Blogs » Igor Valente
Igor Valente
Three of the ocean’s giants in hunting mode keep Igor and the camera crew occupied in British Columbia with a display of power and grace.
Things were going so well in British Columbia that we decided to extend our stay for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the next day we woke to the sounds of a storm, meaning that most filming opportunities were lost.
We had been filming stellar sea lions, orcas and humpbacks, but now we had to find something else to do. Although I had only been in the water with the sea lions, I could see from the surface the difference between these three animals.
Stellars are a bit playful and random. Looking at them you really have the feeling that they are having a great time underwater, always moving around, surfing, even playing with other animals like dolphins and whales, but always aware of everything around them. And with very good reason.
We soon discovered that there were orcas in the vicinity. I can only imagine what happened at the beginning of the hunt, but judging by the huge male sea lion with its back broken, being hit from all sides by the small pod of four orcas, it must have been an amazing chase.
The orcas were in hunting mode, and you could have a sense of their sheer power, as they kept coming back to hit the sea lion. After hours of work, they finally took the sea lion down, supposedly to eat it. We never saw it again... And then, a complete change in behaviour. They were now breaching, coming around to check us out, and it looked like nothing had happened. But whenever we realised that there were only three orcas at the surface at any given time, we were reminded of what had just happened.
Then there are the humpbacks. These graceful giants of the sea just seem to effortlessly glide around the water, looking for the next thing to do, be it some amazing breaches or engulfing mouthfuls of unsuspecting herring. All amazing behaviour that looks great on film, but is even more breathtaking live.
With the storm dying out, and after having found some protected walls to film some invertebrates, it was now time to return to the UK and prepare for the Birmingham dive show.
After the experience at the London International Dive Show (still feeling a bit dazed after having just found out I had been selected for the scholarship), I was looking forward to Birmingham.
Once there I found some familiar faces at the stands for my sponsors Fourth Element, Zeagle UK, Northern Diver, Beaver (Seac Sub) and DeltaP, as well as some of the people responsible for publishing these diaries in Sport Diver, DYK and Duiken magazines.
Apart from that, I also had a chance to catch up with Monty Halls, and meet new contacts at Project AWARE, the Blue Planet Aquarium and Oxygene for possible experiences in conservation, aquarium work and ice diving.
By Sunday evening I had had a fun weekend, having managed to mix business with pleasure while walking around the dive show. As always it was a busy, but well-organised show, with plenty of people to meet for a catch-up.
Leading the way in diving conservation
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:48pm
When I was told about the Wakatobi Dive Resort I knew straight away that it was a place I wanted to visit and find out more about, so it was with great excitement that I received the news that they had accepted to host me for a some time.
Wakatobi is famous for having amazing diving, full of untouched reefs and lots of different species to look at. After all it is situated in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. But not everywhere in this area looks this pristine, with plenty of places being plagued by over fishing and extremely damaging fishing techniques like cyanide and dynamite bombing, leaving behind dead reefs and completely destroyed ecosystems. So what is different about Wakatobi? This is what I was here to find out.
It all started at a very small scale, with owner Lorenz Mader asking one of the villages if he could lease 6km of reef, the amazing house reef, to be used by divers. And so the Collaborative Reef Program was born, giving fishermen an alternative income, instead of just telling them not to fish in a certain area. Over the years the program grew to include 20km of reef being protected, with all 17 villages around the resort involved. Regular patrols and self-policing ensure that everyone abides by the rules. I went on one of the patrols, and even though they could not speak much English (was still much better than my Indonesian) I could see that these ex-fishermen enjoyed their work and understood the importance of it.
Throughout the years the resort has always made a point of employing locals, with about 150 people from Lamanggau, the closest village, now working for them, meaning less people depending on fishing as their income. Lamanggau also receives electricity from the resort. Ultimately it is providing the local people with income from conservation and ecotourism, leading to their development.
The resort also helps the locals with any other projects that they might have, sponsoring sport tournaments, festivals, and other social events, and with the help of guest donations they provide school supplies for the children on the different islands and even scholarships for orphans and others that cannot afford to go to school. While I was there I went along with the Wakatobi staff to Lamanggau to help distribute some of the supplies and it was very rewarding to see the way the pupils received things that we normally take for granted, but that for them it makes a huge difference in their futures.
And the marine environment benefits amazingly. The coral cover on the protected areas is over 80 per cent in places, with colourful corals everywhere. One of my favourite parts of the dives was the long stay in the shallows at the end of the dive, when the wall would level off at five or so meters and the coral would burst into all sort of colours under the sunlight. And there are plenty of critters to look for, one of the most remarkable being the pigmy sea horses. Also, as the relationship and trust grew stronger, Lorenz and the rest of the staff have persuaded the locals to abandon cyanide and dynamite fishing in favour of less destructive methods of fishing, reducing their impact.
