Status: At anchor
Conditions: Perfect
AirTemp: 37 deg C
WaterTemp: 34 deg C
Wind: Calm
SeaState: Glassy
Visibility: Excellent
Sunday November 11th, 2001
We are midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - right in the centre of the Amazon basin.
And this is as far as Seamaster will get up the Rio Negro this year.
We have made it 1,245 miles from the sea against a stiff current, taking the low-river timing up the Negro because of the beauty of its scenery, the lack of insects, the friendliness of its people and the unknowns that we have had to deal with.
Seamaster has only just scraped through at times - with the bottom of our vessel millimetres from the sand.
Coming upstream has been one thing; to go back down will be something entirely different, with the current behind us giving us a far greater ground speed, leaving less reaction time for the difficult sections.
We hope we make it back to Manaus over the next few weeks without being left high and dry due to a lowering river level - but only time will tell for this.
We have many places still to visit that we had to pass on our way up-river, in our haste to be in place to get our Jungle Team away.
They leave us in 36 hours time.
Iguana - Miguel’s 18metre riverboat, is secured alongside and most of the gear has now been transferred onboard.
This took place during the afternoon - a blazingly hot, sunny and humid afternoon - pretty standard for here.
Everything has been inspected, labelled, and is now ready for Venezuela.
The Jungle Team of Alistair, Janot, Marc (Action Man), Dr Marc (alias Jab), Ollie, Franck and the film crew of Simon and James, are excited, to a greater or lesser extent, about the adventures that lie ahead.
So don’t think we are in the final stages of this double expedition, as we are only just up to full speed, and will be reporting right up to Christmas and beyond.
There are many miles yet to cover on both rivers and ocean.
The Orinoco lies ahead - but a long way ahead at the moment.
There will be further issues that we want to highlight - another major one came to our notice today.
And it is the same issue as the unsustainable over-fishing that is about to become such a problem in the oceans of the world.
Fish are being taken from the sea at a greater rate than they are being replaced.
The Amazon - the Rio Negro - now has the same problem on a major scale.
With the ocean fish, it is estimated that in 25 years time, unless action is taken very soon, there will be very little, if any, large scale commercial fishing left anywhere in the world, as most of the stocks will have been reduced to a fraction of their previous levels - or even worse - have disappeared altogether.
Here in the Rio Negro the over-fishing is reaching alarming proportions.
Whilst there are government guidelines in place to halt such practises, the fact is that the commercial fishermen are moving in - en masse - and taking all the fish.
It goes something like this:
A gill net, up to 750 metres long, is placed right across the mouth of a lagoon.
Another is placed right around the edge of the lagoon.
Further nets are placed at 5 metre intervals right across dividing the water space up into lanes.
Nothing escapes. Everything is taken. Everything!!
The next lagoon follows - then the next - then the next.
The fish are taken to Barcelos for freezing, then onto Manaus for sale and/or export.
It is not the fault of the local people who depend upon their small lagoons and stretches of river for their daily food - they are suffering.
They don’t want this to happen. But there is not much they can do.
The problem lies with the government not getting behind the legislation that it so ably put in place.
The problem lies with some local authorities who might have self-interest at stake.
The problem is the same as the deforestation - 80% of which is illegal - supposedly - even though there are laws to stop it.
The problem is not of the Amazon alone - it is a global one, one where some people have a complete disregard for how important it is that nature is kept in balance.
No-one seems to care any more - especially if there is quick and easy money to be made.
Profit is coming ahead of what is right for the long-term survival of what we know of as life today.
It is estimated that the fish stocks in the upper Rio Negro have halved in the past 2 years.
Leave the commercial fishermen to do as they want for only a short time longer - 2 years more might be too long - and the whole natural infrastructure here might fail.
The fish will be gone - and so will many other life forms - including those people who at present are living sustainably within their environment.
What will it take for governments to comprehend what will be lost if enforced regulation is non-existent.
I don’t really like regulations, but there is no doubt that with the population of the world exploding the way it is, greater regulation and forced compliance with such regulations is now necessary.
Be it the open fisheries of the great oceans, or the controls of the open-slather, take-all, fishing here in the Amazon, survival will only occur if it is recognised that we have to make such practises sustainable. It is the ONLY way.
No-one can argue against sustainability - to do so shows a lack of regard for the environment - our environment - one that we are a part of. But only a part. We also need the rest of it in good health.
People will argue about levels of catches, and numbers of trees cut down, and amount of carbon dioxide, and global warming, and pollution through waste disposal levels and so on.
But we must start somewhere. And we must start soon.
What is presently in place, globally, isn’t working.
So let’s begin by developing some numbers, numbers that have some real meaning, numbers that we can adhere to, even if it hurts a little at first.
We will all appreciate the effort in the long term.
Our children certainly will.
That’s about it from me today - it’s sometimes hard to stop once I am “on a roll”.
But it is easy to get really caught up in the big issues when we are surrounded by them.
Seamaster is presently anchored next to a few islands, with sandbars behind and in front.
The scenery is exquisite.
The people are shy but friendly.
There are few “bugs”.
But it is by being here that we find out, first hand, from local people, what is actually happening.
This wouldn’t occur if we were desk bound in a large city.
It is vital that we continue to move through the most critical natural regions of the world - first the Antarctic, now the Amazon and Orinoco, next the Arctic, then the coral reefs of the Pacific - to experience and learn first hand what is really going on.
By reporting what we find, we can then start to make a difference.
That is our aim - to make a difference.
We hope that you will stay with us for the ongoing adventures, because for us, that is what they are; real adventures!! But adventures where the outcome is far more important than the ending of a good book. The outcome is critical. The more like-minded crew we have to help us, the better.
Welcome aboard.
All the best from the Seamaster crew.
Kind regards,
Peter.
PS:
We normally have a “photo of the day” - but not today.
I think they are all so good that we couldn’t choose.
To Don and Leon, thanks for flying with the back door off.
To Phil Marsteller of Rio Negro Lodge, many thanks for the flights and for your hospitality - we only wish we had met you a few weeks ago. We will run a more in-depth article on what you are courageously achieving despite all the odds, here on the Rio Negro.
And we will be back!
PJB
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe
