MLSSA
NEWSLETTER
NUMBER 140    JANUARY 1998
"understanding, enjoying & caring for our oceans"
 

 
President's Report

Hello again at the start of a New Year. I trust you all had a great Christmas/New Year holiday break and are now looking forward to a great season of diving/snorkelling and participating in MLSSA activities.

Congratulations David

We extend our congratulations to David Muirhead as he has had two of his photographs published in the new book "Invertebrates of South Australia - Part3". We saw his copy at the December Committee Meeting and it is well worth purchasing.

Congratulations MLSSA

See later on in this Newsletter for full details of our great achievement.

Liability Insurance

Please read the item on Insurance and let me have any comments before the February Committee Meeting (Feb. 3rd) so that we may consider the matter further if necessary.

Collecting Dives

If you are intending to collect organisms on an official MLSSA dive then please read the article at the end of this Newsletter, especially if you have not collected before, or for some time.


January General Meeting

This month's meeting will be held at our usual meeting place, the Conservation Centre at 8pm on Wednesday 21st of January. We hope to have several guest "speakers" on a wide variety of subjects. One speaker could be YOU!

The idea is that members bring along any short, or sections of, Video Tape Recordings they may have of topics of interest to other members. I, for example , have a five minute recording of an ABC Science report on the treating of ballast water. I know other members have film of various MLSSA field trips. Any item will be welcomed, but no two hour epics please.

So come along to entertain or to be entertained. It should be a very interesting evening.

Philip Hall


KESAB Action Awards

In mid-1997 MLSSA were invited to nominate for KESAB's (Environment) Action Awards. Although we didn't have much time to put a quality submission together, we managed to send a submission off by the due date. We nominated ourselves for an award in the "Community Environmental Action" category. Our nomination was accepted and an interview with KESAB was arranged. We discussed the many topics mentioned in our submission. The interviewer took her findings back to a judging panel. Months went by before we received an invitation to attend the finals of the awards. Could we have been successful in our quest to win an award? Regardless of the possibility of being disappointed, we had at least made the finals. Our President and Secretary attended the finals with their wives. We were in fine company there. Other finalists included schools that Philip Hall had taught at and other schools that MLSSA are associated with (Hallett Cove School and the Star of the Sea School). The Threatened Species Network (SA), whom we are affiliated with, and the Marine and Coastal Community Network were finalists together for the Dragon Search program. We were pleased to see Vicki-Jo Russell and Tony Flaherty presented with a section award for "Community Environmental Action" for the Dragon Search program which we participate in. Unfortunately we missed out on an award ourselves but we were delighted to be given a plaque for being a finalist. MLSSA 's name was mentioned twice on the stage, firstly by the compere (as a finalist) and then by Tony Flaherty who discussed our involvement in Dragon Search. It was interesting to hear about the various other finalists and award winners. We were given literature about the different groups involved in the Action Awards plus the Cleaner Urban Waterways Awards. These will go into our library cupboard. Various reports about the awards appeared in the press afterwards and these are now filed away in our library. Many thanks to KESAB for involving us in the awards. We are now a little wiser about what is nvolved and what it takes to win an award. We hope to be more prepared next time and perhaps do a bit better.

Steve Reynolds

Our submission to the KESAB Awards will be published in a future Newsletter. (Editor)


The Cleaner Clingfish - A friendly Sucker

Always a good dive, "The Dredge" at Glenelg provided an interesting diversion from my usual photographic pursuits on a recent dive (8/11/97) when I had a close encounter with a Clingfish - too close, as it happened!

I spied this handsome little fellow? (pretty little lass?) displaying his magnificent if diminutive blue transverse stripes, surprisingly visible in the 20 metre gloom, as he clung to a small yellow sponge about 10cm high, growing on the substrate on the northern side of the ship's bow. Recognising a colourful photo opportunity, I duly zoomed to minimal focal distance and approached the subject only to see the 4cm clingfish suddenly detach from the sponge and disappear from view.

Thinking no more of the lost opportunity, I moved on. But moments later, while checking the F-stop setting, I saw that the clingfish had attached himself to the Lexan camera port!

After showing the fish to my buddy, I attempted to dislodge it by flicking it off with a finger, but this critter was here to stay. He merely moved a few centimetres out of the way with each increasingly exasperated flick.

Eventually I succeeded in dislodging him, only to see him swim vigorously toward me and attach to my wetsuit sleeve. No amount of arm shaking and body frisking could dislodge the persistent little border so I gave up my attempts, confidently surmising that he would let go when I later ascended, as indeed he must have.

At the time, I assumed that this was a juvenile Tasmanian Clingfish (Aspasmogaster tasmaniensis) as this is the only clingfish I have identified in my South Australian diving experience. However, on perusing the books, it became apparent that this was probably a Western Cleaner Clingfish (Cochleoceps bicolor).

Gommon, Glover and Kuiter comment that this species reaches a length of 4cm and is confined to southern Australia, from Victoria to southern W.A., excluding Tasmania.

Hutchins and Swainston state that it is common in coastal waters of S.A. and Southern W.A. and is also found in Victoria, with a maximum length of 4cm.

Kuiter, in "Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia" (1993) says that it occurs from Port Phillip Bay to the south-west coast and attains 7cm.

All these books comment on its habit of setting up cleaning stations, usually a sponge or ascidian (Hutchins and Swainston also mention caves) and it has been observed cleaning other fish, probably feeding on small parasites or the host's protective mucous layer.

Stay tuned for another snippet of fish life on "The Dredge" in a later newsletter.

David Muirhead


Carnage at Edithburgh

Just before Christmas, Ron Bellchambers wrote to me about a dive he had made under the Edithburgh jetty on the 24th of October. What he found is a disgrace. Here is an extract from his letter.

"As you all know, Edithburgh has become an international meeting place for divers due to the marine organisms found on and around the pylons.

The carnage that met me on this particular dive was not the sort of thing that will bring divers back to this location. The first thing I came across was about a dozen large Australian Salmon just dumped off a professional fishing boat. The second were large spider crabs which were unfortunate enough to have been caught by recreational fishermen who apparently have no sense of guilt. They smashed them to pieces and then dumped them back into the ocean. The third, and most callous deed, was when we found a large Port Jackson shark that had been caught on the southern tip of the jetty, killed, then thrown back.

I just find it so disappointing that man seems to be going backwards instead of forward in trying to preserve what little we have left.

I think we of MLSSA have a hard fight on our hands to knock some sense into both the public and the government alike. To try and preserve and not destroy."

I personally find the above extract very disturbing and ask all who read it to try and come up with ways in which we as a Society can become more effective in our attempts to raise the general awareness of Conservation of our marine creatures and their environment.

Philip Hall


The Role of the Diving Officer.

At the December Committee Meeting the subject of Liability Insurance for Committee Members was discussed. It was decided that this may not be necessary as:-

  1. Diving Officers must be Society Members who are fully qualified and experienced divers and should be abiding by the previously unwritten Code of Practice. (A sample written code is included below).
  2. All who dive on MLSSA field trips must be certificated divers.
  3. Each diver must take responsibility for him/herself.
  4. Each diver must decide if conditions are suitable for him/herself.

Proposed MLSSA Code of Practice
The Dive Officer

The Dive Officer is to be a fully qualified and experienced diver and a Society Member who assumes, or is given, the responsibility for the planning and conduct of a programmed dive and the events related to, or arising from, that dive.

Specific duties and responsibilities may include some or all of the following according to circumstances:

Pre-Dive Planning

Liase with divers

Ensure any necessary safety equipment is available.

Obtain a weather forecast, tide data and any relevant local information.

Obtain local emergency numbers and hospital/medical locations.

On Site

Ascertain conditions.

Ensure divers are fit to dive.

Allocate buddies, pairing the less experienced appropriately.

Provide a dive brief i.e.

site details (depth, entry/exit, hazards)

communication

turnaround time

dive termination

lost buddy procedures

location of first aid kit

dive gear and buddy checks

Post Dive

Ensure everyone is fit and well.

Conduct post dive brief and encourage the logging of the dive.

Completion of creature logs.

Authority

The dive leader may:-

Cancel the dive if conditions are not suitable.

Not permit an uncertificated diver to dive.

Direct a member to not dive if that person may present a hazard to themselves or other divers.

Philip Hall


Ewens Ponds

In July 1997 I visited Mount Gambier in the south-east of our state for the first time. It gave me a chance to do a dive in Ewens Ponds near Port McDonnell. Although I knew very little about the ponds I dived alone in the first of the ponds. Entry is made via a ladder on a small wooden platform. The first thing that strikes you about the water, if it's not the cold temperature, is the amazing clarity. It was a cold, overcast day and I entered the calm water of the pond about 3pm. The visibility was excellent, allowing me to see the other side of the pond throughout my dive. I had taken my underwater camera to record my sightings. The temperature of the pond was about 16 degrees C. I spent 35 minutes exploring the whole of the pond, the depth of which was some 10m. I saw some schools of small, beautiful fish, a few yabbies and crabs, and a duck. The growth of weed in the pond is very beautiful. I took a few photos of my sightings, including a spring of water at the bottom of the pond. After just over half an our I returned to the ladder at the platform to exit. It was a couple of degrees colder for changing out of my gear on the land. I had enjoyed the dive very much and have since gathered some information about the ponds and its inhabitants.

A tourist information booklet that I have says that the ponds are in the Ewens Ponds Conservation Park. There are a string of three ponds which are very fragile and restrictions apply. I was lucky to pick up two recent issues of Southern Fisheries magazines with some details about Ewens Ponds. The summer 1996 edition (Vol.4, No.4) had an article about the south-east. There is a photo of a diver in Ewens Ponds on page 41. Page 43 refers to the area's freshwater aquifers and springs. Most of these remain underground but some, such as Ewens and Piccaninnie Ponds, rise to the surface as pools of cold, crystal clear water. An estimated 150,000 megalitres of water from these underground springs is discharged into the sea each year. Page 43 also mentions that Prototroctes maraena, an Australian grayling (salmon & trout group of fish?), has only been recorded from Ewens Ponds and it has been listed as being close to extinction. The Autumn 1997 issue of Southern Fisheries (Vol.5, No.1) has an article about endangered freshwater fish. One of these fish was Nannoperca variegata, the Ewen Pygmy Perch. This is said to occur only in Ewens Ponds and a few minor wetlands in the lower Glenelg River system in Victoria. It is amall species which reaches only 62mm in length. Neville Coleman, in his book "Discover Underwater Australia", discusses Ewens Ponds in conjunction with Piccaninnie Ponds. On page 20 he says that they both have freshwater sponges, hydroids, fish, crabs, shrimps, frogs, terrapins, yabbies and spectacular reedbeds. More is said on pages 119 & 121. The latter page has a photo of Euastacus bispinosus, the Two-spined Freshwater Cray, which is said to occur in Mount Gambier's freshwater sinkholes. My photos didn't turn out too good. The best one shows a yabby at a distance of about one metre. The next best one features the bubbling spring on the bottom. It looks to be a black and white photo but that must have been the colour of the rocks and silt. I had a map of Ewens Ponds showing the three ponds connected by canals but I have either lost it or lent it to somebody but forgotten who.

Steve Reynolds


Collecting Marine Creatures

EQUIPMENT

In order to successfully collect marine creatures you should be fully equipped. You need small and large mesh hand nets. Two catch bags are ideal and several different screw top opaque plastic bottles. Don't use glass jars as they often break on entry to the water, when they clash together in the catch bag or when being trawled across a rocky bottom. The fish also tend to settle better in an opaque container. The lid should have holes drilled in it and also be attached to the jar by a short length of line. When handling fish or other creatures you often need protection against spines, and fish need protection against you, so gloves (one or a pair) are needed. Fish or creatures often hide under ledges or in caves so a torch is a great help. To help raise a full catch bag, tie off a dropline at the place on the jetty where you intend to exit. On a boat, tie the line away from the entry/exit point.

COLLECTING

Don't chase fish, stalk them. If you have two nets use one as a "herder" and the other as the "catcher." Try to net fish against the bottom or against a pylon or a flat rock surface. Often "trawling" a net through dense weed will capture a fish. Try placing the net flat on the bottom with an opened scallop in the centre. The fish will soon gather and a swift "up and over" sweep of the net can result in a choice of specimens. Fish are territorial, so if one evades you either wait for it to return or visit the same spot, more cautiously, later. Check under rock ledges and in caves. Don't forget to look up at the roof as many fish swim just under it.

Once the fish are in the net the fun begins. A buddy is of great assistance because you must hold the net so that it forms a bag with the fish in it in one hand, also unclip the catch bag and obtain a bottle without losing any others, open the bottle, place the bottle under the closed end of the net where your hand is holding it and carefully slide the fish from the net into the open neck, remove the bottle from the net and prevent the fish from darting out, screw the lid back on, return the bottle to the bag and clip the bag to your belt. If you feel exhausted reading this, wait 'till you try it! In the meantime your net will have drifted off.

Try to keep cowfish separate as they can exude a toxin from their skin which will kill anything else in the container. Also, try to keep fish of the same type in the same bottle. It is a good idea to place a little weed in a container as this often calms a frightened fish and also provides stock for your tank. Place anemones and other creatures that feed on fish in a separate bottle.

RAISING TO THE SURFACE

Clip or tie your catchbags to the dropline. Move the bottles so that they are upright. Surface and take your SCUBA gear to your vehicle. Return to the dropline and raise it to about the 10ft mark. Tie it off and leave the fish to decompress for half an hour. In the meantime, fill some dark coloured bins with seawater and place in the shade. Get your airpump ready with an airline for each bin.

Pull up the catchbags and quickly sort the creatures into appropriate bins without handling them or exposing them to the air. Turn on the airpump, adjust the airflows and replace the lids.

TRANSPORTING HOME

Get the fish home as soon as possible and into their new home. When the bins are in the car or trailer, place them on thick foam to protect against vibration. Try to keep them as cool as possible and adjust the water temperature to that of their new home before transferring the inhabitants.

CAUTIONS

1. Never handle fish unless absolutely necessary. If you must, then use a glove as it acts as an insulator between the heat of your hand and the fish, and also protects the slime coating on the fish.

2. Fish come from a dimly lit world, bright sunlight can traumatise them. Use dark coloured containers and try to keep lids on and an appropriate air supply to each drum.

3. Keep fish in water when transferring between containers or tanks.

4. Decompress fish from any depth and return any at the dive site which are unable to stay off the surface in the drum.

5. Try to keep the creatures caught as cool as possible, use any available shade and change the water before leaving for home. Go directly home or to the eventual destination of the creatures.

6. Isolate cowfish in case of an exudation of toxin.

7. Always place weed and fish in different bins to avoid suffocation.

8. Never permit spectators to put their hands in the drums to handle the creatures. Try to avoid this yourself.

9. Read, and abide by, the MLSSA "Code of Ethics".

This article is adapted from the joint MLSSA/Hallett Cove booklet "Setting Up and Maintaining a Temperate Marine Aquarium" which should have been given to all Members. If you have not received a copy then please let Steve or I know.

Philip Hall


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