DEMA announces new Board of Directors for 2006

The results of DEMA's 2006 Board of Directors Election are in and DEMA Members have spoken. New board members elected to serve and represent the industry in 2006 and beyond.

DEMA's 2006 Board of Directors consists of the following individuals:

A1-Manufacturers & Distributors
Dan Emke – Aeris
*Susan Long – Diving Unlimited International

A2-Diver Certification and Training Agencies
*Al Hornsby – PADI
Dan Orr – Divers Alert Network

A3-Dive Publishing, Media, Consulting and Non-Retail Service Providers
*Ty Sawyer – Sport Diver Magazine
Rick Stratton – Northwest Dive News

A4-Retailers
*Jim Byrem – Ocean Concepts Scuba
Dave Riscinti – Blue Water Divers

A5-Travel & Resorts
Wayne Hasson – Aggressor Fleet
*Keith Sahm – Sunset House

*Newly elected members

Congratulations to all of the Directors of DEMA! In the coming weeks the new Board will meet to conduct elections for officers of the Board, form committees and elect individuals to chair them.

In accordance with the DEMA Bylaws, Directors serve three-year terms. Directors cannot serve more than two consecutive three-year terms, but can be re-elected after a minimum break of one year. For more information on DEMA's Board of Directors and Bylaws visit http://www.dema.org/displayboard.cfm.

The election was conducted by CPA firm, Gray, Proctor & McMannis, based in Newport Beach, CA. Only 2006 DEMA members were eligible to vote.

DEMA, the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry. With more than 1,200 members, this non-profit, global organization promotes scuba diving through many initiatives including consumer awareness programs, media campaigns and sponsorship of the DEMA Show, a trade event open only to companies doing business in the scuba diving, action water sports and adventure/dive travel industries.

DEMA Show 2006 will take place November 8 – 11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

For more information on DEMA, call 858-616-6408 or visit www.dema.org.

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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DEMA announces new Board of Directors for 2006

Buzz your divebuddy with a SCUBuzz

If you're looking for an underwater noisemaker, maybe you want check out the SCUBuzz, an underwater signaling device worn like a wristwatch.

Sold as a pair, the SCUBuzz is a two-way ultrasonic radio transmitter/receiver that connects two people – even if one is on the surface.

To buzz your buddy, press the button and it signals the person (with vibrations and lights) wearing the mate to your pair.

Willy Volk (of DiveSter) comments that he's not crazy about the vibrating and the lights – he'd probably have a heart attack when he got SCUBuzzed the first time!
So would I!!

Willy likes the idea of not wondering whether the rapping he hears is his buddy, someone else's buddy, or the gills of the fast-approaching shark.

Willy, I think you have the support of many thinking that very same thing.

Anyway, a pair of SCUBuzzes retails for $300, that's roughly around ZAR1850 for my fellow South Africans.

Source: www.divester.com

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Buzz your divebuddy with a SCUBuzz

Dice with Death: Diving pair claims new world record

A diver from Borehamwood has plunged a death-defying 205 metres underwater to set a new world record.

Leigh Cunningham, 37, now carries the record for the deepest wreck dive, after making it down to a sunken cargo ship in pitch-black waters in the Red Sea, Egypt, last month.

His mother Deanna Cunningham, of Stratfield Road, Borehamwood, said she was proud of her son, who now lives in Egypt, but he was mad' to do it. "It is a dice with death," she said. "Nobody's ever been that deep before. It's unchartered territory. You need a back-up team of 50 people with nine doctors."

Mr Cunningham, who shared the record with his co-diver Mark Andrews, dives with a set of five gas tanks containing mixtures of helium, oxygen and nitrogen, which enables him to descend deeper than with pure oxygen. If he had breathed gas from the wrong tank, it could have been fatal.

It was the pair's third attempt at the record, which was made all the more difficult by fierce underwater currents Mr Cunningham's mother said he took up diving after being made redundant 13 years ago and has never looked back. "With his redundancy pay he decided to travel to Israel and got a job as a tour guide on a glass-bottom boat," she said. "Then he got sponsorship to dive, and now he's one of the best divers in the world."

Mr Cunningham is the second Borehamwood man in recent months to capture a diving world record in August, Will Goodman, 28, of Stapleton Road, stayed underwater for 24 hours to complete the longest open-water dive.

Source: www.underwatertimes.com

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Dice with Death: Diving pair claims new world record

USA: Diver rescued after becoming disoriented on San Diego wreck

A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized Saturday after she became disoriented while scuba diving near a sunken ship off Mission Beach, a lifeguard lieutenant said.

The woman was about 94 feet down, near the Canadian destroyer Yukon about 9:15 a.m., when she became disoriented and made a rapid ascent to the surface, San Diego lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said.

Lifeguards determined she was in an "altered state of consciousness," or not fully aware of her surroundings, Lerma said.

The woman was taken to UCSD Medical Center for treatment, Lerma said.

Source: www.fox6.com/news/local

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USA: Diver rescued after becoming disoriented on San Diego wreck

South Africa: Shark victim's long wait for rescue

Mauled and bleeding after a shark attack on the Wild Coast, a Scottburgh man watched his emergency air ambulance circling vainly above Mthatha Airport for more than an hour, unable to rescue him because no one was around to switch on the runway landing lights.

Eventually, with the rescue aircraft running low on fuel, a doctor grabbed a fire extinguisher in desperation and smashed open an airport window to reach the landing lights' switch. The drama started just after 2pm on Wednesday, when diver Michael Vriese, 34, was attacked by a shark while spearfishing at Coffee Bay. Its teeth severed two arteries on his right arm, damaging muscles and nerves on his wrist and forearm.

"There was blood everywhere. I don't know how much I lost, but I'm told that I got a transfusion of at least four units in Durban.

"By the time I had swum back to the beach, I was getting pretty weak and my friends had to support me by both shoulders to get me to a car," Vriese said on Thursday night after a five-hour operation at Entabeni Hospital, where vascular surgeons repaired his severed arteries. Diving partner Neil Abel initially drove Vriese to a clinic near Hole-in-the-Wall. "They took one look at my arm and told me to rush for Mthatha.

An hour later, Vriese was stabilised at a private clinic in Mtatha by Dr Tinus Laubscher, who recommended that his wounds required specialist emergency treatment by vascular surgeons. Laubscher also clamped Vriese's arteries to stem the blood loss. When family members in Scottburgh heard about Vriese's plight, they contacted Netcare, which arranged for a team of paramedics to fly to Mthatha in a light aircraft and bring the injured man to Durban. Laubscher said he had accompanied Vriese in an ambulance toMthatha Airport, where they waited next to the runway.

The aircraft was due to land at 7.45pm, but it was dark and the landing lights were not switched on. Laubscher said he had run to the control tower, where a guard had told him no one had keys to get to the light switches.

"We couldn't even contact the aircraft by radio from the control tower and eventually we managed to get hold of one of the paramedics on the plane by cellphone. The paramedic said they were low on fuel and could only circle for another 10 minutes. I told him to hang on while I tried to sort things out.

"I forced my way into the control tower, but there was a huge Trellidor in the way and the only apparent entry point was through a window. So I phoned a senior SA Police director at 8pm, explained the situation and asked if I could break in.

"He told me to wait while he contacted the airport manager. I phoned again at 8.35pm and he urged me to wait a little longer. In the meantime, we were phoning the paramedics and pleading for them to circle for another 10 minutes.

"Finally, at 8.40pm, I took a fire extinguisher off the wall and smashed a window so the manager could get at the lights. The lights went off twice while the plane was coming in and it finally landed at 8.50pm.

"This whole chartered emergency mission was almost a complete waste. He needed treatment urgently because the blood supply to the tissues in his hand and forearm was restricted. Sharks don't brush their teeth, so the risk of infection also increased with time.

"The torn muscle tendons also pull back shorter and shorter and eventually disappear if you don't stop them in time. So time was absolutely crucial. We couldn't delay.

"This is an airport which has just been upgraded. It was going to be closed down at one point because cattle had be chased away from the runway while planes were coming into land."

Back in Durban, Vriese was about to undergo another five-hour operation on Thursday night.

"We felt so helpless while all this was going on," said his mother, Felicity, and sister, Adrienne.

"I could have ended up dead," Vriese told The Mercury. "I'm lucky that Neil and I both know a bit about first aid and I was able to stop some of the blood loss myself by tying a tourniquet around my arm, and loosening it every few minutes to allow some blood to get through."

No one from the airport was available for comment.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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South Africa: Shark victim's long wait for rescue

Scientists fear calamity for marine life

Worried about the future of some marine species or other? Well, noble though your concerns are, there could be a much more emphatic disaster looming.

We've got to hope they're wrong, but research scientists have warned that marine life around the world could be severely reduced in centuries to come - due to a major reduction in microscopic plankton, which lie at the base of the marine food chain.

In a study published by Nature magazine and reported by Britain's Independent newspaper, the scientists calculated that seas warmed by global warming will greatly limit the rise of nutrients from the deep.

Increasing vertical temperature differentials will inhibit the mixing of materials across aquatic thermoclines, so that microscopic plankton cannot move upward to the depths at which so many marine species have evolved.

Plankton's plant form, phytoplankton, survives particularly well at a depth of about 100m. It absorbs carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce organic carbon, a basic food. But without plankton rising upward to support the food chain at shallower depths, the result could be devastating for marine life in oceans' higher reaches.

It was also calculated that a reduction in phytoplankton at shallower levels would decrease the sea's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The higher atmospheric levels which result would accelerate global warming even further.

Professor Jef Huisman of the University of Amsterdam, who led the research team, produced a computer model for phytoplankton movement which proved accurate when tested against measurements from parts of the Pacific where upper sea temperatures are higher than elsewhere in the world.

Source: www.divernet.com/news/stories

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Scientists fear calamity for marine life

South Africa: Anti-whaling ship detained by authorities

The anti-whaling ship Farley Mowat, which has spent six weeks harassing Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, has been detained in Cape Town harbour by South African authorities.

The Canadian-registered ship, which belongs to the activist Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was detained when it docked on Wednesday afternoon after returning from the Antarctic.

The ship, according to a statement it released, has been "ambushing" Japanese whalers, "hitting them and then chasing them again".

It has been placed under guard for the duration of its indefinite detention.

The captain, Paul Watson, and first mate Paul Cornelissen have also been detained.

The authorities say the detention is because of inadequate safety measures on board, but Sea Shepherd believes it is a ploy by Canada and South Africa, under pressure from Japan, to keep the ship from harassing Japan's whaling fleet.

On Wednesday the department of transport served papers on the vessel that said it "appears to be inadequately manned and is without any safety certification" and was in contravention of the Merchant Shipping Act.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) served papers that said the vessel was "not in possession of an international ship security certificate or a ship security plan".

Samsa ordered that a guard, approved by the port security officer, be permanently stationed at the gangway of the Farley Mowat and that another "continuously patrol the deck" during the ship's stay.

Herbert Henrich, an adviser to the board of Sea Shepherd, said: "This is obviously because of pressure from Japan on Canada. They want to make things difficult.

"They say the vessel is inadequately manned by referring to some Canadian regulation that says the captain and first mate must be Canadian. The captain is, but the first mate is Dutch. Normally this rule would not apply outside Canada.

"This action by the South African government is a most amazing step and very detrimental in terms of its environmental record."

Japanese whalers are catching more than 900 whales, purportedly for "scientific" purposes, in the Antarctic this summer.

The whale meat is sold as an expensive delicacy after scientific samples have been taken. Anti-whaling groups believe Japan's scientific claims are a cover for commercial whaling, which is not allowed under International Whaling Commission rules.

Watson said in an emailed statement this week that his mission in the Antarctic, where he had been working for six weeks with Greenpeace ships, was not to protest against whaling, but "to aggressively shut down the outlaw activities of this Japanese whaling fleet".

"Because we are slower than the whalers, we have to rely on ambushing them, hitting them and then chasing them again."

When one Japanese whaler refused to move out of the Antarctic Whaling Sanctuary, "the Farley Mowat slammed into their starboard side to convey that this was a serious matter. They began to run and we have not seen them since."

Samsa was not available for comment. The Canadian High Commission was asked for comment, but failed to respond.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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South Africa: Anti-whaling ship detained by authorities

Online training program from SDI enters second phase

2nd Generation Online Open Water Scuba Course: Scuba Diving International's ground-breaking Online Open Water course has entered the next phase.

Following its initial release at the 2005 DEMA Show, Las Vegas, it is now ready for full release to all dealers across North America.

Located at www.sdi-onlinetraining.com, the 2nd generation online program has over 300 new photos and illustrations and 25 minutes of new video. The SDI Online Open Water course has the same eye catching content as the new SDI CD-ROM Open Water Scuba Course.

It meets the needs of both Instructors and students who demand a more interactive approach to diver training. "Consumers need learning materials that fall outside the traditional 'Textbook/Chalk and Talk' box," explained David Burroughs, SDI Vice President for Sales and Marketing. "The SDI Online Open Water Diver course reflects exactly what today's market is calling for, and the Online feature broadens the program's appeal by making it available to anyone who wants to complete an Open Water Diver course academics at their own pace, following their own timetable, anywhere there is internet access."

The redesigned program has many new search features for both the consumer and the instructor. Making it easy for the student to review their information and the instructor to search for each student and track his progress as he works his way through the course. Distance learning is not a new concept and many colleges and universities are utilizing this approach with great success.

SDI has also released an Electronic Learning Instructor Guide CD-ROM, an essential tool for instructors using the on-line or CD-ROM versions of the SDI Open Water Diver course. The Instructor CD-ROM includes all the materials contained in the student version, plus interactive instructor guides, Power Point presentations, final exams, and quiz and exam answer keys.

This exciting new product is available exclusively through SDI Dive Centers.

For details of this innovative new approach to computer assisted learning, visit www.tdisdi.com or contact Scuba Diving International 207-729-4201 or worldhq@tdisdi.com.

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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Online training program from SDI enters second phase

Sea level rise 'is accelerating'

Global sea levels could rise by about 30cm during this century if current trends continue, a study warns.

Australian researchers found that sea levels rose by 19.5cm between 1870 and 2004, with accelerated rates in the final 50 years of that period.

The research, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, used data from tide gauges around the world.

The findings fit within predictions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The IPCC's Third Assessment Report, published in 2001, projected that the global average sea level would rise by between 9 and 88cm between 1990 and 2100.

In an attempt to reduce the scale of uncertainty in this projection, the Australian researchers have analysed tidal records dating back to 1870.

The data was obtained from locations throughout the globe, although the number of tidal gauges increased and their locations changed over the 130-year period.

These records show that the sea level has risen, and suggest that the rate of rise is increasing.

Over the entire period from 1870 the average rate of rise was 1.44mm per year.

Over the 20th Century it averaged 1.7mm per year; while the figure for the period since 1950 is 1.75mm per year.

Although climate models predict that sea level rise should have accelerated, the scientists behind this study say they are the first to verify the trend using historical data.

Floods and surges
If the acceleration continues at the current rate, the scientists warn that sea levels could rise during this century by between 28 and 34cm.

Dr John Church, a scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation based in Tasmania and an author of the study, said that higher sea levels could have grave effects on some areas.

"It means there will be increased flooding of low-lying areas when there are storm surges," he told the Associated Press.

"It means increased coastal erosion on sandy beaches; we're going to see increased flooding on island nations."

There is now a consensus among climate scientists that rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are the major factor behind rising temperatures.

Increased temperatures can lead to higher sea-levels through several mechanisms including the melting of glaciers and thermal expansion of sea water.

Through the 1997 Kyoto protocol, industrialised countries have committed to cut their combined emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. But the US and Australia have withdrawn from the treaty.

Dr Church urged: ""We do have to reduce our emissions but we also have to recognise climate change is happening, and we have to adapt as well."

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature

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Sea level rise 'is accelerating'

Australia: Fears that oil spill may threaten Great Barrier Reef

A fisheries conservationist has raised concerns about the possibility of an oil spill in the Gladstone Harbour in central Queensland reaching the Great Barrier Reef.

In Queensland's biggest spill in 35 years, 25,000 litres of oil poured into the harbour when a tug ran into a coal carrier this week.

Australian Marine Conservation Society spokesman Craig Bohm says a big effort has gone into the clean-up.

But he wants assurances there is going to be a long-term monitoring program that looks below the surface.

"I really hope the oil spill on the surface has been contained," he said.

"But with the high winds and the quite strong current at this time of the year, particularly with a lot of unsettled weather, the potential for spread is certainly greater than perhaps in the winter months and I think the Maritime Safety Authority needs to be watching that very, very carefully."

Related Article: Australia: Gladstone oil spill a tragedy for marine life

Source: www.abc.net.au/news

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Australia: Fears that oil spill may threaten Great Barrier Reef

Deep-sea fish species decimated in a generation

At least five species of deepwater exotic fish – only caught since the 1970s – are now on the critically endangered list, according to Canadian scientists. The researchers say many other species are likely to be similarly endangered and, worse, there seems little hope of saving them.

Most commercial fish, such as cod, live on the continental shelves. But overfishing in the 1970s led fishing vessels to move on to a hitherto-unexploited wealth of strange-looking fish on the slopes of the continental shelves, down to 1600 metres.

The bonanza was short-lived. Most of these fisheries peaked after five years and collapsed after 15, says Jennifer Devine, a fisheries scientist at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The deep-sea species reproduce slowly, often not until their late teens, so they do not recover readily from excessive fishing.

Scientists have always feared they would be easy to deplete – and those fears have now been realised. In the first analysis of its kind, Devine looked at data on five species of deep-water fish from surveys by the Canadian government’s fisheries department between 1978 and 1994.

Roundnose and onion-eye grenadier were once commercially fished, but are now taken almost entirely as accidental by-catch alongside Greenland halibut, another deep-water fish that has also begun to decline. The other three species analysed – blue hake, spiny eel and spinytail skate – have only ever been taken as by-catch.

But that was enough. Between 1978 and 1994 the five lost between 87% and 98% of their initial abundance. Further data from 1995 to 2004 for the grenadiers showed they declined still further – 93.3% for the onion-eye and an astonishing 99.6% for the roundnose over 26 years. Their average size has also halved, showing that few fish are getting a chance to mature and breed.


Political horizons
"This happened in a single generation of these species," Devine notes. The danger of extinction depends on the rate of decline per generation. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature calls any species that declines 80% or more within three generations due to a continuing cause 'critically endangered'.

The data on the five species show that in three generations they will decline by 99% to 100% – i.e. they will go extinct. And they are unlikely to be the only species at risk, notes Richard Haedrich, who heads the lab at Memorial University where the research was done.

"The way forward is to close some areas to fishing entirely," Haedrich told New Scientist. But these fisheries are mainly in international or shared waters and are controlled by international groups such as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation and the European Union, which face massive political pressure against limiting fisheries. "The decades we would need to close these areas to get recovery far exceeds the political horizons of these agencies," Haedrich notes.

The EU has just provided an example. Independent scientific advice recommended that "fishing pressure should be reduced considerably" for all deepwater species. But the European Commission recommended a cut in deepwater fishing effort of only 20%, and EU fisheries ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in late December 2005 reduced that to just 10%.

They did set quotas of zero for roundnose grenadier. But most of those are caught by accident alongside Greenland halibut – and the Greenland halibut quota was virtually unchanged.

Source: www.newscientist.com

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Deep-sea fish species decimated in a generation

Dive-Logs announces new online program for retailers

Retailers and industry members can make money through the Dive-Logs program. Dive-Logs launched a new on-line affiliate program where each new customer referral that results in an order earns a generous 10% commission!

Dive-Logs sell thousands of log book stamps, log refills, binders, and ScubaTags around the world every year and are growing fast. In 2005 they won best integrated business at a regional e-Commerce awards, for their innovative Log Designer service and order fulfilment systems.

Started in 2003, they have quickly become the place to go for the ultimate in dive logs and accessories. Dive-Logs is very much a global store with over 25% of all orders being shipped around the world to over 50 different countries! To achieve this they have become one of the best web based stores around with robust order fulfilment systems and guaranteed delivery.

Now in 2006, Dive-Logs are starting a very special on-line referral program that provides big rewards to members. Simply put, for each customer that places an order, 10% of that first order value is given back as a cash commission to the website that originally referred them. This is a larger than typical percentage, reflecting the importance Dive-Logs places on the web as a marketing area.

Getting started is really easy, with a simple registration process. Once registered you get access to loads of code snippets and help to get you started. All you do is create an appropriate link on your website (image, text, banner - whatever you wish) and whenever people click through from your site they are registered as coming from you (even if they go away and come back!).

Once registered, you also have access to detailed stats on how well your program is doing and how much commission you have earned. You can access these stats at any time, with your own logon to your affiliate member page.

Your commission is available as a Paypal cash transfer (or can be converted into free Dive-Logs products).

For more information on the program, and how to get started, please visit: www.dive-logs.com/referrer.jsp?Referrer=DiveNewsWire

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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Dive-Logs announces new online program for retailers

Sport Diver publishes new comprehensive Diving Resource Guide

The World's Best Diving & Resorts provides a one-of-a-kind complete look at all the world's best diving locations.

Sport Diver, the official publication of the PADI Diving Society, announces the launch of its new annual The World's Best Diving & Resorts.

This 2006 edition is a year-round resource for recreational divers as well as dive centers and professionals looking for new and exciting dive-travel opportunities.

"We've got all the hot spots covered, everywhere from the Cayman Islands to Curaçao and Mexico, from Hawaii to Fiji and beyond.

Top diving destinations and resorts worldwide are profiled in The World's Best Diving & Resorts. It's a one-of-a-kind issue, and it will only get bigger and better each year.

Readers are responding, and bookstore sales are already exceeding our expectations," says Carolyn Pascal-Guarino, publisher of Sport Diver.

The World's Best Diving & Resorts is organized by geographic region, featuring the Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific, Exotics and Live-Aboard sections.

The consistent format, combining the best possible images with the most useful diving and resort information, gives readers exactly what they need to make the best choice for their next dive travel adventure.

The World's Best Diving & Resorts offers essential tips, including What to Expect, When to Go, What to Wear, Getting There, Language, Currency, Taxes, Electricity and Time Zone. A map of each location pinpoints the top dive sites, resorts and dive centers.

The guide also profiles luxury resorts that offer first-class amenities in addition to a great diving experience. Some of the resorts featured are Westin Resort in St. John, Trader's Ridge Resort in Micronesia, Pearl Resorts & Spa in Tahiti and the Marriott Beach Resort in the Cayman Islands.

The World's Best Diving & Resorts is now available on newsstands and at bookstores.

Sport Diver is published by World Publications in Winter Park, Florida. World's other lifestyle travel publications include Islands, Caribbean Travel & Life, Spa, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons and Resorts & Great Hotels.

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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Sport Diver publishes new comprehensive Diving Resource Guide

Australia: Gladstone oil spill a tragedy for marine life

As the multi-million dollar clean-up of Queensland's worst oil spill in more than 30 years moves into its second day, the focus is turning to the environmental impact.

Authorities have now worked for more than 24 hours to contain the spill in Gladstone harbour on the central Queensland coast after 25,000 litres of heavy fuel poured from a coal carrier yesterday.

The clean-up is expected to take up to a week and cost more than $3 million.

The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia (WPAA) says it is a tragedy for the area's marine life.

WPAA president Pat O'Brien says it is the worst place the spill could have happened.

It says the area has dugongs, crocodiles and seabirds and many more animals that will be affected by the spill.

"It's probably the worst place that we could ever have a spill because it's inside the harbour," he said

"It's an area where there's a whole range of animals there that'll be affected by it.

"There's dugongs and porpoises and animals like that, that breathe air, that come to the surface regularly. Turtles again too, they'll finish up with oil all over them."

A marine investigator from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says preliminary investigations into the spill should be completed by tomorrow afternoon.

The ATSB is investigating how the tug rammed into a Korean bulk carrier and ruptured its fuel tank.

Investigation leader Peter Foley says the type of oil involved has added to the severity of the spill.

"It's certainly more difficult to control than perhaps crude oil because it tends to be around the same specific gravity or same density as sea water," he said.

Fishing collapse
Meanwhile, the commercial fishing industry in Gladstone says the industry is on the brink of collapse following the spill.

The local commercial fishing industry also wants to know how a tug boat could pierce the hull of a bulk coal carrier.

Gladstone Marina was closed to vessels after the spill, but Marine Safety Queensland says the marina was re-opened at 7:00am AEST; this includes access via Auckland Creek.

Bert Thornley was at sea off the Gladstone coast while the marina was closed, and says he stood to lose $35,000 worth of fish if his boat could not anchor within 24 hours.

"We're all very conscious about protecting the Barrier Reef where we work and to come all the way back home and find it happens right on your doorstep," he said.

"Perhaps they should look a little bit closer at the quality of vessels that they're letting in here.

"For a tug to be able to rupture the side of one of them freighters seems strange to me that the quality of the boat might not be there.

"We've got $30,000, $35,000 worth of fish on board and if we lose that you know there'll be hell to pay and it could take us years to recover it from whoever's responsible - it sort of hurts the little blokes like us a fair bit."

Warrick Sheldon, who represents Gladstone commercial fishermen, says the impact of the slick on the industry could be felt for months or years.

"It'll just annihilate the stocks plus everything up and down the food chain in relation to what the different fishermen catch," he said.

"It's right in the middle of the commercial banana prawn fishing season at the moment - this has the potential to just wipe out their stocks," he said.

Source: www.abc.net.au/news

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Australia: Gladstone oil spill a tragedy for marine life

SCUBAPRO/UWATEC launches Smart Z Hoseless Computer

In early 2005, SCUBAPRO UWATEC introduced the highly-sophisticated Smart TEC hoseless dive computer to the global marketplace. It is designed primarily for technical divers as it fully supports 3-gas diving. Now, for sport and traveling divers, SCUBAPRO UWATEC is pleased to introduce the UWATEC Smart Z, a full-featured hoseless computer ideal for recreational use.

As is the case with all UWATEC hoseless computers, the process required to pair the electronic transmitter to the new Smart Z dive computer only has to be executed once, for optimum convenience and safety. This patented, coded-transmission technology prevents interference between different dive computers.

Since safety is also inherent in every UWATEC computer, the Smart Z gives you a true Remaining Bottom Time (RBT) reading. The RBT is the time you have left to spend at the current depth before you need to ascend in order to be on the surface with the minimum gas reserve you’ve pre-set prior to your dive.

Unlike many dive computers which only report the remaining tank pressure, the Smart Z's RBT is calculated by taking into consideration all parameters which affect the ascent, such as tank pressure, breathing rate, depth, ideal ascending speed, all incurring decompression obligations and the tank reserve set by the diver.

Tank pressure is also temperature compensated in order to correctly follow the diver through an ascent in mountain lakes with large temperature gradients. Once all these parameters have been taken into account it calculates the actual RBT, and all parameters are constantly monitored so that the RBT is continuously updated.

The new Smart Z also features microbubble suppression technology. Recent research has been incorporated into the algorithm which reduces the risk of microbubble formation during a dive. For optimum customization, UWATEC has divided this extra safety into six steps so you can adapt it to your particular needs. Levels can be set before the dive directly on the dive computer, with L0 corresponding with the renown UWATEC ZH-L8 ADT algorithm, and L5 for the most conservative level.

Other key features include:

• Gauge mode to 400 feet for technical diving
  
• Decompression dive planner with freely selectable surface intervals
  
• 100 hour dive profile memory, downloadable to a PC via a wireless (infrared) interface
  
• User-selectable MOD
  
• Numerous informative alarms that can be switched off by the user
  
• All Smart computers are sold with Smart TRAK, the free software for downloading your dives and customizing your Smart computer
  

Source: www.sportdiver.com

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SCUBAPRO/UWATEC launches Smart Z Hoseless Computer

Bahamas Recompression Chamber Announcement

Effective immediately, the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, LTD will, until further notice, no longer accept the Divers Alert Network (DAN) America insurance for payment of diving related injuries.

All divers traveling to the Bahamas are advised to either secure appropriate dive insurance from a source other than DAN America or be prepared to pay out-of-pocket for any treatments related to possible diving accidents that might require a recompression chamber.

The Bahamas hyperbaric clinic will continue to treat all patients as medically necessary. Unfortunately, because the clinic is faced with increased financial pressure to keep its facility operational and its staff on ready alert, the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, LTD can no longer accept Dan America insurance as payment for services.

This action only applies to DAN America (not DAN Europe, DAN Southern Africa, DAN S.E. Asia - Pacific, or DAN Japan), as DAN America is the only insurance carrier that has not settled its claims with the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, LTD. It is worth noting that the other DAN World organizations, PADI, Insurance and all other dive insurers worldwide, including major medical health programs in the United States and Europe, including National Health programs have settled satisfactorily claims for hyperbaric medical services with our company and continue to be accepted at the chamber.

For additional information please contact: cdammert@medicalhyperbarics.com

Related Articles:
DAN SA members not affected by DAN America Insurance and recompression treatment lawsuit
SSS Recompression on the DAN America lawsuit
DAN Responds to Press Release
Recompression Chamber Network to stop accepting DAN Insurance

Source: www.deeperblue.net

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Bahamas Recompression Chamber Announcement

Suunto launches NEW D6 Dive Computer

Suunto dive computers give all divers, from beginners to advanced underwater explorers, the freedom to enjoy their underwater surroundings by providing them with the information they need to maximize their safety.

Made from stainless steel, the new Suunto D6 dive computer has been designed to be both a stylish watch on land and a trusted companion underwater. Suunto's unique digital compass is also found in the Suunto D6 and shows divers the direction in which they are heading both graphically and numerically.

The Suunto D6 has three modes; Air, Nitrox, and Gauge. Divers can choose between making traditional shallow safety stops or, with the deep stops function activated, making safety stops at depth.

The log book memory and graphical dive profile give real time water temperature, which can be seen on the wristop computer's display. The Suunto D6 can store over 100 hours of profile memory. The dive history shows the total number of dives and how many hours of dives the computer has logged. The dive planner enables repetitive dive planning.

Watch functions include stopwatch, dual time, alarm clock and the use of the compass. After the dive, the dive profile can be downloaded to a PC for further analysis with the help of Suunto Dive Manager 2 software.

In Nitrox mode, divers have the choice of using two different gas mixes, which are preset before the dive. Choose from 21-100% oxygen content, with the ability to change the partial pressure of oxygen for each mix. During the dive, if you are within the allowable safety factor (maximum operating depth), you can switch to the second gas.

Gauge mode can be used either for freediving or technical diving. With freediving, the sampling rate for the log book can be set to one second intervals. When diving in this mode, there is a dual display of dive time and a stopwatch which can be reset.

Founded in 1936 with the world's first liquid-filled compass, Suunto is a leading designer and manufacture of precision sports instruments for diving, mountaineering, hiking, skiing, sailing, training and golf. Prized for their design, accuracy and dependability, Suunto wristop computers combine the aesthetics and functionality of watches with sport-specific computers that help athletes at all levels analyze and improve performance. Headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, Suunto employs more than 500 people worldwide and distributes its products to over 70 countries. The company is a subsidiary of Helsinki-based Amer Sports Corporation.

Visit Suunto

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Suunto launches NEW D6 Dive Computer

Hawaii: Dive and Snorkel Operators join to form Reef Fund

Dive and snorkel operators on Hawaii's Big Island and Maui have joined local conservation organizations to raise money for marine conservation.

Through an innovative new program called the Reef Fund, dive and snorkel operators solicit voluntary donations from their clients to fund high priority marine protection programs...

Conservation efforts include the repair and installation of mooring buoys, the protection of nesting and resting beaches for rare and endangered sea turtles and monk seals, and the establishment of local education and outreach programs to protect marine resources.

According to Ed Robinson, a founding member of the Maui Reef Fund and president of Ed Robinson Adventures, "the industry is leading this effort because, as commercial operators, we feel that we hold the ultimate responsibility in conserving the reef resources we utilize, and the Maui Reef Fund is a positive step in this direction."

According to Kim Hum, Acting Marine Director for The Nature Conservancy's Hawaii Program, similar programs in other parts of the world have demonstrated that most ocean users, particularly divers and snorkelers, are willing to help fund programs that protect the marine environment.

A survey done by the Conservancy and the State Division of Aquatic Resources in 2003 indicated that 80% of those surveyed were willing to pay per snorkel/dive day for marine resource protection programs if the funds went to a private institution or non-profit and were not managed by a government agency. "With more than 1 million annual visitors to Molokini alone, the potential for this program is astounding," says Hum.

While the majority of other fee-based marine protection funds around the world are mandated by the local or national governments, Hawaii's is voluntary. On Maui, the Reef Fund is coordinated by the local non-profit organization, Hawaii Wildlife Fund. On the Big Island, the fund is managed by the Waimea-based non-profit, Malama Kai.

Donations collected by marine recreation operators are pooled into a collective fund on each island, and managed by the non-profit which is advised by a committee of operators, conservationists, scientists, and other stakeholders. The advisory committees decide how the funds will be spent on their islands.

On Maui, the Reef Fund has already begun to collect donations and the Council has taken action to assist in the protection of coral reefs through a massive mooring pin repair effort. According to boat captain, Michael Jones, who is involved in the project, "anytime a boat drops an anchor, it creates a circle of death...the anchor and anchor chain can kill all the coral within its reach. The most damaging thing an ocean user can do is drop an anchor. Anything we can do to prevent a boat from dropping anchors is a great benefit for the environment."

For more information on the Reef Fund visit: Hawaii Dive and Snorkel Operators Get Involved

Source: www.divenews.com

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Hawaii: Dive and Snorkel Operators join to form Reef Fund

Coral reefs cheaper to save than neglect - UN

Costs of safeguarding the world's fast-disappearing coral reefs and mangroves are small compared to the benefits they provide from tourism to fisheries, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Tuesday.

The report, part of a recent trend trying to place a value on the natural world, said that pollution, global warming and expanding human settlements along coasts were among mounting threats to reefs and mangroves.

"Day in and day out and across the oceans and seas of the world nature is working to generate incomes and livelihoods for millions if not billions of people," UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer said in a statement.

The report, to be issued at a conference in Paris, estimated that intact coral reefs were worth $100 000 - $600 000 (about R590 000 - R3,5-million) per square kilometre a year to humankind and a sq km of mangroves $200 000 - $900 000 a year.

"Most benefits from coral reefs and mangroves arise from fisheries, timber and fuelwood, tourism and shore protection," it said.

Corals and mangroves protect coastlines from erosion caused by storms, for instance. The report said it was unclear, however, if they had shielded Indian Ocean coasts overall from the disastrous tsunami on December 26, 2004.

By contrast, the cost of protecting a square kilometre of coral reef or mangroves in a marine park was just $775 a year, it reckoned.

It said that all estimates were based on vague data and had to be treated with caution but indicated that better protection made sense in a little-tested branch of ecosystem economics.

It said that about 30 percent of reefs were severely damaged and that 60 percent could be lost by 2030. About 35 percent of mangroves had already disappeared due to logging, disease and conversion to fish farms.

UNEP's Toepfer said the report should make people "think twice about the pollution, climate change, insensitive development and other damaging practices that are undermining the economic basis for so many coastal communities worldwide."

In trying to assess the value of reefs, for instance, the survey said that costs of building a concrete breakwater in the Maldives to replace a damaged reef had been $10-million per km.

Under another survey, coral reefs in the Caribbean were estimated to be worth from $2 000 a year in remote areas to $1,0-million beside a tourist resort where it drew scuba divers.

In Egypt, about 11 percent of gross domestic product came from tourism, with a quarter or tourist revenues from beaches and reefs in the south Sinai.

And mangroves, for instance, were a source of prized building materials because the wood was resistant to rot.

The report, produced by UNEP with the International Coral Reef Action Network and the World Conservation Union, also estimated that reef fisheries were worth between $15 000 and $150 000 per sq km a year.

Fish caught for aquariums were worth $500 a kilogramme against $6 for fish caught as food.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Coral reefs cheaper to save than neglect - UN

White Shark taggers team up for TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Pelagics)

The blue whale carcass undulated with the swell, a huge, pale and nutrient-packed spread for the hungry denizens of top predators patrolling the waters around the Farrrallon Islands. A gift from the sea to Scot Anderson of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, who works the area each fall, identifying and tagging white sharks...

Ever mindful of safety, Anderson is often conservative in his evaluations of tagging conditions. That morning, he'd made a tough call, opting not to head out into the winds, but the carcass sighting shifted the equation just enough to make the journey worthwhile. A dead whale is the ultimate shark buffet and a taggers' dream.

With such an enticing and enormous meal at hand, Anderson's team could tag a feasting shark directly from the Derek M. Baylis (a 65-foot sailboat frequently used by the Monterey Bay Aquarium), rather than brave the swells on their tiny skiff. A lucky break for TOPP's team of scientists from Stanford University, the University of California, Davis, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Pelagic Shark research Foundation.

For 20 years, Stanford's Dr. Barbara Block has led physiological and tagging studies of sharks, particularly those in the lamnid family, an evolutionary intriguing group which includes white sharks, salmon sharks and makos. Like bluefin tunas, many sharks in this family are endothermic, with circulatory systems configured to retain metabolic heat and help warm powerful swimming muscles.

Also like the tunas, lamnid hearts are specially adapted to perform effectively while pumping blood that is chilled to ambient water temperature during passage through the gills.

While salmon sharks appear to be the most endothermic of the lamnids, TOPP has discovered that white shark habitat spans a surprisingly large range of temperatures. Scientists have conducted few studies on the internal temperatures of white sharks, so it remains an open question just how endothermic this species actually is.

But it is known that during the fall, the northern California off-shore waters favored by the white shark often hovers in the low to mid 50s F, a far cry from the balmy subtropical waters these large sharks appear to frequent during the winter and spring.

While the white shark is a media favorite and pop-culture icon, from a scientific perspective, very little is known about the largest of TOPP's sharks. Less than a decade ago, the white shark was thought to be coastal. So when the team of scientists from Block’s lab and the Point Reyes Bird Observatory placed a PAT tag on a Farrallon-tagged shark called Tipfin only to have it surface near Hawaii, jaws dropped at Stanford and elsewhere.

A study published in 2005 documented an even longer journey, with a white shark traveling from Africa to Australia and back again. Ongoing tag-based studies of white shark migration are providing more detailed information about these long-distance migrations. For instance, TOPP currently boasts a one-year archival tag record for a white shark, which has given scientists high-resolution data on the animal's second-by-second activity.

TOPP's adult white shark tagging pools the efforts of four teams led by expert shark taggers working in disparate sites that are all highly productive and play home to large pinniped rookeries. On a map, Point Reyes to the north of San Francisco, the Farrallon Islands to the west, and Ano Nuevo just north of Santa Cruz form a triangular region historically well-known to locals for white sharks.

Each area also had resident white shark tagging and observation programs operating for the most part – independently. Thanks to TOPP PI Barbara Block's effort, the four shark teams overseeing these programs are now partnering and the union promises to yield an enormous payoff in valuable data about one of the oceans most famous—and least understood predator.

The TOPP shark teams are diverse, yet all are eager to help fill the enormous gaps in knowledge about white sharks. Where do they go when they leave the coast? What do they eat? Where do they breed? How large is their range, and how many of these animals are there? These are only some of the questions addressed by the researchers whose profiles follow.

Read profile of TOPP white shark tagger Scot Anderson
Read profile of TOPP white shark team leader Pete Klimley
Read profile of TOPP white shark tagger Sean Van Sommeran

Source: www.divenews.com

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White Shark taggers team up for TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Pelagics)

Autopsy confirms: Body in river was area diver

Autopsy results have confirmed that the remains of a man found in the St. Lawrence River over the weekend are those of a Rochester man who disappeared while diving in the river nearly 25 years ago.

State Police Investigator Michael Marvin said an autopsy performed yesterday confirmed the remains were those of Brett Schirmer, 21 at the time of his death, who disappeared near the Thousand Islands Bridge in August 1981. He was diving with John Mott, also of Rochester, in a search for a ship that was sunk by pirates during the War of 1812.

Recreational divers discovered Schirmer's remains and some diving equipment — covered with soot and zebra mussels — Sunday in the narrows between Wellesley Island and the American bank, about 20 miles north of Watertown. The remains were on the river's floor, about 140 feet down.

Schirmer, a graduate of Charlotte High School and a Navy veteran, was diving with Mott, a co-worker, when he disappeared.

Mott told the Democrat and Chronicle and Times-Union in 1981 that he and Schirmer had been diving in about 125 feet of water when Schirmer signaled that he wanted to surface.

During the ascent, Mott said Schirmer appeared to go limp and Mott let go of him when he tried to inflate an emergency vest.

"I tried to get him to the surface, but I could not," Mott had told the Times-Union.

He said Schirmer was carried away by a strong current.

Source: www.scubawire.com

Original Article: www.democratandchronicle.com

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Autopsy confirms: Body in river was area diver

Scuba Diving's Reader's Choice Awards names top Pacific/Indian Ocean destinations

Divester reports that the Chicago Tribune received some information concerning Scuba Diving's newest Reader's Choice Awards.

According to them, the top Pacific/Indian Ocean destinations, in order, are:

1. Indonesia
(tie) Palau, Micronesia
(tie) Yap, Micronesia
4. Truk, Micronesia
5. French Polynesia
6. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
7. Papua New Guinea
8. Fiji
9. Maui, Hawaii
10. Australia (Great Barrier Reef/Coral Sea)

Source: www.divester.com

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Scuba Diving's Reader's Choice Awards names top Pacific/Indian Ocean destinations

Lebanese scuba diver rescues guitar shark

Naji Cherabieh is a scuba diver with more than a dozen years of experience in both diving and underwater photography. On a trip diving in Mauritius he noticed a guitar shark (an endangered species) struggling in an agitated way in the sand. Cherabieh moved closer to investigate...

"As I got really close, I saw that the shark was entangled in an anchor rope and was completely stuck and helpless," Cherabieh told the press. "I also realized that this was a guitar shark, an endangered species and one of the world's rarest sharks. It was a magnificent and beautiful creature," he added.

But fellow sharks of different species were waiting for a meal sensing the guitar shark's predicament. "The large number of sharks circling was because they saw the distress of the guitar shark and they were simply waiting to attack it," he said. Despite the dangers, Cherabieh knew he had to help the shark.

He was joined by several other divers. They were able to cut the shark free of the lines in which it had become tangled. Its frantic thrashing made the situation worse for the shark and harder for the divers to free the scared creature.

Read the details in reporter Jessy Chahine's story at: Diver Saves Guitar Shark

Source: www.divenews.com

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Lebanese scuba diver rescues guitar shark

World's biggest fish 'shrinking'

Whale sharks spotted off the coast of Australia are getting smaller, researchers have said.

In a decade the average size recorded by observers has shrunk from 7m to 5m.

Whale sharks, the world's largest fish, are caught for food in some east Asian countries and Australian researchers suspect this is causing a decline.

The fish is listed as "vulnerable", and one of the authors of the new study has described the new finding as "a very worrying sign".

The data comes from ecotourism companies which run expeditions to watch whale sharks and swim with them in Ningaloo Marine Park off the north-west coast.

"The eco-tourism industry logs the position and size and sex of every shark it swims with," said Mark Meekan, of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims).

"We have obtained those datasets and analysed them over time," he told the BBC News website, "and essentially what we have seen in the last decade is a decline in average size of shark from 7m to 5m.

"Now, if you consider that the sharks probably aren't sexually reproductive or mature until they're 6 or 7m long - that's a very worrying sign."

Looking for options
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are filter feeders, eating small marine organisms such as krill.

They can live for up to 150 years, attaining lengths of more than 15m, and are believed to reach sexual maturity around the age of 30.

Under the IUCN Red List of threatened species, they are categorised as "vulnerable" to extinction.

"Whale sharks, like many other shark species, are highly vulnerable to over-exploitation due to their long lifespan and low reproductive rate," commented Callum Roberts, of York University in the UK, who has researched whale sharks extensively in the Caribbean.

"They have been added to CITES' list of species threatened by international trade," he told the BBC News website, "but this will not protect them if they are caught by, for example, Taiwanese vessels and then consumed in Taiwan.

"So whale sharks are at risk, and the decline in size might be due to capture of large sharks."

There are also indications that the number of sharks visiting Australian waters may be decreasing, which would be additional evidence for a decline prompted by over-fishing.

Playing tag
Aims researchers are running a tagging programme in an attempt to plot whale shark migration routes between Australia, Asia and the eastern coast of Africa.

Specimens tagged in Australia have swum to Asian waters; last month a tag transmitted for days from the same location in Indonesia, apparently on land, leading researchers to suspect that the shark had been caught and the tag removed.

Either the meat is eaten, or the giant fins used as advertising boards for restaurants serving shark fin soup; livers are used for oil, and cartilage in traditional Chinese medicine.

Finding migration routes could help pinpoint areas where they are being caught.

"Many of the people doing the fishing are just local villagers with no other option," said Mark Meekan.

"If we know who they are, we can give them another option, and that option is very lucrative; the ecotourism industry in Ningaloo generates AU$70m (£28m; US$50m) a year, enough to support an entire town."

Longer term objectives of the Aims programme include finding out more about the life cycle of the whale shark.

The biggest mystery concerns breeding and reproduction; males and females live in largely segregated communities, but must come together somewhere to breed.

They are believed to bear live young, but sightings of pups are extremely rare.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech

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World's biggest fish 'shrinking'

USA: Body of missing scuba diver found after 25 years

A Group of scuba divers, diving in the St. Lawrence River, were looking for remains of the Sir Robert Peel wreckage when they found more than they were looking for.

They found the body of Brett W. Schirmer, 21, of Rochester, who went missing in August 1981.

Here are three articles related to this story:
Remains found of diver missing for decades
Body in river may be local diver lost in 1981
Body of scuba diver found in St. Lawrence River

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USA: Body of missing scuba diver found after 25 years

Cozumel home to Mexico Underwater Show for second year

The Cozumel Tourism Promotion Board is pleased to announce that the island will be home to the 2006 "México Underwater Dive Show."

Sponsored by the Cozumel Tourism Promotion Board and the Government of the State of Quintana Roo, the second annual dive show will take place in Cozumel, June 1-3. 2006.

Held at the Cozumel Convention Center, the show will display the wide array of dive facilities and privileges that Mexico offers to scuba diving and water sports enthusiasts – all in one place.

More than 35 major Mexican destinations, representing the country's more than 6,000 miles of coastline -- along with inland lakes, springs, rivers, caves, and cenotes -- will be participating at this year's event to provide guests with informative seminars, product expositions, dive travel packages and more.

A world-renowned dive destination, Cozumel was chosen again to host Mexico Underwater because of its vast natural resources and reputation as a diver's paradise. Located along the largest reef system in the Western Hemisphere, Cozumel is also easily accessible, with direct flights available from the United States, Canada and other Mexican cities.

The pristine, crystal-clear, turquoise waters of Cozumel await scuba divers and non-divers alike. According to Raul Marrufo, Director of the Cozumel Tourism Promotion Board, "All are invited to join us for Mexico Underwater to enjoy the wonders and mysticism of Cozumel above and beneath the sea. We are proud to be the host destination, not only so visitors can learn about our own island's resources, but to help them discover the many magnificent underwater adventures that all of Mexico has to offer visitors."

The Mexico Underwater Dive Show will include:

Expositions on Mexican destinations, services and facilities.

Expositions on airlines and travel agencies offering services to Mexican destinations from the US, Canada and Europe.

Seminars on various destinations.

An underwater film festival.

A photo contest.

SCUBA specialty courses at reduced prices.

New equipment demonstrations. Unlike other dive shows, equipment demos will be provided in the ocean among Cozumel's magnificent coral reefs.

Nightly Mexican fiestas.

Special activities program for non-divers attending the show.

Sinking of an artificial reef outside of the marine park.

The Unique Cozumel Dive Experience
Cozumel offers more than 30 different diving sites ranging from the colorful coral gardens of Paraiso Reef, a 400 yd. easy access area ideal for new or novice divers, to the Maracaibo Reef, a 130 plus foot reef reserved only for advanced and seasoned divers.

With a maximum depth of 45 ft., Paraiso Reef is full of life and color and has a visibility level that normally exceeds 200 ft. At the challenging Maracaibo Reef divers can experience encounters with large marine animals, view enormous gorgonians and great coral formations. Offering a variety of dive adventures for all experience levels diving in Cozumel is never boring.

Cozumel is fringed by a complex coral reef eco system, part of a massive chain of reefs that stretches from the Gulf of México to Honduras. Cozumel reefs are part of the second largest coral chain system in the world, matched only by the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia.

The wide variety of diving offered by Cozumel cannot be found in any one destination anywhere else in the world. Dive sites range from shallow sites that do not exceed 60 feet to areas with depths exceeding 1000 feet. Visibility levels never fall below 100 feet and can increase to more than 200 feet.

Water temperatures in Cozumel range from low 80´s during the winter months to the upper 80´s in the summer months. Since the western shore of the island is limited by a natural channel, drift diving is the most characteristic aspect of a Cozumel dive session.

Wall diving is one of the most demanded activities. Due to a permanent mild current, you can literally ¨fly¨ along the coral walls for more than 40 minutes while watching enormous coral formations and abundant marine life within these underwater walls.

Cozumel reefs are protected as part of the Cozumel National Reefs Marine Park and diving in Cozumel is ruled by the most discriminating international safety standards.

Offering travelers adventures above water as well, Cozumel has a variety of land-based attractions for travelers to enjoy, ranging from horseback riding on the beach or through the jungle to shopping experiences at colorful downtown shops where avid shoppers can find anything from handmade Mexican crafts to designer watches and French perfume. Cozumel also provides a wide variety of dining options to please every palate and offers hotel accommodations to suit different needs for divers as well as families and couples. With an array of activities both in and out of the water, abundant restaurants, and selection of accommodations Cozumel presents the perfect locale for divers seeking the ultimate dive vacation.

The island of Cozumel, named "The Land of the Swallows" by the Maya who inhabited it more than 2,000 years ago, is located in the state of Quintana Roo, east of the Yucatan Peninsula. Situated along the world's second-largest reef network and home to the famed Palancar Reef, discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1962, Cozumel boasts a first-class international dive and snorkel reputation. Cozumel provides an ideal dive environment with water temperatures between 77 to 82 degrees year-round and visibility levels up to 200 feet.

Divers can visit more than 37 different dive sites to explore more than 20 miles of multi-colored coral reefs, all protected as part of the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, and enjoy the islands fascinating marine life. Cozumel has also established itself as a prime golf, honeymoon and family vacation destination.

In a Money magazine survey, Cozumel was recognized as a top vacation destination, noted for its diversity, offering something for every traveler, and great vacation value.

Visit Cozumel on the World Wide Web at www.islacozumel.com.mx.

Source: www.sportdiver.com

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Cozumel home to Mexico Underwater Show for second year

PADI and Sport Diver Magazine announce GO DIVE program

New National Promotion from PADI and Sport Diver Targets New Divers to Go Dive with Your Facility

PADI and Sport Diver magazine are again combining efforts, but - this time they’re looking to increase the number of new divers entering PADI Dive Centers and Resorts. Beginning in January 2006, Sport Diver will launch a new direct marketing promotion targeting PADI Discover Scuba Diving participants who tried scuba diving within the last year.

The joint PADI and Sport Diver Go Dive promotion provides prospective divers with incentives to learn to scuba dive at a local PADI Dive Center or Resort. The two-part promotion includes an initial mailing to 50,000 PADI Discover Scuba Diving participants residing in the United States and a follow-up mailing in early February.

The initial Go Dive mailing congratulates Discover Scuba Diving participants for their achievement with a PADI certificate of recognition. It also encourages them to request a free Go Dive kit, which includes everything they need to continue their adventure and become a certified PADI Open Water Diver.

Included in the Go Dive kit is PADI's new, promotional Go Dive DVD, Sport Diver's Learn-to-Dive mini-magazine, manufacturer-sponsored rebate coupons that are redeemable only at PADI Dive Centers and Resorts and a PADI Diving Society application.

To take advantage of the special savings, recipients need only visit their local PADI Dive Center or Resort, sign -up for a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver course and join the PADI Diving Society, which offers divers more than $58,000 US in savings and incentives for dive equipment, education and experiences.

"The Go Dive promotion is a new and exciting diver acquisition campaign," said PADI Director of Marketing and Communications, Kristin Valette. "Traditionally, PADI and Sport Diver have worked together to retain certified divers. Now, we’re joining forces to grow the industry by increasing the number of newly certified divers."

The extent of the Go Dive diver acquisition campaign will largely depend upon the success of this initial effort. All PADI Dive Centers and Resorts are therefore encouraged to support the promotion by involving their staff and ensuring promotion respondents complete and return the PADI Diving Society application in a timely fashion.

"We're going to closely track the results of this campaign," said Dave Freygang, WORLD Publications Group Publisher, Watersports Division. "In order to accurately measure results, however, we need all PADI Dive Centers and Resorts to return Society applications as quickly as possible - preferably prior to certification. That way, student divers can take advantage of the package's savings and we can precisely track Go Dive campaign respondents."

For more information on the Go Dive acquisition campaign, ideas on how you can take advantage or other opportunities available through the PADI Diving Society, contact PADI Diving Society Manager Theresa Gulledge at 800 729 7234 or 949 858 7234, ext. 2322 or email theresa.gulledge@padi.com

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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PADI and Sport Diver Magazine announce GO DIVE program

UK diving incidents in 2005 highest ever recorded

Diving incidents in 2005 were the highest ever recorded, but the number of fatalities was reduced from last year, according to the BSAC's Diving Incidents Report.

Delivering the report at BSAC's Diving Officers' Conference, safety and incidents officer Brian Cumming revealed that there had been 17 fatal incidents in the UK, compared to 25 in 2004.

Of the 17 fatalities recorded between October 2004 and September 2005, two were double fatalities. Five of those who died were BSAC members.

Brian spoke out strongly against the practise of solo and trio diving, which together attributed to six of the deaths. He said trio diving often led to separation.

"Pair diving clearly saves lives," Brian said. "Four of the year's fatalities involved solo diving and to throw more light on these events I conducted a study of the database. The current database goes back to 1998 and it contains 138 fatalities, giving a total of 146 deaths. Of this total, 19 related to solo diving. This means that 13 per cent of our fatalities were solo divers and we can be sure that this is significantly higher than the fraction of dives that are conducted solo."

As well as solo and trio diving, Brian highlighted non-diving-related medical problems, deep diving, rebreather diving, equipment failure and rapid ascent as the main factors in all of 2005's deaths.

A total of 441 diving incidents were reported in the UK, the highest-ever recorded. Brian said it was not clear if the increasing trend was the result of more incidents, more diving, better data capture or a combination of these factors.

Of all diving incidents, 98 were ascent-related, the highest number ever recorded, and a 23 per cent increase on 2004 figures. Brian echoed his comments from the previous year’s conference about the rising number of incidents, which 'clearly indicated' poor buoyancy technique and training.

"Incidents associated with abnormal ascents have risen dramatically," he said. "These are avoidable problems and instructors should make this a priority area for attention." Boating and surface incidents continued to decline, said Brian, adding that the 2005 figures indicated a 'levelling out' at around 90. However, he highlighted the 'worrying' number of cases where divers were struck by boats.

UK incidents involving the coastguard agency and RNLI increased slightly on last year. Praising the emergency services, Brian emphasised the importance of divers reporting incidents to the coastguard early.

He concluded that reported incidents and numbers of fatalities were in line with the trends of recent years but warned against complacency.

"As has been stated many times before, most of the incidents could have been avoided had those involved followed a few basic principles of safe diving practice," he said.

For full details of the Diving Incidents Report, see the BSAC website www.bsac.org.

Source: www.divemagazine.co.uk/news

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UK diving incidents in 2005 highest ever recorded

Mares introduces Lifetime Service Parts Policy

Mares Diving announces a new Lifetime Service Parts Policy for all Regulators sold in the U.S. and Canada effective January 1st, 2006.

In addition to the Limited Lifetime Warranty offered on all Mares Regulators, Mares will now offer free "Lifetime Service Parts" to all consumers on the purchase of any Mares Regulator sold in the U.S. and Canada. Mares will supply the necessary parts for the annual service of the regulator 1st and 2nd stages at no charge to maintain the Limited Lifetime Warranty, for the useful lifetime of the regulator to the original owner.

"Mares has always been an industry leader in Regulator Technology, the addition of this new policy will reinforce our commitment to a higher level of service for both dealers and consumers" states Phil Mintz, Director of Sales and Marketing, Mares Diving Division of Head USA.

Along with the introduction of the Mares Regulator Lifetime Service Parts Policy, Mares will also offer the opportunity for consumers who purchased a Mares Regulator in 2004 or 2005 the option to upgrade to the new Lifetime Parts Policy for a nominal fee.

All Mares Authorized Dealers have been sent the details on the new Lifetime Service Parts Policy and upgrade.

Source: www.sportdiver.com

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Mares introduces Lifetime Service Parts Policy

Innovative new dive ropes lighten up the scuba diving industry

New company introduces Glow In the Dark ropes designed for divers and other aquatic applications. New distributors and dealers wanted!

North Dakota Inventor sees the light for the aquatic industry. Offering, 21st century Glow-in-the-Dark, "Glow Rope" for Cave, Wreck, or Scuba Diving. This innovative new concept has strong applications for the dive industry. Fire Forks Unlimited is looking to bring this product to dive retailers in time for the coming season.

"The Glow Rope and Cleat assembly allows for the number one factor SAFETY for our divers," stated, Deb Savageau, CEO of Fire Forks Unlimited, N.D. "If a diver loses his or her diving buddy they can count on our illuminating glow rope to light their way to the surface."

The Glow Rope and Glow Dock Cleats were a big hit at the 2005 DEMA show, said, Tim Nelson, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fire Forks Unlimited, N.D. "Customers asked for Glow Cave Rope which was promptly produced and is NOW available in 1200 ft spools. We are very excited and happy to be a part of the diving community and be able to contribute to the well-being and safety of all our diving enthusiasts across the nation."

When you come to the End of your Rope... ... ...CALL US!

Distributors Wanted!
Contact:

Tim Nelson
Tel: (507)-380-0960 or (507)-375-4040
E-Mail: techs0081@mchsi.com

OR

Deb Savageau
Tel: (701)-271-0211 or (701)-200-2546
Fax: 701-893-3087
E-Mail: Deb@letsglowcamping.com
www.letsglowcamping.com

Source: www.divenewswire.com

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Innovative new dive ropes lighten up the scuba diving industry

Mares announces new UK distributor

Head UK is taking on full responsibility for the sales, marketing and distribution of all Mares diving products in Britain from 15 February this year.

For the past 30 years, Mares was represented in Britain by Blandford Sub-Aqua, whose employees Dave Green and Justin Hanning now move over to Head UK, and will now work in the roles of national account manager and product manager respectively.

Both are respected figures within the UK diving industry and have been associated with Mares for many years.

Mark Jenkins, MD of Blandford Sub-Aqua, said: "While being disappointed to be losing the Mares brand from our business, we understand the reasons why the Head Group has taken this decision and wish them well with their new venture."

The president of Mares SpA, Gerald Skrobanek, thanked the staff of Blandford for their hard work and wished them the best for the future. "Times are changing and we felt having recently established Head UK to represent our racket and ski business, it was logical from a business perspective to bring our brands together under one house," he said.

Source: www.divemagazine.co.uk/news

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Mares announces new UK distributor

PADI launches 40th anniversary Certification Card series

PADI Americas is pleased to announce the commemorative 40th anniversary replacement card series, available for a limited time only.

PADI is proud to celebrate 40 years of providing unmatched professional service and training for scuba divers around the world.

Replacement cards with any of the four images can be ordered at your local PADI dive center or resort or at www.padi.com for $35.

Source: www.sportdiver.com

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PADI launches 40th anniversary Certification Card series

USA: Woman hospitalized following scuba dive

San Diego - A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized Saturday after she became disoriented while scuba diving near a sunken ship off Mission Beach, a lifeguard lieutenant said.

The woman was about 94 feet down, near the Canadian destroyer Yukon at about 9:15 a.m., when she became disoriented and made a rapid ascent to the surface, San Diego lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said.

Lifeguards determined she was in an "altered state of consciousness," or not fully aware of her surroundings, Lerma said.

The woman was taken to UCSD Medical Center for treatment, Lerma said.

Source: www.10news.com/news

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USA: Woman hospitalized following scuba dive

Japan grapples with invasion of giant jellyfish

A slimy jellyfish weighing as much as a sumo wrestler has Japan's fishing industry in the grip of its poisonous tentacles.

Vast numbers of Echizen kurage, or Nomura's jellyfish, have appeared around Japan's coast since July, clogging and ripping fishing nets and forcing fishermen to spend hours hacking them apart before bringing home their reduced catches.

Representatives of fishing communities around the country gathered in Tokyo on Thursday, hoping to thrash out solutions to a pest that has spread from the Japan Sea to the Pacific coast.

"It's a terrible problem. They're like aliens," Noriyuki Kani of the fisheries federation in Toyama, northwest of Tokyo, told Reuters ahead of the conference.

There are no official figures on the size of the problem, but Kani says the financial losses are obvious.

"If your nets are full of jellyfish, of course there is no space for fish," he said.

Cutting up and disposing of the giants can turn a three-hour fishing trip into a 10-hour marathon, while valuable fish are poisoned or crushed under the weight of the unwanted catch.

And what a catch. One Echizen kurage can be up to 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and weigh up to 200 kg (440 lb).

Despite their size, the invertebrates aren't toxic enough to cause serious harm to humans, but fishermen often wear goggles and protective clothing to avoid stings when dealing with them.

Much about the jellyfish, the largest variety found in the Sea of Japan, remains a mystery, according to Hitoshi Iizumi of the Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute in Niigata.

Researchers have suggested they drift to Japan on currents after reproducing in South Korean or Chinese waters, a theory that Japan wants to investigate with the other two nations.

But with relations between Japan and its nearest neighbors at a low ebb, Tokyo is anxious to avoid apportioning blame.

"We have a neutral stance," said Yukihiko Sakamoto of the National Fisheries Agency, which organized Thursday's conference.

CULINARY SOLUTION?
"It doesn't matter whether the jellyfish come from South Korean waters or Japanese waters. We just want to do something to minimize the damage to the fishing industry," he said.

One-off spikes in population have occurred in the past, notably in 1958, but consecutive outbreaks in 2002 and 2003 prompted the government to seek reasons and solutions.

Scientists have suggested global warming might be a factor.

Some fishermen have had some success in combating the intruders by introducing guide nets with larger than usual holes.

Jellyfish are simply swept through the holes by water currents, while other fish tend to notice the nets and swim alongside them, eventually being trapped in the fishing nets.

"By altering the way we fish, we have probably secured 80 to 90 percent of our normal catch," said fisherman Masatoshi Kuruma, who said he has in the past found up to two or three thousand jellyfish in his nets off Nyuzenmachi in Toyama prefecture.

Officials at Thursday's conference are also set to propose a forecasting system that would allow fishermen to prepare for the next onslaught of the jumbo jellyfish.

South Korean fishermen have been suffering similar woes but China, where giant jellyfish are a delicacy often served dried and dressed with sesame oil, does not seem to have registered the outbreak as a major problem, Japanese officials said.

Seaside communities in Japan have tried to capitalize on the menace by developing novel jellyfish dishes from tofu to icecream, but for some reason the recipes have failed to take off.

Participants at Thursday's conference said they had experimented with feeding the jellyfish to farmed crabs and using them as fertilizer.

Related Articles:
Giant jellyfish invasion off Japan, China and South Korea
Invasion of jellyfish hits Spanish beaches
Alien jellyfish hitch a ride on ships
Jellyfish invade the Globe, thanks to humans
Jellyfish nap in the afternoon

Source: today.reuters.co.uk/news

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Japan grapples with invasion of giant jellyfish

South Africa: Divers recover body of helicopter pilot

Divers on Wednesday afternoon recovered the body of a trainee pilot killed when his helicopter crashed into the sea off Cape Point.

"We recovered the body around 4.45pm and brought it ashore," said Jacques Smit, of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre.

The pilot and his Robinson R22 crashed during a solo flight on Tuesday morning.

Family members identified the body as that of 41-year-old Cornelius Marthinus Erasmus of Plattekloof, Western Cape police spokesman Superintendent Billy Jones said.

The Simon's Town police would open an inquest docket for investigation and an autopsy would be conducted soon.

The helicopter wreckage would be handed to the Civil Aviation Authority for investigation, Jones said.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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South Africa: Divers recover body of helicopter pilot

South African scuba divers need new permits

Scuba divers who were granted an exemption allowing them to dive in marine protected areas (MPAs) will need to re-apply for such exemption, said the department of environmental affairs on Monday.

The exemption expired at the end of last year, and in terms of regulations divers now require a valid permit to enter MPAs.

However, the permit procedure has not been finalised, and - according to a department spokesperson - it is "very difficult to give an exact date" when this will happen.

"In the interim, scuba divers can apply to the department for an exemption," it said in a statement.

Source: www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News

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South African scuba divers need new permits

Nicaragua bans freshwater shark fishing

Nicaragua banned freshwater fishing of bull sharks and sawfish on Tuesday because of alarming population declines, and said it wants neighboring Costa Rica to impose a similar prohibition.

Overfishing in the San Juan River that forms much of the border with Costa Rica has reduced the number of both marine animals to dangerously low levels, Nicaraguan agriculture officials said.

The Nicaraguan ban on harvesting of the two types of fish, which can survive in both salt and fresh water, applies in the river and in its massive Lake Cocibolca.

Sawfish, named for their long snouts lined with sharp teeth, and the sometimes aggressive bull sharks enter the San Juan River in the Caribbean and swim upriver to Nicaragua's Lake Cocibolca, which covers more than 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles).

"Costa Rican fishermen have nets and a series of traps that impede the traditional migration toward the (Cocibolca)," said Miguel Marenco, head of Nicaragua's agriculture department.

Bull sharks, which have also been found in the Amazon and Mississippi Rivers, attack people more often than other do sharks because they tend to frequent shallow waters.

In recent years, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have traded barbs over the San Juan River, which runs for almost 200 km (124 miles) from Lake Cocibolca to the Caribbean.

"We have taken up this migration problem of both of these species with our colleagues in Costa Rica," Marenco said.

Last September, Nicaragua recalled its ambassador to Costa Rica, after Costa Rica filed papers with the International Court of Justice in
The Hague to fight for unlimited navigation rights on part of the San Juan River.

Original Source: DiveSter

Article Source: news.yahoo.com

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Nicaragua bans freshwater shark fishing

South Africa: Divers to recover body - advanced sonar equipment to be used

Divers will try on Wednesday to recover the body of a Cape businessman and father of two sons from his watery grave along the Peninsula coast after his helicopter crashed into the sea on Tuesday.

The body of Marthinus Erasmus, 40, of Plattekloof in the northern suburbs is presumably still entangled in the wreckage of the two-seater Robinson R22 helicopter, in which he was apparently taking his first solo flight.

The extensive search for his body in the sea near Cape Point, in which police and navy divers took part, was called off on Tuesday at 20:00 after more than seven hours.

The search would resume on Wednesday morning if the weather conditions were favourable, said National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon.

Erasmus's wife Hannelie was apparently visiting in the Free State. The couple's sons are two and four years old.

An acquaintance said Erasmus had been a pupil pilot for a considerable time and was taking his first solo flight on Tuesday. He was a qualified attorney, but did not practice.

Tourists in shock
Simon's Town NSRI station manager Darren Zimmerman said about ten people had seen the black private helicopter crash into the sea at about 10:15. Divers searched for Erasmus's body and pieces of wreckage about 800m from the coast. A magnetometer, which measures small variances in the earth's magnetic field, was used to search for the pieces of wreckage.

He said so far only a helicopter seat and a file with information about a plane had been found. He could not give any information about the cause of the accident.

One of the pilot's friends, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed at a look-out point near the scene of the accident that his friend Erasmus was the pilot in the helicopter that had crashed. He refused to say anything more.

Shocked tourists and staff of the Table Mountain National Park stared fixedly at the calm sea for hours, waiting for a sign of a body being found.

Helga Hill, who saw the crash happening while she and a group were walking in the park, said ''the whole accident is unreal''.

Helicopter turned twice in the air
"It was as if I was watching TV."

The group said two helicopters were flying fairly low over the water. A military helicopter flew in front, followed by the Robinson R22.

Hiker Hilary Bryan said the private helicopter suddenly flew lower, as if "the pilot was going to do aerobatics".

"It looked as if the helicopter's engines stopped and then it nose-dived vertically into the sea. Then everything was quiet and gone."

She said the pilot(s) in the military helicopter flew on.

She phoned the fire brigade.

Hill said all she could think of now was the pilot's poor family.

Park baboon monitor Luthando Mase said the helicopter turned twice in the air and then fell into the sea. Only ripples on the surface of the water could be seen, then nothing.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones said the pilot was presumably the only one on board the helicopter. He did not want to confirm the pilot's name.

Source: www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News

------------------
Advanced sonar equipment to be used
Rescue teams will be using advanced sonar equipment today when they resume the search for the wreck of the helicopter which crashed into the sea off Cape Point yesterday. It is believed that the body of the 44-year old trainee pilot is still trapped in the wreckage.

The search was suspended last night. Craig Lambinon, the NSRI spokesperson, says police and Navy divers have recovered pieces of wreckage. The pilot is believed to have been alone on board the Robertson R-22 helicopter.

Source: www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general

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South Africa: Divers to recover body - advanced sonar equipment to be used

South Africa: Navy divers search for crashed helicopter and pilot's body

The search for the body of a pilot and wreckage of a helicopter is to continue today after the craft "nose-dived and crashed" into the sea near Buffels Bay at Cape Point, yesterday.

The black Robinson 22 helicopter was flying with another helicopter and had aboard only the 40-year-old trainee pilot, whose name is being withheld as his family is yet to be notified.

The crash was about 800m off Cape Point at about 10.15am. Police and navy divers started searching at 1pm and continued until sunset without success. They were to resume their search this morning.

Sue Dalrymple was hiking in the Rooikrans mountain area when she witnessed the crash. "These two helicopters came around the corner, one behind the other. The one at the back appeared to lose height, then it nose-dived into the sea and went straight down."

Dalrymple had seen only "five bits of debris", which floated to the surface, and said the other aircraft had carried on flying as if unaware of the crash.

A friend who had been hiking with her, Lesley Skarzynski, said before the aircraft crashed it had "made a slight turn to the left. We weren't sure if it was part of the naval exercise that was happening further along the beach. It caused a lot of confusion," she said.

Desiré Barlow, who had been standing near the Cape Point restaurant, said she had also thought she was watching "some sort of a stunt".

"Just after they flew past us, I looked and the one just smacked into the water. There was no explosion, no smoke."

A Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter and two Lima boats supplied by the navy attended the scene and by 12.45pm, station commander for the Simon's Town National Sea Rescue Institute, Darren Zimmerman, said all that had been recovered from the crash was "a small seat from the aircraft".

He could not confirm the cause of the accident and said the two helicopters were from a private company.

Ian Klopper, a medic on the AMS helicopter, said they had located an oil slick indicating a possible location of the wreck. However, police and navy divers entered the water at 1pm but were unable to find it.

A tourist's photograph of the crash sight straight after the accident, showed bubbles coming up from the wreck.

Starlite Aviation chief executive Barry Duss did not return Cape Times calls to confirm the helicopter was operated by his company.

Sue Fourie, who was on the beach in nearby Olifantsbos, said seven aircraft had been flying in the area since Monday afternoon, "most of them at an incredibly low height".

Source: www.capetimes.co.za

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South Africa: Navy divers search for crashed helicopter and pilot's body