Part 2: Commercial Paua Divers
5:12pm Saturday 5 January 2013
Haliotis Iris, (black footed abalone or paua) and Evechinus Chloroticus (kina, or spiny sea urchin) are “black gold” for the local and international seafood markets, but being at the mercy of the weather and risking life and limb being bitten by sharks or territorial bull seals comes with the job as a commercial paua diver.
Lynda spends a day with father and son team David and Jason Baker from Saavid Diving Ltd, one of the larger commercial paua diving operations in Marlborough Sounds. What’s it like to spend up to eight hours a day in freezing New Zealand waters? What about fatigue or shallow water black-out? And what on earth is a “scupper”? A day in the life of our most extreme hunter/gatherers, our commercial paua divers.
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Hunting on breath alone.