- REBREATHERS - SPORT DIVERS ... - Stingray Divers

Issue 3 

June/July 2007 

- RebReatheRs - 

spoRt DiveRs DiscoveRing 

the Fun anD aDvantages 

oF going on the loop 

Socorro Islands • Solmar V • Goliath Groupers • Zeagle Octo-Z • Diving Vintage Scuba 

www.underwaterjournal.com June/July 2007

CONTENTS Pg 11 Adventure Diving in 

the Socorro Islands 

Cover: Divers on KISS closed-circut 

rebreathers explore the wheelhouse of 

the RSB wreck off Pompano, Florida. 

Photo by Walt Stearns. 

Pg 3 Editor’s Page 

Uncertain Future for our Big Fish 

Pg 5 Going on the Loop 

Can closed-circuit rebreathers work 

in a sport diver’s world? 

Pg 9 Dive Computers 

Which do for recreational CCR 

diving 

2 

Pg 16 Solmar V 

Live-aboard Profile 

Pg 20 Goliath Grouper 

Is this fish headed for another 

goliath problem? 

Pg 34 Gear Locker 

Zeagle’s new Octo-Z 

Pg 36 Vintage Scuba 

Some collect cars ... others collect 

and dive vintage scuba gear 

Pg 42 St. Lucia Thing 

OMG! Another creepy reef critter 

Walt Stearns - Editor-in-Chief 

Cheri Craft - Art Director 

Karen Stearns - Assistant Editor 

Barbara Hay - Contract Manager 

Lori Lachnicht - Marketing/Sales 

Contributors 

Adam Matherson 

Allen Young 

Bonnie J. Cardone 

Douglas Ebersole 

Board of Advisors 

Chris Koenig, Ph.D. 

Samuel Gruber, Ph.D. 

Ned DeLoach 

Paul Humann 

Capt. Tim Taylor 

Tom Mount, D.Sc., Ph.D 

Underwater Journal is published 

by Aquafield Communications, 

LLC., 313 Kelsy Park Circle, 

West Palm Beach, FL 33410. 

All contents copyright©2007 

Aquafield Communications, LLC. 

No use may be made of 

material contained herein 

without express written consent 

of the Underwater Journal. 

For inquiries, contact: 

info@uwjournal.com. 


An Uncertain Future 

During my travels during the later 80’s and 90’s 

for magazines like Skin Diver and Sport Diver, 

the number one complaint I heard from divers is 

that there are no big fish left on the reefs. In some 

regions of the Caribbean, large species of groupers 

like black, yellowfin and even Nassau have become 

virtually non-existent. In others, seeing something 

like an adult angelfish was as good as it got. 

In my last editorial Big Fish, Going, Going….. 

Gone? I told you that on March 5, 2007, the 

Mexican government passed new regulations 

and protections for sharks. Most important was a 

finning ban on sharks, along with an extension of 

the moratorium on new commercial shark fishing 

permits, as well as extensive protections for great 

white sharks, whale sharks, basking sharks and 

manta rays. 

Recently in a press release issued by Seawatch, 

what we have been told may in reality be a sham.As 

of May 16, 2007 the Mexican government pushed 

through an additional piece of legislation “NOM- 

029-PESCA-2006,” which opens Baja’s 50-mile 

restricted zone to commercial longline fishing, and 

permits the longline fleet to keep both sport and 

reef fish as “by-catch.” 

I also mentioned one of our Florida success 

stories with the return of the fish we formerly called 

Jewfish, the goliath grouper. Unfortunately, as I 

started to put together a feature on the fish for this 

issue, I realized my previous assessment of the 

goliath’s future maybe premature. 

Last December I attended one of the Florida 

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) 

hearings in the Keys to learn how state and federal 

lawmakers plan to handle future protection of 

goliath grouper in state waters. 

Large goliath groupers like this can be easily approached making them easy targets. 

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

had already announced seasonal closures for the 

recreational harvest of red, black and gag (gray) 

grouper in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico 

from February 15 through March 15th. At this 

hearing, there was additional talk of a complete 

closure of the red and gag grouper fisheries in the 

Gulf if populations continued to decline. 

With these fisheries in decline, more pressure 

is being put on the FWC to open or allow a limited 

harvest of Florida’s growing goliath population. 

Unfortunately, the fishing community, who as a 

whole consider themselves the primary user group 

with the most rights to these waters, is putting on the 

pressure to change the current laws. 

At the close of that hearing, there were 

reassurances that full protection for goliaths would 

continue. Or continue at least for the next two more 


years when Florida State University (FSU) and NMFS’ 

population study is complete. But now that may not 

be the case. 

In a meeting slated for August 2007, the FWC, Fish 

and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC-FWRI) and the 

National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fishery 

Science Center (NMFS-SEFSC) are proposing a 

joint, collaborative research program directed at 

goliath grouper in the tropical Atlantic and eastern 

Gulf of Mexico. 

At the center of this discussion is a research 

proposal that would include the harvest of a limited 

number of goliath grouper for scientific purposes. 

Over a two-year period, the program would kill an 

estimated 800 fish in Florida’s southern Atlantic and 

the eastern Gulf of Mexico. 

The proposal states that “biological samples 

(otoliths, gonad tissue, etc.) collected through this 

limited harvest program would be used to augment 

our information base on goliath grouper age, growth, 

and reproduction, as well as supplement ongoing 

studies on feeding habits. However, besides providing 

specimens for life history studies, we believe that 

development of a State-Federal Cooperative Goliath 

Grouper Research Program will improve coordination 

of goliath grouper research activities being currently 

conducted or planned by scientists at FWC-FWRI, 

NMFS, and Florida State University, as well as 

facilitate consistent management of this species in 

state and federal waters.” 

For the most part, all of the tests suggested in this 

program could be accomplished without killing the fish 

– as has been the case for the past 16 years. So why 

kill these fish for no good reason? Many informed 

members of the fishing and scientific communities see 

this program as nothing more than an appeasement 

to specific fishing groups. Especially when the first 

listed recommended in this program proposes (in 

response to recent public interest in reopening the 

fishery) scientific research projects developed under 

the Cooperative Goliath Grouper Research Program 

(CGGRP) be conducted with the assistance of 

commercial and/or recreational fishers (e.g. for the 

collection of specimens). Fishers participating in this 

program would be required to coordinate activities with 

scientists submitting proposals to the CGGRP so their 

names can be listed in scientific collection permits 

issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission (for state waters) and/or the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (for federal waters). 

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission would issue 800 numbered plastic 

“harvest tags” (similar to kill tags issued by the FWC 

for tarpon) to be distributed to scientists participating 

in the CGGRP. What remains vague is how the 

collected goliath grouper specimens will be delivered 

to scientists facilitating this research program. 

On closer examination, one might conclude that 

this collection plan is nothing more than a loophole 

to allow commercial fishermen to kill the ever-soimportant 

large goliaths under the guise of science. If 

management of a species, especially one considered 

critically endangered throughout its range outside of 

US waters by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), 

is allowed to be governed by special interest groups 

more interested in appeasing their constituency, the 

fate of the goliath could be grim. How important is 

it for you to see a few big fish next time you’re out 

diving on the reef? 

Walt Stearns 

Editor-in-Chief 

Call to Action…. 

Opposed? 

If you’re not in favor of the plan 

proposed by the Cooperative 

Goliath Grouper Research 

Program (CGGRP)... 

Write, email or call: 

Luiz Barbieri, Researcher 

Department for Marine Fisheries 

Research 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission (FWC) 

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute 

100 8th Avenue SE 

St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5020 

Email: Luiz.Barbieri@fwc.state.fl.us. 

Alex Chester, Science and 

Research Director 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

75 Virginia Beach Drive 

Miami, Florida 33149 

E mail: alex.chester@noaa.gov 

PH: 305-361-4259, ex: 259 


By Douglas Ebersole 

ClOSEd-CirCuiT rEbrEaThErS 

iN a SpOrT divEr’S WOrld 

Can Recreational Divers Reach the Happy Medium of Silent Running? 

KISS Rebreather Instructors like Douglas Ebersole believe it to be so. 

I’m finning along in complete 

silence on my Sport Kiss CCR 

enjoying the beauties of the 

underwater world. However, I am 

not on a wreck 200 feet below 

the surface of the cold northern 

Atlantic. I’m drifting along at a 

depth of 60 feet off Breaker’s Reef 

in West Palm Beach, Florida. Yes, 

Virginia, closed-circuit rebreathers 

have crossed over into mainstream 

recreational diving. 

Getting into rebreathers, or as some 

jokingly refer to it as going over to the 

dark side, and discovering what they 

are all about, also exposed me even 

further to how others see them. 

There are several myths that have 

permeated the recreational diving 

community regarding rebreathers. The 

first of these is that they are solely the 

domain of technical divers. While it is 

true that rebreathers can greatly limit 

decompression obligations and allow 

technical divers to carry less gas than 

their open-circuit diver counterparts, 

many other advantages can be enjoyed 

by recreational divers as well. The most 

obvious advantage is the “bubblefree” 

diving. This allows much closer 

interaction with certain marine life, 

and the silence makes the dive much 

more peaceful. 

Believe me, the first thing you notice 

on a rebreather is how noisy the other 

divers are! 


No Cloak of Invisibility 

Which brings me to the first myth, or misunderstood concept, 

about rebreathers and marine life. 

One of my most favorite whoppers is that diving with a 

rebreather gives you the ability to sneak up to anything. The 

reality is rebreathers are not Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility. 

Furthermore, fish are not blind, they know you are there! 

Last time I checked, the big stuff on the reef didn’t get big by 

letting even bigger things go unnoticed whenever it enters the 

picture. How it works is all marine animals have a comfort zone. 

Because you are not making any noise, you stand a better chance 

of being accepted or at least tolerated as another, be it somewhat 

deformed looking, marine creature. 

True, there will always be fish, sharks and sea turtles that 

just don’t care what equipment you’re using! But if you’re good 

with fish on conventional scuba, you will do even better in most 

cases on a CCR. Which is one of the reasons why more serious 

professionals in underwater photography and television production 

are switching to these specialized pieces of equipment. 

Large goliath groupers like the one above may be slowwitted, but they are 

are not blind to our presence. 

There are times when silence really counts for getting the shot, like 

approaching this sleeping reef shark under a ledge. 


About Time 

The other reason is time. That is, the 

ability to stay where you are longer. For 

example, the gas supply from a fourteen 

cubic foot cylinder of oxygen can easily 

provide a rebreather diver with four hours 

of dive time. While most of us will never do 

a four hour dive, it’s very nice to be able 

to make two one hour dives on a two tank 

morning dive charter and then repeat that 

on the afternoon charter without ever having 

to change tanks. Additionally, since you are 

always minimizing your nitrogen loading you 

have much longer no decompression limits, 

such as over two hours at 60 fsw! This can 

mean longer recreational dives and shorter 

surface intervals. More time in the water - 

- isn’t that why we all got into diving in the 

first place? Finally, my Sport Kiss complete 

only weighs 38 pounds. That’s the weight of 

a single aluminum 80 cubic foot cylinder! 

The second myth regarding rebreathers is 

the thought that you need a master’s degree 

in physics just to understand the technology. 

All that is really required is an understanding 

of enriched air nitrox. In simple terms, a 

rebreather is like breathing into a paper bag 

while adding back the oxygen your body 

consumes and removing the carbon dioxide 

it produces. Of note, the chemical reaction 

that occurs with removing the carbon dioxide 

provides a warm, moist breathing gas. No 

more of the “cotton mouth” of open-circuit 

diving. The carbon dioxide scrubber is good 

for several hours based on workload and 

water temperature. Diving a rebreather 

simply means filling your scrubber and 

keeping your PO2 at a reasonable limit such 

as 1.2. Beyond that, just enjoy your dive. 

7 

Douglas Ebersole and Alan Studley investigate the coral-encrusted bridge of the RSB wreck off 

Pompano Beach, Florida - without stirring up the dust for the photographer. 

From your basic nitrox course you will 

remember that the maximum PO2 for 

recreational diving is 1.4. The value of 1.2 

would be the equivalent of breathing EAN 

30 at 99 fsw (4 ATA) or breathing EAN 40 

at 66 fsw (3 ATA). While closed-circuit dive 

computers are available, for recreational 

diving, you can still get away with your old, 

trusty nitrox computer and set it like the 

examples above. Finally, just like driving an 

automobile, diving a rebreather is as safe as 

the person diving it. 

A third myth is that maintaining a 

rebreather is complicated and time 

consuming. Basically, at the end of the dive 

day you simply rinse everything with fresh 

water and a small amount of disinfectant. 

Let it dry and you are ready to assemble it 

and dive again! For me, it takes no longer 

to clean it at the end of the dive day than 


my open-circuit gear. Assembly time is longer 

(about 20 minutes) than with open-circuit but 

is offset by not having to change tanks during 

the dive day. The scrubber needs to be changed 

out every several hours of dive time and the 

oxygen sensors last a year or so. 

For more information on rebreathers check out: 

www.rebreatherworld.com is widely recognized 

and has a highly knowledgeable member base. You 

can join the forum for great interaction. 

www.thedecostop.com covers rebreathers in 

addition to other fields of technical diving, like cave 

diving and deep wreck exploration. 

IANTD-www.iantd.com or 

TDI/SDI-www.tdisdi.com 

provide straight-forward information and explanation 

on how various types of rebreathers function, plus 

instruction on using rebreathers. 

Closed-Circuit Rebreathers 

Inspiration/Evolution - http://www.apdiving.com 

KISS - http://www.jetsam.ca 

Megalodon - http://www.customrebreathers.com 

Pelagian DCCCR - http://www.rebreatherlab.com 

Prism Topaz - http://www.steammachines.com 

Optima - www.diverite.com 

Ouroborus - www.ccrb.co.uk 

rEvo II – http://www.revo-rebreather.com 

Submatix CCR 100 - http://www.submatix.com 

Titan - http://www.bubbleseekers.com 

Down to Dollars and Sense 

The last myth is cost. While rebreathers 

definitely are more expensive than a buoyancy 

compensator, a regulator, and a couple of 

aluminum 80s, the costs have come down 

considerably. While some models like the 

Ouroborus (www.ccrb.co.uk) still cost $15,000 

or more, others such as the Sport Kiss (www. 

jetsam.ca) can be purchased for around $4500. 

A last example of rebreathers moving into 

the mainstream is provided by the International 

Association of Nitrox and Technical Diving 

(www.iantd.com). This training agency now 

offers an Open Water CCR Diver certification. 

This is an entry level certification and allows one 

to dive a rebreather to a depth of 70 fsw or to 

100 fsw accompanied by an instructor. 

Diving closed-circuit rebreathers is certainly 

not for everyone. Complacency and being 

overly comfortable with your unit and/or taking 

liberties with maintenance or diving protocol, 

will eventually lead to unfortunate results. 

However, if you are an avid diver and very 

attentive in your diving practices, rebreathers 

are very safe and can greatly enhance your 

diving experiences. v 


Dive Computers for the Recreational CCR Diver 

The advancement in dive computer 

design, type and capability has come a long 

way from the first Orca Edge, an air only, 

brick size computer that was considered 

state of the art in the early 1980’s. Today, 

dive computers not only come in units the 

size of a wrist watch, but also have the ability 

to work one, two, even three mixes during a 

single dive in both air and nitrox percentages 

as high as 99 percent. 

For the recreational CCR diver who is 

mainly interested in keeping to depths 

within 130 feet, can pretty much get a way 

with a run of the mill nitrox computer. The 

downside is that, that diver must adhere 

to the FO2 percentage programmed into 

the computer that matches his/her PO2 at 

the max targeted depth of that dive. For 

example, that max depth of the dive is 80 

feet, the diver is going to run their PO2 at 

1.3, which will be equal to 38%, that diver 

should conduct their profile for the dive as is 

to conduct as having only 38% regardless if 

of weather or not they go no deeper than 60- 

70 feet. That is with a one gas computer. 

Two and three gas models, most of which 

run below the $600 range, allow the same 

diver to design a profile with a bit more 

flexibility. The first setting will be reserved for 

the bottom PO2 mix equivalent, the second 

mix setting can act as either their deco mix 

or as richer mix setting for the second half of 

the dive, if the diver plans to work his or her 

way shallower as the dive progresses. 

Two Mix Nitrox Computers: 

Dive Rite NiTek Plus & Duo 

TUSA IQ-700 

Apeks Pulse & Quantum 

Cressi-sub Archimedes II 

Suunto Vyper2/wristwatch model D6 

Uwatec Tec 2G 

Three Mix Nitrox Computers: 

Oceanic VT3/wristwatch model Atom 2 

Aeris Elite T3/wristwatch model Epic 

Suunto Vytec DS/wristwatch model D9 

Note: When it comes to labels, the Dive Rite 

Duo, TUSA IQ-700, Apeks Pulse and Cressi - 

sub Archimedes II are all essentially the same 

computer built by Seiko. Oceanic and Aeris 

computers are manufactured by Pelagic Pressure 

Systems, of San Leandro, Calif., whereas both 

Suunto and Uwatec are manufactured uder their 

own name. 

Computers Specifically Designed for CCR’s 

Currently in Production 

Cochran EMC 16/20H www.divecochran.com 

HS Explorer - www.hs-eng.com 

Shearwater GF - www.rebreather.ca 

VR3 - www.vr3.co.uk 

New Computers on the way 

Dive Rite NiTek X - http://www.diverite.com 

Liquivision X1 - http://www.liquivision.ca 

OMS DCAP-X - http://www.omsdive.com 

CCR Specific 

There 

are a lot 

of decent 

opencircuit 

computers 

out there. 

But, once 

you go 

beyond VR3 with Spectrum color LCD 

mainstream 

and into more specialized systems that get 

into constant (or semi-constant) PO2, the 

game changes completely. 

All are aimed directly for CCR’s with 

most providing the ability to run a gambit of 

gas mixes from air to heliox for both open 

and closed circuit diving applications. With 

the exception of Cochran, these systems 

have the further ability to monitor a CCR’s 

PO2 progression (via a cable linkage to the 

rebreather’s O2 sensors), as well as run 

real time gas calculations. The downside 

of course is cost with most these models 

running between $1,400 and $2,000. 

If your plans don’t see you moving out of 

the recreational range and into the world of 

trimix, but you still like something beyond a 

basic one-gas or two-gas nitrox computer, 

two options with programmable PO2 set point 

features under a $1,000 include: Cochran 

EMC 16, manufactured by Cochran Undersea 

Technology, and the VR2 manufactured by 

Delta P Technology. 


7 

KEEPING IT 

SUPER SIMPLE 

Recreational and 

Technical Diving Rebreathers 

Jetsam Technologies, Ltd 

2817 Murray St Port Moody, BC V3H 1X3 Canada 

Ph: 604-469-9176 E-Mail: Info@Jetsam.ca 

• Designed for simplicity, 

durability, and ease of transport 

• Sport KISS rebreather is one of the lightest 

and smallest CCRs designed specifically 

for the recreational divers needs. 

• Easy and quick to clean and pack 

• Simple to maintain 

www.Jetsam.ca 

Cochran’s EMC 16 model 

comes preprogrammed for air 

or nitrox at $450, with the PO2 

function upgrade for one or 

two set point settings running 

(depending dealer) another $350 

to $450. Why Cochran doesn’t 

prepackage these babies with 

the full two-mix Nitrox FO2 mix 

choice switchable to two PO2 set 

point modes at the factory and 

push them out the door for $700 

or $800 instead of their al-la-cart 

system is beyond me. I’d think 

they might sell more of them. 

Another feature about the 

EMC 16 (and the 20H for that 

matter) is the fact that once 

the dive is underway, there are 

no provisions that will allow the 

diver to change the mix or PO2 

set point during the dive. While 

some see this as a big negative, 

the computer has also received 

plenty of praise for its ruggedness 

and intuitive operation. 

VR2 with monochrome LCD 

Cochran EMC 16 

In comparison to its big 

metal monster, the VR3, which 

can run as many as 10 pre-set 

gas mixes in any combination 

– air, nitrox, trimix and heliox, 

the VR2 is limited to only 

four air to nitrox mixes in 

both open and closed circuit 

modes. That said, the VR2 is 

not without same ability to 

monitor (via a cable linkage to 

the rebreather’s O2 sensors) 

Po2 levels in the loop as well 

as run gas calculations. The 

base price (w/o the O2 sensor 

cable linkage) for a VR2 from 

dealers like Golemgear. 

com and scuba.com is in the 

$850.00 price range. 

The downside, Delta P 

Technology has fazed out the 

VR2, but there are units out 

there and Delta P will continue 

providing service for it. v 


Adventure Diving 

It’s four thirty in the afternoon, and we are 

about to begin the last dive of the day. 

Not far from our panga, Roca Partida’s 

twin spires cast a broad shadow on the water. 

Rolling over the side, we encounter strong 

current. The overcast gave the slightly murky 

water a dull blue-gray tint, with visibility of 

perhaps 50 feet at best. 

When I reached the desired depth, I leveled 

off and looked for the rest of the group. That’s 

when my hair stood on end, my heart began 

to pound and boy, did I suck air. Just in front 

of me was a literal wall of hammerheads. 

Hundreds of them! The formation spread as 

far as I could see in any direction to within a 

few feet of the surface. 

From near the surface to the depths below, 

and in every direction I could see, there were 

sharks, their sheer number so overwhelming 

that I forgot to take a single picture. I didn’t 

even raise my camera. I just wanted to close 

my eyes and hope the sharks were gone 

when I opened them. 

Instead, I broke speed records churning 

water with my Jet Fins to catch up to my dive 

group. And when I did, I did not look back. 

So much for photography, but sometimes 

the most spectacular images aren’t stored 

on film or a hard drive but in my mind’s eye. 

That particular scene, which shall forever is adventure diving at its best – both You should always keep an eye on the 

remain etched in my memory, was from my exhilarating and unpredictable. One minute blue, as well, because there’s always a 

first trip to Mexico’s Socorro Islands, in March a school of jacks obscures the sun, the chance of seeing something really big, like a 

of 1999. No way was it going to be my last. next minute a manta ray flies by or you whale shark or humpback whale. And that’s 

The underwater scene in the Socorros, come face to face with sharks - or a pod of the part that gets you’re your blood, bringing 

also known as the Revillagigedo Islands, dolphin appears. 

you back for more. 

www.underwaterjournal.com June/July 2007 

the Socorros 

By Bonnie J. Cardone

Act Two 

Eight years to the month after that 

first memorable encounter with the 

hammerheads, I was back on board the 

same boat, the Solmar V, once again diving 

the Socorros. It was like finally seeing that 

long awaited sequel to your favorite action/ 

adventure flick. You know most of the 

characters will be in it, following a familiar 

script, but with some new plot twists. 

The second day of the trip found us near 

Isla Revillagigedo’s main island. Motoring 

out for a morning dive, our panga a group 

of dolphins greeted us and provided an 

escort to the dive site. We were on our way 

to spot off Cabo Pearce, which comprised a 

long submerged ridge of volcanic rock that 

is often a good place to see the schooling 

hammerheads. I learned later that the 

dolphins, all Pacific bottlenoses, have for 

the past few years become regulars here as 

well, often providing a diver or two with a 

nice swim by and a smile for the camera. 

We rolled off the panga on Luis’ count of 

three and descended. The dolphins darted 

after us, a half dozen adults with two 

juveniles in tow. For several minutes they 

zoomed among our group of nine divers, 

checking everyone out. 

At one point they formed a group 

and sped past me, reminding me of the 

bronze sculpture a friend has in her living 

room. They were incredibly beautiful in 

the deep blue water with the sun shining 

down on their sleek heads and backs. Oh 

the hell with looking for the sharks, this 

was more fun! 

2 

Back To Roca Partida 

The Socorros’ most adventurous dive has 

to be Roca Partida, where I encountered the 

unforgettable Wall of Hammerheads back in 

1999. The Rock, 60 miles due west of San 

Benedicto Island in the Isla Revillagigedos, 

is the remains of a volcanic plug. Getting to 

it is not guaranteed. 

Alone on an open horizon, Roca Partida’s 

single formation, whitewashed by the flocks 

of birds that roost on it, rises 100 feet above 

the surface. Underwater, its sides drop 

nearly vertically to depths beyond 200 feet, 

with its lower base sloping onward to 3,000 

plus feet. Almost small enough to circle in 

one dive, the “Rock” is often not an easy 

dive, as there may be a stiff current often 

with accompanied by big swells which can 

Above: How Roca Partida (meaning part of a rock) 

got classified as an island is suspect. 

Below: Large silky sharks in the Socorro’s like this 

one can be cool customers around divers. 


make maintaining a specific depth impossible. 

On the upside, it is a magnet to passing pelagics. 

Especially sharks. 

This trip I was determined to photograph the 

Wall of Hammerheads, should I see it again. 

Luckily, perhaps, my resolve wasn’t tested. 

During the four dives I made on the Rock this 

trip, I saw lots of sharks, at least five different 

species. And though schools of hammerheads 

were always present they were way below us, at 

the edge of visibility. 

Whitetip reefs, on the other hand, were easy to 

photograph. They were always found lying about in the 

same shallow depressions on one side of the Rock. 

Schools of bigeye jacks large 

enough to blot out the sun 

are a common occurence in 

the Socorro Islands. 

Five large Galapagos sharks had a certain 

rocky promontory they liked to circle. On one 

occasion we rounded a corner and came face 

to face with them. The sharks recovered first 

and moved to shallower water. In addition to 

this regular cast of characters, there were also 

appearances by silky and silvertip sharks. 

While we didn’t see a whale shark at Roca 

Partida, divers on the trip before ours did. We 

also didn’t see humpback whales underwater, 

though there was plenty of activity on the 

surface, typically just before sunset. That’s 

when the city bus sized giants seemed to rouse 

from their slumbers and begin blowing and 

The Socorro islands 

(islas revillagigedo) 

Comprised of only four islands, 

this covers 320 square miles. The 

northernmost of this small archipelago 

is San Benedicto, a sleeping volcano 

(2.6 miles across), 180 miles southwest 

of Cabo San Lucas. Socorro (Spanish 

for “help”), the largest (10 miles long, 

9 miles wide), is 40 miles south of 

San Benedicto. Roca Partida (300 feet 

long, 115 feet tall) is 60 miles west 

of Socorro. The fourth major island, 

Clarion, is 250 miles west of Socorro 

and is rarely, if ever, visited by dive liveaboards 

today. 

Above water, the islands are home to 

birds and other endemic and introduced 

species; humans live only at the Mexican 

naval bases on Socorro and Clarion. 

The Mexican government declared the 

islands a Biosphere Reserve in June 

1994 and banned fishing within 12 miles 

of land. According to Wikipedia.com, 

the islands were named after Don Juan 

Vicente de Guemes Padilla Horcasitas 

y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, 

the 53rd viceroy of New Spain. 

Long known for their friendly manta 

rays, the Socorro’s are also the winter 

calving and mating grounds for 

humpback whales, which make the long 

journey here from Alaska and the U.S. 

West Coast. 


Above: A giant manta makes a close pass over a 

waiting diver at the Boiler. 

breaching, sometimes spectacularly. 

There was also a highly entertaining 

and energetic display of tail lobbing by 

two pairs of whales as we rode pangas 

to The Rock for an afternoon dive. The 

white water produced by high-flung 

flukes was awesome! 

The Manta Imperative 

If there is one thing that is a given 

about these islands, it is their reliability 

for encounters with manta rays. And the 

best place to find it, see it and experience 

it is on the Boiler off San Benedicto. 

Rising from a depth of 130 feet, 

the Boiler is a flat-topped seamount 

roughly 80 feet in diameter that rises 

to within a few feet of the surface. 

Unlike most dives, which are done from 

When good imagery is just not good enough 


pangas, the Solmar V positions 

its stern to the Boiler so that 

divers can enter and exit freely 

from the boat’s swim step. As 

a precaution, the crew also 

employs both pangas to pick 

up anyone who might get 

carried away should a current 

spring up. Having the Solmar’s 

two longtime veteran panga 

drivers Luis and Jeronimo, 

both extraordinarily vigilant 

and competent, is a comforting 

piece of insurance. 

Even when the mantas make 

a no show, there is plenty to see 

and photograph here. Schools of 

crevales and cotton jacks, king 

anglefish are the norm, while 

tons of small stuff live in the 

rock’s cracks and crevices. The 

site is also a cleaning station 

hence the reason mantas are attracted to it. 

When they do make an appearance, divers are 

treated to a real show. The wingspan of pacific 

manta average 15 feet tip to tip. When the 

manta appear, its best to just hang in the water 

column and let them come to you, which they 

usually do quickly, stalling overhead to bathe in 

your exhaust bubbles. 

The Solmar V crew has discovered that rays 

will stay around longer if they aren’t pursued. 

Some days, there can be so many rays vying for 

attention; you don’t know which way to look. 

My last day at the Boiler was one of those. And 

to my absolute delight I had an all-black manta 

that approached and seemed to single me out. 

During our 20-minute encounter, I could have 

easily stroked its belly each time it banked into 

the bubbles. 

The last dives of our trip were at The Canyon, 

off San Benedicto. Hammerheads are often seen 

at deeper depths here, but on this day they were 

nowhere to be found. Instead was a school of 

juvenile silvertips that like to favor the rock piles 

near the drop-off at 83 feet. 

Unlike their Roca Partida cousins, the 

individuals in this group are not shy, coming 

plenty close enough to photos. All too soon, the 

diving was done and it was time to head home. 

The Solmar V cruise back to Cabo San Lucas 

takes 24 hours; time enough to pack, get some 

sun, read a book or two and plot a return visit to 

the Isla Revillagigedo. April 2008 looks good... v 

Socorro’s Season and 

diving Conditions 

Dive season for the Socorro Islands 

runs from November 1 through to 

mid-June. From July to November 

hurricane activity makes the islands 

too risky for scheduled trips. Water 

temperatures start around 78 - 82 

F in November and December, 

dropping into the mid to lower 70’s 

January on into April then climb 

back into the upper 70’s by May. 

Mantas and sharks are the main 

draw, but during late January to the 

end of March humpback whales 

sometimes pay surprise visits during 

dives. Like Hawaii, the islands 

serve as breeding grounds for large 

numbers of these marine mammals, 

as evidenced by the presence of 

their peaceful songs most dives. 

Currents and surge should be 

expected, and lack of a white sand 

bottom will make the water appear 

darker, even on days when visibility 

is in the 80 – 100-foot range. If 

you don’t already carry a personal 

surface marker, invest in a good one 

before you go. The boat provides 

inexpensive plastic models for those 

without them, but those produced 

by companies like OMS, Dive Rite 

and Zeagle are a better choice. 


The SOLMAR V 

When you hear others tell 

you about their experiences 

on this grand Mexican 

lady, be it the The Isla 

Revillagigedo’s (Socorro 

Islands), Southern Sea of 

Cortez or Great White Sharks 

off Guadalupe, the green eyes 

of envy will turn as dark as 

her hull. 

Review by Bonnie J. Cardone 

Measuring 112 feet in length, the 

Solmar V is queen of the live-aboards 

operating in the Eastern Pacific. 

The onboard ambiance is several steps 

aboard the average dive boat, as the interior 

is resplendent with gleaming mahogany 

woodwork, polished brass and decorative, 

lighted glass panels etched with marine 

motifs. The main salon offers four U-shaped 

booths with granite-topped tables and 

upholstered seats, as well as four, two person 

tables with bar stools. 

The boat can accommodate 22 

divers in six standard staterooms 

(bow) and six superior staterooms 

(amidships). The staterooms 

are finished as beautifully 

as the salon, with pillow-top 

mattresses and down pillows in 

all staterooms, but stateroom 

floor and storage space is fairly 

tight. Toilets and in some cases 

the sink are housed the stateroom’s shower 

compartment. Each stateroom is fitted with 

individually controlled air-conditioning and 

an entertainment system, should you want 

to watch movie of your choice from the ships 

video library. 

The stern dive deck is well organized, with 

benches along each side with a huge, twotiered 

camera table as the centerpiece. Tanks 

are secured behind the benches; personal 

gear goes in boxes under them. Suits can be 

hung to dry on racks outside the salon. 

The Solmar has 3 watermakers capable 

of making 1,600 gallons of fresh water per 

day. This allows water in the four 45-gallon 

freshwater rinse buckets - two for cameras/ 

regulators with the other two for wetsuits 

and equipment – to be changed daily. There 

are also two freshwater showers (and a 

stack of towels) for diver rinses on the stern 

each dive. 

Dives are conducted in one of two ways, 

based on the site’s location and physical 

dynamics. When possible, at sites like the 

boiler, diving is carried out directly from 

the vessel. On the stern, the swim platform 

features an impressive, super-wide, rock solid 


Left: For underwater 

photographers, camera tables 

are a must, and the Solmar V’s is 

certainly more than adequate. 

Right: Solmar V’s new computer 

alcove and library. 

Below: While diving from pangas 

is most often the rule, some sites 

are accessible enough to dive 

from the Solmar V’s stern ladder 

and swim step. 

in-water staircase. Due to the wild nature 

station with a laptop for digital editing, a 

of the region, the Solmar V also utilizes a 

Seawave Satellite Communications system 

pair of 22-foot Achilles inflatables with 60hp 

for hassle free e-mails and sat phone calls 

outboards for both dropping and retrieving 

by guests. In place of the two small TVs and 

divers at specific sites like Roca Partida and 

antiquated VCR, the main salon now has 

Cabo Pierce. 

large screen HDTV and DVD/stereo system, 

When the Solmar V began operation in 

and all the old tapes have been replaced 

Mexico in 1993, Jose Luis Sanchez, owner of 

with DVDs? 

Amigos Del Mar diving services, was tasked 

In addition brining the Solmar V up to date, 

with setting up the Solmar V’s initial dive 

with all safety equipment in accordance with 

operations and overseeing exploration in the 

U.S. Coast Guard Safety Requirements, Jose 

Socorro Islands for its cache of dive sites, as 

Luis ordered a complete overhaul of vessel’s 

well as doubling as boat’s marketing director. 

main engines and auxiliaries. Anything that 

But with the operation split between two the parent company, Solmar Resorts. With needed tweaking got tweaked, right down 

entities, there were some inconsistencies boat in hand, Jose hit the ground running, to the propellers, which were re-tuned for 

such as the quality of food and onboard and soon installed a state-of-the-art Nitrox maximum fuel efficiency. 

diving services. By 2005, when just about Membrane System providing 32 to 34 percent Powered by a pair of turbo charged Detroit 

everybody and their sister had nitrox, the nitrox fills. 

12V-71’s, and boasting a 10,000 gallon fuel 

Solmar V was still without it! 

Additional improvements included a face capacity, the Solmar V has a range of 2,300 

Call it frustration in not seeing the boat lift to the salon’s library alcove, which had nautical miles, making trips to and from 

reach its full potential, in February 2006, once housed only had a tattered collection of the Socorro’s an easy jaunt. Most crossings 

Jose Luis and his wife Leslie purchased the marine I.D. books, novels and VHS tapes. It from its homeport in Cabo San Lucas take 

Solmar V and the attendant business from now sports a designated onboard computer approximately 23 hours to complete. Factor 

7 www.underwaterjournal.com June/July 2007

Cabins: The Solmar V accommodates 22 

guests. While they’re a bit tight, each is 

beautifully appointed. 

in the crossing time, all Soccoro 

Island trips run nine days in 

length, providing 5 full and one 

half day of diving. 

When weather conditions 

are favorable, the Solmar V will 

often cross over to Roca Partida 

to spend a day or two taking in 

the slender spire of rock in the 

middle of nowhere’s hot pelagic 

action. Due to the Solmar V’s 

increased fuel efficiency enables 

it to be one of the only vessels 

currently NOT asking guests to 

pay a fuel surcharge. 

The Solmar V has a large crew, 

and all of them, from Captain 

Gerrardo to jack-of-all-trades, 

Francisco, are conscientious, 

accommodating and friendly. 

Chef Pedro prepares wonderful 

meals. Besides coffee and tea, 

breakfast always features a large 

platter of fresh fruit — including 

melons, papaya and kiwi fruit — 

along with yogurt, cereal, pan dulce 

(Mexican sweet breads) and juice. 

Eggs with toast and, depending on 

the day, hash browns, bacon, ham 

or sausage, were also offered. 

There are always homemade 

soups for lunch. The entrée might 

be cheeseburgers and fries or 

grilled chicken breasts or fish fillets, 

usually with vegetables (broccoli, 

squash, cauliflower) steamed al 

dente. There was always a luscious 

dessert, too. 

Dinners start with a salad of 

fresh vegetables and included a 

variety of entrees - fish, chicken, 

shrimp, pork chops or steak — 

along with fresh vegetables and 

perhaps rice or mashed potatoes. 

The desserts, from a bakery in 

Cabo, are suitably delicious: 

cheesecake, pies, and cakes. Beer 

and wine are included in the cost 

of the trip and several times a 

week, specialty drinks, such as 

margaritas and tequila sunrises 

are offered. The only complaint I 

heard about any of the meals was 


The comfortable main salon features four U-shaped booths and four two-person tables. 

Inbetween dives, guests often relax in air conditioned surroundings to read, watch a movie or 

play a game of backgammon. 

that the portions were too large. 

The boat runs three itineraries - the Islas Revillagigedo’s (a.k.a, 

Socorro Islands) from November through May; the Sea of Cortez (for 

both scuba and Baja nature cruises) in June and the middle of October, 

with Guadalupe Island for cage diving with great white sharks thrown in 

during August and September before returning to its Socorro itinerary 

in November. v 

For more information visit www.Solmarv.com. 

“WOW -- What is that?” 

www.fishid.com 


20 

FLORIDA’s GOLIAth GROupeR 

Text & Photography 

By Walt Stearns 

Now that they have returned, 

will it last, or will this be this 

giant’s final show? 


Stepping off the Republic IV, I began 

the 60-foot descent to the familiar 

remains of the MG-111 cargo 

barge. As its derelict steel structure 

came into focus, so did another nowfamiliar 

sight: grouped tightly around 

the wreck were some two dozen really 

big fish. And they weren’t scared. 

These gray-and-tan behemoths, 

which ranged from at least 100 pounds 

to well over 400 pounds, sported 

distinctive curved tails, small beady 

eyes and rotund physiques peppered 

with black spots. They hovered with 

mouths agape, ready to inhale any 

prey that came within range. There 

was no mistaking them for anything 

but goliath grouper. 

And unlike most other large 

predatory fish – including many sharks 

– they didn’t back off as I approached. 

Closing to within a few feet of one 

particularly large fish caused no visible 

reaction. It held its ground and gave 

me a look as if to say, “O.K., we’re all 

here, now what?” 

Coming face-to-face with a fish the 

size of 55-gallon drum is definitely 

an experience no diver will forget 

– especially if they’ve ever heard 

those urban myths about divers being 

swallowed whole by these outsized 

members of the grouper clan. But after 

the initial adrenaline rush of confronting 

something bigger than you wears off, 

most divers soon discover that goliath 

groupers (Epinephelus itajara) are not 

the ferocious brutes some would have 

us believe. 

2 

In fact, when confronted by divers, 

goliath’s turn into rather big babies. If 

threatened, they sound off with a short 

series of loud booms. In grouper speak, 

they’re saying “you’re in my territory, 

go away!” But such displays are just 

bark, not bite. The moment their bluff 

is called, these big fish will likely turn 

to the safety of a deep hole in a reef 

or wreck. 

The bigger the wreck the greater the 

odds of finding one, two, three or more 

goliath grouper. Why do these fish favor 

wrecks over natural structures? Look at it 

this way: where would you want to live, in a 

mansion or in a tent? 


They’re Baaaaaaackk! 

Not that long ago, any type of encounter 

with these reef giants off Florida’s east coast 

would have been a rarity. Now, divers see 

them on a regular basis, especially on the 

region’s various wrecks. This return is the 

result of a complete ban on the killing of 

goliath grouper, which was implemented in 

1990, and has now been in effect long enough 

to allow an increasing number of juveniles to 

reach maturity. 

But though the goliaths are once more 

becoming a fixture of Florida’s reefs and 

wrecks, it is too early to determine the exact 

extent of this comeback. Working jointly with 

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 

their efforts to determine the fish’s overall 

22 

population status, Florida State University’s 

Dr. Chris Koenig warns “Whenever a species 

begins showing signs of making a progressive 

comeback, certain dangers seem to follow, 

particularly public perception. We’ve gone 

from a long period in which we haven’t 

been seeing them, to now having something 

large - even a 50-lb youngster looks huge - 

suddenly in our face.” 

These sightings, especially on sites such 

as wrecks that concentrate the fish, may 

create a false sense of its actual numbers, 

he says. “The misconception may be that 

they are getting out of control and taking 

over everything!” 

In the waters of the Southern Gulf of 

Marathon Romance 

When a large number of big fish 

congregate, it’s usually for one purpose: 

to perpetuate the species. In the Gulf, 

spawning activity begins in late July, while 

the east coast populations start to get 

busy by late summer. As the dog days 

of August heat up, so do the hormones, 

triggering the need for these big reef fish 

to travel distances up to 90 miles to reach 

their rendezvous point. 

For example, a pair of adult fish tagged 

by FSU beneath an old Phosphate Dock 

in Boca Grande traveled a distance of 

65 miles out to the wreck of the Baja 

California to take part in the summer 

spawn. They returned to their home under 

the dock a couple months later. 

Mexico this perception is very much the 

rule. On Spearboard.com’s forum threads 

on goliaths can get volatile. Even people 

who don’t live in the state, like Spearboard 

member Mako993, weighed in on the thread. 

The comment: Interested in a Limited Goliath 

Grouper Harvest? Here’s How We Get One. 

“Yeah, if they’re not harvested even minimally, 

they’ll walk all over you because they’ve lost 

their fear of man, the top predator in the 

food chain. Sounds like we need to put the 

steel to those fellas down your way - sign me 

up for a harvest if a law ever passes. They’re 

decent eating.” 

continued on page 24 


In the waters of Florida’s east coast, there 

are presently four known spawning sites. All 

are located off Palm Beach County: three 

in Jupiter with the Hole-in-the-Wall being 

2 

the deepest at 140 feet, the Zion Train/Esso 

Bonaire at 90 feet and the MG-111 (above), a 

busted up barge lying in 60 feet, the shallowest. 

The fourth, and newest addition as of the 

Seeing this many fish in one place can give a false 

sense that they are everywhere, when in reality a group 

like this, found on the MG-111, is a mix of animals from 

as far away as 20 to 30 miles. We are at a point now 

where can try to keep it, or throw it all away. 

summer of 2006 is the Castor Wreck, a huge 

258-foot freighter sunk in 110 feet of water off 

Boynton Beach in 2001. 


But, like most threads, the stories 

posted are based on opinions and 

anecdotal stories with little to no 

verifiable evidence or even proper 

understanding of this animal’s 

history. Others see dollar signs, 

calculating how many grouper 

sandwiches they could be making 

should the moratorium be lifted. 

Just as disturbing as those 

interested it making a buck through 

poaching are those who feel the need 

to kill the fish for no other reason than 

getting it out of the way. Such thinking 

is based on the misconception that 

it is the goliaths that are somehow 

the cause for the declining numbers 

of snapper, groupers and lobsters on 

the reefs. 

With the attention on goliaths 

mounting, some Florida dive 

operators like Jupiter Dive Center 

owner Gerry Carroll see this as 

a good thing. “From a business 

standpoint, they’re worth more 

to me alive than dead,” he says. 

“Nothing says that better than 

having a boat load of customers 

coming back to the dock jazzed 

about seeing these immense fish.” 

2 

A spawning aggregation assembles off Jupiter, FLorida at a site called the Hole-in-the-Wall. 

By the end of August there will typically be between 35 and 45 hefty individuals gathering at 

these spawning sites. Some aggregations have been recorded to last as long as two months. Talk 

about a long honeymoon. 

Interestingly, no one knows when, how often, or even what an actual spawning event looks 

like, because nobody has yet been witness to such an occurrence. Unlike their smaller cousin the 

Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), which spawn during the timeframe of a full moon, goliaths 

don’t appear to follow a set pattern in regards to the moon. 


Back in the Day 

When I hear some divers talk of how 

many goliaths they are seeing today, I 

think back to the early days of my diving 

career and the stories I’ve heard from 

the real old timers, and remind them 

that they haven’t seen nothing yet! 

During the 1950’s and 60’s, goliath 

groupers were easy to find. Although 

they favor depths in the 60 to 200 foot 

range, to hear old timers tell it, it was 

not uncommon to find them lurking in 

very shallow water, often as close as the 

nearest pier, jetty or channel marker. 

So plentiful were these gigantic groupers 

many enterprising charter-boat skippers in 

Key West would routinely haul in dozens at 

a time, solely for photo opportunities with 

their proud anglers. Beyond that, goliaths 

held little commercial value, as the quality 

of their meat was more fit for cat food 

when compared to the other grouper and 

snapper stocks that were highly available 

in the area. 

My own introduction to these big fish 

dates back to when I was a hunter rather 

than a photographer - the art of taking 

resources over my interest in taking 

pictures. During the late 70’s, wrecks off of 

Florida’s west coast were literally swarming 

with gray, black and red grouper, as well 

as quite a few big lobster and, of course, 

scores of giant goliath groupers. 

I can recall mid to late summer trips 

to wrecks such as the Stony and Baja 

California when we would encounter 

literally hundreds of big goliaths in one 

location. We didn’t know it then, but we had 

been witnessing spawning aggregations. 

2 

Jewfish, June fish, Goliath Grouper, What’s in a Name 

Although most of us still recognize goliath groupers by their former name, Jewfish, 

Florida’s early settlers had another name for this behemoth, the June fish. Apparently the 

name was derived by the fact that these large fish were most accessible to fishermen during 

the summer months, beginning in June. 

Somewhere along the way the name evolved into Jewfish. As to how it got there has 

generated plenty of speculation. In 2001, the fish’s name was officially changed to goliath, 

meaning large, not “Goliath,” after the giant who was defeated by David. 

A snapshot from the early 1960’s shows a proud Key West boat captain with his family and 

morning haul of 17 large goliath grouper. 


The most startling moments were when 

these grouper herds rose up to meet us 

Goliaths are the 

half way up the descent line. Knowing 

that you were in no danger didn’t make 

it easier to fight off the instinct to retreat 

when confronted by the sight of a hundred 

or more big fish coming toward you like a 

stampeding her of buffalo. 

Most of the spearfishermen I knew felt 

little need to bother them except for the 

occasional hero photo at the dock. Besides, 

largest of all groupers 

in the Atlantic Ocean. 

They can reach a 

maximum length of 

eight feet, weigh up to 

approximately 880pounds, 

and live well 

over 35-years. 

there was plenty of other game about, the 

goliaths didn’t bother us, and for the most 

part, we didn’t bother them. 

By the early ‘80s, Florida waters began 

The largest 

goliath taken by a 

sport fisherman to 

to show signs of change. Many types of 

be accepted by the 

gamefish became noticeably scarcer, 

International Gamefish 

and those impressive herds of goliaths 

diminished faster with each successive 

year. By the end of the decade, many 

thought the goliath grouper was doomed. 

Association (IGFA) 

was a 680-lb behemoth 

landed off Fernandina 

Beach, Florida in 1961. 

Shooting Cows 

In August of 2002, I was invited to 

join Dr. Chris Koenig on a fish tagging 

Think how old that fish 

must have been. 

expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. I was 

introduced to Don DeMaria, a former 

commercial goliath grouper hunter who 

now puts his talents and energy into 

assisting FSU and NMFS research efforts 

on the fish. 

Watching Don systematically tag 24 of 

Goliath groupers are not particularly 

fast growers. Their average rate of growth 

from a tiny ¼ inch fry to a length of 4 

feet and weight of 60-lbs is five to six 

years. Although the fish has reached sexual 

maturity by this time, it is not yet a viable 

Nearly all of the fish taken by commercial 

fishers during the spawning seasons in the 

1980’s averaged between 16 to 37 years. 

And unlike some grouper species, there is 

no perceivable size difference between fully 

mature males and females. This means that 

the 33 residing goliaths on the partially breeder. It takes the really big, old fish to the majority of large fish divers are seeing 

collapsed hulk of the Baja California (a produce the right amount of eggs and sperm today are just approaching their potential 

300-foot WWII era freighter resting in 

115 of water) in the span of two dives was 

a chilling demonstration of his proficiency 

with a gun. As fast as he could reload his 

seahornet with a new tag on the shaft tip, 

another fish was accessorized with some 

essential for reproduction. According to 

Dr. Koenig and Dr. Felicia Coleman, FSU’s 

Institute for Fishery Resource Ecology 

Program Director, it can take as long as 15 

to 30 years for a fish to reach 300 – 450 lbs. 

prime for propagation. 


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According to Don, before the 

mid 80’s, the number of goliaths 

found on these wrecks would have 

been at least twice over what is it 

is today. Pointing to the back of his 

boat, Don described how he and 

a one or two man crew could, in 

one day, load up the entire cockpit 

with their giant carcasses. “Back 

then, we would drop in and shoot 

a dozen or more on a wreck like 

this without putting much of a 

dent in the school,” he says. “Or 

so we thought.” 

“Part of the problem,” Don 

explains, “is that these fish are 

not the creatures urban legends 

have made them out to be. True, 

they are intimidating when seen 

up close, but in all actuality, they 

are surprisingly docile, sometimes 

to the point of being a bit dense! 

I can’t even begin to tell you how 

many times they have just sat 

there instead of running, staring 

back at you the whole time my 

gun was leveled at close range on 

their head.” 

Having killed a few myself in 

my early days, I can attest to 

the fact that shooting one with a 

powerhead takes about as much 

skill as dropping a dairy cow with 

a high-powered rifle at point blank 

range. Even when a goliath decides 

to run, it’s seldom any farther than 

the nearest hole or ledge.And once 

they hole up, the outcome is often 

the same - bam! 

On days Don didn’t feel like 

going down and pulling the trigger, 

“it was just as simple as dropping 

a heavy line down with a live blue 

runner or jack to the bottom. A few 

seconds later, you had fish. It was 

insane; we were literally driving 

these fish to extinction.” 

Close to the Brink 

The continued slaughter of 

the big goliaths took its toll, and 

by the late 70’s, goliath’s had 

all but disappeared throughout 

most of southeast Florida. By the 

mid 1980’s, summer spawning 

aggregations, which historically 

featured some 80 to 100-plus 

breeding age fish on a number of 

sites in the central and southern 

Gulf of Mexico between Tampa 

and Key West, had fallen to less 

than ten. 

In 1989 the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), under 

the authority of the Magnuson- 

Stevens Fisheries Act, listed 

goliath grouper populations as 

being on the verge of collapse. The 

following year, under supervision 

of the South Atlantic Fisheries 

Management Council, a federal 

moratorium was enacted, making 

the killing or retention of the 

goliath grouper a criminal offense. 

In 1991, goliaths were listed as 

candidates for the endangered 

species list. 


In the years since, goliath 

populations have seen a slow 

but steady return. Soon Fish 

of 100 pounds or more began 

to be seen on certain wrecks 

– first as singles, then in small 

groups. It was a slow but 

encouraging rebound. 

Just eight years ago, the 

entire known population of 

large goliath groupers off the 

Palm Beach County coast was 

estimated at about a dozen. 

At the same time, spawning 

aggregations of 20 to 30 fish 

were just starting to return to 

a select number of wrecks in 

the central and southern Gulf 

of Mexico. 

But despite these gains, 

the goliath grouper stock in 

U.S. waters is still considered 

overfished under the Magnuson- 

Stevens Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act; therefore, 

all recreational and commercial 

harvest is still prohibited. 

NOAA Fisheries Service created 

the species of concern list in 

2004 to identify species about 

which the service has concerns 

regarding status and threats, 

but does not have sufficient 

information to list the species 

as endangered or threatened 

under the Endangered Species 

Act. Twenty-five marine species, 

including goliath grouper, were 

added to this list. The species is 

considered endangered by the 

2 

IUCN, an international body that 

assesses the status of species 

around the world. Google up 

IUCN and search goliath grouper 

to see the status yourself. 

Goliath Conundrum 

In February 2006, NOAA 

Fisheries Service removed 

the goliath grouper from their 

“Species of Concern List” due to 

evidence that the fish had made 

a significant comeback. The 

evidence coming largely from 

Florida State University’s (FSU) 

work with NOAA’s National Marine 

Fisheries Services, which have 

been studying this fish closely 

since its Federal protection 

placement back in 1990. 

Sixteen years. That’s how 

long it has taken these fish to 

re-establish a foothold on their 

former historical range. 

On the heels of this news 

that the U.S. population 

segment is now at a positive 

level of abundance, questions 

are being raised at the 

possibility of reopening some 

form of season. According Dr. 

Koenig, “To lift the moratorium 

now would be premature and 

grossly irresponsible. We 

need to be extremely cautious 

with something that is highly 

vulnerable to overexploitation, 

especially in regards to its life 

history, longevity and behavior.” 


“It’s not a just a fishing problem these fish face, 

but also one of habitat,” Dr. Koenig explains. The 

first five years are the most critical in a goliath’s 

life cycle - juvenile stages are spent in mangrove 

habitat using the protective undercuts provided by 

the tree’s prop roots for cover. 

“Goliath juveniles are adapted to the estuarine 

conditions existing in mangrove forests, however, 

they are not tolerant to severe cold snaps dipping 

water temps below 60 degrees, too much freshwater 

discharge or chemical contamination. Even without 

these influences at play the habitat essential for 

fish’s development is rapidly diminishing. At present, 

the largest remaining habitat is the Ten Thousand 

Island region of the Everglades National Park. Take 

that away, the fish’s future chance of survival in 

Florida waters is close to zip,” says Koenig. 

What does this mean for the goliath? Only time 

will tell. Hopefully 2007 won’t be the start up of the 

goliath groupers’ last, and final farewell. v 

2 

Map Courtesy of Florida State University’s Department (FSU) of Biological Science 

It could be said the central and southern regions of the gulf, along with part of 

Florida’s east coast from the Palm Beaches north to Daytona Beach have shown the 

greatest signs for the goliath’s comeback. However, the underlying regions from Ft. 

Lauderdale and Miami down through the Florida Keys to Key West still remain thin. 


0 

Florida State University 

Its not just about Football 

Florida State University’s Department (FSU) of 

Biological Science has been involved with goliath 

grouper research for as long as the fish has been 

under protective status. 

Since the study’s inception, Dr. Chris Koenig 

and Dr. Felicia Coleman, Koenig’s colleague/spouse 

and Director of the Florida State University Coastal 

and Marine Laboratory, have worked to define 

the rate of recovery of adult goliath grouper in the 

southeastern Gulf Mexico. According to both FSU 

and the National Marine Fisheres Service (NMFS), 

this region remains the most productive area in 

the entire tropical Western Atlantic and Caribbean 

basin, supporting numerous spawning aggregations 

and prime nursery habitat. 

To monitor these aggregations both FSU and 

NMFS tag adult fish with visually identifiable 

numbered tags, which are placed in the fish’s back 

adjacent to the dorsal fin using a modified spear 

gun. The researchers also mark and recapture 

juveniles in Florida Bay’s mangroves. In some 

cases, micro transponders are also placed on 

the fish to monitor their movements. 


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Lazy, or just Resourceful? 

Like most reef predators, goliaths 

are highly opportunistic feeders. 

If something edible is slow and/ 

or dumb enough to be where a 

goliath can get it, even something 

on the end of a line, it’s going 

to be lunch. But this does not 

mean the goliath grouper are 

indiscriminate eating machines. 

According to Dr. Koenig, and 

contrary to what some believe, 

grouper and snapper are not 

a normal part of the goliath’s 

diet. Working closely with NMFS, 

FSU’s team of researchers have 

examined the stomach contents 

from many captured adult and 

juvenile fish, only to find that 

“not even once have we found a 

grouper or snapper inside.” 

What they have found by 

examining the stomach contents 

is that the animal’s preferred prey 

- in addition to a wide assortment 

of crustaceans and mollusks - 

is fish with spiny defenses, like 

catfish, burrfish, porcupine fish 

and stingrays. 

One reason for this preference 

has to do with the physical 

ways in which goliaths differ 

from other species of grouper. 

Compared to its body mass and 

the size of its’ mouth, the teeth 

on a goliath are somewhat 

dainty. They lack the crushing 


variety of frangible teeth that are located 

near the back of the throat in other large 

grouper species. 

Call it a test of the stomach’s constitution, 

but when something like a large angry blue 

crab is turned into lunch, it goes to the belly of 

the goliath alive and snapping. 

The final element dictating the goliath’s diet 

is the manner in which it will hunt. Instead of 

roaming long distances, it will often remain in 

a relatively small area, settling for whatever 

passes by (juvenile’s around mangrove islands 

have a considerably small home range, but the 

home range of adults may be a lot larger). 

2 

Off Florida’s East Coast, schools of redear herring and round 

scad will make their migration as far south as Jupiter, between late 

spring and early summer. As a defense against predation, the small 

shiny fish form up in tight polarized clouds, sometimes around 

stationary objects, so as to block and confuse rushing attacks from 

jacks, mackerel and cuda. 

For goliaths, this defense posture becomes easy to manipulate, 

allowing the small fish to mass up around them while at the same 

time slowly moving away from the wreck or reef where they are 

more exposed to attack. Before instinct can warn them of their 

mistake, faster moving predators begin their onslaught, driving the 

baitfish into a tighter ball up around the goliath’s head. For these big 

fish to get a meal, the act is as simple as taking a deep breath. 


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Gear Bag: 

Zeagle’s 

New! 

Octo-Z 

I’ve been a fan of combination second 

stage/power inflators since they first appeared 

on the market. No matter how carefully I 

stowed it, the octo’s three-foot-long hose 

always seemed to find a way to snag on 

something at the wrong time. Combining the 

octopus with the inflator not only eliminated 

a hose, it also kept the regulator up out of 

the silt and placed it prominently on my chest 

where it was easy to reach, and always right 

where I expected it to be. 

For almost six years, my combo unit of 

choice has been the Zeagle Octo-plus. It served 

me well, was highly reliable and breathed 

with reasonable ease. My one pet-peeve 

with the unit, and I am sure there are others 

who will agree, was the relative difficulty of 

orally inflating the BC. With the Octo-plus, 

the user was required to place his lips on a 

small circular valve that was rather difficult to 

reach, and hard to maintain a seal. 

Well, this year, say goodbye to Zeagle’s Octoplus 

and hello to their “New” Octo-Z. Unlike its 

predecessor, which had a unique shape, the 

Octo-Z more closely resembles other combo 

seconds such as Atomic’s SS1, Dive Rite’s new 

RiteSource, and Sherwood’s Gemini. All of which 

follow Scubapro’s former second generation 

design for their Air II. 

The Octo-Z even utilizes 

the same High Flow model 

quick disconnect favored by 

Scubapro and Atomic. Same for 

the positioning for both inflate 

and dump buttons, which are 

finished in contrasting colors to 

distinguish one from another. 

The biggest improvement, 

however, is the Octo-Z’s ability 

to orally inflate the BC through 

the Octo-Z’s mouthpiece. 

The Octo-Z is housed 

in a rugged, fiberglassreinforced 

polymer housing. Air 

management is handled by a 

newly-designed, lever-actuated 

poppet valve with an adjustable orifice 

that makes it better suited for the rapid 

inflation of large bladders. Anyone who 

has worn a large steel tank or a heavilyweighted 

BC will appreciate this capability. 

From a performance standpoint, the 

Octo-Z is on par with other premium combo 

regulator/inflator rigs. That is to say it won’t 

breath as easily as your primary (something 

you don’t want anyway, as this would cause 

free flow every time you jumped into the 

water), but it will certainly deliver a welcome 

full breath of air at most any working depth. 

There’s one more feature that makes 

Zeagle’s redesign very enticing. Instead 

of going the traditional route, with the 

corrugated air hose held secured to the 

regulator by means of a zip tie or clamp, 

Zeagle cleverly incorporated a garden hose 

type threaded fitting that allows the Octio-Z 

to be removed and reattached as easily as a 

hose nozzle. 

Flushing the BC’s air cell with fresh 

water is as simple as unthreading the BC’s 

corrugated hose from the Octo-Z, threading 

it onto your garden hose, and turning the 

water on (low). Being able to quickly and 

easily remove the regulator from the BC also 

simplifies your annual overhaul. How many 

times have you taken your reg in for service 

but forgot to bring your octo/inflator with it? 


For rinsing the inside 

of your BC, it doesn’t 

get any easier than this! 

Unscrew the Octo-Z, 

thread the end of the 

BC’s corrugated hose 

on the end of a garden 

hose, turn the tap and 

watch it do its thing. 

In addition, the ability to keep the 

Octo-Z with the regulator instead 

of the BC during both rinsing and 

storage will also decrease the 

chances of inadvertent damage 

through contamination by foreign 

material like dirt and salt. 

One nice final touch is the 

way the corrugated hose fitting 

is able to rotate so that both 

it and the low pressure hose 

quick disconnect fittings can be 

rotated for more comfortable 

positioning when you need to 

orally inflate the BC or breath 

from the mouthpiece. 

The Octo-Z weighs .5 lb without 

the hose, is available in yellow or 

black, and carries a suggested 

retail price of $199. 

To see what else Zeagle 

Systems have to offer, visit their 

website at www.zeagle.com 

- Allen Young 

$ 1995 

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www.underwaterjournal.com June/July 2007 

per 

week

It was the last weekend of March, the dive deck at Florida’s 

Weeki Wachee Springs looked like a scene from a Sea Hunt 

rerun. Divers clad in beavertail wetsuits with doublehose 

regulators attached to diminutive steel tanks, adjusted black oval 

masks and donned “duck feet” style fins. 

The event was the second annual “Dive Into History Day,” 

which brought together some 70 vintage scuba gear collectors 

from around the country. For the older participants, it was an 

opportunity to revisit their diving past. But in addition to the 

grizzled veterans, there were a surprising number of younger 

divers – folks who were still in diapers when Lloyd Bridges 

went off the air. 

For them and a growing number of divers across the country, 

collecting, restoring and using vintage scuba gear provides a 

chance to reconnect with diving’s roots, and to experience the 

underwater world in a way that is new to them, but comfortably 

familiar to those who have gone before. 

Diving Into History 

By Adam Matherson 

Photos by Walt Stearns 


the simple 

solution 

Left: The man behind 

the design of the Phoenix 

Nozzle, Luis Heros, suited 

up in some of his classic 

Most anyone with the desire 

can purchase or restore a 

vintage double hose regulator 

gear, heads down for 

another cool dip at Weeki 

Wachee Springs. 

to safe working order, but 

most lack the physical capacity 

to accommodate the additional 

high and low pressure orifices 

needed to accommodate such 

as power inflators, submersible 

pressure gauges and alternate 

second stages. Because many 

dive operators require such 

basic items of their customers, 

it can be difficult to bring 

vintage gear along on many 

dive excursions. 

Right: With a Phoenix Nozzle 

in place on this 1970’s era 

AquaLung Royal AquaMaster, it 

can run hoses for a SPG, power 

inflator and octopus. 

In order to bring his older 

equipment up to modern 

because it can be fitted onto the 

regulator’s existing intake port, 

On North Carolina’s 

standards, Luis Heros created 

an ingeniously simple device 

he dubbed the Phoenix Nozzle 

(see Underwater Journal Issue 

II). An avid collector and user of 

no mechanical modifications 

are required – good news for 

collectors who want to update 

their prized gear for real-world 

diving, but don’t want to degrade 

Crystal Coast, you 

can do more than 

see history. 

double hose gear, Luis went to the unit’s value with permanent 

a machine shop and came back 

with a solid-brass attachment 

that fits between the regulator 

body and the yoke connection, 

modifications. 

Luis’s design has become a 

very popular topic of discussion on 

sites such as vintagedoublehose. 

On land and in the 

water, you can be a 

and provides three low-pressure 

and high-pressure ports. 

com and vintagescuba.com’s 

forum sites. Some owners have 

part of it. 

Designed for Aqualung DA gone as far as referring to their 

and Royal Aquamaster designs, 

the nozzle will also fit Voit 

Navy and Polaris regs. And 

regs as Phoenix Aquamasters. 

What was old, is new again. 

www.crystalcoastnc.org 


iron Men 

non-Mag gear 

For the original UDT divers, it wasn’t about 

the gear as much as the guts. With less 

equipment than most modern-day snorklers, 

these brave men swam ashore – often under 

fire – to disable beach defenses and clear 

mines in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres 

of WWII. Here, diver Heath Yeager models an 

original UDT dive kit, which includes simple 

cotton shorts, a work weight belt with a nonmagnetic 

magnesium alloy buckle, a nonmag 

K Bar knife, Voit Duck Feet Fins, and a 

horse collar vest. 

In addition to staging demonstrations 

with vintage scuba gear and antique diving 

helmets, Heath is the founder and owner of 

www.divenowflorida.com - a central Floridabased 

company that offers dive tours to 

Weeki Wachee and numerous other locations 

around the state via a luxury van service. 

Vouching for the authenticity of Heath’s kit 

was veteran diver and Weeki Wachee regular 

Ed Burnod, who served as a Navy UDT diver 

from 1964 to 1976. Having recently moved to 

west Florida, he dives in the springs as often 

as possible, and still has one of his original 

non-magnetic doublehose regulators from 

his navy days. 

Keeping it Cousteau 

Like a lot of youngsters, Ryan Spence 

was captivated by the adventures of Captain 

Cousteau and crew of the Calypso. He 

became a diver when he grew up, and began 

collecting vintage gear about five years ago. 

His hunt for authentic equipment eventually 

lead him to Steven Arrington, a former chief 

diver for the Cousteau team who was looking 

to pass along some original equipment from 

his Calypso days. 

Unable to interest a museum in the gear, 

he eventually decided to sell it to a private 

collector. Enter Ryan, who recognized the 

historic importance of these pieces. It was 

the first of many acquisitions, as be began 


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networking with other former 

Cousteau team members. 

“I wanted to pick up their lost 

legacy,” he explains. “Their stories 

and their gear are worth preserving, 

and I wanted to document the 

people who built, tested and used 

this gear.” 

A product development 

specialist by trade, Ryan recently 

moved to Seattle where he 

operates flashbackscuba.com. 

The concept behind flashback is 

to make this equipment available 

to the public. “I don’t just want 

to put this stuff in a closet or a 

display case,” he says. “I want to 

get it out and show it to people… 

to actually dive with it.” 

Among his working collection 

are custom Italian-made tanks, 

French regulators, custom fins and 

one of the team’s silver suits, which 

he carefully coats with sunscreen 

before each use to preserve its 

color. Other prized acquisitions 

include one of Jacques’s personal 

wetsuits, which has the initials 

JYC penned into the collar. “It was 

rotting in a garage in Vancouver 

when I found it,” Ryan says. “It’s a 

piece of history.” 


In addition to an array of original 

equipment, Ryan has faithfully 

recreated exact replicas of items such 

as the team’s signature light helmets. 

To do so, he took molds of an original, 

and fabricated the replicas using the 

same materials and manufacturing 

technique that would have been used 

by the original manufacturer. 

Eventually, Ryan hopes to send his 

collection to a museum. He believes 

that in time, the historic value of these 

artifacts will be more widely appreciated, 

and his preservation efforts will allow 

future generations to connect with the 

original Cousteau legacy. 

0 

A Bit of Fun in Weeki Wachee Springs 

“It’s an exciting time for divers. We’re at a 

point where a lot of things that were just old 

are now becoming historical.” 

- Ryan Spence of Flashback Scuba 

For For vintage scuba collectors, 

events like Dive Into History, held at 

Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida, prides 

great number opportunities. Along with 

the chance to meet fellow collectors face 

to face and show off their gear, it’s also 

the ability to dive it where others can see 

it. Not to mention, getting in some really 

fun dives with a few fellow divers, even 

if some of them don’t need scuba, like 

Weeki’s mermaids. 


Hooked on 

Many a diver has a favorite old 

regulator stowed somewhere on 

a shelf in the garage or attic. Karl 

Gehring has more than 150, and 

he can tell you about every one 

of them. 

A diver for more than 15 years, 

Karl parlayed his skills as a computer 

technician into a job with Ikelite, 

where he now handles strobe 

repairs. About four years ago, he 

caught the vintage gear bug, and 

has since become an avid collector 

of historic regulators. His collection 

includes regulators from the 1950s 

and up, and currently includes some 

70 doublehose models and another 

90 vintage single hose designs. 

Vintage! 

To assemble this impressive 

collection, he prowls eBay and garage 

sales, but also has the advantage of 

working part time in a dive store, 

which gives him first shot at the old 

equipment that people inevitably 

bring by the shop. 

He says he can’t choose one 

that is his particular favorite, but 

considers his Royal Mistral the 

rarest addition to the collection. “I 

have a good collection,” he says, 

“but there are others out there who 

have a lot more than I do.” v 

Some people collect and 

refurbish antique cars, 

others like Karl Gehring 

collect and restore antique 

regulators. 

Like a proud papa, Karl 

poses with a few of his 

favorite regs. To Karl’s 

credit, his personal 

collection includes 

regulators from the 1950s 

and up, 70 of which are 

vintage doublehoses. 


There are a lot of things still waiting to 

be discovered in the underwater world. 

Divers make new discoveries all the time, 

but often don’t realize the importance of what 

they have discovered. 

But sometimes they do, and when they 

report their findings, new behaviors and 

sometimes entirely new species are added to 

the scientific record. Take, for example, a day 

last May when underwater videographer Jay 

Garbose came across something he had never 

seen before while on one of his local haunts 

off Juno Beach, Florida. 

Jay is not exactly green behind the ears, 

having worked for both National Geographic 

and The Discovery Channel. But what he found 

on that day was a creature unlike anything 

he’d ever seen before. Lying on the bottom 

was a long, thin organism that he estimated 

to be between seven and ten feet in length. In 

subsequent interviews Jay said that when he 

first saw it, he thought it was a sea cucumber... 

then he realized how big it was. 

Although scientists have now identified it 

as a new species of marine worm, they are 

baffled by what they have seen from Jay’s 

video. It’s not the Loch Ness Monster or the 

Creature from the Black Lagoon, but this 

new addition to marine taxonomy does have 

scientists scratching their heads. 

For now, researchers at the Smithsonian 

say it may be some sort of Nemertean 

worm, but they’re puzzled by some of its 

characteristics, namely its incredibly large 

2 

Strange thingS 

size. They’re simply calling it “undescribed.” 

I just call it Jay’s Worm. And it’s not the 

only strange worm-like creature in the ocean. 

I once ran across an equally baffling animal 

during one of my own diving adventures. 

It was 1994, and I was staying at the 

Anse Chastanet Resort on the island of St. 

Lucia, which is located mid way down the 

Caribbean’s Windward Island chain. It was 

there that I heard about a mysterious reef 

creature locals called the “Thing.” 

Say hello to 

the Caribbean’s 

heavy-weight of 

sea worms, the 

St. Lucia Thing 

(Eunice roussaei) 

By Walt Stearns 

I enjoy island tales as much as the 

next guy, but this one seemed especially 

improbable. A worm-like creature 

supposedly 15 feet in length and as big 

around as a man’s arm - extremely elusive, 

and it only came out at night. Oh yes, it 

is especially sensitive to dive lights. In 

one divemaster’s words, “Man, light make 

it snap back into its holes faster than a 

rubber band.” 

Never one to pass up a good mystery, 


Like all polycheates, marine 

worms belonging to the Phylum 

Annelida, the giant St.Lucia 

Thing’s (Eunice roussaei) body 

is divided into a repetitive 

sequence of round segments 

(reddish brown to purple with 

a pearl-like tint) separated by 

deep creases. 

Like a centipede, large 

cirri (appendages used for 

locomotion) and feather shape 

gills flank both sides of this 

huge marine worm. 

no matter how improbable it might seem, 

I planned a few night dives. Much to my 

surprise, I found that The Thing really did 

exist, and I was even able to get a picture 

of it! 

It was a fairly small specimen compared to 

what the divemasters had described - about 

four feet in length and as thick as my wrist. 

But it didn’t recoil from the light. Maybe it 

was sick. 

Excited by my discovery, I passed a few 

images on to my good friend Paul Humann. He 

was working on the second revision of his and 

Ned Deloach’s Reef Creature Identification 

book, so I figured if anyone could, Paul could 

identify it. 

As it turned out, this was a new species 

never before identified. The best any of the 

scientists were able to do was determine it 

belongs to the Phylum Annelida, meaning little 

rings, which is applied to most segmented 

worms. “Common earthworms, as well as 

many marine worms are members of this 

phylum,” according to Paul. 

This group’s most distinguishing 

characteristic is that their body is divided into 

a repetitive sequence of round segments. The 

marine variety are known as polycheates. 

Examples would include the beared fireworm 

(Hermodice carunculata) commonly called 

bristle worm. Differing on this creature, body 

segments of dark to reddish/purple brown 

with a pearl-like tint, separated by deep 

creases with large cirri (appendages used 

for locomotion) and feather shaped gills that 

are soft to the touch (yes, I touched one) 

running down both sides, looking sort of like 

a centipede. 

The identification of the Thing is tentative, 

as more taxonomic research needs to 

be done once viable specimens or tissue 

samples are obtained. Problem is not only 

are they nocturnal, they are still considered 

extremely rare, with only a handful sightings 

in Bonaire, Curacao and the Bahamas, in 

addition to St. Lucia. 

For the moment, all anyone can say is that 

it belongs to the Family of elongated worms 

Eunicidae, giving rise to its genies species 

name: Eunice roussaei. And that it inhabits 

deep recesses in the reef, and can grow up 

to six feet in length. 

The last part is speculative, since scientists 

are really not sure how big this animal grows. 

Who knows, there may be a 15-foot monster 

out there on the reef. It may be you who will 

find it. v 


Japan’s Most Dishonorable Act 

Recently I received an e-mail with a link 

to Oceana’s web site, http://www.oceana. 

org/north-america/action-center/. I watched 

a video that has also made the rounds 

on You Tube. It is a disturbing clip that 

documents one of the most inhuman and 

brutal mass slaughters imaginable. Dolphins 

– warm blooded, intelligent creatures not all 

that different from you and me – are being 

chassed, trapped and killed by the thousands, 

with not even the basic regard for life that is 

common in a third-world slaughter house. 

This year, as in years past, Japan has begun 

its annual dolphin hunting season. Over the 

next six months, the hunt is expected to kill 

more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises, 

the majority being bottlenose dolphins, 

pilot whales and striped dolphins. While 

Japan’s position is that this brutal practice 

is a form of culling, they are actually killing 

animals that are on the threatened species 

list. Officials claim that the dolphins eat too 

many fish, and are therefore a “pest” that 

must be removed so as to not compete with 

fishermen. In actuality, the meat of these 

marine mammals is sold off to supermarkets 

and grocery stores. 

The full impact of these hunts on the 

marine mammal population is unknown due 

to the lack of good population estimates 

for the various targeted species. Scientists 

also don’t know the extent of the disruption 

the massacre causes on the complex social 

structure of dolphins or the affect on the 

ecosystem of removing so many large 

animals out of a small area. 

Moreover, the wholesale prices for dolphin 

meat have plummeted as fears over pollution 

levels have turned Japanese consumers 

against tinned dolphin. 

The Japanese dolphin hunters have 

admitted that they are worried the 

government will soon shut them down in 

light of international outrage over the hunt. 

As the publicity grows, the hunters are 

forced to hide their actions. They erect fake 

signs to divert the general public from the 

coves where the dolphins are ultimately 

trapped and have outlawed photos and 

videos of the killing. 

I understand if you just can’t bear 

to watch the video, part of me wishes I 

hadn’t. For those of you that do choose to 

watch it, remember the three minutes and 

16 seconds it takes is about half as long 

as some of the dolphins take to die. Please 

take action today. 

Add your name and comments in a letter 

addressed to the Japanese Embassy urging 

them to end this form of massacre. I have. 

For information, visit www.oceana.org. 

Or contact: 

Maureen Bonnerm 

E-Activism Manager, Oceana 

Oceana Inc. 

2501 M Street, NW, Suite 300 

Washington, D.C. 20037 

Phone: 202.833.3900 

email: info@oceana.org 

If you’d like to receive updates 

like this directly from Oceana, sign 

up to be a WaveMaker at: http:// 

takeaction.oceana.org/signUp.jsp

- REBREATHERS - SPORT DIVERS ... - Stingray Divers

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