Undercurrent Online Update for Non-Subscribers

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March 30, 2022

The Cold North Atlantic Continues Warming. So much in fact that the carcass of a Greenland shark, a species that lives in frigid Arctic waters, was discovered off the warmest part of Britain's coast. In mid-March, a member of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust found the carcass on a beach at Newlyn Harbour, near Penzance, before the rising tide washed it back out to sea. However, the crew of a tourist vessel saw it and took it in tow, returning it to land so that it could be examined. Of course, one could argue that the waters were colder than usual, but as the Arctic Ocean warms. Arctic dwellers are no longer limited to their normal territory.

Buying Lettuce for Manatees. More than 55 tons of lettuce have been fed successfully to starving manatees this winter because their natural food -- more than 60 species of marine plants -- in Florida's coastal inland waters is being destroyed by water pollution. More than 1,100 manatees died from starvation last year. About 7500 remain. Individual donations are funding the cost of the lettuce, and you can add to this fund here. AP News

Great Bali News for Traveling Divers. Indonesian authorities are eliminating COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for Bali and issuing visas-on-arrival nationwide starting April 1. Presently those arriving in Bali can get a VOA if from one of 42 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, and EU member nations. A PCR test on arrival is required. Click here to view the article.

Bad News from the Great Barrier Reef. The sixth mass coral bleaching even since 1998 is underway, says scientist Prof. Terry Hughes of James Cook University. Data from monitoring flights operating along all 1,430 miles of the world heritage site have found that 60 percent of the hard corals show bleaching. Scientists began to worry back in December after water temperature levels rose to record levels up to 7°F higher than normal. The Guardian

Avoiding Accidents with Passing Boats. At the end of a dive, wise divers send up a large inflated surface marker buoy, which they have on a line fed from a reel or spool. The recent sad incident in Mexico that resulted in the deaths of two experienced American divers who were run over by another dive boat as they were surfacing reminds us that every diver should be so equipped and well-practiced at deploying one.

In Eight Days, Three People Die Diving Florida. As the weather warms, the casualties mount up. On March 9, Jon Lassus, 61 (Fort Wayne, IN), diving Molasses Reef off Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, had not gone underwater yet when he started to struggle and lost consciousness. The next day, local woman Karen Ruth Zaslow, 69, died after snorkeling from the charter boat Floridays off Sand Key, near Key West. On March 17, Chief of Medicine at South Shore Health (Weymouth, MA) Robert K. McIntyre failed to surface after a dive. McIntyre was on a diving trip arranged by the Jupiter Dive Center when the dive boat captain notified the Coast Guard that the doctor had not surfaced from the Lake Worth lagoon. Take care out there.

You Never Know What's Under There. Just six feet deep and close to a popular beach of the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca, local divers discovered a well-preserved 3rd or 4thCentury Roman wreck loaded with more than 300 amphorae, many still with their painted inscriptions. Undisturbed for around 1,700 years, local divers repeatedly told the authorities something was there to be discovered. Now there is 24-hour police surveillance to allow maritime archaeologists to do their work.

This July, Scientists Want You to Look for Sharks. The Shark Trust is asking divers and snorkelers worldwide to join their Great Shark Snapshot and record every shark, ray, and skate spotted between July 24 and July 31. That information will be added to the Shark Trust's Shark Log, allowing shark scientists to build a picture of species distribution and any changes that occur. If possible, take photos or videos, but at least write down what you spotted. Go to the website to get more information and register.

This Month in Undercurrent. A photo-course on Grand Cayman … Inept buoyancy control by photographers … the Caribbean, Hawaii, the Galapagos, and Florida -- our subscribers are traveling again … protection for Florida's goliath grouper lost … various country COVID entry rules … Great whites mating off the Carolinas? … Is this the end of the BCD? … Weed a reef like you'd weed a garden …Yucatan cenotes in danger of destruction … the lionfish's fear of being eaten … Cancun boats propellers kill two … and much, much more.

Why You Should Subscribe to Undercurrent. The pandemic has undoubtedly changed things, but the Independent Reader Reports available online to Undercurrent subscribers are a unique resource. More than 300 reports have been submitted regarding diving, dive centers, and dive locations in 2021 and 2022, and nowhere else can you find such honest and unedited appraisals not driven by advertising. You can access these reports and thousands of others by subscribing to Undercurrent.

In addition, each month, our 16-page newsletter will keep you up to date on the safe spots to travel and where you should avoid traveling, with stories by our undercover writers who pay their way. Get the latest on the Keys, Belize, Indonesia, Bonaire, Hawaii; as the world opens again to diving, Undercurrent will be there. And we have unique features on safety -- like that bent diver who ignored her computer and listened to her guide, equipment, and much, much more.

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Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org