Whales Ahoy!

Is it wrong to invite your child’s hero back to the boat and drink been with him? The “Deadly Pole to Pole” team proved very amenable so we asked them over to Croix des Gardes for a drink or three. Presenter Steve was joined by his soundman Nick and cameraman Johnny (filming on Canon DSLR lenses) and young researcher Matthew. Johnny and I bored the rest of them talking photography, Nick and Steve regaled us with tales of wildlife encounters and tropical diseases (Nick was due a check up at the centre for tropical medicine in London in his return whilst Johnny had recently had a bot fly larva in his scalp whilst another colleague had been so infested with tombu fies that he drank an entire bottle of whisky and tried to kill himself whilst alone in Africa and was found and rescued by a shaman). Johnny is convinced he wants to buy a classic yacht now.

Children with "Deadly" hero in front of Sperm whale skeleton

We also discussed the local policy of culling lionfish. The divemaster on my morning’s dives had destroyed several, using a litter picker and a metal rod. The Beeb team reckoned they’re most prevalent between 50m to 80m so I doubted that divers picking off ones at 30m or less was really going to have a useful effect on the problem. Although there are other predatory fish naturally on these reefs, the lionfish is a recent arrival, has no natural predators and locals fear that it will soon annihilate the local small reef fish. I’d like to find out more on the matter.

Lion fish cull

The kids and James played in the hotel pool whilst I dived. We also visited the Champagne Reef where sulphurous gasses seep from the sea bed, leaving the water a mildly golden colour and fizzing with bubbles. The sea bed is actually warm to the touch here too. This area was much shorter on fish and devoid of corals or sponges, but several tang and goatfish were busy near the transition zone.

Young sperm whale diving off Dominica

We then boarded the 75ft sailing catamaran to go sperm whale watching. The crew use a hydrophone to listen for the regular clicking noises the whales make whilst it hunts for squid in the darkness, and then they home in on the source. The whales dive for around 45minutes before resting at the surface for ten minutes or so before diving again. We got good views of several, including a female and calf. There were two boats, the other one getting far closer and carving up our boat. The viewing is quite regulated as they don’t want to drive their source of income away. Locals are permitted to snorkel and dive with the whales so tourists can join them if you find someone to take you out. However, any filming or photography in the water is considered “research” and requires a permit. The Beeb said it took two months to obtain their permit and it was hugely expensive. The whales are quite odd, not just by being the largest toothed whale, but also because their blowhole is at the tip of their body and offset on the left side. We told Matthew it was like having your nose on the back of your head above your left ear.