REEF recently announced their field survey schedule for 2007. If you haven't ever taken one of these trips, maybe now's the time to consider it. Not only are they fun, educational, and conservation-minded, they're tax deductible! Who ever heard of taking a tax-deductible dive trip?! Thanks, REEF! Upcoming trips include:
Grand Turk, February 17-24 -- 7 nights/8 days - $990
Tortola, British Virgin Islands, April 14-21 -- 7 nights/8 days - $974
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, May 22-27 -- 5 nights/6 days - $TBA
St. Vincent, June 9-16 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,050
San Juan Islands, Washington, July 23-26 -- 4 days/3 nights - $818
Kona, Hawaii, August 4-11 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,485
Woods Hole, Cape Cod, September 11-16 -- 6 nights/5 days - $509
Bonaire*, September 22-29 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,063
Utila*, October 20-27 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,110
Anguilla, November 10-17 -- 8 days/7 nights - $975
Cozumel, December 1-8 -- 8 Days/7 Nights - $544
All prices quoted are per person, based on double occupancy. An additional $300 REEF fee will be added to each trip to cover the cost of the group leader, seminars, survey materials, and data management. For more details, you know where to go. *Trip led by Paul Humann, recent inductee into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.
The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, a cooperative effort between the U.S. government and the Pew Oceans Commission, announced that U.S. oceans earned a C- grade for 2006. If you think that's bad, it's a modest improvement over the D+ scored in 2005.
The outlook for 2007? President Bush has requested an 8 percent increase for coastal and marine conservation programs bringing the budget just under $2 billion. There's been fisheries reform and the creation of Hawaii's 140,000 square mile marine sanctuary.
Even so, the Pew Oceans Commission says credit should go to States who "are outdistancing the federal government [in] the race to preserve our oceans." They feel more federal funding should go to education and research as well as the U.S. addressing climate change.
You can grab a copy of the report card here. It breaks down the grade into six categories ranging from F to A-.
Don't forget that Chicago's Our World Underwater is scheduled for the weekend of February 9-11. According to the press release on Scuba PRWire, this year's show will host over 200 booths featuring dive destinations, training agencies, equipment manufacturers, apparel and dry suit companies, and a variety of regional dive centers. Don't like crowds? You might want to steer clear, as OWU anticipates between 15,000 and 17,000 attendees.
Packed with educational seminars and workshops, the event will also feature a pretty smokin' film festival, emceed by Stan Waterman (geez, he's everywhere!). Moreover, the winners of the Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Underwater Competition will be announced Saturday night. The show opens Friday night at 6 and runs through the weekend. Admission is $10.
If you're a diver who's looking to get involved in some conservation efforts on your next dive trip, consider heading to the Komodo National Park. The Park's Conservation Fund has teamed up with a marine biologist to install throughout the Park environmentally-friendly "Manta Ray mooring balls," which are drilled into sand patches or rubble areas. There are already 14 mooring balls in this Park; the newly-formed alliance wants to install up to 30 balls, which will protect the reef system from anchor damage by local fishermen, big liveaboard dive boats, and visiting yachts.
The Park is seeking qualified divers -- in other words, Nitrox-certified and capable of working at 100 feet -- to assist with the installation. Participants will learn multiple skills, ranging from rope splicing to operating an underwater jack hammer. Although the trip is work-oriented, there will be time "for the occasional leisure dive." Interestingly, the organizers hope to film the project for use in other conservation projects and awareness campaigns. You'll be a movie star!
The trip is from February 18-26. Only 4 spaces remain. The cost of the trip -- which includes shared accommodation in air-conditioned cabins, meals, diving, tanks, weights, and presentations -- is $800. For more details, check out the National Park's website or the Coral Reef Alliance.
This new CD, for sale through the British Library's Online Shop, features seals, whales, dolphins, and other marine animals making sounds...in the deep. While some of the sounds may be familiar to you, I'm guessing not many people have heard the mating call of the North Sea haddock. Think of their rumbling call as somewhere between a motorcycle and Barry White. You can hear a short sample of their call on the BBC.
I may be going out on a limb here, but I don't *think* your significant other is going to be swept away when you throw this disc on the CD player. Even the British Library's sound archive's wildlife curator, Cheryl Tipp, could only muster this, um, half-hearted accolade: "It really is quite a novel sound, it's fascinating."
This weekend, a group of Missouri divers raised money for their local American Red Cross chapter. No, they didn't hold a bake sale. They didn't sponsor a raffle, either. Instead, they participated in an underwater poker tournament organized by the Calypso dive center.
In exchange for a $25 buy-in/donation to the Red Cross, participants received scuba gear and tanks for the afternoon. Those who weren't playing could watch the card-play over a live feed coming through a monitor inside the Calypso. Apparently, participants collected hundreds of dollars for the Red Cross, which came to the rescue of the community after a tornado slammed through the area in 2003. No doubt the participants used waterproof playing cards for the game. I wonder if they drank beer from their SCUDAs?
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- comprised of 2500 experts from 130 countries -- the Great Barrier Reef could become "functionally extinct" within a few decades. According to the Panel's leaked report -- the final, official draft of which should be available this Friday -- the reef will (might?) die from bleaching, which occurs when water temperatures grow too high, and which involves a breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and their color-giving zooxanthellae. Interestingly, the cooling waters associated with last year's Cyclone Larry preempted the potentially catastrophic bleaching event that scientists had predicted for 2006. However, the thought is that by 2030, the GBR will likely begin suffering from routine bleaching events and quickly perish.
What's most disturbing to me about this news is that the GBR is the largest living organism on the planet. Able to be seen from space, a dead GBR would be a permanent, hideous scar -- a constant reminder of beauty and life wasted.
As promised, the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2007 into its hallowed halls this past weekend. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to Grand Cayman to cover the event, but apparently it went off without a hitch. Nobody threw drinks. Nobody caused a scene and demanded a refund. No food fights broke out. Rather, the event -- emceed by the great Stan Waterman (himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000) -- was serene, pleasant, and polite.
Of course, the Hall of Fame is still only a virtual Hall and has no actual brick-and-mortar facade...yet. During the induction ceremony, however, Minister Charles E. Clifford announced that, "The Ministry and Department of Tourism will work with the board to make the Hall of Fame vision a reality." Can't wait to visit!
DAN's latest medical FAQs cover what some might call a very important topic for anyone living in Los Angeles: the implications of cosmetic surgery and diving. Whatever your latest enhancement there's good news: in a few months you'll be back in the water.
It seems the biggest concern with breast implants and diving isn't the adoring the new looks from your dive buddies, but getting your buoyancy back: "Breast implants filled with saline are neutrally buoyant. Silicone implants are heavier than water, however, and they may alter buoyancy and attitude (trim) in the water, particularly if the implants are large. Appropriate training and appropriate adjustment of weights help overcome these difficulties."
That would be an interesting PADI course to teach.
Last summer, Japan was accused of using "checkbook diplomacy" to foster a paradigm shift in the International Whaling Commission. Japan's new allies in the Commission -- Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Tuvalu, Nauru, and Kiribati, all of which received millions in Japanese aid the prior year -- voted against the ban on commercial whaling, giving anti-whaling countries on the IWC a one-vote majority. In anticipation's of this year's meetings, the UK is stepping up attempts to secure an anti-whaling majority on the Commission.
To support these efforts, the British government is publishing a brochure to encourage nations that oppose whaling to join the Commission. Claiming whales are "sensitive, social creatures" with some species risking extinction, the UK's recruitment drive will launch officially this week. New EU members -- like Slovenia and Croatia -- and those seeking membership, will be among the first recipients of the brochures. It's tough to predict whether a brochure will do the trick, but I can see potential EU-recruits agreeing to anti-whaling simply to be allowed in the EU's front door.
Next time I head down to the Florida Keys, I may have to swing by the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center. Located in NOAA's Dr. Nancy Foster Florida Keys Environmental Complex on the Truman Annex waterfront in Key West, the Center features over 6,000 square feet of interactive, dynamic exhibits that interpret and explain the resources and management efforts of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, two national parks, and four national wildlife refuges. That suggests lots more models of animals than real animals, but I'm a fan of learning.
Highlights of the museum include a simulation of the Aquarius underwater research habitat, and a high-def theater showing a 17-minute video about the National Marine Sanctuary by filmmaker Bob Talbot. Admission to the Center, which is open Tuesday - Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., is free. Even if you stay until closing, that still leaves plenty of time (and money) to get to Mallory Square and chug a beer in time for Sunset Celebration!
The United States Apnea Association recently confirmed that Theo Ivanovic set a new national record in the freediving discipline of Dynamic Apnea with a performance of 167 meters (547.9 feet) on November 12, 2006. This performance surpasses the previous record of 149 meters, also held by Theo.
During a dynamic apnea performance, the freediver travels horizontally under water, attempting to cover the greatest possible distance. Propulsion aids are not allowed, although the diver may use fins. At the conclusion of his performance, Theo remarked, "I cannot think of any other sport where fellow athletes are less competitive with and more supportive of each other." Easy for him to say, since he broke his own record.
The Vaquita porpoise can be found in only one place on Earth: the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Scientists are meeting this week in California to discuss the threats faced by this critically endangered mammal whose population numbers between 100 and 300.
This small porpoise can grow to five feet and is often killed in fishing nets, however it's the level of toxic pollutants from the Colorado River which are an even greater concern. Last year, the Chinese River dolphin was declared extinct due to the high levels of pollution in China's Yangtze River.
If you live in San Diego, stop by the Birch Aquarium tonight at 6:30 PM for a two-hour presentation and dialog with over 50 scientists monitoring these, and other, endangered marine mammals.
Last week, Greenpeace released a 74-page report, Trading Away Our Oceans, which concluded that trade liberalization is bad for fish and for communities dependent on fish. Using data from official bodies such as the OECD and the EU, the Greenpeacers determined that liberalization of fisheries will increase the speed at which over-fishing occurs; further increase unsustainable aquaculture production; and have "generally devastating consequences for fish, the wider marine environment, developing countries and the one billion poor people worldwide who depend on fish as their primary source of protein." Ouch.
The report also concludes that developing countries must be provided with the capacity to establish and enforce effective fisheries management systems in their own waters.
For today's Dive Video of the Day, I thought we'd do something inspirational and educational. Here's a 4-minute clip showing 29-year old Matthew Johnston -- who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is capable only of moving his thumbs -- preparing for a pool dive. Matthew recently became the first ventilator-dependent person to dive in open water, and I thought the process he has to follow to prepare for a dive was worth looking into more deeply.
If you're interested in learning more about Matthew, be certain to check out this clip from the Today Show, in which Ann Curry interviews him and discusses his recent open water triumph. Whether or not you're an Ann-fan is irrelevant; the piece is truly excellent.
REEF recently announced their field survey schedule for 2007. If you haven't ever taken one of these trips, maybe now's the time to consider it. Not only are they fun, educational, and conservation-minded, they're tax deductible! Who ever heard of taking a tax-deductible dive trip?! Thanks, REEF! Upcoming trips include: 
The 
Don't forget that Chicago's 
If you're a diver who's looking to get involved in some conservation efforts on your next dive trip, consider heading to the 
Tired of listening to your co-workers heave great sighs as they monotonously staple and shuffle unread memos back and forth? If you're worn out listening to NPR's awesome 
This weekend, a group of Missouri divers raised money for their local American Red Cross chapter. No, they didn't hold a bake sale. They didn't sponsor a raffle, either. Instead, they participated in an 
According to the 
As 
DAN's latest 
Last summer, Japan was accused of using "
Next time I head down to the 
The 
The 
Last week, Greenpeace released a 
