Mainstreaming Diving

We are probably at the height of the TV series and movie remake period.  Whether writers are out of new, original, good ideas or Retro is just in, you gotta admit, we are into New Spins on old shows.  There have been winners and losers.  Hawaii FIVE O is a winner in my book, even with “DANO” in the new series being from NJ.  The New Charlie’s Angels, not so much.  Funny that my opinions were the exact opposite back in the day.

Diving needs an awesome TV series.  We need another “Mike Nelson” or another “Jacques Cousteau”.  We need Drama and Adventure on the Tube based on Scuba.  These shows are why I always wanted to get into scuba.

Now we have shows like “Into the Drink” and Movies like “Sanctum”, but it’s not the same.  We need drama, adventure and Escape!  We need “Mike Nelson”

Now I am an avid diver, an instructor, a scuba nut!  I’m in, I’m sold!  Why would I “need” a Dive based TV show.  Well, because I’d watch it, talk to my scuba buddies about it, and my non-scuba buddies.  They might just get-it why I love scuba once they are “Sucked in” to the show.

So PADI has dabbled in this area with the Drop Zone series.  Now I love those documentary style Surf meets Scuba shows…actually I’m infatuated with Holly Beck…that is beside the point. But they are not addictive.  We need Mike back.

So, Hollywood, before you remake another SITCOM, bring us Mike Nelson!  (or even Michelle Nelson!)

Voracious Beauty

Lionfish have become the talk of the dive and reef communities.  Lionfish are normally confined to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, where they're relatively rare. With colourful but venomous spines, the fish has proved a popular aquarium pet. But at some point in the early 1990s, the fish escaped into the wild; how this happened is a subject of much speculation.

Since then, the fish has invaded much of the Caribbean, devouring any small fish in its path. They are not particular about where it lives, colonising both reefs and mangrove lagoons. This means young reef fish that typically shelter in mangrove lagoons before they set up home on coral reefs don't stand a chance.

Voracious predators, scientists are increasingly concerned about the effect they could have. In some experiments, lionfish have led to a 70 per cent reduction in native juvenile fish species.

So they have become the target of many hunting expeditions aimed at thinning the herd, including many "If you can't beat'em, eat 'em" campaigns.  But while we humans are likely the cause of this invasion, and we are taking to hunting to curb their effect, perhaps we should leave t to nature to fix the problem.

In the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park – the oldest, largest and 'best-policed' marine reserve in The Bahamas – researchers found ten times fewer lionfish in parts of the reef where there are lots of groupers. Fishing has been banned in the park for 20 years, so it now boasts a healthy grouper population.

 

But other experts would say the reason you do not find as many lionfish where groupers are abundant is because they force the lionfish out of their territory, just like they do in the Indo-Pacific.  Either way, populations are controlled.

 

Bottom-line, maybe we should focus on Groupers and they'll take care of the rest.