UAE East Coast Temperatures

[Searcaigh]

Not posted in a while, last dive in 2024 2023 (thanks Burhan) was two days before Christmas, all seems a blur but Mrs Sear caught Covid on Christmas Day and after a week of taking care of her I came down with the nasty virus on New Year's Day

A week ago, I did a shore dive with my buddy Dimitris off Dubai, and everything seems to be fine, SAC rate as good as it was before, but the water was frikken cold 23C.

Late last year one of my instructor friends reported what appeared to be too many Crown of Thorns (COTs) starfish at a location on the east coast in Martini Bay, and last Friday a group of us including the head of Marine Biology from the University of Khorfakkan did a basic survey, the results of which will be published at some point.

In short, there is a COTs outbreak and I will be involved in whatever action is going to be taken once it is approved by the Sharjah Environmental Agency.

Barracuda Dive Center kindly lent us one of their boats at cost to do the survey.



Doing the survey using a linear transect.



You can see the damage to the coral here where one of the COTs has been eating it.

 

[BoltSnap]

last dive in 2024 was two days before Christmas

You mean 2023?

 

[Searcaigh]

On Saturday 27th January it was Barracuda Dive Center's 14th Anniversary and they had a party after the morning dives.

The weather however was not great and we had a fairly rough and cold journey. Water temperature was 24C

Photographing nudis on Inchcape 2 was fairly challenging due to surge at 20m and there was much swearing underwater. My buddy Joan was a great spotter today, and we found six different species of nudis including this Phyllodesmium sp.



And this Hypselodoris nigrostrata

 

[hedonist222]

You mean 2023?

No.
Searcaigh lives in the future.

 

[BoltSnap]

No.
Searcaigh lives in the future.

He is ahead of us exploring the future not just the ocean

 

[chillyinCanada]

Not posted in a while, last dive in 2024 2023 (thanks Burhan) was two days before Christmas, all seems a blur but Mrs Sear caught Covid on Christmas Day and after a week of taking care of her I came down with the nasty virus on New Year's Day

A week ago, I did a shore dive with my buddy Dimitris off Dubai, and everything seems to be fine, SAC rate as good as it was before, but the water was frikken cold 23C.

Late last year one of my instructor friends reported what appeared to be too many Crown of Thorns (COTs) starfish at a location on the east coast in Martini Bay, and last Friday a group of us including the head of Marine Biology from the University of Khorfakkan did a basic survey, the results of which will be published at some point.

In short, there is a COTs outbreak and I will be involved in whatever action is going to be taken once it is approved by the Sharjah Environmental Agency.

Barracuda Dive Center kindly lent us one of their boats at cost to do the survey.



Doing the survey using a linear transect.



You can see the damage to the coral here where one of the COTs has been eating it.

The Crown of Thorns are devastating to a reef. And they're not easy to eradicate.

Many years ago in the Cook Islands, we would turn them over and stab them so that the Triton Trumpet Snail (one of the CoT's only natural predators) could more easily feed on them. As it's turned out, we needn't have gone to the trouble. What was needed was more Tritons.

It did make us feel as if we were doing something about the problem, as pitiful as our little attempts were.

 

[hedonist222]

The Crown of Thorns are devastating to a reef. And they're not easy to eradicate.

Many years ago in the Cook Islands, we would turn them over and stab them so that the Triton Trumpet Snail (one of the CoT's only natural predators) could more easily feed on them. As it's turned out, we needn't have gone to the trouble. What was needed was more Tritons.

It did make us feel as if we were doing something about the problem, as pitiful as our little attempts were.

What about pumping them with vinegar.

 

[chillyinCanada]

What about pumping them with vinegar.

Effective

But this was not known way back when. We thought stabbing then was good though feeding them to the Tritons was better. There just weren't enough Tritons.

 

[Searcaigh]

Unfortunately Triton Trumpets are not found in this area, and my friend who is the head of marine biology at Khorfakkan University is not sure if any predator of COTs exist in the Gulf of Oman.

I've seen Triton Trumpets in the Red Sea and first hand experience of watching one attack a COT when one of my buddies placed it on top of a COT we found during a night dive. The Triton basically drilled right into the COT through the top of it.

 

[Pressurehead]

Triton Trumpets are not found in this area,

We also have them, but not in numbers to reduce the COT which is chewing up some reefs here also.
Is it something us Bald Apes have done to reduce the Tritons?