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May 19, 2020

Bruce Bowker, Iconic Bonaire Dive Leader, Dies. Bruce Bowker, the owner of long-established Carib Inn on Bonaire, died on May 9 from the head injuries he sustained in an accident unconnected with scuba diving, on May 5. He was instrumental in 1999, in raising funds with the help of the Dutch Royal family to buy Klein Bonaire, which was donated to the people of Bonaire under the strict stipulation that it should never be developed. It is now officially designated as a Protected Area and it is part of the Bonaire National Marine Park. www.caribinn.com

Rogue Scuba Instructor: A scuba instructor in San Jose, California, has been in prison since March 12 for molesting a 13-year-old student during seven months of private diving lessons, and prosecutors are trying to find out if anyone else has been molested by him. Bruce Fischer, 62, of Newark, California, was charged with 22 counts of child molestation. He is being held without bail and has not yet entered a plea. The alleged abuse began in January 2019 after private lessons at San Jose State University's pool and in Monterey County, but Fischer doesn't work at the University. He is a private PADI dive instructor working through a company called Any Water Works. His LinkedIn page says he has been affiliated with the company since 2006, providing training and certification “at all levels,” from beginner to master diver. If you know of anyone who might be a victim or who otherwise has information about the case, contact the San Jose State University Police Department at (408) 924-2222. (San Jose Mercury News)

Open and Shut Cases. Filled with optimism, Nautilus Dive Adventures has announced the reinstatement of its Socorro trips in mid-June. With hotels in Cabo San Lucas planning to reopen May 17 and the lockdown in Mexico due to finish at the end of the month, some airlines plan to resume flying from the USA and Canada. Augmenting its fleet, Nautilus is also introducing a new vessel, the MV. Westerly, for operations in the Sea of Cortez, starting September.

Slow Down on Cayman: Meanwhile, the Cayman government confirms that the islands will remain closed to visitors until at least the beginning of September. This may well set a precedent for other Caribbean nations as well.

Do You Know a Diver Who Became Infected by COVID-19? Did it happen while they were traveling? Where did they go? Who did they dive with? Do you know their email address? Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org, not forgetting to add your town and state.

Thousands More Sharks Killed for Fins. Customs officers in Hong Kong, alerted by suspicious labelling in Spanish, seized 26-tons of illegal dried shark fins worth more than $1 million. The fins came from two species vulnerable to extinction - thresher and silky sharks. An estimated 38,000 sharks would have been killed to provide so many fins. HK Customs officials have already foiled nine other shark fins smuggling cases in the first four months of this year.

A Sci-Fi Approach to Coronavirus Safety. Hong Kong Airport has installed CleanTech pods for a 40-second sanitization procedure aimed at arriving passengers. These check a person's body temperature before allowing them into the pod, and once inside, apply a sanitizing and disinfecting process employing a UV-based photocatalyst and a sanitizing spray aimed at clothing and carry-on items. The booths are currently being tested by airport staff. Additionally, intelligent sterilization robots are being deployed to clean restrooms and other high-traffic areas, applying antimicrobial coatings to all high-touch areas.

Double Tragedy at Cape Lookout, NC. Pharmacist James May and his wife, pharmacy manager at Piedmont Health, Carla May, went diving on the Box Wreck, 25 miles off the coast, with Discovery Diving on May 10. When they failed to return, and their bubbles stopped breaking the surface, another diver went down to investigate and found them both unresponsive on the seabed. CPR failed to revive either. The couple was from Franklin. NC. The cause of their deaths is yet to be determined. The Box Wreck is around 100-feet deep.

Coke and Pepsi Sued for Plastic Pollution. According to its website, Earth Island, a Berkeley, CA-based environmental group, has filed the first major lawsuit against Crystal Geyser Water Company, The Clorox Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Pepsico Inc., Nestlé USA, Inc., Mars, Incorporated, Danone North America, Mondelez Global LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company, and The Procter & Gamble Company for polluting our waterways, coasts, and oceans with millions of tons of plastic packaging. Research suggests that around 150 million metric tonnes of plastic are currently floating around our oceans, with that number is increasing at a rate of between 8 and 20 million tonnes per year.

Undercurrent's Monthly Newsletter is in Hiatus pending the outcome of the pandemic, and subscriptions are held in abeyance. No new subscriptions or renewals are accepted at this time.

Stay Home. Stay Safe. Protect Your Loved Ones.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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