This is the first time I’ve split a Blog Log into two. It was hard to decide which pictures to highlight and which to just leave in the gallery for you to explore on your own. I decided every critter plays an important part not just on the reef but their records are nearly all as important and it’s hard to guess how readers like yourself will be inspired by what you see here on the Blog. Above are 2 of several colourful fish on the reef and both very photogenic and less skittish then some of the fishes you saw in Part 1 of this Blog Log. Left-Right: Copper-banded butterflyfish and Tomato clown anemonefish. Read the rest of this entry »
Toh Chay Hoon, Hantu Blog diver and nudibranch enthusiast
Pulling into the shallow reef of Hantu this Sunday during the low tide required some careful maneuvering by our skipper. Thankfully, we had Hup Heng at the helm, who’s only been navigating local waters for the past several decades! As soon as we plunged into the water, Chay Hoon (above photo) looks to me and exclaims that the water temperature (that’s usually between 27-29degC) was at a searing 33degC! We confirm this later when we check with another volunteer who’s computer also reads 33degC. Read the rest of this entry »
The world’s oceans which cover two thirds or more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, are an important source of life. Millions of people depend on oceans and coastal areas in earning a living.
Indonesia’s marine tourism revenue reached US$2 billion per year and the country earned around US$2.2 billion from fish exports in 2008, Indonesia’s Antara news agency quoted Alfred Nakatsuma, director of the Environment office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as saying recently. Read the rest of this entry »
Overfishing threatens to drive a third of the world’s open-ocean shark species to extinction, say conservationists. Hammerheads, giant devil rays and porbeagle sharks are among 64 species on the first ever red list for oceanic sharks produced by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
Sharks are vulnerable because they can take decades to mature and they produce few young. The scalloped hammerhead shark, which has declined by 99% over the past 30 years in some parts of the world, is particularly vulnerable and has been given globally endangered status on the red list, which means it is nearing extinction. In the Gulf of Mexico, the oceanic whitetip shark has declined by a similar amount. Read the rest of this entry »
A young Yellow-lipped sea krait finds me on the reef as I try to untangle some fishing hooks snagged on the reef. After jumping out of my wits, I hit the video on my camera on and follow the young snake as it goes about the shallow reef, popping its head that encases some of the world’s most deadly venom, into little nooks and crannies on the reef. Eventually it goes up to the surface to take a quick sip of air and shoots back down into the water again. Please pardon my rather superfluous commentary at the surface (at the end of the 3rd video). I couldn’t help myself.
Terribly tedious to get close to, the blind shimp tenaciously hawls loads of sand out of its burrow in Pulau Hantu’s reef slope as a Shrimp goby stands guard at the entrance. Shrimp gobies are extremely alert and skittish. With its tail, the goby signals to the shrimp if it is safe to some out. If the goby returns into the burrow, it can take a tremendously long length of time before it re-emerges so the burrow of the duo with the shrimp and goby in action, had to be carefully and slowly approached.
To whet your appetite for the multitude of pictures and videos that are to follow, here’s a teaser of what divers with the Hantu Blog got to encouter over this very warm weekend!
This Giant Reef Cuttlefish was pointed out to me by volunteer dive guide Pei Min, I swam towards the direction her finger had indicated and continued to swim some more until a diver, stretched his hand towards me, with his camera just below my torso, fired off a snap, and I was thinking “What’s he shooting?” I tipped my head down and was really humoured by how well this HUGE cuttlefish was camouflaged! I was about to swim right over it! Aided by the murky waters of Hantu, (that were also unusually warm this weekend at 31deg C, 3deg up from the usual 28deg) this cuttlefish was practically INVISIBLE!
Shark market, Lombok, Indonesia - "Trafficking the fins of these shark species is not a harmless offense." John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. PHOTO: DEBBY NG
Mark L. Harrison, a resident of Southport, Fla., and Harrison International LLC, a Florida corporation, today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to violating the Lacey Act, a federal fish and wildlife trafficking law, by dealing in shark fins, the landing of which was not reported as required by law, the Justice Department announced today.
In addition, Mark Harrison pleaded guilty to a second charge related to his attempted export of shark fins of species that are prohibited to harvest under laws of the state of Florida. Harrison also pleaded guilty to a third charge related to trading in shark fins that had been prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions.
According to the charges and other information presented in court, Harrison allegedly represented himself to be the nation’s largest shark fin buyer, purchasing “millions” of shark fins since he had been in the business, beginning in 1989. According to the plea agreements, in February 2005, Harrison purchased shark fins in Florida from an individual fisherman and later resold them in interstate commerce. No report of the landing or sale of those fins was filed with any Florida authorities, as required by law. Accurate reporting statistics of shark harvests are crucial for managing and regulating the populations of the various shark species that occur in U.S. waters. Read the rest of this entry »
NO ONE predicted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s simple gesture at the World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia, last month would create waves. By pledging US$1 million (RM3.5 million) to a fund to save corals in the Coral Triangle, the world’s centre of marine life, he not only crested the waves of public opinion, unknowingly he also inspired those struggling to save the ocean.
This coral triangle covers 3.4 million square miles of ocean space stretching from the sea in the Philippines to Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. It is home to 75% of all known coral species and more than 3,000 species of fish. Without these coral reefs, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature says “the fish will eventually die” and the entire ocean ecosystem that some 120 million people in the region depend on “could collapse”. Read the rest of this entry »
The Philippines is one of six countries comprising the Coral Triangle, which is the global epicenter of marine species diversity. PHOTO: DEBBY NG
DAPITAN CITY — Fishermen seeking to protect the Coral Triangle have launched a nationwide watershed and mangrove tree planting program here during the opening of the 57th Zamboanga del Norte Founding Anniversary.
Dubbed as “Puno ko, Sagip-Buhay Mo,” the project was spearheaded by the department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in support of the observance of the Farmers and Fisherfolk Month.
President Arroyo planted “bani” – a local term for a beach tree species —- in a reclaimed area in Dapitan City along with 2,000 fisherfolk, students, local officials, and members of various organizations.
Mrs. Arroyo stressed the importance of planting trees and solid waste disposal in mitigating climate change. Read the rest of this entry »
July 1, 2009 
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