
Napoleons resident at Blue Corner joined in the fun too, as they tried
to hoover up as much lunch as possible before the prey moved on. The
Moorish Idols were using all the cover available as they tried to make
it to relative safety at the other side of the plateau, including me! I
spent the next two or three minutes trying to shoot film while avoiding
an accidental collision with all the hunting fish. It was at this stage
that Terue came into view with the rest of the group, so we all got to
enjoy the show for the next few minutes before the last of the school
was out of sight and we ascended to our safety stops, another fantastic
Blue Corner dive behind us.”
Idols being
hunted (Quicktime movie, mp4, 4.89MB)
Dive
of the Month II
No, not another report but an invitation. Until now we at Fish 'n Fins
have reported on the dives that we've thought of as special. In future
though we want you
to tell us
about the dives that make Palau such an incredible
place to visit. Have you been tickled by a mantas wingtip at Devilfish
City? Maybe you ran out of fingers to count the turtles with along the
walls of Ngemelis? Were you up close and personal with a Bull Shark at
the stunning drop-offs of Peleliu? Or was it the thrill of finding your
first ever Ghost Pipefish camouflaged amongst the corals covering one
of our many WWII wrecks? If you’ve recently returned from
Palau and want to share your story, then email the details to info@fishnfins.com
and maybe you’ll be seeing your dive in this space shortly.
If you were lucky enough to have a camera to record your special moment
then let us know and we’d love to put your pictures up on the
web too. And if you’re coming to Palau in the future then get
ready – maybe the dive of your life can be our dive of the
month!!
Ocean Hunter II
heads Southwest
Ocean Hunter II
has recently returned from a trip to the Southwest Islands. This island
chain stretches for almost 400 miles SW of Koror, the capital of Palau.
With no scheduled transportation links, no airfields and occasional
visits by government vessels every 3 or 4 months, these remote  and sparsely inhabited locations offer pristine
reef and outstanding opportunities for exploration. Dive guide Gabriel Pena
takes over the story. “After
a first days diving in Ngemelis, starting at Blue Corner, the boat
travelled overnight the 150NM south to Sonsorol. In beautiful
conditions the sea was flat calm, reflecting like a mirror. You could
see untold metres down into the depths and we could sit on the boat
watching the underwater world below us. At night the stars reflecting
from the glassy water bathed the world in a gorgeous soft
glow”.
The diving started with a bang – dive one at Sonsorol
provided a visit from a large Great Hammerhead, patrolling the early
morning waters. As well as the hordes of Grey and Whitetip reef sharks
that accompanied every dive, there were other sharks to be found too. “The current was
running quite strongly at Sonsorol so we did our safety stops away from
the reef, in clear blue water” says Gaby.
“And out in
the blue is where the divers saw the Silky sharks. Not one, not two,
but about 50 of them in a group”.
Named for the satin sheen to its skin, the Silky is a rarely-seen
pelagic shark, so to see that many schooling must have been quite a
sight indeed!
From Sonsorol Ocean Hunter II moved a further 70NM Southwest to Merir.
The 3 dives there provided some strong currents, large amounts of
sizeable Green turtles, big shoals of huge Humphead Parrotfish and the
outstanding reefs that the area is renowned for, including some
stunning Gorgonian Sea Fans.
Despite the non-stop action with the sharks, the highlight for Gaby
came the next day at Pula Anna, some 240NM from Koror. “I found a
nemo!!” he says, excitedly. “A proper nemo! It was
an Orange
Spine-Cheeked Clownfish. They are just so, so pretty. Although we get
lots of the more common Pink Anemonefish, Clarks Anemonefish and
Orangefin Anemonefish here, it’s a lot less frequently that
we find this little guy. Big stuff is always great to see, but
it’s the beauty of the reefs here and all the life swarming
around them that makes diving so special to me, so this Clownfish
really made the week one to remember”
After Pula Anna the boat started its long journey back to base, not
forgetting to stop off at Peleliu and Ngemelis on the way home to
finish the trip on a high. And so ended another week of outstanding
liveaboard diving with the Ocean Hunter fleet, Palau’s
premier liveaboards.
Staff Changes
Things rarely stay the same for long in this world and life is no
different here at Fish ‘n Fins. Firstly we’d like
to say
goodbye and thanks very much to three of our dive guides
who have moved on. Patrick Jaletzky and Mark Zollner have both returned
to Europe after one season in Palau. Meanwhile Terue Shimura
has
also moved on, firstly to enjoy a well-deserved holiday then over to
Europe to take up a new post instructing in Sicily. Our best wishes for
the future go to all three.
It’s not just goodbyes to be mentioned though, as we say
hello to two new staff
members.
Vladimir Serafimov joins us after instructing in Russia since
the
mid 1990's, so the tropical climate of Palau should make him feel right
at home. Steve Wiles is our
other
new instructor. 34 years old and amazingly good looking (no prizes for
guessing who’s writing this!), Steve has previously worked in
Thailand and Egypt. A warm Palauan welcome goes to both of
our
new guys, and if you wan t to know more about any of our staff then just
click here.
Congratulations are in order as well. Alain Rabor celebrated his 4th
year at Fish ‘n Fins by flying back to the Philippines to get
married. He will be returning to us as a newlywed in mid-June. Richard
Eco from Ocean Hunter II is one step further along the line, his wife
having given birth to a bouncing baby girl in April. Congratulations
and best wishes to Alain and Richard and their growing families.
Finally Fish ‘n Fins have continued our long history of
training
local guides as four, yes four of our boat drivers have now been
certified as PADI divemasters. Following a long and demanding course
with our senior instructor Jacky it was celebrations all round for
Silas, Tim, Malsol and Ken. Good job guys, we’re all very
proud
of you! |
