Supermodel Kate Moss too Afraid to Scuba Dive

But it's not the gear or breathing underwater that freaks her out.

It's the fish.

Kate Moss pulled out of a scuba diving course - because she's too scared of fish.

The supermodel is currently holidaying in the South of France with her husband Jamie Hince and a group of pals and was keen to get her formal qualification in diving while she's there but her fear of sea-dwelling creatures put an end to that.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Kate has been snorkelling before and dived a bit. She was keen to get a formal qualification, did some of the http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifclassroom-based stuff and was really getting in to it. But then she got convinced she was going to bump into a giant, scary fish - possibly a shark - and began to get nervous.

"When a school of tropical fish swam past, Kate got a bit terrified by one of the bigger, grey ones, Pals were calling her 'Skate Moss' all afternoon, joking she'd stumbled across a giant skate."

So instead of going under water, Kate intends to spend the rest of her break on British businessman Sir Philip Green's luxury yacht by relaxing with pals while sipping champagne in the sun.

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Probably not a huge loss for the scuba diving community.

Video: Cancun's Underwater Museum Teeming with Marine Life

We've been following Cancun's underwater museum for some time now, first previewing the project back in March 2010 and following its progress since.

Here's a new video -- with terrific underwater and behind-the-scenes footage -- that shows how the work has truly become a sprawling reef system teeming with marine life.


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From Pete Thomas Outdoors:

The project was ambitious from the beginning; it involved more than 400 life-like concrete statues, meticulously carved to resemble a cross section of human society, and strategically placed across 420 acres of ocean floor.

The life-size figures were fully in place late last fall within Cancun's National Marine Park beyond the Mexican resort destination, with the support of park officials and the Cancun Nautical Association.

The sprawling museum was designed to attract scuba divers, thus relieving pressure from the area's more fragile natural reefs.

Also, by creating sculptures of people from various walks of life -- from an 85-year-old nun to a 3-year-old boy, to a doctor, fisherman and student, etc. -- the artist delivers a long-standing message that environmental issues affect everyone.

DeCaires Taylor, who is from England, explains on his website: "The installation portrays a gathering of people, illustrating how we are all facing serious questions concerning our environment and our impact on the natural world. The work is optimistic and forward looking, expressing hope that there will be unity in dealing with this problem."

Now that colorful reef fish and other sea creatures have discovered sanctuary amid the sculptures, some of which have grown masks of coral and algae that attract and support smaller life forms, the evolution of DeCaires Taylor's finished product is in fact silent, and wonderfully evident.

A Day in the Life of a Baltimore Aquarium Scuba Diver

This ain't your mama's fishbowl.


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When Titan Triggerfish Attack!

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Please remember that triggerfish like the one in the video above are simply and naturally defending against what they perceive to be intruders in their territory. While you should take their defense seriously (as bites contain the natural poison Ciguatoxin and can cause serious infection), there is no need for divers to fight back. Attempts to fight back will only make triggerfish more weary of divers and more likely to attack in the future.

Simply swim fast and far away until any pursuit has ended.

Hat tip: AquaViews

The Magic and Horrors of Encounters at Sea

An awe-inspiring, tragic, must-see presentation by Brian Skerry.


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Visit Brian on the Web at www.brianskerry.com

Wow! ROV Rescues Marlin Trapped in Oil Rig

Machine meets fish.


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Stunning Sardine Run Photos from Jason Heller

One of our favorite underwater photographers, Jason Heller, recently returned from witnessing the sardine run that takes place each June/July off the coast of South Africa.

Heller has posted some of his first shots from the run, and promises to follow up with the complete story over at DivePhotoGuide.com

Here's just a taste...






Absolutely stunning.

Heller has a few more over at his blog: Blowing Your Mind — The Sardine Run: First Shots

We CAN'T WAIT to see some more!

"A Predator on Par with a Shark"

A bit dramatic, perhaps. But that's how some experts are describing the blue catfish.

The blue catfish, introduced 30 years ago as a game fish in the James River, has risen to the top of the food chain, Virginia experts say.

"We have an invasive species that is taking over the ecosystem," Rob Latour, a marine biologist with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary, told the Newport News Daily Press. "It's a predator on par with a shark."

Blue catfish have grown explosively in population and size in the past few years while many commercial species are becoming rare, Bob Greenlee, a biologist with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, told the Daily Press.

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New Antarctic Fish Discovered In The Bellingshausen Sea

The ocean continues to provide us with extraordinary new creatures.

From the Underwater Times:

The new species of Antarctic fish, Gosztonyia antarctica, has been discovered at a depth of 650 metres in the Bellingshausen Sea in the Antarctic Ocean, an area which has not been studied since 1904 and where the fauna is 'completely' unknown. Jesus Matallanas, the Spanish researcher responsible for the find, collected four specimens of the new species during Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) campaigns in the southern hemisphere summers of 2003 and 2006.

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Psychedelic Fish Bounces its Way Into the Books as a New Species

A fascinating new species of fish has been identified: Hystiophyrne psychedelica, or the "psychedelic" fish.

With a swirl of beige and peach stripes stretching from its blue eyes to its tail, the newly named Histiophryne psychedelica was initially discovered by scuba diving instructors working for a tour operator a year ago in shallow waters off Indonesia.

The operator contacted Ted Pietsch, lead author of a paper published in this month's edition of the journal Copeia, who submitted DNA work identifying the psychedelic fish as a new species.

Like other frogfish—a subset of anglerfish—H. psychedelica has leglike fins on both sides of its body.

But it has several traits not previously known among frogfish, wrote Pietsch, of the University of Washington.

Each time the fish strike the seabed, for instance, they push off with their fins and expel water from tiny gill openings to jet themselves forward. That and an off-centered tail cause them to bounce around in a bizarre, chaotic manner.

Mark Erdman, a senior adviser to the Conservation International's marine program, said, "I think people thought frogfishes were relatively well known, and to get a new one like this is really quite spectacular. ... It's a stunning animal."

Stunning, indeed.

Check out this video:


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Hat tip: Dive Sports Blog

Aquarium Diver Swallows Tiny Camera as a Test

The good news? Tiny camera-pills doctors use to see the digestive tracks of humans may be used to peek at the innards of sick whales and dolphins.

When big animals like belugas and whale sharks become ill, veterinarians have to catch them and sedate them to do the blood work, take stool samples and do other invasive procedures to diagnose their illness, said Greg Bossart, the aquarium’s chief veterinary officer.

That can stress the animals, he said.

If, however, they could swallow a pill that would allow veterinarians to see inside their systems, they could be helped without being bothered, he said.

“This is supposed to be non-invasive,” Bossart said. “That’s the beauty of this, it does not hurt the animal at all.”

The test is a first for aquariums, Bossart said, and the cutting-edge technology could change the way big animals like dolphins, grouper and whales are managed.

The bad news? It's expensive.

The camera-pills costs about $500 each and an accompanying receiver that records the images costs about $5,000, said Greg Seitz, marketing product manger of Given Imaging, maker of the pill. The pill, which has been used on humans since 2001, can be used only one time.

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First Official Lionfish Sighting Reported in Florida Keys

Phil Ellis over at the Dive Sports Blog has been tracking the dangers of the invasive spread of lionfish in the waters near the United States and Caribbean islands.

Today, Ellis reports that Reef.org has recently received the first “official” and documented sighting of the foreign predator in the Florida Keys.

While there have been undocumented sightings for over six months, this is the first to be photographed and reported in a timely manner. This sighting allowed for capture of the sighted individual.

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Large Napoleon Wrasse

It's been awhile since we've posted a video here at the Scuba Diving Blog. So when we came across the video of this large Napoleon Wrasse, we had to post it.



Doesn't Frank Sinatra's "Somewhere Beyond the Sea" accompany this beautiful creature perfectly?

Happy Friday everyone!

Hat tip: The Right Blue

Elmar Salveron’s Underwater Office

We love reading stories about folks who make a living utilizing the sport most of us consider a hobby.

He wears a suit, works eights hours daily, and goes to work five days a week, like most of us. But there's a difference.

Elmar Salveron’s 'suit' is a diver’s suit and his job involves spending approximately 10 hours a week underwater cleaning the inside of a 36,000-litre glass fish tank at The Aquarium Restaurant at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club.

The 51-year-old Filipino aquarium supervisor has been at it at the same place for the past 10 years now – swimming with the fishes for three hours a day, three times a week, as he dives in with a fine brush inside the tank holding 170 fish and floor-to-ceiling artificial coral placed in the middle.

Work hazards

A three-hour underwater session impairs his hearing for the rest of the day.

"It gets worse if I have a cold. I try to stay healthy, but catching a cold is a professional hazard. It happens a few times a year."

He points to temperature shock as the main cause for him catching colds.

"It may be 48 degrees outside, but the temperature in the tank is maintained at 27 degrees. I soak myself in water up to my waist for five to 10 minutes before entering the tank," he reveals.

Change of breathing pattern is yet another functional adjustment he needs to make.

"You have to get used to breathing through your mouth. It’s a bit like snorkelling, only it lasts for three hours."

To master the art of diving, Salveron had to undergo a month-long course at Scuba Dubai, which proved to be a useful addition to a degree in agriculture and experience gained in prawn farming when he was in the Philippines.

Everyday hero

Many times, his diving skills have made him a hero in the eyes of guests at the al fresco restaurant – Boardwalk. He is your man if you drop your mobile phone, your wallet or that precious ring in the creek below. He will go down and get it for you.

"I do it voluntarily. I have on many occasions been to the bottom of the creek (20 feet) and brought back wallets, rings, radios, mobile phones, etc. Rings are the hardest to find."

His richest dive yet helped bring back a woman’s handbag containing $5000 (Dh18,365) and another Dh5000 in cash.

Not that he does it for perks. According to him, a kiss or two from the fishes is enough to make his day.

"They are like my friends. When I finish cleaning the tank, I just stand still for a while so they can come close to me and play with me. One butterfly fish has really taken a shine to me and comes and kisses the side of my neck. It is actually a painful prick, but she doesn’t know it, so I let her do that."

An expert is never without some useful trivia.

"Do you know how to tell if a fish is sick?," he asks. "It is attacked by other fish for not joining them. The world of fish works a little differently than that of us humans," he shows off on his knowledge about fish.

Outside the world of fish and water, Salveron swaps his wet suit and cleaning brush for a guitar. He plays an active role in church, playing the guitar three times a week at the Music Ministry, a Catholic Christian community.

He is now looking forward to his forthcoming annual trip to the Philippines where he will join his wife and six children. "Since I moved to Dubai, I have produced three graduates in my family. Two of my kids are nurses and one is a mass communication graduate."

He calls them "the products of the creek".

Fish Returns Japanese Girl's Letter 15 Years Later

This story would almost be perfectly enchanting...

A letter that a young girl in Japan sent into the sky in a balloon some 15 years ago has been found on a fish hauled from 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) below the Pacific.

A fisherman found the still legible piece of paper sitting on a sticky flatfish in his catch on Thursday, along with a torn-off string and the fragment of a red balloon.

He opened the folded paper, discovering it was a handwritten letter from a six-year-old girl at an elementary school in Kawasaki, 150 kilometres (93 miles) away from where the fish was caught off Choshi port.

The sender, Natsumi Shirahige, and her friends released letters as part of events to mark the school's 120th anniversary, which was in 1993.

"Our school is 120 years old... If you pick up this letter, please write to me," the letter reads, listing the school's address.

The 52-year-old fisherman said the letter was a nice surprise.

"I've been in fishing for a long time but this is unbelievable," the smiling man told the Asahi television network.

Shirahige, now a 21-year-old university student, said: "I can't get over the wonder of how the letter survived 15 years. I never expected I'd get a reply this way."

...if it wasn't a sad reminder of how human pollution finds its way into the ocean.

Coral Reef Fish Capable of Color Vision

That's according to a study published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Ulrike Siebeck, Guy Wallis and Lenore Litherland trained groups of freshly-caught (held for only 3–4 days after capture) damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis to tap a rewarded colour stimulus with their mouths at least ten times before they received a reward in the form of food introduced via a feeding tube.

The researchers carried out two different sets of experiments using blue and yellow stimuli of different shades, and found that the fish were able to discriminate between blue and yellow (i.e. the blue-trained fish ignored a yellow stimulus, and vice versa), and were able to do so independent of the brightness of the stimulus (a conclusive test of colour vision in animals).

The authors surmise that in order to distinguish blue from yellow, P. amboinensis must have at least two photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities, and are thus capable of colour vision.