Flotsam & Jetsam

Cocos Island Liveaboard Volunteer Opportunity. The nonprofit Turtle Island Restoration Network has two spots left on their May 23 expedition aboard the Sea Hunter at a $500 discount. Besides seven days of fabulous diving, they will be catching sharks to insert internal tags (you can photograph). They expect to capture and tag turtles with the aid of several scientists/activists aboard. Talk to your accountant about the tax deductibility. Contact Todd Steiner at tsteiner@tirn.net or 415.488.7652. https://tinyurl.com/bdfvhtm2

Octopus Massacre. While octopuses are one of the more intelligent and clever species on our planet, an octopus farm is about to open in the Canary Islands, ultimately cramming a million of them into tiny tanks until they grow large enough to ... this is even more difficult to imagine ... be painfully frozen to death in icy vats to be sold as food (according to confidential documents seen by the BBC). Plans for this giant octopus torture chamber have been submitted to local authorities in Spain. Protest by adding your name here: https://tinyurl.com/3fcnnr8x

Tell Us About Your Liveaboard Safety. Have you been on a liveaboard trip in the last year? Did you get a thorough safety briefing before you left port? Was there a fire drill? Were you shown an emergency exit from your cabin? Did a crew member stand watch throughout the night? Did you have a functioning alarm in your cabin? Were you instructed what to do if an alarm went off? Were lifejackets stowed in your cabin or somewhere accessible on an upper deck? Were life rafts clearly marked with the date of their last inspection? Were the battery charging facilities overloaded? Tell us about the boat, the crew, and how safe you felt. Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org not forgetting to mention your town and state.

Don't Overdo the Antibiotics. Otorhinolaryngologist Paul Neis, MD (Mountain Home, AR), wrote in response to a subscriber comment about treating swimmer's ear with antibiotic ear drops (Undercurrent March), "it is always possible for a bacteria to have resistance to whatever antibiotic you choose. It would be better to apply an over-the-counter ear-drying drop with alcohol and acetic acid or mix your own with rubbing alcohol and vinegar. The alcohol will kill any bacteria, and the acidification deters the bacteria and fungi."

The 2023 Photo Competition for UN World Oceans Day. A collaboration between the UN and other organizations, the competition is a unique opportunity for underwater photographers to showcase the ocean's beauty and shed light on its animals. Until April 23, six categories are open for submissions, and winners will be announced on June 8. https://tinyurl.com/2p9ubu6s

Have a Headache in Cozumel? While you can buy many drugs over the counter in Mexico that require prescriptions in other countries, a study by UCLA has found that some pain relievers are counterfeit, often containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. Stay away from Mexican painkillers other than Ibuprofen. If you carry any medicine containing pseudoephedrine (such as Actifed, Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers) or codeine into Mexico, you must carry a written prescription or doctor's letter.

Don't Check Your Lithium Battery for a Flight. It's safer to carry lithium batteries in a carry-on rather than in the hold of an aircraft because, if a fire started, passengers would be alert to the burning smell in the passenger compartment. This is what happened on March 1; the cabin of a Spirit Airlines flight from Texas filled with smoke and diverted safely to Jacksonville, FL. When you fly, you must carry on your spare batteries, but consider carrying all of them.

Belize Woman to Captain Aggressor III. Monique Lamb, who began her Aggressor career nine years ago as a divemaster aboard the III, will soon take the helm of the 110-foot liveaboard, having recently earned her Master of Yachts 200-ton power certification in Florida. She has a degree in marine biology from the University of Belize and began her career restoring coral reefs with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

New Zealand Boat Skipper Pays Out US$10,000. After hitting a surfacing diver off New Zealand's north coast last year, Shane Hollinger was fined and required to compensate the diver, who had a concussion and head cuts. Hollinger failed to slow to five knots within 600 feet of a diving flag and struck a surfacing diver who sustained a concussion and cuts to the head. There seems to be a scourge of boats hitting divers, and better enforcement is required. We reported on the death of two Americans off Isla Mujeres last year when a dive boat from Cancun plowed over them.

Rewilding Sharks in Raja Ampat. While Indonesia's Raja Ampat is now a shark sanctuary and has nine marine protected areas, zebra sharks are targets for the global shark trade and poaching has been rife in the past; so much so that between 2001 and 2021 researchers found only three zebra sharks. In an unprecedented effort, 15 aquariums from around the world are teaming up to raise endangered baby zebra sharks and reintroduce them into the wild in Raja Ampat, where populations have nearly gone extinct.