Coin de Mire 25 January 2026

Описание: Todays safari was a small group of passionate scuba divers, and it was especially memorable because there was a strong current on Djabeda, followed by such a strong current on Carpenter reef that Bobby aborted the dive. I was filming and did not realise the divers were long gone- and I had a magnificent solo dive. Take a look at the excited fish swirling around me! Its as though they had never seen a diver before.

It was exciting to see the peppercorn baby fish in mid- water- you wil see them as backscatter in the video. They were followed by shoals of fusiiers, so it looks as though we might have some action in the coming months. This year has seen significant reductions in the marine life around Mauritius. The Gulf Stream (AMOK) has slowed, and there are some theories promoting the concept of a geological shift in magnetic north to account for this. Certainly this year there has been no upwelling of cold water from the Southern Ocean with the accompanying plankton surge, and there are no huge shoals of fish that follow the bounty of plankton. This means there is no food source for the marine predators who have left our barren waters to hunt where thir food sources can be found.

We had a few whisps of sargassum in Mauritius, but fortunately it stayed in the ocean.
Fish only hatch when there is a food source, and there have been fewer fish hatching. Those that do hatch must be rigorously protected. The Fisheries and Marine Resources Protection Act of 2023 is the primary resource for the protection of our reefs and our marine world. Objectives of Act are primarily to ensure the long-term conservation, management and development of fisheries and aquaculture in Mauritius while safeguarding the marine resources, biodiversity, environment and ecosystems for the benefit of the people of Mauritius. The Ministry of The Blue Economy has a wonderful champion in the Deputy Minister Fabrice David who has proudly stood up and declared his intention to protect the ocean. And that starts with the reefs.
Net fishing is illegal from 31 October to 1 March.
Mauritians love their ocean and they love their marine life. The commercial fishermen I have spoke to are desperate to find a better less controversial means of making a living. They would embrace a better career as a marine guide, showing tourists their wonderful world. This is a dream for many fishermen who endure a tough livelihood. They rise at 4 am, push the motor of the boat engine to the beach, get wet in the lagoons fishing for bait where tourists despise them, then spend all day laying long lines, hauling in dead fish then returning at 4 pm to sell a catch that gets smaller every year.
The fishermen I have spoken to feel very strongly that the jobs they do pay minimum wage and are very hard work. They would far prefer to become Marine guides, using their knowledge of the ocean and its creatures as marine travel guides.
The contribution to the Mauritian economy of a single Inimicus filamentosus far exceeds the value of a net full of baby lagoon hatchlings
Our own dive master Bernard is a prime example of this. He spent his early years as a fisherman assistant on the Dhabeda and qualified a skipper as soon as he could afford to train. Now he is one of our most knowledgeable Ocean Spirit Scuba diving leaders.
Our important client loved her Discover Scuba Diving experience. She did a second dive and is now hooked on scuba diving. She starts training in March! How much better to hook divers, than to hook our diminishing schools of fish!

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