A. First thing is that they try very hard NOT to blow bubbles (that
means stop breathing for a while), because the Leopard seals sometimes
blow bubbles as a sign of aggression. So if the diver were to be
blowing bubbles the seal would thing they are saying something like
"Come on seal, do you wanna fight?!".  The diver also tries to stay
calm and keep their eye on the seal so that it doesn't get behind
them.  That way if the seal tries to attack, at least the diver can
see it coming and try to fend it off.  Then they get out of the water
as SOON AS POSSIBLE.

If anyone sees a Leopard seal (in or out of the water) it is now
diving protocol NOT to go diving for at least half to one hour after
it has gone away (just in case it is still around).  These seals are
ferocious and it is not worth diving when you know one is there.

Q. Are there any killer whales (Orca) there?

A. Yes there are killer whales in Antarctica but they are NOT under
the sea ice here at New Harbour. Killer whales can come in top shallow
water but they tend to stay in the open water and not go under the sea
ice.  They sometimes follow the Icebreaker ship in to the Ross Sea
Harbour, swimming behind it in the open channel the Icebreaker makes.
But they have to be careful that the sea ice doesn't reform behind
them because they need the open water to breathe.  Whales are very
vulnerable to being frozen in.

Q. Have the divers ever seen a while while diving?

A. Rod has!! He has come about 5m close to a whale.  He saw Humpback
whales in Tonga and Nuie.  One of them was a mother with her calf. He
has also seen a killer whale in NZ.  Rod has done the most dives of
the divers in this team, totaling aroun 3500 dives!!

Q. Has a diver touched a fish there at New Harbour?

A. YES, the fish are friendly here.  They are slow and quite docile.
But they can move very fast in short bursts to catch their food.  I
guess they conserve as much energy as possible in this cold, cold
water.  The divers have picked up fish and swum around carrying it
around in the palm of their hand then when they have had enough they
just put it back and the fish happily carries on with life.

I have some new underwater photos from the divers of the life in the
sea here.  Keep an eye on the wikisite for them to appear soon!