Nudibranch Workshop
NEWSLETTER 3 - 13-02-2012 Click here
NEWSLETTER 2 - 11-06-2011 Click here
A 14 day nudibranch workshop under the auspices of Dr Richard Willan (Senior Curator of Molluscs at the Museum of The Northern Territory, Darwin) for 11-25 March 2012 on Lissenung Island Resort, Kavieng, PNG.
It has long been a dream of Richard's to unite a group of global nudibranch enthusiasts - professionals, students, and amateurs - for a workshop at a locality in the tropical Pacific where it will be possible to compare and discuss methods for photographing, handling and describing specimens and disseminating the information to researchers and the general public.
Sponsors
Lissenung Island Resort
Dragon Mouse Diving
NudiBase
Duke Environmental Management Consultants
Nudibranch.com.au
Location
Lissenung Island Resort
PO Box 536
Kavieng NIP 631
Papua New Guinea
Phone +675 7234 5834
info@lissenung.com
www.lissenung.com
Skype: lissenungdiving
Workshop dates
11-25 March 2012. The first formal day of the workshop will be Sunday 11 March, so all participants should endeavour to arrive on the previous afternoon/evening. The first day (11 March) will be low-key to allow participants from far afield to get over their jetlag and for participants to meet and mingle with each other. I know it won't be possible to keep some of you out of the water that day, but diving will be confined to the 'House Reef' dive site. There will be no diving permitted on the day prior to departure because of the possibility of emergency depressurisation during flights.
Note: with the current airline schedule there is only a 17.45 arrival on a Sunday, so arrival the day prior to the workshop (i.e., 10th March) will certainly be necessary.
Getting there
Use connecting flights to Port Moresby, thence Kavieng (with a stop-over in Rabaul/Kokopo). Upon reaching Kavieng, one of the Resort's boats will take us out to Lissenung Island.
It would be a good idea to make a booking with Air Niugini or Airlines PNG at this early stage to pick up possible discounts.
Flights with Air Niugini www.airniugini.com.pg from Australia (Sydney, Brisbane & Cairns) to Port Moresby depart seven days a week. There are also twice weekly flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo, Nadi/Fiji and Honiara/Solomon Islands, as well as once a week from Kuala Lumpur to Port Moresby.
Airlines of PNG www.apng.com has daily flights from Cairns and four times a week from Brisbane to Port Moresby (codeshare with Pacific Blue www.pacificblue.com.au ).
Qantas Link www.qantas.com.au operates daily flights from Cairns to Port Moresby.
Daily F100 jet services will get you from Port Moresby to Kavieng via either Rabaul or Manus Island. These flights are with Air Niguini only.
Upon entry to Papua New Guinea at Port Moresby, a tourist visa needs to be obtained. This visa costs Kina 100 (presently 1 PGK ~ 0.3875 USD). It can be obtained at the Customs desk at the airport at Port Moresby by citizens of most countries. However a visa for citizens from India, China and Taiwan needs to be obtained beforehand from the nearest PNG embassy (contact details listed immediately below), so consultations with embassies should start now. Participants from these countries will need to contact Dietmar or Ange at Lissenung immediately as the participants will require booking confirmation from Lissenung for the visa approval. Remember that you are all 'amateurs', so you will not require a Research Visa!
Richard will give more details about stopping over in Port Moresby in future newsletters.
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Resort staff
Dietmar Amon Email: dietmar@lissenung.com
Angelique Amon Email: info@lissenung.com
Nozaki (Diving instructor) Email: nozaki@lissenung.com
Internet site: www.lissenung.com
Participants (listed in order of acceptance)
1. Richard Willan
Darwin, Australia – Professional.
Email: richard.willan@nt.gov.au
2. Neil Wright
Darwin, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: neilr.wright@nt.gov.au
3. Gary Cobb
Moffat Beach, Queensland, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: gary@nudibranch.com.au
4. David Mullins
Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: marineimages@hotmail.com
5. Terry Farr
Caloundra, Queensland, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: thfarr@bigpond.net.au
6. Julie Schubert
Caloundra, Queensland, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: scubajulie@hotmail.com
7. Robert Gardiner
Yea, Victoria, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: robert_42@optusnet.com.au
8. Pirjo Pellet
France – Amateur.
Email: pirjo.pellet@free.fr
9. Francis Pellet
France – Amateur.
Email: pirjo.pellet@free.fr
10. Yen-wei Chang
Kaohsiung, Taiwan – Student.
Email: bard8088@msn.com
11. Jim Anderson
Scotland – Amateur.
Email: jander4454@gmail.com
12. Lesley Anderson
Jim's wife.
13. Deb Aston
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia – Amateur; photographer.
Email: dtaston@bigpond.net.au
14. Sean Kearney
California, USA – Amateur.
Email: skearney@dc.rr.com
15. Sue Kearney
California, USA – Amateur.
Email: skearney@dc.rr.com
16. Mike Miller
California, USA – Amateur.
Email: miller4777@yahoo.com
17. Linnet Scott
Port Moresby, PNG –Amateur.
Email:linnet.scott@gmail.com
18. Ashley Missen
Victoria, Australia – Amateur.
Email: ashley@dragonmouse.com.au
19. Glenys Greenwood
Victoria, Australia – Amateur.
Email: greendiver@bigpond.com
Costs (excluding those involved in getting to Kavieng)
• Basic cost = UDS 90.00 per person per night (the Resort's normal rate is USD 130.00 per person per night).
• Return transfer by boat to Kavieng = free of charge (the Resort's normal rate is USD 30.00 per person).
• Boat hire: (a) 'Carola' (maximum 4 divers including driver) = USD 160.00; (b) 'Raven' (maximum 6 divers including driver) = USD 240.00; (c) 'Andiamo' (maximum 10 divers including driver) = USD 470.00. These rates are excluding petrol which will be charged at cost.
• Diving = USD 10.00 per scuba tank (the Resort's normal rate for a 2-tank dive is USD 125.00 per person per day).
• Environment & Safety Fee = USD 4.00 per diver per dive day (this amount is forwarded to the recompression facility at Port Moresby).
• Workshop supplies charge = USD 50 per person (goes towards the purchase of equipment and consumables specifically for the workshop).
• Extras not included = Hire of dive gear (except tanks and weights), drinks, tips.
A deposit of USD 270.00, which is roughly 20% of the anticipated accommodation/meal cost, is required by the end of April. The balance will then be collected from the same card 60 days prior to arrival at Lissenung Island Resort.
Currency
You can pay in A$, USD, Euro or Yen cash, whatever is easiest for you. Lissenung Island Resort takes credit cards, but Visa and MasterCard only. Credit cards will be charged in PGK Kina, USD will be converted into Kina with the exchange rate of the day as published on www.xe.com
Communication
The Resort's internet connection is good. The Resort has its own satellite setup and thus it has unlimited downloads. On one occasion we had trouble making a cell phone call home to Australia.
Time
Papua New Guinea is in the same time zone as Queensland.
Habitats and dive sites
Lissenung Island, where the workshop will be held, has a fringing coral reef, sand flats and seagrass beds, all easily accessible by diving and by wading at low tide. There will be no charge for accessing these habitats. Other offshore habitats such as drop-offs and isolated coral outcrops are accessible by boat (there are 45 marked/buoyed dive sites around the Tigak Islands) and there will be a charge for single or double dives. Normally the Resort does two dives in the morning, returns divers for lunch, and does one dive in the afternoon, but I expect our offshore dives will be fewer, shallower and longer than 'normal'. There will be an opportunity for a night dive from the Resort every third night.
Diving
I attach the Resort's standard Booking Form (consisting of two pages) for all participants to complete. Nozaki from the Resort and David Mullins from the participants will co-ordinate diving. We will all be diving under the Resort's Code. It is important to complete this form even if you don't intend diving or snorkelling.
Every diver will need to produce his basic diving certificate (equivalent to basic PADI C-card), certificate from a doctor with knowledge of diving-related syndromes attesting to the person's fitness to dive, plus a log book. Every diver must have DAN (Divers Alert Network) insurance coverage. Please check the respective websites for membership:
For US residents: www.diversalertnetwork.org
For Asia/Pacific residents: www.danasiapacific.org
For European residents: www.daneurope.org
Meals
Note that the Resort serves only sustainably caught fish and seafood.
Medical matters
Lissenung Island is very remote and the nearest hospital, at Kavieng, is not top-class, so participants need to be sensible and careful.
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes do occur on Lissenung Island, so medication and precautions against being bitten should be taken. Consult your own doctor for advice on malaria in the Kavieng local area of PNG and make sure to tell your doctor that you will be diving as some malaria prophylaxis can affect you adversely when diving.
Fortunately no crocodiles or cubozoans (sea wasps) occur in the waters around Lissenung Island, but there are plenty of other poisonous and venomous animals (hydroids, fishes, etc), and coral cuts will be inevitable. A stinger suit is all that is needed for diving as the water is about 30°C. It is a sensible precaution to bring some basic medical supplies like antibiotic cream, sterile plasters and gauze with you.
Collection of specimens
Whilst the primary aim of the workshop will be to document the biodiversity of opisthobranchs around Lissenung Island photographically, it will be necessary to collect some specimens to confirm their identification. Some preservative fluids (ethanol, isopropanol) will be ordered for the workshop. However participants will need to bring their own containers if they intend to collect specimens. Participants will need to arrange the export of specimens themselves.
After dinner talks
It would be nice if participants could give a very informal talk in the evening to share your knowledge with the others. If you are able to give Gary Cobb some idea of the subject of your talk he will arrange a program of speakers.
Workshop T-shirts
Part of the Workshop Supplies charge will go towards purchasing and printing T-shirts. Gary has already given some thought to the design and he is now ready to order the shirts. So can you please let him know what size you are.
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