Undercurrent Online Update
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For Subscriber David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi' exp: 2024-08-20', at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
February 14, 2014

A female diver recently asked us this question: "Have any fellow female divers been treated in a patronizing way by men in their dive group? My husband and I dive as a part of larger group, and I am often the only woman. Although we are both fairly experienced, I've had random men in the group approach me to check that my gear is assembled properly, offer helpful tips for beginners, and generally treat me like an idiot. On one occasion, someone came up to me and tested my regulator and BC inflator while I was wearing my gear without even asking me. I know they're probably trying to be helpful, but I'm getting annoyed." We wonder - when does a diver cross over from being friendly to becoming patronizing, especially when it's a male diver? Do you have stories about this happening to you? Do you find it helpful or insulting? And any tips on how to deal with this situation without alienating people? Is there sexism at play? Send your stories and comments to me at EditorBenD@undercurrent.org

Swimming with the manatees in Florida . . . sweet diving in Fiji's Sau Bay . . . how narcosis affects divers' memory and thought processing . . . why dive agencies' training standards are going downhill . . . is this the fastest-growing segment of the diving industry?. . .John Bantin takes a look at gas-integrated dive computers . . . and much more.

With a recent rise in shark attacks in Hawaii (13 were recorded last year), sales of shark-repellent devices for divers are taking off. Some stores were sold out over the holidays (Christmas gifts?) and waiting for back orders. But University of Hawaii researchers are skeptical about whether the technology works. "In testing various electrical stimuli on sharks in captivity, we haven't found anything that worked," Kim Holland of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology told Hawaii's local Fox News station. "And in casual testing of some of the commercial products a few years ago, we had sharks that swam through the supposed current field." Holland also questioned the safety of the products. "Putting a lot of electric current in the water around you can probably be as dangerous to you as to deterring a shark."

Bodelin Technologies, which makes a neat bolt-on microscope for cell phones and tablets, has teamed up with the underwater housing maker Aquapac to create an underwater microscope. The ProScope Micro Mobile, which costs $149, and the Aquapack 418 housing, which costs $40, can be paired up to attach to the iPhone and Samsung S4. (The microscope also works on iPad products, but the underwater housing currently does not.) Features include 20X to 80X magnification, adjustable LED intensity, five-hour continuous-use rechargeable battery, a built-in three-point stand and tripod mount. Sounds good for using to spot critters on muck dives. View Bodelin's YouTube video to see how it works

It's an ocean quahog, a species of edible clam native to the North Atlantic Ocean. Scientists recently identified one of them as the oldest animal ever discovered, naming it "Ming." Quahogs can live to be ancient because their habitat is always protected by seawater, unlike other clam species that often occupy low-tide areas. Each season an ocean quahog lives, it adds one layer to its shell, and the number of layers can be counted like the rings in a tree. Initial examinations of Ming, harvested in 2006, found it to be 400 years old, so it was named Ming after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born. However, Ming is so old that some layers of shell had compressed to the point that they were not visible in the earlier analysis. Thus, a more recent examination has shown Ming to be much older - 507 years old. That means old Ming was spawned in 1499, when Columbus had just discovered America. Ming lived through a lot -- although he was buried in sand for all of it -- and there are probably still older clams out there beneath the waves.

Honduras has the world's highest murder rate, but the Bay Islands have long been considered a safe haven - until now. A string of recent crimes on Roatan has locals and tourists concerned. A notable one happened January 2 when an armed bandit fired a shot at an American family doing a day trip from aboard the Carnival Conquest, and robbed them in broad daylight near the Palm Beach Resort. According to the police, there were 17 homicides on Roatan in the first eight months of 2013 (none involving tourists), compared with nine during the same period in 2012.Amy Robertson, author of the Moon Handbook to Honduras and the Bay Islands, told the New York Times she believes that Roatan is still a safe destination, but that visitors should check with locals before venturing to the island's far east end past the town of Oak Ridge. Expats advise visitors not to walk alone on the beach between West Bay and West End, avoid Coxen Hole after dark, and stick to the island's main road unless you're with a group.

A three-year undercover operation recently revealed that as many as 600 whale sharks a year are killed to supply one factory alone in China. Photojournalist Paul Hilton, who's also co-director of the Hong Kong-based NGO WildLife Risk made three trips between 2010 and 2013 to the town of Puqi in southeast China. "We set up a small seafood trading company and we organized a business trip," he told Radio Australia. "We met with a Mr. Li who runs the China Wenzhou Yueqing Marine Organisms Health Protection Foods Co Ltd., [we were taken to] the processing plant, and the courtyard was just full of giant whale shark fins." The whale sharks, a migratory species, had been caught off China's coast China in the South China Sea. Whale shark hunting, as well as the sale and export of those products, are banned in China, which has signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Despite that, authorities say they lack the resources to stop the trade. "There was a spokesperson who wanted to remain anonymous from the Chinese Fisheries side saying they are just totally understaffed and they don't have the resources to do more for endangered species," Hilton said. ""So there's loopholes all through the system, people are taking backhanders."

If you enjoyed our November 2013 travel story on the R/V Coral Reef II liveaboard in the Bahamas, then sign up to join the New England Aquarium on its next expedition to collect reef fish and invertebrates for its Giant Ocean Tank. Spend eight days in the Biminis from March 22-30, doing up to five dives a day to help the Aquarium's staff responsibly collect marine life and prep them for shipment from Miami to Boston. More details are at our "Special Offers" page

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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