Under Water

THE SHARKS ELECTRICAL SENSE

A long time ago in 1678 the Italian anatomist Stefano Lorenzini discovered small
pores around the mouth and nose of sharks and rays. By peeling of the skin, he also
noticed that these black openings were connected with transparent tubes filled with a
sort of crystalline gel.
But it took almost three centuries to fully understand the anatomy and function of
these small pores and tubes. That they transmitted electrical information via
ampullae (small bulbar pouches filled with jelly) and nerve fibers to the medulla, a
sensory station and then to higher centers in the sharks brain. Unlike the lateral
line, were the receptors are small hair cells sensitive to the movement of water. In
1960 Murray from the University of Birmingham in the UK made an important step
forward. He used new electrophysiological techniques to measure the activity of
nerve cells and found out that cells in the ampullae were sensitive to slight
variations in salinity and electrical fields, in the order of one millionth of a volt
across a square centimeter of seawater.

Lorenzini pores on the
snout of a Tiger shark
from the Bahamas

In 1971 Adrianus
Kalmijn from the
University of Utrecht in
the Netherlands (who
later moved to the
Scripps Institution of
Oceanography), discovered with very sensitive amplifiers that sea animals
also produced bio-electric fields in seawater. In addition he found out that sharks in
the aquarium were able to detect small electrodes buried in the sand that emitted
very weak electrical fields. Then, the link between the two findings became
clear: electroreception could help the shark with locating its prey. It’s possible that
in some shark species electroreception also serves as a compass during migration, by
using the earth magnetic field as a reference.
The next (never say final!) step was to find out how sharks actually used
their remarkable electrical sensory sensitivity to detect and attack their prey. In
1981 Kalmijn, Douglas Fields and Gail Heyer described how electroreception could
work in combination with the other five senses during normal feeding. Smell and
hearing would be most useful for locating prey from great distances. Vision, lateral
line senses and taste would become more important at closer ranges. Only
during the terminal phase of an attack, so within a meter from the prey,
electroreception becomes important to precisely locate the prey and correctly orient
its jaws. For example the Hammerhead then will know where to locate and how to
grab its favorite prey, the stingray buried under the sand.

47

HEARING AND SENSING UNDER WATER

We know that fishes have excellent memories and are able to remember familiar
objects or other species. Red Sea clownfish for example can recognize their mate after
30 days separation. Fishes also have excellent sensory systems, although one of the
problems of course is that we cannot ask fishes to report their sensory experiences
like we do in humans. So, for example we don’t really know what a goldfish or a shark
listens to of ‘sees’. Will the famous tiger shark Emma of the Bahamas indeed
recognize the individual person that visits her regularly, similar to a domesticated
animal on land? Of course, there are clever ways to examine memory functions in
fishes, on which I shall not further elaborate here.

But we know much more
about their sensory
systems. So let’s focus
here on hearing and
sensing and the lateral
line. The lateral line
allows a fish to detect
movement and vibration

Lateral line with cupula, canal and neuromast

in the surrounding water. It’s crucial for its spatial awareness and the ability to
navigate in space. All fishes depend on this system for orientation, predatory
behavior, and social schooling. Lateral line receptors form somatotopic (body-image)
maps within the brain informing the fish of the strength and direction of the flow of a
current. It all starts with a hair cell in a gelatin substance. These hair cells are lined
up in a long lateral line running from head to tail. The lateral line is open to the
environment via a series of openings (called lateral line pores) in a long canal. The
basic sensory unit is called a neuromast. This is a small bundle of sense hairs and
their sensory cells, with a flexible little pole or cup (cupula) op top filled with a
jelly like fluid (see insert above). The cupula bends just like a joystick with movement
of the water in the canal of the lateral line, or on the surface of the skin. Mechanical
motion of water caused by objects or sounds in the environment is then transmitted
via the neuromast to the brain. But disturbance in the water caused by the fishes’
own movements counteract the activity caused by movement of external
signals. Thus suppressing interference with the biologically relevant signals. In
some fish species, the receptive organs of the lateral line have been modified to
function as electroreceptors, the organs used to detect electrical impulses. Fishes also
have an auditory perception organ in the inner ear called otolith (bony
particles) which differs from that in mammals. They also have hair cells in the inner
ear (the vestibular system) similar to the neuromast. The differential movement

48

between the hair cells and the heavier otolith is then interpreted by the brain as
sound. This is a rather crude form of auditory perception. For example in a shark
its function is to detect sounds that have a direct survival function; like splashing and
the sounds of an injured prey which create different sound frequencies. Bony fishes
like carps and goldfish have a better hearing, because their swim bladder which is
near the otolith amplifies sounds like a hearing aid.
Marine mammals The lateral line system of fishes is not so different from the
system that mammals use for auditory perception and orientation. One major
difference however is that in mammals the hair cells in their gelatin fluid are located
in the inner ear. Where they respond either to vibrations of sound that move hair
cells in the cochlea, or to movements of the head that move hair cells in the
semicircular channels. Marine mammals such as dolphins and whales do not have
the lateral line of fishes but rely on the same but more refined auditory system as
land mammals. Probably they have adapted in a late phase of evolution to their
watery environment by developing refined pressure detection of surrounding water.
Instead of outer ears and eardrums they have small openings in the head transferring
sound waves through a narrow canal to their middle and inner ears. Their refined
auditory perception also allows them to understand complex sounds and
communicate by producing sounds for mutual interactions. The same holds for a
marine mammal like the Florida manatee. But in addition to a sound detection
system in the inner ear, manatees also have numerous body hairs or vibrissae. Facial
vibrissae are used for direct contact and tactile exploration, like the whiskers of
cats or rodents, but with their body vibrissae the manatee can also detect vibrations
and movement of water in their environment, just like fish do with their lateral line.
Noise and marine life. Noise caused by motor boat traffic along coral reefs could
also have an impact on marine life. This was concluded in a recent study on the
behavior of damselfish. Both playback of motorboat noise and direct disturbance by
motorboats elevated metabolic rate in Ambon damselfish (pomacentrus
amboinnensis), which when stressed by motorboat noise responded less often and
less rapidly to simulated predatory strikes. The dusky dottyback (pseudochromis
fuscus) its natural predator even consumed more than twice as many damselfish
when motorboats were passing in a field setting .

Sources and links:

Listening underwater. Thoughts on Sound and Cetacean hearing. F.W. Reysenbach de Haan. In:
Wales, Dolphins and Porpoises. K.N. Norris. UCLA press 1966.

Reep, R.L et al. (2011). Manatee vibrissae: evidence for a “lateral line” function. Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences Volume 1225 pages 101–109, April 2011

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_line

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160205/ncomms10544/full/ncomms10544.html

49

A BIGGER BRAIN DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN A SMARTER BRAIN

A bigger brain does not always mean a smarter brain. For example, elephants have
much larger brains than humans, but much of their brain space is needed to control
their colossal body, and not their information processing capacities. When
comparing brains of different species behavioral biologists often use relative brain
size: this is brain size corrected for body mass. On the relative scale humans,
dolphins and great apes score higher than the elephant. And some small fishes of the

coral reef with super tiny brains have
developed astonishingly complex ways
to adapt and survive in their
environment.
Now how about birds? Birds have large
wings, but a light body and walnut (or
peanut) sized brains. However, they do
have the reputation of being pretty
smart. This holds not only for singing birds that produce amazingly complex songs,
but also corvids (members of the crow family) and parrots. Corvids are clever in
using instruments like little hooks to obtain food. Magpies successfully pass the
mirror test, a test of self recognition used in research of cognition in babies and
higher mammals. The African grey parrot is very clever in understanding numbers
and concepts: the legendary grey parrot Alex (see picture) trained by Irene
Pepperberg, a lecturer at Harvard University is a good example.
These avian capacities must have resulted from the unique adaptation of their brains
to the environment during evolution, resulting not in brains that are larger (and also
heavier) but lighter and with a more efficient architecture*. Now how can a tiny
brain be so smart? A recent study published by the research team of Pavell Nemec*
from Prague sheds some new light on this interesting problem. They compared the
brains of different mammals and birds with the same brain size. They found that
bird brains have more neurons (nerve cells) than mammalian brains and even
primate brains of similar mass. So it’s not de brain size per se that determines smart
or intelligent behavior, but the density or the number of nerve cells packed in certain
areas of the brain. Avian brains seem to consist of small, tightly packed neurons and,
importantly, many of these neurons are located in the forebrain, the area that is
connected with cognition in humans. They also found that parrots and corvids have
forebrain neuron counts equal to or greater than primates with much larger brains.

Sources:

Emery NJ (2006) Cognitive ornithology: The evolution of avian intelligence. Philos
Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 361(1465):23–43.

*Olkowicz S. et al. (2016). Birds have primate-like numbers of neurons in the
forebrain PNAS Early edition www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1517131113

50

USING NATURAL BODY MARKINGS TO IDENTIFY A SHARK

Identification of an individual shark

can be helpful to learn more

about its behavior, age, distribution,

habitat use, population and

migration patterns. Not only of that

individual shark but also the group to

which it belongs. For example, if a

certain GHH (great hammerhead)

shark has Bimini as its winter habitat

but then shows up along the Florida

coast in spring, its migratory pattern

could be representative for the entire

group of GHHs that left their winter

location. The most frequently used

method for shark identification

is tagging. There are several

methods of tagging that serve

different purposes. Plastic

numbered ‘cattle’ tags, and ‘dart

tags’ containing a capsule or a

microchip under the skin, are ways to

learn more about a sharks migratory

paths.

Top: tiger shark Emma. Below: pigment contour
line on the left side of her head.

But they require recapture of the shark by a marine expert or fishermen that catch a
shark with a long line or net and then return the information to the taggers. Same
holds for data-loggers, small devices that collect enormous amounts of data but also
require that the shark is recaptured for downloading the collected data. Acoustic and
satellite tags are more advanced telemetric devices that allow to track a moving
shark with special apparatus for receiving the emitted signals
Matching natural body markings is an alternative and shark-friendly way to identify
individual sharks, although it does not allow real time tracking of the shark. It
requires a picture of the shark to be compared with a larger data base (somewhat like
a fingerprint of a foreign visitor collected by the US customs at the airport). An
interesting side of this approach is that UW photographers can contribute to collect
such a data base. Given that some guidelines are provided on how to capture the
right image of the markings of a specific shark.
In some sharks like the great white and tiger shark the meandering line separating
the white lower and the pigmented upper part of the lateral body seems to follow a
typical ‘idiosyncratic’ pattern (see the picture above of tiger shark Emma and a crop

51

of her head markings). Other species (like C. Taurus, the sand tiger shark) show
typical individual patterns of pigmentation spots.

An example of a ‘natural’ marking:
the mutilated dorsal fin of a great
white shark nicknamed ‘Shredder’
from Isla Guadalupe. The shark
received this name after biting
(and completely shredding)
straight through the anchor line of
one of the operators’ boats during
one of the first expeditions to the
Island.

Compared with tagging, identification via natural markings is inexpensive, non-
invasive and reliable over a much longer period. But, as said earlier, they depend on
pictures of pigment spots or markings on selected areas on one side of the body. It
becomes easier when a shark has distinctive marks like a scar, a mutilated dorsal or
pectoral fin. I remember a male white shark that showed up at Isla Guadalupe in
Mexico nicknamed ‘Shredder’. Its heavily damaged first dorsal fin could be inflicted
by a sea lions sharp teeth (see picture above). Of course these cases are mainly of
interest for those that return to the same spot every year, and want to check if the
'regular guys' are still around.
A new and promising scientifically based matching technique is computer-aided
pattern recognition of natural pigmentation spots. It has been successfully applied
on various species of sharks like the whale, leopard, nurse, the great white and the
sand tiger shark.

Sources and links

Castro, A.L.F. & Rosa, R.S. (2005) Use of natural marks on population estimates of the nurse shark
Ginglymostomacirratum, at Atol das Rocas Biological Reserve, Brazil. Environmental Biology of
Fishes,

Van Tienhoven, A.M. A computer-aided program for pattern-matching of naturalmarks on the
spotted raggedtooth sharkCarcharias Taurus Journal of Applied Ecology (2007), 4, 273–280

Arzoumanian, Z., Holmberg, J. & Norman, B. (2005) Anastronomical pattern-matching algorithm for
computer-aided identification of whale sharks Rhincodon typus. Journal ofApplied Ecology, 42,
999–1011.

http://sharkangels.org/issues-facing-sharks/tagging-sharks

http://sharkdivingxperts.com/white-shark-profiles/shredder/#sthash.G2DwrnNn.dpuf

52

ECO AQUEDUCT IN NORTH HOLLAND.

Around 1927 the ‘Afsluitdijk’’, an enormous 32 km long dike was built in Holland to
connect the northern provinces of North Holland and Friesland. The dike was meant
to protect the lowlands in the interior of Holland against the floods during the violent
Western and North Western storms. With its construction the former salty Zuiderzee
was transformed into two large sweet water lakes, the IJsselmeer and Markermeer.
The new dike not only ended commercial fishery and their ports, but also created a
blockade of the migratory routes of millions of fish like stickleback, bream and eel. In
particular of the baby eels (‘elvers’) on their yearly 4000 km route from their place of
birth in the Sargossa sea near Bermuda, to the Dutch coast.

Left: the new fish passage
in the Afsluitdijk in North-
Holland

The Dutch water

management recently

created a passage in the

dike to restore the natural

migration of fish between

salt and sweet water. The

new fish passage is located

on the Westside of the

locker (‘sash lock’) in Den

Oever (see insert). Its

construction is simple but effective. In the container at the lower left sweet (light

bue) water from the IJsselmeer is pumped above the level of the brackish (darker

blue) water of the Waddenzee. Thus creating a constant stream of sweet water

flowing through a tunnel to the Waddenzee. The fish that are already crowding in the

Waddenzee are then tempted to swim against the current through the tunnel to to

the IJsselmeer. The success is enormous: not only baby eel but thousands of smelt,

bream and sticklebacks now daily use the passage. In some nights 30.000-

50.000 baby eels have been observed passing by. One estimates that per year

hundreds of billions of fish will start using the new passage. The plan for the future is

even more promising, namely to build an aqueduct at the other side of the dike in

Friesland, allowing fish to move freely with the tides between the salt and sweet

water.

53

BASS AND BREAM FROM THE DESERT

Some years ago a Lebanese business firm called Wadi Holdings started using salt
water they found after drilling for sweet water in north eastern Egypt. That was in the
Wadi Natroun area not so far from the Mediterranean Sea, located along the road
between Cairo and Alexandria. This was also the place were in ancient times salt was
collected to preserve the mummies. The saline water, unsuitable for growing crops
was now used for cultivating sea bass (Dicentrarchus) and bream (Sparus auratus),
two species normally found in sea water (see picture of the basins, below). The firm is
doing good business and its product is even exported to various countries.

Egypt is still struggling with an old
and steadily growing problem.
That is the need to increase wheat
productivity to feed Egypt’s
rapidly growing population which
has nearly doubled in the last 30
years. Traditionally, fresh water
from the Nile (‘a gift from the
Gods’) and lake Nasser, a vast
man-made lake created by the
construction of the Aswan dam in
the Nile have been used to
irrigate the land in the valley and delta of the Nile river.
But fertile land and water are scarce in Egypt, and the shrinking water supply
provided by the Nile flowing upstream is a growing concern of the government.
Its hope for the future is to start exploiting areas in the Western desert with its
(presumed) groundwater reservoirs to help Egypt reclaim up to 1.5 million hectares
of land. As saline water could not be used for irrigation, one assumed that water
drilled closer to the seashore was unfit for growing crops. But these views are now
changing. Experimental farms in the Netherlands have managed to grow healthy
and tasty vegetables in soil irrigated with salt water, using pipe and drip irrigation.
Two tasty product of saline agriculture are Salicornia and potatoes. Especially the
potatoes seem to be doing well. Another idea supported by the agriculture
department of the University of Wageningen in Holland was to use the salt water
of the sea bass and bream ponds in Wadi Natroun to start growing saline
crops. Instead of pumping away the waste water it is now recycled using drip
irrigation in the desert soil in the vicinity of the aquacultures. So combining aqua-
and agricultures in the desert may be a promising basis for compensating future crop
shortages in Egypt.

Source and links:

Sadek, Sherif, T. a.o. (2011), European Seabass and Gilthead Seabreamculture art in the
Egyptian desert. Aquaculture Europe, Vol. 36 (1): 5 -11. March 2011

http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/08/seaba5s4s-fishing-egypts-desert/

http://www.voanews.com/content/farming-with

THE TOURIST VALUE OF A SHARK

It is a sad truth: sharks are an endangered species possibly facing extinction all over
the world. The factors responsible for their decline are bycatch and overfishing by
the fishing industries, and the massive finning of sharks regulated by the Hong Kong
market. Many have protested against this cruel type of shark fishing, which involves
cutting the fins from live sharks and dumping their bleeding carcasses back into the
sea. Some countries have banned the shark fin trade altogether, but Japan, China and
many Southeast Asian nations continue to allow, if not encourage finning.
Fishery is based upon economic principles. Fish is consumed massively, in Asian but
as well as in Europe and the US, so the industry provides what people want.
Overfishing is often the result, especially now the fishing industry is equipped with
modern techniques and vessels that dramatically increase the catch. Restriction (or a
temporary ban) of fishery can offer some relief, but receives much resistance from the
industries because it will cut down their profits. So in this sector commercial profit
and conservation seem to be incompatible principles.
Another big player in modern economy is tourism, or rather ecotourism. But here
the economical argument is used to defend and even promote conservation of the
creatures living in the sea. Some quotes: ‘The tourist value of a shark, throughout its
life, is $5.4 million, compared to $200 if it is fished’ (see the picture above that
shows the growth of shark ecotourism around the world. Credit: The Pew Charitable
Trusts). This is a conclusion from a filmed documentary on the Website of in
National Geographic Ocean. The numbers are based on research of various teams
that compared how much money is generated each year by fisheries that fuel the
global shark fin trade, and how much is generated by ecotourism, which encompasses

55

all forms of shark-watching activities. Shark ecotourism is estimated to bring in
$314 million annually worldwide, and this sector is expected to continue growing.
Surges in shark tourism are particularly evident in the Caribbean and Australia. –
Another quote: ‘It clearly indicates that no matter how you slice it, that a shark is
worth more in the water than the sum of its parts when it’s cut up and sold’, said Matt
Rand, director of global shark conservation at the Pew Environment Group, which
financed the study.
The economical logic is clear. Hopefully it may help to convince nations to invest
more in protection of sharks and marine life in regions that are visited by underwater
observers and photographers. But when we take the argument seriously, we should
not only consider the benefits of tourists and sharks. Economy always has winners
and losers. Those that defend shark protection and ecotourism are often privileged
persons that can afford to spend holidays in tropical and exotic resorts. The other
side of the coin is the massive poverty in the world. Restriction of overfishing and
banning the shark fin trade altogether will also affect the people that carry out this
trade. Many fishermen in Asian countries depend on shark finning to make a living. If
it gets banned, they will become unemployed and probably find it extremely hard to
find a another job. For those people a 10 dollars weekly income may already suffice to
maintain a family.
There are also reasons to promote shark conservation beyond economics. For
example, overfishing affects the ecology and food chain in the oceans of the world.
Disappearance of large predators like sharks and groupers will lead to overpopulation
of other species that have lost their natural predators, and will start overfeeding on
their respective prey. A more ethical argument is that life on our planet and
its ecosystems, beit human, animal or vegetable has an intrinsic value and therefore
deserves our respect. The scientific study of the ecosystems, called ecology, and their
active protection environmentalism seem natural sequels of this
argument. However, environmentalism is a principle which presents (like
most isms ) practical problems that relate to our own lifestyle and commitments.
Let’s admit that many ‘environmentalists’ (including myself) are also hypocrites.
Because we often don’t follow our own principles. We talk in hushed tones about
overpopulation and overconsumption, the dangers of carbon emission, but we keep
on driving a car and refuse to cut flying over the world. And most important of all:
what do we do to bring down the world population? So in my opinion
environmentalism starts with the willingness to make sacrifices in one’s own personal
world. Protection of sharks and making lovely pictures of sharks and the underwater
world are wonderful commitments, but they do not make us necessarily
environmentalists. That would require further reaching commitments.
I don’t want this article to become a snowball that gets bigger and bigger. But let me
finish with making a point about the function of economy in a ‘better world’. This
would be a world with a fundamentally different conception of the role of economy,
than the current one with its two driving principles: profit and growth. The
term economics comes from the οἰκονομία, which combines οἶκος (oikos, "house")
and νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house”. Good

56

housekeeping includes defending the live conditions of men and animals. So modern
economy in my utopist view would automatically include ecology as well as
environmentalism.

Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/science/earth/02shark.html?_r=0
https://www.facebook.com/NatGeoOcean/videos/vb.73170825377/1015342750977
5378/?type=2&theater
http://www.livescience.com/37048-shark-economic-value.html#sthash.llxAirRW.dpuf
https://ecologyforacrowdedplanet.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/are-ecologists-
hypocrites/

57

HOW TO 'CATCH' A SHARK
Catching a shark, that is making pictures of a shark as a subject is always exciting.
Although it has become easier in recent years to come close to a shark (or rather: to
lure a shy shark to come closer to you) it is still considered a 'high-adrenaline'
subject. Alex Mustard spends several pages in his wonderful new book on the
different ways of making good shark pictures. There is a difference between baited
and unbaited encounters. The first category allows you to get really close to the shark
so that its body, or even just its head will almost fill your frame. This will usually give
razor sharp details of the head, nose, pores, teeth etc. I still find the Tokina 10-17 an
ideal lens because you can zoom in or out depending on the distance of the shark. A
17 mm fish-eye with teleconverter will also give nice results especially with non-zoom
lenses. Unbaited shots are better for taking natural photo's like a sleeping shark, or a
school of hammerheads, mostly at a greater distance. In this case a rectilinear wide
angle is more suitable. Pelagic sharks like the Oceanics often show up out in the
blue or near the surface. Others, like the Great hammerhead, Tiger or Lemon shark
above a more shallow sandy see floor.

A lemon shark at Tiger Beach Bahamas

There is a variety of shots you can consider. One is 'just the shark' surrounded with
blue water, with perhaps only a diver on the background or a boat on the surface.
With a fish eye lens the diver will look small (and thus more distant) even when
he/she only 1 or 2 meter behind the shark. I also like a 'shark portrait' with the softly
an evenly lit -but pin sharp- shark against a blue background in the frame. Preferably
facing the camera. More dramatic pictures are those in which you have succeeded to
add aesthetic elements, like an attractive natural scenery or a colorful soft or stony
coral on the foreground. This may require to hide the bait near or behind such an
object on the sand or sea grass bed. Sun beams on the background

58

An elegant Caribbean reef shark
from Tiger Beach

will further increase the
dramatic effect. They are easier
to capture in shallow water with
a flat and sunlit surface (see
picture of the lemon shark
above). Several layers of
subjects at different distances
will increase the sense of depth
and the beauty of your shot. In
respective order: a coral head
or sea fan, then the shark and
finally a bundle of light breaking the surface behind the shark. Natural light is
supposed to blend with the light of your strobes to lighten up the foreground subject
and/or shark. Some photographers like to use a female model free diving and
swimming with a shark. This of course will require the presence of a person that is
not only attractive, but also courageous and experienced in handling these kinds of
(potentially unsafe) interactions. I must admit that these pictures are not my favorite.
Neither the 'selfies' of a diver with a shark on the background.

There are various ways to ‘shoot’
the Great hammerhead. Best
conditions are those with the shark
above the white sandy seabed on a
calm sunny day with crystal clear
blue water.

Source:

Underwater Photography Masterclass. Alex Mustard (2016). Ammonite
Press.

59

BEING A SENIOR DIVER

After 45 years of diving, the last 10 spent as a retired professor from the University, I
still feel the urge to get in the water to make pictures of the underwater world. It’s
a good alternative for spending too much time ‘behind the geraniums’, a Dutch
expression to characterize the fate of a pensioned person. And to escape the
predominantly cold, windy and rainy climate of our lowlands. Two trips to the
tropics a year is what I can afford myself, without draining our (me and my non-
diving wife) regular holiday budget. Descending in the clear blue water is a
wonderful and pleasant relief after the custom hassles and long flight, that may take
10 hours or more to reach a remote destination. During a diving trip in a resort or on
a live-aboard I find two dives a day enough for me. I try to skip dives that are less
interesting or too early in the morning. That’s typical a lazy mans schedule, not at all
what you expect from the dedicated more fanatic diver. There will be plenty of time
left to spend on the sun deck or in the shadow enjoying a nice book and looking out
on a blue sea. And at the end of the day there is that cold beer waiting for me!

I am lucky that so far
no physical complaints or
injuries have turned up that
would be a sign to stop with
diving. Perhaps a good reason
to thank our Creator (or my
genes) that I can still
enjoy paddling around in the
water with my camera and
fish eye lens. The price I have
to pay to stay fit is not very
high. I skipped running long
distances, which is not a very
healthy practice anyhow. A
daily bicycle trip alternated
with two kilometers on
my Concept II indoor rower
(model D) and some weight
lifting serve well to keep the
carcass in shape. In the Mediterranean I enjoy practicing the free dive in the
'Polynesian way', that is with goggles but without weights and fins. No big deal, but to
get down to 10 meters without fins is pretty hard, I can tell you. It is also reassuring
to know that I’m not the oldest oldie still around in the diving business. There is Stan
Waterman (born 1923!) who kept on diving until he was 88, even conducting diving
tours himself.

Link:

http://divermag.com/thumbs-up-for-seniors-diving

60

THE FLORIDA SIRENS
The official name of the Florida Manatee is Trichechus manatus latirostrus. The
place that played an important role to introduce this wonderful mammal to the
public is Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida (see picture). Here manatees
and their calf’s gather during the winter months. It’s a true oasis of pristine ground
water located in the heart of Crystal River and a favorite spot for snorkeling
photographers and manatee lovers. The water temperature remains at a constant
72°F, an ideal setting for hundreds of manatees seeking shelter from the cold water
of the Gulf of Mexico. Here the warm water springs provide a refuge for manatees
that migrate from the sea to the springs. People interested in their behavior are
allowed to make pictures while snorkeling, but will need a permit from the manatee
centre. Manatees are vulnerable slow moving creatures, easily disturbed by (too
many) visitors or even hurt by motor boats. They have no fat layer (‘blubber’) under
their skin like whales which makes them highly vulnerable for collisions with boats
and their propellers.

Manatee from Crystal River
Manatees are mammals that belong to the order of Sirenea. Which is derived from
mermaids. It seems that Columbus when he spotted manatees along the coastline of
America believed that what he saw were the legendary mermaids. It is said that the
manatee is closely related to the elephant, with which they share a common ancestor.
There are definitely some striking resemblances: the manatee is a vegetarian
equipped with flexible muscular lips for ripping of vegetation like the elephants
trunk. It has molar teeth that move forward in the mouth. A grey skin covered with
sparse hairs, finger nails like the elephant toenails and a spherical shaped heart.

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With no doubt the great expert and ‘mother’ of manatees is Carol Grant from Florida,
who spends much of her time with these lovable creatures. In her own words: ‘ I have
succumbed to the charms of the Florida Sirens’. And to take you to manatees you
should depend on captain Stacey Dunn.

Manatee Lagoon at Palm Beach County were numerous manatees huddle in the warm-
water outflows of Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) Riviera Beach Next Generation

Clean Energy Center.
Warm-water manatee refuge at West Palm Beach As said, manatees have a
difficult time staying warm in cold water, due to their large size, slow movements
and thin skin that lacks a protective layer of fat or ‘blubber’. So they rely on refuges
where water temperature remains fairly constant during the winter, when sea water
temperature goes below 68°F. This includes not only natural springs but also
thermal basins and power plants. A well known location at Florida's East Coast is a
place near Blue Heron Bridge to Singer Island where warm water of the Florida
Power & Light Company’s (FPL) creates a favorite spot for manatees in winters (see
picture above). This place has been a refuge for manatees since the 1940s. The inlet
where the water that cools the plant is released into the Intracoastal Waterway keeps
the water near the plant at about 90°F. The presence of dozens of manatees are a
spectacle that for decades drew visitors to Florida Power & Light’s Riviera Beach
power plant.
Recently a new facility has been opened. It includes a 16,000-square-foot, $4.8
million facility at 6000 N. Flagler Drive overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. There
are exhibits, a second-story meeting space, a boardwalk, a manatee cam, a pavilion, a
café and a gift shop.

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Links:
https://www.facebook.com/oceangrantimages
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Crystal_River/Three_Sisters_Springs_
Manatee_Information.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manatee-
Lagoon/1690469727906814
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/manateelagoon?source=feed
_text&story_id=10201495878996814

63

SHARK DOC, SHARK LAB

Doc Gruber instructing new students on how to handle a baby lemon shark

My friend and former diving buddy Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch who now lives pleasantly
in Cornwall, recently published a new book. It’s a biography on the life and work of
Dr. Samuel Gruber, also known as ‘Doc’ or ‘Sonny’, the man who founded the Shark
Lab on Bimini, Bahamas. The book contains numerous interesting pictures of
Gruber himself, his field work with small and bigger sharks, the birth of baby lemon
sharks and so on. And it presents a detailed description of the tagging techniques
developed and practiced at the Shark Lab to track behavior of sharks. Varying from
PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags, acoustic or ultrasonic telemetry, satellite
tags, position and temperature tags and so on. Some sharks are caught using long
lines and ‘gillnets’, in particular to catch young lemon sharks near the mangroves.
The biography also focuses on more personal matters such as Gruber’s battle with
cancer in the 1980s, his successes and near-fiasco’s. An interesting part is the
transformation of Gruber from ‘enfant terrible’ to grand old man of Marine Biology.
The young Gruber was an athletic sun tanned dare-devil, often posing with a broad
smile with dead sharks, even with a great hammerhead he had caught himself.
Sonny liked to hang out with beautiful girls, what he probably was expected to do
given his handsome appearance. And he did tooth paste advertisements claiming
‘dropping cavities’: a smiling Gruber showing a row of white teeth with his head on a
dead bull shark also exposing its sharp row of teeth. We now consider that tasteless
and horrible. But these were other times with a different attitude towards sharks.
Then the older Gruber gradually transformed into a different person. He started
studying instead of hunting sharks, to grow a beard and then set up the famous
Bimini Shark Lab. Especially the juvenile lemon sharks that often seek shelter in the
mangroves on North Island received their attention. The book also contains the
recollections of students and staff members who worked at the Bimini Lab. They

64

reveal a mix of admiration for the inspiring pioneer but also glimpses of his
difficult character and temper spells.
As a retired behavioral neuroscientist I became interested in the question to what
extent sharks can ‘think’, recognize, remember and ’feel’ like the allegedly smarter
marine mammals. It is still a white spot on the map of behavioral marine biology.
Although sharks seem to have a more 'primitive' brain than dolphins, they could have
developed specific smart adaptations and perceptual abilities to survive in their
environment. I also felt that it might be interesting for the Shark Lab to expand its
research strategy. So, some years ago I suggested to Doc Gruber to start a ‘Cognition
in Sharks’ project at Bimini. Meant to investigate the shark's perceptual learning and
memory abilities in a controlled experimental setting, somewhat in the tradition of
the shark pioneer Sylvia Earle. But it appeared that the Gruber's team preferred to
stick to their traditional mission: investigating the sharks behavior in a naturalistic
setting, using shark tagging as their main tool.
Of course, with limited funds you must set priorities in your research goals. Animal
research in the field is much more demanding than that carried out on captured
animals. Moreover, running controlled experiments on the behavior and ‘cognition’
of sharks will not only need more investments, but also on experts in animal
intelligence. Finally, in our days of commercial interests leading to massive
slaughtering of sharks, shark investigators and underwater photographers are
confronted with a much more important mission. Namely the protection of sharks
and the establishment of safe and guarded marine environments.

Source:
Shark Doc, Shark Lab. 2015. The Life and Work of Samuel Gruber.
Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch. Save our Seas foundation. ISBN (digital)
978-2-8399-1751-3

65

THE BENEFITS OF BAITING
Shark UW photographers who visit the Bahamas have the choice between three
locations with different apex predators: the Tiger shark at Tiger Beach (West Point),
the Great Hammerhead at Bimini and the Oceanic white tip at Cat Island. In the right
season and suitable weather conditions, one can be pretty sure of encounters with
these fabulous creatures. There are two reasons why: first that the mostly female
sharks tend to return to their specific habitats in certain months of the year. and
second that dive operators use a bait to attract them. Another obvious reason is that
sharks are protected by law in the Bahamas Shark Sanctuary, making it one of the
few places in the world where one can still meet healthy populations of sharks. And
since baiting is not prohibited, UW photographers will have excellent opportunities to
meet various sharks at a very close distance. A crucial condition for clear frame filling
shots of these magnificent creatures.

Oceanic shark cutting the surface with its majestic dorsal fin at Cat Island.

Baiting means shaping the sharks behavior Successful baiting depends on the
regular administration of small pieces of smelly fish. This triggers a conditioning
process not so different from feeding dogs or the goldfish in your pond (keeping in
mind of course that we now deal with big and potentially dangerous species). When
done sensibly baiting of sharks should not interfere with their natural feeding
behavior. It allows the photographer to come close to the shark, but simultaneously
prevents that the shark spends too much attention to divers. The only reason why a
baited shark will occasionally close in or even bump you is that it sees you as 'bait
provider' not as bait. In fact any event associated with bait administration, such
as the sound of the propeller of the approaching boat or a diver in a black wetsuit
entering the water, will trigger its interest.

66

Great hammerhead taking a piece of fish handed out by Neil Watson at Bimini

Benefits of baiting So the bottom line is that baiting means more safety for the
diver. For example, in the Red Sea snorkeling with the Oceanic shark is considered a
'no-no'. This is because it has the reputation of being a bold shark, that tends to come
very close to, or even bumps divers. At Cat Island where Oceanics shows up regularly
in springtime, their boldness is rather an advantage than a threat for UW
photographers. For me it was an truly amazing experience to swim among eight
Oceanics on my trip to Cat Island this year, after having spent two days with Neil
Watson on Bimini with the 'great hammies'. Shooting along with my Olympus and 8
mm Panasonic with filter leaving the strobes on the boat, or with the D7200, Tokina
10-17 with strobes. An experience made possible by our two very nice and competent
dive operators, Vincent and Debra Canabal. The same team also operates at the two
other locations I mentioned. Although the focus is on the Tiger, Great hammerhead
and Oceanic shark, each location has also other species that mix in with the big guys:
Lemon and Caribbean sharks at Tiger beach, Nurse and Bull sharks at Bimini and
Silky sharks at Cat island. Offering ample opportunities to take home a variety of
superb shots.

67

HAMMER IS HOT

Some twenty years ago an encounter with the great hammerhead (GH) was a rare
experience for underwater photographers. The best place and chance to meet them
was at Tiger Beach, Bahamas where they occasionally mixed in with the regular
lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks and tiger sharks. When a GH showed up, a crew
member of the boat started yelling "hammer, hammer' which was a signal to rush in

the water to meet the
fabulous creature. Some
were lucky others not.
Some years later the scene
changed radically. At Bimini,
not so far from Tiger
Beach, GHs became regular
customers, which increased
the chance that the visitor
could take home some
awesome shots of this apex
predator. The GH became
'hot'. Even the mighty tiger
shark had to make way for
the GH with its spectacular
‘Dance of the hammers’. Artistic impression from Bimini
Bahamas.

dorsal fin, swinging radar-shaped head and black bulging eyes. Moving slowly in the
clear blue water above the flat sandy bottom, apparently willing to approach and
'pose' for the UW photographer.
Using the fish eye lens I personally like using the fish-eye lens for shark close ups,
although it may cause some perspective distortion. In particular the big hammer may
reach enormous proportions relative to more distant parts of the body, when the
shark gets very close (around 50 cm) to the mini dome. With a shark coming that
close your technique resembles that of CFWA (Close Focus Wide Angle), which is
normally used to focus on small colorful objects with an interesting
background. Meaning that you need to pull your strobes close and somewhat
backward to the housing. The advantage is that details of the head come out razor
sharp. Keeping a larger distance (say 1-2 meters) will diminish the distortion, at the
cost of some loss of the crispness of details. With a primary lens you may need need
a converter or crop the image in Photoshop. If you possess a Tokina 10-17 lens
zooming in a bit will have about the same effect. With the shark further away, your
strobes need to extend more forward and distant from the housing.
GHs near Florida GHs now even show up regularly at the other side of the gulf
stream at Jupiter, West Palm Beach. Here a variety of sharks can be encountered at
more remote locations in open water, where baiting is permitted. The dives are not
easy since they often take place in deeper water with a strong current. But the shots I

68

have seen so far are truly spectacular. One can only hope that the charters with shark
friendly visitors that operate in these areas will contribute to more respect for the
apex predators. In the US coastal waters sharks lack the protection they have in the
Bahamas, which means that they are still hunted down by professional as well as
sport fishermen Especially lemon sharks often aggregate in large numbers in the
Jupiter area. Since the season for commercial and recreational shark fishing season
has been opened in January this year, shark protectors fear that this will cause many
shark victims.

Link:
http://fusion.net/story/286584/under-siege-how-fishing-
is-threatening-floridas-sharks

69

SEXISM IN DIVING?

Some women divers feel that the divers world is still too much a ‘boys world’. They
even use the phrase ‘sexism in diving’. An American diving magazine focused on
this question in an article by Jill Heynerth, an expert cave diver from the US, who
interviewed some people and gave an overview of their reactions. Some reactions and
quotes from that article: :
‘A woman boat captain and professional diver in the Caribbean told me, “When I used
to drive the boats in, people would clap their hands if I docked in one smooth
maneuver, yet if a guy did this it was considered average, routine’.
‘For women trying to find a gender-neutral diving context, there are some strategies
that were offered. Women frequently seek out advice on ‘women-friendly’ operations
and boats. They search for guidance on selecting appropriate instructors and
sometimes specifically seek out other women as mentors and teachers’.
‘Still others pursue a strategy that’s quite the opposite, wearing gear that highlights
their femininity, such as pink or stylish equipment. They proudly display themselves
as feminine, strong and capable women. A good example is a social group called
Scuba Diver Girls’
Jill herself feels that scuba and professional diving is still dominated by men. And
she is probably right, although not all of her respondents seemed to be very upset by
it. Jill is also optimistic when she writes :
‘The good news is that women are slowly breaking down the doors to fully
participate in action sports. They are challenging the masculine tradition, and
demanding equal treatment and equal opportunity’.

I think Jill makes a point, but nevertheless like to add a more detached view based
on ancient Greek mythology. The world of divers is the Sea. The French call it La
Mer, a feminine noun, not to be confused with La Mère which is mother. The ancient
Greeks called the sea Thalassa, the putative mother of Aphrodite who was born out of
the sea's foam. Thalassa was not a personified goddess, but rather symbolized the
essence of the sea. Well known was the powerful sea nymph, the silvery
footed Thetis, mother of Achilles. Some nymphs had a strong affinity with the sea, but
lived on small islands. Like the mysterious Calypso with whom Ulysses spent several
unforgettable years on his way back home. Not so nice was Circe, a witch-like
character that brewed powerful potions. And the Sirens: beautiful yet dangerous
creatures, who lured sailors with their enchanting music into shipwreck. So far, the
sea and its representatives have a definitely feminine touch!
But of course the story is not complete. Because the ancient Greeks also worshipped
the personified god Poseidon, mighty ruler of the Sea and Earth Quaker who lived
deep in the oceans. Poseidon was definitely masculine (macho?), tough and
unforgiving against humans who provoked him. Poseidon was accompanied by the
Nereids, and group of fifty sea nymphs who, in contrast with the Sirens occasionally
helped sailors in trouble

70

Romantic impression from a painting
by John William Waterhouse, (1900)
showing a desperate survivor lured
into ship wreckage by the magic
singing and music of the beautiful but
deadly Sirens.
The bottom line: men divers in
general represent the Poseidon side,
women divers the Thalassa side of
the seas. Taken from a mythological
perspective both sexes have intimate
bonds with the Oceans. Which is
probably the reason why they both
feel attracted by the sea and eager to
explore its depths.

Link:
http://divermag.com/sexism-alive-
and-well-in-scuba-diving

71

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY AND ITS WEBSITES

In the early year of underwater photography there were only diving clubs, and a

handful diving magazines, such as Skin Diver from the US and Tauchen from

Germany. That was it. No internet and with only a few scuba divers using UW

cameras like the Rolleimarin and the Nikonos to explore the oceans. The scene has

now changed dramatically and numerous websites have arisen to search for

interesting new products, techniques for macro and wide angle shooting and even

book your diving holidays. The sites often have the opportunity to chat and

receive feedback from experts or other UW photo soul mates. The great impulse

behind this development was of course the growing market for underwater

photography equipment: the digital camera, new camera housings and lenses in

different ranges, UW lighting and numerous gadgets to help you setting up your

favorite combo. Let me mention some of these sites that I found helpful myself.

Wetpixel is one site that is remarkable because it’s not specifically linked to a specific

product on the market and it allows a free exchange of ideas between the

photographers and experts, some of them working for the market and some not.

Other commercial sites whose primary aim is to sell a product are often happy to

answer your questions and give you an advise even if there is no immediate company

profit involved. Among these I would like to mention Bluewater Underwater

Photography (with their own Underwater Photography Guide

UPG), Backscatter and in Holland Onderwaterhuis.nl. Some of these companies

als0 organize their own underwater photo trips or workshops.

I should also mention DPG (Dive Photo Guide); these people are not

selling anything but provide information on UWP hardware and techniques. Scuba

travel from London is a diving travel organization with a great reputation for

organizing UWP workshops on live-aboards in the northern and southern Red Sea,

most of them led by Alex Mustard. Their trips and vessels are tailored to meet the

demands of the UW photographer in terms of friendliness, expertise and excellent

choice of diving sites. And last but not least there is Peter Rowland’s free bimonthly

magazine UwP which is always a pleasure to read, with many new products and

gadgets but also informative background articles.

Links:
http://www.divephotoguide.com/
http://wetpixel.com/
http://www.uwpmag.com/
http://www.onderwaterhuis.nl/
http://www.backscatter.com/
http://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/

72

ARE GUYS BETTER PHOTOGRAPHERS THAN GIRLS?

Two great photographers of the world above water: Left: Eva Besnyö from Holland.
Right: Robert Capa from the US

This question has been the subject of some debate Some say yes others say no. Of
course women have always been a force in photography, not different from men. Two
examples are shown in the picture at the left. One is Eva Besnyö, who most of you
probably don’t know. Eva was a Dutch Hungarian photographer well known for her
subtle black and white portraits. The other is Robert Capa the famous war action
photographer.
Do men and women physically see the world differently? Some scientists have reason
to believe that women are better in discrimination of color details, while men are
better in discrimination details of moving patterns. Other scientists (including
myself) believe that there is no real hard evidence so far that men and women differ
in basic perceptual functions. But there could be differences in the way their brains
interpret the visual environment: the cognitive and emotional interpretation of
images that enter the brain. There seems to a consensus that women in general have
a stronger interest for emotional and men more for technical issues in life. Both
issues are also important for making good pictures. So men in general would be
more interested in getting technical things right, and women more in the
emotional ‘setting’ of the pictures. For example, women might tend to
emphasize the social, caring and empathical side in their visual scenes. Men would
probably tend to emphasize more the action, confrontational side. Also because men
in general score higher in ‘thrill seeking’, a personality trait I wrote something about
in an earlier blog.
The same reasoning would also hold for UW photography. Men of course are over
represented in the world of UW photography. What about their preferences? I guess
that men would be more interested in macro pictures of nudibranches and sea

73

pigmies (their technical side) and pictures of sharks (their adventurous side) than
women. Women would be more interested in taking pictures of sea mammals like
dolphins and manatees and their babies (their emotional and social side). But men
as well as women are found among the medal winners in UW photography of recent
years.

Links:
http://petapixel.com/2012/09/05/male-and-female-
photographers-see-the-world-differently/
http://ilab.usc.edu/publications/doc/Mitchell09pp.pdf

74

ARE DIVERS SENSATION SEEKERS?

Sensation seeking is a personality
trait of individuals that tend to
seek high levels of stimulation in
their daily lives. The term was
invented by Marvin Zuckerman
now Professor Emeritus of the
University of Delaware.
According to Zuckerman a sensa-
tion seeker needs that extra
stimulation to bring the
activity level of his brain to an
optimal level. Zuckerman also
invented a test, or rather an
inventory, called the Sensation
Seeking Scale (SSS). The scale
consists of four relatively
independent subscales or traits,
which means that you can score
high on one trait and low(er)
on another.

Here they are:
 Thrill- and adventure seeking: Desire for outdoor activities involving unusual

sensations and risks, such as skydiving, scuba diving, and flying.
 Experience-seeking: Referring to new sensory or mental experiences through

unconventional choices, also including psychedelic experience, social
nonconformity and desire to associate with unconventional people.
 Disinhibition: Preference of "out of control" activities such as wild parties,
drinking and sexual variety
 Boredom susceptibility: intolerance of repetition or boring people, and
restlessness in such conditions.

Notice these are the extremes of the scale, but the trait itself is distributed normally in
the population, meaning that most people will show average scores, and much less
people low (SSS-) or high (SSS+) scores. But some examples of the high sensation
seekers will make it clear what this test is about. High sensation seekers like
adventures, risky sports, travelling, unconventional activities, wild parties, varied
and novel stimuli and speeding. And they are ready to take physical, social, legal, and
financial risks for the sake of such experiences. Males score higher on the SSS than
females, divorced men higher than married or single men, younger people (in

75

particular adolescents) higher than older people. A SSS+ person is not necessarily
extravert. He or she may be even be shy or dislike being in crowds or going to parties.
But still feel the need for novel and interesting experiences or unconventional
sports. Such a person may even consider to join the green berets or to become a
brain surgeon.
Are divers and UW photographers sensation seekers? Not per se although their
hobby does seem to match the thrill- and adventure seeking profile. Free divers that
take more risks and seek the 'thrill'' of going very deep, fit even better. To find out if
you are a true SSS++ person, better take the (full) test!

Sources and links:
Zuckerman, Marvin, et al. "Development of a sensation-seeking scale." Journal of
consulting psychology 28.6 (1964): 477.
Zuckerman, M. (1996). The Psychobiological Model for Impulsive Unsocialized Sensation
Seeking: A Comparative Approach. Neuropsychobiology, 34, 125-129
Zuckerman, Marvin; Eysenck, Sybil B. & Eysenck, H. J. (1978). "Sensation seeking in
England and America: Cross-cultural, age, and sex comparison". Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology 46 (1): 139–149
http://www.hsperson.com/pages/HSStest.pdf
http://bigthink.com/experts/marvinzuckerman

76

WILDLIFE CRIME IS BOOMING BUSINESS

Daan van Um, a young criminologist specialized in wildlife crimes defended his

thesis today at Utrecht University in Holland. Van Uhm investigated illegal trade in

wildlife with a focus on import in the EU. He also describes how drug gangs have

gradually infiltrated or even taken over the trade in protected species. In Burma’s

golden triangle the gangs now have switched from the heavily controlled opium

market to the less risky but equally lucrative trade of products like rhino horns.

Next to the illegal large-scale

trafficking of tortoises and birds, it

is estimated that as few as 5,000

Barbary macaques remain in

Morocco, partly as a result of the

illegal trade. Chinese traders in

ivory are regularly arrested on

African and Chinese airports

trying to smuggle ivory.

According to Chinese newspapers

Chinese diplomats are

often involved in the smuggle

Other examples of illegal trade are bones of tigers and scales of pangolins in China.
Criminal organizations often cooperate with authorities and corrupt member of the
policy forces. In China and Russia legal trade often functions as cover up or
whitewashing of illegal trade activities. For instance, wild animals are traded with
false certificates stating that they are produced by state controlled farms or
nurseries. In this way, Russia manages to produce half a ton of Kaviar per year, with
only few sturgeons kept in a pool as window dressing. Sadly, illegal trade and
control of illegal certificates have a low priority for custom officials
in Europe. According to van Uhm the regulations set up by Cite (the UN convention
against illegal trade in wild animals) are complex and rather easy to get around by
criminals. In some cases legally imported wild animals were even used as ‘drug
couriers’: for example drug traders tried to smuggle across the borders large
quantities of cocaine in condoms swallowed by pythons.

Source and link:

Van Uhm, D.P. (2016) Illegal trade in wildlife and harms to the world. In Spapens,
A.C.M., White, R. & Huisman, W. (Eds.), Environmental Crime in Transnational
Context. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing.

http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade

77

STEREOTYPING THE WILD ANIMAL AS A MONSTER
Wild animals, in particular large predators like tigers, lions, grizzly bears, the extinct
dinosaurs, the komodo dragon, anaconda, crocodiles, wolves and sharks (and this is
probably not the complete list) are often described as ferocious, blood thirsty and
very dangerous for humans.
In the distant past our ancestors lived in caves as a protection against the
cold winters, their (hominid) enemies and wild animals. Animals were killed, not
only for the ancestors safety, but also to provide meat to survive. They depended on
fire in cold winters and to prepare their food. Chasing and killing a wild animal that
also had the hominid on its menu was very dangerous, and often resulted in fatal
injuries. Now in modern times when there are not many of these predators left, and
meat comes from the supermarket, the instinct of our ancestors might still be
slumbering deep in our genes as a remnant of our evolutionary past. There still are
big game hunters that love the thrill to go after wild animals like elephants or lions on
an

Homo Erectus utilizing a prairie fire, situated near the Zhoukoudian site 100.000 years
ago. National Geographic society. Painting by Jay H. Matternes.
Africans safari, eager to bring home that trophy for which they probably paid
thousands of dollars. Film makers also are aware that fear for wild animals can be
exploited to sell their products. Some famous examples are King Kong (the tragic
giant gorilla with a weak spot), Jurassic Park, Jaws and recently The Revenant with
Leonard Di Caprio, attacked by a big (fake) grizzly bear in the icy woods. There is
nothing wrong with using human fear to thrill people in cinemas. As long as
people realize that the shocking images are the product of the film makers
fantasy. Like in The Birds, made by the genius producer Alfred Hitchcock. He

78

borrowed the story from Daphne du Maurier, perhaps the greatest master of
horror that ever lived. Demonizing nature by moviemakers is not restricted to wild
animals but even extends to insects and natural phenomena like storms, tornado’s,
floods and volcanic eruptions (often accompanied by lots of shouts like Oh my God!
of the human victims).
But movies that use (real or fake) wild animals as actors can also have a negative side
effect. Unfortunately, many people in particular young children really BELIEVE that
these 'monsters' exist, and are not just a caricature or product of fantasy. For
example, quite some children and even adults seem to suffer from some form of
shark phobia. Without having seen a single shark in their lives. The images of ‘Jaws’
probably reactivated old evolutionary fears slumbering in their genes.
Unjustified stereotyping has been with us for a long time and often goes hand in

in hand with words that embed a
negative attitude or wrong perception
of people. What about wild
animals? Often we see in the papers
the word ‘shark attack’. According to
the American Elasmobranch Society
(AES) this is misleading, because it
may lead to the idea that sharks are
more dangerous than they really are.
Sometimes ‘shark attack’ only
Logo of the American Elasmobranch Society

describes an event where a swimmer of scuba diver was approached by a shark
without any physical contact at all. And the rare event of a real bite or injury caused
by a shark means headline news, receiving much more attention than the many dog
bites or poor persons killed in traffic. AES therefore has proposed not to use the
phrase 'shark attack' anymore, but a 'more accurate (and less inflammatory) wording
that is scaled to represent real risk and outcomes'. They propose: shark sightings (no
physical contact), shark encounters (physical contact like a bump or a bite of a
kayak or surf board), shark bite (mild or serious injury) and fatal shark bite.

Link :

http://www.southernfriedscience.co
m/?p=15258

79

MODELS AND MERMAIDS

Underwater modeling means shooting pictures of human models under the water
line. It requires specials kills of the photographer as well as the model. There are
two varieties of UW modeling, one is primarily inspired by artistic, the other by
commercial- often fashion oriented- motives.
The artistic version is often performed in the open Ocean by athletic
amateur models with long fins, that are very good in breath holding. They may be
swimming through nicely lit caves or parallel with big ocean creatures like a tiger
shark, Oceanic shark or a sperm whale. The girl models with loose hairs and in
bikini. Creating the suggestion that man ‘belongs’ in the sea and free to merge
with its more fishy inhabitants. Of course it’s an illusion, but this holds for most
nice things in the world.

Alla Kostromichova. By Solve
Sundsbo. ‘The Girl from
Atlantis’. Vogue Nippon album

Fashion models are often
female models dressed
in transparent skirts or even
seminude. Sometime in
ecstatic poses with weights
strapped on under the dress.
These models must not only
be beautiful but also fit and
able to hold their breath for a least a minute before they can take a nip of air from
some air regulator or air hose handed to them. This type of modeling
can be done in open water (e.g. with a nice coral reef on the background) or in a
pool where it is much easier to control.
Then there is the inevitable ‘mermaid-tail’ variety: here the model is squeezed into
a plastic or neoprene tail to look like a mermaid. Taking care that the knees are not
showing through the neoprene tail. These shoots must be very stressful for the
model, because of the restriction of her natural leg movements. I can’t help
finding this type of modeling rather artificial and silly. Mermaid tails have now also
reached the market and are considered big fun by people who own a private
pool. But they can be dangerous too; a poor Taiwanese model drowned this year
trying out a mermaid tail for a photo shoot in shallow water.
Pool shots taken by professional fashion photographers have models that are trained
in posing underwater. Modeling is carried out in a tank or underwater studio
specially designed for this kind of work. Pool modeling Is considered to be easier
than marine modeling. But it must be very hard for the model, because of the
endless shooting sessions, changing of dress and make up. I must admit that I was

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Bill board of a commercial
firm called Suit Supply.
Picture taken by Carli Hermès
It cannot be denied that some
of their UW based products
have an artistic flavor. Like
the one shown at the left. And
also funny

impressed by some of these
pictures. Although most of
the shots are commercial and made for the fashion industry, the end product can be
quite artistic and dream-like. Reminiscent of mermaid-like creatures, perhaps
escaped from another mysterious world like Atlantis.

Links:
http://www.hannahfraser.com/mermaid/slippages/faq.php
http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/dive-model-photo-tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRZF61ae_UY

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UNHAPPY AND HAPPY PIGS

Pork meat is number one on the list in most European countries. Holland in
particular is notorious for its 'bio-industry': massive stables were thousands of pigs
are prepared for the meat market. In am not a vegetarian, and must admit that I find
pork meat very tasty from time to time. But any animal, living in the wild,
domesticated or used for human consumption, deserves a decent life. This also
includes pigs that are known to be highly sensitive and socially intelligent animals.
For a pig a decent life is quite simple: it means the possibility to move around on a
piece of farm land or in a stable of sufficient size, roll about in some hay or a pool of
mud, and taking care of the piglets. Unlike the industrial pig farms, were pigs have a
horrible life from birth to death. Most pigs don’t even have enough space to turn
around, or to care for their young (see picture, left). Their stress levels are high and
many pigs start biting each other tails. Males have testicles removed after birth. Their
living conditions are really a disgrace, but cheap pork meat is still sold and
wanted in the supermarkets.

Two different living conditions of pigs. Left: the industrial farm. Right: a small scale farm.

Not so far from our house in Amsterdam there is a small settlement -or farm- called
‘Familie Bofkont’ (translated freely: ‘Lucky ass Family’) where pigs that are bought
from the bio-industry can lead a pig worthy life. Their territory is a small piece of
forest of several acres that miraculously has escaped the bulldozers and office
building projects of the adjacent Amsterdam Financial Centre. It’s a green patch left
in the middle of skyscrapers. It fun to see the mother pig ‘Betsy’ and her offspring
move between the trees, sleeping in the sun, or grubbing in the earth. It’s a stress free
pig life (see picture above, at the right)
But there exists another happy and exceptional pig colony, not in the woods or in the
city but out on a small Island in the Bahamas. Here a colony of wild pigs snooze in
the shade on an idyllic island called Grand Major Cay (or ‘Pig island ’), a part of the
Exuma string of Cays. The pigs are thought to have been left on the island by sailors
who probably wanted to make a food reserve for the future. But they never returned.
The wild pigs have nothing else to do but eat, sleep and swim. I believe that Jim
Abernethy and Eric Cheng were the first UW photographers who started publishing
pictures of the island pigs in 2009.

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Left: These Bahama pigs are
excellent swimmers and love to
paddle around their visitors in
the crystal blue water of the
beach. The smart pigs have
worked out that the crews of
passing yachts regularly dump
excess food into the sea. Their
drinking water comes from a
spring on the island.

http://www.familiebofkont.nl/universiteit/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350337/The-
happy-pigs-love-swim-Caribbean-telling-
porkies.html#ixzz3ydJ2UjlC .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_Beach

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LIVE-ABOARD OR RESORT?

Many UW photographers have the opportunity to visit distant diving locations.
They leave their home, spouse, children or dog, determined to bring home some
stunning pictures of the underwater world. There is a choice between a live-aboard or
a diving resort. The live-aboard is the best choice for visiting isolated locations with
no diving facilities, restaurants or whatever. Like Papua New Guinea or the Red Sea.
And to get away from crowded tourists towns.

If you have booked on a
special trip for photographers
like a photo workshop, you
will have the best chances of
being dropped at the right places
to shoot your subjects of
interests. And to learn more
about underwater photography from other good photographers on the boat. Do
not book on a regular live-aboard diving trip, because you might miss the best
sites. And you will not have that individual freedom to move around under water,
like with an ‘only photography’ workshop. If you are prone to sea sickness the live-
aboard may give you a hard time, especially if you are bound for rough seas, or
to cross the gulfstream between East Florida and the Bahamas
The only privacy you have on live-aboard is in your cabin, mostly a shared twin cabin
with two beds or a bunk with curtains. Once arrived at your location, you often will
have to load yourself and your camera in a smaller Zodiac to arrive at the dive site.
And you must be fit enough to wrestle yourself back in the Zodiac after the dive.
Much more convenient is to start your dive directly from the platform of the mother
ship. There is also a negative side of being on a live-aboard trip. In our modern
world with its booming diving tourism, several larger and smaller boats may be
anchored at a favorite diving spot. With their satellite Zodiacs racing over the surface
to deliver their packs of divers. Which means that you risk being decapitated if you
are not careful enough. The Red Sea in particular is an area where many boats often
gather around the popular sites Elphinstone, the Brothers, Daedalus, Rocky island
etc.
In a resort you will have more privacy. Normally you leave in the morning to embark
on small vessel with a group of maximal 12 divers to visit a site not too far away, and
return to the resort for lunch or dinner. But beware: some resorts in Egypt can be
tourist traps with booming music and noisy people around the pool until late at night.
Again, if UW photography is your primary interest, be sure that you book for a place
that has experience with UW photographers. Look for a quite resort with a friendly
and experienced staff that will take you to your favorite locations, to meet a bunch of
nice sharks or a beautiful reef surrounded by colorful fish, not too far away. Very
convenient for the lazy or more senior UW photographers!

Link:

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/dive-resorts-and-liveaboards

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THE HEALTH OF OUR OCEANS

Mangroves of South island, Bimini. Mangrove forests are declining rapidly as a result of
human intrusions. For example: 50% of mangroves have been destroyed in the previous
decade alone according to recent environmental reports.
'The health of our oceans is crucial for the health of the world and its population'.
Very few will disagree with this statement. But oceans are hard to control. And their
health is hard to judge by just looking at its surface. We need marine biologists and
ecologists to do that job for us.
Many of us have access to the beaches and shallower coastal areas. That cover only a
minuscule slice of the immense ocean. Tourists that visit exotic beaches still see a
blue sea with crystal clear water. And they are happy with the sun shining on their
bodies and a nice cold drink in their hand. Scuba divers sometimes report a decline
in coral formations or the fish populations. But paradoxically, some coral reef
formations like those in the Red Sea still seem to be in good shape. And despite the
alarming and worldwide decline of the shark population, underwater photographers
still find opportunities to visit places where large and magnificent shark are
abundant. Is this because they have access to selected 'niches' where fish and coral
are relatively well conserved and protected?
There are indeed hopeful signs that marine protected areas are an effective way to
protect underwater vegetations and fish species, even those that had become almost
extinct. A good example in Europe is the 'Parc National' around Port Cros in
the South of France where the population of groupers has been miraculously
restored, since its foundation some 30 year ago. Another example are the Bahamas
where the future of the shark population looks pretty bright since the species is now
protected. Nevertheless, for other fish species in the Bahamas used for human

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consumption the future may not look so bright. Neither for the world mangrove
ecosystems in the Indian ocean.
Restricting catch of fisheries In Europe the Total Allowable Catches (TAC) or
catch limits are set for most commercial fish stocks. In other countries like the US
and the Caribbean commercial catch of large vessels are also monitored. But a recent
study by the University of British Columbia near Vancouver found that the global
catch between 1950 and 2010 was 30 per cent higher than what countries have been
reporting to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome since 1950.

Private anglers in Bimini, happily
collecting their catch, which is still
abundant. But according to some
authorities there is insufficient
control of the total annual catch by
private fishermen in the Bahamas,
traditionally an anglers paradise.

Even more problematical are
smaller boats of people who fish
for their families, or sport
anglers. Many Americans set of
in small aircrafts from Florida’s
East coast or in their fast private boats to catch deep-sea fish like marlins, tunas and
mahi-mahi in the Bahamas, in the tradition of Ernest Hemingway. Their catch is
often taken back in small freezing containers after been frozen in the marine resorts.
It was already known that their catch was sometimes greater than reported to the
authorities, but not to what extent. But nobody really cared because it was assumed
that the abundance of fish in the Caribbean would never endanger -or lead to
depletion of- the various species. But Bahamian researcher Nicola Smith recently
reported that their catch was even bigger than the commercial catch, and that none
of it was reported to the FAO. ‘It’s astounding’, she says ‘that a country that depends
on tourism for more than half of its GDP has no clue as to the extent of the catch that
plays a central role in attracting tourists’. Even the director of marine resources was
surprised when he got the news.
Cleaning up the plastic soup Plastic soup refers to the immense quantities of
plastic drifting in superficial layers of the oceans. Areas where plastic soup
accumulates and circulates in large circles are the gyres. Gyres are slow currents
driven mostly by Westerly winds and influenced by the Coriolis effect causing a
bend of 20-45° to the right, on the northern hemisphere. On the southern
hemisphere the gyre moves counter clockwise. There are two notorious gyres in the
Pacific: the North Pacific Gyre and South Pacific Gyre (see picture below). The North
Pacific Gyre is also known as the ‘great garbage patch’, because of its accumulation
of large quantities of plastic. Its estimated to consist of 100.000 billion tons of
garbage. Mostly larger pieces, but also smaller pieces. The smaller pieces pulverize

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under the influence of salt water and
photo degradation, and enter the food
chain of marine mammals, fishes,
tortoises and the albatross. These high
density particles are difficult to spot
with the naked eye and can sink to
lower layers of the oceans.
Four years ago a Dutch organization
master minded by Boyan Slatan and
several hydrodynamic engineers from
the Technical University of Delft

The North Pacific Gyre (‘great garbage patch’)
snd South Pacific Gyre

started an ambitious project to clean up the garbage patches. Basic elements are long
distance barrier segments floating in the sea, and a central platform collecting the
garbage. They focus on the North Pacific where about 1/3 of all oceanic plastic is
concentrated in an area between Hawaii and California. The project has now entered
a new testing stage. After installing a scale model of the Ocean Cleanup Array in an
offshore basin at the world-renowned Maritime Research Institute Netherlands
(MARIN), they have now moved their installation to the North Sea for further tests.

The cleaning set up in
development. Floating
barriers are designed to
capture virtually any
type of debris. Models
show that by utilizing
vast rotational ocean
currents, a single 100km
installation can catch
almost half the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch in
10 years.

Links:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/living-blue-planet-report-2015

http://www.caribbean360.com/news/study-finds-fish-stocks-in-caribbean-declining-even-
faster-urgent-reversal-needed#ixzz3y9J4hkIa

http://www.theoceancleanup.com/?gclid=CM3n18DKiMsCFQoKwwodZ94P1A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch

http://www.theoceancleanup.com/?gclid=CM3n18DKiMsCFQoKwwodZ94P1A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch
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VISUALIZING THE UNDERWATER WORLD

Underwater photography is dominated by two factors. First, the hardware that you
carry with you: camera, lenses, housing, strobes, just name it. Second: typical
technical issues as strobe positioning, lighting techniques, composition. Preparing a
photo dive requires that you have already thought about the pictures you want to
take. And you have already selected your lens, dome, strobe positions and the settings
you intend to use when you arrive at the spot. Depending on whether your dive will
we in deep or shallow water, along a steep wall, inside a cavern or a wreck. But
equally important is a 'good eye' for the UW environment. A good eye means the
capability to automatically recognize an interesting object, scene or light fall. It is an
invaluable instrument for photographers of the topside world, as well as the

underwater world.
Most photographers will already have their
favorite scenes stocked in their head, a bit
like a photo album. These ‘mental images’
will help them her to recognize at a single
glance the beauty of a special UW scene when
it turns up. I am now not referring to seeing
with the physical eye but rather with the
‘mind’s eye’ the ability to visualize, store and
retrieve visual scenes in memory.
The human brain is a fantastic flexible organ
that is capable of 'mental imagery': we can
visualize objects or scenes that are
actually not present in our physical
environment. Imaging a scene like a lovely
sunset, might not be so different from actual
‘seeing’ it. An interesting question asked by
neuroscientists is if mental imagery uses the
same neural machinery in the brain as visual perception. When we image a yellow
banana, will this activate the same the areas in the brain as when we see the banana?
Neuroscientists who compared brain scans of persons seeing actual scenes with
visually imaging the same scenes, found that this is indeed seems to be the case.
Mental imagery is not confined to perception of visual objects. When a musician
hears a song, he or she can sometimes ‘see’ the notes of the song in their head, as
well as hear them with all their tonal qualities. Sometimes when waking up we can
actually hear a familiar song resonating in our head. Athletes are often able to ‘feel’
internally during training or before a competition each step of movements they will
take to accomplish their goal.
Imaging the underwater sceneries in your mind’s eye is easier to accomplish if you
are familiar with the underwater sceneries. A good way to help your mind’s eye is to
make little sketches, for example a drop off with soft coral and the position of diver
along the wall or the positions of a shark you want to capture under water. You will
probably already have an image in your head of the subjects or landscape you want to

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shoot. When you have arrived on the right UW location, you will observe, anticipate
and wait for that very moment (=a match with that ideal image in your mind) to
come. And to be on the safe side, you will take a many shots as you can as long as
that moment is present.

Source and link:
Pinker, S. (1999). How the Mind Works. New York: Oxford University
Press.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_image

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NOSTALGIA (1) THE MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERA

A long time ago when many of you guys were still children or perhaps not even born,
amazing camera’s were taken underwater by serious underwater photographers. I
am referring to the medium format cameras using roll films for 12 or 24 exposures.
Actually, there were two medium formats, the 6X6 and the 6X4.5 format, the latter
allowing to take 15 or 30 exposures. You had no idea of the success

The legendary Rolleimarin
housing designed by Hans Hass
with a Rolleiflex 3.5 F Planar lens
inside.

of your shot until you had

brought your Kodak

Extachrome X 64 ASA film rolls

to the photo shop to have them

developed after your return

home. A legendary camera in

those days (the late 70ties) was

a twin lens reflex, the Rolleiflex

3.5 F with a fixed Planar lens. Its Rolleimarin housing designed by Hans Hass was

a marvel of engineering. The Rolleimarin equipped with a prism finder was the ideal

camera for fish close-ups. Later models had the possibility to use Rolleinars, close up

lenses that could be switched in front of the camera's lens with a lever on top of the

housing. The original housing had an arm with a flashbulb, but later owners

switched to modern electronic strobes. A one of the owners I used a sync cable

connecting the strobe via a ‘wet’ connection with the bulkhead on the housing, and

a electronic trigger circuitry inside the housing to amplify the signal. Some years

later Rolleiflex produced a single lens reflex camera the Rollei SL 66, a camera with

bellows fitted in an Aquamarin underwater housing with a prism. Unlike its

predecessor, this expensive camera/housing combo permitted to switch lenses as

well as ports.

The Aquamarin housing with a Rollei
SL66 inside brought on the market by
Rollei from 1970-1991.

A popular and less expensive camera
in the 6 X 4.5 format was the Mamya
645 that also had interchangeable
lenses, like a Secor wide-angle lens.
René Hugenschmidt had designed a
nice housing for this camera that he

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named Hugymarin. This housing was modeled on the Aquamarin, also had a prism
and allowed to switch ports. I bought it from René for the reasonable price of 900
guilders at a diving exposition held in Amsterdam, somewhere in the 80-ties.
I must also mention here another immensely popular underwater camera, the
Nikonos V amphibious camera (see below), that dominated the –mainly- American
market in the late 20th century. I believe that Jim Church was then one of the UW

celebrities using this camera. Nikonos was
the name of a series of 35mm format
cameras specifically made for underwater
photography and originally launched by
Nikon as ‘Calypso’ in 1963. It was designed
by Cousteau and Jean de Wouters a Belgian
engineer in 1963. Also famous in that
period was the T shirt with the inscription
Nikonos flooders club
A medium format sensor almost doubles
the size of the sensor of a modern digital
full frame dSLR camera. It would provide
a higher resolution than a full-frame
camera, resulting in excellent image quality with superb details. But the market for
these expensive cameras and their lenses is small and shrinking. Medium format
cameras also tend to be slower and larger. So it won’t replace a regular dSLR as an
everyday camera and is probably better suited for portraitures in a photo studio. To
my knowledge there is no firm selling underwater housings for current medium
format cameras, like for example the Pentax 6 X 4.5. A return of the medium format
in the underwater photography world therefore seems unlikely.

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NOSTALGIA (2): REMEMBERING COUSTEAU

a
A reunion of some Cousteau followers in 2015 in the port of Marseille. Honoring the
birthday of Albert Falco the master diver from the Calypso. Falco died in 2012
When we were much younger many of us became attracted to the mysterious
underwater world after reading Jacques Cousteau's book 'Le Monde du Silence' (The
Silent World). Later followed by the documentary with the same title, by Cousteau
and the filmmaker Louis Malle. Most of us still keep vivid memories of Cousteau and
his two diving companions Frédéric Dumas and Philippe Tailliez. And all those men
with their funny red caps exploring the oceans on the Calypso, a rebuilt mine sweeper
with its famous captain Albert Falco (see pictures above and below) who died in 2012
in Marseille. And of course, Cousteau’s commentaries spoken in perfect English with
that typical heavy French accent: 'We have become ze Cosmonauts of ze Sea'

Albert Falco in his younger years on the Calypso.

Cousteau was also aware of the dangers that
threatened the sea which he described in his book La
Mer Blessée (The Wounded Sea). Our planet has
changed since Cousteau, but the fascinating
underwater world is still there, despite the damage
done to its inhabitants and coral reefs. Its remaining
splendors have even become more accessible and
visible than in the days of Cousteau. Thanks to better
travel facilities, camera’s and last but not least the
numerous excellent underwater pictures taken by the
professionals as well as amateur photographers

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ABOUT UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY CONTESTS: WINNING A PRIZE
OR NOT

Underwater photography contests are becoming increasingly popular among
professional as well as amateur shooter For the starting amateur it is a way of getting
known in the ever growing world of underwater photographers. The average quality
of UW pictures is definitely rising, due to better equipment, the Internet with its
many nice examples, and UW workshops. And some recent winner pictures are
really top, like the one below of two embracing cuttlefish of Filippo Borghi in the
picture below. To make such a picture you not only need a good camera and lens, but
also have a superior technique and eye for the right moment.
More people now have the opportunity to visit exotic diving locations, with a good
chance to meet their favorite underwater subject. Shark, whale, grouper, dolphin,
school of snappers, caves, critter ‘heavens’, just name it. Even an encounter with the
legendary great hammerhead, once a very rare visitor of the reefs, has now become a
reality if you visit the right place at the right time of the year.

The winning picture of Filippo Borghi in 2015 , indeed a superb and moving picture!
And let’s not forget the ‘luck factor’ in making that ultimate shot. If you are a regular
visitor of the Red Sea, the Bahamas or even New Guinea and just shoot away on
your favorite location, then definitely a day will come that the picture that appears
on the screen of your lap top will make you gasp and shout: YES!
Back to competitions. If you join a competition, you send in some of your best shots
hoping that a jury will nominate to your picture as best in the category macro, wide-

93

angle or overall. Gold, silver and bronze medals or even money prizes are waiting to
be handed out to the lucky winners. An even more honorable award is that your
picture is chosen to appear on front page of a leading underwater photography
magazine or – in the ultimate case- the National Geographic magazine.
The fact that many good photographers now compete for the prizes makes it of course
more difficult to reach that platform of honor. Which could be disappointing for the
ambitious starter, who was so happy with his or her fine shot of a grouper, Pterois
volitans, muray eel, or even a shark. Or that nice sharp macro shot of a cleaner
shrimp or goby. But please don’t forget: most important of all is your own
judgment. That you are happy with your shot, that may be as good or even better than
the ones that were awarded. And of course, there are always your family, diving and
non-diving buddies who will praise you, slap your shoulder or find your picture
‘awesome’ on facebook!

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BASS AND BREAM FROM THE DESERT

Some years ago a Lebanese business firm called Wadi Holdings started using salt
water they found after drilling for sweet water in north eastern Egypt. That was in
the Wadi Natroun area not so far from the Mediterranean Sea, located along the
road between Cairo and Alexandria. This was also the place were in ancient times
salt was collected to preserve the mummies. The saline water, unsuitable for growing
crops was now used for cultivating sea bass (Dicentarchus labrax) and bream
(Sparus aurata), two species normally found in sea water (see picture of the basins,
above). The firm is doing good business and its product is even exported to various
countries.
Egypt is still struggling with an old and steadily growing problem. That is the need to
increase wheat productivity to feed Egypt’s rapidly growing population which has
nearly doubled in the last 30 years. Traditionally, fresh water from the Nile (‘a Gift
from the Gods’) and lake Nasser, a vast man-made lake created by the construction
of the Aswan dam in the Nile have been used to irrigate the land in the valley and
delta of the Nile river.
But fertile land and water are scarce in Egypt, and the shrinking water supply
provided by the Nile flowing upstream is a growing concern of the government.
Its hope for the future is to start exploiting areas in the Western desert with its
(presumed) groundwater reservoirs to help Egypt reclaim up to 1.5 million hectares
of land.
As saline water could not be used for irrigation, one assumed that water drilled
closer to the seashore was unfit for growing crops. But these views are now
changing. Experimental farms in the Netherlands have managed to grow healthy
and tasty vegetables in soil irrigated with salt water, using pipe and drip irrigation.
Two tasty product of saline agriculture are salicornia and potatoes. Especially the
potatoes seem to be doing well. Another idea supported by the agriculture

95

department of the University of Wageningen in Holland was to use the salt water
of the sea bass and bream ponds in Wadi Natroun to start growing saline
crops. Instead of pumping away the waste water it is now recycled using drip
irrigation in the desert soil in the vicinity of the aquacultures. So combining aqua-
and agricultures in the desert may be a promising basis for compensating future crop
shortages in Egypt.

Sources:
Sadek, Sherif, T. a.o. (2011), European Seabass and Gilthead
Seabreamculture art in the Egyptian desert. Aquaculture
Europe, Vol. 36 (1): 5 -11. March 2011
http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/08/seabass-fishing-
egypts-desert/
http://www.voanews.com/content/farming-with-salty-water-is-
possible/2510044.html

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