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

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June 9, 2020

Conception Fire Update. Autopsies of the 34 victims of the Conception dive boat fire in California demonstrated that all died from smoke inhalation before being burned. That some of the bodies were wearing shoes raised questions, but many passengers slept in their clothes and the capsizing of the vessel as it sank displaced many of them from their bunks below decks. The pre-dawn blaze swept through the vessel, anchored off the Channel Islands, on Labor Day 2019. Heather Sawdon, sister of Kristy Finstad, who was lost with 33 others, has written a summary of what happened, with her own theories as to the cause. You can read it here.

The Future of International Air Travel? Qatar Airways has announced its cabin crew will be equipped with PPE, including full hazmat suits over their uniforms, together with safety goggles, gloves and masks during flights. In addition, aircraft cabins will be equipped with large bottles of hand sanitizer to be used by both cabin crew and passengers. The move comes weeks after Philippines Airlines and AirAsia reportedly launched new uniforms that incorporate PPE. At the beginning of June, Greece quarantined all 91 passengers arriving in Athens on a flight from Qatar after 12 of them tested positive for Covid-19. (CNN)

When You Think It’s Safe Enough to Take That Dive Trip, are you ready to handle international travel? With the prevalence of Covid-19, there are lots of aspects to consider. Ben Davison, the editor of Undercurrent, summarizes them. You can read it in an Insider’s Blog on the website here.

An Interview with a Diving Pioneer. Bret Gilliam has been a military diver, a dive center owner, operator of the largest diving liveaboard ever, a magazine publisher, director of Uwatec, founder of two technical diving agencies (IANTD and TDI) and now works as an expert witness in diving litigation. A remarkable career. On July 12, he appears in the Adex Pixel Virtual Expo at 09.30 am American Eastern Time and you can watch it by going to www.adex.asia.

Pygmy Seahorse Discovered in Africa. A popular subject to underwater super-macro photographers, pygmy seahorses have become synonymous with the waters around the Indonesian archipelago. Hippocampus nalu, also known as the African pygmy seahorse, is about the size of a rice grain and was recently found living well-camouflaged among algae and sand in Sodwana Bay, South Africa. This species has one set of spines on its back that have sharp, incisor-like points on the tips, instead of the more usual flat-tipped spines, says Graham Short, an ichthyologist at the California Academy of Sciences and the Australian Museum in Sydney. (National Geographic)

The Tragic and Unnecessary Death of Brian Bugge. Ashley Bugge, in cooperation with Gareth Lock, has made a program documenting the fatal training journey of her husband Brian Bugge, 35, a U.S. Pacific Fleet Integrated Undersea Surveillance Systems officer, who was off-duty, on a closed-circuit rebreather training dive in Honolulu. CCR diving is very different from conventional scuba and Undercurrent’s Senior Editor John Bantin (a CCR diver for nearly three decades) gives an opinion as to why training must be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. You can read it here.

Florida Keys Reopening to Visitors. Closed to tourists in March as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, officials have announced the suspension of check-points on the roads leading from the Florida mainland and discontinuation of arriving passenger screening at Marathon International and Key West International Airports commenced June 1.

POTUS Threatens Marine Monuments. Donald Trump, in his endless pursuit of ideas to benefit his cohorts rather than the greater good, plans to open the Atlantic Marine Monument to commercial fishing. His move to open fishing in the Northeastern Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument will open a new front in the ongoing legal battle over the limits of presidential powers regarding national monuments, with Native American tribes and other environmental groups already challenging the administration. Eric Sala, a marine biologist and founder of Nat Geographic’s Pristine Seas program says, “We need pristine areas set aside so that we can see nature as it was before we overexploited it, and understand the true impact of fishing.” (National Geographic)

The Maldives Cash-In on Coronavirus. In a bid to revive its hard-hit tourism sector, the Maldivian Tourism Ministry has set guidelines for the commencement of safe tourism. This includes such things as resort islands allocating ten percent of its rooms for isolation purposes and guest-service staff being trained in the use of PPE. Resorts shall have a resident doctor and nurse. A license for safety approved resorts will be issued on payment of a fee of $50,000. Although the Tourism Ministry denies it, it looks like Maldivian vacations have just increased in price.

Reasons for Not Eating Parrotfish. Parrotfish discharge up to 250 pounds of white sand annually. The University of Exeter (U.K.) found that they produced 85 percent of new sand-grade sediment in the Maldives. Because they feed on coral, they act as natural cleaners of parasites that live on coral, which otherwise would allow algae to smother the reef. By harvesting parrotfish, the tourist economy of such islands, and those in the Caribbean, is harmed, where beautiful white sand beaches and healthy coral are an important attraction for visitors. (https://blogs.iadb.org)

Coral Bleaching. Abnormal sea temperatures usually cause coral to eject its symbiotic algae and bleach white, but the authors of a new study at the University of Southampton have discovered some corals become shimmering arrays of bright neon colors in a possible attempt to lure algae back. They studied coral in their aquarium facility, in which they found these corals produce a type of protective “sunscreen” layer that presents as these colorful displays. (New Atlas)

Hawaii’s Coral Reefs Are Thriving. Along with its marine life, nature is enjoying the benefits of humans staying away. The water at Shark’s Cove is more transparent, and fish are swimming closer to the shoreline. The Molokini Crater area also reveals more marine life, although scientists say it’s hard to measure these improvements accurately. (Hawaii News Now)

Bali May Reopen for Tourism in October. With as few as 343 reported cases and only four deaths at the beginning of May (the rest of Indonesia had a total of 17,514 confirmed cases and 1,148 confirmed deaths), the tourism ministry is looking to reopen Bali to international tourists from October. In March, foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia plummeted more than 60 percent compared to March 2019, and Chinese arrivals dropped by 97 percent. 80 percent of people in Bali rely on tourism, whether directly or indirectly. (Evening Standard)

The U.S. State Department Stops Issuing Passports. In a statement published on March 27, the State Department advised Americans to avoid all international travel due to the spread of COVID-19, unless someone is experiencing an emergency and needs to travel within 72 hours. People who need a passport, for emergency travel at this time, are required to provide proof of the emergency, such as a death certificate or a signed letter from a hospital or doctor, along with proof of international travel, like a ticket or flight itinerary, and a passport application with supporting documents. (Time Magazine)

Scuba Instructors Stuck in the Andaman Islands. Not enjoying lockdown? It could be worse. Sixteen scuba instructors from the Indian state of Kerala are stranded on Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep), where they were working before Coronavirus shut down operations in March. Without jobs or income, they say basic survival was a challenge since they were short of cash and provisions. They eagerly await repatriation by the Indian authorities. (New Indian Express)

The Big Swim. A whale shark, twice radio-tagged by scientists, has traveled more than 9,700 miles in over 600 days. Scientists from Nova South Eastern University’s Guy Harvey Research Institute and Mexican conservation non-profit Ch’ooj Ajauil AC tagged the mature, 26 feet long whale shark, dubbed ‘Rio Lady,’ in August 2018 in the waters off Cancún, Mexico, and have now been following her movements for 20 months. (Newsweek)

International Air Travel May Not Return to Normal Until 2023. IATA’s Chief Economist Brian Pearce, says: “Covid’s effects on air travel are certainly going to last several years, with no quick rebound to 2019 levels. If there’s another wave of the virus, international travel might not return to normal until 2024.” It doesn’t mean there will be no travel, just not the volume of travel there was before. (Evening Standard)

Aquarium Sharks Get Lonely Too. Some fish at the Cairns Aquarium (Queensland) are missing human interaction and have stopped eating. So they’ve hired an extra diver to amuse creatures such as sharks, grouper, stingrays, and humphead Maori wrasse. Lonely fish are being cuddled to help them get through their coronavirus lockdown-induced gloom. (Australian Associated Press)

While You Were Away from Raja Ampat, the battle for West Papuan independence has intensified with deadly results. Since late 2018, West Papuan separatists have engaged in an escalating series of deadly skirmishes with Indonesian security forces as they renew a decades-old push for independence. Indonesia has denied using bombs but admits grenades were launched during the security operations.

The Sex Lives of Fishes. Something to watch during lockdown, the fascinating sex changes of fishes, their reproduction, and the significance to the sustainability of fishing, are revealed in a Ted Talk by marine biologist Marah J. Hardt. Watch and learn. www.ted.com/talks/marah_j_hardt_the_quirky_sex_lives_of_ocean_creatures

Sorry, Your Trip Got Canceled. Most travel insurance has so many exclusions -- including for epidemics, people often don’t bother with coverage unless they’re spending big bucks on a trip, such as for a cruise. It seems insurers AIG won’t refund travel insurance premiums, such as with its Travel Guard policy if your trip got canceled because of Coronavirus. (L.A. Times)

They’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat. Three scuba divers, spear-fishing off Orange Beach, AL enjoyed a close encounter with a great white shark on May 27. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. One of them shot a video where it’s hard to see the recorded image of the shark in the distance, but the trio was certainly spooked by it.

Help Your Favorite Dive Resort. If you are concerned that money you donated may not fully reach the people for whom it was intended, you could always take a lead from Allan and Barb Jones (Anaheim, CA) who arranged with the manager of their favorite resort in Indonesia to supply 20kg of rice, a tray of eggs, 5 liters of cooking oil, 3kg of sugar, and 20 packets of noodles to each member of staff, including support staff at the cost of $26 per person. Many resorts operate gofundme.com schemes for the same purpose, so contact your favorite and see how you can help.

The Bahamas Reopens its Borders. Hurricane season begins officially on June 1, but undeterred, the island nation is opening its borders to tourism on July 1. To help entice travelers to return, the Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association also says that most of its members offer a hurricane cancelation policy to protect tourists thinking about visiting the islands in the coming months. (Carib Journal)

Having Trouble Getting a Flight Refunded? Airlines that cancel your booked flight must refund the cost of your ticket. That’s the law in both the U.S and the E.U. However, stretched for cash, as they are at the moment, many airlines and travel agents are offering vouchers towards the cost of future flights instead. Stand your ground. Be polite, but don’t take no for an answer, even if U.S. and E.U. rules don’t apply. Be persistent. Passive fliers get ignored. Orbitz and OneTravel kept telling subscriber Dave V. (Bali) that he could not get a refund on his 2020 South American trip, but he could only get credit for the same itinerary with different dates before March 2021. He persisted over two months until some of his money was refunded, and the rest is to be credited shortly.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben