AfricanDiver.com

It is said that Coffee Bay got its name when a ship carrying coffee beans ran aground in the vicinity. Apparently this was in 1893. It is also rumoured that some of the stranded coffee beans took root and grew into small coffee shrubs but failed to mature owing to the salt content in the soil. All of this is a great pity because there’s nothing I like more than a great cup of coffee to start my morning. And today, I needed that coffee. Sometime during the previous night the weather Gods had turned the tables on us and blew up a stormy, grumpy and wave-filled sea. White horses stretched to the horizon and interestingly shaped waves crashed onto the launch beach.

With more than a little anticipation in our hearts and lumps in our throats we launched into the waves and headed out to sea. Leaving the shelter of the bay we headed south for a few kilometres to get some photographs of the famous and iconic Hole-in-the-Wall. The afternoon sun had settled behind the structure the previous day, which made for dull and uninteresting photography. So, our mission this morning was to photograph the Hole from the seaward side.

This was the last time the cameras saw any light as the swells and rough sea had us all holding on to pontoons, foot straps and tank-racks as our intrepid Kamikaze Kaiser skipper navigated his way to Port St Johns.We weren’t the only ones having a hard time though. Gannets, Skua’s and Petrels flapped aimlessly against the wind and eventually settled to float in the swelling and moving sea. We forced the Kaiser to stop for lunch and dined on cheese and tomato sandwiches while bobbing in between swells. Although the ride to Port St Johns was rough it was exciting and a good reminder of how lucky we had been with the weather the previous days. The other good thing about this ride was that it meant the last day of dining on cheese and tomato sandwiches; a regular lunchtime fare.

Port St Johns was a welcome sight and it took very little motivation for our crew to load the boat onto its trailer and ensconce ourselves in our hotel for the night. Well, if only for an hour or two … just before sunset we raced to the Port St Johns airport (airfield) to catch the sunset and quaff a few celebratory beers before heading out to dinner at the famous Delicious Monster restaurant.

We’d travelled some 600 or more kilometres by sea from Port Elizabeth to Port St Johns. Along the way we were privileged to share the sea with:

• Bottlenose Dolphin;
• Common Dolphin;
• Brydes Whales;
• Southern Right Whales;
• Humpback Whales;
• Cape Gannet;
• Skua;
• African Penguin; and
• one cargo ship.

We’d planned this trip on a whim and in order to explore the marine diversity of the Eastern Cape and Transkei coast and we were not disappointed. The marine diversity is staggering and the off-shore encounters legendary. The people we met along the way were friendly and welcoming and there is no doubt in our minds that we South Africans must do everything in our power to protect, preserve and treasure the oceans that run along our coastlines and sustain us.

Download the October issue of African Diver for the full report and more images.

After the welcome break on shore for a day, we were more than ready to get back on the water. It was another glorious day with little wind and mild swells. We knew we were in for a great day as we’d seen several Humpback Whales breaching in the distance. Today’s route was to take us from Mazeppa Bay to Coffee Bay, a distance of some 76 kilometres by sea.

But first we had to navigate the launch from Mazeppa Bay. Our Skipper, the Kamikazi Kaiser, safely launched us through the Mazeppa surf but not without having to punch a growler that threatened to upend us and all our expensive photographic equipment.

Somewhat relieved and pumped full of adrenaline we set out to look for Humpback Whales. As usual we first came across a pod of Bottlenose Dolphin working the inshore waves and as usual, their curiosity got the better of them and they rushed out to investigate our boat.

Further along, we came across a herd of cows cruising the beach … as seems to happen on this magnificent coastline. The coastline was enthralling. Rolling hills that plunged down to pristine beaches interchanged with craggy rock formations that stood valiantly against a sea that slowly eroded all in its path.

Our team was completely taken by the topography and landscape and we almost missed a mother Humpback Whale escorting her calf. The little calf must have been newly born as it was still very grey and very small in comparison to its mother. Full of the joy’s of spring it lob- tailled often and kept its mother busy keeping it on the journey north.

Mindful of her duty to her calf we left them in peace and headed out to sea to where a cargo ship was slowly cruising northwards.

We followed the cargo ship for a while until distracted by a leaping, breaching Humpback. This Humpback breached at least 12 times when we were close enough to it and it didn’t seem to mind our presence. After several breaches it was joined by two other Humpbacks and all three dived for what seemed like ages. Finally our breacher surfaced and the other two went on their way as did our breaching whale. Was it some kind of whale caucus meeting? Who knows, but we were ecstatic to be witness to it all.

After three days on the water, our planned break at Mazeppa Bay was heartily welcomed by all. The activity we’d been witness to on the first three days of our trip had left us in a dazed haze and our bodies, unused to being on the boat for 6 hours, were in bad need of a break.

Despite our tiredness, we still managed to rise early and take in the beauty of the morning sunrise. A soft orange sun that painted Mazeppa’s beach and rocky island in pastel colours greeted us, while the sea gently washed perfectly formed waves on the beach and rocks.

Mazeppa Bay is one of those little-known quiet spots of beauty and serenity. Frequented mostly by anglers, it has a wide beach flanked by a rocky island that reaches out into the sea. Between the beach and the island is an exquisite suspension bridge that simply invites a crossing. From the island, sets of magnificent waves roll off the backline into the bay - a surfing paradise? The hotel’s bar is a display centre for the many anglers who have fished this bay for years. Photographs of anglers with magnificent catches of various game fish hang dustily on the walls and, of course, there are photographs of anglers with the sharks they have caught – mainly Raggies, Duskys, Coppers and Zambezis. This was probably the hardest part of the trip for our team to accept but accept it we did, reminding ourselves that this trip was a fact finding mission and not a crusade.

Our day was spent exploring inland. Michael, our guide for the day, took us to meet with local entrepreneurs and a Sangoma and her family. We met with Rodney, who has returned to his family home after an absence of 10 years and who is in the process of rebuilding the fruit business that once thrived there. This was a common theme of the people we met – rebuild, escape from the city and get back to nature.We were privileged to meet with a Sangoma and her family. Her Grandmother, at 93 years old, was a treat and an inspiration and kept us amused with her antics.

We ended the day by climbing the dunes north of the bay. It is rumoured that a treasure ship was wrecked on this beach and the treasure buried beneath what is now a very large dune.

We didn’t attempt to dig for gold but had huge fun climbing the dune and running down.

Mazeppa is a wonderful peaceful place to rest your soul and take in the beauty of the Transkei. Go take a look.

By Hunter Atkins

You could be eating shark meat and not even know it.

South African fish shops are selling unlabelled or mislabelled shark products, which poses a threat to these endangered species and the unaware shoppers, according to the WWF’s Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI).

“We are getting more and more reports of fish shops selling products with strange sounding names like sokomoro and ocean fillet. (Some are) common or even made-up names that most consumers won’t recognise,” said John Duncan, a programme officer for the initiative.

Referring to the latest name on the market, sokomoro, which is another name for the shortfin mako shark, Duncan added, “Retailers are purposely mislabelling these species and lying about their origins because they know shark is unpopular with consumers.”

The shortfin mako is listed as “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union. In addition to depleting the shark population, selling shark meat poses dangers to consumers with certain allergenic or religious food restrictions.

There are no regulations in South Africa to keep retailers from selling shark under different names like gummy, lemon fish and ocean fillet, a few of “thousands and thousands” of common names used to mask fish, according to Duncan. An exotic sounding name like sokomoro is just as mysterious.

“If you wanted to, you can call it peanut butter,” he said.

It is not illegal for retailers to sell shark, and concealing the identity of shark products has advantages. Selling shark under a different name gives fishers a way to catch and sell more sharks than the legal limit in a given year.

Mislabelling also attracts shoppers who normally avoid buying endangered animal products.

The anonymous meat can also make up shortages of a popular item that is similar, like swordfish. This was the justification put forward by Sidney Fishing director Sidney Moniz, whose employees at the Fish 4 Africa in Woodstock gave inconsistent answers about sokomoro yesterday.

One vendor said sokomoro was a fish from Spain and another vaguely described its origins as “from the coasts”. One manager said the shop carried, “no fish from Spain, as far as I know”.

Most shortfin mako are snagged near Japan when long-lining for tuna according to Duncan.

“I’m not sure if they knew it was from the shark family,” said Moniz, who added he was embarrassed, as he wrestled with reasons why the shop would be selling unlabelled fish. He said it was possibly done to bolster swordfish shortages or could have been a mistake because shark is difficult to distinguish off the bone.

“A big problem for me in the recent economic recession has been all these guys shipping these substitute fish,” Moniz said. “I didn’t even know it (sokomoro) was on the endangered species list. It’s not even a big portion of our business.”

Duncan said the SASSI programme was lobbying for government and NCIS standards to develop a list of acceptable trade names. For now he said a good policy for consumers is to avoid buying a product if they do not know what it is.

Source can be found here

A surfer survived a shark attack in the sea off Port Alfred on Tuesday, police said.

Brendan Denton, 35 was surfing with a friend at East Beach at 10:30 when the shark attacked him about 100 metres from the shore, said Captain Mali Govender.

“He suddenly felt something pulling him underwater,” said Govender, who spoke to him in the Port Alfred Hospital afterwards.

“He thought it might be his friend playing the fool with him.”

The second time it happened, he turned around and saw his feet in the shark’s jaw.

Denton wrestled with the shark and it let go of his feet, but it grabbed hold of the leash attaching his ankle to the surfboard and started swimming out to sea with him in tow.

He released the leash and when the surfboard popped out of the sea three metres away a few moments later, he was able to get back on it and paddle to safety.

His friend and other surfers, who had heard his screams and splashing, helped him to a doctor.

Govender said Denton’s injuries looked serious.

When she asked him how he was doing, he told her he was “okay”.

As he was wheeled into theatre for surgery, she told him she could see his feet. He replied he could not feel them.

Govender described the water at East Beach as “very murky”.

“You normally get sharks in water like that,” she said, adding that the National Sea Rescue Institute had since closed the beach.

Click here for source

Images by Petra and Rainer Schimpf (www.expert-tours.com)

These images were taken yesterday(8 February 2010) off Port Elizabeth by Petra and Rainer Schimpf from Expert Tours and they are expecting more sardines.

Important to know the difference of the Sardine Run event in 2010:

2010 is a really special Sardine Run year, not only because of the Soccer World Cup but mainly because we experience an “El Nino” par excellance in South Africa in 2010.

What does it mean for your Sardine Run trip: areas with little rain will have even less rain, areas with sufficiant rain will experiance flooding (already happening). Sea water temperatures will raise even higher where moderate to warm water occures.

This means for your Sardine Run trip 2010 there is a 99% probability that baitballs and sardine swarms will NOT occur in a timeframe from May until July in Kwazulu Natal! El Nino has shown in previous years that only on one or two days during an el Nino year Red Eyes (similar to sardines) were seen off Mboiti in the Eastern Cape.

The armada of sardines, dolphins, whales, sharks and orcas however stayed put in front of Port Elizabeth already from February on into July the last El Nino phenomen. Between 15 to 25 nauticle miles offshore in cristal clear water (see “Oceans” from Galatee Films this year in the cinemas!).

Already now, February 2010, the same phenomen repeats itself! For a couple of weeks now we have exactly what we predicted: sardines, dolphins, whales, sharks and orcas. All these predators hunt in deep water for sardines and shallow water for garfish and makarele.

This means that for your Sardine Run booking you need to act fast and book your trip in and around Port Elizabeth between February 2010 to May 2010 only.