by Jeffrey Gallant

The much-anticipated East Coast mermaid, a duplicate bronze statue of Powell River's famed Emerald Princess, got cold feet, or rather a cold tail. It is now headed for the warm waters of Grand Cayman in the British West Indies. Despite the setback, the Lunenburg Mermaid Society is hard at work trying to acquire an 8-foot replica of Simon Morris' Ancient Mariner to take the place of the sea nymph.

All previously donated proceeds for the Atlantic Mermaid will now go to the acquisition of the Ancient Mariner. Located in Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, the Ancient Mariner will be a fitting tribute to the local fishing community as well as a beacon for divers worldwide alongside the wreck of the HMCS Saguenay.

A raffle has been organised to raise money for the project. The prize is a sculpture of the Ancient Mariner by Simon Morris. For more information on the Lunenburg Mermaid Society and the raffle. Visit www.jodive.ns.ca.

A team of divers from the Aqualog Society and Dalhousie University dove with blue sharks off Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 9 and 10. The dives were part of an upcoming Discovery Channel documentary on Canadian sharks.

On one excursion, five or six blue sharks were seen over the course of two hours. The largest measured slightly over three metres. One was accompanied by a pilotfish while another was trailing a fishing line, possibly an escapee from one of the local late-summer shark derbies.

It is important to note that the dives took place over 30 kilometres from shore in waters over 100 metres deep. It took more than 400 kilograms of fish and 100 kilograms of blood to attract a relatively small number of sharks over two days. These sharks were coaxed into interacting with the dive team only after hours of often fruitless and nauseating chumming. Encounters between divers and blue sharks at diveable depths along the coast are extremely unlikely.

These were the first successful shark dives using an anti-shark cage off the East Coast, and likely the first ever in Canada. If anyone has any knowledge of previous anti-shark cage dives in Canada, please contact the author at aqualog@drummond.com or 819.472.5540.

Photos of the expedition are available online at www.aqualog.com