Issue 77 - October 2021

Self-Discovery in The Sand By Cath Wallis

My feet slip with every step. Moving with the soft sand beneath. Struggling to gain traction and push forward. And yet I must. Force each step; push with the poles to achieve forward motion. This is the desert, and as much as it forces me back, I must resist.

My first foray into desert foot events was in this same spot. The Australian Simpson Desert in 2017. A late comer to this sport at age 41, I had only recently discovered the joy of trail events, having completed a 100km single stage event in my hometown. I was looking for the next challenge and a one-week desert ultramarathon seemed perfect. It was as far away from my ‘normal’ life, working in an office, as you could get. Here, in a place 2000km from the nearest city, requiring two days travel just to get here, was a desert gateway town with only 100 residents, leading into one of the harshest deserts in the world.

Lining up on that start line was the most terrifying experience of my life. Would I be able to cross this desert? Would I be worthy of this challenge? The event began with nearly all 100 residents there to see us off. A loop of the town to the cheers of the crowd and then into the desert. Crossing dune after dune, punctuated only by flat sections with ankle-breaking rocks known as gibber plain. The heat radiating from the sand as the sun rose higher, reaching over 40 degrees in the exposed terrain. Completing a marathon distance before crossing the stage finish and sleeping our first night under the stars, sharing a tent with two strangers who would later become friends.

Desert running has this mystique around it. People imagine lithe young athletes moving gracefully across the sand at great speed. Men like Moroccan champion and seven-time Marathon des Sables winner Rachid El Morabity. And women like Canadian Isabelle Sauve or Swede Elisabet Barnes. And there are definitely those people out there. But the vast majority out here in the desert are ordinary people, doing something special. Walking is not shunned here, but welcomed. According to the 4 Deserts Series organisers, Racing the Planet, only around a third of entrants in 250km desert ultramarathons run the entire event. Another third alternate between running and walking, and a full third walk the distance.

For me, I came to this sport almost by accident. Middle aged and totally non-athletic, I was looking for a sport that could bring great personal reward despite more commitment than skill, and in the trail running community I found my place. A sport where, other than a tiny elite, everyone is competing against themselves and who genuinely desire to see others succeed. Where in that moment when you feel you cannot take one more step, another competitor will walk with you and urge you forward. And on another day, in another moment, you will do the same for them.

So we continued on – with hues of red and orange in the sand like fire at sunset. Gradually my mind settled from fear to awe. The vastness of the space. An ancient landscape, the country of the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi people, exuding an aura of calm. A timeless place in which petty human concerns are reduced to insignificance.

While each person comes here for a different reason, crossing this desert generates deep and long-lasting bonds. We each take on our own race, against our own time and meeting our own demons in the process. And yet, there is a shared experience here. Of hardship, of the harsh beauty of this place. Shared pain, shared jokes, shared joy. I knew no one as I crossed the start line. By the end of a week we are friends for life. Sixty competitors, now firm friends, making their way across the last section of desert towards the finish line. At a pub. A cold beer passed to each as we finish our desert adventure. The quintessential outback Australian experience.

After my first foray into desert trail events, I was hooked. I discovered there are desert ultramarathon options across the world and my list of dream events grew longer and longer. I headed to the Oman Desert Marathon and Race to the Wreck in Namibia, before COVID sent me back home to the Australian desert.

Deserts have this reputation of being empty places. Of vast nothingness. But they are far from empty. In Oman, I shared the desert with camels and lizards. In Namibia with ostrich and zebra and leopard, and tiny beetles that followed my foot placement at every step. The sand moves endlessly, shifting the ripples on the surface, erasing any record of human endeavour.

I think only 40% of desert running is physical. The rest is mental. The heat (or the cold at night), the sand, the distance – it can drain you quickly and if your mind is not in the right place, it can beat you. When you prepare for one of these events, you need to get ready for the moment that your mind tells you that you cannot go on. And you need to practice telling your mind to shut up.

For me, in those moments when it all seems too much, too hot, too far – I stop. I stop and take a long look around me. Focusing on the landscape. The shape of the dunes, the movement of lizards or insects. The vast sky above me. And how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be in such a special place. And that gratitude resets my mind. And I gulp some water, grab my poles, and head off again across the sand.

What kind of people come here to run or walk in the desert? People seeking that epiphany moment, that opportunity to find what is important to them. To put themselves to a physical and mental test. That breaks down their fears and their ego, and that leaves them at peace with themselves.

Desert events often have very special endings. At the end of my crossing of the Namib desert, on Rat Race International’s “Race to the Wreck”, you reach a point where the sea used to be. Shells and whale bones jut out of the former seabed. And then, as you move further west, the wreck comes into sight. The Eduard Bohlen, twisted metal rusting in place, a full kilometre now from the sea. You run down past the wreck to cross the finish line, to receive your medal, and feast on fresh Walvis Bay oysters and pink champagne.

I would love everyone to have a desert foot event experience. And so, when I found myself headed once more to the Simpson, as the event Ambassador for the Simpson Desert Ultra, I wanted to bring a team. Eighteen women from around Australia answered a call to step out of their comfort zone and come with me to the desert for the first time. They are scientists, and art therapists and teachers. Small business owners and nurses, and mums. Some literally starting from “couch to ultra”. Others thinking Parkrun was their limit, but now testing themselves across as many as 100km of sand in a single stage.

For more about Cath’s adventures in the desert, head to DiscoverInteresting.com

Cath Wallis is an Australian ultra-endurance athlete who has completed some of the world’s most iconic foot races – from the back of the field. Her passion is encouraging those who do not consider themselves “athletes” to follow their wildest adventure dreams. She has developed a special love for desert racing – a sport that challenges the mind as much as it challenges the body. From Namibia to Oman and Australia, Cath talks about why desert racing is so special and what it takes to spend a week crossing these pristine wild spaces on your own two feet.

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Issue 77 - October 2021

SEVENSEAS Beach Cleanup Event for October 2021

It was a bit hectic with COVID-19 this time. However, we manage to organise our cleanup event on Sunday 7th October 2021. This time, we managed to collect only 74 kilograms of marine debris from the beach which is a bit less than last time.

By undertaking these endeavours, we aimed to make a positive impact on our local environment while raising awareness about the significance of preserving our oceans. You can support us by making a DONATION HERE.

Issue 77 - October 2021

SEVENSEAS Travel Magazine – October 2021 – Issue 77

PADI AWARE Foundation’s Dive Against Debris Highlights Socioeconomic Influences on Debris in Global Study

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PADI AWARE Foundation™ has teamed up with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and Ocean Conservancy, the US-based advocacy non-profit, to highlight the role that socioeconomics plays on global hotspots of common debris items on land and the seafloor. Read more…

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Imperiled Reef: The Fascinating, Fragile Life of a Caribbean Wonder

This book brings alive the richly diverse world of an underwater paradise: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Stretching 625 miles through the Caribbean Sea along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, this reef is the second largest coral structure on the planet. Read more…

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Eco-friendly Sailing Adventures in the Florida Keys

The Florida Keys is one of America’s most popular vacation spots because of its miles and miles of splendid beaches, coral reefs, and shipwrecks that can only be completely explored by water. It is also a home to rich marine ecosystems, a variety of public nature parks and historical sites. Read more…

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation Completes the Largest Coral Reef Survey and Mapping Expedition in History

Coral reefs around the world are rapidly declining due to various natural and anthropogenic factors, including climate change, overfishing, pollution, and coastal development. Scientists estimate that we have already lost more than half of the world’s coral reefs, and we could lose the rest by the end of the century. Read more…

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Ocean Hope Chronicles: The Mid-Ocean Mysteries of Humpback Whales

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SAWFISH NEWS: Seeking Wall for Endangered Sawfish Mural

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Where Are the Fish Going? Unsustainable Fishing Practices Leading to Fishery-Induced Evolution

“Our oceans are being plundered”(WWF, n.d, 1.). Many people rely on seafood to survive, whether it is their main source of protein or their livelihood. Overfishing and overexploitation of many fish species is leading to the full collapse, or soon to collapse entirely, in the commercial fisheries. Read more…

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Under the Waves with Karim Iliya, October 2021

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Allen Coral Atlas Completes First Global Coral Reef Maps

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Self-Discovery in The Sand By Cath Wallis

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‘Driving’ Innovation to Help Eliminate Plastic Waste

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The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

Signing up for the free Weekly Newsletter & Jobs List will get you a round-up of upcoming events, webinars, meetings, reports, funding opportunities, photos of the week, and recent postings to the jobs list.

To sign up for our free subscription, please Click Here or email us Here.

Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

If you are interested in contributing or getting involved, email us Here.

Feature Destination

Fisheries Interactions More Threatening to Maui Nui Dolphins than Previously Thought

Researchers at Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF), a nonprofit organization protecting the ocean through science and advocacy since 1980, dove deep below the surface in a new study that could revolutionize how researchers evaluate the impact of fisheries interactions on dolphin populations. Using dorsal fin, mouth line and underwater body imagery, the latter a first of its kind for this type of study, researchers found that fisheries interactions on Maui Nui dolphins may be more pervasive than initially thought.

Principal investigator Jens Currie, PWF’s Chief Scientist and co-author oversaw the recently published paper, External Scarring as an Indicator of Fisheries Interactions with Bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and Pantropical Spotted (Stenella attenuata) Dolphins in Maui Nui, Hawai‘iwhich used PWF’s long-term historic data on bottlenose and spotted dolphins collected over a 24-year period from 1996-2020. A recent paper citing an apparent decline in bottlenose dolphin population in Maui Nui highlights the importance of PWF’s study in exploring the potential impacts of fisheries interaction to these dolphins.

Abigail Machernis, PWF Research Biologist and lead author of the paper, examined data collected in the Maui Nui region of Hawai‘i, which consists of the islands of Maui, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i and Kaho‘olawe and found 27% of 255 identified bottlenose dolphins and 13% of 374 identified spotted dolphins displayed one or more fishery gear-related scars. Every image in the nonprofit’s extensive photo-ID catalog, was reviewed to identify dolphins with scars on dorsal fins, mouthlines and bodies of dolphins that indicate past interactions with fisheries and fishing gear. The objectives of PWF’s research were (1) to determine the number of bottlenose and spotted dolphins that showed evidence of a fisheries interaction in Maui Nui; and (2) to determine if underwater body images, in addition to the traditionally used dorsal fin and mouthline images, increased detection rates of evidence of fisheries interactions.

Building on established methodology, focused primarily on dorsal fin analysis, researchers used underwater body images to gain a new perspective for assessing fisheries interactions. The inclusion of underwater photo analysis was a game changer, according to Machernis. “Most research literature that examines fisheries interactions look primarily at dorsal fins and we wanted to use all the data we have collected to examine as much of the dolphins’ body as possible for evidence of fishing-gear related scars.”

The study’s innovative approach involves combining individual assessments of dolphins’ dorsal fins, mouthlines and bodies into a single assessment and found the inclusion of underwater imagery increased scar detection rates by 51% for bottlenose dolphins and 40% for spotted dolphins. Using past research on fisheries interactions coupled with forward-thinking research methods, the study is the first to present a standardized approach for using photos of dorsal fins, mouthlines, and underwater body footage into the assessment of fisheries interactions.

“Without documenting real-time interactions or observing physical gear on an animal’s body, photo analysis is the best available proxy for quantifying fisheries interactions,” notes Currie. “There is still more research to be done and we want to make sure we have all the information needed to determine if there is a conservation concern and then work with fishers on a solution if warranted.”

Worldwide, interactions with fisheries have been identified as one of the leading conservation concerns for cetaceans resulting in lethal or non-lethal consequences. The full extent is hard to assess as most entanglements are never observed, but research noted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) suggests that over 300,000 whales and dolphins die annually due to entanglement in marine debris. This can have a devastating, long-term conservation impact on those populations that are already threatened, in some cases critically.

Past and ongoing research confirms that direct interactions between cetaceans and fishing gear typically transpire in one of two ways: (1) animals unintentionally swim into gear becoming entangled or entrapped or (2) animals deliberately remove fish captured in gear, a behavior known as depredating, and become hooked and/or entangled as a result. Some fishing gear interactions can result in serious injury or mortality from entanglement or ingestion of gear.

These types of interactions occur globally and are likely to increase due to the potential for continued human encroachment on cetacean habitats. Thus, the paper asserts, population-level impacts of fisheries on cetaceans are of great concern and there is a critical need to identify which species interact with which fisheries and the location(s) these interactions occur so researchers can work with fishers to find sustainable solutions.

In short, Machernis concludes that these findings suggest that fisheries interactions are more widespread than we previously thought, and this can have implications on how we manage these near shore island-associated populations. In addition to informing management and conservation actions, the study and paper support outreach efforts targeting recreational and commercial fishers that provide education on best fishing practices when dolphins are present.

“We highly recommend researchers interested in examining the threat of fisheries interactions to dolphins make a concerted effort in the field to collect above-water mouth line and body shots, in addition to underwater footage,” Machernis advises, emphasizing the value of images such as those studied in providing a more accurate analysis of scar detection rates.

PWF’s scientific paper, External Scarring as an Indicator of Fisheries Interactions with Bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and Pantropical Spotted (Stenella attenuata) Dolphins in Maui Nui, Hawai‘iauthored by Abigail Machernis, Stephanie H. Stack, Grace L. Olson, Florence A. Sullivan and Jens Currie, is published in Aquatic Mammals and available for review. All Pacific Whale Foundation publications are freely available at PacificWhale.org/research/publications.

To learn more or make a contribution to support PWF’s dolphin research, please visit PacificWhale.org/pacific-whale-foundation/.

About Pacific Whale Foundation

With a mission to protect the ocean through science and advocacy and to inspire environmental stewardship, Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) conducts Research, Education and Conservation programs. Founded in 1980 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the world’s whales from extinction, PWF now solely owns social enterprise PacWhale Eco-Adventures, which offers fee-based programs and services to help support the nonprofit. Combined with memberships, donations, charitable grants and a remarkable group of dedicated volunteers, PWF now reaches more than 400,000 individuals each year through its Maui and Australia offices and research projects in Ecuador and Chile.