Diver UK – August 2019

DIVER NEWS

divErNEt.com 13 divEr

MARK CARREON5 out of 5 stars /

15 reviews

PADI IDC Staff

Instructor, Tec n Rec

Divers, Dumaguete,

Philippines

✔“From my first

dive until I reached

Master Scuba Diver

I dived with Mark.

His knowledge as an

instructor gives you

confidence and he is

strict in implementing safety-first measures during

fun and certification diving.” Alexander

✔“Diving with him at Dauin, he was careful to check

everyone’s gear before each dive, and very patient

with photographers. A happy-go-lucky guy, fun to

be with, he never compromises on safety. “ Andrew

✔“I completed technical sidemount with Mark, and

his adaptability in building a sidemount harness

and equipping me for the course stands out in my

memory. His very thorough training prepared me

well for the Tec 40, 45 and 50 courses I later

completed.“ Michael Druce

JONATHAN PARR5 out of 5 stars /

85 reviews

PADI Master Scuba

Diver Trainer,

Sunrise Divers

Phuket, Thailand

✔“Couldn't have

had a better

instructor. After four

years out of the

water he helped me

get my breathing

under control, which

made all the difference. His attention to detail on

the briefings was second to none.“ Harry

✔“As a working instructor I’m very picky, but Jon

gave a thorough briefing on the Similans and

amazed me with his politeness. His briefings were

perfect, he planned the dive, dived the plan and it

was textbook from start to finish.” Jackie Baker

✔“Our family of four went on five fantastic dives

over two days with Jonathan. He made our safety

his priority, while encouraging us to build our skills

and confidence, made sure we knew what was

happening every step of the way and made our

experience very personal.“ Brandi Sellepack

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DIVE PROS of the MONTH

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ELUSIVE SMALLEYE sting rays

are the biggest marine sting rays

on record, growing as wide as

2.2m. But little had been known

about them before photo ID was

used for the first time recently

to study them off Mozambique.

“We reported the first

sightings of smalleye sting rays in

2004 and have since been racing

against the clock to learn more

about their ecology before it’s

too late,” said Dr Andrea Marshall,

co-founder and principal

scientist of the Marine

Megafauna Foundation

(MMF).

Although 31% of the

world’s sharks and rays

are IUCN-listed as

facing extinction, the

status of smalleye sting

rays (Megatrygon

microps) has been

undetermined

through lack of data.

They are however

thought to be under

pressure from fishing.

“These mysterious

giants are thought to be patchily

distributed across the Indian

Ocean and western Pacific, but

southern Mozambique is

probably the best location to

encounter them on inshore

reefs,” said Marshall.

Keen to know whether the

rays’ white dorsal spots could be

used to distinguish and track

individuals over long periods, the

marine biologists went through

local dive-centres to collect

images taken by visiting divers.

“Fortunately for us, southern

Mozambique and its rich marine

life attract many passionate

scuba divers,” said volunteer

Atlantine Boggio-Pasqua, adding

that most of the divers owned

cameras and were happy to

share images and footage.

“Their contributions proved

immensely valuable,” she said.

“We managed to gather more

than 140 photographs suitable

for comparison and

identification, with some images

dating as far

back as 2003.”

Seventy

individuals were identified,

including 15 seen more than

once in the area. Comparing their

spot patterns over time, the

markings appeared to be

permanent, as on manta rays.

“Smalleye sting rays may look

intimidating at first glance with

their large, razor-sharp tail spines

but they’re actually really

charismatic and easy to

approach,” said Boggio-Pasqua.

“We hope to receive many

photo and video contributions

from citizen-scientists in future.

They could tell us more about the

species’ habitat preference as

well as feeding and cleaning

behaviour.”

The rays were often spotted

at cleaning stations, with banner

and other small fish attending.

Some of the rays turned out

to have travelled considerable

distances along the coast,

including one pregnant female

that covered 125 miles in a

minimum of 102 days before

making the return trip, pupping

during the journey. This was the

longest straight-line distance

ever recorded for any of the 80

species of whiptail sting rays.

Smalleyes were rarely seen

resting on the seabed and, unlike

other sting rays, are thought to

be semi-pelagic, but Marshall

said that many questions

remained unanswered: “Where

do they live, how fast do they

mature and how do they

reproduce? Filling these

knowledge-gaps is crucial to

figuring out how to protect them

properly in Mozambique and

other parts of the Indian Ocean.”

The team’s study is published

in Peer J. n

Divers unlock

secrets of world’s biggest sting ray

ANDREA MARSHALL / MARINE MEGAFAUNA FOUNDATION

Diver with pregnant smalleye sting ray and (inset) Andrea Marshall.

ANDREA MARSHALL / MARINE MEGAFAUNA FOUNDATION