From fear to fascination
Jaedon discovers the joy of the deep blue
When 35-year-old marine biologist and scuba diver Jaedon Lawe saw his first underwater documentary as a child, he instantly knew he wanted to one day explore the deep blue sea and its beauty.
Still, for the Manchester native who had a fear of deep waters and grew up far away from any large bodies of water, learning to swim would prove to be a challenging task. That, however, changed in the summer of 2011 while Lawe pursued his Bachelor of Science in marine biology at The University of the West Indies.
He told THE STAR that he learnt to swim at age 19, and that for him was a nerve-racking experience.
“I was terrified while learning to swim. I learnt to swim as an adult. I was learning to swim with three and five-year-olds, babies, and some of them were practising to swim for swim meets and I was learning to blow bubbles,” he said.
He also said in pursuing this career he had to overcome many fears while learning to trust his instincts. Lawe, who has been a diving instructor for the past nine years, received his diving certification in 2014 at Ocean Divers, in Key Largo, Florida. He told THE STAR he became fascinated with the
deep blue sea and marine biology by reading the encyclopedia.
“I grew up using an encyclopedia, this was before I had access to Google, and the first definition I ever saw of a marine biologist was in an encyclopedia that we had at home. It was just a few lines and it stated what is a marine biologist ... simple definition, but from then I knew that was what I wanted to be at some point,” he said.
“I wanted to play a role in protecting the ocean, I wanted to learn more about it, I wanted to make a meaningful contribution to environmental management and conservation and that was the best way to do it,” Lawe said.
He also told THE STAR that his favourite aspect of his job is that it gives him the opportunity to always be amazed and discover new things.
“When you go diving there’s always going to be something to see, something that’s fascinating, something possibly even new that you’ve never seen before and there is always that thrill, that thing. You’re going to buck up into something that’s going to just blow your mind.”
Still, despite the awe, the recreational activity brings, Lawe advocates for safe diving at all times and encourages scuba divers not to take unnecessary risks.
“Diving is a very safe sport when done properly so when you’re diving there are rules, you want to dive with a full tank, you want to dive within your limits. So if there is a depth you shouldn’t pass so, for example, as a recreational diver you’re not supposed to pass 130 feet so you don’t go below that, you stay within the limit. Also, let people know where you’re going and when you are expected to return,” Lawe said.
Apart from teaching scuba diving classes, Lawe, as part owner of Yardie Environmental Conservationist
Limited, extends his knowledge of marine biology to students.
“We offer secondary school tours to the mangroves where we use our boats as floating classroom and we carry the kids into the Port Royal mangroves and we do various classes with them to teach them about the mangroves and the role that they play in the environment and why we need to preserve them,” he said.
For persons considering a career in scuba diving or marine biology, Lawe suggests testing the waters by participating in diving sessions. He said that no prior swimming or diving experience is necessary, only a sense of adventure.
“You can come, you can dive, experience what it is like to have on the equipment,” he said. He reasoned that this hands-on experience will help individuals determine whether a career in the deep blue is for them.