DIVE SLATE
20
An alien invasion
22
the gyre project
24
a new chamber in cozumel
26
member profile
28
DAN Calendar of Events
DAN Education Spotlight
ONLINE VIDEO SERIES
TRAVEL SMARTER
The Tetepare Descendents’ Association of
Tetepare Island, Solomon Islands, has set an
impressive standard in the management of the
island’s reefs and other natural resources.
“H
iro varoa,” whispered Hobete Ghau
confidently in his unique Touo language,
“oihare must come up tonight.” For
millennia, Hobete’s forefathers in the
Solomon Islands had waited expectantly for
gigantic leatherback turtles to haul themselves onto
the beaches of Tetepare Island. More than half a ton
of prized oily meat with the added bonus of at least
100 tasty eggs offer a welcome excuse for a community
feast for subsistence farmers who still lack refrigeration
or access to food stores. So immense and heavy are
these sea turtles that they can be restrained only by a
group of men — such as those sitting around Hobete
tonight. The laying female had not re-emerged from
the pounding waves last night, the 10th night since her
last egg-laying, so she would surely appear tonight on
the 11th night, known as hiro varoa.
A Darth-Vader-like exhale, audible above the surf, was
our first indication that oihare had returned. Ten minutes
later, after she had hauled herself up the steep black
14
|
SPRING 2014
The Last Wild Island
