Originally discovered in the 1960’s by the divers at the Aquarium of Noumea in New Caledonia, Bargibanti’s Pygmy Sea Horse (Hippocampus bargibanti) was described by the then Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum Gilbert Whitley in 1970. It was just another scientific discovery and not much note was taken.

It was the first pygmy sea horse to be named and until Alan Power – Vanuatu’s dive legend – found another one at 50 metres on a sea fan at Santo, Vanuatu in the early 1970’s. Still not much excitement was created and it remained virtually unknown until specimens became suddenly well known throughout Papua New Guinea over the last 20 years.

The first pygmy seahorses in Indonesia were found by the late Larry Smith, then manager of the Kungkunganbay Resort in Lembeh in the 1995. Our friend and genius underwater photographer Juergen (Yogi) Freund happened to be there at the time and when he jumped on board Pindito a couple of days later on a cruise in Raja Ampat he showed his dive guides what to look out for. Within weeks numerous locations for pygmy seahorses were charted and more species were dicovered. The rest is history.

Today we know of at least 9 different species and we are still counting.

(Source: own research,  Neville Coleman)

STOP PRESS!!   2012 Dates are still available – Check online or  FREECALL in Australia 1800 607 913 or email Info@diversiondivetravel.com.au for details

We have berths available on Mike Balls super livebaoard vessel, Spoilsport! This is a rare chance for an adventure of a life time in Australia. June and July each year is the season to encounter the Minke Whales. These excursions are for snorkelers and divers!

There are not many people in the world lucky enough to experience this but now this week you can be one of them!

The species that we will be observing is the Dwarf Minke Whale, which grows to a maximum length of about 8 metres. As soon as the whales get close to the boat, the skipper will disengage the engine and the boat will silently along with the current. Two ropes will be hanging from the back deck and you will be gliding in the water, wearing your mask fins and snorkel and a wetsuit. You just hang on to that rope, wait and see. The scene is set: Showtime!

Click to watch video

The whales  are very curious by nature and will continue to come closer to have a look at you.

For unknown reasons, they are interested in contact with people! They like to show of acrobatics like the belly loop for example, right in front of snorkelers!  If previous people’s whale encounter experience is any indication, there are no words for it. You’re going to be profoundly glad for the experience. Be quick, we have only a few berths to sell!

This is THE ultimate thrill for everyone who admires whales. The success rate of whale encounters is very high. Contact us: info@diversiondivetravel.com.au

FREECALL in Australia 1800 607 913

or email Info@diversiondivetravel.com.au for reservations

Which fish to eat? Make the right choice!

16^th March 2012 is Sustainable Seafood Day. To celebrate and raise awareness we give you a chance to  WIN a TRAVELVOUCHER worth AUD 100 towards your next dive trip you book with us!  All you need to is share your story, or thoughts or a photo about what you do on Sustainable Seafood Day this weekend on our facebook wall.  The winner will be drawn randomly. We at DIVERSION DIVE TRAVEL support the event to motivate divers everywhere to be conscious about what seafood they eat! Like us on our facebook and get active

The driving force for all this is “the market”. This is where you come in when shopping for fish at your local supermarket or restaurant. We don’t want to discourage anyone from enjoying fish, but as with all things today, there are choices to be made – both good and bad when you consider purchasing fish. Furthermore, with all the interesting names for fish popping up on supermarket shelves it’s near to impossible to know what to do.
With this situation in mind, different organisations around the world have published fish guides to help you, the consumer, make the right choices. The information varies in each publication due to the different local fish names and availability.
Here is a random selection of fish eating guides worth checking out:

Australia/Oceania
The AMCS has been the driving force behind and Australian Guide. Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Online Guide is an independent tool to choosing seafood wisely. It is Australia’s first online resource for consumers seeking to make sustainable seafood choices. It was developed in response to growing public concern about overfishing and its impact on our oceans and their wildlife.
AMCS sustainable seafood guide

You can even down laod a free IPhone App so you always have the information at your fingertips

Similar information with regional adaptation can be found for other parts of the world:

 USA /Canada      Seafood choices (Online directory)

UK/ Europe         Marine Conservation Society (pocket guide) 

Truk Lagoon

We asked our newsletter readers this question recently. The right answer is 30 years. Many participants mad an extra effort and added comments, some where quite funny or even informative and we like to share them with you:

• 30 years. got my fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed, makes it really hard to dive like this though

• Whale Sharks need to be about 30 years old to procreate. I am 54 years young today and have been procreating about 30 years.

• They reach maturity at the age of 30 years.  (Wish I was still 30!)

• 30. Please, please, please…..
• 30 !! P.S. does the fact that 30th Jan is my birthday help me win? 
• 30 years. Do they serve eggs benedict at Blue Lagoon Hotel?
• 30 years of age (a bit like human maturity really!!!)
• Please pick me haha
• 30. Happy New Year guys! Great newsletter!
• 30 years. I’ll be saying my prayers every night and crossing all my fingers and toes
• Hi!! I saw this competition and couldn’t resist giving it a go!! I’ve been obsessed with sharks since I was a kid!
• 30 years!!! I want my prize!
• The Newsletter says after they grow 9 metres and are about 30 years old. Other marine biologists with whom I have spoken believe it is possible from 25 years on, or even younger – providing still the 9 metre length requirement! And all this proves is how much we have to learn about these AMAZING creatures!

The answers didn’t influence the outcome, but they brought some smiles on our faces.  Thank you everybody for participating in our competition to win a stay in Truk Lagoon in the beautiful Blue Lagoon Resort. The winner is…..Jodie Lee from Brisbane! Congratulations Jodie.  Jodie won 6 nights twin share accommodation with airport transfer from/to Weno airport/Resort  in

Truk Lagoon’s Blue Lagoon Resort

The Prize is for 2 divers and also  includes 10 dives per person!

It sounds a bit like a fairytale, but this one is true:

Susan Sobtzick from Berlin, a former client of Diversion Dive Travel, now lives in Townsville, where she has finished her PhD about Minke Whales. Here in Australia many people call her “Susan, the Minke Girl”.   

It was the dream of Susan’s dad, to dive on the Great Barrier Reef. In 2000 the whole family wanted to travel together and Susan was the one who started to organise the trip. She found or website on the Internet and contacted us. We recommended her and excursions with the Undersea Explorer because we love their approach to combine tourism with research. At the time we did not know, that Susan had an interested in marine biology and that this trip would be very important for her future career.

In 2004 Dirk and I did our first Minke Whale trip with the Undersea Explorer (UE) and Susan was on board! She then worked at her thesis. Susan was always the first one in and last one out of the water. With her video camera, she spend hours in the water, when everybody else on board warmed up already with cup of tea, she was still in there. She did all this work to document the exact size of Minke Whales for her theses.

In 2006 when Dirk and I did our second Minke Whale trip, she was on board again. This time we met her together with her supervisor and team leader of the Minke Whale Research Project, Dr Alastair Birtles, who supported her in the water and together they worked till ‘late night at the Computer enter to enter and sort the data, which they collected during the day.
Seeing Susan in action, I got the idea to capture the story of her career and do an interview with her, which she agreed to.

C (Claudia): When you booked your first trip on Undersea Explorer with us, we did not know, that you where tossing the idea to specialise your studies in marine biology. Was that planned all along or did you get the idea during the excursion?

S (Susan): At the time I was still undecided between microbiology and marine biology. I studied at the university of Rostock/Germany because they offered marine biology as a major field of study. However I enjoyed both micro and marine biology and was undecided. I thought to do a trip with the UE is a good idea, as I can see in “real life”, how marine biologists work.

C: Susan, do you remember the research themes of the first trips you and your family did with UE, in 2000?

S: Yes, the first trip was an Osprey Reef Shark Research excursion. The second one was, “Cephalopod research”, with Mark Norman on board. It was very exciting, as he discovered a new species of octopus on this trip!

C: What fascinated you so much, that you decided to study marine biology at the end?

S: I was never in contact with marine biologist before and suddenly I saw all those exciting things happening while I was there, which I only knew from TV.
The researchers where very charismatic people, these 2 excursions with the UE showed me that marine biology is not only about counting herring and measuring nutrient gradients in the Baltic Sea, but really exciting stuff!

C: How did you go on from there?

S: I finished my basic studies and took a year time out to go to Australia. I travelled and worked for a few companies, amongst the Undersea Explorer. They offered me a job as videographer to film the Minke Whales. I enjoyed this job big time! In the following years I went regularly back for the season and worked on UE. In 2004/5 I worked on my thesis, which had the title:’ Underwater Videogrammetry and its Application to Estimate Body Lengths of Dwarf Minke Whales in Great Barrier Reef Waters’

C: Have you been interested in whales before you had seen them, or did this interest awaken during your trips as videographer?

S:I never wanted to major in marine mammals, I wanted to follow my fathers’ interests, which are sharks and rays. However, when I saw my first whale under water, it blew me away! It was love at first sight.

C: How did you get to stay in the project?

 S: I was very keen to continue to work in the project, so I applied for a scholarship and got it. I now live in Townsville and work at my PhD, which is about ‘Dwarf Minke Whale Biology and Implications for Tourism Management.” My supervisors are Dr Alastair Birtles and Prof Helene Marsh. It is amazing, what started as a holiday gave me undreamed-of possibilities changed my live completely!

C: Thank you very much, Susan! We are happy to be part of your story. We wish you and the Minke Whales a good future!

Raja Ampat’s biodiversity never fails to astound. Three new species of reef fish were discovered at Misool Eco Resort by Dr Mark Erdmann during Fish Geek Week, February 11-18th 2011. This brings the total number of identified species in Raja Ampat up to 1414. Wow! Mark found 2 new cardinal fish from different genuses, Siphamia and Apogonichthyoides. The 3rd was a type of Ptereleotris dartfish.
 
 Mark also recorded 5 species of reef fish never before seen in Raja Ampat, and perhaps most exciting of all, identified 3 species of Flasher Wrasse on our House Reef. For those of unfamiliar with their antics, these tiny wrasses are usually rather drab in appearance. Just around sunset, the males start their impressive courtship number. In the space of milliseconds, they transform themselves from pedestrian little reef dwellers into spectacularly flamboyant fellas. Quite a strategy to get the ladies’ attention, but it seems to be working!

The flasher wrasses identified on Misool Eco Resort’s House Reef were Paracheilinus cyaneus (pictures at left), Paracheilinus nursalim (found only in Misool and Kaimana), and Paracheilinus filamentosus.

To celebrate all this gorgeous bidiversity, Misool Eco Resort held raffle on the last night of the trip. All the proceeds were collected to support the local Ranger Patrol, which enforces the boundaries of their newly expanded 1220 sq km No-Take Zone. They managed to raise over 2000 Euros! And one lucky winner won a free trip to Misool Eco Resort. Congratulations, Michael and Alison!

1.  There was a coral bleaching that hit Malaysia and Thailand in May/June 2010. It did not go as far as Burma nor the Andaman Islands India.  
2. Shallow water hard corals down to about 15 metres on fringing reefs have been affected (fringing reefs are reefs around islands )
3. It has not affected  Soft Corals and has not significantly affected  the granite boulder sites – which the Andaman Sea diving are famous for. eg Richelieu Rock has barely been touched at all and is as awesome as ever ! 
4.  The Thai Government has decided to close some reefs and we applaud their efforts to help protect the reef            a.       They have closed approximately 18 dive sites all along the coast of west Thailand (only 2 sites in Similans have been closed) – there are more than 30+ dive sites in the Similans.  There are many good dives to replace this. 
   b.      A number of shallow water bays around Surin Island have been closed – these were not on Mermaids itineararies 
   c.  No sites of our Hin Daeng/Hin Muang trips have been closed 
5. Our guests are coming back from their trips with big smiles and great reviews, having had an excellent trip with Mermaid Liveaboards our super service crews, yummy foods, fabulous boat and of course, great diving.

Summing up, the bad news is that the bleaching is significant, that dive sites have been closed by the government to protect the reefs. The good news is that the government is acting and that our preferred liveaboard operators have still plenty of exciting healthy dive sites to choose from.
We can confirm the excellent client feedback from recently returned clients.

DiVo identify marine conservation groups whose activities are suited to the . Divo identfies conservation programmes where recreational dive tourist can participate. This way, more recreational divers get introduced to marine conservation and research.

The “dive voluntourist” will have a dive with a difference to make a difference.

Simply join AMCS as a Sea Guardian to be automatically entered in the draw to win this incredible prize valued at over $9000! Already a Sea Guardian? Just upgrade your current support or introduce a friend to enter. Wish you were here? Then click here to find out more!

The prize includes seven nights accommodation and meals at the stunning Lissenung Island Resort and return airfare to Papua New Guinea. You’ll spend five days diving and exploring the beautiful surrounding reefs. Don’t worry if you can’t dive yet because the prize includes a PADI beginners open water dive course if you can’t. Also included in this fabulous prize is over $5000 worth of dive gear from Scubapro.

]]> http://blog.diversiondivetravel.com.au/support-amcs-and-win-a-trip-to-lissenung-island-resort-in-png.html/feed 0