THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - COCO KEELINGS ISLANDS, Part 3, by @marc-allaria (translated from French)

vcelier (74)in #story • 5 years ago

This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @marc-allaria: LE VOYAGE D'AURORA - COCOS KEELING ISLANDS - Episode 3...!

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Marc Allaria (@marc-allaria), a French guy.

THE JOURNEY OF AURORA - COCO KEELINGS ISLAND
Part 3

THE "BLUES HOLES" FROM THE SOUTH

Low tide changes the appearance of the lagoon. The South is mostly a very shallow sandy platform. Every twelve hours, the sea follows its astral cycle and thus frees the lagoon from the two meters of water that covered it. Except for many holes about ten meter deep. These holes are then the refuge for six hours of several species of fish that came to find there water less hot than on the almost discovered zones. Fish of course, but not only. It is not uncommon to find some large pelagic trapped in the tide and waiting that the water comes back to return to the sea. Thus, giant manta rays can be regularly observed, but also green turtles, and the inevitable blacktip sharks, that have colonized the whole lagoon.

SHARK ISLAND

The Cocos are at the gateway to Asia, but are administrated by Australia. And when you know the application of Australians in the protection of the environment, it then becomes implicit that their presence preserves the sharks from any commercial exploitation. Here, no shark fishing for the marketing of their fins. Asians will go elsewhere. In addition, the low human presence maintains a marine life rich in fish, the basis of the diet of sharks. This population can grow without any danger, and is clearly the first inhabitant of the seabed.

Inside the lagoon, small sharks with blacktips hardly ever exceeding one meter, took possession of the place. Throw a piece of fish into the sea and you will soon see two or three of these individuals coming to clean the area. Outside, the sizes change. The most common sharks are grey reef sharks, which here reach adult sizes around three meters. The animal is of a magnificent perfection, without any defect, having sensory sensors of which we still know very little. No aggression, no intimidation, the sharks have enough to eat and approach the divers only out of curiosity. The fear of men towards this old animal, being due as often to bad media reports.