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Archive for the ‘Endangered Species’Jul 28, 10 Comments (0)
Good morning friends. Yesterday I stayed very busy working on the computer most of the day and at 2:00 we did one sub dive with a local newspaper. After that I raced home and got my gear ready and met a friend for a fast one hour ride and the weather was perfect, nice and overcast! This morning it has been raining since around 4:30 and it’s still going, I am sure that won’t be good for my underwater photos today as everything flows into the sea!
Here’s a sweet little Green Turtle heading up for a breath of air. This is yet another shot from the once incredible dive spot called Vaersenbaai but as most now know Omar took care of that reef and it still hasn’t healed. Vaersenbaai used to have this big area of turtle grass which grew in the shallows and every morning you could easily find many turtles there eating breakfast. Sea turtles spend almost all their lives submerged but must breathe air for the oxygen needed to meet the demands of vigorous activity. With a single explosive exhalation and rapid inhalation, sea turtles can quickly replace the air in their lungs. The lungs permit a rapid exchange of oxygen and prevent gases from being trapped during deep dives. Sea turtle blood can deliver oxygen efficiently to body tissues even at the pressures encountered during diving. During routine activity green and loggerhead turtles dive for about 4 to 5 minutes and surface to breathe for 1 to 3 seconds. Turtles can rest or sleep underwater for several hours at a time but submergence time is much shorter while diving for food or to escape predators. Breath-holding ability is affected by activity and stress, which is why turtles quickly drown in shrimp trawlers and other fishing gear.
Off to work, talk to you tonight, Barry
Jun 19, 10 Comments (0)
Good evening friends we found something NEW, this is called Sea Fan Black Coral! This is something I have never seen in Curacao and can hardly wait to get back and spend more time photographing it. A few species like this Sea Fan Black Coral attain considerable size and their branches are collected, cut, fashioned, polished and sold by jewelers as a semiprecious material. The value of these trinkets comes more from jewelers propaganda of rareness and the danger associated with deep diving to collect branches, than from any innate property of the material itself. In fact, the black coral species most frequently used by jewelers is neither rare or found particularly deep. Unfortunately, it is now very rare in many areas from over-harvesting. The great black coral forests of the Grand Cayman and Cozumel are only a memory now, destroyed by greed and fascination! It will take these slow growing colonies over 100 years to reestablish themselves. In March 2009, scientists released the results of their research on deep-sea (depths of ~300 to 3,000 m) corals throughout the world. They discovered a subdivision of Black Coral, A Leiopathes sp. specimens, to be among the oldest continuously living organisms on the planet; around 4,265 years old! They show that the “radial growth rates are as low as 4 to 35 micrometers per year and that individual colony longevities are on the order of thousands of years”. I did a quick Google search and couldn’t believe how much black coral there is for sale, I had no idea?? Please folks be very aware of what you buy now a days, no more black or red coral jewelry, shark fin soup or turtle shell jewelry, it’s up to us to save what we have left. For me getting to see this Black Coral was the highlight of my whole East coast Dive trip, it’s the most beautiful coral I have ever seen! Moments before getting to the first piece one of my flashes failed so I was left with only one flash making wide angle photos very difficult or close to impossible, just my luck! This piece you see here was about three times this size, I just didn’t have the right lens but will be trying it again ASAP. The second dive we did was just unbelievable! I have never seen so many healthy and different corals in one spot not to mention all the fish! The dive started out with us finding two super big nurse sharks resting under a big coral ledge in the sand. One of them was at least 12 feet long if not more, that was the largest creature I have seen so far in Curacao on a dive. This second East coast dive we did was hands down the best and most beautiful place I have seen in Curacao! If your an advanced diver looking for “The Spot” to dive, give www.divechartercuracao a call you won’t be disappointed!
I have a small correction this evening, it seems I gave you the wrong address for Aimee, I spelled something wrong try this, aimeedolphins@yahoo.com that should work!
My car is still down for the count I will have to wait till Monday to get it somewhere for repair, I was told that the fuel injectors could be dirty or something like that? See you all again tomorrow, Barry
Jun 3, 10 Comments (0)
Good morning readers. Last night when I got home from work I took off on a fast mountain bike ride and then Aimee and I went out to dinner at the Avila Hotel to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary. Actually it’s today but we thought doing dinner last night and a movie or something else tonight would work better.
Well yesterday afternoon I had one of the best dives ever. I searched and searched for a dive buddy but no one wanted to go as usual so I again suited up and took off by myself which I do often just staying in shallow water. I immediately ran into another juvenile Hawksbill Turtle (different that the one from a few days ago) who was in 25 feet of water searching for food. I quietly swam up and took a few photos and to my surprise he could have cared less and never even acknowledged my existence, that’s my kind of marine reptile. I ended up staying along side him for the next hour and just watched as he hunted for food. I have no idea what he was looking for but I did photograph him with little chunks of dead coral in his mouth. He was digging in the coral rubble looking for something but in the hour I was with him I only saw him eat something small and felt bad that he wasn’t finding more. Normally their diet consists mainly of sponges but they are known to feed on small prey that they find in reef crevices, that sharp, narrow beak can be very useful! Yesterday as he fed he swam under this bush of hanging fire coral and got his shell caught in it and was struggling to get out. I was almost going to help when he backed up and got himself out, it was pretty scary to watch because as you know or don’t know turtles need to surface to breath. Most turtles can hold their breath for several hours but tend to surface during the day every 15-30 minutes and at night can hold their breath for 4-7 hours. These beautiful Hawksbill Turtles are listed as Critically Endangered (facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The greatest threat to hawksbill sea turtle is the harvesting for their prized shell, often referred to as “tortoise shell.” In some countries the shell is still used to make hair ornaments, jewelry, and other decorative items.
There are approximately 22,900 nesting females, that’s why when I get to spend time with a youngster like this it’s very special. We need to help do whatever it takes to help protect them by donating to worthwhile causes like Caribbean Conservation Corporation www.cccturtle.org or the Sea Turtle Network at www.seaturtle.org
Talk to you more tonight, I have two waiting dogs ready to go! Have a great day, Barry
May 27, 10 Comments (0)
Hi there friends, how was you day?? Aimee and I both had the day of together for once and the first thing we did was load the bikes and head to Saint Joris to ride my new trail. When we got there it had just rained and we thought about turning around and going back home but at the last second we decided to give it a try. The parking lot was a muddy mess but to our disbelief the desert was dry as a bone?? It was so weird! So the good news is we finally got to try out the new trail with two tongue dragging dogs hot on our heels!! The first section of trail that is now open is about a mile long and hopefully with more help next time it will continue to grow over the coming year. It was so fun to finally go with Aimee out here so she could see just what I had been working so hard on and this Sunday others will meet me for a grand tour as well. Because it was so blasted hot and humid after that rain and no wind at all, we turned the bikes around and headed back to the car only stopping to let the dogs go for a quick swim in the ocean before loading the bikes and heading back home! We both finally got to rest a little bit today and we even took a nap, I know can you believe it?? Me taking a nap?? About the only other thing we did was go grocery shopping and I went to the bike shop to get a new tubeless tire. At around 5:00 I took off for an hour and a half fast paced ride thru the wilds of Curacao!
This is a beautiful Hawksbill Turtle I found at 80 feet a few days ago and swam along side him for quite awhile. The Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family cheloniidae. It is the only species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while Eretmochelys imbricata bissa is found in the Indo-Pacific region. The hawksbill’s appearance is similar to that of other marine turtles. It has a generally flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like arms, adapted for swimming in the open ocean.E. imbricata is easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the saw-like appearance of its shell margins. Hawksbill shells slightly change colors, depending on water temperature. While this turtle lives part of its life in the open ocean, it spends more time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs where it feeds on its primary prey, sea sponges. Some of the sponges eaten by E. imbricata are lethally toxic to other organisms. In addition, the sponges that hawksbills eat usually contain high concentrations of silica, making them one of few animals capable of eating siliceous organisms. They also feed on other invertebrates, such as comb jellies and jellyfish.
Because of human fishing practices, E. imbricata populations are threatened with extinction. The World conservation Union classifies the Hawksbill as critically endangered. Several countries, such as China and Japan, hunt them for their flesh, which they consider a delicacy. Hawksbill shells are the primary source of tortoise shell material, used for decorative purposes. The Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species outlaws the capture and trade of hawksbill turtles and products derived from them but illegal poaching still continues. Off to bed, glad you all liked the little yellow bird from yesterday so much, we had about 30 e-mails on that one! Bye now, Barry Sep 1, 09 Comments (0)
 Elkhorn Coral Good evening friends, well believe it or not I did close to nothing today!! And no I’m not sick! Maybe just a tad bit lazy or unmotivated. This morning I took the bike and the dogs to the North coast on a mild one hour ride. They pretty much just played or should I say laid in the water while I searched for usable pieces of driftwood. After that small adventure I had to take apart and replace my shower hose. That consumed a bit of time driving around looking for parts plus I made a quick stop into a new grocery store and like magic it was noon already!! At 5:30 I met the tuesday riding group for a short very relaxed one hour bike ride. We did the normal loop starting at the Aquarium riding the trails to Jan Thiel then to the salt ponds and back on the Calabash and Inca trails, it never seems to get old.
So I guess that’s kind of my day in a nutshell! I noticed throughout the day that there was a homeless guy walking up and down the street in front of Mambo beach. At 6:30 on my way back from riding I ran into Bill and Christine (our two local walkers) and they told me, that’s the guy that walks up and down the streets looking for cigarette butts to smoke?? Yikes, no thanks!! But then again everyone needs a hobby??
Your photo is another wide angle shot of the spectacular clusters of Eklhorn Corals that we have right out in front of the Sea Aquarium, they really are incredible! Well, I need to go find some food and I still have tons of computer work to do tonight, be back tomorrow, Barry
1-9-2009
Aug 27, 09 Comments (0)
 Elkhorn Coral Reef Scene Good evening readers, as I type Aimee must be landing in New Mexico after a very long day of travel. We got up at 5:00 this morning and had her to the airport and checked in by just a little after 6:00, it was sad to see her go but I know she’s going to have a great time! I went straight home and grabbed the dogs and took them for their morning walk thru the Curacao desert. Our island has actually greened up again a bit after that last hard rain a few days ago and the trails are in perfect shape for riding. After our morning hike I rushed home and got my dive gear together and met our friend Dirk at the aquarium for a dive. Many of you remember me talking about Dirk, he’s one of the leading experts on Elkhorn corals and has done so much to help save these endangered corals. We had a nice dive, the water was pretty clear, fish everywhere and just a slight current. This is one of the hundreds of Elkhorn coral shots I took today. All of the clusters of Elkhorn’s were home to countless schools of fish today, it was really quite the sight and for once I had the right lens!! I did not see the spotted eagle ray but I did find a big flying gurnard swimming around the reef, I thought boy your sure are lost! After about 30 minutes Dirk signaled me and went back in, I continued to hang out here in this shallow water watching all the activity and found a big school of squids to play with, it was just such a great dive!
I spent the rest of the day cleaning gear, going shopping and working on the computer and at 5:30 took the dogs for another walk. Sorry so short but that’s about it, have a wonderful evening and a great day tomorrow, bye now, Barry
27-8-2009
Aug 20, 09 Comments (0)
 Elkhorn Coral New Growth Good evening readers of the Curacao blog. Aimee and I left the house at 8:30 and headed to our new dive site in front of the new proposed resort down by the Avila Hotel. I was hoping to run into my homeless guy but he was no where to be found and he knew I was coming this morning. We had a great dive this morning. Our first stop was at this really cool chunk of endangered Elkhorn Coral. This piece is ultra unique because the base is a chunk of Elkhorn that broke off from a bigger colony (out of the picture) and is now regrowing into a spectacular specimen of it’s own. One of the coolest things about this coral is that once a chunk breaks off for whatever reason it has the ability to start a new colony from that broken piece, this is such a perfect example!! You can also see a few little tropical fish that live in this piece and also we looked under it and it was filled with all kinds of cool little creatures as well! When we first arrived here I spotted a tiny pea sized trunkfish hiding here in a little cave. I will have to go back on Sunday with a different lens and try to find him, believe it or not this is possible. After investigating this area we continued our dive by swimming over to the edge of the reef but instantly realized someone had turned the current on high! Aimee and I were hovering right on the edge of a wall of current. I looked down the slope and saw all the gorgonians bent completely over and all the fish swimming in one direction, right into it! Her and I were pretty much kicking our fins but we really were not moving, it’s like an invisible workout machine! We kind of fought it for awhile but finally said enough and turned back around, Aimee just hovered above my head sitting Indian style with her legs crossed letting the current take her back, it was so funny to watch! So other than the crazy current it was a real fun dive, I saw a little sponge that I have to go back and shoot it’s so unusual!!
At 12:30 I had a doctors appointment while Aimee took a nap. At 4:30 I went for a long bike ride with a friend while Aimee took the dogs and her bike to Canoa for an evening of shell collecting. Aimee leaves for the States in about a week for her three week vacation and I am already stocking up on frozen food!!
See you tomorrow, Barry
20-8-2009
Aug 11, 09 Comments (0)
 Elkhorn Coral Eggs Good evening friends, your not going to believe what I did today?? I slept!! I went to bed again after midnight again and was up at 5:30 driving Miss Emily to the beach for her turn watching the whale. Since I was up I took the dogs for a two hour hike to the salt flats and when I got home I went right back to bed! I was so tired! I slept till noon, ate lunch then went back to bed till 4:00!! Can you believe it, I slept most of the day away, I have never done that before!
I met the coral researchers again last night at 8:30 and at 9:00 we all jumped in the water and off we went. The night was pretty quiet not much spawning but I did get a few more shots of the guys setting up their collection nets gathering a few eggs that were releasing. This is a close-up of the Elkhorn coral polyps with eggs just moments before they were released. These eggs are so much smaller than the star coral eggs, with the naked eye it’s really hard to see them. This is what the researchers are looking for, patches of eggs like this then they carefully cover them with the nets and hopefully collect as many as possible.
Not much else for you this evening, this is Emily’s last night here, we are really going to miss her she has been such a great house guest! Aimee took Emily to a going away party tonight at Michelle’s house so I am sure I won’t see those ladies till late.
See you tomorrow, Barry
11-8-2009
Aug 9, 09 Comments (0)
 Elkhorn Spawning Good afternoon from tiredville! We are all completely wiped out!! Last night we did see some spawning but boy oh boy did we ever have to work for it! The second we jumped in we were greeted by great visibility and fast moving current! There are no words to explain how hard it can be to swim in current let alone try and take some pictures. Imagine being in a river and swimming against the current for an hour and forty five minutes, that’s what it’s like. For this shot I had to dump all my air and wedge myself between a little rock and a dead piece of coral to keep from moving as the current was constantly pushing me. I watched as one of the researchers seen here along with his assistant first found a group of eggs that were getting ready to be released then ever so carefully wrapped the area with a thin net, attached a bottle to collect the eggs and then just waited. Slowly one by one tiny little eggs started appearing in the cup and after a short amount of time he removed the cup filled with some eggs gave it to the assistant and attached another. These guys were kind enough to point out eggs to me that were getting ready to be released but with the strong current I just couldn’t stay still enough for a good shot but did get one or two that I will send you. While I was shooting Aimee was checking the surrounding corals for more eggs but found nothing and like the rest of us she had to pretty much just focus on fighting the current all night. When your swimming in this heavy current your breathing so fast or as we call it, “sucking air”, it really gives you a major headache! Unfortunately I can’t go tonight but hopefully there will still be some action on monday still, will keep you posted.
I have to get ready to drive to the other end of the island for a wedding and won’t be home till late again, I am really tired! Talk to you all tomorrow again, Barry
9-8-2009
Jun 18, 09 Comments (0)
 Staghorn Close-up Good evening from puppyville! I had a request a few weeks back for a close-up view of the endangered staghorn coral. Look closely and you can see a Polyp (which is a live animal) sticking out of each little calcium carbonate cup. These polyps feed on whatever passes by like tiny pieces of plankton, they don’t reach out and grab it, instead food sticks to the arms, kind of like a fly trap. So cool huh??
Aimee and I took off on a fun adventure this morning to the ocean collecting driftwood and letting the dogs go wild! It is so windy and so dry here right now, we really need rain! I have noticed that all the barrel cactus have lost their beautiful red color and are now just a bland greenish-brown, the rainy season is definitely the time to photograph them. We really didn’t do a whole lot today, I was going to go biking but the insane blowing wind quickly changed my mind! We just got home from a walk at the salt pans where we saw all the flamingos right up close, it was beautiful! After our hour walk we drove to Caracasbaai and looked for the mother and baby pups but never found them again, we feel really awful about losing them!
Not much else to report from banana-land all is well. Hot Curacao regards, Barry
18-06-2009
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