TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - Jan. 29 - Feb. 5

[Ken Kurtis]

Guadalupe, Avalon Cleanup, Palau, and more (please scroll down for details)​

Looks like it's the Eagles vs the Chiefs in two weeks and hopefully it's as exciting a game as the finish of the Chiefs/Bengals was . . . BONAIRE NOW SOLD OUT - But we've got room for you on both of our Yap trips in July, our Isla Mujeres trip in August, &/or our Maldives trip in November. ISLA GUADALUPE MIGHT BE PERMANENTLY OFF-LIMITS TO DIVERS - Although this is a situation that will evolve with some apparent court battles, as of right now, the Mexican government has announced that Isla Guadalupe is closed for both recreational observation of the resident Great White Sharks and for scientific observation as well. However, they are still allowing commercial fishing in the area. This makes no sens to lots of folks, including us. The concern is that while Guadalupe is a protected area, the Mexican government doesn't have the boats or resources to regularly patrol it. So the dive boats that visited all the time effectively acted as a monitoring source and could radio about any violations they observed. With that absent, it may allow for illegal fisheries to be set up undetected. And that in turn will actually pose a danger to the sharks, not enhance their protection. There's a good 14-minute video about this situation produced by a semi-neutral third party which you can view here: CLOSING ISLA GUADALUPE.​ AVALON CLEANUP IS FEBRUARY 25 - That's the logo above, designed by Christian Silva, who's one of the DMs at Catalina Divers Supply (they're co-hosting the Cleanup this year, along with the Avalon Rotary Club Foundation). If you're planning on going, there are some things you need to know as some things are different from previous years: • It seems there's no formal group registration. Sign up as an individual and note when you sign up what group you want to be in and what location. (For Reef Seekers, that's the Green Pier.) • Early registration ($45) ends Tuesday. (After that, I think it's $55.) • The preferred boat going over is usually the 6:00AM out of Long Beach but that boat is listed as sold out, mainly because the Express is still running their boats at significantly reduced loads due to COVID protocols. However, they've added a 7AM departure out of LB as well which will also get you there in time for the 9AM briefing and the 9:30AM start of the dive. • Return options are 3:55PM (listed as sold out), 5:30PM (new), and 7:45PM. • To register, go to this website: https://www.avalonharborcleanup.org/ Hope to see you in Avalon on the 25th. MPA DECADAL REVIEW IS AVAILABLE - When the Marine Protected Areas were created in 2012, part of the deal was that there would be a review ten years later to see how things were going. That "decadal review" has been completed and is available for viewing. There will also be a public forum to discuss the recommendations on March 15 in Monterey. In the meantime, for those interested, here's the link to the full 137-page document: MPA DECADAL REVIEW FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS. FLYING TO PALAU - Since United changed their schedules, it hasn't always been easy to get to Palau. But now there's a new sheriff in town. That would be in the form of China Airlines, which is offering flights to Palau from LAX on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. There's a non-stop to Taipei but with an 8.5-hour layover in Taipei and then straight to Palau. Return flights are only on Saturdays with a 1.5-hour layover in Taipei and then non-stop back to LAX. Total airfare looks to be around $2,200, which is what it is on United. It's not a great sked on the way in, but at least it's another option to get there. HOPE AND HELP FOR REEFS - There's a project going on now in the Great Barrier Reef known as "coral seeding" that could help mitigate some of the stresses the GBR has suffered through over the past few years. You can read more about it here: HELPING THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​