A Change of Heart
Many dive operators are hunters, capturing trophy or food fish. After more than 25 years diving, Ron Tiah, operating Dive TnT, has turned himself into an ocean protector. Today, he shoots lionfish to save the coral reefs. And he shoots with his camera so that we can see what’s alive in the ocean, the good and the bad. This feature was first published in the Tobago Newsday on June 8, World Oceans Day. All photos courtesy Ron Tiah Another world, underwater at Brothers rock, Caribbean Sea, off Tobago Who is Ron Tiah? I grew up in Pointe-a- Pierre; my dad Robert Tiah was Rexformer Superintendent at the Texaco Refinery. I would say he was my mentor and hero. I inherited my love for the sea, the land and conservation from him. He cultivated one of the most successful citrus plantations in Trinidad, still operating today. He was also an academic, who insisted on further studies for me at Albert College and York University in Canada. I also wanted to learn to scuba dive. ...