Are the days of seeing big schools of pelagics over?

[poochpie]

Hi All,
Has anyone seen huge schools of pelagics as of late? I've been to lots of places to see the big stuff over the years but don't know where to go anymore. Divers are coming back from Cocos Island and saying there aren't big schools due to all the fishing being done off shore. Any suggestions?

---------- Post added March 14th, 2013 at 05:59 PM ----------

Has anyone been to East Timor? If so, can you please describe the diving experience there? Thanks, poochpie

 

[Wingy]

Hi yes - French Polynesia in January was full of big pelagic action - gets harder and harder to find every year doesnt it..try Rangiroa

 

[poochpie]

hi wingy,
been to rangiroa and loved it. fakarova was even better but this was at least 10 years ago. cocos island was amazing 12 years ago but now the big stuff has been slaughtered. thanks for your reply.

 

[drbill]

Back when I started diving in the 60s, pelagics were much more abundant. Today we hardly see them. Long liners, gill netters and factory ships have raped the seas.

 

[supergaijin]

Purse Seine fishng fleets have recently ramped up their size and efficiency- particularly FADs are putting a huge amount of pressure on tuna- all but one species is endagered. FADs increase bycatch... and the trickle down effect starts there.

Greenpeace were in Laamu Atoll last November (had dinner on the Rainbow Warrior III ) and they were part of a conference at our hotel on the sustainable pole-and-line fishing of the Maldives. They also brought a dire warning of the fleet that is currently working its way down the west coast of Africa and ready to enter the Indian Ocean where it will trash the tuna industry here, just like it did in the Pacific ten years ago.

Big schools of fish are definitely on the decline- have been for decades.

 

[ocdiver1]

Hi All,
Has anyone seen huge schools of pelagics as of late? I've been to lots of places to see the big stuff over the years but don't know where to go anymore. Divers are coming back from Cocos Island and saying there aren't big schools due to all the fishing being done off shore. Any suggestions?

---------- Post added March 14th, 2013 at 05:59 PM ----------

"Has anyone been to East Timor? If so, can you please describe the diving experience there? Thanks, poochpie

"

Re pelagics...the Socorros off the west coast of Mexico...half the price of Galapagos/Cocos and easier to get to

I've been to East Timor three times..once on a liveaboard (Worldwide Dive and Sail), the other times diving out of Dili with Dive Timor Lorosae..the main operator in the country although there's at least one more. Most of the diving is shore based with them, although at least one day a week they run a boat trip out to Atauro. Pretty good muck sites right in Dili...Tasi Tolo in particular, have caught a rhinopia there on two visits. Up and down the coast mix of sloping reef and wall diving, coral in pretty good shape and good for macro, no real big schools of fish..chance at seeing a dugong at least at one site I can think of. Diving at these sites is a lot like at neighboring Alor in Indo. On the liveaboard we dove Atauro, and saw a few hammerheads each morning dive, even one thresher. We also did some exploratory diving and went out to Jaco, which I don't think any operator regularly goes out to. You'll likely be the only diver at any of the dive sites. Overall, I'd say it's worth a look, but overall doesn't compare to any of the top spots in Indonesia. If you'd like any other info, pm me.

 

[poochpie]

hi ocdiver1, love socorros and have been 3 times but not as many pelagics as the galapagos or cocos. of course who knows what it's like now at any of these places. haven't been to socorros in 6 years.

thanks so much for the info on east timor. i haven't seen a dugong but people did on my komodo trip. what did you see out in jaco? guess i'll have to do the tiger shark diving in the bahamas if i want a shark thrill.

---------- Post added March 24th, 2013 at 12:09 PM ----------

there doesn't seem to be any way to stop all the fishing fleets. so sad.

 

[Wingy]

Still some big stuff in PNG too