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

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November 29, 2020

Oarfish

As If 2020 Wasn’t Bad Enough. The discovery of a nine-foot-long oarfish dead on a Bali beach has triggered alarm because it’s believed locally to herald an oncoming disaster, such as an earthquake/tsunami. The longest fish known, the long herring oarfish, silver-colored and with Dalmatian-like dark spots, has a red-colored dorsal fin that extends the length of its body and a long, thin pelvic fin. Indonesian scientists discount reports linking the occasional beaching of oarfish to imminent seismic disaster. Bali Discovery

Dumaguete Diving Death. Local dive guide Jundril Suaring of Harold’s Dive Center, short of an income thanks to Covid-19 restrictions, resorted to spearfishing at the end of October to make ends meet, and under pressure to get results, got bent. Experiencing a strong current at 100 feet deep, he made a fast ascent. There is no recompression chamber in Dumaguete City, despite money being previously been allocated by the provincial government to provide one. Covid restrictions on movement of people made it impossible to transport him to Cebu, with tragic consequences. Dumaguete.info

Keeping Safe from Infection. You’re safe from coronavirus underwater, and Egyptian diver Saddam Al-Kilany, 29, stayed safe for more than six days by staying underwater for a world-record-shattering 145 hours and 30 minutes, beating the record set by Karabay in Cyprus in 2016. A video of his record attempt at Dahab, in the Red Sea in November, has yet to be ratified by the Guinness World Records as the world’s longest scuba dive. He’d planned to stay longer, but parts of him were reported by LAD Bible as “getting wrinklier than a rhino’s scrotum.” UPI.com

The Failure to Use a DPV Properly led to the November arrest of Matthew Piercey, 44, a California man accused of leading a $35m Ponzi scheme at his local church. He first fled authorities by car and then used scuba gear and a Diver Propulsion Vehicle to hide from agents underwater in the frigid Lake Shasta, near Redding. He should’ve used a rebreather because agents were able to watch his exhaled bubbles break the surface for 25 minutes before he emerged to be quickly arrested. Sacramento Bee

Mexican Protected Area Fees Rocket. Beginning January 1, 2021, the National Park Admission Fee for some significant diving spots in Mexico will rise to $75/day. This means the cost of a 6-diving-day trip to Socorro and Revillagigedo will increase by $450.00, and a 4-diving-day trip to Guadalupe Island will increase by $300. National Park Admission Fees are not included in the liveaboard fees of most operators. Divers with a “Conservation Passport” will not be able to use them in these areas.

Underwater Photography Pioneer Ernie Brooks II Passes. A significant figure in the industry and well-loved by all who knew him, Ernie Brooks II passed away aged 85. The son of the man who created the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara who learned his underwater craft with Hans Hass, Brooks II also worked with Jacques Cousteau and established the school’s underwater photography courses. His friend Leslie Leaney credited Brooks’ generosity with helping numerous nonprofits, among them the UC Santa Barbara Leaney-Brooks Diving History Archive: “A study of diving history that will outlive us both,” said Leaney. “Ernie’s spirit will live on in the photographs of his accomplished students and the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to have known him.” Santa Barbara Independent

Alarms Sounded for U.S. Reefs. A report released in November by NOAA took stock of the health of coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction, from Guam and Hawaii in the Pacific to Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Atlantic and reported a dire outlook due to warming ocean, fishing, disease, and pollution from the land. Not surprising, the reefs off the Florida coast are the most degraded, with perhaps as little as two percent remaining. A bipartisan federal bill cosponsored by lawmakers from Hawaii and Florida will seek federal funding to help restore and manage the nation’s reefs. One can only hope that the opponents’ threatening cries of “government socialism” won’t defeat the measure.

Dive In with Guest Amos Nachoum. The big-animal photographer and expedition leader joined Liz Taylor, ocean explorer and naturalist, and National Geographic Explorer in Residence Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue, to discuss the ethical and non-invasive approach to photography and ecotourism. You can view it here.

Swordfish

Can a Swordfish Kill a Shark? Scientists made a strange discovery on a beach in Libya this year. They found the remains of a 14-foot thresher shark with a swordfish bill sticking out from a deep wound between the creature’s head and dorsal fin. There have been at least six other documented cases of swordfish mortally wounding blue sharks elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Threshers aren’t known to prey on adult swordfish, so it is argued that the stabbing could have been a case of two deep-sea predators fighting over a meal or territory. Smithsonian Magazine

Amazing Diving Stories by John Bantin. We’ve all accumulated stories from our diving adventures, but Undercurrent’s senior editor assembled 65 of his in a volume entitled Amazing Diving Stories. It’s written in an anonymous third person style to avoid sounding like an ego trip and is a best-seller among diving titles. It’s a great read, a great way to pass the time while cooped up awaiting the pandemic to end. It’s available in paperback, on Kindle, and as an MP3 audiobook, which avoids battling British English spelling. Get it on Amazon.

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Program to be Dismantled. The National Park Service, at the behest of the current administration, is trying to dismantle a well-established program that has done a great deal of good for the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle and the other sea turtles’ nest on the coast of Texas. They are doing this with no oversight and are trying to prevent the story from getting out, so hopefully, the new administration will stop this nonsense. Read more here.

A Template for Liveaboard Safety. Several readers have reported their liveaboard experiences -- some have found emergency escape hatches welded shut -- but pointed out by the time you get to the boat, it’s too late to get your money back. Clearly, passengers should be given a proper safety briefing with a tour of escape routes before leaving the dock. The “Template for Liveaboard Safety Precautions” published in Undercurrent’s Feb 2020 issue, after both the Conception and Red Sea Aggressor I tragedies, could serve as a pretty good safety checklist to go over before you confirm a booking. Click here to view the article.

Sherwood Apparently Doesn’t Care. We are still getting reports from owners of Sherwood BCs, noting that some BCs have separated from their cam bands because the plastic fittings are not strong enough for the job, and the bands are not fed through the buoyancy cell. They’re dangerous, and why Sherwood hasn’t corrected this is beyond us. This product does not meet the European Union criteria for marketing within Europe. It’s past time for a recall. Click here to view the article.

Mini-sub

Sales of Mini Subs are Soaring. The mega-rich, including Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and the Emir of Abu Dhabi, are making mini-subs the must-have accessory on superyachts as they search for thrills and adventures for their yacht guests. Sales have increased by nearly a third this year. Roy Heijdra from Netherlands-based U-Boat Worx said owners now want their yachts to be designed explicitly for exploration rather than just leisure and pleasure. Ten vessels have been sold this year, often costing more than US$ 2.5 million a time. Ordered yours yet? Daily Mail

A Big Grant for Mote. In mid-November, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and NOAA awarded a grant of $5 million to Mote Marine Laboratory and its partners to help restore Eastern Dry Rocks, one of seven iconic reefs located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This project will include the addition of 60,000 staghorn and elkhorn corals. Mote’s partners will monitor the restoration’s success and its benefits to coastal resilience. It’s part of the NOAA Mission announced in 2019: Iconic Reefs, an initiative to restore nearly 3,000,000 square feet, about the size of 52 football fields, of the Florida Reef Tract -- one of the most massive areas ever proposed for coral restoration. Mysuncoast.com

Sharks for Kids Book by marine biologist David McGuire

Looking for a Kid’s Christmas Gift? How about this great little book, Sharks for Kids: A Junior Scientist's Guide to Great Whites, Hammerheads, and Other Sharks in the Sea, by marine biologist David McGuire, who runs Shark Stewards, a nonprofit dedicated to saving sharks worldwide. Factual, fun, with vivid images and in-home experiments, it’s a great gift for kids ten and under, maybe ever older. Order here.

Stay Safe,

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

 

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