Flotsam & Jetsam

A Harassed Turtle and Men Behaving Badly. A viral video showing Malaysian tourists roughly handling a turtle has triggered widespread outrage with strong complaints that irresponsible tourism is endangering the country's marine life. The 20-second clip shows some snorkeling jerk repeatedly grabbing the turtle by its shell and neck off Redang Island, part of a popular marine park. The Tropical Research and Conservation Centre Borneo stated, "This behaviour is deeply disturbing and concerning and should never be endorsed," which, we think, is too polite to convince many people to behave (South China Morning Post)

Coverup? Egyptian Authorities hold back information on liveaboard tragedy. A British Coroner has expressed concern about the difficulty in obtaining information from Egyptian authorities, more than two years after the liveaboard MY Hurricane was destroyed by a fire, which took the lives of three British nationals. Coroner Katrina Hepburn said that despite prolonged efforts, information and evidence that might have assisted her investigations have not been provided. At the time of the incident, the Egyptian authorities and police had been said to be launching an investigation into the cause of the fire, with Hurricane being towed to port for examination.

Oceanographic's Photographer of the Year Super-Macro Winner. Photographed by Yury Ivanov, based in Bali, a pair of minute amphipods from the Cyproideidae family rest on a coral. Commonly called 'ladybugs of the sea', these tiny creatures display striking coloration and symmetry. Ivanov has co-authored the identification and guidebook Nudibranchs of the Coral Triangle. www.oceanographicmagazine.com/winners-gallery

British Snorkeler Dies, Australian Company Fined. Gross negligence, in our view, saw Queensland's Hostel (not hostile) Reef Trips fined the equivalent of US$40,000 for breaching workplace health and safety rules after a British diver, enrolled in a supervised snorkeling session from its vessel, Reef Experience, died in 2022. Cameron Shaw, 25, disappeared while snorkeling at Saxon Reef, about 34 miles from Cairns. The group was in a designated snorkeling area and supposedly monitored by a member of the vessel's staff; when they were called back to the boat, Shaw did not return. His friends alerted the crew twice, but the oblivious crew mounted no search. During a lunch break, the friends raised the alarm again, but they took no action until the crew on a private vessel informed them they had found a body floating half a mile away. One must wonder why, after being told twice someone is missing, the boat crew preferred to dig into their Vegemite sandwiches.