Marianas Dive to expand its reach to Tinian during Hot Pepper Festival.

When: Saturday and Sunday February 16th & 17th.
Where: Tinian

* Exploratory dives - Saturday and Sunday morning.
* Taga Beach underwater clean up – Saturday @ 4PM
* Discover SCUBA – Sunday from 2-4PM at the Dynasty pool
* Marianas Dive information booth - open during festival hours.

Against the backdrop of Tinian's annual pepper festival, members of the local dive group will conduct a series of events designed to increase Tinian's appeal to divers while creating a foundation of new divers with a greater understanding of what lies beneath some of the most inviting water in the world!

On Saturday and Sunday morning group members will make exploratory dives with Tinian Fun Diving a local dive operation. Owner Mr. Shine states the area around Tinian’s South Western tip is “untouched and full of possible dive sites” including relics from WWII.

As described by Marians Dive President Mike Tripp, “the ultimate goal is to put Tinian on the diving map with multiple dive sites that are short, easy boat rides from the harbor. This will help make Tinian a destination where divers spend a few days or more taking in all the sites the island has to offer both above and below the surface”.

In addition to these morning dives Marianas Dive will lead an underwater clean up of Taga Beach on Saturday at 4PM. This will be the group's fifth clean up of this kind and the first on Tinian. “We’re excited to do one of our ‘treasure hunts’ at Taga beach. The water is so clear I can’t wait to jump in” said member Mark James. Tanks and mesh bags will be provided. All certified divers wishing to participate are encouraged to do so.

The final dive event of the weekend will take place at the Dynasty Hotel pool from 2 to 4PM on Sunday afternoon. Marianas Dive instructors will offer free Discover SCUBA lessons to interested individuals over the age of 12. Discover SCUBA participants will have the opportunity to try diving in a controlled environment including using full SCUBA gear and breathing under water. An adult must accompany participants under the age of 18.

Discover Scuba sign up forms and additional information about these and other events will be available from members at the Marians Dive booth on the festival grounds during festival hours. Those interested in hearing a dive tale or two as well as learning more about the group’s goals and objectives are encouraged to stop by and jump in!

“We are really excited about this weekend. Not only do we get to experience the best of Tinian hospitality with the pepper festival but we also get to make a positive contribution to Tinian’s tourism industry. Of course it would not be possible without the help from those making it all happen including Debra Fleming of the Fleming Hotel, Kiri Jackson from the Dynasty and local boat captain John Barcinas as well as the staff at the mayors office” said Tripp.

Marianas Dive is a growing group of individuals with a passion for everything underwater and specifically what Saipan Tinian & Rota have to offer as dive destinations. The group welcomes community members to join and help the CNMI build a truly world class dive destination while promoting our excellent diving locally and globally. Members meet twice monthly. Visit www.marianasdive.com for more information.


Mike Tripp

President
Mike Tripp Productions
Marianas Dive

http://www.marianasdive.com

Own a piece of paradise today visit

http://www.theunderwaterworldof.com

One mans perspective on diving and living in the Marianas

http://www.saipanscuba.blogspot.com

Underwater Scavenger Hunt

What: Underwater / Beach Clean Up & Scavenger Hunt
When: Sunday November 18th
Where: Sugar Dock
Time: 9AM
Who is this for:
Beach / Topside Clean Up - Everyone.
Underwater Clean Up - Certified SCUBA Divers only!

A PADI Project Aware Event
Tanks and certificates of participation provided by Dive Saipan
Includes a scavenger hunt with prizes!
International recognition


Hello Divers!

As you know Marianas Dive has begun a series of underwater clean ups at popular dive sites around the island. On the third Sunday of every month we meet in the morning to clean a topside area followed by a cool refreshing clean up underwater! So far we've managed to pull out a considerable amount of trash from the beach and dive sites at Lau Lau Bay and Obyan while having a good time doing it!

This coming Sunday November 18th we will be meeting again at 9AM, this time at Sugar Dock. Although not well known as a "dive site” many people, including tourists, take their first real breaths underwater right here- right next to one of the most popular piers on island! While other agencies such as DEQ, CRM, BCNMI and NMDOA have made great strides in keeping this area clean there is always more that can be done, especially underwater.

That's why we are calling on all divers, dive shops and organizations to help support this effort. In addition to being good for the environment and our tourism industry we will also be seeking international recognition by making this a PADI Project Aware event open to anyone that wants to pitch in. Thanks to Mr. Lee at Dive Saipan each participant will receive a Project Aware certificate and a group photograph will be sent to PADI for publication in The Undersea Journal giving individuals and businesses involved worldwide recognition for their help in keeping our environment pristine!

In addition to the Project Aware materials Dive Saipan will provide tanks for anyone that needs one while DEQ will provide trash bags and a limited number of mesh bags for use underwater. At this time we are also looking for surface dive floats and additional mesh bags as we are anticipating a good turn out of volunteers. If you, your dive shop or organization can help out in this regard it would be very much appreciated and recognized in the official press releases.

Another exciting twist to this event will be the placement of prize vouchers underwater turning the clean up into a real live scavenger hunt rewarding those with sharp eyes and attention to detail.

As always the underwater portion is restricted to certified divers but the topside trash collection is open to anyone that wants to help out. As Sugar Dock can be a busy place with boat traffic we are also in the process of coordinating surface support with DPS and boating safety. In addition we plan on having a few kayaks patrolling the surface ensuring divers and boaters don’t meet unless it's for transport to one of our fabulous offshore dive sites following the clean up!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and if you are able to help out including donations of prizes for the scavenger hunt please let me know. Also, I encourage you to circulate or forward this to anyone who may be interested in helping make this event a success! Together we can make the Marianas a better place to live and dive!

Thanks again for your support and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday for a dive and a morning of fun with fellow divers!

Sincerely,

Mike Tripp

President
Marianas Dive
scubatrip@mac.com
www.marianasdive.com

An Ethical Question?

A fellow blogger who dives regularly, recently recounted a story in which he helped two hermit crabs find new homes. Another fellow blogger/diver wasn't too happy with the first blogger/diver, and posted the previous blog post about not taking the shells of hermit crabs if a hermit crab was living in it.

That really pissed off the first blogger/diver.

Now.

I fish (not very well) and I eat fish. I eat crab and I've eaten hermit crabs off of the beach.

With that understanding, I pose the following question:

Is it ethical for a SCUBA diver to take the shell from a live crab?

Is taking a shell from a live crab similar to taking the horn from a Rhino (or Saipanda) or the fins from a shark? Or is it more like sheering the wool off of a sheep? Would it have been ethical to take the crabs if the diver had eaten the crabs? Since fishing with SCUBA is illegal, did the diver break the law?

Second, I pose an ethics in blogging question:

Is it ethical to use pictures from another site without permission?

Is it enough to just link back to the original site? Do you have to get permission first?

Hermit Crabs Need Shells for Survival

Did you know that White Spotted Crabs have a preference for Triton Trumpet conchs? These shells are a rare find, especially large ones. Some scientists believe that the large Tritons might be one of the only natural predators of Crown of Thorn Starfish, which are increasing in our waters. (TIME on-line) While a shell collector may see it as an amazing find, that crab species has to compete with the other large crabs in its habitat for another shell.

Tampering with the shells can have an impact on the reproduction cycle and survivability of the species as well. Female egg production is influenced by the type and size of shell the crab inhabits. In addition, the larger the crab, the more eggs it can produce. (Iossi, et al., 2005) The crabs will seek out undamaged shells of the right size and proportion to help increase their odds of survival. Damaged shells increase the risk of succumbing to predation. (Bulinski, 2007)

Crabs locate shells by smelling the decay of dead mollusks.(Scully, 1986) The crab scavenges the shell and if no other crabs are around to compete for the shell, the crab will try it on for size and decide if it’s a good fit. Hermit crabs don’t just select any random shell. Imagine being a size 8 in shoes and forcing your foot into a 5. The size and shape of the crab also affects the types of shells they can inhabit. (Vance, 1972; Bulinski, 2007) White Spotted Crabs are highly selective and are generally found in the Triton’s Trumpets. (UH Manoa Bishops Museum) The availability of large shells is limited.

Hermit crabs don’t “take” shells because they think the shells are pretty. The shell is part of the crabs defense mechanisms and acts as a protective armor. Hermit crabs have soft abdomens and don’t produce hard calciferous exoskeletons like other crabs. (Bulinski)


References:

Carmem L Iossi, Renata Biagi and Fernando L Mantelatto. (2005). Egg production and shell relationship of the hermit crab Pagurus brevidactylus (Anomura: Paguridae) from southern Brazil. Animal Biology (formerly Netherlands Journal of Zoology). Volume 55, Number 2 / July, 2005

Richard Vance. (1972). The Role of Shell Adequacy in Behavioral Interactions Involving Hermit Crabs. Ecology, Vol. 53, No. 6 (Nov., 1972), pp. 1075-1083

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901411,00.html?iid=chix-sphere

Erik Paul Scully. (1986). Shell Investigation Behavior of the Intertidal Hermit Crab Pagurus longicarpus Say. Journal of Crustacean Biology, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Nov., 1986), pp. 749-756

Katherine Bulinksi. (2007). Shell-selection behavior of the hermit crab Pagurus granosimanus in relation to isolation, competition, and predation. Journal of Shellfish Research. April 1, 2007

What ever happened to...

...the owners of boat that did this:


I shot that video on Janurary 14, 2007 while diving Dimple. Four months later to the day, I wonder if the owners or the operators of the Pioneer III, the boat that dragged this anchor across our coral reef, were ever charged with any crime?

I know that the resource agencies did an investigation. Did anything come of it?

This is NOT Effective Conservation

I wonder what ever happened to the tour operators who did this?

Bigeye Scad Baitball

If you do a beach dive from Laulau Bay Beach, you have about a 1 in 3 chance of seeing this...minus the music.

Shipwreck Dive

From mymarianas.com:

"The Chinsen is a large Japanese freighter that sits at a shallow depth in the lagoon. The ship has been in the water for over 50 years, allowing for some significant coral growth as well as becoming a home to thousands of fish. There are monstrous Red Snappers as well as Big Eye Emperors patrolling the wreck while huge schools of Goat Fish sit on top."

This should be illegal

Half way through my dive at Dimple this morning, I was surprised to see an anchor connected to a boat on the surface. I was even more surprised to see what the anchor was doing to the coral reefs.

I think that part of Effective Conservation is going to have to include banning anchors in the CNMI's most popular dive sites.