SCUBA News 277
(ISSN 1476-8011)
August 2023

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 277 - August 2023
https://www.scubatravel.co.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's New at SCUBA Travel?

	Diving Kenya Five marine parks protect Kenya's fringing coral reef whilst whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales pass by. LEARN MORE…
	World Class Diving at Bikini Atoll The Marshall Islands boast not only many great wrecks but one of the biggest shark sanctuaries in the world plus lovely nudibranchs. READ MORE…
	Welcome Egypt Divers to the SCUBA Travel Community The 5 star SSI and PADI diving center in Hurghada and Marsa Alam. Check them out. LEARN MORE…

10 Last Minute Liveaboard Deals - Save up to $2000!

We bring you news of the latest dive boat deals, specially selected for us by Divebooker.com, the liveaboard specialists. Including 7, 10 and 14 night trips.

1. Aurora, Raja Ampat 20 - 26 December 2023 (6 nights), SAVE 25%, Price from EUR 2,949 2,212 per trip per person
   
2. Theia, Maldives, Central Route, SAVE 25%, Price from EUR 1,530 per trip per person
3. Cocos Island Aggressor, Cocos Island Adventure, 02 - 12 Dec 2023 and 10 - 20 Jan 2024 (10 nights), SAVE 25%, Price from USD 6,599 4,949 per trip per person
4. New White Manta, Indonesia, Ambon - Banda - Ambon, 09 - 16 Sep 2023 (7 nights), SAVE 20%, Price from $2,800 per trip per person
5. Jelajahi Laut, Indonesia, Maluku and West Papua, 28 Oct - 11 Nov 2023 (14 nights), SAVE UP TO 20%, Price from EUR 4,143 per trip per person
6. Turks & Caicos Explorer II, , Provo, West Caicos, French Cay, 8 - 25 Nov 2023 (7 nights), SAVE $1200, Price from USD 3,195 1,995 per trip per person. Valid for new reservations only, booked, and deposited between August 10 and September 15, 2023. Cannot be combined with other discounts or credits.
   
7. Philippines Aggressor, Visayas - Central (Bohol), 24 Aug - 03 Sep 2024 (10 nights), SAVE 25%, Price from USD 5,295 3,971 per trip per person
8. Humboldt Explorer, Central Archipelago, Darwin And Wolf Islands, 11 - 18 Dec 2023 (7 nights), SAVE $2000, Price from USD 6,195 4,195 per trip per person * Valid for new reservations booked and deposited before September 15, 2023.
9. Palau Aggressor II, The Best of Palau, The Best of Palau, 09 - 16 June 2024 (7 nights), SAVE 25%, Price from USD 3,535 2,651 per trip per person
10. Seven Seas, Komodo, East of Flores & Alor, 21 Sep - 05 Oct 2023 (14 nights), SAVE 25%, Price from USD 9,310 6,983 per trip per person
    

Creature of the month is the Sicklefin Devil Ray, Mobula tarapacana

The beautiful sicklefin devil rays are fast and often jump out of the water. Sometimes mistaken for manta rays, you can tell these rays apart by their dark green to brown colour. Their "horns" (cephalic fins) point forward rather than curling like the mantas. This is were they got their name "devil ray".

The largest sicklefin devil ray ever observed was a female with a wing span of 370 cm, more commonly females are 270 cm and males are around 250 cm. They are over a metre wide even when they are born. These rays reproduce slowly, the females having just one pup at a time and possibly pausing for up to three years between pregnancies.

Populations of the rays have been declining and they are now endangered. Together with their slow reproductive rate, the main reasons for their decline is that their gill plates are prized in Asia

The rays range around the world, in temperate to tropical ocean waters. Although the Sicklefin devil ray is highly migratory their migration patterns are still unknown to us but they can travel great distances. The Azores, however, is one of the few places that the endangered sicklefin devil rays are known to congregate. Another is the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, again way out in the Atlantic.

One of the best places to see sicklefin devil rays is in the Azores, either via day boats from the shore or by Azores liveaboard.

References

Sibele Alves de Mendonca et al Dancing with the devil: courtship behaviour, mating evidences and population structure of the Mobula tarapacana (Myliobatiformes: Mobulidae) in a remote archipelago in the Equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ocean. 2020.

Sicklefin Devil Ray, IUCN Red List, 2018.

Devil rays and mantas: Interview with marine scientist Ana Filipa Sobral

---

Diving news from around the World

	Underwater Military Museum launched in Hurghada HEPCA has launched the first underwater museum in Hurghada with 15 tanks and other military vehicles.
	Divers asked to report polluting wrecks The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is asking UK divers to help identify pollution seeping from historic wrecks
	I'm a climate scientist. Here's how I'm handling climate grief People must find personal ways to cope with impending losses - one way is by taking small solutions-oriented actions
	Census hoping to help save the grey nurse shark in Australia Celebrated shark diver and conservationist Valerie Taylor and a coalition of divers and Indigenous leaders have united in a collective effort to safeguard the iconic grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus).
	Australia's Antarctic budget cuts a terrible blow for science Scientists around the globe have expressed concern at reports the Australian Antarctic Division will have its budget slashed by the government.
	Climate Change Is Shifting the Color of Earth's Oceans More than half of our oceans have taken on a greener hue in the past 20 years, with climate change as the likely cause.
	Can oyster farming help save the planet? Shellfish farming efficiently absorbs carbon.
	Microplastics found embedded in tissues of whales and dolphins Ingested microplastics migrate into whales' fat and organs
	Oceans release microplastics into the atmosphere Microplastic particles are present in the marine atmosphere even in remote parts of the world. These tiny particles come from land sources but are also re-emitted into the atmosphere from the sea
	Female-Led Edges of Earth Expedition promotes Ocean Conservation Amplifying ocean action and highlighting progress in marine conservation worldwide

---

SCUBA News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. This means we are happy for you to reuse our material for both commercial and non-commercial use as long as you: credit the name of the author, link back to the SCUBA Travel website and say if you have made any changes. Some of the photos though, might be copyright the photographer. If in doubt please get in touch.

Photo credits: Alan De Witt, Rudmer Zwerver, Howard Chew/DepositPhotos, Denis Riek, The Global Ocean Surface Ecosystem Alliance (GO-SEA) Field Guide (CC-BY 4.0), Tim Nicholson, Jill Studholme

Previous editions of SCUBA News are archived at https://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html

SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING
Visit [UNSUBSCRIBE] and add or remove your e-mail address. To change whether your receive the newsletter in text or HTML (with pictures) format visit [PREFERENCES]

ADVERTISING
Should you wish to advertise in SCUBA News, please see the special offers at
https://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsad.html
Other advertising opportunities are at
https://www.scubatravel.co.uk/advertising.html

CONTACTING THE EDITOR
Please send your letters or press releases to:
Jill Studholme
SCUBA News
The Cliff

DE6 2HR
UK
news@scubatravel.co.uk

PUBLISHER
SCUBA Travel, 5 Loxford Court, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6AF, UK