CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA - BIG SEAL ROCKS

Early Sunday we loaded regs, BCD’s, weight belts and tanks into the boat and drove down to Seal Rocks. The sun had now risen and it promised to be a fantastic day.The boat was anchored close to shore so we almost waded out to board. We headed to Big Rock (there is also Little Rock close by) and each buddy pair was given a bag to collect any debris found, although not much rubbish was anticipated, as it is a marine sanctuary. On the way out I asked Captain John whether there were seals at Seal Rocks and was told the fishermen had shot some of them so the rest left the area.

The first thing I noticed was the clarity and warmth of the water, however this was soon forgotten by the sight of dozens of grey nurse sharks swimming leisurely around. The good visibility was more evident in the shark gutters when sharks could be seen moving up and down as if they were shopping at the mall on a Saturday morning. They surrounded us, over our heads, alongside, around every corner and even underneath. There were twelve divers in the water however it was if we were invisible as they simply ignored us. I was saddened to see some sharks with hooks in their mouths and some had gashes along their flanks. Peter was going ballistic with his video and I did make an honest effort to look for rubbish but happily I did not find any. There were of course other fish including one of my favourites, the puffer fish, plus numerous nudibranchs and morwongs, however the sheer numbers of grey nurses tended to obliterate the smaller life. My total dive time was 32 minutes with a maximum depth of 21 metres.

Back on board for morning tea and a tank change, others commented on seeing a turtle at the onset of the dive so I felt a bit miffed at missing out.
I was at the bow of the boat when one of the guys yelled to me to come to the stern. I hurried to the back deck to watch a seal with its fin up like a sail cooling itself on the surface. This was one seal that had come back home so hopefully there are others around. Some divers found some fishing line and a few hooks but overall the area was clean.

The second dive was at the other side of Big Rock and again the grey nurses were in abundance and overshadowed everything else in the water.
My total dive time was 49 minutes with a maximum depth of 18 metres.

HEATHER ARMOUR