Odysseys of George

We, Marlene, Tony and I , made our way to Bali for a dive trip which would be first for Marlene and I. The highlight of the trip was to see Mola Mola. Upon reaching Bali, we were told that the season to catch these rarity was over and they have not had any sighting for the last 3 weeks.

On the 9th October, we headed out to a dive site called Crystal Bay, at Nusa Penida, Bali. We started the dive with surface temperature at 26degrees Celcius. The currents were strong and we were running low on air. I said a silent prayer asking God to let Marlene see the Mola Mola as this was our first honeymoon. After about 25minutes of diving, I was about to call it quits and do my safety stop. Just as I was about to signal my buddy to do the safety stop, she starts pointing out to the blue while banging her tank with her pointer. A sudden rush of adrenaline filled me as I turned to see what was she pointing to. From afar I could see a silhouette of something that I have longed to see. No I was not having narcosis. I could think clearly. I quickly prepared my camera to shoot this silhouette and finned as fast as I could. There it was this huge creature, so mighty yet so shy and graceful. A rush of excitement, happiness and thankfulness filled my heart at the same time my mind telling me to keep a note of my air consumption. The happiness was seen on all our faces. Awesome! I started shooting the giant puffer, Mola Mola with my humble camera. As I captured its images, I realized it was coming close towards me. I could see its eyes and mouth so clearly as it moved its was towards the sun. It was a good 10 minutes of playing with the giant, when I called for the safety stop to be done. I could see the immense joy in both Tony and my wife, Marlene’s face. I was happy and contented. Just the day before, I asked her,”What makes a honeymoon?” At that point, when I saw her face glow, God had answered my silent prayer, I knew the answer to my question, what makes a honeymoon is an unforgettable memory that is shared by both. This was definitely one. The trip was fantastic as we managed to also play with the Harlequin Shrimps and Manta Ray.

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). Sunfish live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate. A member of the order Tetraodontiformes, which also includes pufferfish, porcupinefish and filefish, the sunfish shares many traits common to members of this order. It was originally classified as Tetraodon mola under the pufferfish genus, but it has since been given its own genus, Mola, with two species under it. The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the type species of the genus.

There are more pictures on facebook. Enjoy.

One of the highlights of our trip to Layang-layang Island was on the third day. We were heading to our dive sites in our quest to find the elusive Hammerheads when along the way, these wonderful friendly creatures came out to play with us. There were easily 20 of them swimming and playing with us. A few of us jumped into the deep blue sea to swim along these super fast and friendly these dolphins. A rarity but it made the trip so much more memorable. This edited video was taken by one of the divers, Lyla.

This is the first time I am incorporating music into the video and hope it is able to carve a smile as it did for all of us. Please comment!

Enjoy!!

I actually blogged about this a few days ago only to realise that the page went missing 48 hours later! So here it is again!

Manta rays next on restaurant menus as shark populations plummet

Conservationists fear a falling shark population is prompting Asian chefs to look for manta and devil rays to help meet the voracious demand for shark fin soup.

Found in coastal waters throughout the world, rays present an easy target as they swim slowly near the surface with their huge wings. So far, they have escaped commercial exploitation and have been hunted only by small numbers of subsistence fishermen, who traditionally catch them using harpoons.

But the growing demand for the manta ray (Manta birostris) and its close cousin the devil ray (of the Mobula genus) is turning ray fishing into an export operation. In the eastern Indonesian port of Lamakera, catches of manta have rocketed from a few hundred to about 1,500 a year.

“Mantas and mobulas are being used as shark fin soup filler,” said Tim Clark, a marine biologist at the University of Hawaii. He said the cartilage was being mixed with low-grade shark fins in cheap versions of the soup. “The life history of manta rays makes them highly susceptible to overfishing,” he added.

With a life span thought to be well over 50 years, the fish reach sexual maturity only in their teens, at which time they produce one pup every one to three years.

While the rays, which are distantly related to sharks, are ending up in Hong Kong’s restaurants, their gills are also being used in traditional Chinese medicines. “The big market is for the gill elements,” Mr Clark added. “They are dried, ground to a powder and used in traditional Asian medicines.”

Reaching sizes of up to 7m (23ft) from wing tip to wing tip, the manta’s branchial gill plates, which filter plankton from seawater, constitute a tiny portion of a body that can weigh up to 2½ tonnes. The plates can fetch up to £200 on the street in China. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine claim that gill rakers — called peng yu sai — reduce toxins in the body by purifying the blood.

Eli Michael, of the Manta Pacific Research Foundation, said Hawaii is poised to outlaw catching or killing mantas. Until now, getting caught in nets intended for other fish has been the biggest threat to rays, listed as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Overfishing is also a problem in Britain and Europe. Ali Hood, of the Shark Trust, said: “In European waters, particularly the Mediterranean, the giant devil ray is classified by the IUCN Red List as ‘endangered’. The large skate, found in UK waters, has been exploited for decades, leading to alarming declines, and species such as the common skate are now critically endangered.”

The market for shark fin soup is growing at about 5 per cent a year, while shark populations are crashing: 80 per cent of Atlantic sharks have been lost in the past 15 years, according to the trust. Britain is one of only five EU member states that still allows the removal of shark fins at sea. More than 80 tonnes of fins are landed in Britain every year.

So, where do we go from here? Not only is our fight against shark fin has yet to see its effects, now they go for those lovely Manta’s! Greed will lead to fall of mankind!

Also to read:
Controversial Delicacy!

Is this really necessary?

I will be going to dive at Layang-Layang soon. Many have already asked me as to where it is though many actually have heard about it.

Layang-Layang, known as “Swallows Reef” is an atoll situated in the South China Sea 300km north-west of Kota Kinabalu. Layang-Layang is an isolated atoll-like ring of 13 connected reefs in a 14 sq km area. The whole island is only 7.5 km long and 2 km wide.Lying 300-km northwest of Kota Kinabalu, Layang-Layang has become one of the preferred destinations for the avid diver who constantly seeks for new thrills and challenges. The eastern end of the atoll is a favored nesting side for many species of migratory birds like Sooty Terns (Sterna fuscata), Black-naped Terns (Sterna sumatrana), Great Crested Terns (Sterna bergii), Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster) and Brown Noddies (Anous stolidus). Hence Layang-Layang is not only a diver’s paradise but also a bird watchers’ haven.

Layang Layang Island is one of the many islands which form part of the disputed archipelago known as the Spratlys. With its oil rich natural reserves, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have all tried to lay claim to this island.

Malaysia staked her decisive claim here by building a naval base on the island in the 1980s, ensuring that any other countries hoping to govern it will have an uphill struggle before they can do so.

In 1985, the Malaysian Federal Government began reclamation works and created a 50-acre island on one part of the reef. Layang-layang resort development follow suit and in 1986, the resort was open to guests. On the island there is only one resort and a Malaysian navy base. Please take note that the navy base is restricted area.

The fact that the coral atoll is situated by deep waters gives rise to some outstanding wall diving and encounters with pelagic species such as hammerhead sharks, which gather here to perform their mating rituals. Diving in Layang Layang is challenging and varied – visitors often enthuse about both the above-water and underwater beauty of the area.

Layang Layang’s pristine reefs, which drop down as sheer walls into the abyss, are covered with splendid examples of healthy hard corals with staghorn, tables and acropora being the most numerous. The reefs are home to a great variety of sea life where turtles, triggerfish, manta rays and more are quite common, but overshadowed by the mighty presence of the scalloped hammerhead sharks. You may also encounter a whale shark or two.

You can dive Layang Layang from March to August, with March and May being the best time for seeing schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks performing mating rituals. The resort closes between September and February.
Reef Basics

Great for: Large animals, wall dives, reef life and health and visibility
Not so great for: Beginner divers, snorkelling and non-diving activities
Depth: 5 – >40m
Visibility: 20 – 40m
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 25 – 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate – advanced
Number of dive sites: ~20
Access: Diving resort
Recommended length of stay: 5 – 8 days

Sources:

http://www.myoutdoor.com/layanglayang/main.htm

http://www.dive-the-world.com/tourist-information-malaysia-layang-layang.php

I first dived at Pulau Tenggol about three or four years ago and from that very first day, I fell in love with it. Of all the islands, Tenggol and Redang are my favourites and now to add would be Pulau Yu near Pulau Bedong. This would be the fourth time I have gone diving to Tenggol. The resort — Tenggol Island Beach Resort. Well, when one talks about a dive resorts it encompass a few things which are important. One is the resort itself and the management. Having stayed at its neighbour resort, Tenggol Island Resort the last times, I have to say the Tenggol Island Beach Resort is better managed overall. The rooms at Tenggol Island Resorts are more and looks nicer and better but the maintainance is poor with many a times the hot water does not work, there is no water or poor water pressure, the air conditioning fails and the toilets not functioning. The food is definitely by far excellent at Tenggol Island Beach Resort and to that there is really no comparison. At Tenggol Island Resort, I have heard of not just the food taste poorly but also many a times there is no food served.

Next would be the dive center. Well again the setup of the dive center at Tenggol Island Resort is better but the dive center at Tenggol Island Beach Resort is fairly good. What disappointed me however was the dive guide. We had this Sabahan dive guide who in person I think has some attitude issues and a very poor guide. He hardly showed us anything and somehow I felt that he showed little knowledge of the dive sites as in his dive briefing that he gives. So in that sense, my group was disappointed but since we were all a great team we worked the dives well.

There is another resort there on the island but maybe that, i will check out the next time around.

As for now enjoy the pictures.

For more check out my facebook album

My friends and I, are planning our next dive to this place – that many know not of — mainly because it is a scuba diving paradise. But even among divers, this place isn’t a favourite plainly because it is not just 26 km off the coast of quiet fishing town of Kuala Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia but also has many challenging dive sites.

Cited as “The Best Diving in Peninsular Malaysia” Asian Diver Magazine 2002 Annual Edition, it consists of Pulau Tenggol (Tenggol Island), Pulau Nyireh, Tokong Timur, Tokong Burung and Tokong Talang/Tokong Kemudi, Tokong Laut. Some divers even call it “Sipadan of Peninsular Malaysia” with its beautiful rock formations and wall dives akin Sipadan. The currents here can be very strong and sometimes difficult to predict.

Tenggol and its surrounding islands offer good visibility with teeming of marine life, including sharks, rays, nudibranch and a wide variety of hard and soft corals.

Scuba Diving Tenggol Island, Malaysia

Water temperature:

27 – 28°C (80 – 82°F) on average, up to 31°C (89°F) in summer months

Suit:

Skin to 3mm shortie

Visibility:

10 – 20 metres (30 – 65 feet)

Type of diving:

Reefs and drift diving

Marine life:

Eagle rays, jacks, trevallies, fusiliers, barracudas, tuna, humphead wrasse, Christmas tree worms, sponges, sea anemones

When to go:

It is possible to visit Malaysia at any time of year, but the rainy season that runs from June to September can cause rougher seas and lower visibility. The months of July and August suffer from the heaviest rainfall. Avoid east coast destinations between November and January

How to get there:

Malaysian Airline System and Air Asia offer regular flights from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu arrviving at Sultan Mahmud Airport. Taxis are readily available at the airports for city transfers. It’s about one and half hour drive to Dungun. Alternatively you can catch the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan and from Kuantan, it is an hour and forty minutes drive by taxi or car. Kuala Terengganu is the main hub for express bus and coach travel in and out of the state. Long distance taxis are also readily available and all these coaches and taxis will pass throught the main road to Kuala Terengganu via Dungun.

Taken from Tenggol Island Beach Resort

Will update with pictures once we come back.