Andy and Jamie teamed up with this group of students from China. Xu Juejue, Zhang Dan –aow; Fu Hai Liang, Yu Shi Mou, Zhang Zi Han, Lei Jing Ling, Cfang Fang, Yao Qiong, Youcheng—ow. Congratulations!
Antoine is very excited about the gift from Allan that he was given for his long term service with El Galleon, a brand new Honda CBR 150 cc! Next time you’re here ask him to take you for a ride!
Thanks to Phil Hsieh from Scuba Shop Taipei for sending us this very fun group of divers, “Forte Scuba Diving Club”. Though they only had three days of diving they maximized their time and did lots of amazing dives.
What a week it’s been for Blue Ringed octopus sightings. Within the past 5 days there have been 6 different ones spotted at different dive sites. You have to realize how special this is. Normally for many of us who dive every day we might be lucky to see one, once or twice a year! To see this amount in such a short time is astounding. The great thing is that it’s not just the dive guides who have been seeing them, it’s the divers. Lucky Elizabeth Annand from Vision Divers managed to see three in her last two days of diving with us. We don’t really understand why we are seeing so many right now. We do know that the water temperature has warmed up in the past 10 days and we just had a full moon. Perhaps this might have something to do with it? Maybe it’s a mating season so they are coming out to find a mate and lay eggs?
According to Wikipedia: Blue-ringed octopus females lay only one clutch of about 50 eggs in their lifetimes towards the end of autumn. Eggs are laid then incubated underneath the female’s arms for about six months, and during this process she does not eat. After the eggs hatch, the female dies, and the new offspring will reach maturity and be able to mate by the next year.
Puerto Galera is still in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the Southern Hemisphere it’s autumn now so they are there breeding now. Maybe they think they are in the Sothern hemisphere??
Read more about Blue Ringed Octopus here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus
It’s been wonderful to have Peter and Deb Webster from Vision Divers return with some familiar and new folks. What a great week it’s been with amazing diving conditions. The sun has been shining, the water has been warm and the beer has been cold! What more can you ask for?!
It’s been an absolute pleasure to have hosted Ken Knezick and his group of 36 friends here at El Galleon & Asia Divers recently. Ken has been coming here for several years now and we thank him for his continued support. Besides running Island Dreams Travel he is also an enthusiastic diver and underwater photographer. Here are a few of his awesome photos that he recently took here.
All photos Copyright of Ken Knezick – www.divetrip.com
The 2015 Verde Island Passage Marine Biodiversity Expedition: Puerto Galera
This expedition is happening in Puerto Galera right now. The California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco, California, was established in 1853, and is one of the largest natural history museums the world. It also includes an aquarium and planetarium.
Led by Dr. Terry Gosliner, PHD and titled Documenting Diversity in the Apex of the Coral Triangle: Inventory of Philippine Marine Biodiversity. This project examines the biodiversity patterns of different types of organisms along the north-south and east-west gradients of the Verde Island Passage, which is known as the center of the center of marine biodiversity. The goal of the project is to document new biodiversity in the Verde Island Passage. In the past, documentation of this biodiversity has helped drive interest and sustainable ecotourism to the areas studied, has brought community outreach and educational opportunities to local communities, and has provided information and conservation recommendations to more effectively promote sustainable local tourism and conservation outcomes. This project represents a collaboration between U.S and Philippine scientific partners.
See more: Scientific American
The Richest Reef: Exploring the Most Diverse Marine Ecosystem on Earth
It’s been wonderful to have the Deutscher Unterwasser-Club Hamburg e.V. with us this past week enjoying the sun and the sea in Puerto Galera. The group has seen the best of the area including the beautiful healthy corals, heaps of fishes, some weird and wacky critters and the stunning Verde Island. April and May are such a perfect time of the year to be here. If you’re looking for a quick escape to paradise over the next while contact us at admin@asiadivers.com as we still have some vacancies.