|
"Another stellar experience with the whales and on NAI'A. Fabulous crew, great stories. Our 3rd trip and they just keep getting better. Days of leisure, hours of ecstasy!"
Bob & Doris Schaffer, Fallbrook, CA
WHALES GALORE!
"I had high expectations and the trip exceeded each and every one. I hoped to meet a few fascinating people and ended up on a cruise with a whole menagerie of passionate, driven and joyful folks. I look forward to my next adventure with NAI'A and will not be disappointed, I'm sure! Thank you for having the vision, integrity and perseverance to make this possible."
Tracy Grogan, Berkeley, CA
|
|
|
NAI'A's 2003 humpback whale season in Tonga was arguably the best so far. We just returned home to Fiji after three great expeditions in Tonga's remote Ha'apai group and we've barely begun the long job of sorting through all our video footage and still photos.
We'd like to think we had so many outstanding encounters this year because the whales are getting to know us after eight years together. Or because there are so many of them. Or maybe it is because we've improved at choosing curious whales. There is some truth to all of these, but this year was also marked by particularly calm weather -- which goes a long way toward making a good encounter great.
Some whales are certainly attracted to NAI'A. This year we had numerous encounters with whales who swam right up to the ship as soon as she stopped near them. When the whales eventually moved out of sight, we snorkelers would congregate back near the ship until they came sweeping back to check us out again.
There are more humpbacks in Tonga now than since the Soviets illegally targeted this tribe on their migration route past New Zealand in the early 1960s. The consortium of researchers working with whales in the South Pacific (to whom we send our fluke ID photos) has a rough estimate of about 700 humpbacks in Tonga on any given year. If that number is true, and if humpbacks reproduce at about 7% annually, then only between five and twelve reproductive females survived the Soviet slaughter.
This year was a good year for whales politically, too, with progress at the IWC and new protection for whales in Fiji's Exclusive Economic Zone following similar decrees last year by French Polynesia, Niue, PNG, and Samoa. Whales have been protected in Australian and New Zealand waters for more than twenty years, but it was the King of Tonga who started it all with a royal decree banning whaling in Tongan waters in 1979.
Whales are not saved, however, with Japan, Norway, and now Iceland forming a marine mammal axis of evil, if you like. But as the whale watching industry grows, the whale hunters are losing ground to governments that recognize the value of whales alive. Every year after our passengers go home having looked a whale right in the eye, we file a document with the Tongan government highlighting the amount of money spent IN Tonga by NAI'A and our passengers. Thanks to you, every year live whales are looking more and more valuable than dead ones.
LOMAIVITI WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Following the success of our inaugural Wild Reef Fiji Survey Expedition in May, considerable progress has been made toward declaring a wide swath of central Fiji a marine protected area. Already declared one of the most significant marine ecoregions by the World Wildlife Fund, the area may now be proposed for World Heritage Site status in an effort led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the National Trust of Fiji.
We at NAI'A are thrilled that an area of spectacular reefs and robust fish life is finally receiving the attention of conservation groups. Ten years ago we discovered that the diving there was better than anything else in Fiji and as good as diving found anywhere in the world. While there hasn't yet been much fishing pressure in this central area yet, the spread of intensive fishing efforts from the west is already bearing down on Fiji's outer edges, and it is much easier to protect a place before it is exploited than after it is already destroyed.
An especially exciting result of our two-week May rapid-survey expedition was Dr. Gerry Allen's discovery of several new fish species, including three wrasses, two damselfishes, a pipefish and an anemonefish! The subject of heated debate for years aboard NAI'A, the anemonefish in question was previously thought to be Amphiprion melanopus but with some "strange" differences in size and color.
"This red anemonefish has haunted me my entire career!" Allen said.
"I want to sort out this mystery once and for all and hopefully make this fantastic fish a new species - a Fiji endemic which it rightfully should be."
|
|
NO NEWS IS NOT GOOD NEWS
The 2004 version of the Undercurrent Chapbook is shortly going to press and, according to their website, there are for the first time ever this year no letters about NAI'A! People will think we've retired to lie lanquidly on some tropical beach! If you have something you think Undercurrent readers should know, please fire off a letter straight away.
EXPLORATION
We haven't lost the urge to explore new waters. And, since we have an expeditionary ship all set up for long and distant voyaging, we feel almost compelled to use her to find wild and wonderful new places.
In 2004 we will return to Vanuatu with Paul Humann, where we spent six weeks in 2000. Fueled by good memories (and GPS points), we will return to some of the best reefs and islands we already know and then push on into virgin waters.
Then on to New Caledonia, the hidden jewel of the western Pacific. Generally ignored by sport divers because of its lack of facilities on shore, New Caledonia is well known by ichthyologists as one of the most prolific areas in the region. NAI'A is the perfect vehicle to explore the remote north and western atolls, where ciguatera poisoning combined with strict French enforcement has kept fishing pressure to a minimum. Expect much of the biodiversity of the western Pacific combined with the big fish that are sadly missing elsewhere in the region. Ecologists liken New Caledonia to Madagascar for its unrivalled diversity of endemic plant species and forest animals. We are chomping at the bit to explore this country and its many genuinely unknown corners. If you're governed by the same urges, sign up and join us -- we still have some spaces available.
For the truly adventurous, join us for back-to-back charters to Vanuatu AND New Caledonia. Stay aboard NAI'A (for free!) for the four days between charters, which will include checking out of Port Vila and a two-day passage to Noumea, where we'll have a day to provision and get ready for the next charter.
|
|
VIDEO SHOOT OUT
Gates Underwater Housings will host a video shoot-out on NAI'A from May 12-22 with Stan Waterman as competition critic, judge, referee, and, having just turned 81, Ship's Official Old Fart. For more details, check out www.naia.com.fj/waterman/shootout.html
SPECIAL EXPEDITIONS
Well-known naturalist/photographers Larry & Denise Tackett will be aboard in April as will be the "Digital Duo", digital photography authors Jack & Sue Drafahl www.naia.com.fj/drafahl
Monterey Bay Aquarium co-founder Dr. Steve Webster brings a group back for his 5th NAI'A charter May 1-11 to lend their expertise and experience to our Wild Reef Fiji project.
VINAKA DISCOUNT
Don't forget that NAI'A passengers are entitled to $200 off your first return trip, plus an extra $100 off each additional NAI'A trip. YES, it's retroactive!
Send-a-friend: for each new NAI'A diver you refer directly to us, claim $200 off your next NAI'A trip. Join your friends for their NAI'A expedition and claim your bonus immediately.
|
|
|
