2024 #56 & 57 Dives 291 & 292 LSAC ISAC Dive Week Camas Torsa 10 11 24

Day two's video from last week's joint Lochaber / Inverness Sub Aqua Clubs' (LSAC/ISAC) dive week in Lochaber.

This site is called Camas Torsa (Thor's Bay). None of us had dived this site before, we had chosen it from Finstrokes and wanted to try somewhere different. Not the most exciting dive site, however it was a very memorable one for me, as you will see in the film.

Seven minutes into my first dive, I found a beautiful juvenile Thornback Ray. As I was filming it, I noticed it had a length of line with a fixture on the end, which could easily become a snagging hazard for the poor creature.

I promptly dropped my camera, took out my line-cutter before catching hold of the line in order to remove the hook from its mouth, or cut the line.

I soon discovered that hook was firmly embeded in the corner of its mouth and worse, the fishing line was made from stainless steel cable and was impossible to cut! I struggled with the poor ray for over three minutes, but eventually managed to break the wire about 4cm from its mouth, thus removing the snagging hazard.

The poor thing must have thought I was trying to murder it, but after I released it, it appeared to recover its composure very quickly, as you will see.

I am also a member of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), so I guess this was my first actual rescue.

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