Dive Pacific 172, Dec 2019 Jan 2020

ISSUE 172 - $9.90 inc GST 

December / January 2020 

NEW ZEALAND'S DIVE MAGAZINE 

NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY DIVE MAGAZINE 

P A C I F I C 


Jewel anemones 

spawn in the north 

P A C I F I C 

The GREAT New Zealand 

treasure hunt is on! 

Could you re-write history? 

www.Dive-Pacific.com 

Cruz Erdmann – Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year – winning images 

CREATURE FEATURE: The odyssey of the sea turtle 

World Spearfishing champs: What can possibly go wrong? 

International war wreck news 

www.dive-pacific.com 1

RUN2179 

What you see is what you get in Niue. And what you see diving is everything. 

With crystal clear waters, surrounding one of the world’s largest uplifted coral atolls, 

you can see up to 80m in any direction. A world teeming with healthy marine life. 

A world waiting for you to discover. 

Start discovering Niue today, www.niueisland.com 

2 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

Auckland’s new DiveCat ready to take people diving! 

Plenty of space massive T-style boarding ladder extended boarding platform 

easy boat access substantial galley oxygen kit defibrillator 

ample hot fresh-water shower full flush toilet 

The DiveCat, a fully refurbished, newly surveyed, fast, 

11.5m outboard-powered catamaran, originally purpose-built 

for scuba divers, is about to start taking 

people diving again. The Max Monkley-designed alloy 

vessel previously undertook diving trips to the Poor 

Knights, Whitianga and Whangamata. Now she will be 

taking dedicated scuba diving groups on charters out 

in the fantastic Hauraki Gulf. 

• Options include half or full day 

• All trips offer 2 dives with hot refreshments 

during the surface interval 

• Destinations dependent on weather 

conditions. 

• Range of dive sites to suit newly qualified 

divers through to advanced and technical 

levels 

• Longer-range trips to Great Barrier Island 

and the Coromandel in summer 

• Able to accommodate 12 divers, two diving 

crew plus four others (incl. the skipper) 

• Options for non-divers to enjoy a day on the 

water 

• Pick-ups from Tamaki Marine Park, Half 

Moon Bay Marina and Westhaven 

• Comprehensive gear hire available - from 

single tanks to complete kit 

Norman Holtzhausen 0800-DIVECAT 

021 737 378 www.divecat.co.nz 


contents 

12 

30 

IN DEPTH 

4 EDITORIAL: EThe climate is changing, so what can we effectively do 

about that? 

Editor-at-Large Dave Moran poses the question in his 

final editorial for Dive Pacific 

SOUNDINGS Local and international news & comment 

5 Ron Johnson, friend, Obit. 

7 Open Letter to all dive professionals re: Adventure Tourism 

8 This year the Kelly Tarlton Recognition Award goes to… 

9 New Dive Charter boat launches for Auckland 

10 Centuries old Swedish wreck located 

Lost WWII submarine found off Malta 

11 Deepest ever war wreck located 

16 Ocean network observation planned 

Snapper fed diet of plastic 

18 Great Prize to be won at 2020 Hutchwilco Boat Show 

NIWA surveys young snapper in Hauraki Gulf 

20 

19 Dive deaths rising? 

DAN announces free online safety courses for dive boat operators, 

air quality 

34 Tara Expedition highlights importance of plankton 

35 Toothfish embryos studied in Antarctica 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

20 THE GREAT NEW ZEALAND TREASURE HUNT IS ON! Join the action, 

with WINSTON COWIE to prove Spanish/Portuguese explorers got 

to New Zealand centuries before Tasman or Cook! Prizes, and much 

mana to be won 

26 

26 Winning images from the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 

Plus special profile on Cruz Erdmann – Young Wildlife 

Photographer of the Year 2019 

36 The odyssey of the sea turtle - New Zealand’s five turtles SPECIES 

IN DEPTH 

50 BACK IN THE DAY: New fandangle depth meter 1953 AND 10 

spearfishers poem by the late Allan Power 

BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS 

12 The spawning of the jewel anemones in Northland, New Zealand 

20 Dive Fiordland! 

56 Five top dive spots in the world you may never have heard of 


The jewel anemones spawn 

every winter in the north of New 

Zealand and a great spot to see 

them is on the rails of the wreck 

of the HMNZS Canterbury, reports 

Norman Holtzhausen. His account 

starts on p.12 

36 

38 

OUR EXPERT COLUMNISTS 

6 Most people think bottom trawling is illegal. Its not but it should 

be. LEGASEA UPDATE 

22 Spearfishing competition rules explained: What can possibly go 

wrong? 

SPEARO’S NOTEBOOK! with Jackson Shields 

51 Short tailed Stingray 

SPECIES FOCUS with Paul Caiger 

52 Diver experiences facial numbness. DCI? Or? 

INCIDENT INSIGHTS with DAN, the Divers Alert Network 

54 Why can’t I dive? Medical conditions with high risk 

DIVE MEDICINE with Prof Simon Mitchell 

9 

58 SHADES OF COLOUR: Post production is so important 

More stunning images from our regular photo competition 

62 Can Affinity Photo replace Adobe Lightroom? 

DIGITAL IMAGING with Hans Weichselbaum 

64 ISO, WB, exposure and other ‘spices’ 

BACK TO BASICS Underwater Photography, A Practical Guide for 

Beginners Ch 4 Pt I 

by Alexey Zaystev. Translated from Russian exclusively for DIVE PACIFIC 

GEAR BAG 

46 Suunto D5 dive computer reviewed (+ where you can get it); 

Salt-Away: washing your dive gear is easy; latest from Seatech; 

Two great summer reads: Hauraki Hot (fishing) Spots & new 

history of the Poor Knights Marine Reserve 

68 Classifieds 

32 

Check out our website www.divenewzealand.co.nz 

Dive Pacific magazine is available in the lounges & 

inflight libraries of these airlines. 


INDEPTH EDITORIAL 

What can we do that is effective? 

What a year it’s been! Where did those 300 plus days 

Conversations on climate 

change have been 

dominating the media and social 

media apps this year. 

I’m no climate change denier but 

I have been around long enough 

to know our planet Earth is a 

continually evolving geological 

mass traveling through space in 

the Milky Way, indifferent to the 

plight of her inhabitants. Earth 

is exposed to many natural 

forces, especially from our sun 

and moon. Change is inevitable. 

As shown in the past by the 

flipping of the North and South 

poles! Central Australia was 

once almost entirely covered 

by a vast sea. Time is one thing 

Earth and the universe has 

plenty of. I’m not sure how we 

are going to stop the sun doing 

its thing, or the planet’s earthquakes 

and volcanoes. 

I saw a report recently on the 

millions of tonnes of gases 

released into the Earth’s 

atmosphere during the Kaikoura 

earthquakes. It’s still happening 

today. We must get the politicians 

to stop this! Sure, I have 

my tongue in my cheek. 

In the early 1980’s I was involved 

with clearing reef entrances 

into remote coral atolls as part 

of a New Zealand foreign aid 

programme. As team leader 

I was asked by a scientist at 


Auckland University to blast 

a small hole in 

the reef where 

it changed from 

a gradual (45 

degrees) decline 

down to a near 

vertical dive into 

the abyss. I asked 

why? The scientist 

replied, we 

are studying the 

gradual rise of 

the ocean. The 

coral you get 

from deep in the 

hole will give us an indication 

of how fast the water is rising 

over time, plus show how the 

atoll has moved up and down 

over thousands of years. I think 

it was first time someone I 

respected told me the hard facts 

about how the planet is continually 

evolving. Before then I had 

not spent much time thinking 

about such matters. 

So the real question is: Has man 

had an effect on our climate? We 

sure have, though the precise 

extent percentage wise is debatable. 

But we sure do need to clean up 

our act. 

These days environmental issues 

are being taken more seriously 

by governments - they know 

they could lose votes if they do 

nothing – a change in attitudes 

is slowly happening. 

In this New Zealand is a world 

leader. But, as we know, many 

other countries don’t have the 

ability or a strong will to protect 

the environment they live in, 

sadly. 

Most of us realise many of 

the environmental issues we 

have today were created by 

businesses drive to make a profit 

to support our communities. 

Now businesses are becoming 

aware of the profits to be made 

by producing environmentally 

friendly products that people 

want. So are we witnessing a 

turning point? 

Mankind in general has a long 

way to go in respecting the 

privilege we all have, of living 

on this blue rock, floating in the 

ever changing dynamics of the 

universe. 

I must add for our children: 

there is a wonderful future for 

P A C I F I C 

established 1990 


P A C I F I C 

December / January 2020 Issue 172 


Find us on facebook - 

follow the links on our website 


P A C I F I C 

Diver Emergency Number, New Zealand : 

0800 4 DES 11 1800 088 200 (toll free) 

Australia : +61-8-8212 9242 

Publisher 

Gilbert Peterson +64 27 494 9629 

Dive Publishing 

P.O. Box 34 687 

Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand 0746 

divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Editor at Large 

Dave Moran +64 9 521 0684 

davem@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Advertising Sales Manager 

Colin Gestro +64 272 568 014 

colin@affinityads.com 

Art Director 

Mark Grogan +64 9 262 0303 

bytemarx@orcon.net.nz 

Printed by Crucial Colour Ltd 

Retail distribution 

NZ: Ovato NZ Ltd 

All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole 

or part is expressly forbidden except 

by written permission of the publisher. 

Opinions expressed in the publication are 

those of the authors and not necessarily 

the publishers. All material is accepted in 

good faith and the publisher accepts no 

responsibility whatsoever. 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz 


Registered Publication 

Dive Pacific ISSN 2624-134X (print) 

ISSN 2324-3236 (online) 


INDEPTH EDITORIAL 

you on Earth. It’s not all going 

to be covered with water! 

Mankind has shown in our very 

short history we are a resilient 

species with the ability to evolve 

with change. We need to be 

part of this continual changing 

process, as science continues 

to develop the facts and 

technology - the tools for us to 

improve how to live in harmony 

with the beautiful environment 

we were blessed to be born into! 

This is my final editorial for the 

magazine. 

As you know the magazine is 

now being well managed by 

Publisher & Managing Editor 

Gilbert Peterson since the June/ 

July 2017 Issue 158. 

It has been a pleasure 

supporting Gilbert as he took 

on the challenge of publishing a 

national Diving magazine. Not 

an easy task! 

We will continue to run the 

fun photographic competition 

Shades of Colour, with the able 

support of Sophie Fraser and our 

two judges, Andy Belcher and 

Iain Anderson. 

Every now and then I’ll write 

features on various subjects I 

feel need to be brought to the 

attention of divers, plus a few 

travel destination articles. After 

30 years of involvement in the 

industry it’s hard to say goodbye 

completely! 

My wonderful wife Petal has 

been a rock of support over 

those years. It still amazes 

me how she managed to cope 

with magazine deadlines 

while nurturing two amazing 

children, adults now, Paige and 

Ethan. Thanks mate! 

Yeah, summer has arrived. 

It’s now time to get your gear 

checked by a professional dive 

facility. 

Too many of us leave it to the 

last minute, 

expecting the 

dive facility 

to work 24/7 

servicing gear that really should 

have been checked a month ago! 

So, off your butts! 

On behalf of myself, Gilbert 

and Advertising Sales Manager, 

Colin Gestro, we thank you all 

for your continued support. 

Our readers, article and photo 

contributors, regular columnists 

and most importantly, 

our advertisers who trust 

the magazine to deliver their 

message. Thanks also to Art 

Director, Mark Grogan, who 

tirelessly toils designing the 

magazine. 

We wish you all take some spare 

TIME over the summer days to 

enjoy this stunning country’s 

natural beauty, both above and 

under the water. 

By Dave Moran - Editor at Large 

- Dave Moran 

Ron Johnson 

Obit. 

5th May 1943 – 

31st October 2019 

Many of 

our older 

readers will have 

fond memories 

of the softly 

spoken Canadian, Ron Johnson, 

who arrived in New Zealand in 

1963 at age 18. 

For 21 years Ron was the ‘Go To’ 

man for diving and gear advice. 

At first he took up a sales job 

at Sportways, one of the first 

Pro Dive stores, later to become 

Sportways Aqualung Centre, then 

later bought South Auckland 

Divers, and opened Dive Doctor, 

repairing wet suits and servicing 

diving gear. Dive Doctor continues 

today. 

Back in the 60’s and 70s deep 

diving was what many of us were 

into, if not competing in spearfishing 

competitions. Dives to 

over 60m were the norm. Getting 

a narcosis fix was a bit of a drug 

back then! 

In 1972 Ron was hunting deep for 

hapuka at a site known as the Slot 

just north of the Pinnacles south 

of the Poor Knights Island. He 

stayed too deep for too long and 

got a “hit” as we called it, a severe 

bend. 

The event changed his life.It 

was also a HUGE wake up call for 

us divers who knew dive tables 

and decompression procedures 

but took far too many risks at 

that bullet proof stage of life! We 

witnessed one of our mates now 

struggling to walk with the aid of a 

walking stick. 

I strongly believe Ron getting the 

bends saved many of us from the 

same fate. But his condition didn’t 

stop him; he continued managing 

South Auckland divers and later 

Dive Doctor. 

He became a valued contributor to 

this magazine. Getting prepared 

for the summer season was a 

popular annual along with his 

column, Diving the Web. 

Ron loved his adopted country. 

On his arrival here he recalled he 

said: ”Wow I’ve died and gone to 

heaven”. The diving here captured 

his heart and he built solid friendships 

with many New Zealand 

divers. I and many others NEVER 

heard him complain about the 

suffering and pain he lived with 

for over 46 years. A remarkable 

human being. It was an honour to 

call him a friend. 

Ron is survived by his daughter, 

Renee, and son, Blair and three 

grandchildren, Daniel, Kelsey and 

Wyatt. 

- Dave Moran 

Editor at Large 


LegaSea Update 

Most New Zealanders think 

bottom trawling is illegal. 

It should be outlawed, but it’s not 

Bottom trawling is an indiscriminate 

fish harvesting 

process capturing and laying 

waste to everything in its path by 

scraping vital marine growth off 

the seabed. The damage is largely 

unseen as it’s underwater and out 

of sight. 

Environmental impacts from 

the agricultural sector are 

attracting increasing attention 

and its encouraging that public 

concern about the damage caused 

by some commercial fishing 

methods is also rising. But most 

people don’t even think bottom 

trawling is allowed inshore. It is. 

In 2017 the Ministry of Primary 

Industries openly admitted that 

bottom trawling and dredging 

are the most destructive fishing 

methods, causing damage to 

seabed habitats and reducing the 

density and diversity of species 

that live there. Yet the Ministry 

is doing nothing to outlaw this 

unsustainable practice. 

Even as far back as the 14th 

century people recognised the 

stupidity of trawling. It was 

banned then in some countries 

and even made a capital offence. 

Those people took preserving 

their resources very seriously. 

What the survey said: 

• 58% of Kiwis think bottom 

trawling is not allowed in 

inshore fisheries. It is allowed. 

• 57% want all mobile in-shore 

bottom trawling stopped, only 

1% agree it should continue. 

• 69% of Kiwis think not enough 

is being done to stop dumping 

LegaSea spokesperson Scott 

Macindoe says, “Given the 

capabilities of modern science 

it is beyond comprehension 

why bottom trawling is still 

allowed when there are more 

environmentally friendly alternatives, 

including long lining and 

trapping.” 

LegaSea, a not-for-profit organisation 

believes it’s New Zealand’s 

Quota Management System and 

the power wielded by quota 

holders are proving to be the 

key barriers to responsible and 

sustainable fishing. 

Legasea notes that Section 11 of 

the Fisheries Act 1996 gives the 

Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, 

the authority to protect inshore 

waters by specifying catch 

limits, fishing areas, methods 

and seasons, in the interests of 

sustainability. 

“But despite empowering legislation 

he has available, and strong 

public support, it’s a worry that 

the Minister won’t act in the 

public interest when it comes to 

banning trawling from inshore 

waters,” Scott Macindoe said. 

of unwanted catch. 

• 54% of Kiwis think some 

inshore fish stocks face a 

crisis of depletion. 

• 77% of Kiwis think inshore 

fish stocks are less abundant 

than five years ago. 

Source: Horizon Research 

“Every year there are over 

20,000 trawls in New Zealand 

waters and commercial fishing 

is becoming even more industrialised 

with bigger and more 

powerful trawlers. This does not 

bode well for our fish stocks, or 

the health of the marine environment, 

nor does it fit with public 

opinion. 

“The public has had enough. 

People are shocked when they 

learn the truth, that trawling is 

allowed inshore. They want it 

stopped today,” he said. 

About LegaSea 

LegaSea is a not-for-profit organisation 

established by the New 

Zealand Sport Fishing Council in 

2012. The Council has 54 affiliated 

clubs with 35,239 members 

nationwide. 

One of LegaSea’s primary 

missions is to restore New 

Zealand’s coastal fisheries. Its 

core role is to elevate public 

awareness of the issues affecting 

New Zealand’s marine environment 

and to advocate for improvements 

to fisheries management, 

based on the application of 

science, economics and international 

best practice. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Open letter: To all dive professionals, centres & tour operators 

For a long time the recreational 

dive industry in New Zealand 

has been without effective sector 

representation when it comes 

to legislation changes. Yes, we 

do have a representative group 

called DIAG, however communication 

with stakeholders within 

the recreational sector is poor and 

needs to change if we are to have 

an effective voice when it comes to 

changes that affect our industry. 

And yes, there are more changes 

on the way and, unlike when the 

AAO legislation was passed in 

2011, we need to be prepared and 

become part of the consultation 

process. 

WorkSafe have recently expressed 

the need for better industry 

consultation (see email below) and 

do want to pro-actively work with 

our industry when it comes to 

revised or new legislation. 

So that our voice can be collectively 

heard, a closed Facebook 

page has been set up for ideas 

and issues to be discussed and 

shared. All dive professionals, 

which includes Divemasters and 

Instructors, Dive centre owners 

and Dive tour operators are invited 

to join. 

The page is called NZ Recreational 

Dive Industry. I urge you to participate. 

Visit the page and send in a 

request to join. 

Or call me on 0274 344 874, or 

email info@godivepacific.nz 

- Brent McFadden 

Email from Worksafe (abridged) 

As discussed WorkSafe takes Industry Consultation 

seriously and seeks to engage with key stakeholders 

through a wide range of avenues, for public comment on 

draft policy and guidance documents, to working groups 

of selected or nominated sector leads, or to direct representation 

on sector advisory groups such as the Diving 

Industry Advisory Group (DIAG - https://diag.co.nz The 

Recreational Representative is Darrell Bird). 

Though we deal with a singular representative body 

such as the NZRDIG through DIAG the nature of internal 

discussion within the sector is entirely up to the stakeholders 

concerned. Should the Recreational Industry 

wish to establish and conduct industry wide consultation 

on matters pertaining to the regulations and operations 

of the industry this would, hopefully, allow for a wider 

engagement within the sector and would be a proactive 

and encouraged step. 

The use of a Facebook Group or other social media 

network could work, though WorkSafe would not be a 

position to directly engage with this. I would suggest that 

it would need to be a closed group and the discussions, 

though no doubt robust, would need to be moderated to 

be constructive and lead to a consensus if it were to be 

presented to WorkSafe as an industry position. 

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SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

The Kelly Tarlton Recognition Award 

for Services to Underwater Heritage 

By Dave Moran - Editor at Large 

At the New Zealand 

Underwater Heritage Group 

(NZUHG) Annual Conference and 

AGM held over the weekend of 

2nd - 3rd November in Wellington, 

this Award was presented to Keith 

Gordon. 

Dave Moran and Rosemary Tarlton presenting Keith Gordon the 

KT Award ( by Chris Nipper) 

A number of years ago the NZUHG 

members agreed there should be 

an Award recognizing individuals 

or groups that have made a 

significant and lasting contribution 

through research, practice, or 

advocacy to underwater heritage, 

marine archaeology or marine 

history. 

The Award is named after one 

of New Zealand’s most recognized 

Shipwreck researchers and 

salvors the late Kelly Tarlton. He 

was posthumously inducted into 

the International Scuba Hall of Fame 


P A C I F I C 

in 2012. He is also internationally 

recognised for establishing a new 

concept for marine aquariums 

with the construction of Kelly 

Tarlton’s Underwater World, now 

part of the Sea Life’s international 

Group of aquariums. 

Ironically Keith 

Gordon was one 

of Kelly’s old 

diving mates in 

the 1950s & 60s in 

Christchurch. 

Keith Gordon has 

given years of 

service to diving. 

His written contribution 

of recording 

New Zealand’s 

diving history 

started when he 

co-published, with 

the late Wade 

Doak in 1959, 

the Canterbury 

Underwater Club’s newsletter/ 

magazine. 

He co-published with Lynton and 

Edith Diggle the 8th edition of New 

Zealand Shipwrecks. 

In his book Deep Water Gold he 

recorded the history and the first 

modern day dives on RMS Niagara 

which sank with 590 gold ingots in 

the Hauraki Gulf 

during WWII after striking a 

German mine. 

He is a founding member of 

NZUHG. 

Has previously been recognized: 

• |New York Explorers Club, as a 

Fellow member. 

• |New Zealand Underwater 

Association’s Leo Ducker Award. 

• |Historical Diving Society 

Australia – Pacific. The .Ted 

Eldred Award

New dive charter operator 

launches for Auckland 

It seems astonishing that 

Auckland with its fabulous 

Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, five 

marine reserves, dozens of islands, 

whales, orca, seals, dolphins and 

amazing fish life has not, until 

now, had a dedicated scuba diving 

charter operator based in the city. 

“Visitors to our great city, as well 

as casual divers can easily miss out 

on seeing underneath our fantastic 

Hauraki Gulf,“ says Norman 

Holtzhausen. 

This is about to change. The 

DiveCat, a fast 11.5m power 

catamaran, originally purposebuilt 

for scuba diving, is 

commencing operations in 

Auckland this month. The Max 

Monkley-designed alloy vessel 

used to run fishing charters on 

the Kaipara harbour and before 

that diving trips to the 

Poor Knights, Whitianga 

and Whangamata. 

Now she has had a big 

clean-up, a striking 

new colour scheme, 

new custom-made dive 

facilities installed, new 

electronics and interior, 

and gone back into 

survey for 18 passengers. 

In addition to special 

seating designed to 

make it easy to gear up, 

she has a special dive 

ladder that makes her 

easy to get on or off. A 

hot freshwater shower out the 

back is a pleasure for those chilly 

days, while full galley and internal 

seating makes the surface interval 

between dives a cheerful social 

occasion. Naturally she carries 

the very latest in electronics and 

safety gear, including emergency 

oxygen and an AED. 

The DiveCat business is scheduled 

to run dedicated scuba diving 

charters with either half-day or full 

day trips, to weather-dependent 

destinations catering for all levels 

of diver. During the long summer 

days longer-range trips to Great 

Barrier Island and the Coromandel 

are planned. 

Dive Cat can accommodate 12 

divers in comfort, plus two diving 

crew and four others including 

the skipper. There’s space for two 

tanks per diver, plenty of space for 

people to gear up, and a massive 

T-style boarding ladder and 

extended boarding platform out 

the back that makes getting on and 

off the boat easy. 

When he heard some women like 

to go on ladies-only trips Norman 

decided to cater specially for them. 

So, he has engaged two female boat 

skippers, both qualified divers as 

well, to run these trips. “I’m hoping 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

they prove popular,” he says. 

“Initially we will be running 

primarily unguided dives, with 

options also for hunter-gatherer 

trips as well as catering for 

technical divers. We will also be 

providing trips for trainee divers 

under the auspices of one of the 

local diving schools.” 

“And though the boat is 

large and stable, we still 

want to give passengers 

a good day out even 

when conditions are not 

quite ideal,” he says. ”So 

we have been working 

hard to identify sites 

that are suitable 

for a wide range of 

weather conditions and 

prevailing wind directions.” 

Initially based in Mt 

Wellington, DiveCat 

will offer pick-ups from the Tamaki 

Marine Park, Half Moon Bay Marina 

and Westhaven. 

For details and the trip schedule, 

go to www.divecat.co.nz, or call 

0800-DIVECAT 

Norman Holtzhhausen 

Norman’s arrival in New Zealand 

20 years ago from South Africa 

allowed him to extend his love for 

the sea and everything in it. For 

years Norman has been a regular 

boat-reviewer and columnist for 

boating and fishing magazines, 

trying out the latest and greatest 

in boats, technology and marine 

experiences here and overseas, 

and it always bothered him, he 

says, especially before he had 

his own boats, that there seemed 

few opportunities to scuba dive 

near Auckland city. So the idea 

of running commercial dive trips 

has been brewing a long time. 

Then the DiveCat came up. The 

boat was already in survey so it 

would be straightforward (but 

not quick or cheap!) to have the 

survey refreshed for the new 

purpose. Plus, the boat was 

purpose built for diving, hence 

no major structural changes were 

required. “Now I just have to sell 

my other boat....” Norman says. 


SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Centuries old Swedish wrecks located 

Swedish maritime archeologists 

have discovered two wrecks 

believed to be 17th century 

warships, the Swedish Museum 

of Wrecks has reported. One is 

likely to be the sister ship of the 

most famous Swedish warship, 

the 69 metre Vasa carrying 

64 cannons which sank on its 

maiden voyage in 1628. The 

two wrecks were found in the 

Swedish archipelago outside 

the town of Vaxholm in a strait 

leading to Stockholm. 

The Vasa was named after a 

Swedish king and originally meant 

to serve as a symbol of Sweden’s 

military might but instead 

capsized after sailing just 1,000 

metres. Vasa was salvaged in 1961 

and is on display in Stockholm. 

Three other ships were ordered 

from the same shipwright which 

all participated in naval battles. 

“We think some of them were sunk 

in the area,” Patrik Hoglund, a 

maritime archeologist and diver at 

the Museum of Wrecks or VRAK. 

Later the ships are believed to 

have been sunk in the same area 

after they were decommissioned 

to serve as underwater spike strips 

for enemy ships. 

Wood samples from the wrecks 

have been sent to a laboratory for 

dating and other identification. 

Despite being centuries old, like 

the Vasa the wrecks are in fairly 

good condition, thanks to the 

brackish waters of the Baltic Sea. 

As the wrecks are better preserved 

in the sea, there are currently no 

plans to salvage them. 

Lost WW2 British submarine found off Malta 

The wreck of a British submarine 

which vanished during World 

War II has been discovered on 

the seafloor off Malta, university 

marine archaeologists in Malta say. 

Reuters reported the HMS Urge 

was based with other submarines 

in Malta when the British navy 

ordered it and rest of the flotilla 

to redeploy to Egypt because 

of a relentless German siege of 

the island. Urge set sail on April 

27, 1942 with 32 crew on board, 

11 other naval personnel and a 

journalist. Its fate has always been 

a mystery until now. 

A team from the University of 

Malta which surveys local seas 

said at the request of the grandson 

of Urge’s commander, they had 

been combing an area once heavily 

mined by the Germans. A sonar 

image revealed a submarine-like 

shape at a depth of 130 metres 

three kilometres off the coast. 

A subsequent search by an ROV 

showed the U-Class Submarine 

with a large chunk of its bow 

missing. 

“The damage to the bow shows a 

very violent explosion ... indicating 

the ship would have sunk 

very fast giving no chance 

to anybody to survive from 

this tragedy,” said Professor 

Timmy Gambin, who led the 

university mission. “Besides 

the damage on the bow, the wreck 

is in absolutely fantastic 

condition, sitting upright on 

the seabed.” 

The university said the British 

defence ministry had confirmed 

it was the wreck of Urge. Gambin 

told Reuters that the submarine 

must have hit a mine while sailing 

on the surface shortly after leaving 

Malta under the cover of darkness. 

A ceremony is being planned to 

declare the site an official war 

grave. HMS Urge was part of the 

Royal Navy’s 10th flotilla. Just 

days before it vanished, Urge 

sunk the Italian cruiser Giovanni 

Delle Bande Nere near Sicily. In a 

coincidence, the Italian military 

said in March that the lost warship 

was also discovered this year at a 

depth of more than 1,400 metres. 

On board the Urge was war 

reporter Bernard Gray, the only 

British journalist believed to have 

died on a submarine during World 

War Two. 

A graphic compares a picture of a U-Class Submarine 

to a sonar image of the submarine at 130 metres. 

© Reuters/UNIVERSITY OF MALTA/PSUR Project © Reuters/University of Malta/Project Spur The T 


Deepest ever warship wreck identified 

SOUNDINGS 


Ocean researchers have found 

what they claim is the deepest ever 

naval shipwreck, believed to be a 

US Navy WW11 destroyer, over six 

kilometres down. 

of the largest naval engagements 

ever, involving more than 200,000 

naval personnel. 

It was also the last action between 

The USS Johnston DD-557 sank on 25 October 1944 

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Crews aboard the Vulcan Inc.’s 

Research Vessel Petrel found the 

remains of the ship at a depth of 

6,220 metres on the bed of the 

Philippine Sea. The ship is thought 

to be the USS Johnston DD-557, 

a Fletcher-class destroyer sunk 

during the Battle of Leyte Gulf off 

Samar in the Philippines on 25 

October 1944. 

The Battle of Leyte Gulf lasted 

three days and is considered one 

battleships in history, and the first 

battle in which Japanese aircraft 

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attacks. The Japanese navy 

suffered heavy losses there and did 

not put to sea again in any force 

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hours, Johnston - dead in the 

water - was surrounded by enemy 

ships.” 

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The spawning of the jewel 

anemones 

Story and photos by 

Norman Holtzhausen 

So often we divers search 

out the big animals, 

the stunning scenery and 

once-in-a lifetime encounters. 

Yet some of the most 

satisfying experiences 

can be with smaller, more 

intimate interactions in 

the beautiful world below 

the surface of the sea. 

The annual spawning of 

the jewel anemones in 

Northland, New Zealand is 

one such special event. 

These delicate and beautiful 

creatures (Corynactis australis) 

occur throughout New Zealand and 

along the east coast of Australia. 

They form large colonies, with 

sheets of polyps connected by a 

single base. They display a huge 

variety of colours: pinks and 

purples, reds, yellow, orange, blue, 

green and white. Each colony will 

be the same colour but adjacent 

colonies may be a completely 

different colour or shade. 

Nowhere are these anemones more 

prevalent than in Northland, in 

particular covering the rails of the 

HMNZS Canterbury. The Canterbury 

was sunk in Deep Water Cove in 

2007 and is now one of the premier 

dive sites in the region, on the 

must-do list for most scuba divers. 

At depth 

Unfortunately the railings of the 

Canterbury are at 28m depth, 

deeper than open water diver 

limits allow. This has helped 

restrict diver numbers around the 

wreck even though, on a good day, 

there can still be several boats 

attached to the marker buoys with 

a dozen divers down exploring the 

wreck. 

Females releasing eggs 

At this depth sunlight penetration 

is limited, and without a supplementary 

dive light the stunning 

beauty of the anemones is easy 

to miss. Even a standard dive 

torch does not do them justice; 

their colours appear muted, and 

the variations not immediately 

obvious. But when you go down 

with intense lights, such as video 

floodlights, the jewels sparkle. It 

becomes easy to spend an entire 

dive fixated on just one section of 

railing. 

Once a year… 

Once a year the anemones put on a 

very special show. For a very short 

period of time, straight after the 


first spring high 

tide following the 

winter solstice, 

they spawn. And 

the anemones 

all spawn in the 

same short time 

span, turning 

clear water to 

milky in seconds 

as eggs and sperm 

are released into 

the water column 

together. 

Having heard about this phenomenon 

a few years ago I was keen 

to witness it. Luckily Northland 

Dive, run by the extremely able 

Julia Riddle and Shane Househam, 

are expert at predicting the exact 

day the spawning will occur. For 

the past eight years they have 

correctly predicted the spawn on 

all but one occasion. Usually they 

run very popular one day outings 

but this year they also scheduled a 

three day liveaboard trip on their 

new 14.8m catamaran Sea Spy. I 

was lucky to get one of the last 

spots available. The new boat has 

a compressor and nitrox mixing 

capability, perfect for a couple of 

days intensive diving. 

…when it is cold 

Of course, this is the middle of 

winter and the water is COLD. I 

arrived with a Lavacore thermal 

undervest and a two-piece 7mm 

wetsuit, only to find that everyone 

else on board was even better 

prepared with drysuits and 

thermal undergarments. I am not 

normally worried by the cold and 

thought nothing of it. The day we 

boarded was very wet and blustery, 

touch and go on whether the trip 

would have to be postponed. But 

Shane was confident, if we could 

just ease our way through the 

swell around into Deep Water 

Cove, we would reach shelter. He 

was right on the money. 


A few seconds after the males release their milt 

…at a specific phase of the tide 

We had plenty of time to prepare - the 

spawning occurs at a very specific phase of 

the tide, and given the depth of the wreck 

our bottom time was going to be relatively 

limited. We needed to get the timing just 

right. Most on board had twin tanks or a 

rebreather; two of us had a conventional 

single tank open circuit configuration. 

Once Shane deemed the time was right, we 

all descended and found our own spot on 

the rail. 

Immediately it was apparent the action had 

already started. Some of the colonies were 

surrounded by cloudy water, as if someone 

had poured milk into the water. But we 

each managed to find a colony or two yet 

to spawn, and got the camera gear ready. 

At random the anemones seemed to get 

themselves hot and steamy. The females 

released eggs in a steady stream while the 

males all released their milt simultaneously 

in a great cloud. 

…and over in seconds 

It was over in seconds, for each anemone 

colony. But we learned a few interesting 

details. First, the exact timing of an 

individual colony’s spawning was not 

random, rather they could be induced 

into action. A light tap on the railing 

would trigger the nearest colony into 

action, allowing the camera to be focussed 

and prepared beforehand. Second, the 

anemones can spawn multiple times with 

a period of rest in between. Hence a return 

to a previously-spawned group and a tap on the rail 

could produce another orgasm of eggs and milt. 

The bow of the HMNZS Canterbury” 

Purple haze 

On our dive all the purple jewels were 

spawning, but we saw very few other colours 

doing so. The two divers on single tanks had 

only about 30 minutes of bottom time - we 

could not hang around to see if any of the 

other colours spawned. Later, at the surface, 

the other divers also reported seeing 

primarily purple ones ejecting eggs and milt. 

The timing of the other colours remains 

unknown. 

My air was running low and my teeth were 

starting to chatter in the 14-degree water 

so glad to make my way back to dry clothes 

and a hot cup of coffee. Everyone was fizzing 

about the photos we had taken and we found 

we had some stunning shots. During the talk 

over lunch I discovered I was just about the 

only ‘spawning newbie’ on board. Most of 

the others had experienced this or a similar 

spawning before and were back for a second 

or third experience. 


Though this first dive was the 

raison d’être for the trip, and 

pretty much “mission 

accomplished” it set the 

tone for the remainder of 

our three days. Visibility 

got better and better and 

there were new delights 

every time we went down. 

The only constant was the 

chilly water. 

Apart from the undeniable 

appeal of the anemone 

spawning, the liveaboard 

option itself was fantastic. 

The food provided on the 

Sea Spy was very good, the 

sleeping arrangements 

comfortable and the availability 

of tank fills with 

nitrox great; we could literally 

keep on diving without 

having to bring lots of 

tanks or ration remaining 

fills. 

A fantastic trip. Get hold 

of Northland Dive if you’re 

interested in booking for 

next year. Get in early if 

you want a place. 

And despite my tough guy image, 

I have a feeling a drysuit is on the 

cards very, very, soon….. 

Wandering anemone 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Ocean observation network planned 

New Zealand’s changing ocean 

environment has prompted 

a call to develop a network from 

scientific monitoring buoys so the 

data they produce can be widely 

accessed and shared. 

NIWA coastal physicist Dr Joanne 

O’Callaghan says a working group 

aims to establish a collaborative 

New Zealand ocean observing 

network to support New Zealand’s 

high marine biodiversity and a 

marine economy worth at least $4 

billion a year. 

“The recently established New 

Zealand Ocean Data Network 

(NZODN) https://nzodn.nz/ is an 

excellent first step; incorporating 

existing data into the NZODN is 

the next. 

“We want to bring together oceanographers, 

data scientists and all 

those involved with the marine 

environment to create a unique 

ocean observing system,” she says. 

A sense of urgency exists to 

understand, predict and mitigate 

problems associated with 

climate change, including marine 

heatwaves, ocean acidification and 

sea level rise, she adds. 

As well as science based organizations 

such as NIWA, Cawthron 

Institute, others collecting marine 

data include universities, regional 

councils and port authorities. 

Typically buoys can deliver a 

combination of data on currents, 

waves, salinity, temperature, 

oxygen, chlorophyll, ocean acidity 

and wind but the data can be difficult 

to access or researchers may 

be unaware it exists. 

Dr O’Callaghan says how coastal 

Snapper being fed diet of microplastics 

waters interact with the deeper 

ocean is also poorly understood, 

she says. 

“The idea is to do a better job 

pulling together existing observations 

and connecting them across 

organisations so we all know 

where they are and making sure 

they are accessible. Then we can 

figure out what we learn from 

existing platforms and find out 

more about places where we don’t 

have a lot of information.” 

“The integration of Mātauranga 

Māori, New Zealand’s science, 

technologies and closely connected 

community provides an opportunity 

to develop a world-leading 

ocean observing system so data 

can be openly accessed for the 

benefit of the country’s economy 

and social well-being.” 

Microplastics are being fed to 

snapper at NIWA’s aquaculture 

research facility near Whangarei 

in a bid to establish baseline data 

about how fish are being affected 

by it. 

Auckland University masters 

student Veronica Rotman, under 

the supervision of NIWA fisheries 

scientist Dr Darren Parsons, is 

undertaking the two-part experiment. 

“It’s critical to find out what’s 

going on with plastic in our ecosystems.” 

Veronica said. “I want to 

see whether the plastic is egested, 

remains in the gut or migrates to 

other parts of the fish, including 

the flesh we eat.” 

Young snapper eating the plastic diet 

in a tank at NIWA”s Northland Marine 

Research Centre at Bream Bay 

Using coloured polystyrene, one of 

the top five plastic polluters in the 

oceans, and a blender to generate 

microplastics between 50 microns 

and 2mm in size, Ms Rotman 

soaked samples in the Waitemata 

Harbour for just over a month to 

mimic similar conditions fishes 

may experience. 

“Plastic acts a sponge for pollutants, 

soaking up harbour waste, 

industrial chemicals, pesticides, 

heavy metals and bacteria, so I 

wanted a relevant environmental 

treatment,” she said. 

The polystyrene is then fed in 

varying amounts to 160 juvenile 

snapper, New Zealand’s most 

popular recreational fish species, 

which are held in 20 aquaculture 

tanks at NIWA’s Northland Marine 

Research Centre at Bream Bay, 

along with their regular diet. 

After 10 weeks of treatment the 

snapper will be dissected to determine 

how much plastic the fish 

have retained, any effects on their 

growth or condition, whether there 

is damage to their gastrointestinal 

tract, and whether the microplastics 

translocated into the liver and 

muscular tissue. 

“What I’m really interested in is 

the levels of toxicity caused by 

microplastics accumulating in 

the digestive tract. The snapper 

experiment should shed light on 

whether microplastics can translocate 

into the flesh we eat, and 

how that exposure may impact 

Auckland University’s Veronica 

Rotman feeds snapper a diet containing 

microplastics 

their physiology, reproduction and 

fitness.” 

The second part of the experiment 

shifts the focus to hoki, 

New Zealand’s most commercially 

valuable finfish. Hoki are a 

deep-sea fish and Ms Rotman will 

examine specimens from Cook 

Strait, the West Coast and the 

Chatham Rise to investigate the 

incidence of plastics in their gut. 

“It will be very interesting to see 

whether hoki are consuming 

microplastics, and if there are 

variations between the different 

sample locations due to proximity 

to human settlement and the 

sources of pollution.“ 

Ms Rotman is intending to submit 

a paper on her results to a scientific 

journal for publication. 


Diving Fiordland! 

The great Jacques Cousteau placed Fiordland in his 

Top 10 destinations for diving! We’ve had dive photo 

journalists rate it much higher than that with one 

recently placing it ‘if not the best, then in his top 

three’. 

Scenic diving can be amazing. Though the waters are 

cool the visibility can be extreme - over 40m visibility 

occurs regularly. 

The internal waters of Fiordland with their micro-habitats 

are interestingly different to the waters of the 

coast, or entrances where fish life abounds; and the 

colours are diverse so even an inexpensive camera can 

get awesome photos when you dive in Fiordland. 

There’s the odd wreck to be explored too, and wall 

dives that trigger vertigo. 

And there’s always plenty of kai Moana to gratify the 

appetite at the end of a busy day. 

Fiordland Expeditions have been operating throughout 

Fiordland for 15 years and are well versed on a range 

of sites to be explored. If you are keen to tick this one 

off your bucket list, then contact us today. We’d love 

to discuss how we can tailor a trip to meet your own 

specific desires. 

Call us on 0508 888 656 or check out: 

FiordlandExpeditions.co.nz 

Fiordland – a diver’s paradise 

A bucket list destination 

Your multi-day live-aboard 

charters can comprise: 

• Live-aboard charters all year round 

• Two vessels, both with own compressors, 

tanks, weights and belts 

• Fully catered (except alcohol) 

• Experienced dive crew 

Photography by Darryl Torckler 

Phone 0508 888 656 or +64 3 249 9005 

Email charters@fiordlandexpeditions.co.nz 

fiordlandexpeditions.co.nz 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCALNEWS 

Life-changing fishing machine to be won! 

Boat Show’s 2020 Surtees/Yamaha grand prize 

With a retail value of over 

$230,000, this Surtees/Yamaha 

Grand Prize will definitely be won 

by one lucky visitor to the 2020 

Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat 

Show at the ASB Showgrounds in 

Greenlane Auckland on May 14-17. 

“Once again, our fantastic Grand 

Prize Partners, Surtees Boats and 

Yamaha Outboards, along with 

Hosking Trailers, Garmin and 

all the other many supporting 

sponsors have put together a truly 

incredible prize package for us to 

give away,” says Dave Gibbs, the 

Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat 

Show’s general manager. 

“It will definitely be a true 

life-changer for the lucky person 

whose correctly drawn show entry 

ticket is the first drawn out at the 

end of the 2020 Hutchwilco New 

Zealand Boat Show.” 

With the Surtees 750 Game Fisher 

you can easily take up to 7 mates 

fishing. The cabin is big enough to 

overnight for a few of you and the 

fishing space is massive. 

Tickets to the 2020 

Hutchwilco New Zealand 

Boat Show are now available 

on-line at 

www.boatshow.co.nz 

In addition to qualifying for entry 

into the draw for this amazing 

Surtees/Yamaha Grand Prize, all 

tickets bought online also earn 

a bonus entry into the Surtees/ 

Yamaha Grand Prize draw and are 

automatically entered into 

the draw for a powered 

Viking Kayaks’ Reload 

package worth over $8000. 

Tickets bought before 

5pm on December 18 

also automatically go 

into a special draw for a 

Haswing electric trolling 

motor worth $1600! 

“Last year’s Surtees/ 

Yamaha Grand Prize 

winner, Eden Waddington 

from Christchurch, bought 

his ticket to the show on 

line and it was his bonus 

entry ticket that won 

him the prize,” says Dave 

Gibbs. 

What: Hutchwilco New Zealand 

Boat Show 

Where: ASB Showgrounds, 

Greenlane, Auckland 

When: May 14-17, 2020. 

Open: 10am to 6pm; late night 

Friday to 9pm. 

Admission: Adults: $25; children 

16 & under FREE. 

NIWA survey young snapper in Hauraki Gulf 

NIWA scientists have been 

surveying juvenile snapper in the 

Hauraki Gulf in November, in the 

first survey of its kind for 20 years. 

Fisheries scientists want to 

understand how many one and 

two-year-old snapper are in the 

area known as the Snapper 1 

fishery which extends from Bream 

Head down to Mercury Bay. 

Survey leader Dr Darren Parsons 

says “what the survey will do 

is give us an advanced view of 

whether the preceding years have 

produced particularly strong, 

or weak year classes of juvenile 

snapper that are about to become 

vulnerable to capture as they 

grow above 25cm (the minimum 

commercial catch size) in the next 

few years.” 

Fisheries New Zealand’s Dr Richard 

Ford says “It’s important that we 

know how the fishery is looking 

so we can monitor the rebuild of 

the snapper population and make 

informed management decisions.” 

The crew will sort and analyse the 

contents of each trawl on NIWA’s 

research vessel Kaharoa’s deck to 

collect the data they need. For this 

purpose the Kaharoa is permitted 

to fish for snapper in areas otherwise 

off limits. 

A similar survey will be carried out 

in the Bay of Plenty from February 

9 2020 from the Mercury Islands in 

the north to Cape Runaway. 


Diver deaths rising? 

4th Jan, 2020 

Specialist police divers were sent 

to the Bay of Islands to help extract 

a diver who failed to surface near 

Moturoa Island. Senior Sergeant 

Ryan Gray said the alarm was 

raised about 8.30am after the diver 

struck trouble. The Police Maritime 

Unit, a commercial dive boat and 

the Northland Rescue Helicopter 

attended the scene. A paramedic 

was winched down onto nearby 

rocks. The diver was found dead in 

the water at 10 am. The death was 

referred to the coroner. 

May 4th 

A diver’s body has been recovered 

from the water in Hawke’s Bay. 

The man had earlier been reported 

missing about 1.40pm off Waipatiki 

Beach, north of Napier, police said. 

The man’s diving companions 

raised the alert, saying they had 

lost sight of the man. 

Police and Coastguard search and 

rescue teams hunted for his body 

before it was located by helicopter 

at about 2.40pm. 

The man’s death has been referred 

to the coroner. 

Nov 6th 

A male diver died near Channel 

Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Police 

received a report of a diver found 

unresponsive in the water near 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Channel Island around 12.30pm 

yesterday, a police statement 

said. The diver’s buddy called 

emergency services after removing 

him from the water and placing 

him in a boat. A Westpac rescue 

helicopter attended, and CPR was 

performed but the diver did not 

survive. 

The man was transported to shore 

on a RNZN vessel in the area at 

the time, which provided medical 

assistance. 

Police are providing support to 

the victim’s family. The death has 

been referred to the Coroner. 

DAN launches new, no cost air quality and dive boat 

safety E-Learning courses 

Divers Alert Network ® (DAN) 

has released two new e-learning 

courses for dive professionals, boat 

operators and anyone interested 

in learning more about safe diving 

practices. The courses, designed by 

DAN’s risk mitigation and training 

experts, gives those who put divers 

in the water an opportunity to 

refine the safety of their operations. 

The new courses came about 

when last year the US Coast Guard 

issued a Marine Safety Alert 

reminding owners and 

operators of dive vessels 

that recreational diving is 

not regulated by the Coast 

Guard and that licensed 

masters of commercial 

vessels transporting divers 

are ultimately responsible 

and accountable for 

their passengers’ safety. 

So DAN created the Dive 

Boat Safety Best Practices 

e-learning course to help 

boat captains and dive 

professionals understand 

and implement the Coast 

Guard’s recommendations. 

The 30-minute course is 

designed to promote safe 

operations while covering 

maritime safety relating 

to diving, which makes 

it useful for boat-diving 

operations worldwide. 

Quality breathing gas is something 

every scuba diver relies on; 

breathing contaminated air 

underwater can be catastrophic. 

Those who fill cylinders must be 

able to assure the quality of the 

breathing gas they supply, and able 

to prevent and manage incidents 

that may result from contaminated 

air. DAN created the Assurance of 

Breathing Gas Quality e-learning 

course to help compressor operators 

and dive staff identify, prevent 

and respond to breathing gas 

contamination incidents. 

To access these courses, go to 

DAN.DiverELearning.com and 

click the “Available” tab. Both 

e-learning courses are at no cost. 

DAN encourages dive operators to 

integrate them into their existing 

staff training programmes. 

Successfully completing these 

courses can shore up gaps in staff 

knowledge and illustrate your 

operation’s commitment to safe 

diving. 


The GREAT New Zealand 

treasure hunt is on! 

HELP FIND SPANISH OR PORTUGUESE BURIED TREASURE AND RE-WRITE 

NEW ZEALAND HISTORY 

Dive Pacific is calling on divers and 

other adventurers to begin exploring 

for further evidence to prove that 

Spanish and/or Portuguese sailors were 

the first Europeans to land in New 

Zealand and Australia. The evidence 

uncovered thus far is compelling, as 

Winston Cowie writes in this feature. 

More artefacts would clinch the case. 

So Dive Pacific is promoting this call for 

action to find it. 

There are prizes to be won! Not for the treasure but for your 

ideas on how we/you should proceed to find the treasure. 

• What do you think would be the most prospective way 

to advance this cause? 

• What could or should be done to find more evidence? 

• What plans could be started? 

• What technology should be harnessed to find the treasure? 

• We’re convinced it exists, but how do we uncover it and where? 

Dive Pacific has several copies of Winston Cowie’s book, Conquistador Puzzle Trail, up for 

grabs. They’ll go to the best ideas on how to advance the search for buried Spanish/ 

Portuguese treasure. 

In the following article (followed by Part II in the next issue of Dive Pacific) Winston Cowie, 

master diver and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society outlines the evidence for the 

treasure mustered so far, with clues on where to look next. 

We have some buried treasure to find. Buried treasure that could 

re-write New Zealand history. We need adventurous divers and 

others with a “can do” approach to take a crack at finding it. 

You are divers or sea going adventurers. You know the legendary stories 

of Kelly Tarlton and Wade Doak finding the gold on the Elignamite up 

at the Three Kings. You have read about the General Grant down at 

the Auckland Islands, still unfound, still keeping the whereabouts of 

$5 million in gold a secret. You know the Niagara, sunk after hitting 

a German mine in WWII, and written about by New Zealand underwater 

diving legend Keith Gordon, sits at 120 metres off Northland’s 

coast. Five bars of gold (worth $3.5 million) are there, still unaccounted 

for. Along with 1,000 tonnes of oil on board posing an imminent risk to 

New Zealand’s marine environment. 

Three great challenges worth taking on: Finding the gold of the General 

Grant; the Niagara’s double motivation - gold, and more importantly, 

removing the oil risk. 

The Illa do magna on the Vallard Atlas (1547), Dieppe, France. Is it part of the North Island of New Zealand? 


Desliens Chart (1566), Dieppe, France 

Francisco Pizzaro, Spanish 

conquistador, conquered 

the Inca Empire, Peru, 1532 

There is other buried treasure to 

find. Spanish and Portuguese 

treasure. You may not know about 

it. Why would you? I didn’t. We 

weren’t taught interesting stuff like 

that school. Let’s hope with New 

Zealand history becoming compulsory 

by 2022, we will be better 

prepared to challenge the existing 

paradigms. 

In seeking and finding Spanish or 

Portuguese treasure you would 

rewrite New Zealand history by 

conclusively proving the first 

Europeans to locate and map New 

Zealand were not the Dutch or 

British at all, but Portuguese or 

Spanish. 

We all know that eastern 

Polynesians, perhaps from the 

‘Society’ or ‘Cook’ Islands were 

the first to discover New Zealand. 

Kiwa, Hotu Matua, Maui and Kupe 

are part of our folklore. But here 

we are talking about the European 

wave of voyagers. 

Piecing together a puzzle 

There has been a fair bit of smoke 

billowing around the Portuguese 

and Spanish in the region for a 

while now and, from the outset, 

I wanted to take a different 

approach to the subject. Rather 

than saying ‘this definitely 

happened’, as others have, I 

wanted to present this historical 

mystery as a puzzle. I set out 

to highlight the antiquities that 

have been found and put them 

forward only as potential evidence 

of a discovery by Spanish or 

Portuguese explorers. These antiquities 

include maps, shipwrecks 

and artefacts; they’re the pieces of 

a puzzle, and I put them forward 

as arguments, for and against, to 

encourage you to consider which 

part of the Conquistador Puzzle 

each piece might form. 

Each item discussed is presented 

on its own merits. I explain how I 

came across it, what, or who was 

the source of it, and you can decide 

where it fits into the theoretical 

framework. If a piece doesn’t fit the 

puzzle, it doesn’t fit. I don’t try to 

twist any piece to fit the theory. 

These pieces of the puzzle are 

fascinating. You have heard about 

some of them: 16th century maps 

of New Zealand and Australia well 

before Abel Tasman; shipwrecks; 

oral folklore of white voyagers 

coming ashore in New Zealand 

wearing armour; their massacre 

by natives; cannon, helmets, a 

ship’s bell, ruins, stone crosses and 

other enigmatic artefacts found 

centuries later; red-haired and fair 

skinned Maori noted by the next 

wave of settlers to New Zealand; 

buried treasure; pohutukawa trees 

on the far side of the world; lost 

caravels. 

Let’s back up 500 years 

The 15th and 16th centuries 

were the golden age of Spanish 

and Portuguese exploration. 

Pope Alexander VI drew a line of 

demarcation down the middle 

of the Atlantic and decreed all 

lands to the east were available 

for Portuguese exploration 

(including Africa and India) while 

all lands to the west were open for 

Spanish exploration, including the 

Americas and the Pacific. 

By the 1520s Magellan had gone 

around the world for the first 

time and on the other side of 

the world, in the Spice Islands, 

today’s Indonesia, he met another 

seafaring nation sailing in the 

opposite direction, from east to 

west. 


Spanish and Portuguese Discoveries and Trade Routes. 1581 

Alfonso de Albuquerque, 

Portuguese conquistador, captured 

Ormuz at the head of the Arabian 

Gulf in 1507, conquered Goa, India in 

1510, and Malacca, Malaysia in 1511 

Mendonca 

At this time, so the chronicles 

say, one Christopher Mendonca, a 

Portuguese captain, was given a 

secret mission by the Portuguese 

King Manuel I, to find the great 

southern land of gold of Marco Polo 

fame. Through Google, yes modern 

day Google, I sourced an official 

record from the Lisbon Archives 

referencing this very expedition. 

I can even tell you Mendonca had 

four ships in his fleet, and the 

names of their captains. 

Between 1520 and 1524 Mendonca, 

following the instructions of 

his King, discovered the Great 

A reproduction of the continent 

“Big Java” of the Dauphin Chart, 

(circa 1547), Dieppe, France 

Southern Land that, in later years 

it was claimed, nothing was known 

about: the Terra Australia Incognita. 

We know from a postal stone in 

Cape Town that Mendonca passed 

through there in May of 1524, then 

there is ‘radio’ silence in respect of 

the rest of his expedition. (Funnily 

enough, he ended up in my neck 

of the woods, not five hours drive 

from where I am writing this, in 

Ormuz at the head of the Arabian 

Gulf.) 

How do we know that Mendonca 

likely went on this expedition? 

Because in the 1540s beautiful 

world maps started appearing 

originating in Dieppe, France, 


Owner Martin Taylor and the ‘Manukau Helmet’ a 

Dutch pikeman’s pot (or war hat) dated to 1630-40. 

Dredged out of the Manukau Harbour in the 1960s 

where the top cartographers 

and mapmakers congregated 

in the 1540s to 1560s. On these 

maps were located modern day 

Australia and New Zealand with 

landmasses that match in part 

what they look like today. On the 

most detailed map, the Vallard 

Atlas of 1547, there are over 120 

detailed Portuguese place names 

descriptive of physical features 

there today. Many of these old 

Portuguese words match up in 

some places. For example, the 

Great Barrier Reef is located where 

the map says ‘Costa Dangeroza’; 

there is a prawn fishery where it 

says prawns; and pumice deposits 

where it says pomezita, to cite just 

a few. So why aren’t these maps 

viewed as a Portuguese discovery 

of Australia and New Zealand? 

The San Lesmes 

Furthermore on the Spanish side 

there are two possibilities: One 

is that New Zealand is where the 

fabled caravel, the San Lesmes of 

the 1525 Loaisa Expedition was 

wrecked, accounting for the shipwreck 

(more on that next time), and 

the red haired and fair skinned 

Maori on the northern New Zealand 

coastline, along with the oral 

tradition of Spanish helmets and 

buried treasure. 

found here in a date range within 

41 years of that voyage (1619). This 

woman was likely to have been 

between 40 and 45 years old when 

she died. 

Indeed a painting on the wall 

of the Madrid Naval Museum 

celebrates the great Spanish 

voyages of exploration with Juan 

Fernandez’ voyage to New Zealand 

included. The voyage is celebrated 

at the Spanish end; it’s time 

we acknowledged it at the New 

Zealand end. 

More on the maps 

But what else do we know about 

the ancient maps. Sir Joseph Banks, 

Cook’s botanist, donated one of 

them to the British Library in 1790, 

De La Rochette, L S. Chart of the Indian Ocean. 1817, Second edition engraved by 

J Bothren. London. W.Faden. geographer to the King and to HRH the Prince Regent 

The wording in this map 

under the words ‘New 

Zeeland’ reads as follows: 

“New Zeeland: Discovered 

and named by Tasman, 1642 

but whose Eastern Coast was 

known to the Portuguese, 

about the year 1550” 

(over 100 years earlier) 

Juan Fernandez 

The second is there may have been 

a voyage by a Spanish captain 

Juan Fernandez from Concepcion 

in Chile to New Zealand between 

1576 and 1578 which accounts for, 

among other pieces of the puzzle, 

the skull of a European woman 


An example of an ancient map as drawn by cartographers in the 16th century. 

19 years after he had voyaged 

on Cook’s 1769 expedition. This 

fact raises the question: Did Cook 

Juan Sebastián Elcano, a Spanish 

conquistador and below Ferdinand 

Magellan from Portugal who sailed 

around the world for the first time 

circa 1519-1522 

and Banks have these Portuguese 

charts when they ‘mapped’ New 

Zealand for the first time? The 

story goes that Banks purchased 

the map from Edward Harley, Earl 

of Oxford, one of the principal earls 

of the admiralty. And it’s a fact he 

gifted one of them to the British 

Library in 1790. Why did he have 

it? 

In 1803, William Faden, who 

was the Royal Geographer to 

King George III and also the 

Chart Committee of the British 

Admiralty, was reassessing what 

was known of the world. On 

the chart of the Indian Ocean 

he wrote next to New Zealand: 

“New Zeeland (Discovered and 

named by Tasman 1642 but 

where eastern coast was known 

to the Portuguese, about the year 

1550).” We are talking about the 

Geographer to the King here. 250 

years ago he was the global expert 

on geography. 

Similarly in 1894, two of New 

Zealand’s most famous historians, 

Dr Thomas Hocken and 

Dr Robert McNab, theorised that 

further research might reveal the 

true story of the discovery of New 

Zealand. They wrote: “Doubtless 

before Tasman, there were voyagers 

who had visited New Zealand. We 

are justified in thinking that there are 

buried in the old archives of Portugal 

and of Spain journals … [that would 

prove this].” 

Footnote: 

Conquistador Trail Puzzles has 

been translated into Spanish, 

and praised by the Spanish and 

Portuguese embassies in New 

Zealand and Australia. It’s also 

been added as a source to Te Ara, 

the online Encyclopedia of New 

Zealand, and with the support 

of the Spanish Embassy to New 

Zealand, we sent over 350 free 

copies to schools and universities 

in New Zealand. 

Getting people to read these 

theories is the only way to 

encourage debate and move knowledge 

forward. (eg Excellent exam 

question: Were the Portuguese 

or Spanish the first Europeans to 

discover New Zealand?) 

With my book now available in 

both languages, I am sure that 

in my lifetime, with additional 

research, we will be able to say 

definitively this did happen. And 

there is still that buried treasure 

to find. 

In our next issue we’ll reveal what 

today’s experts have to say about the 

ancient maps, who got here first, and 

what about that buried treasure? 


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Kiwi wins UK’s Young Wildlife 

Photographer of the Year 2019 

The winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the 

Year competition have just been announced at 

the Natural History Museum, London, with China’s 

Yongqing Bao declared Wildlife Photographer of 

the Year 2019 and 14 year-old New Zealander Cruz 

Erdmann winning the Young Wildlife Photographer 

of the Year 2019 award. (See profile on Cruz with more 

examples of his work on page 30) 

Yongging’s extraordinary image, The Moment, frames 

a Tibetan fox and a marmot frozen in a life and death 

instant. Chair of the judging panel, Roz Kidman Cox, 

said, “Photographically, it is quite simply the perfect moment. 

The intensity of the postures holds you transfixed.” 

Cruz’ win was for his portrait of an iridescent big fin 

reef squid captured on a night dive in the Lembeh 

Strait off North Sulawesi, Indonesia. (See panel in this 

feature). Theo Bosboom, nature photographer and 

member of the judging panel for WPY55, said “To dive 

in the pitch dark, find this beautiful squid and photograph 

it so elegantly, to reveal its wonderful shapes 

and colours, takes so much skill.” 

The two images were selected from 19 category 

winners depicting the incredible diversity of life by 

professional and amateur photographers. Cruz and 

Yongqing’s images beat over 48,000 entries from 100 

countries. They will be on show in stunning lightbox 

displays with 98 other spectacular photographs at the 

Natural History Museum then elsewhere in the UK and 

Canada, Spain, USA, Australia and Germany. 

Open to photographers of all ages and abilities, the 

next Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition 

has now opened for entries. 

www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy/competition.html 

The moment by Yongqing Bao, China. Joint Winner 2019, Behaviour: Mammals, and Supreme Winner 

It was early spring and very cold on the alpine meadowland of the 

Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China’s Qilian Mountains National Nature 

Reserve. The marmot was hungry, still in its winter coat and not 

long out of its six-month, winter hibernation deep underground. It 

had spotted the fox an hour earlier, and sounded the alarm to warn 

its companions. But as the fox lay still the marmot ventured out of 

its burrow again. Yongqing seized his shot. His fast exposure froze 

the attack. The predator mid-move, her long canines revealed, and 

the terrified prey, forepaw outstretched, with long claws adapted for 

digging, not fighting. 

Canon EOS-1D X + 800mm f5.6 lens; 1/2500 sec at f5.6 (+0.67 e/v); ISO 

640; Manfrottocarbon-fibre tripod + 509HD head. 


Night glow by Cruz Erdmann, New Zealand. Winner 2019, 11-14 years old, and Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 

Cruz was on an organized night dive in the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia 

when he found himself over an unpromising sand flat in just 3 metres 

of water. It was here he encountered a pair of big fin reef squid engaged 

in courtship which involved a glowing, fast changing communication of 

lines, spots and stripes of varying shades and colours. One immediately 

jetted away but the other, probably the male, hovered just long enough 

for Cruz to capture an instant of its glowing underwater show. 

Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 100mm f2.8 lens; 1/125 sec at f29; ISO 200; 

Ikelite DS161 strobe. 

Pond world by Manuel Plaickner, Italy. Winner 2019. Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles 

Every spring for more than a decade Manuel followed the mass 

migration of common frogs in South Tyrol, Italy when they emerge from 

shelter to breed and head straight for water. Mating involves a male 

grasping his partner, piggyback, until she lays eggs – up to 2,000, each 

in a clear jelly capsule which he then fertilizes. In South Tyrol there are 

relatively few ponds where massive numbers of frogs still congregate 

for spawning. Manuel immersed himself in one of the larger ponds to 

watch the spawn build up. Within a few days the frogs had gone, and 

the maturing eggs had risen to the surface. 

Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 17–40mm f4 lens at 20mm; 1/640 sec at 

f8(+0.7 e/v); ISO 800;Seacamhousing. 


The garden of eels by David Doubilet, USA. Winner 2019, Under Water 

This colony of garden eels was one of the largest David had ever seen, 

nearly the size of a football field, stretching down a steep sandy slope 

off Dauin, in the Philippines. He descended along the colony edge, 

deciding where to setup his kit. He had sketched out an ideal portrait of 

the colony in his studio, and this also his first story of very many stories 

in National Geographic. These warm-water eels are extremely shy, 

vanishing into their sandy burrows the moment they sense anything 

unfamiliar. David placed his camera housing just within the colony and 

hid behind the remnants of a shipwreck from where he could trigger 

the system remotely. It was several hours before the eels dared to rise 

again to feed on the plankton drifting by in the current. Several days 

later he began to get images he liked. 

Nikon D3 + 17–35mm f2.8 lens at 19mm; 1/40 sec at f14; ISO 

400;Seacamhousing; aluminium plate +ballhead; remote trigger; Sea & 

Sea YS250 strobes (at half power). 

Snow-plateau nomads by Shangzhen Fan, China. Winner 2019, Animals in their environment 

A small herd of male chiru leaves a trail of footprints on a snow-veiled 

slope in the Kumukuli Desert of China’s Altun Shan National Nature 

Reserve. These antelopes, the males with long, slender, black horns, 

are found only on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. To survive at elevations of 

up to 5,500 metres where temperatures fall to -40°C they have unique 

underfur, shahtoosh - very light, very warm and the main reason for 

the species’ drastic decline. A million chiru once ranged across this vast 

plateau, but commercial hunting has left only about 70,000 individuals. 

It takes three to five hides to make a single shawl - the antelopes 

must be killed to collect the wool. In winter, many chiru migrate to the 

relative warmth of the remote Kumukuli Desert. For years, Shangzhen 

has made the arduous, high-altitude journey to record them. On this 

day the air was fresh and clear after heavy snow. 

Nikon D5 + 600mm f4 lens; 1/1250 sec at f6.3 (+0.3 e/v); ISO 125;Gitzo 

GT5532S 6X tripod. 


Creation by Luis 

Vilariño Lopez, Spain. 

Winner 2019, Earth’s 

Environments 

Red-hot lava tongues flow into the Pacific Ocean, producing huge 

plumes of noxious mix of acid steam and fine glass particles. This was 

the front line of the biggest eruption for 200 years of one of the world’s 

most active volcanos, Kîlauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island. Kîlauea started 

spewing lava in May 2018 and in a few days it had reached the Pacific 

on the island’s southeast coast to begin creating a huge delta of new 

land extending more than 1.6 kilometres offshore. As dusk fell a sudden 

change in wind direction moved the acidic clouds aside to reveal a 

glimpse of the lava lagoons and rivers. Framing his shot through the 

helicopter’s open door, Luis captured the collision boundary between 

molten rock and water and the emergence of new land. 

Sony 7R III + 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 196mm; 1/4000 sec at f5.6; 

ISO 800. 

The huddle by Stefan 

Christmann, Germany. 

Winner 2019, Wildlife 

Photographer of the Year 

Portfolio Award (Part of a 

winning photo story) 

More than 5,000 male emperor penguins huddle against the late winter 

cold on the sea ice of Antarctica’s Atka Bay in front of the Ekström Ice 

Shelf. Each paired male carries a single egg on his feet, tucked under a 

fold of skin (the brood pouch) as he faces the harshest winter on Earth, 

severe wind chill and intense blizzards. The females entrust their eggs 

to their mates to incubate then head for the sea where they feed for up 

to three months. Survival depends on cooperation. The centre of the 

huddle can become so cosy that it temporarily breaks up to cool off, 

releasing clouds of steam. From mid May til mid-July, the sun does not 

rise above the horizon, but at the end of winter, when this picture was 

taken, there are a few hours of twilight. That, combined with modern 

camera technology and a longish exposure enabled Stefan to create 

such a bright picture. 

Nikon D810 + 45mm f2.8 tilt-shift lens; 1/60 sec at f11;ISO 800; Gitzo 

5562LTS tripod + Novoflex CB5II ballhead. 


Young kiwi wins UK’s top 

international award 

Blue Mao Mao in the Bay of Islands. 

Cruz photographs a school of yellow snapper at Misool, Raja Ampat 

With 14 year-old New 

Zealander Cruz Erdmann 

winning the international 

accolade Young Wildlife 

Photographer of the Year 

award this year Dive Pacific 

contacted him to find 

out more, and for other 

examples of his work. 

…Things are looking up 

compared to just a couple of 

years ago… 

Photo by Mark Erdmann 

The clownfish is an endemic species of the Maldives 

The competition for the Awards 

was huge so how did you react 

to winning? 

Winning was definitely a 

surprise. It was certainly very 

nice. 

Where have you dived mostly? 

I have dived in the Maldives, 

in West Papua at Raja Ampat 

a few times and at Lembah in 

PNG, and In New Zealand in 

the Bay of Islands at the Hole 

in the Rock. 

When did you start photographing 

underwater and do 

you have a favourite camera set 

up? 

I started underwater photography 

in March 2018. I’m 

not a gear guy. My camera 

is a Canon 5 D Mk 3 with an 

Aquatica housing and for the 

winning photo I used one 

Ikolite strobe and a super 

macro lens. We were muck 

diving at night. 


Where do you see yourself going 

with your photography? 

I want to do a lot more photography 

in New Zealand, both 

terrestrial and underwater. Blue 

Maomao I find very beautiful 

and want to do photos of glow 

worms, for example double 

exposures. I like the New 

Zealand kelp forests and other 

underwater landscapes. 

At this stage where 

do you see your career 

heading? 

Eventually I would 

like to lead scientific 

expeditions in the field 

for long periods, and 

want get my helicopter’s 

licence. I don’t 

want my career to be 

reliant on photography. 

Sea fans, Misool, Raja Ampat 

What do you like doing at 

school? 

I’m at Westlake (in 

Auckland’s North 

Shore). The subjects I 

most like are English 

and Maths, and my 

sports are water polo 

and rowing. I want to 

do more freediving 

and spearfishing, and I 

also keep a freshwater 

aquarium. 

Jellyfish in a brackish water lake in Misool, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. 

In your acceptance speech at the 

Awards presentation you made 

some interesting comments. How 

do you see the future? 

I don’t think it’s all bad. Things 

are looking up compared to 

just a couple of years ago. 

Now there is more awareness 

and acceptance about climate 

issues. 

Witnessing the climate 

marches through photography 

can be part of the contribution 

to these issues. 

The sweetlips, Maldives. 


S pearos notebook 

So there are spearfishing competitions? 

How do they work? 

with Jackson Shields 

common reaction to people 

A finding out there is a competitive 

side to spearfishing is to ask, 

well, how do they work? The World 

Spearfishing Championships held 

every two years are a case in point: 

75 competitors from 25 countries 

descend upon a chosen location, 

different each time, where you 

are allocated three to five viable 

areas usually around 10 km long. 

At these locations five hours of 

competition takes place over two 

consecutive days. 

A wide ranging yet difficult fish 

list is chosen. You score points per 

fish species and by their weight, 

and there are bonus points for 

achieving a variety of species and 

filling out a category. 

So surely this must be a mass 

slaughter, right? Well actually no, 

the spearfishing is very difficult 

and in the past about half of the 

75 competitors speared no fish 

at all over two whole days. Also, 

every fish you spear you must land 

and weigh in, and if you shoot 

Amazing coastline with clear 

water straight off the rocks 

a fish below its minimum size 

you are penalized. You must be 

very vigilant about the size. The 

minimum size for each species 

is set large which increases the 

difficulty. 

climate and infamous for an 

absence of fish… Sardinia did not 

disappoint. We were greeted with 

25 degree water, beautiful warm 

weather and very few fish. I had 

never speared there before but 

knew about the extreme difficulty 

required to get fish. It was soon 

very apparent the fish know what a 

spearo is – they don’t hang around. 

Then at 20 metres there was a 

thermocline that dropped the 

temperature to 17 degrees. Not so 

nice in a 3mm wetsuit especially 

when bottom time is required. 

The spearfishing is not just physically 

demanding but also requires 

very good hunting skills. The fish 

are easily spooked and mostly 

small. The white rocky bottom 

reflects a lot of light making it 

difficult to hide. Not only are you 

required to freedive beyond 30 

metres regularly but also navigate 

and sneak around boulders on the 

bottom, using a torch to look into 

holes. It soon became apparent 

how taxing the diving was, and 

how frustrating. 

…It was soon very apparent the fish know what a spearo is – 

they don’t hang around. Then at 20 metres the temperature 

dropped to 17 degrees. Not so nice in a 3mm wetsuit 

especially when bottom time is required… 

A very fishy day, from diving a 

piece of reef at 30 to 35m 

And not having local knowledge 

obviously puts you at a massive 

disadvantage. 

World champs at Sardinia 

The next world champs is being 

held in Sardinia in Italy next year 

and I was fortunate to go there 

to scout the area a year early 

with a couple of other members 

of the team. Its vital to get firsthand 

experience of what will 

be expected next year. We were 

also on the lookout for boats and 

accommodation as these are 

massive costs. 

The Mediterranean is famous for 

its pristine blue-water, summer 

Hotspots 

The proposed areas for the champs 

are long stretches of coastline 

consisting mainly of sandy beaches 

with two obvious hot spots on the 

head land and island. These are 

only small areas and you soon 

knew what the good spots were 

by the masses of fishing lines, 

ropes and cages littered all over 

the boulders; safety hazards not to 

get tangled in. Instead of seaweed, 

as we have in temperate waters, 

there’s a sea grass covering most 

of the rocks between five metres 

out to 40 metres. The thing with 

the sea grass is that there doesn’t 

appear to be any fish occupying 

it like the seaweed here in New 


Zealand. So you end up diving in 

vast fields of sea grass covered 

rocks with no significant fish life. 

Species 

We were looking for prominent, 

broken up rocks coming off the 

bottom with cracks and under 

hangs as the main species we 

were hunting hide/live in holes in 

them. A torch is a must! Then, to 

the surprise of one of our team, a 

50 – 60kg Bluefin tuna swam past 

right near the boat ramp, moving 

too quickly to react for a shot. We 

also encountered smaller tuna 

similar to Bonito. But the main fish 

we were spearing for dinner each 

night were variations of Snapper 

and Grouper. You certainly had 

to work hard to get enough for 

the Bends is real. And there are no 

specific freediving tables to combat 

this as of yet. Some people are 

more susceptible than others. 

3) The other risk is lung squeeze 

that happens due to compression 

at depth with the result that lung 

tissue becomes torn. (A simplified 

description) You end up having 

difficulty breathing or coughing 

up foamy blood. If this happens 

you are out of action for some 

time to allow the tears to heal. 

Conditioning your body for these 

extreme depths is important. All 

three of these risks are real and are 

effectively heightened the deeper 

you go. All three have happened 

in past competitions. They are not 

that uncommon. 

…With all the boat noise and divers in the water the fish 

become extremely scarce… so few actually end up being 

speared… 

Alex Edwards, NZ Women’s 

Champion, with a big Sargo 

maybe one fish. With all the boat 

noise and divers in the water the 

fish become extremely scarce 

and difficult to find. So few fish 

a feed but the fish were incredibly 

good eating! The yellow belly 

grouper (pictured) was creamy and 

delicious! 

The risks 

Competing at spearfishing in a 

location like this poses a few more 

risks. 

1) Shallow water black out occurs 

when holding your breath too 

long and not making it back to the 

surface safely. This results in you 

passing out, and if not recovered 

will most likely be fatal. Added to 

this are the depths required at this 

competition which will likely be up 

to 50-60 metres. 

2) Which brings up the topic of the 

Bends or decompression sickness. 

Getting bent is not well known 

by spearfishers as it is normally 

associated with scuba divers 

who spend long periods of time 

at depth. But for these conditions 

we will be accumulating more 

than 30 minutes at depths greater 

than 30 metres. Since we do not 

regulate the speed of our ascent, 

and don’t usually take adequate 

surface intervals the risk of getting 

You dive alone 

In the World Spearfishing Champs 

you dive alone, with no support 

diver. Only a boatman follows 

you to collect the catch (if you get 

anything). A large percentage 

of the field will get no fish or 

Dusky grouper, one of the best 

eating fish in the Mediterrean 

actually end up being speared, 

and those only by the top five to 

10 competitors. It certainly is an 

ultimate test and very challenging, 

and rewarding too. And it was so 

important to go to where this will 

all take place next year a year in 

advance, to see up close what will 

be required. 


SOUNDINGS 


Tara Oceans research highlights 

plankton biodiversity 

New results from the Tara Oceans expedition show how the diversity and functions of 

plankton change dramatically depending on their latitude. 

• The data sets analysed show the adaptation 

mechanisms of planktonic microbial communities 

to climate change are different in warm 

and cold waters. And planktonic microbes in 

polar waters are more specifically adapted 

to their ecological niche than those in warm 

waters, and may be less capable of adapting to 

future climate change. 

Earlier results from the 2009-2013 Tara Oceans 

expedition provided baseline plankton varieties 

and now two research studies have incorporated 

planetary-scale data sets from the Polar Circle 

circumnavigation undertaken in the Arctic Ocean 

in 2013. They have just been published in the 

journal Cell. 

The research shows planktonic species are 

distributed unevenly and may adjust differently 

to environmental conditions between the equator 

and the poles; the findings are expected to have 

strong ecological, environmental and economic 

implications in the event of a rise in ocean 

temperatures. 

The ocean is often said to be the 

only continuous ecosystem on 

the planet, and the foundation of 

the Earth’s health. The astronomical 

number of viruses, microbes, 

and small animals that drift with 

marine currents collectively 

called «plankton» 

play a crucial role: they 

form the basis of the 

marine food chain, 

capture a large fraction 

of atmospheric carbon 

dioxide and release 

oxygen through photosynthesis. 

Data collected from 189 sampling 

stations worldwide during the 

Tara Oceans expedition aimed 

at identifying the drivers of the 

diversity of all major planktonic 

groups so their global distributions 

could be mapped with insights 

sought on their response to climate 

change. The research combined 

new and published genetic data 

to identify the species, and used 

state-of-the-art imaging analysis 

to evaluate the quantity of each 

species present in the samples. 

“Our results clearly show that the 

planktonic diversity is more important 

around the equator, and decreases 

towards the poles”, explained research 

leader, Lucie Zinger. “The existence of 

such latitudinal diversity gradients 

is well established for most terrestrial 

organisms and was described by 

Alexander von Humboldt 200 years 

ago. It’s an interesting coincidence 

that we can prove its validity for most 

planktonic groups, from giant viruses 

to small metazoans, on the 250th 

anniversary of his birth.” 

…The astronomical number of viruses, microbes, 

and small animals that drift with marine currents 

collectively called «plankton» … form the basis of 

the marine food chain, capture a large fraction of 

atmospheric carbon dioxide and release oxygen 

through photosynthesis… 

Another group has been working 

on the massive Tara Oceans DNA 

and RNA data sets to establish a 

new global catalogue of 47 million 

ocean microbial genes. This now 

extends to the poles. The team 

measured the products of gene 

transcription called the metatranscriptome 

to understand the 

capacity of microbes to adapt to 

changing environmental conditions. 

“We found the mechanisms influencing 

the community transcriptomes 

of bacteria and archaeal communities, 

and hence their adaptation to new 

environmental conditions, to be very 

different around the equator and at 

the poles”, said scientist Shinichi 

Sunagawa. 

Temperature the key parameter 

Microbial activity and diversity 

remain stable between the equator 

and 40° latitude (north or south) 

then change rapidly, in steps, to 

approximately 60° latitude (north 

or south), where a new stable state 

begins. 

These two ecological 

boundaries - one north 

of the equator, the 

other south - match 

physical and chemical 

changes in surface 

waters, mainly a steep 

drop in temperature. 

The composition and quantity 

of the microbial populations on 

both sides of this boundary vary 

greatly. The new maps of plankton 

diversity show similar boundaries 

exist for all planktonic species, 

from bacteria, archaea, protists 

and zooplankton to most viruses 

- temperature appears to be the 

main factor explaining their 

patterns, with resource availability 

secondary. 

“Tropicalization” of temperate 

and polar ocean regions 

Though the research needs to be 

refined and validated, it clearly 

shows higher oceanic temperatures 

are likely to cause a “tropicalisation” 

of temperate and polar 

oceanic regions, with higher water 

temperatures and an increased 

diversity of planktonic species. 

Plankton in temperate and polar 


SOUNDINGS 


Scientists study toothfish spawning in Antarctica 

Toothfish embryo 

NIWA fisheries scientist Dr Steve 

Parker and his colleagues have 

just returned from studying the 

ecology of the Antarctic toothfish 

in the northern Ross Sea. They 

were on board the Janas, a 

deepwater longline vessel owned 

by Talley’s Group Ltd, for the 

second voyage ever during the 

winter 

“We know that toothfish spawn in 

the winter and this research has 

uncovered further findings about 

them, their ecology, and how they 

reproduce,” Dr Parker said. 

photographing a 

Fiordland moose,” Dr 

Parker said. 

“We have been able 

to record buoyancy 

measurements for 

different stages of 

larval development, 

shedding light on 

how the eggs will be 

carried by currents 

and distributed 

throughout the Ross 

Sea as larvae.” 

The survey was 

Using plankton 

nets, the team 

collected toothfish 

eggs which were 

kept alive and, 

in a world first, 

developed in a 

specially designed 

chamber. 

“We’ve 

photographed 

a developing 

toothfish embryo, 

at around 15-days 

post-fertilisation 

which is the marine 

equivalent to 

co-designed by NIWA and Ministry 

for Primary Industries (MPI) 

through the Antarctic Working 

Group, and funded by Talleys and 

MPI. 

Four tagged toothfish were also 

recaptured during the voyage, each 

one registering they had travelled 

more than 2300 km from the Ross 

Sea continental slope over the 

past four years. A comprehensive 

tagging programme of toothfish 

in the Ross Sea has been carried 

out for 20 years, with 50,000 fish 

tagged and released and 3000 

recaptured by the fishery. 

Hauling in TOA 

…cont’d from 34 

waters play a crucial role in 

capturing atmospheric carbon 

and storing it in the ocean; they 

are very active fishing areas, and 

large regions of them are 

reserved for endangered 

species. And these are 

where the most important 

changes in biodiversity 

are expected to occur, 

with serious consequences 

worldwide. 

Response mechanisms 

While no model accurately predicts 

how ocean ecosystems will adapt 

to climate change this research 

offers clues about the mechanisms 

involved. Generally, microbial 

communities can adapt to environmental 

changes either by adapting 

their metabolism, and hence their 

gene expression patterns to make 

the most of the new condition, 

or by replacing their less adapted 

member species by better adapted 

ones. 

…Warmer and colder waters appear as two 

ecosystems with distinct adaptive mechanisms 

for their microbial populations, which points 

towards potentially very different responses 

to climate change in different regions of our 

oceans… 

Microbial populations in warmer 

waters - between 40° N and 40° 

S - are more diverse and benefit 

from a large pool of genes that 

can be switched on or off in case 

new characteristics are needed 

to adapt: species can adapt their 

metabolism and continue to thrive. 

In polar waters, however, the 

variety of microbial species 

and genes is much reduced and 

plankton communities adapt 

through species turnover rather 

than differential gene 

expression. This 

suggests their ecological 

niche is narrower, 

and some could potentially 

disappear and 

be replaced with new 

species from warmer 

waters. 

Thus the warmer and colder 

waters appear as two ecosystems 

with distinct adaptive mechanisms 

for their microbial populations, 

which points towards potentially 

very different responses to climate 

change in different regions of our 

oceans. 


Species in depth 

The odyssey of the sea turtle 

By Dee Harris 

The ancient sea turtle evolved some 300 million years ago in the Triassic era well before 

the age of dinosaurs. It survived as dinosaurs became extinct, living on through climatic 

warmings and severe environmental disruption well before the age of modern man. But 

today we must wonder if the challenges facing the turtle will be too great for its continued 

survival. 

Hawksbill looking into the camera. 

Photo: - naturepl.com, Inaki Relanzon, WWF 

Nearly all species of sea turtle are now classified 

as Endangered; of the five species that voyage to 

New Zealand waters the Leatherback and Hawksbill 

are Critically Endangered while the Green, Loggerhead, 

and Olive Ridley are Endangered. 

Sea turtles have proved difficult to study for, among 

other things, they travel extraordinarily long 

distances, and it’s difficult to determine which sex 

they are. Nonetheless lately several different research 

projects are piecing together a picture of them which 

reveals both promise, and a deep concern for their 

future. 

Up against it 

Sea turtles confront huge barriers getting their lives 

started. Before and after they hatch they’re up against 

a long list of predators, on land and sea, including 

birds, crabs, small mammals, and fish. After hatching 

they race to the sea to begin a swimming frenzy to 

get away from the seashore where their predators are 

the more prevalent. A small fraction, way less than 

one percent, will survive to adulthood under natural 

conditions. 


Caption? 

Photo: Andy Belcher, Legend Photography 

Then bring homo sapiens into the 

reckoning. Sea turtles have been 

a source of trade and culture, 

livelihood and spiritual supposition 

entwined in many nations’ 

cultures since forever. Turtles have 

been slaughtered for eggs, meat, 

skin and their shells. And they are 

still being poached and over-exploited. 

One of the biggest threats to sea 

turtles’ future is demand for 

turtle meat, primarily in China 

which is being met from Vietnam, 

Bangladesh, Indonesia, North 

America and elsewhere. Aside 

from the meat, turtle soup and 

turtle eggs, turtle bone is ground 

up for Chinese medicine supposedly 

for longevity. Poachers have 

been going further afield too; in 

2017 federal wildlife inspectors 

in the US confiscated 170 native 

species turtles headed for China. 

Black markets 

For centuries the Hawksbill 

turtle has been hunted for its 

shell. (See accompanying item) A 

recent report studiously derived 

from Japanese Customs archives 

estimated that between 1844 

and 1992, 19 million hawksbill 

turtles were killed for their shells. 

Today official estimates put the 

remaining Hawksbills to be only 

25,000. 

Since 1977, CITES (the Convention 

on International Trade in 

Endangered Species) has imposed 

a trade ban designed to protect 

them but it hasn’t stopped black 

…The results were then matched against temperature data 

to show the northern reef Green turtle rookeries have been 

producing primarily females for more than two decades, with 

a near complete feminization of the population… 

market demand in China and 

Japan. Recently confiscated specimens 

show smaller, more juvenile 

turtles being harvested. It seems 

the beliefs in some cultures cannot 

be overcome in a couple of generations 

though a species may well be 

sacrificed in less than that time. 

Man takes over habitat 

The sea turtle shares with most 

wild species a loss of habitat 

brought about by human activity. 

Coastal development, erosion, 

pesticides, sewage discharge, 

oil spill; all have played a role in 

reducing nesting sites. A study of 

over three generations of Hawksbill 

turtles, around 105 years, showed 

a decline of 90% in the number 

of females nesting annually. The 

decline has been going on for 

decades though higher awareness 

recently is helping save some 

prime nesting sites. 

Thoughtless human habits have 

brought newer menace: plastic 

and other debris ingestion, entanglements, 

and boat strikes. Over 

a third of rescued sea turtles 

are found with plastics in their 

digestive tracts and of those, half 

die from the effects. They die 

painfully. Plastic bags mistaken 

for jellyfish, one of their favourite 

foods, are a major threat. 

In New Zealand injured turtles are 

often brought to places like Kelly 

Tarltons for recovery and rehabilitation. 

The stomach of a green 

sea turtle named Nebs, rescued 

in the Far North in 2011, was full 

of plastic. The recent decision to 

abolish plastic bags is certainly 

a step in the right direction for 

sea turtles. Nebs spent two years 

recovering from several surgeries 

and was then released in 2013 back 

to the sea with a transponder on 

board. But his trail soon went cold. 

Then, in March 2018 he was pulled 

up by a fisherman near Mangere 

Bridge, Auckland and after a short 

period to determine he was still 

healthy, a group of school children 

in Kaitaia released him again into 

the wild. 

Bycatch 

The single largest threat to extant 

populations of sea turtles is as 


Caption 

Photo: Andy Belcher, Legend Photography 

bycatch of commercial fishing. 

While difficult to quantify because 

most is never reported, estimates 

are that 150,000 sea turtles are 

being killed each year in shrimp 

trawls while 250,000 are captured, 

injured or killed by longliners. 

Many more drown each year in gill 

nets. (see table) 

Combatting this are improvements 

in fishing gear, and better communication 

between fishermen 

where sea turtle beds are known 

to exist, better and compulsory 

reporting systems, more education 

of fishermen, and the 

continued advocacy and 

diplomacy work between 

nations: sea turtles inhabit 

most of the world’s tropical 

and temperate oceans, Carlos 

Drews a regional coordinator 

for WWF’s expressed it this 

way: 

“The good-will and expertise of 

fishermen are part of the solution 

to the bycatch problem. These 

gentle giants need fishermen to 

be part of the collective effort to 

save them for our grandchildren 

to see.” 

Another bigger threat 

With all these challenges 

heaping up against the sea 

turtle’s ability to survive, the 

most recent, climate change, is 

introducing major new issues. 

The heat of the sand where eggs 

hatch determines a sea turtle’s sex. 

Simplistically put, males hatch 

at lower temperatures: below 

27C with females hatching above 

31C. A study led by Dr Camryn 

Allen looking at green sea turtles 

in the Great Barrier Reef used 

genetic markers and ‘mixed-stock 

analysis’ to determine Green sea 

turtles’ sex through a combination 

of laparoscopy and endocrinology. 

In turtles originating from the 

cooler southern Great Barrier Reef 

nesting beaches the results showed 

a moderate female sex bias (65% to 

69% female), But for turtles originating 

from the warmer, northern 

part of the reef’s nesting beaches 

the female bias was extreme (99.1% 

of juveniles, 99.8% of sub adult, 

and 86.8% of adult-sized turtles). 

The results were then matched 

against temperature data to show 

the northern reef green turtle 

rookeries have been producing 

primarily females for more than 

two decades, with a near complete 

feminization of this population 

upon us. [1] Whereas a shift 

towards an excess population 

of females was expected, the 

extremeness of the findings 

was not. 

“I can’t deny it. Seeing those 

results scared the crap out of 

me,” Allen said in the April 

2019 edition of National 

Geographic. 

Will there be enough males 

around to take the species 

forward, and will there be 

sufficient genetic diversity for 

them to survive? 

On the bounce back? 

If there is a bright side, 

despite the array of 

challenges, sea turtle 


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Species 

Leatherback 

Green 

Loggerhead 

Hawksbill 

Olive Ridley 

CE = Critically Endangered 

Sea Turtles found in New Zealand waters 

Where 

sighted in 

NZ 

North Cape 

and Eastern 

Coast of 

Northland, 

but seen 

throughout 

NZ 

Rangaunu 

Harbour, 

Poor Knights 

Island, Far 

North 

Upper North 

Island 

Upper North 

Island but 

seen in Cook 

Straight 

No regular 

sightings, 

thought to 

get here 

when 

stranded in 

currents 

Size: 

length, 

weight, diet 

1.8-2.2m 

long, can 

weigh up to 

900 kg, and 

be as long as 

3m 

Carnivore 

1-1.2m long, 

64 – 130 kg 

Herbivore 

90 cm long, 

115 kg 

Omnivore 

75 – 92 cm 

long, 45 – 90 

kg 

Omnivore 

60-70 cm 

long, 34-45 kg 

Mostly 

carnivore 

E = Endangered 

Protective measures taken by commercial fishing 

Signatories to the Code of Best Practice for 

mitigating the effects of fishing on sea turtles in 

New Zealand by purse seine operations (in March 

2009) reads that the members of the Fishing 

Industry Guild and other purse seine operators: 

Recognize that the five marine turtle species in the 

WCPFC Convention Area are threatened or critically 

endangered, and are aware that the WCPFO’s 

Conservation and Management Measure 2008-03 

that requires purse seine vessels that fish for 

species covered by the Convention shall ensure 

that operators of such vessels; 

• To the extent practicable, avoid encirclement 

of sea turtles, and if a sea turtle is encircled or 

SEA TURTLES FOUND IN NEW ZEALAND WATERS 

Life span 

and 

maturity 

Unknown but 

thought to be 

at least 30 

years 

Status Reasons Annual travel in 

distance - kilometres 

CE 

Degradation of 

nesting beaches, 

bycatch in pelagic 

long line fishing 

80 years E Coastal 

development, 

overharvesting, 

ingesting plastic 

debris 

47 – 67 years E Increased predation 

of nests, disturbance 

by humans of nesting 

sites, bycatch in 

pelagic long line 

fishing 

30-50 years CE Turtle eggs still 

eaten, killed for flesh 

and carapace, 

degradation of 

nesting habitat, 

Up to 50 

years 

E 

Nest in small number 

of sites where 

disturbances can 

cause huge 

repercussions, 

hunted for carapace, 

eggs, oil, skin 

16,000 – 20,000 

Non goal oriented 

2600. Move between 

nesting sites and 

foraging areas 

13,000. Uses a series 

of foraging sites 

10,000 to 15,000 

Migrate long distances 

16,000 

Non goal oriented 

entangled, take practicable measures to safely 

release the turtle. 

• To the extent practicable, release all sea turtles 

observed entangled in fish aggregating devices 

(FADs) or other fishing gear. 

• If a sea turtle is entangled in the net, stop net 

roll as soon as the turtle comes out of the water, 

disentangle the turtle without injuring it, and to 

the extent practicable, assist the recovery of the 

turtle before returning it to the water. 

• Carry and employ dip nets, when appropriate, to 

handle turtles. 

numbers do appear to be bouncing 

back, according to a recent study 

based at Aristotle University in 

Greece. That study shows that, 

among other things, even small 

populations of sea turtles have the 

capacity to recover, and that their 

abundance or absence is linked 

strongly to the effective protection 

of eggs, and the nesting females, 

and reducing the numbers caught 

as bycatch. The importance of 


Royal Caribbean and 

WWF use DNA to help 

save Hawksbill turtles 

A new DNA extraction test is about to 

provide scientists and conservationists 

with vital information to track 

the illegal trade of hawksbill turtle 

products, thanks to WWF-Australia 

and their sponsor Royal Caribbean. 

The species is hunted for their beautiful 

shells and listed as critically endangered 

by the International Union for the 

Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As few 

as 6,700 breeding females remain in the 

Indian and Pacific Oceans. 

Kathryn Valk, Director of Marketing 

and PR for Royal Caribbean in Australia 

and New Zealand, said “spotting a 

hawksbill turtle is a true holiday 

highlight for guests. But for the 

simple reason that hawksbill turtles 

are among the most beautiful sea 

creatures, they have been hunted and 

illegally traded to the verge of extinction.” 

Hawksbill turtles from different regions 

and even some countries, are genetically 

distinct, and their DNA signatures 

can identify different nesting areas. 

The new test will allow scientists and 

marine conservationists to identify 

where tortoiseshell products have 

come from and pinpoint hawksbill 

turtle populations to allow for targeted 

conservation efforts. 

The next step in the project is to 

build a more comprehensive genetic 

database of all hawksbill rookeries 

across the Asia Pacific to help identify 

what populations there are in different 

locations to protect those most at risk 

from poaching. 

ongoing conservation and 

monitoring efforts hold the 

key for their numbers to trend 

up. [2] 

Long distance travellers 

in the South Pacific 

In New Zealand waters sea 

turtles appear to be visiting 

more frequently and staying 

longer. Four of the five 

species found in New Zealand: 

the Leatherback, Green, 

Loggerhead, and Hawksbill 

are sighted regularly, mainly 

on New Zealand’s eastern 

coasts between January and 

April. Part of this is likely due 

to El Nino weather patterns 

swinging warmer ocean 

currents from the tropics 

down to New Zealand. 

But for the most part sea 

turtles are global travellers. 

Some species travel much 

further and for longer periods 

than others. They appear not 

to confine their territory but 

may visit a series of foraging 

sites long distances apart. 

The Leatherback and Olive 

Ridley can travel in excess of 

16,000 kilometres a year. 

Massey University Coastal 

Marine Research Group 

researcher Daniel Godoy’s has 

suggested Green sea turtles 

are making New Zealand 

waters a place of permanent 

residence whereas it 

was previously thought they 

ranged here only as part of 

their outer territory. 

“While I accept that New Zealand 

is on the cusp of Green sea turtles’ 

preferred range, my research is 

showing a very different scenario 

to the waifs-and-strays theory, “ 

Daniel said. “My data suggest 

they’re settling here - New 

Zealand is part of their natural 

habitat.” The effect of climate 

change, with an increase of 

one or two degrees in the 

water temperature, may be 

making New Zealand waters 

a more comfortable place for 

sea turtles to linger. 

In 2018 a group of three, 

usually solitary, Leatherback 

turtles was spotted off the 

coast of Tauranga. The owner 

of Bay Explorer Island and 

Wildlife Cruises, Brandon 

Stone, told the Bay of Plenty 

Times Weekend that seeing 

them feeding and travelling 

together blew apart the 

theory that turtles came here 

haphazardly by accidental 

drift. 

What we can do 

Sea turtles have survived due 

to their ability to adapt but 

today their survival is largely 

dependent on humankind. 

We can choose to interfere for 

better or worse. 

Evidence from researchers 

with the US Geological Survey 

has shown that sea turtles 

survive better when there 

is less beach debris. In one 

study for areas where debris 

was cleaned away sea turtle 

numbers increased by 200%. 

Let’s keep plastics off our 

beaches and waterways, and 

yes regular beach clean-ups 

do help. 

Any sightings of sea turtles 

should be reported - the information 

builds a better picture 

of the numbers, habitats, and 

dangers they face in New 

Zealand. Call the Department 

of Conservation’s hotline if 

you see a beached sea turtle. 

And keep dogs away. 

As divers its awesome to 

spot a sea turtle; without 

our active care for them our 

children and grandchildren 

may not get the same opportunity. 

For a list of the references numbered throughout this feature 

please email us at DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz 


Five tips to increase lung 

capacity for freediving 

From: Performance Diving International www.tdisdi.com 

Disclaimer: this information does not constitute training and must be taught and practiced first 

under the supervision of an instructor. 

When people talk about lung capacity most think size, the sheer volume of air in your chest. 

Increasing lung volume does help - it puts more gas in the tank. However freedivers should also 

be interested in how effectively and efficiently their lungs work. This article covers five tips 

which can help you increase your lung volume and efficiency. 

The five steps outlined will help you: 

• Increase your lung capacity 

• Develop larger lung volume 

• Give you more flexibility to allow you to equalize deeper 

• Make your body more efficient in how it deals with hypoxia and elevated CO 2 

1. Segmented breathing 

Segmented breathing is a process 

in which freedivers separate 

individual muscle groups used 

for breathing to maximize their 

potential. Most new and many 

untrained freedivers will breathe 

from their chest when asked 

to take the biggest breath they 

can. Unfortunately, this may 

feel natural, but it is entirely 

backward. 

Think of filling your lungs like 

a jug of water. You start at the 

bottom and fill to the top. You 

do this exercise by breathing 

through pursed lips to help 

isolate your muscle groups and 

create a breathing pattern that 

maximizes the intake of air. 

Your diaphragm is a layer of 

muscle which separates the 

abdominal and chest cavities. It 

is also the most efficient muscle 

used in breathing. When you 

draw down on your diaphragm 

and out on your stomach, it 

draws air into your lungs, all the 

way to the bottom. This, coincidentally, 

is where two-thirds of 

the blood in your lungs resides. 

You’ll want to inhale until you 

can’t inhale any farther while 

using only your diaphragm. 

If your chest starts to fill, you 

went too far. Do this four times, 

inhaling to the maximum. Then 

pause and relax for a second. 

Next, slowly exhale, holding the 

air back with just your tongue 

pressed against the roof of your 

mouth. Don’t use your diaphragm 

or chest to hold the air back. 

They should be completely 

relaxed. 

Work your intercostal muscles 

Now you start working your 

intercostal muscles. These 

surround your ribs. There are 

outer and inner intercostal 

muscles you use to inhale and 

exhale respectively. These are 

the muscles most people breathe 

with day-to-day. Chest out, 

stomach in, right? 

While we might be accustomed 

to using them, the intercostal 

muscles aren’t as efficient as the 

diaphragm, for two reasons: 

• More muscles mass uses more 

oxygen 

• You’re flexing your ribs which 

are bone which takes effort 

Expand your chest wall 

The second part of segmented 

breathing is expanding your 

chest wall as much as you can. 

This takes time and practice. You 

start with your lower ribs and 

work your way up. 


After you have done your four 

diaphragmatic inhalations: 

• Do inhalations which start 

with inhaling as much as you 

can using just the diaphragm. 

• Pause and relax. 

• Then use your intercostal 

muscles to add on top of the 

diaphragmatic breath. 

Once you’ve inhaled as much as 

you can, pause and relax. Then 

exhale slowly, again using the 

tongue against the roof of your 

mouth to slow the escaping air. 

You’ll want to repeat that process 

four times as well. 

Use your shoulders 

The final part of segmented 

breathing is using your shoulders. 

Yes, your shoulders. The 

tops of your lungs are just under 

the bottom of your shoulder, if 

you lift your shoulders, you lift 

the top of your lungs drawing 

in even more air. The key here 

is don’t lift your shoulders and 

hold them up. Simply lift them 

towards your ears as you open 

your epiglottis, allowing air to go 

past. Then close your epiglottis 

and immediately relax and drop 

your shoulders. Now: 

• Perform the diaphragmatic 

inhalation, pause and relax. 

• Then chest, pause and relax. 

• Then shoulders, pause and 

relax. 

• Then slowly exhale just like 

before, repeating four times. 

Taking the five minutes to 

perform segmented breathing 

as little as three or four times a 

week helps develop larger and 

more efficient inhalations. The 

more air you can get in, and the 

more comfortably you can do it, 

the deep and longer you can go. 

2. Inhalation or packing 

stretches 

Inhalation stretches are also 

known as packing 

stretches. This exercise 

uses the steps covered 

in segmented breathing 

to help stretch muscle 

and bone out of the way 

of our lungs. 

• Start by getting into a 

comfortable kneeling 

or sitting position, low 

to the ground. Relax 

for a minute, just 

breathing. 

• Then perform a 

diaphragmatic 

breath, lock off your 

epiglottis, then 

with your right arm 

pointing up, lean to 

the left, so your right 

arm goes over you to 

the left. 

• Hold this position for 

10 seconds, then switch so 

your left arm is up and over 

while leaning to the right, 

holding this position for the 

same time. 

• After this, put both arms above 

your head and lean forward 

arching your back, again 

holding for 10 seconds. 

• Then put both arms behind 

you, either one hand grabbing 

the other or both hands on the 

ground behind you. Now press 

your sternum towards the sky 

for 10 seconds. 

If you can’t get through all four 

positions on one breath, with 

practice you will. It’s okay to 

break it up in manageable parts. 

After those four positions on 

a diaphragmatic inhalation, 

you’ll do the same process with 

the diaphragm and chest. Then 

diaphragm, chest and shoulders 

together. In this way you allow 

your muscles to warm up and get 

a progressively deeper stretch. 

Something to remember: If at 

any point you feel an uncomfortable 

tightness in your chest, or 

U.S. Marines with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st 

Marine Division hold their breath underwater in the 33 

Area pool at Camp Pendleton, Calif 

a tickle in your throat, back off 

on how much you are inhaling. 

Then take some time stretching 

with less air until this no longer 

happens. It could take months, 

depending on your flexibility. 

You can also experience lightheadedness 

as you increase the 

amount you inhale. This is due 

to the lungs applying pressure to 

the circulatory system, momentarily 

disrupting blood flow to 

the brain. Should you feel this, 

slowly exhale some and take 

a quick break. Then as you try 

again, don’t inhale quite as 

much. Work your way up to and 

eventually past that point. 

3. Exhalation stretches 

You may be asking how exhaling 

deeper and deeper will increase 

your lung capacity. This is an 

example of when lung capacity 

and a larger volume aren’t always 

the same. We all have what we 

call residual capacity. This is 

when you exhale, pushing as 

much air out of your lungs as you 

can. You still have some left and 

this is your residual capacity. 

The more flexible your chest and 


diaphragm are, the more you can 

draw from this as you equalize 

on your descent. 

“Well, I don’t like going deep. I 

like to stay in the 10-20 m range.” 

Great, exhalation stretches will 

help. Within your respiratory 

muscles, you have what we call 

stretch receptors. These are the 

little guys that make a yawn feel 

so good, and a full exhalation so 

uncomfortable. 

Stretch receptors signal the 

brain, telling it how much air 

your lungs are moving. If you 

could get flexible enough to be 

comfortable in the 50 m+ range, 

imagine how comfortable you 

would be in shallower water. 

More comfort equates to longer 

bottom time. 

To perform an exhalation stretch, 

you will again want a comfortable 

kneeling or seated position 

low to the ground. 

• The first stretch will essentially 

be a big sigh. Exhale until 

you would have to push from 

your stomach, then stop. 

• Close off your epiglottis, then 

while leaning forward, try to 

draw a breath in against your 

closed epiglottis. This will 

draw your abdomen in and up, 

stretching your diaphragm. 

• Hold that position for three 

to six seconds, then relax for 

a second or two, and repeat. 

You will want to perform the 

stretch three to four times, 

then breathe again. 

If trying this for the first time, 

you may get the urge to breathe. 

Just relax through it. You’re 

teaching your body that compression 

is okay. 

• After you do that three to four 

times, you will then perform 

a deeper exhalation, a relaxed 

sigh. 

• Then push everything you can 

out with your stomach, but 

don’t bend over. 

• Next, close off your epiglottis, 

lean over and perform the 

same series of stretches. 

After you have done this, exhale 

even further, pushing everything 

out with your stomach, then 

bend over while trying to exhale. 

Close off your epiglottis and 

perform the series of stretches. 

Some freedivers like to perform 

the inhalation and exhalation 

stretches together: Inhale 

stretch, exhale stretch, deeper 

inhale stretch, deeper exhale 

stretch and so on. If at any 

time you get a tickle or cough 

lighten up on how much you are 

exhaling. 

4. Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) and 

Hypoxia (O 2 ) tables 

There is a way you can use 

oxygen more efficiently and 

increase what people frequently 

consider lung capacity. This 

is to make your body handle 

oxygen and carbon dioxide more 

efficiently. You can train for this 

using Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) and 

Hypoxia (O 2 ) tables. 

As our cells use oxygen they 

produce carbon dioxide. The 

blood transports this back to our 

lungs where we exhale it. When 

we hold our breath, CO 2 builds 

up because we aren’t exhaling. 

The cerebral chemoreceptors 

in the brain are measuring pH 

and, in that way, measure how 

much CO 2 we have in our system. 

Typically, the urge to get rid of 

CO 2 is what drives us to breathe. 

We can build up a tolerance for 

lower levels of pH, which result 

from higher levels of CO 2 . We do 

this by slowly and systematically 

performing a series of breath 

holds. 

Perform six to eight breath holds, 

each for the same length in 

time. Progressively decrease the 

interval (vent) between breath 

holds. In this way, you slowly 

build up the CO 2 in your system. 

Given time and practice (and 

after completing the table on 

which you are working) you will 

increase the static times while 

decreasing the vent times, going 

up a table if you will. 

Hypoxia tables (commonly called 

O 2 tables) are the opposite of 

CO 2 tables. The statics gradually 

increase while the vents remain 

constant. This decreases the 

available oxygen in your system, 

forcing your body to adapt to 

hypoxic conditions. Just like 

the CO 2 tables, when you can 

complete one table, you bump up 

a table. 

Two notes on tables: these are 

breath holds which you should 

never perform in the water 

without formal training and a 

trained buddy. You also don’t 

want to work the tables any 

time a loss of motor control or 

blackout could cause harm to you 

or someone else. In other words, 

no tables while stuck in rush 

hour traffic. 

Also, it is normal to be on 

different CO 2 and O 2 tables. You 

might, for example, be on the 

level 10 CO 2 table while also on 

the level 6 O 2 table. If the table 

you are working is easy, you need 

to bump up. Just like in the gym, 

you don’t lift the easy weights to 

get better, you lift what’s hard. 

5. Apnea walks 

Apnea walks also help further 

develop tolerance to high CO 2 . 

But this requires a separate 

article. 

Remember to always freedive 

with a buddy and continue your 

training. And before you hold 

your breath for any reason, ask, 

“If I blackout now, could I hurt 

myself or someone else?” If the 

answer is yes, pick another time 

or place or get a buddy to do 

safety for you. 


Washing your dive gear made easy 

Salt-Away is the cheapest and most 

concentrated product available, says 

Shane Housley warming up on the 

subject of salt water corrosion. 

As the Salt-Away distributor in New 

Zealand of course he would say that, 

but he has the facts to back up the 

claim. 

With Salt-Away diluted 500 to one 

it takes just a few millilitres to 

fully protect costly bits of kit like 

camera housings, regulators and 

BCDs - and you can keep on using 

the same bucket of solution for 

several months – it’s a persuasive 

argument. 

“Its water based, a green product, 

and you can be 100% certain 

you can soak your gear in it at no 

risk,” Shane says. “It won’t attack 

any metal or alloy and it protects 

rubbers too; it doesn’t make them 

go hard. I’ve got sensitive skin but 

I’ve never had any skin reaction to 

it either.” 

He said the active ingredient, 

Cortec N370, makes the corrosive 

properties of salt inert whereas 

competitor products attempt to 

dissolve or counteract the salt. 

A keen diver himself Shane says he 

always squirts it into his BCD, forcing 

it up the dump valve. You can use the 

Salt Away mixing unit attached to a 

garden hose back at home, swishing it 

around and over the tank, putting the 

GEARBAG 

regulator into a bucket of diluted Salt- 

Away overnight then just letting it dry. 

No rinsing in fresh water required. 

For regulators he recommends first 

blowing water off the first stage inlet 

using air from the cylinder, replacing 

the dust cap, then soaking it overnight 

in the same way. The same general 

process should be followed for 

wetsuits, dive computers, goggles, 

flippers, tanks and other gear. 

For outboards he recommends 

adding 200 to 250 ml to salt 

water then rinsing it through the 

heat exchanger. Salt-Away also 

supplies collapsible flush bags 

for the purpose in varying sizes, 

which are also ideal for dive gear. 

But head to their website for more 

comprehensive info on washing 

engines, boats, and fishing gear. 

Salt-Away products are widely 

available, probably at your nearest 

boat or dive shops but it's just as 

easy to shop online at 

www.salt-away.co.nz 

FLUSH YOUR DIVE GEAR WITH 

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AND SPRAY GUN 

KILLS SALT CORROSION 

SALT REMOVING TREATMENT 

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WARNING Dive gear fails due to salt 

corrosion. ACT NOW AND FLUSH YOUR REGS! 

WHOLESALE MARINE DIRECT 

0800 272 589 www.salt-away.co.nz 


GEARBAG 

Suunto’s D5 Black Dive computer 

Buying a dive computer is all a tangle of technical info no matter 

if it’s your first one or if you’re an advanced tech diver looking for 

a device to match your future aspirations - you do want to find the 

right one. 

So first you need to think about what you want your dive computer 

for. I am experienced (old) enough to remember when these things 

didn’t exist. When we used to rely on pressure gauges and depth 

meters. But when I first tried a dive computer (not so long ago) I 

went “Wow” – It’s so easy to use and reliable and yes, they certainly 

take an element of potential stress out of diving. 

Beginner divers will want to focus on a few things for your first 

dive computer: 

• Easy to use – you’ve got plenty of things to learn, so there’s no 

reason to spend time on a lot of features you don’t need yet. 

• Price - You’re still new and have a lot of gear to buy. 

• Durability - You still need a dive computer that lasts for many 

years. 

So how do you make a call on what to go for? There’s so many on 

the market. An entry level device might do the trick but if you think 

you’re about to get further into the diving way of life then maybe 

you want to go mid range, to cover the bases. After all a dive 

computer is a significant investment. You don’t 

want to repeat it every year or so. 

Will you ever use all the features available? Or not, like half those 

on your phone. 

Here’s where a dive computer like the Suunto D5 range is worth 

considering. The D5 is well featured, much more than entry level, 

and not something you want to keep in the home safe when not in 

use. 

It has an excellent, large and easy to read-at-a-glance display, 

back lit. It looks good. The magnetic connection to charge the 

battery is very quick. Three buttons control all the functions. 

Depending on how many times you click them. 

Draw yourself up your own check 

list for what you think you’ll be 

needing. Is the list below 

a good match? 

Key features of the D5: 

• 100m water resistant 

• Wireless tank pressure 

• Features air, nitrox and freedive modes 

• Vibration alarms 

• Digital compass 

• Wireless mobile connection 

• Exchangeable straps 

• Rechargeable battery 

• Updatable software 


GEARBAG 

LET’S 

EXPLORE. 

TOGETHER. 

SUUNTO D5 

The new Suunto D5 is designed to be so clear and easy-to-use that you can 

just enjoy and focus on exploring the wonderful underwater world. Play with 

style by changing the strap to match your looks. After diving, connect 

wirelessly to the Suunto app to re-live and share your adventures with friends. 

www.suunto.com Suunto Diving @suuntodive 

Visit one of our nationwide stockist to view our SUUNTO products 

BIG BLUE DIVE & FISH CNR AKERSTEN ST & WILDMAN AVE PORT NELSON NELSON 

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DEEP BLUE DIVING CO 15 BYRON STREET SYDENHAM CHRISTCHURCH 

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DIVE HQ CHRISTCHURCH 103 DURHAM STREET SOUTH SYDENHAM CHRISTCHURCH 

DIVE DOCTOR 20R SYLVIA PARK ROAD MT WELLINGTON AUCKLAND 

DIVE ZONE TAURANGA 213 CAMERON ROAD TAURANGA 

DIVE WELLINGTON 432 THE ESPLANADE ISLAND BAY WELLINGTON 

DIVE ZONE WHITIANGA 10 CAMPBELL STREET WHITIANGA 

DIVE OTAGO 2 WHARF STREET DUNEDIN 

DUTCHYS 12 THE MARINA TAIRUA WAIKATO 

GLOBAL DIVE 132 BEAUMONT STREET WESTHAVEN AUCKLAND 

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OCEANS ALIVE 35a OCEAN VIEW PARADE BREAKWATER BAY NEW PLYMOUTH 

WAIKAWA DIVE CENTRE UNIT # 2 (REAR) WAIKAWA MARINA PICTON 


TUBEWORM 

BOOK REVIEW 

New guide catalogues 

150 fishing hot spots 

Hauraki Gulf Fishing Hot Spots, by Bruce Duncan (Captain Swish) 

RRP $39.99 Full colour photos throughout, paperback. 

Published by Bateman Books www.batemanpublishing.co.nz 

The magnificent 

Hauraki Gulf has 

some of the best 

fishing spots in the country 

and now expert fisherman 

Bruce Duncan has identified 

150 of them in Hauraki Gulf 

Fishing Hot Spots, a reference 

catalogue every fisher in the 

region will want to have on 

board. 

The seabed in the gulf is mostly muddy sand and silt 

with many shallow reefs and islands and shorelines 

covered in seaweed and kelp, making fine habitats for 

many, many fish. Hot Spots details an account of each of 

them, including everything you need to know about the 

weather, tides, rigs and practical tips to improve your 

fishing technique. 

Thanks to new technology too, each Hot Spot featured 

is accompanied by a Furuno TZ touch sounder screen 

shot showing the volume of fish that can be found there, 

the features of the sea floor, the conditions, and their 

specific 

navigation 

co-ordinates. 

In this way 

the book 

becomes a 

very useful reference book to take along 

in the boat, making it easier to locate and fish each 

specific area, whether for kingfish, snapper or one of the 

many other species that frequent the Gulf. 

Fishers get the benefit of Bruce’s 60+ years of experience, 

plus the screen shots, without the trials and tribulations 

Bruce went through to get it all written up. 

Bruce Duncan caught his first snapper when he was 

five and he remembers it well. He went on to sail P 

class yachts, ocean racing and deliver boats across the 

Pacific. When not doing those things he was out chasing 

snapper, king fish and marlin, everywhere from Alaska 

to Patagonia. Bruce is a past commodore and now life 

member of the Outboard Boating Club where he organises 

and runs the club’s fundraising fishing competitions. 

Author Keith Hawkins laboured many evenings 

and weekends to bring about this book, The Poor 

Knights Marine Reserve, The discovery and protection of a 

unique marine environment. He contacted all the main 

figures involved and many, many others to make 

certain of his facts. Sadly, many of those involved in 

bringing about the reserve status of the island have 

passed on, but this book will help ensure their work 

was not in vain and not forgotten. 

Keith, a keen recreational diver and angler, was 

himself responsible for the day to day management of 

the Marine Reserve from 1992 to 2013, a role that led 

him to become intimately familiar with the people 

involved and the reserve’s history. 

The making of the 

Poor Knights 

Marine Reserve 

Available by email 

PoorKnightsBook@gmail.com 

Or at Dive Tutukaka www.dive.co.nz 

RRP $45.00 

Keith 

Hawkins 

He began the work of gathering up information on 

the reserve in a private capacity, hoping ‘someone’ 

would later come along to pick up the task. But after a 

decade during which he ploughed through interviews 

and archives, Keith realized the only way to preserve 

this material for the public record would be to publish 

the book himself. So he did just that. 

The Poor Knights Marine Reserve contains recollections 

from 20 ‘old timers’, 50 shorter anecdotal stories, over 

100 photos and 10 maps to flesh out this previously 

undocumented account of New Zealand’s community 

driven conservation history. 

A4 landscape, soft cover, 168 pages. ISBN: 978-0-473-47110-1 


Fantasea’s newest housings include vacuum safety systems! You have the option of 

the M16 version, which you can add a vacuum system to later, or the vacuum version 

with it already installed. If you’re considering which to get, bear in mind that the 

vacuum version is better value for money than getting the M16 version first and the 

vacuum later. Otherwise, the vacuum version does cost a little more, so if you just 

want a simple housing and don’t care for the vacuum system, grab the M16 version. 

Fantasea has released an all new housing for the G7 X III: FG7XIII - Vacuum or M16. The 

housing for the RX100 VII fits into the prior housing for the VI: the FRX100VI LE. This 

does not include vacuum option. 

Ikelite has released a new housing for the G7 X II: #6146.09. Like many of Ikelite’s 

newer compact housings, there’s also a 6” dry dome available for it: #6404. 

The RX100 VII fits into the older housing for the VI, the #6116.18. 

Nauticam has released new housings for both! Each housing also includes a pro 

package version that includes tray and handles, ball mounts and vacuum valve 

pre-installed, alongside a pump! The pro package is great value for money. 

GEARBAG 

Underwater housings for G7 X III & Sony RX100 VII 

It took a little while but they’re all finally available! All the housing brands have now 

released their housings for the RX100 Mk VII and the Canon G7 X MkIII. 

Trade enquiries welcome. Ph:09 521 0684 

Email: info@seatech.co.nz 

www.seatech.co.nz 

ALL NEWEST HOUSINGS 

VACUUM PUMP CAPABLE: 

M16 Port for optional 

vacuum safety system 

Vacuum valve 

with integrated 

vacuum safety system 

for Canon G7 X mk III 

(*Use FG7X II A for II) 

Sea Tech Ltd 

P: 09 521 0684 

info@seatech.co.nz 

www.seatech.co.nz 

for Sony RX100 mk III, IV, V & VA 

(*Use FRX100 VI LE for VI & VII) 

Visit www.seatech.co.nz for information and specifications. 

Available from your professional dive store. Trade enquiries welcome. 


BACK IN THE DAY 

The depth meter image is from Skindiving & Spearfishing Digest (Australia) Sept 1953 

Ten budding spearmen 

By Allan Power 

TEN budding spearmen watched 

the swell for quite a time. 

One decided not to wait, 

Then there were nine. 

NINE excited spearmen catching 

fish at quite a rate, 

One swam out far too wide, 

Then there were eight. 

EIGHT bobbing spearmen thinking 

the spot was heaven. 

One tried to spear a Wobbegong, 

And so there were seven. 

SEVEN splashing spearmen, one 

got in a fix. 

He had no safety pin. 

So there were six. 

SIX worried spearmen, one failed to 

complete a dive. 

But these spearmen didn’t watch 

their mates, 

Then there were five. 

FIVE tiring spearmen decided to 

come ashore. 

But one fought against the wash, 

And so, there were four. 

FOUR shivering spearmen finally 

struggled free. 

One forgot to unload his gun, 

Bang! There were three. 

THREE exhausted spearmen, with 

snorkels all askew. 

One had no spearpoint cover, 

Ouch! There were two. 

TWO wiser spearmen decided to go 

home to mum. 

One had no speargun bag 

And so there was one. 

The ONE remaining spearman 

finally got home to Mumma. 

Only to find that all his catch, 

‘Aw Hell’ B_______ Silver 

Drummer!! 

So you budding spearmen, if you 

are one of these, watch yourself in 

future, will you PLEASE. 

Allan was the pioneer diver who 

opened up diving on the President 

Coolidge in Santo, Vanuatu. 

Special subscription deals on now! 

Get 8 issues for the price of 6 

($57) SAVE 25%! 

Get 15 issues for the price of 12 

($103) SAVE 25%! 

See our 

Subscriptions 

offer on page 

72 for great 

Christmas Deals 


SPECIESFOCUS 

The Short-tailed stingray 

~Bathytoshia brevicaudata 

The short-tailed stingray is one 

of two stingrays encountered 

in the shallow coastal waters of 

New Zealand, and it’s the one more 

commonly encountered. Stingray 

refers to its whip-like tail, which is 

much shorter than the also aptlynamed 

long-tailed stingray. 

By Paul Caiger 

At the base of each tail lies a 

barb with spines which possess 

a protein-based venom that can 

cause local and systemic effects. 

Certainly enough to make some 

predators think twice. 

Short-tailed stingrays, along with 

long-tails and eagle rays, are 

preyed upon by Orca, which is 

something unique to New Zealand. 

The only defenses the stingrays 

have to them are, to move into 

very shallow water, or raise their 

tails like a scorpion. In fact, several 

beached Orca have been found 

with a multitude of ray barbs 

lodged in their head and throat 

region, and that has even been 

determined as the cause of death 

for at least one Orca. 

In 2016 the scientific name was 

changed from the long-standing 

Dasyatis brvcaudata back into the 

Bathytoshia genus, which is often 

the case in taxonomy where 

knowledge from further samples 

leads to a continually refining or 

revising process where species 

are shifted around to more closely 

related taxa. 

A unique phenomenon sometimes 

occurs with short tailed stingrays 

in vast underwater archways, 

such as those at the Poor Knights 

Islands. During summer, large 

aggregations of these rays may 

gather, “stacking” up in the water 

column. The exact purpose of 

this is not 100% clear, but it is 

assumed, at least in part, that 

the behavior serves a reproductive 

purpose, as both mating and 

birthing have been observed in 

these aggregations. It seems clear 

too, that the currents funneling 

through the archways help the 

stingrays maintain position. For 

several years these gatherings 

thinned or ceased completely at 

the Poor Knights, and only recently 

returned. Some people think this 

was due to the numbers of Orca in 

the area at these times, limiting 

the aggregations. 

Like other stingrays, the shorttailed 

stingray is ovoviviparous, 

otherwise known as aplacental 

viviparity whereby the young 

hatch from eggs within the female, 

and once the developing embryos 

exhaust the yolk sac of their 

mother, they are provided with 

enriched uterine milk directly 

from her. Five to 13 pups are then 

born, unfurling their wings as they 

set off to begin life. 

~Bathytoshia brevicaudata 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Brevis meaning “short”, and caudata meaning 

“tail”. 

One of the world’s largest stingrays at over two 

metres wide and weighing up to 350 kg. 

Māori name for stingray is whai. 

Stingrays are an ancient group of animals, with 

fossil remains from 150 million years ago. 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Ovoviviparous: young hatch from eggs within the 

body. 

Preyed upon by Orca. 

Sometimes aggregate in archways. 

Aggressively defend nests laid on rock faces. 


INCIDENTINSIGHTS WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DANAP] 

By DAN World 

Diver experiences facial 

numbness, headache. 

Is it DCI-related or ...? 

In this incident a diver was evacuated for recompression, but flew home sooner than DAN 

advised and, unfortunately, the symptoms returned and persisted for some time. Could this have 

been avoided if the diver had delayed his flight home? 

The dives 

In this incident the 

symptoms presented could 

have been attributed to 

a number of causes, a 

challenge DAN often faces 

when a diver calls for help. 

A 63-year-old male was on 

a diving holiday in Papua 

New Guinea. A call was 

made to the DAN Diving 

Emergency Service (DES) 

Hotline after the diver 

experienced symptoms 

following two dives he had 

completed the previous day: 

• Dive 1: Depth of 22m 

for a total dive time of 40 

minutes, with a surface 

interval of 2:30. 

• Dive 2: Depth of 32m 

for a total dive time of 116 

minutes: Long deco with most of 

the dive spent at 24m. 

Both dives were on Nitrox with no 

issues noted on either dive. 

Twenty minutes after diving 

he developed a headache then 

numbness around the left eye 

and around his mouth. 

The DAN Diving Doctor 

performed a neurological assessment 

over the phone, which the 

diver completed well. 

It was suggested that the diver 

present at the local clinic for 

oxygen first aid but the local 

clinic didn’t give him oxygen 

as they didn’t think his condition 

was DCI-related. He then 

presented at a larger hospital 

where doctors there advised he 

was indeed likely to be experiencing 

DCI. 

The next day the diver’s 

symptoms progressed to 

numbness all over the right side 

of his face, and he also felt there 

may be a droop. 

Stroke, or? 

DAN’s concern was that the diver 

had experienced a stroke, but 

still had not ruled out DCI. While 

there is a hyperbaric chamber 

in Port Moresby, DAN recommended 

the diver be evacuated 

to Townsville in Queensland, 

Australia for higher level care 

due to the ambiguity of the 

symptoms. 

DAN asked that the diver remain 

breathing oxygen for as long as 

possible as the evacuation was 

organised and once in Townsville 

the diver received a single 

Chamber Treatment. But 

there was no change in his 

symptoms. 

After undergoing further 

tests the diagnosis became 

Bells Palsy which is coincidentally 

associated with 

diving. The diver was 

reviewed by a neurologist 

and discharged to return 

home. Bell’s Palsy is paralysis 

or weakness of the 

muscles on one side of the 

face. The cause is unknown 

and most people with Bell’s 

Palsy recover completely 

with time. 

DAN comments 

This incident highlights 

one of the challenges DAN 

faces when a call for help is 

received. The DAN Diving 

Doctor discusses with the diver: 

• Their dive profiles, and 

• The symptoms they are experiencing: 

o What they are 

o When they developed 

o Their progression. Have they 

become worse, and have new 

symptoms appeared. 

However sometimes, from the 

information provided, it is not 

clear whether the diver is experiencing 

DCI, and needs to receive 

recompression, or whether the 

cause is attributed to another 

cause, such as stroke or a cardiovascular-related 

incident. The 

priority in these cases is to get 

the diver to higher-level care for 

further assessment and treatment. 


Thinking cylinder safety 

If you dive a lot you might find yourself moving 

tanks to and from dive sites on a regular basis, and 

amidst the dive planning and emergency preparations 

it can be easy to overlook the safety hazards 

that come with these most mundane pieces of equipment. 

The tanks we use to explore the underwater world 

are safe, but only if they’re handled with appropriate 

care and precaution. Here’s how to minimise your 

risks and know the hazards before you get in the 

water. 

Lift with your knees 

Back injuries, while rarely divers’ biggest safety 

concerns, are the cause of many missed dives every 

year, and serious back injuries can cause long-term 

problems. Moving a single aluminium 80 cubic foot 

tank is relatively straightforward, but it’s heavy 

enough to cause a pulled muscle or slipped disc 

if you lift incorrectly. If you must lift a tank not 

attached to a carry handle or buoyancy compensator 

device (BCD), focus on moving the weight with your 

legs, and keep a straight back throughout the lift. 

Even better, attach the tank to a BCD, lift it from a 

comfortable seated position, then carry it to your 

destination on your back. In that way you’ll have two 

hands free to stabilise yourself or carry the rest of 

your gear. 

Compressed air concerns 

The more you transport and use tanks, the more 

frequently you’re exposed to related hazards, and 

the more important it is to keep them in mind. 

These hazards are manageable but require a little 

YOUR LEADER IN 

GLOBAL DIVE SAFETY. 

+ 39 Years 

Divers Helping Divers 

+ 24/7 

Emergency Medical Services 

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Members Served Worldwide 

extra thought when planning a dive. Keep your tanks 

serviced, and cool and handle them appropriately. 

Tanks require a visual inspection and hydrostatic 

testing every 12 months (this will differ in other 

parts of the Asia-Pacific), and tank valves have their 

own maintenance requirements. Make sure your 

equipment is serviced regularly to minimise the risk 

of failures, and check the appropriate function of 

their valve or valves. Store tanks in a cool, dry area; 

if you’re not going to dive with them for a few weeks, 

it’s a good idea to store them with around 15 bar 

in them – just enough to keep out moisture but not 

cause sustained load stress that could shorten tank 

life. 

When you transport tanks to a dive site, pay attention 

to the outside temperature and how long your 

tanks will be in transit. As tanks heat up and the 

gas inside attempts to expand, the chance of dealing 

with a burst disc failure increases. 

Another important concern is gas embolism caused 

by inappropriate valve handling. When you pick up 

your tanks, always make sure the opening of the 

valve is facing away from your hand so that if your 

hand slips and the valve opens, you won’t accidentally 

inject high-pressure gas through your skin and 

cause a gas embolism. 

Buckle up 

You wear a seatbelt in your car for good reason. 

So should your tank. A full scuba tank stores an 

immense amount of energy; if it ruptures as a result 

of a car accident, it could cause serious injuries or 

even death to people in or near the vehicle. Tanks 

can be restrained with simple tie 

downs, or by heavy equipment 

(such as weight belts or gear bags) 

or specially made vehicle-transport 

racks. But they should always be 

restrained in a way that prevents 

them from moving around the 

passenger compartment in an 

accident. 

For more diving health and safety 

articles DANinsider.org for weekly 

posts discussing recent incidents, 

and diving health and safety content. 

Visit: daninsider.org and follow us on 

Facebook by searching DAN World. 

Experience Matters. 

Join DAN 

DANAP.org 

Need more information? Send DAN 

World an email (info@danap.org) or 

call +61-3-9886 9166 


DIVEMEDICINE 

Why can’t I dive? 

By Professor Simon Mitchell, University of Auckland 

As a diving physician one of 

the commonest questions I 

hear is “Why can’t I dive”? which 

is commonly put in relation to a 

medical condition. The answer is 

often a nuanced evaluation of risk 

versus benefit. There are very few 

medical conditions that represent 

such a significant risk that diving 

should probably never be contemplated, 

and I will discuss one of 

these below. 

Risk vs benefit 

The approach to most conditions 

involves carefully assessing 

the potential risk implied by a 

particular medical condition, 

how that risk can be minimised, 

and whether the potential risks 

outweigh the benefit of diving. 

These are often quite complex 

evaluations that require the 

doctor to have knowledge of both 

medicine and diving, and they 

should involve the diving candidate 

as an informed evaluator of 

risk versus benefit. 

There are hundreds of medical 

conditions and potential severities 

of those conditions that a 

diving candidate might “bring” 

to a diving medical consultation, 

and it is impossible to have 

a set of established rules that 

cover all situations. Instead, it is 

common for diving physicians 

to apply an analytical three 

question paradigm in evaluating 

the potential interaction of any 

medical condition and diving. 

First, we ask ourselves “will this 

condition be made worse by 

diving”? 

Second, we ask “will this condition 

make a diving disorder more 

likely”? 

Finally, “could this condition 

impair physical performance or 

consciousness in the water”? 

If the answer to any of these 

questions is yes, then careful 

consideration of the advisability 

of diving must be undertaken. 

Medical conditions are common, 

and the above approach to 

analysing their impact in diving 

often identifies potential risk, but 

this does not necessarily mean 

that the candidate cannot dive. 

Indeed, if the associated risk 

seems low, or can be managed, 

then it is typically a matter 

of explaining that risk to the 

candidate, describing how the 

risk might be minimised, and 

allowing the candidate to make 

an informed risk-acceptance 

decision to dive (or not). 

Absolute contraindications 

There are, however, several 

medical conditions that represent 

what one might describe as 

“absolute contraindications” to 

diving. That is to say, if you have 

them, then diving is generally 

considered too risky to contemplate. 

There are other medical 

contraindications of course, but 

many of them can be treated and 

the risk they represent in diving 

reduced to a point where diving 

may be feasible. Unfortunately, 

this is not so true for several 

absolute contraindications. I am 

often asked about them, and so 

I thought it would be useful to 

briefly address them in these 

articles. In this issue I will 

discuss spontaneous pneumothorax 

and in the subsequent 

issue I will discuss epilepsy. 

Spontaneous pneumothorax 

The lung is an elastic organ that 

is effectively trying to collapse 

all the time. What stops this 

from happening is maintenance 

of contact between the lung and 

chest wall with a small layer of 

fluid lubricating this contact area 

in the so-called pleural space. It 

is a bit like two sheets of glass 

stuck together with a thin film of 

water in between. They can slide 

on each other but are very hard to 

pull apart. 

A pneumothorax is a collapse of 

the lung because of air getting 

into the pleural space thus 

breaking this contact. It can 

…It is common for diving physicians to apply an analytical 

three question paradigm in evaluating the potential interaction 

of any medical condition and diving… 

occur through a variety of causes, 

including trauma (such as a 

broken rib puncturing the lung). 

The most concerning variant 

from a diving point of view is 

so-called spontaneous pneumothorax; 

named “spontaneous” 

because it occurs with no obvious 

precipitating event. 

Patients who suffer a spontaneous 

pneumothorax are usually 

found to have small anatomic 

defects on the surface of the 

lung that communicate with the 

airways, and that are prone to 

rupture with little or no provocation. 

Once ruptured, gas from 

the airway can enter the pleural 

space and the lung can collapse. 

The problem with spontaneous 

pneumothorax is that there is 

almost always several of the 

anatomical defects that caused 

the event, and patients who 

suffer one, typically suffer repeat 

events. 

Applying the three question 

analysis 

Let’s apply the three question 

analysis above to spontaneous 

pneumothorax. The answer to 

the first question is “yes”. Diving 

can most definitely “make the 

problem worse”. If a pneumo- 


thorax occurred spontaneously at depth, the ascent in 

diving would result in expansion of the gas in the pleural 

space, thus worsening the collapse and potentially 

causing a “so-called” tension pneumothorax in which the 

increasing pleural gas pressure pushes on the heart and 

prevents it working properly. 

A tension pneumothorax can become rapidly 

fatal. 

The answer to the second question is also “yes”. A 

pneumothorax can occur in diving even in normal 

lungs (if a diver holds their breath during ascent), and 

a pneumothorax is thus seen as a diving disorder. 

This would be much more likely in someone who has 

anatomic defects in the lung that might rupture with 

much smaller provocations than are usually required. 

Finally, the answer to the third question is yes. Clearly if 

a pneumothorax occurred in the water the diver could be 

unable to exercise or function adequately. 

No risk mitigation 

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to 

adequately mitigate the risk in diving implied by a 

previous spontaneous pneumothorax. Some sufferers 

undergo surgical procedures to stick the lung to the chest 

wall and prevent collapse, or even to remove segments 

of the lung that contain the anatomic defects (usually up 

near the top of the lung). Either procedure may reduce 

the risk of lung collapse but they don’t completely 

remove the hazard, and may in fact increase the risk of 

other consequences of lung barotrauma (such as arterial 

gas embolism). 

For these reasons, diving physicians, even relatively 

liberal ones like myself, continue to see previous spontaneous 

pneumothorax as a contraindication to diving. 

I am aware that some individuals have chosen to dive 

despite a history of spontaneous pneumothorax, but they 

do so at much greater risk, and are unlikely to have found 

a diving doctor who would endorse what they are doing. 

Reviewing old dogma 

The medical community tries not to blindly adhere to 

old dogma on such issues, and periodically reviews its 

stance. This was done relatively recently in relation to 

spontaneous pneumothorax in a very considered and 

sensible review by colleagues from Duke University in 

the USA [1]. They were essentially looking for evidence 

that would support relaxation of our conservative stance 

on spontaneous pneumothorax but concluded that the 

current position is essentially sound. 

If any readers are interested in this article they can email 

me at sj.mitchell@auckland.ac.nz and I will send it to 

them. 

Reference: 

1. Alvarez Villela M, Dunworth S, Harlan NP, Moon RE. Can my 

patient dive after a first episode of primary spontaneous pneumothorax? 

A systematic review of the literature. Undersea Hyperb Med. 

2018;45:199-208. 

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+ 24/7 Emergency Medical Services 

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Experience Matters. 

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Five unusual dive locations around the 

world you may never have heard of 

If you’re looking for an unusual, 

unique, and memorable diving 

location, this list is for you. 

These hotspots located all over 

the world provide experienced 

divers with some otherworldly 

and awe-inspiring experiences. 

5. Yonaguni, Japan 

The tiny Japanese island of 

Yonaguni is located over 100 

km from Taiwan and its nearest 

Japanese neighbour. It’s remote, 

has a sparse population, and 

doesn’t have a great deal to 

offer tourists, at least not on 

land. But Yonaguni is home to 

some of the best dive sites in 

the east, including the Lost City 

known as Yonaguni Monument. 

This “city” takes the form of 

huge rock formations, looking 

like something right out of 

a science fiction film. The 

visibility is great and you’ll also 

see some turtles and sharks. 

you’re over a day’s trip from the 

nearest land and surrounded by 

potentially dangerous marine 

life. 

3. Cuba 

Cuba has been described as 

being frozen in time, with 

cars and buildings right out of 

the 1950s. It’s a beautiful and 

unusual country and once you 

venture off land it only gets 

better. A highlight is a region 

known as the Gardens of the 

Queen. 

your camera! 

1. The Neptune Memorial Reef 

Florida is one of the best diving 

locations in the world. The 

beauty of the Emerald Coast is 

unrivalled and it offers a great 

deal of variety from traditional 

diving to shipwrecks. 

You need to be an experienced 

diver to explore this region 

as the seas can be rough and 

unpredictable. 

4. Cocos Island 

Cocos Island, like Yonaguni, 

is not easy to get to, but well 

worth the effort. Located off the 

west coast of Costa Rica this is 

a colourful, majestic diving spot 

where hammerhead sharks, 

huge stingrays, and swarms of 

colourful fish abound. 

You should only venture here 

if you have experience, and 

There are a host of pristine 

reefs here, as well as plush 

yachts equipped to take groups 

of divers out to sea. It’s not 

risk-free as there are sharks 

and crocodiles. 

2. Silfra, Iceland 

Silfra is a diving hotspot at the 

top of many divers’ bucket lists. 

Located in the volcanic utopia 

of Iceland, this underwater 

paradise sits between two 

tectonic plates - essentially it 

bisects two continents. 

It contains the clearest water 

you will ever see - divers report 

visibility over 100 metres – and 

feels like floating on air. Bring 

One highlight is the Neptune 

Memorial Reef just a few 

kilometres off the coast, an 

underwater graveyard of 

stone and steel structures, a 

man-made marine paradise the 

fish have claimed as their own. 

A truly otherworldly experience 

and one of the most interesting 

dives in all North America. 

Snorkelling in Florida has also 

become incredibly popular in 

recent years thanks to cities 

like Destin, where you can get 

up-close-and-personal with 

the region’s marine life for less 

than $20. 


Keen to win an amazing trip for 

two diving the infamous Beqa 

Lagoon, Fiji? Whitianga Dive 

Festival is back in April 2020 with 

an opportunity to win just that, 

and much more! 

The prize pool this time is huge, 

making it THE EVENT for divers 

and their families to come and 

have some fun over the weekend 

19 to 22 April 2020. The time to 

book is now. 

The Friday morning kicks off with 

the Underwater Photography 

Competition, Mystery Cray Hunt 

and a Spear Fishing comp. Prizes 

awarded for all categories. 

Dive Zone Whitianga will host 

a social evening at their store in 

Whitianga on the Friday evening 

at no charge. So drop in, enjoy 

a sausage and cold bevy and 

meet fellow divers for casual 

networking. An ideal opportunity 

to meet colleagues from around 

the country. 

Dive Festival 2020 all go 

Saturday will see events and 

challenges based on Buffalo Beach 

in Whitianga. A great day out for 

the family. Bring your picnic and 

a rug and enjoy the games in the 

sunshine. The Mares Treasure 

Hunt will be on the sand for the 

kids, and in the water for the 

adults, followed by the highly 

competitive trophy event – The Dive 

Zone Scuba Olympic Challenge. Major 

prizes will be presented at the 

Mares Prize Stand on the beach. 

Then we head off to this year’s 

fancy dress dinner – this year’s 

theme is Viking - with dancing at 

Stoked Restaurant on the beachfront 

in Whitianga. 

The BBQ Breakfast Prize Giving 

on Sunday morning is when all 

the major prize give-aways will 

be presented, including the grand 

prize of a dive trip for two to join 

our group diving the reefs and 

sharks of Beqa Lagoon, Fiji, staying 

at Beqa Lagoon Island Resort. 

Our sponsors this year are a great 

range of dive companies and 

organisations all showing how 

keen they are be on board for this, 

the only gathering of recreational 

divers in New Zealand. Dive Zone 

Whitianga acknowledges the 

support of Mares, Beuchat, Dive NZ 

Magazine, Mission Kayaks, Always 

Dive Expeditions, Fiji Airways and 

Beqa Lagoon Island Resort - whose 

participation all helps make this 

event such a great weekend for 

divers and their families. 

There’s a huge pool of prizes to be 

won: masks and snorkels, BCD’s, 

regulators and wetsuits, through 

to the Grand Prize draw of the trip 

for two diving Beqa Lagoon Fiji – an 

event worth coming to! All with 

the added bonus of being set on the 

stunning Coromandel Peninsula 

– home to some of New Zealand’s 

best diving. What better way to 

make new buddies! 

Contact Linda at 

Dive Zone Whitianga 

on mobile 0274-827273 for details. 


SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

Post-production is so important! 

By Dave Moran, Editor at Large 

All four winners have received advice from the 

judges re how their images could be im-proved 

by using post-production programs to improve 

their entries in this fun competition. Or if images have 

been put through a program the judges have given 

some pointers on how to further improve the image 

before entering into the competition. 

It is widely recognised and accepted that most images 

we see today have been enhanced and manipulated 

to achieve a final image result that the photographer 

is happy with to en-ter into a competition or have 

printed. 

We all know life is busy, so to spend TIME in post-production 

can be rather challenging. Like all computer 

programs the more time you spend using them the 

more proficient you be-come. 

When you reach this point it really become fun! 

Give it a go, it’s a rewarding skill to learn! 

The judges and the team at Dive New Zealand/Dive 

Pacific magazines look forward to receiving your 

personal masterpieces. See: www.divenewzealand. 

com click on Photo Competition. It’s free to enter. You 

can view galleries of all the entries over www.seatech. 

co.nz/blogs/shades-of-colour-photo-competition 

Thanks for taking the time to enter! 

'Crested Blenny on Canterbury Wreck'; Bay of Islands, New Zealand: 

Nikon D7200, macro lens, Sea & Sea housing, 2 x YS-30 strobes – f/36, 1/320, ISO100 

Advanced Category Winner: 

Congratulations Mark Blomfield, New Zealand. 

Mark spotted this cute crested blenny on the former 

NZ Navy Frigate Canterbury F421, which was sunk in 

2007 in Deep Water Cove, Bay of Islands, New Zealand. 

Mark receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$100. 

Judges’ comments: 

This is a superb, colourful and sharp image. Some 

points that would improve the image in post-production: 

Crop out some of the black negative space from 

the top and right-hand side. Taking the image at more 

of a 45-degree angle towards the front. 

58 58 Dive Dive New New Zealand Zealand | | Dive Dive Pacific Pacific

Advanced 

Highly Commended: 

Congratulations Dave Weeks, 

Canada 

David was enjoying diving 

off the remote island of 

Alor in Indonesia when this 

shortnose boxfish (Ostracion 

nasus) was spotted trying 

to blend in with the marine 

background! 

David receives a Gift 

Voucher for NZ$75. 


This is a good natural 

history image showing a 

fish blending into a colorful 

confusing back-ground. 

From a photography competition 

point of view, it is 

a bit messy; cropping out 

some of the background 

on all four sides would bring the viewer’s eyes to focus 

more on this colourful little fish. 

‘Fish Posing’’; Alor, Indonesia: Nikon D60, Aquatica housing, 

Ikelite AI strobe and Nikonos SB-105 strobe – f/9, 1/250, ISO400 

‘Go away, this is our Anemone!’; Mushroom Reef, Fiji: Canon 7D MkII, Aquatech Housing – f/9, 1/400, ISO1000 

Novice Highly Commended: 

Congratulations JJ Blackmore, New Zealand. 

Fiji is the place to be in winter for many divers. 

JJ was diving in Bligh Waters, Fiji at a location known 

as Mushroom reef when these two or-ange-finned 

anemonefish came out saying, “Please take our 

picture!” 

JJ receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$50. 


A pleasing image but it may have been even more 

eye-catching a little closer and the fish not centrally 

placed. This is easily achieved by cropping in post-production. 

Also, you could bring out the fish’s eyes in 

post-production. By cropping in closer you can re-move 

the bright anemone tentacles on the right and then 

brighten it up a bit without over-cooking the fish. 

www.divenewzealand.com 59

SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

‘Shy One’; Akaroa, New Zealand: Sealife DC2000, Sealife Sea Dragon Strobe – f/2.8, 1/320, ISO125 

Novice Category Winner: 

Congratulations, Sarah Ford, New Zealand. 

Sarah was embracing New Zealand’s winter with 

a spot of diving in the beautiful Akaroa when she 

discovered this lionfish, a notorious fish-hunter, 

stealthily hiding under a rock ledge. 

Thanks 

to all those 

who entered this fun 

competition. The judges, 

Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher 

and the team at Dive New Zealand/ 

Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces 

in December for the February/March 

2020 issue of the magazine. 

See: www.seatech.co.nz 

click on Photo Competition. 

It’s free to enter. 

Sarah receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$75. 


This is an excellent photo. We sometimes call an image 

like this a frying-pan image. Good for fish identification. 

Sarah might have cropped some of the image – the 

judges were unsure. If so, it may have been even better 

by not cropping quite as close so you can see all the 

dorsal fins. Or, if not, since you’ve already lost some 

fins you could experiment with some serious cropping, 

making the head more prominent in the picture! 

The judges, Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher and 

the team at Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces in October 

for the December - January 2020 issue. 

Sea Tech is the official New Zealand distributor of Ikelite, Fantasea, 

Recsea, Inon, Bigblue, Nauticam and other leading brands of underwater 

photographic equipment. 

Visit: www.seatech.co.nz or for personal service email: info@seatech.co.nz 


A selection of notable photos entered for this edition's competition 

(N) Stephen Hopkins 

(N) JJ and Andrea Blackmore 

(A) Dave Weeks 

(A) Mark Bloomfield 

(A) Dave Weeks 

(N) Stephen Hopkins 

(N) sarah Ford 

www.divenewzealand.com 61

DIGITALIMAGING 

Hans Weichselbaum www.digital-image.co.nz 

For shooting in RAW, can 

Affinity Photo replace 

Adobe Lightroom?? 

Most of today’s professional and semi-professional cameras allow you to shoot in RAW. I am not going to list 

all the advantages you get from RAW files here, but the increased dynamic range and the ability to recover 

extreme highlight and shadow detail alone should be sufficient reason to switch to RAW if you want to get the 

best out of your camera! 

One drawback of shooting in 

RAW is you need to process 

your shots on a computer, instead of 

simply downloading JPEGs from the 

camera. This post processing can be 

quick and painless, and you get full 

control over the RAW files at your 

fingertips. 

Over the last decade Adobe 

Lightroom has become the standard 

software for the professional and 

most amateur photographers. As 

we saw in the last edition of Dive 

Pacific, Adobe’s Photography bundle 

with its monthly cost of AU$15, can 

weigh heavily on your wallet. So 

now I will compare the RAW capabilities 

of Affinity Photo with those of 

Lightroom, since Affinity Photo is 

an excellent all-round photo editor 

costing just NZ$90 once-off. 

Opening a RAW File 

Image 1 shows a screenshot of 

Affinity Photo Affinity in the 

dedicated RAW development 

workspace. The five buttons on the 

top left, circled in red, represent 

the five operating modes, called 

Personas. The third button activates 

the RAW Developing module which 

gives you a row of tools on the left: 

crop and align tools, masking tools 

which allow you to target only 

specific areas of your image, and a 

White Balance tool. 

On the right, underneath the 

Histogram, you’ll find some tabs. 

The one furthest to the left is 

labelled Basic. Underneath the 

sliders there is another row of tabs 

with the History tab which I opened 

for demonstration purposes. The 

History panel lists all the steps 

you’ve gone through and allows you 

to go back to any point in your development 

procedure. 

The Basic Tab 

For now we’ll look just at the 

controls under the Basic tab. This 

opens up several groups of sliders 

which are usually all you will need 

to tweak and optimise your image 

to perfection. Image 2 gives you a 

clearer picture of the controls. 

The first slider, Exposure, is basically 

a linear exposure adjustment. If you 

pull it to the left your image will 

get darker and the entire histogram 

shifts to the left. The opposite 

happens when you pull the control 

to the right. Use this slider when 

your image is under or over exposed. 

Not surprisingly, the units of this 

control are measured in stops. This 

also highlights another advantage of 

RAW files: JPEG files are compressed 

to 256 (2^8) levels of lightness per 

colour channel, whereas RAW files 

will give you 4096 (2^12) or more, 

lightness values. This leaves plenty 

of reserves when pulling up underexposed 

areas without introducing 

harsh tonal transitions. 

Next I recommend you adjust the 

Brightness slider corresponding to 

the middle slider of the familiar 

Image 1 - RAW File Development in Affinity Photo 


tab offers you a Curves interface, 

Black & White conversion and Split 

Toning. 

Once you are happy with your 

image, just press the Develop 

button on the top left and Affinity 

Photo converts to the Photo Editing 

Persona. Here you can further 

optimise your image or just save it. 

Needless to say, you won’t need 

to work on each of your RAW files 

individually, one by one. There 

are tools allowing you to process 

Image 3: Adobe Camera Raw / 

Lightroom 

Image 2: Affinity Photo - The Basic 

Tab 

Levels command. Then you might 

want to optimise both ends of the 

spectrum with the Shadows and 

Highlights sliders. If you double-click 

the control point of any of these 

sliders, the value will jump back to 

the default. 

Control sliders 

There is no fixed recommended 

sequence when going through the 

controls. As a long term Photoshop 

user I am used to starting with the 

White Balance, but this is entirely up 

to you. The Contrast slider controls 

the overall contrast of the image, 

whereas the Clarity slider gives 

you a local contrast enhancement. 

It makes the image look sharper, 

but it is important not to overdo 

it. The same applies to Saturation 

and Vibrance adjustments. The 

Saturation slider affects all colours, 

while Vibrance targets the more 

subdued colours. 

You might want to adjust the sliders 

in an order you feel confident with, 

then revisit some of the controls for 

finer adjustments. This might sound 

tedious and off-putting if you’re used 

to simply taking JPEGs as they come 

out of the camera. Well, you can still 

brighten a JPEG image and increase 

colour saturation, if necessary but 

RAW files give you more room to 

play, and you can always set your 

camera to give you both JPEG and 

RAW files. 

So how does Affinity Photo’s RAW 

converter compare with Adobe’s 

Lightroom. Image 3 shows you 

the equivalent Basic tab for Adobe 

Camera Raw, which shares the same 

RAW converter engine as Lightroom. 

You can see you get virtually the 

same commands under slightly 

different names. 

And there’s more 

Next to the Basic tab Affinity Photo 

offers you four more tabs: Lens, 

Details, Tones and Overlays. Image 

4 shows you the Details tab where 

you find the controls for sharpening 

using an Unsharp Mask filter and 

sliders for minimising luminance 

and colour noise. The Lens tab 

has all the tools for automatic and 

manual lens corrections. The Tones 

Image 4: Affinity Photo - The Details Tab 

a number of images automatically 

with different sets of adjustments. 

How does Affinity Photo 

compare with Adobe 

Lightroom? 

This is the million dollar question. 

If you just start shooting in RAW, 

you can be assured you won’t 

suffer any disadvantage when you 

work in Affinity Photo. If you are 

coming from Adobe Camera RAW 

or Adobe Lightroom there might be 

a few controls not in Affinity Photo. 

However, having used the latest 

Adobe products for well over two 

decades I can assure you that, at the 

end, you won’t get any better images 

out of Lightroom than Affinity Photo. 

Note we have only discussed 

Lightroom’s RAW conversion engine, 

not its archival functions. We need 

to leave that for another article. 


Chapter 4: 

Back to the Basics Pt.1) 

A Practical Guide for Beginners by Alexey Zaytsev 

Exclusively for Dive Pacific magazine. 

(All photo's by Alexey Zaytsev) 

ISO, WB, exposure and other ‘spices’ 

Sensitivity, aperture and shutter speed 

Before we move on to recipes for underwater images we need to understand a few more important photographic 

parameters. That is, how sensitivity, aperture and shutter speed are linked. And we need to learn 

how to choose the correct combination of the three, just as experienced chefs selects the correct spices for 

their dishes… 

Alexey Zaytsev is well known 

amongst Russia’s dive and 

underwater photography 

community, and has undertaken 

professional photographic 

assignments in many 

places around the world, 

including many visits to Egypt, 

Sudan, Bali and elsewhere. To 

illustrate the book, and also 

his own credentials, Alexey is 

making available a selection of 

his fine photographic work for 

this series. 

How to decide what sensor sensitivity to use 

The lower the ISO value you use, 

the better! Why? Because the ‘true’ 

sensitivity of a sensor will be the 

minimum sensitivity specified in 

the user manual for your camera. 

Usually, it is 100 ISO or 200 ISO at 

most. 

If your camera allows you to set 

sensitivity to ISO 100 and there 

is enough light, use ISO 100! The 

larger the sensor, the less color 

noise (or ‘dirty’ appearance) it will 

have. This is one of the advantages 

of full-frame or 1.0x crop cameras. 

Up until recently, camera sensors 

were very noisy; at ISO settings 

of 400 or more the noise was very 

noticeable. Modern sensors are 

progressing very rapidly. 

There are some champions, such 

as Sony R7s with a phenomenal 

sensitivity of ISO 125 000 and a 

rather acceptable working sensitivity 

of ISO 12 000. But if you have 

a simple point-and-shoot and its 

sensor is noisy, follow the recipes 

below. 

ISO 100 is the most preferable 

sensitivity value. We shoot at 

ISO 100 in daylight with strong 

sunlight and clear water, with 

a wide-angle lens and a normal 

zoom lens, as well as at night when 

shooting macro. 

ISO 200 for shooting in the 

morning and fast moving objects 

during the day with a wide-angle 

or a zoom lens. 

ISO 400 for shooting in insufficient 

lighting conditions, early morning 

or late afternoon as well as when 

a fast shutter speed is required to 

freeze the motion of fast moving 

objects. 

ISO 800 and higher for shooting 

in very poor lighting conditions, 

at deeper depths and in murky 

waters, with a large number of 

suspended particles and plankton, 

when the use of strobes is impossible. 

The magic number ‘2’, the 

secret of exposure value 

If you read Chapter 3 carefully, 

you should remember that when 

you move from one consequent 

f-number to the next, the amount 

of light hitting the sensor goes 

up or down two fold. The same 

happens when you change shutter 

speed or ISO settings. A correctly 

selected combination of these 

three parameters guarantees 

correct exposure. An ideally 

exposed photo is the one where 

you can see details in the brightest 

and the darkest areas. Our objective 

is to produce photos like 

that. Images with prevailing dark 

shades with no details in shadows 

(dark images) are underexposed 

photos. And vice-versa, a very light 

image with no details in bright 

areas is overexposed. 


Knowing that all three parameters 

– f (aperture), S (shutter speed) 

and ISO (sensitivity) – will change 

according to the same principle 

allows us to always select a correct 

exposure and produce a good 

image. 

For example, at ISO 100 and f 8 we 

need to set the shutter speed to 

1/60s. But we want to take a photo 

with f 16 to obtain a maximum 

depth of field (DOF). What else 

should we do to produce a 

correctly exposed image if we close 

the aperture to f 16? That’s right, 

we need to slow down the shutter 

speed. By how much? Down to 1/15 

of a second. By closing the aperture 

we reduce the amount of light 4 

fold (f8 => f11 => f16) – 2 and 2. 

Another example: we want to take 

a portrait of an animal and need 

to blur the background, so the DOF 

should be as small as possible. 

Open the aperture to f 2.8. The 

sensor will receive 4 times more 

light; therefore, we must set a 

shorter shutter speed – 1/500 s (f2.8 

phers generally do not trust the 

camera computer and prefer the 

manual mode. 

Exposure meters love only 

one shade of grey 

To be able to understand this, let’s 

forget about color photography 

for now and go back to when all 

photos were black and white. 

The majority of exposure meters 

‘think’ everything in the world 

should be one color, grey. Kodak 

called this shade 18% grey; it’s 

the shade of grey with a reflective 

power typical of the majority of 

the objects that surround us on 

land. Now, imagine that you are 

photographing a grey fish underwater 

and your camera is set to 

the aperture priority mode ‘A’. You 

set your f-stop to f 5.6 and based 

on the built-in exposure meter 

results the camera will automatically 

choose the shutter speed, 

which you can see on the camera 

monitor. Since the fish is grey, the 

exposure meter will do a great 

job and the camera will choose 

the right shutter speed. What if 

you are shooting a completely 

black fish? Less light will enter 

the camera, the shutter speed will 

Goat island marine reserve. NZ. Olympus 

Tg-4 on 25 mm with wide lens PTWC-01 

(f2,8;1/800; ISO100). Olympus PT-056 housing 

slow down to, let’s say, 1/30 s. As 

a result, instead of the black fish 

you will get… that’s right – a grey 

one! And what if you are shooting 

a completely white subject? It will 

reflect more light and the camera 

will set a shorter shutter speed, for 

example 1/500 s. And yet again, 

our fish will be grey! 

How do we find a grey subject to 

correctly measure the exposure? 

The palm of your hand reflects 

one EV more light than 18% grey! 

Measure the exposure off the 

palm of your hand and open the 

aperture by one f-stop. 

Exposure meters tend to 

‘overthink’ 

Have you already photographed 

underwater with a simple pointand-shoot 

camera 

in an underwater 

housing? The camera 

was set to full auto 

and all you had to do 

was to snap away. You 

were not quite happy 

with the results, were 

you? Dark blue rich 

waters by the reef wall 

20m deep somehow 

became pale blue, as 

if they were diluted 

with the white paint; 

your buddies turned 

out blurred despite 

the fact that they tried 

to stay as steady as 

possible while they 

were modeling. Not 

to mention horrible 

colors… What’s 

wrong? 

Built-in camera 

exposure meters 

are designed for 

daylight. The deeper 

we descend, the more 

light of the warm 

spectrum is absorbed 

by the water column. The camera 

is trying to compensate the lack 

of red and orange lights of the 

spectrum by increasing exposure. 

The shutter speed becomes slower, 

which causes motion blur; the 

aperture is wider, which overexposes 

the image even more. 

How can we beat the 

exposure meter? 

Very easily! Don’t forget that we 

live in the digital era! Let’s use the 

benefits that digital technologies 

have to offer. 

If you are trying to measure 

exposure fully relying only on 

your exposure meter, you are most 

likely to produce an overexposed 

image. 

By adjusting the exposure, try to 

make sure that the indicator shows 

a slight underexposure. Start 

with -1/3 EV, take a few test shots 

underexposing your images by -1/2 

and -1 EV. See how the color of the 

water in the foreground changes: 

the more you underexpose the 

image, the more saturated it 

becomes. By how much should you 

underexpose your image? Choose 

the right EV by trying different 

exposure settings. They will be 

different at different depths and 

time of the day. 

Using the right method to 

measure an exposure 

The majority of modern cameras 

have an exposure meter that not 

only measures light reflected off 

a subject, but also does so using 

several tricky methods to obtain 

the best result in the most difficult 

lighting conditions. 

Generally speaking, there are only 

three such methods. Let’s use the 

Nikon D700 exposure metering 

system as an example. 

1) Spot metering. To measure 

exposure, the camera uses a 4 

mm diameter spot (approximately 

1.5% of the frame area). The center 

of this spot is aligned with the 

focusing point, which makes it 

possible to measure an exposure 

wherever you want outside of 

the center of the frame. It is ideal 

when shooting with a fisheye and 

wide-angle lenses. 


Example: You swim into a cave and 

turn around facing the entrance. 

You goal is to take a picture of a 

diver entering the cave against 

the blue water. Align the metering 

spot with the area with water and 

measure the exposure. Take a shot! 

Centre-weighted metering. The 

exposure is measures along the 

whole area of the frame concentrating 

primarily on the center. For 

Nikon D700, for example, it is a 12 

mm diameter by default (its size 

can be changed to larger or smaller 

areas using the camera menu). 

This exposure metering method 

works great when you are photo 

hunting with a zoom lens or 

shooting macro, when a subject 

occupies a larger, central portion of 

the frame. 

3) Multi-zone metering. Light is 

measured based on the information 

provided by a 1005-segment 

RGB sensor covering almost the 

whole area of the frame. The 

exposure is measured based on 

the composition, distance to the 

subject, and its color and brightness 

distribution across the frame. 

In most cases, this metering mode 

produces the best results (on 

land…) 

Use this metering method when 

shooting wide-angle panoramas 

in very good lighting conditions. 

It is ideal for scenes with a wide 

dynamic range. For example, a 

brightly lit surface of the water, a 

coral reef wall that disappears in 

the dark abyss, and a diver against 

the blue water. 

2) 

The exposure meter never 

sleeps, it is constantly on 

guard! 

Even when you switch to the M 

(manual) mode, the exposure 

meter continues to work! If 

you look through the camera 

viewfinder, you will see an 

electronic exposure indicator 

under the framing window. 

There will be an ‘+’ sign to the 

left indicating overexposure or 

too much light, 0 in the center 

indicating correct exposure 

(according to the camera’s 

computer) and a ‘-‘ sign indicating 

underexposure or low light. The 

indicator shows the level of over or 

underexposure with a 1/3 EV, ½ EV 

or 1 EV step (you can set the step 

size though the camera menu). If 

the value is outside of the indicator’s 

scale, it will blink. 

How do we measure 

the exposure correctly 

underwater? 

Measure the exposure of light 

areas of the image ignoring dark 

areas. For example, if you are 

taking a portrait of a diver in 

a black dive suit, measure the 

exposure off the light skin of the 

diver or bright parts of his diving 

gear. If the suit 

becomes a dark 

background, then 

so be it. If you try 

to measure the 

exposure off the 

black dive suit, the 

face will be overexposed 

and your 

image will end up in 

a trash bin. 

Assessing 

exposure 

How do we 

assess whether 

the exposure is 

correct? I always 

test the exposure 

by checking the 

Highlights screen 

and a histogram. 

Overexposure 

All modern cameras 

are equipped with 

the function that 

allows us to see 

overexposed areas of an image. 

However, not all photographers 

know about its existence. This 

function can be switched on 

through a camera’s menu for most 

camera models. Please, do it! All 

overexposed areas of an image will 

turn black and blink: black-white, 

black-white… 

When I see that an image is 

overexposed, I correct the 

exposure, by – 0.3 for example. If 

that doesn’t solve the problem, 

I correct the exposure by -0.7. 

Overexposed again? Correct it 

by -1.0. I use this approach when 

shooting in the S (shutter speed 

priority) and A (aperture priority) 

modes. If you shoot in the M 

(manual) mode, just stop down the 

aperture until overexposed areas 

disappear. 

* 

If an image has the sun or patches of 

sunlight reflecting off a surface, you 

will not be able to get rid of overexposure. 

But there’s no need to do so. 

Next time: ISO, exposure and other 

underwater “spices” 

Lost Fishing Network. Black Sea, 

Balaklava, Crimea, Ukraine. Nikon 

D70 10,5 mm F2.8 (f8; 1/160; 

ISO200) Aquatica housing and 

strobe Inon 220z 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL 

By region. To list your dive/sports stores contact Dive New Zealand for information. 

More information on Dive Stores, Clubs & Travel at www.DiveNewZealand.com 

NORTHLAND 

NEW ZEALAND 

A to Z Diving & Cylinder Services IANZ accredited 

SCUBA, LPG & Industrial cylinder testing. Certified 

in servicing all brands of dive gear. Supplier of 

compressor consumables: carbon, molecular sieve, 

felt pads, oil, O-rings etc. Certifiers of Air & LPG 

Fillers. All major gases available onsite. 

235 Wiroa Rd, Kerikeri. P: 021 508 707 

www.atozdiving.co.nz 

E: andre@atozdiving.co.nz 

Dive Zone Bay of Islands Far North’s only 

PADI 5 Star IDC facility. Open Water to Instructor 

courses. Freedive and spearfishing training & trips. 

Dive trips,On-site equipment servicing & cylinder 

testing. Aqualung, Mares, Scubapro, Beuchat. 

Open 7 days! 5 Klinac Lane, State Highway 10 

Waipapa. 09 407 9986. 

www.divezoneboi.co.nz, 

info@divezoneboi.co.nz 

Paihia Dive Dive training, charter and retail in Paihia. 

Dive the Rainbow Warrior, frigate Canterbury and 

the Bay of Islands. PADI courses: Open water to 

Instructor. Quality scuba brands: Aqualung, Tusa, 

Faber, Luxfer and Wettie spearfishing. Open 7 days. 

Williams Rd, Paihia, P: Craig or Lisa 09-402 7551 

E: info@divenz.com www.divenz.com 

Northland Dive World Class Diving package – Great 

diving mixed with even better accommodation, meals 

and hospitality. Dive with the team that instigated the 

sinking of the Canterbury Frigate. Full Gear available 

incl NITROX – PADI /TDI/ SDI training “Unbelievable 

value for money”. 3851 Russell Road, Whangaruru, 

Bay of Islands, P: 09 433 6633, 

E: info@northlanddive.com 

www.info@northlanddive.com 

DIVE COMPRESSOR 

sales and servicing 

High Pressure 

Equipment NZ Ltd 

ph 09-444 0804 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Master Agents 

for Bauer 

Kompressoren in 

New Zealand and 

have been for the 

past 20 years. 

Servicing & repairs of all compressor brands: 

Bauer, Poseidon, Coltri, Bristol, Brownie. 

and most other brands. 

High pressure regulators. 

High pressure pumps. 

Compressor consumables and spare parts. 

Customised filling panels. 

Breathing air equipment. 

New Zealand Master 

Agents for: 

BAUER KOMPRESSOREN 

compressors/spare parts 

BAUER-POSEIDON 

compressors and spare parts 

DIVE NOW For all your SCUBA Freediving 

and Spearfishing needs. Onsite servicing, 

cylinder testing, Air and Nitrox fills, wetsuit 

repairs, gear hire and full retail store stocking 

most major brands. 5 Star PADI Tec Rec dive 

training facility and breath holding courses with 

onsite training pool. Located at the gateway to 

the beautiful Poor Knights Islands and Bay of 

Islands. 

41 Clyde Street Whangarei 

Freephone: 0800 102 102 or 

P: 09 438 1075 E: info@divenow.co.nz 

www.divenow.co.nz 

Dive! Tutukaka The Poor Knights Islands experts – 

professional, fun and safe – “It’s what we do” – With 

5 boats, catering for all abilities; Adventure Audited, 

Qualmark endorsed, PADI 5 star IDC; air fills, nitrox, 

gear hire. Shed 7 with salt-water pool and training 

facilities – Behind Schnappa Rock. Marina Rd. 

Tutukaka, Whangarei. Open 7 days, 7am-7pm. 

Always someone at the end of the phone 0800 288 

882. Phone: 09 4343 867 

E: info@diving.co.nz www.diving.co.nz 

AUCKLAND / DISTRICTS 

New Zealand Diving Charters to the Hauraki Gulf 

incl marine reserves, Little & Great Barrier Islands. 

Also overseas trips. NZ’s leading SDI & TDI 5 star IDC 

& PADI with a wide selection of courses. Qualmark 

endorsed. Nitrox, 300bar fills, servicing & rental hire. 

Full selection of gear for sports & tec divers. 

22 Whitaker Rd, Warkworth. 

P: 0800 NZDIVING. E: Neil@NZDiving.co.nz 

www.NZDiving.co.nz (DNZ164) 

Auckland Scuba on Auckland’s north shore. 

PADI 5 STAR IDC diver training specialists. PADI 

dive courses beginner to instructor and tec 

rec. Part time/full time tertiary (student loan 

approved), NZQA credits. Dive trips, air/nitrox fills, 

cylinder testing, equipment servicing. Top quality 

equipment! 

Unit I, 121 Rosedale Rd, Albany. 

P: 09 478 2814 E: info@aucklandscuba.co.nz 

www.aucklandscuba.co.nz 

KIWI DIVERS SSI, TDI/SDI, RAID dive centre. 

Recreational and Technical dive courses 

(rebreather friendly). Regular trips from our 

own boat. Equipment sales, servicing and hire. 

Cylinder testing, air/nitrox trimix/oxygen fills. 

Open 7 days. 8 Keith Hay Court, Silverdale 

(just 20 mins north of Akld) P: 09 426 9834 

E: info@kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

www.kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

For the latest in maritime news and views, 

from tinny to tanker we have it covered 

Performance Diver NZ’s diving superstore! Massive 

stocks of all lines at unbelievable prices. PADI 5 star 

Instructor Development Centre offering training from 

beginner to Instructor. Local & national dive charters, 

overseas trips, servicing, air fills and rental. Open 7 

days! 

74 Barrys Point Road, Takapuna 

(behind Avanti bikes). 09 489 7782 

www.performancediver.co.nz 

Dive HQ Westhaven in Auckland's CBD. PADI 

5 Star Instructor Development Centre. Become 

a PADI Dive Instructor with us. NZQA approved 

Part Time and Full Course available. Still Your 

Local Dive Shop for all your SCUBA dive, 

freediving, spear-fishing and gear-servicing 

needs. Mares, Atomic, Oceanic, Pinnacle, 

Beuchat, and Zeagle. Fully equipped dive 

equipmentservice centre and dive cylinder 

testing facility onsite. 

Corner (101) Beaumont & Gaunt Sts, 

Westhaven, Auckland. P: (09) 307 3590, 

E: info@divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

www.divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

Global Dive NZ’s favourite technical and recreational 

dive store. All top brands stocked and serviced. Our 

active dive club meets monthly with guest speakers and 

BBQ. Experts in photography and tech diving. Quality 

rental gear, including technical and drysuits. Nitrox fills. 

132 Beaumont St, Westhaven, P: 09 9205200 

www.globaldive.net E: info@globaldive.net 

Dive Doctor Mt Wellington New Zealand’s specialist 

dive servicing company, regulator servicing, drysuit & 

wetsuit repairs, compressor servicing, cylinder testing, 

NITROX, O2, Helium, 300 BAR air fills. A full selection 

of quality products as well as hard to find items for the 

technical, recreational and commercial diver. 

20R Sylvia Park Rd, Mt Wellington 

www.divedoctor.co.nz P: 09 5308117 

E: info@divedoctor.co.nz 

DNZ164 

Manufacturing Quality 

Wetsuits in New 

Zealand 

for New Zealand 

conditions. 

www.seaquel.co.nz 

15G Porana Rd, Glenfield, Auckland 

wetsuits@seaquel.co.nz Tel: 09 443 2771 

VIP0819 

DNZ163 

Contact us at: ph 09 444 0804, fax 09 443 1121 

32 Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland. 

Email info@highpressure.co.nz 

www.highpressure.co.nz 

SUBSCRIBE NOW 

www.skipper.co.nz • phone 09 533 4336 

68 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

VIP0819

dnz164 


COROMANDEL / BAY OF PLENTY 

TUTUKĀKĀ 

NEW ZEALAND 

Dive Zone Whitianga Far North’s only PADI 5 

Star IDC facility. Open Only PADI 5 Star IDC facility 

on the Coromandel Peninsula. PADI courses from 

Open Water to Instructor. Dive trips from boat, 

shore and kayak, to many amazing dive sites. Full 

gear service and extensive retail store. Open 7 

days. 

10 Campbell Street, Whitianga, P: 07-867 1580, 

E: info@divethecoromandel.co.nz 

www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz 

SIMPLY 

AWESOME! 

Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel Half day 

trips – everyday through the summer at 9.30am 

& 1.30pm. Marine reserve or outer reef diving 

for new and experienced divers. Full gear hire. 

Individuals & groups welcome. Check out our 

website for a full list of dive sites and prices, or 

link onto our facebook page for an up-to-date 

weather/sea/dive report in the Hahei & Mercury 

Bay areas. 48 Hahei Beach Rd, Hahei 

Phone 0800 CCDIVE (0800 223 483) 

www.hahei.co.nz/diving 

CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND 

Dive & Gas Gisborne's Mares and Atlantis dive gear 

stockist. A great product range, as well as other Scuba 

and Snorkel gear in-store. Plus we test and fill all 

Scuba Tanks. Kevin & Tracey Halverson, 

cnr Carnarvon St, and Childers Rd, Gisborne. 

P: 06 867 9662 E: diveandgas@gmail.com 

FREE 

PHONE 

0800 288 882 

www.diving.co.nz 

3-5 Rona Place, Tutukaka, Whangarei, SOUTH PACIFIC 

Dive Zone Tauranga is Tauranga’s only 

PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre 

offering everything from Open Water courses 

to Specialty Instructor training. Gear sales for 

all scuba, spearfishing & snorkelling needs. 

Hire equipment, gear servicing, air fills, dive 

charters, cylinder testing and more! See us at 

213 Cameron Road, Tauranga, 

P: (07) 578 4050 

E: info@divezonetauranga.co.nz 

www.divezonetauranga.co.nz 

WELLINGTON / DISTRICTS 

DNZ163 

Island Bay Divers NZ’s Pro Gold Centre, Wellington’s 

oldest dive shop. Top brand retail, equipment hire, 

servicing all brands. Tanks tested within 24 hours. 

CMAS, NAUI & PADI training. Club dives every 

Saturday. Corner Reef St & The Parade, Island Bay. 

Summer open 7 days 9am–6pm, winter closed Tues 

& Wed. P: 04-383 6778, 

E: tim@ibdivers.co.nz, www.ibdivers.co.nz 

• New BAUER compressors 

• Late model, low hours, 

preowned BAUER 

compressors 

• Service, spare parts, oil 

and consumables 

AVAILABLE NOW FROM 

General Marine Services 

65 & 90 Gaunt St, Westhaven, 

Auckland. Phone 09 309 6317 

www.generalmarine.co.nz 

sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

service@generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED 

BAUER 

AGENTS 

Dive Wellington Become a Padi Dive 

Instructor with our fulltime Diploma course. NZQA 

approved and eligible for student loans and 

allowances. Contact us for a course prospectus. 

Dive Wellington is an audited and approved sub 

contractor of Academy of Diving Trust 

E: dive@divewellington.co.nz 

P: 04 939 3483 www.divewellington.co.nz 

NZ Sea Adventures PADI 5 Star Instructor 

Development Centre – also TDI Technical diver training 

including CCR. Open 7 days. Dive courses – beginner 

to Instructor. Club dives and trips in NZ and overseas. 

Dive retail, fills, gear hire & servicing. 

9 Marina View, Mana, Porirua. 

P: 04 233-8238 E: nzsa@scubadiving.co.nz 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

Dive & Ski HQ Wellington PADI dive courses 

– beginner to professional qualifications. Dive 

club with regular local, national & overseas trips. 

Wide range of diving/ spearfishing equipment 

and accessories. Equipment servicing/tank 

testing. Open 7 days. 

14 Waione St, Petone. New Zealand 

P: (04)568 5028 mob 0210369996 

www.diveski.co.nz E: diveskihq@xtra.co.nz 

snow ski and board rental available 

www.facebook.com/DiveSkiHQ 

Oceandry suits 

35 Station Road.Wellsford 

www.oceandry.co.nz 

Call Paul on 021 425706 

Email: info@oceandry.co.nz 

MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

Colin Gestro - Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL / PRODUCTS / SERVICES 

Dive HQ Christchurch 30 years industry 

experience, Christchurch’s only PADI 5 Star 

Instructor Development Centre and Adventure 

Activities Certified for SCUBA diving and 

snorkelling. Busy retail store selling the world’s 

leading brands and offering PADI recreational 

and tertiary SCUBA qualifications. Full range 

of spearfishing equipment including breath 

hold courses. Quality gear hire, service centre, 

Enriched Air training and filling station, local and 

international dive and spearfishing trips.103 

Durham St Sth. Sydenham, Christchurch. 

Freephone 0800-DIVEHQ. 

P: (03)379- 5804 www.diveskiworld.co.nz 

E: sales@diveskiworld.co.nz 

Waikawa Dive Centre located at Waikawa Marina, 

Picton. Offering dive training and trips through the 

Marlborough Sounds. Fully-certified dive cylinder 

filling/testing, dive gear servicing/repairs, hire gear. 

Carrying a multi-brand range of diving equipment. 

Open 7 days during summer. Ready to take care of all 

your diving needs. 

P: 03-573-5939, F: 03-573-8241 

waikawadive@xtra.co.nz 

www.waikawadivecentre.co.nz 

www.facebook.com/WaikawaDiveCentre 

Deep Blue Diving Making diving affordable for all 

divers. The Deep Blue brand is well known for its 

value for money and has a strong company reputation 

for delivering quality and excellent service. Visit our 

website or come in and see us for a huge range of dive 

gear, equipment servicing, tank filling, gear hire and 

Padi training. 

15B Byron St, Sydenham, Christchurch 8025. 

P: 03 332 0898 E: sales@deepbluediving.co.nz 

www.deepbluediving.co.nz 

INTERNATIONAL DIVE 

OPERATORS AND RESORTS 

AUSTRALIA 

Pro Dive Cairns Offers the highest quality, best value 

PADI dive courses and 3-day liveaboard Outer Great 

Barrier Reef dive trips in Cairns. We have 16 exclusive 

dive sites across 4 different reefs to choose from and 

departures 6 days/week. 

Check out www.prodivecairns.com 

or call us on +617 4031 5255 

or E: info@prodivecairns.com 

Spirit of Freedom visits the remote dive destinations 

of Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, and Coral Sea. The 37m 

vessel offers spacious en-suite cabins, every comfort 

on board, and exceptional service. Marine encounters 

include the potato cod feed, Minke whales in season, 

and the shark dive at Osprey Reef. 

E: info@spiritoffreedom.com.au 

www.spiritoffreedom.com.au 

Tusa Dive Cairns local day dive operators with over 

30 years experience diving the Great Barrier Reef. 

Tusa’s fast modern catamaran the Tusa 6 will visit two 

unique sites where you can enjoy up to three dives 

in the day. Tusa Dive also offer a great day out for 

snorkellers. P: 00617 4047 9100 

E: info@tusadive.com www.tusadive.com 

DNZ161 

Book an ad space today! 

For Editorial or Classified ads call 

Colin Gestro 

Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

HDS Australia-Pacific 

PO Box: 347 Dingley Village Victoria 3172, 

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COOK ISLANDS 

Dive Aitutaki with Bubbles Below Explore Aitutaki’s 

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minutes from mainland Rarotonga to the picturesque 

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enjoyment paramount! ‘Take only Memories & Leave 

only Bubbles Dive Safe, Dive Rite, Dive Bubbles 

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E: bubblesbelow@aitutaki.net.ck 

The Dive Centre – The Big Fish PADI 5-star dive 

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twice a day, courses, retail and rental gear. 2 

boats, boats are manned with an instructor, 7 days, 

night dives. Aroa Beach by the Rarotongan Resort. 

P: 682 20238 or 682 55238 

E: info@thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

dnz164 



FIJI 

Subsurface Fiji Visit Fiji for fun, relaxing 

tropical diving. Subsurface Fiji PADI 5-Star Dive 

shops are located in the beautiful Mamanuca 

Islands, offering daily trips and courses to some 

of the best dive spots in Fiji. Subsurface provides 

full diving services from Musket Cove, Plantation, 

Malolo, Likuliku, Tropica, Lomani, Funky Fish, 

Namotu, Tavarua, Wadigi & Navini Island Resorts. 

E: info@subsurfacefiji.com 

www.subsurfacefiji.com (DNZ159) 

Captain Cook Cruises Reef Endeavour and Tivua 

Island are 5 star PADI operations – Discover Scuba – 

Scuba Dive – Open water dive – Advance Wreck Dive, 

MV Raiyawa at Tivua Island. Fiji P: +679 6701 823 E: 

fiji@captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

Mantaray Island Resort Yasawa Islands – Fiji – Over 

40 dive sites ; vibrant reefs, stunning coral gardens, 

caves, swim throughs, wall dives, drop offs, shark 

dives, turtles, and a stunning house reef. Fiji’s only 

accredited free-diving school, Mantaray swimming 

May–Oct. Small group diving in a safe and enjoyable 

environment visit us at 

www.mantarayisland.com 

Volivoli Beach Resort offers you relaxed, unspoilt 

white sandy beaches in a spectacular part of Fiji. Ra 

Divers operates from the resort giving you a water 

wonderland on the worlds best soft coral dive sites. 

The Fiji Siren is a livaboard boat offering you 7 and 10 

night dive packages. www.volivoli.com 

E: info@volivoli.com P: +679 9920942 

SOLOMONS 

Raiders Hotel and Dive Wreck and Reef diving, 

Accommodation, Bar and dining, Snorkelling 

Hiking and more. Located 1 hour from Honiara on 

the waterfront of the historic Tulagi harbour. Dive - 

Discover – Relax. www.raidershotel.com 

email raidershotel@solomon.com.sb 

ph +677 7594185 / 7938017 

SIDE Dive Munda – Dive the unexplored 

Experience Magical Munda at Agnes Gateway Hotel. 

Award winning service and pristine diving. SSI 

Instructor Training Centre. WWII wrecks, caves and 

reefs – untouched and unspoilt. 

www.divemunda.com 

divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram 

SIDE TAKA Dive See more of the Solomon Islands by 

liveaboard! Save $700 on a 7 night booking on board 

MV Taka: 7 Nights Accommodation; 3 gourmet meals 

daily; 24 Dives – sharks, WWII wrecks, manta rays, 

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apply. For more information or to make a reservations: 

book@dive-solomon.com 

Tulagi Dive Solomon Islands An underwater paradise 

for marine life and explore the many ships and aircraft 

wrecks at the famous Iron Bottom Sound. We offer 

the PADI and TDI courses. Phone (+677) 25700 

www.tulagidive.com dive@tulagidive.com 

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At travel&co (previously Dive Fish Snow 

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On the 

for 

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VANUATU 

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dive operation in Port Vila with 30+ years’ experience. 

Nautilus offers 4 dives a day (double dive both 

morning and afternoon). We also offer PADI course 

from Discover Scuba right through to Dive Master. For 

dive groups we can also offer diving/accommodation 

packages. P: Peter or Leanne +678 22 398 

www.nautilus.com.vu 

E: nautilus@vanuatu.com.vu 

DIVE HOLIDAY 

Outer Gulf Charters 

One hour north of Auckland CBD 

Providing divers with the ultimate diving day 

out with diver lift, fast/comfortable travel, hot 

water shower, and all the tea and coffee you 

want. 

Recommended On the seafront Dive downtown Sites: Goat Port Island Vila. Marine 

Reserve, Mokohinau Islands, Great/Little 

• Certified dives • Snorkel Tours • Training to 

Barrier, Sail Rock/Hen & Chickens in style. Trip 

Instructor Level • Full gear hire available • 

schedule and info 

www.outergulfcharters.co.nz 



or phone Julie 021 827 855 

20 dive sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 


boat and 150 year old sailing ship Star of Russia) 

Temp 24-28°c. Viz 10m to 



P: +678 27518 or email: 


Fiordland Expeditions www.bigbluevanuatu.com 17 

For your safety Vanuatu has 

General Marine recompression Services facilities. 7 

NIUE 

IFC 

Saltaway 45 

SeaTech 49 

On the seafront downtown Port Vila. 

• Certified dives • Snorkel Tours • Training to 

Instructor Level • Full gear hire available • 



20 dive sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 


boat and 150 year old sailing ship Star of Russia) 

Temp 24-28°c. Viz 10m to 



P: +678 27518 or email: 


www.bigbluevanuatu.com 


recompression facilities. 

SPEAKERS/LECTURERS 

Available for talks to dive clubs etc. You can find full 

details on these speakers/lectures at 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz/dive-in-nz/dive-shops/ 

Terry Brailsford Wreck diving for gold & treasure. Incl 

the Rothschild jewellery, search for General Grant. 

0274 958816, theadmiral@xtra.co.nz 

Tony Howell History and entertainment with lots of 

rare historical photos and illustrations – 12 powerpoints 

in total. 45 mins –1 hr each. 

Contact me for topics. 04 233-8238, 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

tony@scubadiving.co.nz 

Darren Shields Spearfishing titles,uw cameraman, 

author. Motivating/compelling/innovative/inspiring/ 

entertaining P: 09-4794231, 021839118, 

darren@wettie.co.nz 

Jamie Obern Technical instructor/cave diver, 20+ 

years exp. globally. Photos/video: uw caves in 

Mexico, On USA, the UK, seafront NZ, Australia. downtown Techdive Port NZ/GUE Vila. NZ 

instructor. • Certified P: 021 dives 614 • 023, Snorkel Tours • Training to 

www.techdivenz.com Instructor Level • Full jamie@techdivenz.com 

gear hire available • 

Dave Very Moran friendly, Ching professional Dynasty porcelain & experienced 

from the Tek 

Sing. P: Dive local New Instructors Zealand 09-521 & Dive 0684, Masters. 

E: 20 divenz@DiveNewZealand.co.nz 

sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 


Samara boat and Nicholas 150 year M.O.N.Z old -Programme sailing ship Star Director: of Russia) 

Experiencing Marine Reserves Temp 24-28°c. – Te Kura Viz Moana: 10m to 

samara@emr.org.nz 40m. Free pickup from 

www.emr.org.nz www.facebook.com/emr.mtsct 


P: 09 4338205 or 0210362019 (field only) 

P: +678 27518 or email: 


SIDE Dive Munda www.bigbluevanuatu.com 

25 

Suunto 


recompression 46 facilities. 

TecFest 

IBC 

Travel&co 57 

Wakatobi 

OBC 

ALPHABETICAL ORDER 


N E W Z E A L A N D ’ S O N L Y D I V E M A G A Z I N E 



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1/2/3rd 

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New for 2020: 

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You don’t have to be a technical diver to join in the 

action - come along and see how it is to Go Tec. 

Order your ticket online now at www.tecfestnz.com 

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or ask at your local dive shop 

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An experience 

without equal 

“The reef systems here are some of the most pristine I have seen anywhere in my dive 

travels around the globe, and Wakatobi resort and liveaboard are second to none. 

The diversity of species here is brilliant if you love photography.” ~ Simon Bowen 

74 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

www.wakatobi.com

Dive Pacific 172, Dec 2019 Jan 2020

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