Happy new year from the team at African Diver. We’re excited to bring you issue 21, our first issue for 2012. This issue is a tribute to the magnificent diving destination of Aliwal Shoal off the southern coast of South Africa. On a good day, there’s nothing to beat diving the Shoal. Blue waters, an abundance of species, interesting topography and wrecks. The Shoal offers it all: baited diving with tiger and black tip sharks, open water diving with ragged-tooth sharks, exploring and penetrating wrecks and observing myriad species of tropical and temperate fish. If you’re looking for excitement and adventure this issue is just for you. It’s packed with detailed advice on dive sites, dive operators and when to visit the Shoal. We believe it’s a download you’ll keep on your hard drive for years to come.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY - Manta rays are so popular with divers and snorkelers that a single animal can 'earn' more than US$ 1 million over its lifetime for local eco-tourism, according to a new report issued by the Manta Ray of Hope Project. Despite their popularity and lucrative tourism value, the report provides shocking evidence that these graceful and gentle giants are rapidly disappearing due to extreme fishing pressure that is largely unknown by the general public or conservationists.

The Manta Ray of Hope Project, a joint effort of two conservation organizations, Shark Savers and WildAid, released a comprehensive report documenting worldwide manta and mobula declines due to the trade in their gills. The report, entitled "Manta Ray of Hope: The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays" provides the most far-reaching research ever conducted into both the intensive overfishing of mantas and mobulas as well as the trade in their gill rakers that are driving mantas and mobulas to the point of population collapse.

The destruction of ray populations is the result of demand for their gill rakers, with an estimated market value of $11 million annually. That is a fraction of the value of manta and mobula ray tourism, which is estimated at over $100 million per year, globally.

Shawn Heinrichs, Manta Ray of Hope team leader, explains, "While the gills are valuable for this trade, it is also robbing local economies and the environment of one of the most charismatic creatures in the ocean that could draw millions of dollars each year for those communities."

Lead investigator Paul Hilton added, "We first came across manta and mobula ray gills in Asian markets several years ago and followed the trail to the dried seafood markets of Southern China. It's sad to see these animals follow the same path to extinction as sharks."

Johannesburg - A 25-year-old man was killed by a shark at Port St Johns Second beach on Sunday, the Eastern Cape health department said.

"This afternoon a swimmer from Port St Johns was attacked by a shark and struggled with it for about five minutes using his surf board," said spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

"A surfer who was next to him during the ordeal described the swimmer as being brave by fighting it. Unfortunately it injured him severely in both arms and in the chest," he said.

A second eyewitness raised the alarm for other swimmers to leave the water.

"A doctor who was amongst the swimmers tried to save his life along with paramedics who arrived at the beach. The man died on the way to a local health centre."

"Second beach is notorious for shark attacks and I am told that there is no [shark] net there," said Kupelo.

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10 January 2012 - Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide have announced the selection of the judging panel for the 2012 Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia underwater photography and video contests.

For the 2012 Our World Underwater competition, National Geographic’s Brian Skerry and professional underwater photographer Keri Wilk join judging veterans Alex Mustard, Berkley White, and Matt Weiss. Pro videographers, Steve Douglas, Eric Hanauer and Mary-Lynn Price will judge the video competition.

Entries are being accepted now via the UnderwaterCompetition.com (http://www.underwatercompetition.com/) website and the deadline for entries to Our World Underwater 2012 is 23 January

New to the 2012 DEEP Indonesia judging panel are professional underwater photographers Jason Bradley and David Fleetham, who join last year’s judges Diego Garcia, Matt Weiss, and Eric Cheng. It is also accepting entries now, with a slightly later deadline for entries of 10 February.

Full details of both contests with rules and entry procedures can be found on the UnderwaterCompetition.com website (http://www.underwatercompetition.com/).

We have recently been notified that an unknown person or group came via the Fisheries "Ministry" in December 2011 seeking permission to use gillnets for fishing in Zone B of the Langebaan Marine Protected Area (MPA) in South Africa until 31 January 2012. Zone B of the MPA is closed to fishing.

There was no consultation by the Fisheries Branch on the decision to permit fishing in the MPA. Our legal advisor, Shaheen Moolla of Feike explains that the Fisheries Branch and its Minister does not have any legal jurisdiction over MPA management as this authority vests with the Department of Environmental Affairs.

It would clearly appear that the rule of law, legality and responsible fisheries practices are simply of no interest to the Fisheries Branch and its increasingly woeful, absent and irresponsible Minister.

The Minister and her department's illegal decision is clearly not supported by the scientific component of the Fisheries Branch. Furthermore, it is reported that this sensitive nursery area of the smooth hound shark has subsequently been plundered.

READ MORE and PLEASE VOICE YOUR OPINION, it counts, and post comments on our website, which we will forward to the Department.

Sincerely, AfriOceans Conservation Alliance

Here's a quick clip on diving with the Ragged Tooth sharks of Aliwal Shoal. Mostly found on a site called Cathedral where they aggregate to mate, the "Raggies" are a diver's favourite. Enjoy the video, courtesy of Durban diver Paul Naude.

Click on the image to see the video or click here.

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On August 16, 2011, at approximately 3pm (UK time), Briton Ian Redmond was attacked by a shark while on honeymoon in the Seychelles. This article documents the media hype surrounding the attack and the near-hysterical and indiscriminate shark fishing that took place in the weeks after the attack. The article tells the story from two points of view - the first is from a South African diver who arrived at Anse Lazio on holiday and the other from Geremy Cliff, scientist at the KZN Sharks Board. The KZN Sharks Board were called in to provide the Seychellois government with advice on how to manage and prevent future attacks.

There are several interesting points that come out of the article. The first is that the KZN Sharks Board officials were unable to identify the shark from the tooth fragment found and recommended DNA testing to conclusively determine the shark species responsible for the attack (it has subsequently been confirmed that the species was a bull shark). The reason for finding out the shark species being that it would provide a better understanding on how to manage the prevention of another attack.  Another interesting point is that they specifically did not recommend shark nets but rather exclusion nets (i.e. nets to keep swimmers in and sharks out). Sadly, drum lines were recommended, at the insistence of the Seychellois government for a solution. It also appears that yachts that moor in the bay are responsible for off-loading their waste in the bay and this appears to attract sharks.

Tourism is the mainstay of the Seychellois economy and, naturally, all locals were united in finding a solution to preventing a repeat attack. Fortunately, the Seychellois government is committed to conservation and is proceeding cautiously with regard to implementing preventative measures and research is being stepped up. However, it is our understanding that drum lines have been implemented.

William Travis published his exploits in the Seychelles in his books Beyond the Reefs (in 1959) and Shark for sale (in 1961) (click here for a review). The latter chronicles his shark fishing escapades and is particularly poignant as it becomes clear to the reader that there should be many shark in the Seychelles islands and that, in fact, shark attacks should be more commonplace given the number of people using the ocean there. That there are few attacks is a testimony to the efficiency of shark fishing methods in clearing the oceans of sharks.

It should also be noted that shark fishing is quite prevalent in the Seychelles and shark meat is eaten by the locals, by choice.

For a list of preventative measures currently implemented in the Seychelles, please follow this link http://chaletsdanseforbans.blogspot.com/2011/08/latest-update-on-seychelles-shark.html

Aaron Gekoski and Chris Scarffe are two journalists and filmmakers working to expose some of the greatest wildlife crises on earth.

To learn more about their invaluable work and how you can align with and support them, drop us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit their websites at www.aarongekoski.com and www.mozimages.com

To view their showreel and see the kind of stories they persue, click the image or click here.

[Click image to view the video]

Here's a video produced by Greenpeace and it's about bottom trawling. It'll make you so angry, you'll want to rush out and beat the next fisherman you see to a bloody pulp. But, here's the rub, it ain't gonna stop til we all stop eating fish. To hell with sustainable fishing ideas and quotas and the like! As long as there are fish in the sea, we humans are going to fish them out by whatever means possible. And there's no sustainable way for industrial fishing to fish our seas with conservation and preservation in mind. In fact, there's pretty little any fisherman can do that will be sustainable ... and here's why: we just don't know enough about fish and the marine environment.

So what is there to be done about it all - we're all so powerless and governments are way too slow to sort out the problem. There's only one way to sort this out and that's to take responsibility ourselves.

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