Great White Shark!!!

Yes, it is a great white shark, following the man on a kayak.. This picture is from the Africa Geographic, September, 2005 issue... As a scuba diver in the Philippines, one of the first questions they asked me if I have encountered a shark during my dive?..which is also my first question during my PADI certification training to my instructor..His answer was,.. " I have already lost count of my dive logs and the only times I have encountered sharks were during dives where we specifically go to sites where sharks are known to congregate, and great white shark I have not encountered even once."

The great white shark is the most feared and largest of predatory fish in the ocean, it is also called white death and can reach in length up to 20 feet and weigh up to 2 tons..that's big fish indeed..But what is more fearsome is the shark's rows of teeth behind the main ones, it is serrated like sharp saw..This image of a teeth was permanently imprinted in the movie Jaws..

Great white sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters which have a water temperature of between 12 and 24 deg centigrade with densest population found in Dyer Island, South Africa and also found in tropical waters the Caribbeans..It is pelagic,open ocean dweller , been observed in depths of 4,000 feet but usually found close to sea surface.

Now, what is the probability, if you dive in the Philippine seas, being attacked by a great white shark? " Many shark conservationists will answer that the chance of being attacked by a shark is exceedingly unlikely, far smaller than winning the lottery." According to Shark Trust, shark population are on a serious decline, down 2 percent of their original level because of over fishing. But writer James Delingpole of the Daily Mail counters, " just because something probably won't happen doesn't mean it won't happen. And it is that possibility, however slim. which will, for many of us, continue to be the stuff of nightmares."

IS THIS YOUR NIGHTMARE??

Iponan River, Cagayan de Oro City : Muddy

This aerial picture was taken sometime in November, 2007, on a sunny day and for weeks it has not rained in Cagayan de Oro City and Talakag, Bukidnon area. It has been observed by those near the river banks that this situation has been that muddy for many years now. The river is virtually dead and has affected the nearby shores of Barangay Bulua and Bayabas. No swimming or crawling creature can possibly survive in this muck of a river. Contrast that to the picture below and surely one shudders at the thought that this could happen to this site also..That area to the west is where a bible camp is located which stands to be ruined or ruined already. The last time, I dived there with Engr. Derecho, I already noticed a 4-inch deep mud in the vicinity in front of the bible camp and also in the east portion of the river, along the Bulua shore up to the canal drainage of NHA Kauswagan, where once in the late 70s, as a marine biology student we did our plankton survey. Fresh catch of fishes were abundant and the air was as still smog-free then..

It seems that the culprit for this is the activity upstream of Iponan River where gold mining is on-going..Maybe, the local government can do something about this?

Weather and Water Condition Good For Diving

An ideal picture of a good day to dive...Well, not so good for the past three days here in Northern Mindanao, raining and windy all day Monday, white caps and current strong on Macajalar Bay.. even airline flights were canceled that day. a ruin day if one is about to go diving. You got to cancel and plan for another better day.

A good way to insure for a fun dive is monitoring the weather in the targeted dive area a week in advance. A source for this is the local radio and television stations that gets the forecast and trend from PAGASA weather station, and as the week progresses, get the specific local frontal condition of the area such as current, wind and fog and other local illegal fishing practices which might endanger the diver, such as dynamite fishing which I observed still done in Molugan, El Salvador area while I was snorkeling there.

On the dive day itself and at the dive site determine the environmental condition if there is a possibility that it will change while you are down underwater. Pre-plan a signal from the boatman for any eventuality. The water condition is assess by its A)current, if too strong to make it difficult to hold a position, B) wave action, it is exhausting while on surface, C) water visibility, would be nice to see clearly the wonders God made underwater, and D) wind, it is always cold after a dive. Crystal blue water indicate good visibility and gray or greenish water reduced visibility.

HAVE A FUN DIVE!!!

A Tribute To Dr. Tim Sevilla, A Pinoy Diver

Farewell to the Father of modern SCUBA diving in the Philippines...the first Pinoy Diver to receive SSI Platinum Pro Plus Diver Award in 2002. A former PADI Course Director and has trained thousand of divers from all over the world. True to his wishes, his ashes put in a concrete box is buried at the underwater Cathedral sanctuary where a cross he planted with former President Fidel Ramos..

Buddy System in Scuba Diving

This picture is from the movie Man About Town, which part of the scene depict this cartoon picture which I just grabbed because of the topic of Buddy System in Scuba Diving. This really look nicer than the one which shows the two of them in an aquarium tank.. Their story is not about diving but life in the advertising world, love lost and found, and a side glimpse of old age care..which I will blog in another time.

Now,in scuba diving, the buddy system which is called buddy diving is quite emphasize for its obvious safety reason while still preparing for a dive, into a dive, while underwater and up to the end of the activity. A plan of the dive is shared with the buddy, checking each others gears, monitors each others gauges and review sign languages..All these are taught in the dive certification process which ensures the optimum safety of an individual diver. And yes, in adventure dive, one would not enjoy much scuba diving solo..

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Sea Cucumbers Anyone?

The Sea Cucumber at the Agutayan Island sanctuary...so named because of its cucumber-like shape. It is an echinoderm with elongated body and leathery skin. I think this one delicately raised at Agutayan is a beige-sea-cucumber which is expelling a sticky foam as a defensive action. They eat plankton and decaying organic matter on the sea floor and also sift through the sediments and position themselves in the current to catch food that flows by with their open tentacles. The common name of sea cucumber is "balat" which was once abundant in the seashores of Opol and El Salvador. My wife who hails from Surigao del Norte often tells my sons that "bayat", yes, "bayat" , the surigaonon way of changing the L to Y, is abundantly picked for food which is a delicacy in their province. Some varieties are said to have healing properties and also endowed with aphrodisiac powers. My son Ronald at the Bolinao Marine Research is involved in a research of sea cucumbers and sea urchins of which kind, I do not know, but surely one which would put back a population of sea cucumbers in a sustainable way. As for the dry land kind of cucumber, widely cultivated vine plant of the gourd family which includes the squash. Its fruit is roughly cylindrical, elongated with tapered end. When it is still unripe green form is eaten fresh. Having an enclosed seed and developing from a flower, it is classified as a fruit and in culinary term only it is classified as vegetable.. I guess, no problem there. It is a beauty aid for many!!!