LIONFISH WRANGLING HAS BEGUN IN THE BVI -UPDATED!

ONE MAN'S FISH IS ANOTHER MAN'S POIS(S)ON

In a concerted effort to educate & eradicate at least 8 lionfish have been removed from the territory's waters.

In May, Randy Keil, former President of BVISO, joined up with a large contingent from Conservation and Fisheries for a very informative meeting about lionfish. Both the US National Parks Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Department were represented.

The first lionfish in the USVI was sighted in 2008 and there have been about a dozen fish captured during the intervening period. Shannon Gore of the BVI Conservation and Fisheries Dept has received a grant and some of the money was used to fund transportation to the meeting. More funds are being allocated to training wranglers & acquiring wrangling equipment.

The USVI has managed to kill every lionfish sighted and have come up with a plan that clearly works extremely well. Each and every diver in the territory carries a wine cork wrapped with about 5 feet of fluorescent flagging tape and topped with a inch washer. When a lionfish is sighted the diver drops a marker and reports to a local dive shop or calls in a report. Divers are given a card bearing a picture of a lionfish on one side and instructions not to approach on the other. The card is clipped to the divers BCD.

The fish that have not been approached by divers are dispatched in a matter of minutes but those that have been photographed or harassed often take as long as an hour to be killed/captured. It appears that these fish learn very fast and that has been one of the biggest problems in Florida, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. It is extremely important to get the word out to the diving community not to approach these fish. Simply mark the area and report the sighting.

Randy & Shannon contacted The Dove, Red Rock Restaurant, Peg Legs, Peter Island and Mulligans about saving wine corks. All BVI Dive Shops have been supplied with these corks & operators are encouraged to have them go out with every rental and to give a few to each group that comes in to our shops for air fills. Operators are telling divers & snorkelers to leave the lionfish alone and simply mark the area and contact the nearest dive shop who will in turn contact Conservation and Fisheries.

Following the initial marker construction effort, Conservation & Fisheries brought in a guest speaker on July 14th- a member of the USVI Lionfish Response Team visited the BVI who gave an informative presentation on tracking & capturing techniques. Key industry partners present at the meeting were issued with "wrangling equipment" for capturing the fish.

The following is a partial list of sightings/captures in the BVI:

=There is a report of a sighting near Camino. The snorkeler tried to kill it with a stick and it dove into a coralhead. It has not been captured.

=Nina Turpin sighted a 2.5 inch fish on the gear box of the Rhone, marked it & notified C&F. It was captured the following day.

=An Anegada fisherman caught one in 15 feet of water over turtle grass on the West End.

=Casey McNutt of Dive BVI caught the 4th lionfish in the Territory. It was found in about 12ft of water at the Guavaberry Spring Bay vacation homes (between Spring Bay and the Baths) in Virgin Gorda.

=Megan DuPlessis, Erica Pascal & Neil Day of Sail Caribbean Divers marked one at Twin Towers on JVD. It has not been relocated or captured.

=Two were found in fish traps by local fishermen on Whale Banks in a fairly deep drop off.

=Steve Ellefson, assisted by Melisande Rowe, Quintin Pollart & Eric Wolf captured a small lion fish at Twin Towers on Aug 4th! He is now happily residing in the Aquarium at Conservation Fisheries.  Lorraine Birkner & Holly Robson sighted another but were unable to capture it.

Although some have been caught and numerous sightings have been reported we have not been able to find them without them being marked. The use of markers is our best chance so if you do not have markers yet, please let C&F or a Dive Operator know.

Divers are asked that you do not try to capture these fish on your own, call either Conservation & Fisheries or any of the dive ops. Do not approach the fish unless you are 100% sure that you can capture or kill it. Remember, these fish have voracious appetites and will eat juvenile fish important to maintaining overall reef health.

Please keep an eye out in Lee Bay, the Indians & Mountain Point where other sightings have been reported. Although impossible to entirely eradicate, we can keep the numbers down.

Sail Caribbean Divers Instructor Development Programs

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW GROUP OF PADI SCUBA INSTRUCTORS

May 13th , 2010 marked the successful conclusion of an educational program for an International group of Dive Professionals. Candidates arrived in the British Virgin Islands from Norway, Italy, UK, Holland, Canada, Hawaii and the USA.

Mike Rowe, PADI Course Director with Sail Caribbean Divers, conducted the 10 day PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC).

“The British Virgin Islands is the perfect “venue” for Scuba Instructor programs, with it’s diversity of dive sites, the historical attraction of the wreck of the RMS Rhone, and the quality of restaurants and resorts to accommodate our guests during their stay here on island. As evidenced by the distance traveled by the majority of our candidates, Dive Professionals are prepared to pay for a quality educational program in an aesthetically appealing location”, remarked Mike Rowe.

The IDC program is designed to introduce the Instructor candidate to the entire PADI System of diver education and concentrates on further developing abilities as a professional dive educator. The Fun Part is that it is about life transformations—both for the Instructor and the students they will introduce to the underwater world.

“For myself, the most rewarding part of Instructor training is interacting with a diverse group of course participants while creating friendships that continue long after the course concludes,” said Mike Rowe.

A special mention to Neil Day who achieved his PADI IDC Staff Instructor rating and also to Hamish Masson and Tony Horsfall who renewed their credentials after being out of the industry for a while…back in the PADI saddle again.

PADI is the world’s leading scuba diving training organization in the world. With more than forty years experience, 135,000 PADI Professionals and more than 5,800 dive shops and resorts worldwide, PADI training materials and services let you experience scuba diving from nearly anywhere. Scuba diving with PADI Instructors, Dive Centers and Resorts can help transform your life through education, experience, equipment and environmental conservation.

May IDC group photo…from left to right…

Holly Robson, Marco Pesciarelli, Jennifer LeBlanc, Graham Benton, Gary Newman (PADI Evaluator), Mike Rowe (Course Director), Lorraine Birkner, Willem Kerkvliet, Hege Bye-Borrensen, Philip Krukowski and David Hunsinger.

WRECK WEEK REMINDER!

Don't forget to mark your calendar for the 2010 BVI Wreck Week which will take place from 12-19 June, 2010.

Sail Caribbean Divers in conjunction with Cooper Island Beach Club are hosting an exclusive package which includes 7 nights accommodation (based on double occupancy), continental breakfast lunch and dinner daily, 5days x 2 tank dives with Sail Caribbean Divers, round-trip ferry to Cooper Island from Tortola, use of snorkel equipment and kayaks, and all dive gear if required.This package is priced at $1350 per person (dbl occ), it is a Wreck Week special only so call us today to book your trip!!

So you've booked your room, but not made your travel arrangements. Consider Fly BVI. Many of our guests prefer the reliability, convenience and security of private air charter using Fly BVI - www.flybvi.com. The pilot meets you at your arrival gate, and escorts you to directly to your aircraft. There is no standing in line at airport security, no waiting and no layover! If you are able to fill one of their 5, 7 or 9-passenger airplanes, the cost per person is comparable to the scheduled carriers, but much more efficient and convenient. Booking a Fly BVI private Wreck Week air charter through Sail Caribbean Divers will earn you discounts of up to 15% off standard pricing. There are no fees for carrying your dive bag with Fly BVI, the Caribbean Air Charter company. Visit the Fly BVI website or contact us now for more details.

Inter Company Caribbean Dart Challenge

COOPER ISLAND BEACH CLUB v. SAIL CARIBBEAN DIVERS

In a frenzy of friendly competition, the 1st ever game of the newly launched Caribbean Company Darts Competition took place on Monday evening, January 18, 2010 at 7:30 pm on Cooper Island.

An invitation to compete was issued to SCD earlier in the month by Colin Harris of CIBC and included a dart board & a set of darts. SCD quickly formed its team and began its practice sessions. Regularly during tea breaks, between filling tanks & on surface intervals between dives SCD staff & interns could be found practicing. Nightly after work sessions were held as well to improve team camaraderie. Rumors abounded that the renowned Colin Harris and family were training the Cooper Island staff in furiously intense sessions before, during & after work at CIBC.

Three days after the initial invitation was issued, SCD's darts mysteriously went missing. Not thwarted, several trips were made to town to purchase "backup" darts for use in competition. The SCD team practiced with light, heavy, medium weight darts, with masculine, feminine & go fast flights and every combination in between. We were ready to face the challenge.

The night of the competition, we donned our team uniform...work shirts, and boarded Discovery for our trip to CIBC, but the boat would not start. Still undaunted, we jumped the batteries & were on our way. Colin & his team queried the delay in our arrival with a suspicious gleam in their eyes.

The teams were drawn up, the game plan was made. There was to be a Ryder Cup type set up with doubles to play at 301.

SCD won the 1st match. SCD won the 2nd match, SCD won the 3rd match. Colin's wife Jan, the only left handed player helped CIBC to take the 4th match. Time was running on. As the CIBC staff had to work in between rounds, the Harris family was forced to step in for missing players whenever necessary. Finally when all of the Harris family had stepped in twice, it was determined that 3 special teams would be formed and a best 2 out of 3 would determine the winner. At this point CIBC was behind by 1 match.

CIBC won the first match by finishing on a bulls eye. The pressure was on, Colin faced the SCD team captain, Dan Duglar. Colin, who had perhaps been tempering his talent all evening was suddenly able to hit exactly what he aimed for every-single-throw. ARGHHH. The SCD team was trounced!

Enthusiasm rang out as CIBC took the honors & were declared the winners of the 1st Competition. It couldn't have been any other way!

SCD was however awarded the losers trophy. A prized rusty bucket filled with iced beers! We shared our consolation prize round with all and carried the empty bucket home proudly where it rests near our dart board, under the shingle of our Pub the Rowe's & Crown, a ready reminder for the next match!

The evening's events were capped off with the most delicious pub style fish & chips any of us had tasted in ages! Many thanks to Simon for his diligent efforts behind the scenes! Cooper Island has offered to host a Challengers Event & has invited VISAR to attend as guest players. Date of play scheduled for Feb 25th.

The Guide to Diving and Snorkeling in the British Virgin Islands - Its here!!

The most comprehensive guide to diving and snorkeling in the British Virgin Islands.
 
77 dive sites - 4585 ft and 231,000 psi of wrecks, reefs and rocks.
 
Don't go down without it!