 In celebration of the ocean, AWARE Week is taking place from 15th – 23rd September 2018! This global event includes activities focused on tackling ocean pollution, creating awareness for vulnerable shark and ray species, and empowering local communities to take positive actions for the protection of fragile aquatic environments, fins on and fins off. Promotional Video from PADI and Project Aware Here at Dive Rutland we are holding a Do you Know your Plastics session on Saturday 15th September 15:00 - 20:00 We are going to start the day learning about the types of plastics we use, the hidden plastics in our lives, and where it all goes after we put it in the recycling (you do, don't you?). This will be followed by a pool session continuing to look at the effect of plastics in the marine environment. Non Divers - Join us for a Discover Scuba Diving session and experience why we feel so passionately about our oceans. Cost: £35.0 Certified Diver - Participate in a 'dive against debris' competition for a prize. Club Members: Free Non Club Members (Certified): £10.00 - require equipment, then equipment can be hired for the evening. By understanding the different types of plastic we use, where the hidden plastic is and where it goes will be one stop towards YOU helping reduce the mountain of plastic in our waters and our underwater habitats.. After all we all have homes, why should our underwater habitats be compromised by factors they can not influence? Want a reason to understand then have a look at this So come on and book your space.
 Pictures from the second diving activity as part of the Stamford Endowed Sports Centre Sports Camp on Thursday            Selection of Photographs from the Stamford Sports Camp Diving Activity at Stamford Endowed School on Wednesday of this week.  The Shark Trust are working to develop a greater understanding of shark and skate egglaying grounds. The Trust run a citizen science project which promotes conservation through citizens reporting eggcases found around the UK coastline - the Great Eggcase Hunt. These records provide valuable data that further develops understanding of nursery grounds and species management needs. What is an eggcase? An eggcase, which is also known as a mermaid’s purse, is a tough leathery case that protects the embryo of a shark, skate or ray. Each eggcase contains one embryo which will develop over several months into a miniature version of the adult. There are over ten species of skate and ray, and only a few species of shark in UK waters that reproduce by laying eggcases on the seabed. Each species’ eggcase is different in shape and size, which allows the Shark Trust to identify them. Eggcases remain safely on the seabed until the juvenile has hatched, and then the empty eggcases often get washed up on beaches and can be found amongst the seaweed in the strandline. Why report eggcases? The distribution of different shark, skate and ray species is changing and a number of species are in decline. By taking part in the Great Eggcase Hunt you can help the Shark Trust to identify areas of the coast where eggcases regularly wash up. Reported findings allow the Trust to identify potential shark, skate and ray nursery grounds, providing valuable data that aids conservation. This process can help with the management of UK sharks, skates and rays, as well as help designate Marine Conservation Zones which should provide protection for some species from particularly damaging human activities. Your eggcase records are a crucial element of this conservation work and it’s so easy to take part - everything you need for a successful eggcase hunt can be found on the website. Eggcases can be found on the beach all year round, so whatever the time of year keep your eyes open. The strandline or the back of the beach are the best places to find eggcases, washed up amongst the flotsam and jetsam. For more eggcase hunting tips, click here. Found nothing? Some beaches are regularly cleaned by local councils and any eggcases will have been removed along with the seaweed, whilst other beaches simply don’t have any eggcases to find. By reporting beaches without eggcases you are still contributing to the project, as this information adds an important dimension to our knowledge of eggcase distribution.
Unfortunately very few eggcases are reported underwater- which is where YOU come in, lets get reporting
More information can be found via the website below: https://www.sharktrust.org/en/eggcases_underwater  Dive Rutland Club trip to the Farnes has now finished and we are all (nearly all) home and processing pictures and remembering another great club trip. Why go to the Farne Islands, Northumberland... Well the Seals of course. The seals are one of the largest mammals in the UK but they are so majestic in the water and many of them are inquisitive of these strange creatures that swim around blowing bubbles with hoses coming out of their mouths. The trick to getting them to come closer to you is to treat them like big dogs; find somewhere quiet and let them come to you. If you start swimming after a seal it will just swim off and easily out pace you, you need to let them build confidence and trust in you before they'll start to play. Very similar to dogs the seals love to wrestle a little and have their heads stroked, but they also like to mouth your hands and fins. They don't bite hard but it can be a bit unnerving to some people to have their fingers around all of their teeth. As long as you're not overbearing or too rough with them they will hang around with you and follow you around to play. Another thing you need to remember is that the seals need to breathe every now and again so they will swim off after playing for a few minutes and then come back to find you.
None of the dives on this trip were deep, the maximum I got was 15metres. The visibility was really good to, so you could easily see the Seals coming towards you. The best seal dives I did were the two on the Hopper which is an amazing dive site of sheer cliff faces covered in soft coral, sponges, crabs and lobsters. Along the cliff face there is a huge fissure that cuts almost 300M into the island with lots of cracks and boulders for seals to snooze in and lobsters and crabs to hide in. Visually it is stunning with almost perfect vertical cliffs covered in wildlife and a huge valley in-between. In fact all of the dives were visually stunning.. move slowly and look... its amazing what you can find. The weather held out until we came back in from the last days diving...
Thanks to everyone on this trip... it was great diving with lots of laughs and plenty of banter, so roll on our next club trip.  Missing Mark and Gill Cooper  Another Trip Polo Shirt, so must be another trip ready to go... oh yes.... this weekend is the club dive trip to the Farnes.
Here's hoping for good diving weather, seals and maybe some dolphins to. Have a great time everyone, drive and dive safely. |
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