Environment and climate change
The oceans of the anthropocene
Feeling homesick even though you’re already at home
Diving in Tasmania
The weather was good yesterday, so I went for a dive off my local beach.
We’re still in the Derwent estuary here, and the visibility varies from reasonable to pretty poor.
On Saturday, it was a bit murky. There’s plenty of life down there, though.
I saw a couple of adult draughtboard sharks cruising the weeds. These beautiful creatures have a kind of mottled camo pattern on their skin and incredible metallic copper-coloured eyes. They can grow to 1.5 m, but the ones I see are usually around 1 m or maybe a little less. They’re bottom-dwelling and harmless.
And they’re quite curious, not like the big wrasse that dart for cover as I approach, or the shy crayfish lurking beneath their overhangs.
I saw a biggish smooth stingray, around 1 metre across, and it was definitely not shy, to the point where I started to feel uncomfortable, watching its whiplike tail beneath me with thoughts of…