A Year Beneath Our Seas - Calendar 2009

The pictures in this calendar were taken in a variety of seas over the period of a year. January’s picture is a shot of cuttlefish in the North Sea in Holland. Each year between March and May, these creatures gather at a specific site to mate and lay eggs. Engrossed with the task at hand, they pay little attention to divers in the water, and can be approached without fear of disturbing them. February features a picture of the wreck of the Rangoon in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka. This wreck provides a perfect habitat for a rich ecosystem on an otherwise barren sea floor. And in October, a diver plumbs the murky depths of the Baltic Sea to explore an abandoned German torpedo station from world war two. Many of the other photos were taken in Egypt’s Red Sea, which has become one of Europe’s preferred holiday destinations in recent years. Sadly, these photos represent the remnants of a dying world: in 2009 the habitat that makes the mating of the cuttlefish possible will be buried under metres of waste material as part of a Dutch construction project; the Rangoon sits on a barren sea bed because environmental pressures prevent the re-growth of coral; and most of the Red Sea’s shoreline reefs are dying rapidly due to massive uncontrolled seafront development - the building of resorts for European tourists. If you are concerned and would like to know more about how you can slow the demise of our seas, visit www.davidpeart.com If not, then enjoy the pictures anyway. Soon they will all there is left to remind us of the unparalleled beauty of our seas.