Flotsam & Jetsam

Dive Venezuela? In January, a 62-year-old American, Eric Arthur, afloat in his life raft after his sailboat sunk off Venezuela, was picked up, taken to a Caracas slammer, and shackled for no apparent reason, joining innumerable other Americans arrested and detained arbitrarily by the corrupt and vicious Maduro government. The U.S. State Department says, "Do not travel to Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure." Even the Caracas airport is considered unsafe. Nonetheless, in the March issue of Scuba Diving Industry Magazine, published by the Cline group for scuba businesses, a feature article praises dive travel to Venezuela's Los Roques Islands, "An Exotic Paradise." Are they nuts? Well, Arthur did get released and returned to America four weeks later. Maybe that's the price you have to pay for good diving.

Discounting That $860 Socorro Park Fee. There are ways for some divers to avoid the full pain of those surging new Socorro park fees levied by the Mexican government. If you are 60-plus, a teacher, or a bona fide student, and if CONANP (Mexico's Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) approves documentation submitted in advance, you can get a 76 percent discount. Your liveaboard or travel agent should be able to handle this for you. Ellen Dinwiddie Smith (Edina, MN) contacted Nautilus Adventures, with which she had booked a trip; she sent her student ID card and paid $247.50 instead of the full $860 park fee for five days of diving. https://tinyurl.com/8szbexk2 Other operators can also organize it for you. https://tinyurl.com/5ae6h9m6

The More You Pay, the More Fish You'll See. More than half the ocean scuba dives are taken in nine countries, with Egypt in first place, followed by Thailand, the U.S., Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, Mexico, and Malaysia. Research recently published in the scientific journal Nature found that 62 percent of marine diving occurs in developing countries, underscoring the potential for dive tourism to support marine conservation and the livelihood of local communities. Most dives are taken in Marine Protected Areas, but only 15 percent of the MPAs are fully protected. The research found divers would pay extra to dive in MPAs, where there is greater biomass and species diversity. Additional park fees could fund better protection. https://tinyurl.com/39vk2u2k

Do You Use a Dive Travel Agent? Or do you book your own trip? As our feature travel story writer wrote last month, booking a trip to French Polynesia is complicated. Though she usually handles her own bookings, she decided to rely on a travel agent. Do you always self-book? If so, why? How do you handle interisland flights, single-night hotels, and ground transfers? Had any problems? Or do you use a dive travel agent to organize your trip? If so, why? And who do you use? Have you had any issues? Either way, if you put a trip together, let us know why you're willing to tackle the vagaries of new locations and book directly or if you prefer to use a travel professional. We want to see how our Undercurrent members book their complicated trips so we can offer our readers travel tips and advice on avoiding problems. Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

Losing Both Hands to a Shark. Attempting a photo-op in shallow water off Thompson's Cove beach in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos, on February 7, a Canadian woman was savaged when trying to engage with a shark, which tragically bit off both her hands. Miraculously, she walked to shore despite an additional thigh injury as the six-foot animal, thought to be a bull shark, circled in an attempt to bite her again. In desperation, her husband managed to fight it off, and his wife was rushed to the local medical center. She later flew home to Canada for medical care. In 2023, a 22-year-old American woman lost her foot to a shark bite in the same area. Turks & Caicos waters are home to various shark species, including gray reef sharks, nurse sharks, tigers, hammerheads, and bull sharks.

Wanna Buy a Liveaboard? The Bahamas Master, formerly known as the Yemaya II when it operated scuba trips from Panama to Malpelo Island, is again up for sale at the reduced price of $295,000. The 93-foot steel-hulled vessel, built in 1965 and berthed in Fort Lauderdale, is said to be in good running condition, although it's had its problems (Undercurrent July 2019). https://bit.ly/4itGOWT

Two Divers Die in the Philippines. Near Verde Island, a popular dive site off Puerto Galera, on February 27, four Russians were diving in a group with a local dive guide when the current forced them apart. One of them, aged 18, was later found dead with both arms missing. It was unclear if a shark had killed him or if his body was fed upon. The other victim, aged 57, was found about an hour earlier and declared dead on arrival, after being transported to a local hospital. Almost as soon as the initial reports of Flotsam & Jetsam 18 a shark attack were out, members of the diving community were posting about how unlikely that was and of the need for more details on the death of two divers involved. The two other Russians and their dive guide surfaced normally and returned to their boat.

A Jonah Impression. On February 8, Adrián Simancas was kayaking in Chile with his father, Dell, in the Straits of Magellan, when an enormous humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go. If you find this unbelievable, a simple stroke of fortune meant it was all captured on video. He was released unharmed with a whale of a tale to tell. Here's the video: https://bit.ly/3F3Eyr0

More Bull Sharks off Cancun. Local divers have had a significant increase in bull shark sightings. Playa del Carmen diving instructor Ramón Magaña says they have been spotted in Riviera Maya waters "like nothing seen in 20 years." Local fishing cooperatives have agreed to avoid bull shark fishing to save the species since they are considered near threatened. Divers hope the increased sightings continue through bull shark season, which runs until the end of March. (Riviera Maya News)

At Last, Philippines Whale Shark Watching Suspended. In the space of four years, the industry has boomed, but the Bohol government has now suspended all whale shark watching, mainly due to bad practices. There has been a significant increase in local whale shark watching cruises; many operated illegally. Several rogue businesses have baited the waters with krill to ensure that the whale sharks and the tourists keep coming, which they have, and then far too many were in the water at any given time, harassing the animals. Realizing that the area's designation as a UNESCO Global Geopark was at risk, the government has stopped whale watching, at least for now.

Keep Your Powder Dry and Your Car Keys Too. Jaan and Nathalie (Miami, FL) are avid divers who needed a solution to keep their car keys safe while shore-diving. They saw many people using buoyant plastic containers or flimsy bags or pouches, hiding keys in the bushes, or attaching them to their floats -- all tricks everyone's had problems with. So they invented Dryfob, a neutrally buoyant watertight aluminum case so you can carry your electronic car keys on a dive. Just the thing for Bonaire shore divers, where theft is common. www.dryfob.com

Hyperbaric Chamber Explodes. Hyperbaric chambers are not only used to treat decompression sickness, but also their high-pressure oxygen treatment has other medical applications. An explosion at a Troy (TX) medical facility's hyperbaric chamber on January 31 left a five-year-old child dead. In a hyperbaric chamber, the elevated air pressure has oxygen levels several times higher than normal and is highly combustible. Patients are often searched to ensure they are not taking any ignition source into the chamber. No information is yet available as to the cause of the tragedy, but the facility was understaffed. Fox4KDFW

Minnesota Dive Deaths Leading to Scuba Safety Standards Proposal: Minnesota legislators are weighing new safety regulations for businesses that hired divers to remove weeds and other aquatic plants from lakes after two young and inexperienced divers drowned during their first week on the job. Brady Aune (20) and Joe Anderson (18) died two years apart in remarkably similar accidents. Neither man was a certified diver. In fact, neither had been scuba diving before they were handed tanks and weight belts and sent to pull out weeds in deep, murky water with little to no supervision. OSHA fined employers Dive Guys $128,450 and Your Lake Aquatic Plant Management $730,000. Both companies are still in business. (Minnesota Reformer)