Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For Subscriber David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi' exp: 2024-08-20', at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
May 17, 2012

The Houston-based dive travel agency is marking its 25th year in business with a celebration, an underwater photo contest, and a drawing for a Cozumel dive trip prize for one of our lucky e-newsletter subscribers. Enter Island Dreams' underwater photo competition, and three lucky winners get seven nights at either Scuba Club Cozumel, El Galleon Resort in the Philippines or Fiji's Matava Resort. Island Dreams' president Ken Knezick is also offering a prize drawing specifically for Undercurrent subscribers to win a four-night stay at Presidente Intercontinental Cozumel Resort & Spa and three two-tank day dives with Scuba Du, redeemable between July 1 and December 15. For more details and to enter, go here

What goes into your wetsuit, and why it costs what it does . . . a diver's death shows why carbon monoxide poisoning may be more widespread than you think . . . what to do if you're caught in a dangerous downcurrent . . . what do DEMA, ExxonMobile and the National Homebuilders Association have in common? . . . why you may remove your regulator when you shouldn't . . . and much more. . .

New research from the University of Western Australia states that electronic repellents currently on the market may be less effective for the three most dangerous species: great white, tiger and bull. Shark Shield, the most popular one, emits a high level of electric current to deter sharks within a few feet but because every shark species is different, some won't be repelled or deterred as well as others. Professor Shaun Collins tells Stock & Land that developing repellents to target specific shark species will be more effective than using a one-size-fits-all approach, and he is seeking funding to develop species-specific repellants which can target other senses such as light, sound or smell.

A new study finds that populated islands are not the place to do shark dives, as many as 90 percent of reef sharks have disappeared from their reefs. In a study printed in Conservation Biology, researchers at the University of Miami pulled shark-sighting data from more than 1,607 dives at 46 reefs in the central-western Pacific, from populated sites like the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa to reefs nearly devoid of human influence, to see the numbers of gray, black-tip, white-tip, Galapagos and tawny nurse sharks. In the populated areas, reef shark numbers were greatly depressed, compared to reefs in the same regions that were farther away from humans, meaning less than 10 percent of the baseline numbers remain in those areas. Human influences far outweighed natural ones for the decline.

For an upcoming story about diving in places notorious for "downcurrents" - where you're finning along at, say, 50 feet and then suddenly plunging to a depth of 150 feet -- we want to know what your experiences in them have been. Downcurrents can be a common hazard in Cozumel, Fiji's Somosomo Strait, Malpelo Island, so we're writing up how to handle them during a dive. If you've been sucked into a downcurrent, what was your response, how did you react and what advice would you give to fellow divers? E-mail me at EditorBenD@undercurrent.org

The National Geographic photographer will have his work highlight the Look3 Festival of the Photograph, a premier photography event organized by fellow NatGeo photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols, held this year in Charlottesville, VA, on June 6-9. Besides having his photos hanging from tree banners along an outdoor pedestrian mall, Doubilet will open the festival in conversation with NPR correspondent Alex Chadwick on June 6. In an interview with the New York Times last month, Doubilet says he believes fish hate to have their pictures taken, he loves digital imaging, and "thinking poetically" is a requirement for good underwater photography. See more of his words and photos

They're disappearing four times faster than the rain forests, mainly due to poachers who ship coral to the U.S. to feed the souvenir and home decoration industries. Apparently, buying and selling coral from countries like the Solomon Islands isn't illegal, and shell shops in the U.S., which puts staghorn and elkhorn coral on the Endangered Species list, are relying on coral from South Pacific nations, where government regulations are more easy to get around. Read the Miami New Times story on the coral curio trade and its worldwide effect

Scubatyme III in Pompano Beach, FL, is the subject of " Dive Charter: A Day in the Life of a Dive Boat " , a web-based docu-reality show offering a behind-the-scenes look at the daily operations of a dive charter boat. Three episodes are available for view online, including one showing the craziness of Florida's lobster season and another focused on a lionfish hunt. Executive producer Doug Barkley raised his goal amount of $3,000 via the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to create more episodes, and the next one will premiere in July.

If you missed this headline in the May issue, it's important to go back and read it. Last November, we wrote an article about the multiple complaints from divers about Miflex's high-pressure hoses breaking, and at least one dive shop stated that it won't carry them because of all the reports about leaking issues. Now comes a notice that the U.S. distributor is recalling 17,000 hoses in North America, but Miflex still intends to sell them everywhere else. What's going on? Read the article (it's at the top of the homepage) at Undercurrent

Ben Davison, editor/publisher

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