Asian Diver Issue 1 - 2016

“Let me, O let me bathe my soul in colours; let me swallow the sunset and drink the rainbow.” Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) IT IS LIKELY you have seen these sea sapphires, but mistaken them for floating fish scales. The crystal structure of the backs of these tiny copepods reflects light in the most amazing shades of blue, green or purple. Only the males shimmer, to attract the less shiny females, who live inside pelagic tunicates, known as salps. This shot, taken in Raja Ampat, shows six male sea sapphires sharing a salp with a non-descript female just visible at the top right.…

Jumping straight into 2016 with a huge splash… of COLOUR! Asia, home to the Coral Triangle, is blessed with the most biologically diverse reefs in the world, so it makes sense that we also have some of the most colourful. We felt it was about time that Asian Diver went to town with a celebration of our psychedelic seas, and so we present you with a smorgasbord of reefs to dive to get your Technicolor fix. Being Asian Diver, we’ve also dug a little deeper to get the “real fish-eye view” on this vibrant world beneath the waves (spoiler alert – it looks pretty darned different down there if you’re a fish), and we’ve uncovered the reasons behind the gaudy garb of some of the flashiest fish around. Just thank…

JAN JANUARY 3–10 Discovery Fleet Batangas Safari: Batangas – Apo Reef – Coron – Batangas www.discoveryfleet.com/divephilippines JANUARY–MARCH Rodney Fox Shark Expedition www.rodneyfox.com.au JANUARY 4 Deadline for submissions Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016 Judges are Martin Edge, Peter Rowlands and Alex Mustard. Prizes from APEKS, Fourth Element, Nauticam and Scuba Travel. www.underwaterphotographeroftheyear.com JANUARY 24 South China Dive Club Ecological and Marine Litter Survey Sham Wan, Lamma www.epd.gov.hk/epd/clean_ shorelines/events.html FEB FEBRUARY 3–6 Moscow Dive Show Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre, Moscow, Russia www.moscowdiveshow.ru FEBRUARY 12 Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016 winners announced www.underwaterphotographer  oftheyear.com FEBRUARY 15–27 Philippine Siren Best of the Visayas Safari www.uwphotographyguide.com/  trip-visayas-feb2016 FEBRUARY 11–14 The London International Dive Show (LIDS) ExCel, London Docklands, England www.diveshows.co.uk LAST WEEK OF FEBRUARY 48 Hour Dive For Life! Maaya…

CONSERVATION IN INDONESIA The eyes of the world have recently been focused on Indonesia’s forests, burning in what seems a premature apocalypse, with Nature’s bounty going up in a poof of oily smoke. Studies have found that there is a strong connection between forest cover and coral reef health – healthy forests contribute to water quality in the sea as a result of decreased run-off. However, efforts are now being made to try and protect the seas surrounding this arboreal Armageddon. In October 2015, West Papua declared itself a “conservation province”, establishing a legal framework for conservation efforts in one of Indonesia’s most picturesque regions – and a model for effective conservation throughout the islands. The move aims to ensure that increased economic development in the province doesn’t damage the…

We can also help stop these illegal practices by helping to lessen demand ON THE MORNING of September 30, in Cebu, Philippines, an experienced 33-year-old dive instructor was killed while making a recreational dive, leaving behind a grieving family that included seven kids, a wife, and parents. Al Bernard Coyoca wasn’t killed on purpose; he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a victim of blast fishing, becoming another life lost as “bycatch”. When l learned of this, my heart went out to this family but l was also furious – why are we still unable to do away with these illegal and highly destructive fishing techniques? For those who are unfamiliar with blast fishing, it is fishing via the use of dynamite, a method that has been…

COLOUR BY NUMBERS last sighting 2014 4 It is thought there are only albino orcas in the world. The last sighting of one was off the east coast of Russia. SEVERAL MILLION zooxanthellae can inhabit a single square inch of coral, and the zooxanthellae pigment cells that live inside the tissue of the clear coral polyp are what gives the coral its glorious colour. over 40% of all nitrogen fixation occurring in the ocean. The red Trichodesmium erythraeum, or sea sawdust, is a type of filamentous cyanobacteria, blooms of which are thought to have been one of the reasons the Red Sea got its colourful name. It is also important to the global ecosystem because it contributes over 40% of all nitrogen fixation occurring in the ocean. A scallop has…