And sometimes they will even play with me, as in the photo here of Robert where I "asked" him to pose with the regulator in his mouth, and he was happy to oblige. Robert always enjoyed our "get togethers", and would stay with me for as long as I could remain under. This an emotional ability beyond what you could attribute to a fish. In the photos, you can see our connection. And once you've seen it, I hope you can understand why the most important thing I can do in my life right now is to protect these wonderful creatures from the "lawful slaughter" proposed by Senator Slade and others like him."

We asked Norine about some of the changes she has seen which were caused by commercial fishing. One major, irreversible change came quickly to her: "When I first began diving the inlet, there were big jewfish all over the place, all the way up the intercoastal to beyond the Blue Heron Bridge. Mullet and baitfish were so thick you could rarely see more than 30 feet in any direction--when you could, the clarity of the water gave you wonderful visibility. Ninety to one hundred and twenty foot visibility were quite common.