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in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

No more SCUBA diving after 2050

Fijian dive sites still teem with beautiful fish and coral.

Lauren Mowery

Fijian dive sites still teem with beautiful fish and coral.

Yesterday, Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. Donald Trump — not all Americans. In fact, the majority of the U.S. wanted to remain in the accord. Politics aside, while nobody yet knows the true impact of this potentially fateful decision, scientists have already modeled a variety of detrimental repercussions from preventing a global temperature increase of 2 degrees. In some areas of the world, the effects of climate change are real and evident. Consider our ocean reef systems.

As a 17-year open water diver certified by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), I’ve witnessed the rapid degradation of our coral reefs. Gray, broken, and dead. Dwindling schools of colorful fish. Increasingly, that description fits a large number of dive sites around the world. Last month, I dove in the Bahamas. Not long after, Nevis. After we surfaced near St. Kitts, the dive master admitted nearly 80% of the surrounding coral was declared lifeless. Confirming these anecdotal impressions was the recent news about the Great Barrier Reef: In the last two decades, the 25 million-year-old ecosystem has bleached to the point of fear for its total and complete extinction.

Twenty. Years.

While the ramifications of a dying ocean far outweigh the interests of a sport, the question should still be asked: what will happen to SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving if our coral reefs are dead?

I contacted the PADI organization for their thoughts on the looming crisis. Divers serve as one class of guardian to our aquatic habitats, bearing witness to changes while vested in their protection. I connected with Dr. Drew Richardson, President and CEO, PADI Worldwide. He’s been with PADI for thirty years, diving since 1971. “I’ve been lucky enough to have dived on all continents and both the Arctic and Antarctic polar ice environments. I love the adventure and exploration diving offers” he said.

I posed a few questions in the interview, touching on dive community responsibility, science and innovation, and great places to still experience the beauty of our underwater world. Fortunately, the answers aren’t as gloomy as you’d expect. I’ve published the interview in its entirety, below.

Climate change, ocean warming, acidification, and bleaching events are killing our reefs. Given the current pace of decline, what do you think is the future of the sport?

Unquestionably, there are serious and formidable issues threating the world’s coral reefs. That said, I’m a firm believer in engagement, problem identification and mitigation. My life philosophy is to remain optimistic and focused on a “future hope”. In my mind, there is no other option. Hope is the anchor to the soul. The danger is that we lose hope, or we feel like there’s nothing to be done.

In the wake of our 50th anniversary at PADI, we have deepened our commitment to ocean health and conservation. Our 25 million divers across the planet are becoming active as a force for good and driving towards a healthier planet and healthier reefs on local, national and international levels.

The PADI organization is committed to being a global force for good. We are passionate about creating a preferred view of the future in healthier oceans.

As the largest diver training organization in the world, PADI has the reach and influence to mobilize divers to be citizen activists. We train one million new divers each year across the planet who can engage in strategic alliances, have a powerful voice and get involved in real solutions to drive change.

As for the future of the sport of scuba diving, I feel there are strong tailwinds which will drive future growth in scuba diving. These include a growing middle class, a strong interest in adventure/action sports, strong global tourism trends, and environmentally conscious millennials to name a few. We are all about a future of engaging millions of new divers, training them well to be confident and comfortable divers, encouraging and enabling them to seek diving adventure and exploration of the planet’s underwater realm and paying it forward as good stewards of ocean and marine life health.

Baselines on coral reef communities may shift due to a variety of drivers, but there will be a strong and growing interest in underwater exploration and immersion- it’s a transformational and life-changing personal journey that we look forward to offering up to the planet for decades to come.

Diving the Blue Lagoon in Fiji.

Lauren Mowery

Diving the Blue Lagoon in Fiji.

What can divers do to help, whether in their personal lives or within the framework of the sport?

Loads. Start with the “man in the mirror”, stay informed and do what you can to make the world a better place and become a more powerful catalyst for change. We already are seeing this in thousands of individuals on a local level and we are helping to get their messages out. All of us who care about these issues can amplify engagement efforts to support life below the waters of this world and support initiatives which promote the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources. We encourage divers to align with like-minded business and organizations. The diving community will become powerful change agents who share a like-minded love, mission and passion to be a force for good and tackle and mitigate the problems which threaten our ocean planet.

Local fishing practices and pollution are other contributors to reef decline. What can divers do to positively impact those practices?

Stay informed, get engaged, initiate conversations and educate others about the issues. We all can make informed choices about how we live our lives, what we eat who we do business with etc. We can support set asides, marine protected areas and hope spots and support sustainable development and life practices. Support the development of social norms and institutions that allow the responsible management of reefs. Policy-makers might help local communities and people live with reefs sustainably, and encourage people to be more invested in their local reefs. We don’t get to live in an ideal world, we live in this one.

You’ve likely read about 3-D reefs. What’s your thought on how quickly those can be created to contribute to reef health and regeneration? What else may help, if anything?

I love the innovation and hope that is driving this initiative. Artificial reefs have been around a long time with mixed success. Time will tell if 3-D reefs can help restore on any longer-term or mass scale.

What dive areas are still in good shape for viewing colorful fish and a lively reef?

There are hundreds across the planet. As for tropical marine ecosystems-places like Palau, Sipadan, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Indonesia and the Philippines. In the Caribbean Bonaire, Saba, much of the Bahamas, Las Rocas, and many areas in the Red Sea and the Maldives. There remains much beauty to be seen.

When she’s not in a vineyard or the ocean, Lauren Mowery covers drinks, food & adventure/luxury travel. Follow her around the world on Instagram and Twitter.

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Sharks Hanging Out With People

New research finds human-shark interactions can take place without long-term effects on the sharks.

A multimillion-dollar global industry exists in response to scuba divers’ interest in getting face time with the ocean predators. Options include cage diving with white sharks in South Africa and Guadeloupe Island; shark feeding in the Bahamas, Mexico, or Fiji; and diving with huge schools of hammerheads in Cocos Island and Galapagos.

But as most scuba divers know—and previous studies have shown—sharks more commonly swim away from people than toward them. Does that avoidance behavior persist after the divers leave? Do sharks steer clear of sites that are frequented by divers?

“Unfortunately, human impacts on shark populations are ubiquitous on our planet,” says lead author Darcy Bradley, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. “That makes it difficult to separate shark behavioral changes due to scuba diving from behavioral changes caused by other human activities like fishing.”

The researchers went to Palmyra, a remote atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, where shark populations are healthy, fishing is not allowed, and divers rarely enter the majority of its near pristine underwater world. However, Palmyra is home to a small scientific research station, where researchers dive in a handful of locations. This made the atoll an ideal site for studying whether and how shark abundance and behavior differ between locations where diving is more common and those where it is not.

As reported in the Marine Ecology Progress Series, the researchers used baited remote underwater video systems—cameras lowered to the ocean floor with a small amount of bait—to survey sharks and other predators from the surrounding reef.

Tourists see fewer wolves when hunters get close

“After reviewing 80 hours of underwater footage taken from video surveys conducted in 2015—14 years after Palmyra was established as a wildlife refuge and scientific diving activities began—we found that shark abundance and shark behavior were the same at sites with and without a long history of scuba diving,” says coauthor Jennifer Caselle, a research biologist at UC Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute.

“Our results suggest that humans can interact with reef sharks without long-term behavioral impacts,” Bradley says. “That’s good news. It means that well-regulated shark diving tourism doesn’t necessarily undermine shark conservation goals.”

Researchers from Florida International University also contributed to the work.

Source: UC Santa Barbara

 

https://youtu.be/717uGY3nMn4

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Value of Keeping Sharks Alive

 

How much is a shark worth? That might sound like a strange question. To conservationists, biologists (like Ocean Ramsey) or people who love the ocean, it might be impossible to quantify the value of such a magnificent creature. For fishers around the world, the answer is probably more straightforward. But one thing is now clear: sharks are worth much more alive than dead in the state of Florida.

A new, independent report commissioned by Oceana found that live sharks provide significant economic benefits to the state of Florida. Divers and tourists travel from around the world to see sharks in person, supporting a tourism industry that depends on healthy animals.

Given the global threats to survival of sharks and the key roles they play both in nature and in some coastal economies, the report commissioned by Oceana, and research by others, highlights the need for Congress to pass the proposed Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act to enact a nationwide ban on the trade of shark fins.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Gregorio Sablan (I-MP), would remove the United States from the global shark fin market, which is driven primarily by the demand for shark fin soup in Asia.

Just like their vital role in maritime ecosystems, sharks live at the center of a financial network that generates both economic revenue and growth. But the potential value of a shark ends abruptly once it has been killed. A creature that could live for decades as a driver of economic growth is instead reduced to the sale price of its meat or fins.

As detailed in the report commissioned by Oceana, shark-driven tourism is booming in the state of Florida. Direct expenditures like boat rentals, food and lodging for shark-encounter dives totaled roughly $220 million and supported over 3,700 jobs in 2016. In contrast, the shark fishery in Florida generated only $960,000 in commercial landings in 2015. In fact, the value of live sharks in Florida significantly overshadowed the value of shark fin exports from the entire United States, which totaled little more than $1 million in 2015. In the long run, sharks can simply generate more revenue when alive and swimming in Florida waters than killed and sold for their fins.

The shark diving industry is popular in other states, including North Carolina and Rhode Island. Operators also work off the coast of California, with shark diving excursions available in San Diego and San Francisco. Ensuring healthy shark populations will help local businesses in these economies as well.

Another recent study conducted in the Bahamas demonstrated similar results: Sharks and rays helped create about 1.3 percent of Bahama’s Gross Domestic Product in 2014. Driven mainly by the shark diving industry, sharks and their relatives generate a total of $113.8 million in revenues each year for the Bahamas. Similarly, Fiji and the Maldives earn $42.2 and $38.6 million per year, respectively, from their shark diving industries.

In addition to their economic value, sharks are essential for healthy oceans. While some are apex predators, all sharks play a crucial part in regulating and maintaining balance in marine ecosystems through their places in the food chain. This role is threatened, however, because sharks are all too easily overfished. Some species are slow-growing and long-lived. They reproduce late in life and have few offspring compared to other fish. These factors make these species prone to overexploitation, and populations can take a long time to recover once they’ve declined.

A major threat to sharks comes from the demand for shark fins, which creates an incentive for shark finning – a brutal practice where a shark’s fins are cut off and its body discarded at sea, where it can drown, bleed to death or be eaten alive by other fish. Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global shark fin trade every year. And though the act of shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, shark fins continue to be bought and sold in many parts of the United States.

Eleven U.S. states, plus the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam, have already banned the sale or trade of most shark fins. But when these products are banned in one state, the market simply shifts to a new location.

In 2013, for instance, no shark fins were exported out of Savannah, Georgia. But after Texas began cracking down on the trade, the market shifted, and Savannah became the number one U.S. city for shark fin exports. The U.S. also continues to import fins, including from countries with no finning bans in place. In the end, only a national fin ban will stop the buying and selling of shark fin products throughout the U.S.

It may seem crude to ask, “How much is a shark worth?” But the importance of sharks to Florida’s economy demonstrates the tangible impact these animals have in the U.S., making the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act a necessary step to protect them. Together, we can make the U.S. a global leader in shark conservation and continue to enjoy the economic and environmental value that sharks bring to our seas.

Andrew Sharpless has led Oceana since 2003 as its Chief Executive Officer. Louis Bacon is the Chief Executive Officer of Moore Capital Management and Founder and chairman of The Moore Charitable Foundation.

Co-authored by Louis Bacon, Chief Executive Officer of Moore Capital Management and Founder and chairman of The Moore Charitable Foundation

© Oceana/Jason ArnoldOn March 16, 2016, Oceana went shark tagging off the coast of Miami, Florida with Dr. Austin Gallagher and Beneath the Waves.

https://youtu.be/4SAkq6lsnoE

in Diving Posted by SaltyDogs

Scuba diving pig farmer with UK’s biggest all-female dive

A scuba diving pig farmer and her adventurous daughter have proved ‘This Girl Can’ after helping nearly 70 women and girls take part in the UK’s biggest all-female charity try-dive.

Fiona Lucas from Lincoln was part of a team of diving instructors to lead the scuba and snorkel taster event, organised by British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) clubs across the East Midlands.

The BSAC Dive Leader and daughter Grace, 16, are both members of their local BSAC club, Lincoln & District 109 and supporters of the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign to get more women and girls into sport.

 

 

They joined instructors from across the region including hosts Bingham Sub-Aqua Club, to help a total of 69 try-divers take the plunge at Bingham Leisure Centre.

The event also raised more than £500 for Breast Cancer Care, a charity close to Fiona’s heart as five of her relatives have battled the disease.

Fiona, said: “It was excellent fun.

“I had a lady from Ireland who nearly didn’t dive. She walked into pool area and said ‘I’m not doing this’ but she did and when she’d finished she was absolutely bursting with pride that she’d achieved what she had set out to do.

“To see someone’s face so excited after she’d been so nervous to begin with was incredible. It summed up the whole day.

“Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a group of girl guides and I had to instruct a young girl of 13 who was absolutely brilliant. When you see a girl aged just 13 enjoying themselves in a fun and safe environment while also raising money for charity it’s incredible.

“I’m so proud of the whole team and the amount of people who gave up their time to organise the event beforehand and on the day itself. It was very empowering.”

 

Fiona, 47, only learnt to dive three years ago with the aim of ticking it off her “bucket list” of things to achieve in her lifetime – and now three years on she’s a qualified Dive Leader.

She was joined on Sunday by her daughter Grace, who took the underwater photography at the event, held at Bingham Leisure Centre where the club trains once a week.

Grace, a qualified Ocean Diver and sixth form pupil at Wiliam Farr secondary school in Welton, said: “It was really good fun and very busy. This time last year I didn’t have any diving qualifications but this year I was able to take all the photos.

“There were lots of younger girls there who were very nervous to start off with but we had a torpedo toy sponge which we’d throw into the water to encourage them to dive to the bottom and this would distract them from what they were doing and build their confidence.”

The event, which involved a series of 30-minute introductory sessions led by female-only instructors, attracted women and girls of all ages to try out the sport. Organisers are now hopeful many of those who turned out will sign up for scuba diving lessons.

Ella Greatorex was the youngest to take part in the event aged just 12.

The youngster, from East Leake, near Loughborough, suffers from bilateral cerebral palsy which leaves her with significant motor disabilities and she spends several hours each day undergoing physiotherapy but she was not about to let her condition stop her.

The East Leake Academy pupil, who is already a member of the Bingham Penguins Disability Swimming Club said: “I really enjoy swimming because it makes me feel free and I don’t have to use my wheelchair or walking frame.

“I like putting my head under the water so I thought it would be good to have a go at the try-dive.

“It was a totally amazing experience and everybody should try it.”

 

Helena Robertshaw, Diving Officer at Bingham SAC which hosted the event, said: “It’s been really great and we’ve had some very happy people who didn’t think they would be able to do something like this.

“There was a real mixture of ages and the atmosphere in the pool was absolutely amazing. We definitely have lots of people wanting to sign up.”

The event involved a series of introductory sessions led by ten female instructors including Fiona. It highlighted the positive health benefits of scuba diving for women and the increased confidence the sport gave through learning new skills.

As the governing body for scuba and snorkelling in the UK, BSAC represents more than 30,000 divers and 900 plus family friendly and sociable clubs, run by volunteers, up and down the country and abroad.

Mary Tetley, BSAC Chief Executive, said: “We are immensely proud of the achievements of the girls and women who took part in this charity event and look forward to welcoming many of them into our clubs in the future.

“Scuba diving is a fantastic sport that it can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, of all different backgrounds and ages, and we are always keen to look at ways of boosting the numbers of women in the sport.

“It’s important to us that BSAC is as diverse an organisation as possible. We have women from grassroots right up to senior positions on our committee and the contribution they give is invaluable.”

 

in Diving Posted by SaltyDogs

How cool! Awe-Inspiring Home Reef Aquarium Large Enough to Scuba Dive in

Eli Fruchter, an aquarium enthusiast from Haifa, Israel, is one of the few people in the world who can swim in his living room surrounded by brightly-colored tropical fish. He is the owner of the largest home reef aquarium in Israel, and probably the world.

For as long as he can remember, Eli loved aquariums. When he was five or six year old, he lived in a tiny two meter by two meter room, but also made space for a small aquarium. He never really outgrew his passion, and about 10-12 years ago, he upgraded to a large 1,000-gallon fish tank, but sadly, it broke and flooded his old home. That was when he decided that he needed “to build another aquarium, and the house around it.” This time, he went all out, and the result is truly breathtaking.

 

Fruchter’s living room aquarium holds a whopping 30,000 liters of water and is large enough for him to dive into and feed the fish out of the palm of his hand. The mammoth tank is home to 150 tropical fish of 30 different species, as well as to a a rainbow of corals that constantly bob back and forth with the light waves created by an impressive filtration system. The tank is designed to replicate the reef’s natural environment, which has also allowed some of the residents of the tank to grow to a size usually only reached in the wild.

 

 

For most aquarium enthusiasts, Eli’s filtration system is probably even more impressive than the tank itself. Located 6 meters directly under the tank, behind thick metal double-doors, it features four 25,000-liter/hour pumps to return the water from the sump back into the aquarium, after it’s been filtered. For cleaning he relies on gravity, with the water flowing down from the tank to create a foam from the impurities, which is then removed by a revolving paddle. A self-built frequency-controlled system connected to the pumps, controls the speed of the two return pumps to create waves in the tank. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

 

To ensure that the reef and fish live in perfect conditions, every week Eli Fruchter drives a specially equipped golf cart from his home to the nearby shore of the Mediterranean, and fills it with 1,000 liters of fresh seawater for his aquarium.

 

 

“The corals especially must have water that’s completely clean, and that’s very hard to get in a closed system,” he says. “Most public aquariums are located near the ocean, and they just pump in clean water. It requires a lot of maintenance. “A reef aquarium of this size you usually just find in places where they have a full-time staff.”

 

 

“There aren’t too many crazy people around the world who will do something like this,” Fruchter adds. “You really need to like it a lot.” Yes, that’s one factor, but money is another important one. And just in case you’re wondering how one man can afford to build and maintain such an amazing project, you should know that Eli was the CEO of a very successful business that was recently acquired for over $800 million. So yeah, I guess he can afford it.

 

 

Eli Fruchter has been working on his giant aquarium since 2012, and still considers it a work in progress. He estimates that it will take a few more years for the ecosystem to develop completely, especially as coral reefs need a long time to flourish. But in the meantime, he’s happy just sitting back and enjoying the view, and the occasional living room scuba-diving session.

 

 

Source: Times of Israel

in Diving Posted by SaltyDogs

Minnesota Scuba Diver finds old elk antler while diving in lake

DETROIT LAKES, MINN. – (WDAY News) – A piece of the land’s past, pulled from the treasure-filled waters of Becker County, now, a local scuba diver wants to know just how old his find is.

Gary Thompson has been pulling history out of the water for half a century.

He has thousands of dives under his belt, but his find this August, may be his oldest yet.

A few months ago, Thompson found this giant antler in nearby Buffalo Lake, while scuba diving.

“I came across it, and it looked like a big root to start with,” said Thompson.

But once he pulled it out of the water:

“Got it up into the boat and was just awestruck by the size of it,” said Thompson.

Thompson’s antler is massive. It’s about five feet long, and weighs about 30-pounds.

It’s not just big, it’s ancient.

“The last time there were elk reported in this area was 1850,” said Thompson.

But Thompson believes it could be much, much older, possibly from an extinct species.

“Could be, from what I’ve been told, up to 13,000 years,” said Thompson.

He did some research, and asked a few experts; but no definitive age.

“Once we find something in the water, we have to know more about it,” said Thompson.

Which is why Thompson plans on having a laboratory determine how old it is.

“It costs so much to get it carbon dated,” said Thompson.

He wants a little help so he set up a GoFundMe account.

So far he’s been given $260.00 from curious donors.

The antlers have been in the lake for a long time before Thompson found it.

He’s hopeful he won’t have to do too much waiting to find out how long.

Thompson believes he could have his answer as soon as January.

He plans on preserving the antler and donating it to a museum eventually.

Do donate to his GoFundMe account, click here.

 

DETROIT LAKES, MINN. – (WDAY News) – A piece of the land’s past, pulled from the treasure-filled waters of Becker County, now, a local scuba diver wants to know just how old his find is.

Gary Thompson has been pulling history out of the water for half a century.

He has thousands of dives under his belt, but his find this August, may be his oldest yet.

A few months ago, Thompson found this giant antler in nearby Buffalo Lake, while scuba diving.

“I came across it, and it looked like a big root to start with,” said Thompson.

But once he pulled it out of the water:

“Got it up into the boat and was just awestruck by the size of it,” said Thompson.

Thompson’s antler is massive. It’s about five feet long, and weighs about 30-pounds.

It’s not just big, it’s ancient.

“The last time there were elk reported in this area was 1850,” said Thompson.

But Thompson believes it could be much, much older, possibly from an extinct species.

“Could be, from what I’ve been told, up to 13,000 years,” said Thompson.

He did some research, and asked a few experts; but no definitive age.

“Once we find something in the water, we have to know more about it,” said Thompson.

Which is why Thompson plans on having a laboratory determine how old it is.

“It costs so much to get it carbon dated,” said Thompson.

He wants a little help so he set up a GoFundMe account.

So far he’s been given $260.00 from curious donors.

The antlers have been in the lake for a long time before Thompson found it.

He’s hopeful he won’t have to do too much waiting to find out how long.

Thompson believes he could have his answer as soon as January.

He plans on preserving the antler and donating it to a museum eventually.

Do donate to his GoFundMe account, click here.

in Diving, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

The best of Fiji?

VoliVoli Beach Resort

 

This family owned and operated resort offers a choice of twin queen rooms and studio villas, all with ocean views. The Nuku Bar and Restaurant overlooks the swimming pool and offers three meals per day. A variety of body and facial treatments are available from the Daulomani Day Spa. Volivoli Beach Resort is home base for the luxury live-aboard S/Y Fiji Siren. Kiteboarding and sport fishing are available at the resort as well.

Package includes:

  • 7 nights oceanview accommodations
  • 5 days of 2-tank boat dives
  • Daily breakfast
  • Roundtrip airport transfers
  • Hotel tax and service charges
  • Valid for travel April 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016 and January 10, 2017 through March 31, 2017

Price: $1,669
Valid: April 1, 206 through March 31, 2017
Travel must be booked by: March 15, 2017
Website: caradonna.com
Booking Email: [email protected]
Booking Telephone: 1-800-329-9989

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