As regular readers already know Discovery Channel will be making a special documentary on Malapascua’s Thresher Sharks in time for next season’s Shark Week event. The project’s seeds were sown a year ago when underwater cameramen from Scubazoo trained on the Pelagian DCCCR and realised the potential the rebreather gives to getting footage of our shy and elusive sharks.
Fast forward one year and Jason Isley and Simon Christopher are back along with Senior Cameraman Roger Munns and of course elasmobranch expert Dr Simon Oliver, who will be our on screen guide to the secret world of The Thresher Shark. Joining them all is Mr Pelagian himself Andy Fritz who designs and manufactures the unit.
The team have been working hard this week to figure out how Closed Circuit Rebreathers work. CCRs are not wasteful like Open Circuit. In normal diving we breathe in from our tank, take the oxygen we need and exhale all the gas into the water where it bubbles to the surface. In CCR we exhale back into a loop and the gas is recycled with Sofnalime taking out any carbon dioxide from our exhalation. This means CCR divers are silent and can approach marine life without all the noisy equipment and bubbling. And this is great for science and great for Discovery’s upcoming documentary.
This week the team got up close and personal with incredible marine life at Monad Shoal and that’s even before the shoot gets going! Just see for yourself.
To learn how to dive on CCR or to find out more about the multiple training opportunities proudly offered by Evolution just contact us on info@evolution.com.ph
