Undercurrent Online Update for Subscribers

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

January 18, 2019  

Forward this email | Home | Login | Forgot Password? | My Account | FAQ

Help Us Find the Idiot Who Did This

Some idiot defaced coral in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat, and Misool Eco Resort managers Andrew and Marit, took this photo of the defaced hard coral bommie at the Magic Mountain dive site. They wrote “It’s hard to comprehend why someone would visit a pristine marine ecosystem and then destroy it. We’ve dedicated ourselves to conserving this incredible marine environment for over 13 years and seeing this truly hurts.” A similar defacing happened last September at Bauan Divers Sanctuary in the Philippines, with a diver writing “Charlie” on a bommie – it sparked a social media outrage and the hashtag #FindingCharlie was created to capture the culprit (https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/212990-finding-charlie-coral-reef-vandalism-bauan-divers-sanctuary-batangas). If you know anything about either of these defacings, contact BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

The Tiger Shark That Killed a Diver

off Cocos Island, Costa Rica, (Undercurrent January 2018) has been radio-tagged by scientists from the Turtle Island Restoration Network. They identified it from its unique scars and aggressive behavior toward divers. Todd Steiner, TIRN’s founder and executive director, charged the 14-foot female tiger shark and used a six-foot pole spear to place the transmitter. The device will allow scientists to monitor the shark for the next two years. www.seaturtles.org

“Picture of His Life.”

The long awaited documentary about wildlife and underwater film-maker Amos Nachoum is nearing completion. It features his quest to photograph a polar bear underwater -- probably the most dangerous underwater task he has undertaken. Two documentary filmmakers have been following Nachoum while he has been filming animals, and they started a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo to finish production. Major donors can become executive producers; contact yonatan@heyjudeproductions.com to ensure you get your name in the credits.

Poor Visibility Upsets Fishes Too

A team of Australian scientists examining the response of an anemone fish to a simulated predator attack found it became more anxious and cautious when sediment degraded water quality – resulting in stunted growth and poor health. Because human activity is leading to substantial more sediment in coastal waters, it’s affecting fish emotionally.

Boracay Island Reopened after Pollution Threat

Shut last April 2018 to improve the island’s infrastructure, including installing an effective waste-water facility and removing garbage, the resort island has reopened after Philippine government marine biologists assessed the situation and ensured that the marine biodiversity stays rich and abundant.

Three New Artificial Reefs

created in 2018 include the MV Yellow Elder sunk in 60-feet off New Providence in the Bahamas, the Twin Capes ferry sunk off New Jersey at 120-feet, and an undersea park, the Stations of the Cross, 33-feet deep off Trogir in Croatia. All are accessible to divers.

Sea-Friendly Six-Packs

A Florida brewery has found a solution to the problem of six-pack rings strangling sea lions, warping the shells of growing turtles, and entangling the wings of seabirds. Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, together with a start-up called E6PR, is producing the otherwise plastic rings from wheat and barley, which can either serve as a snack for marine life or biodegrade. E6PR is testing the rings with a select group of craft beer breweries.

Coming Soon in Undercurrent

A dive trip to Aqaba in Jordan’s Red Sea backwater . . . A liveaboard trip to Baja California . . . Will these products keep predatory sharks at bay? . . . The blame for a diving death gets laid at the door of nitrogen narcosis. . . A question of bends – it’s often not only the casualty in denial . . . Why Divers Die (part 2) . . . Worries about butterflyfish . . . Fins ain’t what they used to be . . . Living critters in your dive bag and what to do about it . . . Fish collecting at Blue Heron Bridge . . . Your views on novice divers making wreck penetration dives in Truk . . . Can a fish tell if a diver is armed and dangerous? . . . Should you let a shrimp clean your teeth? . . . and much, much more.

Other Subscribers Need Your Travel Reports

Your independent reports of dive resorts and liveaboards make essential reading for your fellow readers who are considering following in your footsteps. Tell us both the good and bad – your reports make us a unique read in the dive travel industry. Report too on their use of single-use plastic. You’re free to tell it like it is, and it’s easy to file your report online and your reports join more than 10,000 other reports in the Undercurrent database -- that’s easily searchable by any other subscriber. File your report here.

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben