Everett diver fears spill’s effects on dolphins

Dan Clements hasn’t seen a drop of oil.

Diving in warm waters off the Florida Keys near the Bahamas, he is awestruck by nature’s beauty. Picture-perfect in the sparkling sea are bottlenose dolphins, schools of silvery fish, turtles and marine invertebrates.

Clements, 61, is an underwater photographer. A year ago, the Everett man was featured in The Herald after writing “Critters, Creatures and Kelp: A Guide to Life in the Edmonds Underwater Park.” His book, self-published through CCS Printing of Bellevue, includes photos taken by Clements and other divers showcasing Puget Sound’s undersea life.

With his recent dives in the clear saltwater off Lucaya, in the Bahamas about 50 miles east of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Clements marvels at sights unseen closer to home.

“This isn’t the Northwest, our part of the world,” he said last week by phone from the Bahamas. “In our part of the world, we don’t get in the water with dolphins. Being in the water with them, it’s just unbelievable.”

On a trip with several underwater photographers from the Everett area, Clements recently sent photos of bottlenose dolphins to The Herald. His e-mail included poignant thoughts on the BP oil disaster that’s been fouling the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion April 20.

“It is heartbreaking to think that these intelligent, beautiful animals are being killed off by a toxic brew of chemicals spewing from a pipe (that) man has inserted into the bowels of the earth,” Clements wrote.

A number of dolphins and sea turtles have been found dead along the Gulf Coast in recent weeks. According to Reuters and other news reports, investigations have yet to determine whether oil or chemical dispersants are responsible for the animals’ deaths. There is no escape, though, from images of oil-covered birds or reports of fisheries devastated by the disaster.

Clements retired from his job as city of Edmonds finance director in 2008, and previously worked as Snohomish County’s finance director. With longtime interests in photography and diving, he has embarked on a new chapter that’s taking him all over the world. He has done underwater photography, for publication, in the Middle East’s Strait of Hormuz.

A member of the Pacific Northwest Underwater Photographic Society, Clements traveled to the Bahamas with Jay Springer, Karen Wold, Rick Bressler, John Dorsett and Eric Sperley, all from this area. He uses a high-end Nikon D300-S camera, which goes into an aluminum housing for underwater work.

The trip was planned months ago, when no one had an inkling of the oily mess to come. He is off Florida’s east side, far from any oil, but the dread is everywhere.

“We have not seen any signs of the spill,” Clements said by e-mail late last week. “Locals are hoping the oil does not hit, but seem resigned to the fact that it is almost inevitable oil will enter the ‘loop current’ and impact the east coast of Florida and the Bahamas.”

Diving with dolphins is amazing, Clements said. He finds the mammals to be curious, smart and not particularly shy.

“All of us, after photographing the dolphins, imagine these things dying slow deaths as they come up to breathe, with oil in their blowholes. It’s just tragic,” he said. “People are really worried about the fact it’s not on the surface, but in mid-water columns. It’s going to cause some damage.”

That’s a horrible thought, even as Clements basks in a paradise of pristine, 82-degree water.

“These beautiful life forms that share planet earth with us will die agonizing deaths if and when they come in contact with the oil,” he said. “We should be working to preserve our marine environment for future generations, not poisoning our oceans.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.

More to see

Dan Clements was featured in a 2009 Herald article about his book “Critters, Creatures and Kelp: A Guide to Life in the Edmonds Underwater Park.” To read that story and see photos taken in the waters off Edmonds: http://tinyurl.com/danclements