Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

Support the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, which does a good job for little money in standing up to protect these animals worldwide. You can do that now by buying berths on one of its two turtle and shark research expeditions to Cocos Island on the Argo, Undersea Hunter's newest liveaboard, scheduled for April 17-27 and September 24-October 6, 2012. The costs for these trips are $5,940 and $7,040 respectively but they may be tax-deductible, as they help finance the research expedition. Your diving skills will also help out: You'll have the opportunity to help tag sea turtles and sharks with transmitters to track their migration patterns. Trip information is at www.seaturtles.org/expeditions

The Underwater Photography Guide is taking entries for its second annual Ocean Art Photo Competition. There's more than $80,000 in prizes up for grabs, including 35-plus liveaboard and dive resort packages. Grand prizes include an all-inclusive 10-night stay at Kungkungan Bay Resort in Indonesia, an 18-night stay in Papua New Guinea including a trip on the M/V Febrina, an 11-night cruise with Kararu Dive Voyages, a week-long charter on the Nai'a in Fiji, a five-night stay at Wananavu Beach Resort in Fiji, and a week-long stay for two with Maluku Divers in Ambon. The competition has 12 categories, and winners will be able to rank the prizes they would like to receive, making it more likely for you to receive the prize you want. Judges include Martin Edge, Marty Snyderman, Tony Wu, and Bonnie Pelnar. Photos must be submitted before November 20, 2011. Contest information is here

Cozumel's city council, tourism board and marine park are joining forces to organize a Lionfish Hunting Safari on October 19-22. It seems like Living Underwater will be organizing the dives, three two-tank days complete with lionfish-hunting training and tools. The price of the safari is $195 and also includes five tickets for a "Gastronomic Show" to promote lionfish as a delicious delicacy. We've been told safari divers can get special rates at Cozumel hotels, restaurants and airlines flying there, but the website with information only lists hotel rates to date. For more information not listed there, contact Living Underwater's Jeremy Anschel at jeremy@living-underwater.com

We've kept you up to date on countries and U.S. states that have banned the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins. The latest milestone is that California's Senate just voted for a ban. If Jerry Brown signs it, California will become the world's largest economy to take a stand against the shark fin trade. And now that Hawaii, Washington and Oregon have also banned imports of shark fins, this measure could officially close down shark-fin traffic in all West Coast ports. Now the pressure is on Hong Kong, considered the world's shark fin capital because it handles at least half of the global trade. As the New York Times' "Green" blog reports, not much is happening there on the legislative front, and "authorities seem out of step." Currently, there's no online petition to get them into step, but we know shark-protection nonprofits are on the case. We list notable ones in our May article "Sharks Under Siege". Check out their websites to follow their efforts, and give some funding to help them succeed.

Here's a new twist in diving we can support: Ocean Frontiers' "Glow Dives," held every Thursday night in the East End lagoon. Divers use specialized ultraviolet lights to see how coral reefs and marine lights fluoresce. After being inspired by a National Geographic article and searching for a reliable underwater UV light for two years, Ocean Frontiers owner Stephen Broadbelt finally found it from a company called Glow Dive, started by former Cayman divemaster Carlos Villoch (the website is up but it's still being translated from Spanish and lacks purchasing info). Broadbelt says the East End lagoon, with sea anemones blanketing its reefs, is the primo UV spot. "It's the closest thing to the movie Avatar you will see in real life," he says. The Thursday night dive is a whopping $75 but it apparently sells out weekly. For details, go here

Climate change is warming ocean waters, causing more people to be exposed to a strain of bacteria that can contaminate seafood and cause marine diseases. European scientists released a paper on September 13 stating that warmer ocean water is causing a proliferation of Vibrio, among the most dangerous of all bacterial pathogens, which can cause gastroenteritis, septicemia and cholera. Vibrio has been connected with an "unprecedented increase" in bathing infections in northwest Europe, but there is a "globally-increasing trend in their associated diseases." According to Undercurrent contributor Doc Vikingo, Vibrio vulnificus infections are contracted from underwater wounds as well as by eating contaminated seafood and can be very nasty business. "If you get an underwater lesion from a coral scrape or punctures from a critter spine or tooth, clean and treat it properly after the dive, and monitor for infection."

Do shark-repelling magnets really work, and do you need them? . . . the biggest influences on divers' behavior underwater . . . can a pre-dive meal at a fast-food joint lower your risk of decompression sickness? . . . does a certain type of fins attract sharks? . . . the mystery behind the exploding tank that killed an expert diver . . . and much, much more.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

 

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