scuba diving

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Turneffe Island Resort

Picture this: You are stranded on a deserted island.

What are three things you would wish for?

While a toothbrush, food and water might be high on the list, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you were thinking along the lines of:

A luxurious, outdoor infinity pool
Gourmet meals prepared daily
And, of course, access to world-class scuba diving around The Great Blue hole

If your list consists of these three things (or something similar), then I’ve got great news…

Welcome To Paradise

Turneffe Island Resort in Belize is the perfect vacation getaway for thrill seekers and family and friends looking to kick back and relax. Nestled in “paradise,” Turneffe Island Resort is a private Island located off the coast of Belize, just 30-miles from the world-famous Great Blue Hole.

The 14-acre getaway houses 22 guestrooms, creating an intimate and uninhibited atmosphere. While the resort isn’t new (it’s actually 15-years-old), the property has just undergone some major renovations. The results are breathtaking, with entirely upgraded rooms, a luxurious spa, an outdoor bar by the pool, along with a gourmet dinning room with daily meals prepared by experienced chefs.

View from above of Turneffe Island Resort

Luxury aside, this private resort is also known for its world-renowned scuba diving, fly fishing, snorkeling and breathtaking views. Turneffe Island Resort would be considered paradise for vacationers looking to really explore the Caribbean Ocean.

And with all-inclusive resort packages starting as low as $2,090 (per person), vacation goers can experience the “private-island life” at affordable rates.

Here are 5 highlights that I got to experience during my visit to this tropical paradise:

#1. Scuba Diving

With six dive masters, thirty-two diving sites and fifteen dives per week, Turneffe Island makes for the perfect scuba diving destination. Guests are able to dive deep down into some of Belize’s most lucrative depths and caves. Real thrill seekers even have the chance to dive 130 feet deep inside the Great Blue Hole to get glimpses of stalactites and rare sea creatures.

#2: Snorkeling

I am by no means a pro at snorkeling, but I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to snorkel the perimeter of The Great Blue Hole at Turneffe Island Resort. Located on a geological wonder – the coral island of Little Caye Bokel – Turneffe sits at the southern elbow of the Turneffe Atoll.

A natural wonder formed centuries ago, Belize’s Turneffe Atoll was previously an oceanic mountainous peak. Over time, the peak sank to the sea floor, leaving a coral reef around its perimeter. Today, the Turneffe Atoll is the one of the largest and most biologically diverse coral atoll in Belize.

I felt like I had just stepped out of Finding Nemo after spending a few hours snorkeling around the island. I got to see fish I never knew existed, along with brightly colored coral and sea plants.

#3: Fly Fishing

I was thrilled when I found out that Turneffe Island Resort offers guests an extensive fishing program that includes the choice of four fishing boats, four experienced fishing guides and six fishing flats.

Turneffe has become famous for its fly-fishing, attracting anglers from around the globe. The fishermen on board help ensure that guests catch impressive fish like mackerels, snappers, permits, tarpons, and the occasional mighty bonefish.

Turneffe’s fishing program is also known for its “catch and release” policy and takes pride in respecting the Turneffe Atoll bioregion.

#4: The Helicopter Ride

One of the most memorable activities during our stay at Turneffe Island Resort was the private helicopter ride. The views from the helicopter were absolutely breathtaking. Seeing the Island from above was a completely different experience. The ocean below appeared turquoise, mixed with shades of blue, and you could really get a clear glimpse of The Great Blue Hole.

The helicopter ride also made for a great photo op, as guests are allowed to take pictures during the tour. And for people with a fear of heights, I must admit that it’s not as scary once you are off the ground. In fact, I was so preoccupied with the views that I forgot about my fear of flying. The helicopter ride is a must!

#5: The Spa

Finally, one of the main reasons we decided to visit Turneffe Island Resort was to relax on a private island in the Caribbean. After all of our activities, I decided to end the trip with a 90-minute hot stone massage at Turneffe’s spa.

Turneffe’s spa is situated in a villa overlooking the Caribbean Sea. There are two professional massage therapists and guests can choose from 12 different treatments (mani and pedis too!), along with a daily special. The massage oils and lotions were extremely calming and smelled like heaven. I had fallen asleep by the end of my massage, overcome with the feeling of inner peace and calmness.

Paradise Found

The sunset on Turneffe Island Resort captured by Noa Enav

Overall, my experience at Turneffe Island Resort was truly unforgettable. From the activities, to the lodging, to the meals, this private Island really is a slice of paradise in Belize that everyone should experience.

Being stranded on a deserted island really isn’t so bad after all!

https://youtu.be/Xb0V_sqq038

in Diving, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Mala Pier Dive – Maui-Hawaii – Lahaina Divers

Some of us Salty Dogs made it over to Lahaina, Maui to go on a two-tank dive with Lahaina Divers this last Friday. Being that it was Spring Break high season, we appreciate Lahaina Divers fitting us into their busy schedule and taking us to Mala Pier.

Mala Pier is a quick boat ride from the marina in Lahaina. It was a fun day. We saw a lot of sea life and visibility was good. Thanks, Lahaina Divers!

Salty Dogs crew poking around the dive boat.

Beautiful island of Maui.

White Tip Reef Sharks resting.

Frog Fish

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Galaxy S8 unboxing with sharks

Because there isn’t enough madness in the world already, T-Mobile has teamed up with Samsung to do an underwater Galaxy S8 unboxing video surrounded by sharks. The video features T-Mobile Product Manager Desmond “Des” Smith unboxing and attempting to provide an overview of the Galaxy S8 while in full scuba gear.

Of course, the promo isn’t really concerned with delivering a coherent explanation of the product, but rather showing it off in a high-octane environment. It does, however, manage to effectively highlight one new aspect of the Galaxy S8 — its underwater video recording capabilities.

Historically, it has been recommended that even water-resistant smartphones aren’t operated underwater. Sony also released an underwater unboxing video for its Xperia Z3, only to later warn users against this. On its “water and dust protection” support page, Sony states: “Do not use the device to take photos while performing any type of activity underwater, including diving or snorkeling.”

This function appears to be fully operational on the Galaxy S8, however.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs the competition

18 hours ago

Of course, Samsung probably isn’t worried about people taking this unboxing video too seriously, but it does firmly indicate to customers that the S8 and S8 Plus can be used underwater. Maybe not in a shark-infested ocean, but perhaps in a swimming pool or river.

The IP68 certification that the S8 and S8 Plus have means that the devices will survive in 1.5 metres of water for 30 minutes. That said, this generally applies to fresh water — Samsung has instructions for what to do if its IP68-rated devices are exposed to any other liquid. Despite the promo, I still wouldn’t advise using Samsung’s phones in salt water.

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Deeper down, are coral reefs holding up better?

—The next time you see a picture of a coral reef bleached ghost-white by warming seas, remember that there’s a good chance it was taken in the photic zone: the brightly lit layer of water that extends about 50 meters below the surface.

Australian marine biologist Tom Bridge wants to shift our focus deeper. Speaking at the World Science Festival in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday, he pointed out that two-thirds of all coral lives in the 50- to 700-meter (165 to 2,300 feet) range. That’s a habitat that reaches deeper than the height of New York’s One World Trade Center.

In particular, he wants to call our attention to the “mesophotic zone,” between 50 to 150 meters (165 to 492 feet), where enough sunlight reaches to sustain many of the same corals found higher up. “We have this sort of intermediate zone between the 50 to 150 meter depth range that’s really been ignored for a long period of time,” Dr. Bridge, the senior curator at Queensland Museum in Brisbane told the World Science Festival audience.

Studying this zone could do more than just fill a gap in scientific knowledge. The mesophotic’s greater depth and colder temperatures provide a buffer against climate change and other well-known threats facing reefs and studying it could change scientific methods for protecting the reefs overall.

“Sometimes these deeper areas are less vulnerable to these disturbances than shallow water habitats,” Bridge explained. In oceans, a transition layer called the “thermocline” separates warmer and colder waters. During one mesophotic research dive in Hawaii, recently described in Science magazine, the team reached waters as cold as 10 degrees Celsius, or 50 degrees F.

Along with the cold temperatures, scientists have other good reasons to stay in the shallows. Standard diving protocol involves pausing at regular intervals during an ascent.

To make enough time for these pauses, divers who go deep typically use a rebreather, which re-circulates exhaled air, rather than breathe compressed air from a scuba tank. Even then, a research dive at 100 meters (328 feet) might involve 20 minutes of work on the reef, followed by two hours of stops on the way up.

Despite the challenges, Bridge thinks studying the mesophotic could offer a more holistic – and encouraging – picture of Earth’s reefs. The same temperatures that chill divers to the bone could protect the mesophotic’s corals from the bleaching that occurs closer to the surface. They’re also farther removed from other threats, such as overfishing and coastal development.

Understanding if these traits make the mesophotic stronger would take more research. “Compared to what we know about shallow coral reefs, everything in the deep coral reefs is a big question mark,” Richard Pyle, an associate zoologist at Bishop Museum in Honolulu who specializes in deep-water coral climate, told Science magazine.

Bridge wants that to change. “A lot of the time it’s out of sight, out of mind…. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t become included in conservation plans and things like that.”

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Florida sharks worth more alive than dead, study finds

A live shark swimming through Florida’s waters is about 200 times more valuable than a dead shark, a new study has found.

The study, commissioned by the nonprofit Oceana in its bid to end the gruesome shark fin trade, found that divers hoping to see sharks produced more than $221 million in revenue for the state in 2016 and helped supply over 3,700 jobs. That compared to just over $1 million generated by the buying and selling of shark fins nationwide.

The study, Oceana said, is the first of its kind in the U.S. to try to calculate what conservationists have long argued about many imperiled fish: they’re worth far less on a plate than they are in the water.

Sharks are in trouble and one of the reasons they are in trouble is because of the demands for their fins.

Oceana campaign Director Lora Snyder

“Sharks are in trouble and one of the reasons they are in trouble is because of the demands for their fins,” said Oceana’s campaign director, Lora Snyder.

Oceana is hoping the findings help persuade lawmakers to pass a nationwide ban on buying and selling shark fins, a trade centered in Asia but executed globally and blamed, along with longline fishing and overfishing, with driving down shark populations. Earlier this month, California Republican Rep. Ed Royce, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reintroduced a ban that has so far gained 35 bipartisan signatures, Snyder said.

The U.S. bans shark finning, the process of chopping the fins off sharks and tossing them overboard, still alive, to sink and suffocate or get eaten by predators. Only 11 states prohibit importing and selling fins.

The number of states that currently ban the buying and selling of shark fins

“It’s important to know, once a fin has entered the market, did it come from an endangered shark or was that fin legally finned and got in the U.S.?” Snyder said. “Once it’s here, there’s really no way to know.”

To come up with the numbers, wildlife consultant Tony Fedler contacted 365 dive operators across the state and got responses from 237. Nearly all were small businesses. Only 42 qualified as large, with clients that included cruise ships or other tours. Fedler found that nearly one third of divers look for outings where they’ll likely spot sharks and one in five specifically look for encounters with sharks.

Fedler noted an obvious weakness in his study: the data was voluntarily supplied by dive operators who support shark conservation. However, he also pointed out that the total number of dive days he used to calculate his numbers is well below estimates by the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, making his count more conservative. He also used expense data from a 2001 study which likely low-balled how much divers spend.

Still, dollars from dives clearly outpaces any revenue generated by the fin trade, Snyder said.

“As long as sharks remain alive in the ocean,” she said, “divers and their dollars will continue to support local economies.”

https://youtu.be/XItzMCUyifU

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Undersea Groping – Huffington Post – Bullshit!

It is total bullshit that the Huffington Post would publish C.J. Grace’s ‘story’ below without any commentary or fact checking. I’m certain that Divemasters throughout Hawaii strive to perform their duties with the utmost of integrity and professionalism. C.J. Grace in a posting on her website and then broadcast on Huffington Post claims that her Divemaster on a Manta Dive in Hawaii, groped her and also put her along with the other tourist divers in his charge, back into the water after a “75 minute dive”… “After a hot drink, all six of us diving tourists were back below with the divemaster, sitting at the bottom in a circle”.

Here’s some information on a Manta Dive in Hawaii… Dive is 20-80 feet in depth. http://www.scubadiving.com/manta-ray-night-dives-in-kona

Divemasters aren’t going to put their divers back into the water on the second tank of a two tank dive only “After a hot drink”.

On most dives, an one hour surface interval is standard. At this point a substantial percentage of nitrogen has been released and the impact on a second dive is not too great. If the first dive was deep and very near the NDL with a second dive also deep, Then it is not uncommon to wait two hours before your next dive.

C.J. Grace’s story does a terrible disservice to the SCUBA diving industry in Hawaii at the very least. Her story almost at worst, crucifies male Divemasters around the globe that help to keep their customers safe every day. Let alone negating the perceived validity of future sexual harassment announcements by women that are telling the truth.

C.J. Grace wrote, “I knew that I did not want to make a bad situation worse by going through the stress and hassle of making an official complaint. In the end I passed a report of what happened to someone who was very good friends with the owner of the dive outfit. My hope was that the groping divemaster would either be fired or be hauled over the coals enough to make him avoid a repeat performance. A more inexperienced and vulnerable person than I might have been traumatized by his behavior, perhaps never wanting to do scuba again. The incident made me understand viscerally why molested women keep silent.”

C.J. Grace, you absolutely should have gone through the “stress and hassle of making an official complaint” if your libel were all true. -Rather than as you wrote, passing a “report”, to someone “who was very good friends with the owner”. There’s never a need to subject any women to future potential sexual harassment or battery, EVER, full-stop. Besides the Huffington Post as they’ve re-broadcast your story without any commentary, does anybody really believe the BS you write on your website??? I call Bullshit.

Getting my breasts groped through 5 millimeters of rubber 50 feet under the ocean was not exactly what I had expected when I signed up for a 2-tank Manta Ray Dive in Hawaii. The divemaster’s actions made me feel as if I were a cow being milked. It took me a while to realize that there was actually sexual manhandling going on. Despite having done more than 50 dives, I was not the most adept Scuba diver in the world. I was also unused to the 5 mm wetsuit and different equipment. My buoyancy control was not too brilliant. The divemaster already had to drag down both me and my male friend after we ended up almost back at the surface. Thus I made a point of staying close to the divemaster. He held my hand uncomfortably tightly, but at least it gave me a front row view when he poked an octopus out of a hole so that we could see the creature scuttling away. Every so often the divemaster would press the buttons on my BCD (buoyancy control device) to add or subtract air. My dive buddy was an air hog and ran out of air while I still had plenty left. Normally I would have joined him on the rope from the boat to do the 3 minute safety stop before climbing back on the boat together, but the divemaster held on to me. The good thing: That was when I saw three manta rays. The bad thing: Once my male buddy was out of the way the groping began.

What kind of satisfaction would a man get trying to touch up a woman through a 5 mm wetsuit? Did he have a rubber fetish? So many parts of the body are inaccessible. There is no way you can get raped with all that gear on. Your face is covered by the mask and regulator. You can’t even talk to each other. It was almost as if I were in an off-color Benny Hill comedy skit: groping, innuendo and no dialogue. Should I have angrily pushed him away? It didn’t seem a good idea to get into an adversarial situation 50 feet under the sea when he was the expert and I was pretty much the novice. I wasn’t going to shove him backwards or knock the regulator out of his mouth. He could have done far worse to me if he had a mind to do it. I remembered a story I had read on the Daily Mail website about newlywed Gabe Watson being accused of killing his wife by turning off her air when they were diving off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Watson was convicted of manslaughter in Australia but acquitted of murder in the US.

Although I felt insulted by the groping divemaster’s inappropriate actions, there was an absurdity to the situation. Did he realize that I was old enough to be his mom? The groper paid scant attention to the other four divers under his charge. We were the last to ascend, after 75 minutes underwater, the longest dive I had ever done. Instead of leading me to the rope attached to the boat for a safety stop, he held me in his arms and circled me around in waltzing motions as if we were dancing together. Once back on the boat, I was tired out and in no mood to create a scene. After a hot drink, all six of us diving tourists were back below with the divemaster, sitting at the bottom in a circle, all of us armed with lights in the hope of attracting manta rays. The groper gave my dive buddy a boulder to hold to keep him on the sea bottom. I got a leg-over, literally. The divemaster draped his leg across mine. The mantas, obviously unimpressed with our light show, refused to show up. At the end of it all, I was so tired that all I wanted to do was get off the boat and go to sleep as soon as possible. I could barely keep my eyes open to drive back to my hotel. I just did not have the energy to complain about the groper and create a scene.

Over the next few days I wrestled with whether I should report the man or not. I knew that he would deny any wrongdoing. How could he not if otherwise he might lose his job? I could hear all his excuses:

“She got all sexual with me, claiming she couldn’t get her wetsuit on.” Yes, he had to get quite physical with me to get the damn thing on.

“I kept on adjusting the air in her BCD as she was terrible at controlling her buoyancy.” True, but he also kept on adjusting other parts of my body.

“I had to keep hold of her to stop her going up to the surface in an uncontrolled ascent.” Sadly, I did display plenty of diving ineptitude.

I knew that I did not want to make a bad situation worse by going through the stress and hassle of making an official complaint. In the end I passed a report of what happened to someone who was very good friends with the owner of the dive outfit. My hope was that the groping divemaster would either be fired or be hauled over the coals enough to make him avoid a repeat performance. A more inexperienced and vulnerable person than I might have been traumatized by his behavior, perhaps never wanting to do scuba again.

The incident made me understand viscerally why molested women keep silent.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/undersea-groping_us_58cde26ee4b07112b6472e7e

Former BBC journalist C. J. Grace is the author of “Adulterer’s Wife: How to Thrive Whether You Stay or Not,” available on Amazon.com. She is currently writing her second book, “Hotel Chemo: Overcoming Breast Cancer and Infidelity.” Read C. J.’s blogs and hear her radio interviews on www.adultererswife.com.

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Responsible Shark And Ray Tourism

Does diving with sharks and rays affect their behaviour?

Shark and ray tourism generates hundreds of millions of dollars globally each year and, says WWF, it is growing substantially.

Businesses around the world provide a variety of activities that allow people to get close to sharks and rays, ranging from boat-based spotting to guided snorkelling, cage viewing experiences and scuba diving. If current trends continue, the numbers of shark related tourism could more than double over the next twenty years. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the sharks?

Research published this month by American scientists finds that scuba divers can repeatedly interact with reef sharks without affecting the behaviour of the shark in the long term. Well-regulated shark diving tourism can be accomplished without undermining conservation goals.

The researchers – Darcy Bradley, Yannis Papastamatiou and Jennifer Caselle – didn’t detect differences in reef shark abundance or behaviour between heavily dived and undived locations, neither were there differences in shark residency patterns at dived and undived sites in a year with substantial diving activity and a year without any diving.

So, how can divers and dive operators ensure that they dive with sharks responsibly? The WWF, Project Aware and the Manta Trust have produced a Guide to shark and ray tourism.

Advice from the Guide to Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism to Dive Operators

Operate a code of conduct to reduce pollution from vessels, discarded waste and plastics, physical and chemical damage such as boat strikes, breaking off coral and damage from sunscreen.
Avoid touching the animals or altering their habitat which could ultimately damage the resources upon which the tourism businesses are based.
Think several times before feeding or “provisioning” sharks. Provisioning may lead to animals ‘begging’ from tourists, and becoming aggressive if they aren’t satisfied. Studies are finding that long-term provisioning of populations of sharks and rays can have physiological and other impacts, which is why a precautionary approach is important.
Proactively support conservation of the habitats and species on which your business depends. Marine protected areas (MPAs), which limit or restrict activities that affect marine life within a defined area, are one
widely adopted conservation tool. In Palau, shark diving within the MPA is popular because the white tip and grey reef sharks are predictable, relatively numerous, and spend most of their lives in the one area
Customers want the best experience they can get, so it’s important staff training goes beyond safety and customer service. Staff should receive a comprehensive induction into the business; and this should be followed by regular training and updates on the latest science, management practices, conservation and regulatory issues.
Use eco-accreditation, such as that from Green Fins,

You can take a self-assessment survey to see how you score as a dive operator. The guide also provides a suite of free, practical, downloadable tools that can be used by operators, NGOs, local communities and resource managers.

Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism – A Guide to Best Practice. WWF, Project Aware, Manta Trust 2017.

https://youtu.be/rtsrL0CHs7M

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Five Ways to Get More Out of Your Scuba Diving Experience

There’s nothing like the sense of achievement that comes with your first scuba diving certification. After several days of learning new skills, overcoming difficulties and performing tasks in open water, you’re finally free to simply enjoy the underwater world. What was once your classroom becomes your playground, and you become part of a worldwide community that shares the same passion for the ocean. However, many new divers lose momentum after certifying, eventually allowing their qualification to stagnate and their dive equipment to dry out. In this article, we take a look at a few simple ways to keep your newfound love for diving alive.

Continue Your Education

The easiest way to replicate that initial drive and sense of achievement is to continue your diving education. The PADI Open Water Diver certification (or the equivalent with another training agency) is only the first rung on a tall ladder of possibilities. By enrolling on a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, for example, you can increase your maximum depth limit by 12 meters/ 40 feet – opening up a whole new world of exciting dive sites. Adventure and Specialty dive courses help to direct your newfound passion, whether you end up being obsessed with underwater photography or hooked on wreck diving. Ultimately, you could even progress to a professional level, thereby turning your hobby into a life-changing career.

Join a Dive Club – Like the Salty Dogs at SaltyDogs.com

Like most things, diving is an experience that’s better shared. Whether you live on the coast or inland, you should be able to find a dive club near you. Joining a club puts you in contact with other like-minded people – people who will share your excitement about diving and encourage it, people who can recommend dive sites, help organize group trips or get special rates on gear and courses. With this kind of support behind you, it’s less likely that your new passion will be swept aside by the pressures and commitments of everyday life. Now, instead of having to choose between a weekend spent scuba diving or a weekend with your friends, you can combine the two. If you don’t have a local dive club, take the initiative and start one.

Brush up on Your Species ID

For most divers, one of the highlights of the entry level course is seeing aquatic life for the first time. You can build upon that thrill by brushing up on your basic identification skills – so that you know how to tell an angelfish from a butterflyfish, or how to distinguish a squid from a cuttlefish. Learning these differences is easy with the aid of a local fish ID book or app, and with a little practice, you will soon be able to recognize many of the species that you share your local dive sites with. Taking a keener interest in the life around you increases the pleasure you get out of each dive by teaching you to pay closer attention to the wonder of the underwater world. Each new sighting is a bonus, adding an extra dimension to your experience.

Find Your Diving Specialty

Your entry level course gives you the basic skills you need to survive underwater – but there’s much more to diving than that. One of the best ways to keep the momentum going is to find out which aspects of diving interest you the most. For example, do you love diving for its innate sense of adventure and discovery? Perhaps you should focus on wreck diving, or start thinking about enrolling on a tec diving course. Is it the wildlife that gets you excited? Consider underwater photography, or perhaps use your new qualification to volunteer on a marine conservation project. If you loved the excitement of mastering a new skill, there are hundreds more to learn – from search and recovery techniques to peak performance buoyancy.

Travel Often

Like diving, travel is all about new experiences. Each new destination offers the promise of new sites to explore, new wildlife to encounter and new people to meet along the way. Start making a bucket list of dream destinations and experiences, from muck diving in Indonesia to shark diving in South Africa. If you’re on a budget or have limited time off, you don’t have to travel far; even a long weekend to a new dive site on your nearest coast can give you the change of scene you need to keep things interesting. Dive holidays can be adapted to suit your needs. Liveaboards offer maximum time in the water and the chance to meet other divers; while land-based holidays have the potential to keep non-diving friends and family happy as well.

– DeeperBlue.com

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

James Bond Breathe Like A Fish Gadget

It’s the James Bond gadget on everyone’s wishlist.

The rebreather, a system that lets you breathe underwater, has got Mr Bond out of some tricky situations.

Now one South Korean designer Korea has taken inspiration from the spy’s device to create a concept gadget that claims to instantly transform the user into a human fish.

The mask, dubbed Triton, acts like a fish gill to extract oxygen from water so that the user can keep on breathing while under the sea

HOW TRITON COULD WORK

To use Triton, swimmers would bite
down on a plastic mouth piece.

Two arms, which branch out to the sides
of the scuba mask, have been developed to function as gills.

The scaly texture on the arms conceals small holes in the material where water is sucked in.

Chambers inside separate the oxygen and release the liquid so that the user can breathe comfortably in the ocean.

Using a very small but powerful micro compressor, the system compresses oxygen and stores it in tanks.

The gadget is powered by micro battery around 30 times smaller than a battery.

The device, however, is only a concept and questions remain over whether it would be technically feasible to recreate.

The mask, dubbed Triton, acts like a fish gill to extract oxygen from water so that the user can keep on breathing while under the sea.

While it may not be as slick as a rebreather, designer Jeabyun Yeon, who came up with the concept, believes it will change the way people approach water.

To use Triton, swimmers would bite down on a plastic mouth piece.

Two arms, which branch out to the sides of the scuba mask, can then function as efficient gills to deliver oxygen.

The scaly texture on the arms conceal small holes in the material where water is sucked in.

Chambers inside separate the oxygen and release the liquid so that the user can breathe comfortably in the ocean.

Using a very small but powerful micro compressor, the concept system would compress oxygen and store it in tanks.

The entire gadget is powered by micro battery which is around 30 times smaller than a current battery that can quickly charge 1,000 times faster.

But you may have to wait a little longer before placing an order as the product is still at concept stage.

Mr Yeon describes it as ‘a future product’ that could one day replace complicated scuba equipment.

A more radical design was recently unveiled by a South Korean designer Korea which claims to instantly transform the user into a human fish

The mask, dubbed Triton, acts like a fish gill to extract oxygen from water so that the user can keep on breathing while under the sea

A designer in South Korea has taken inspiration from James Bond’s rebreather (left) to create the Triton gadget that claims to instantly transform the user into a human fish

Chambers inside separate the oxygen and release the water so that the user can breathe comfortably

Mr Yeon describes Triton as ‘a future product’ that could one day replace complicated scuba equipment. Let’s wish them the best in development!

Dailymail.com Reporter

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Cleaner Shrimp & Thai Massage

Drew Kaplan, a keen diver and photographer, shot the footage in Maui, Hawaii
He held his mouth open underwater and let the shrimp drift slowly in
Strange crustacean lives by eating parasites from inside mouths of fish
Kaplan said the service felt ‘just a bit scratchy, not bad. And it’s lots of fun’

Alice Evans For Mailonline

A diver has filmed the bizarre experience he had when a shrimp cleaned his teeth underwater.

Drew Kaplan opened his mouth wide and let the Pacific Cleaner Shrimp drift in to inspect his pearly whites in Maui, Hawaii.

The fascinating crustaceans spend their lives swimming inside the mouths of fish to remove the parasites that lurk there.

Kaplan learned to mimic the fish around him, opening his mouth wide and patiently waiting for the shrimp to attend to him.

He has had the treatment several times since perfecting the technique – sometimes holding his breath for around 40 seconds to get a deep clean.

But the service isn’t without its dangers.

Drew Kaplan opened his mouth wide and let the Pacific Cleaner Shrimp drift in to inspect his pearly whites in Maui, Hawaii

Deep clean: Kaplan made a compilation video of the times he’s captured the bizarre phenomenon on film

Kaplan warned viewers of his video that eels often lurk near to groups of cleaner shrimp.

The diver, who has filmed scuba and snorkelling trips in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean, said that the deep-sea dental treatment must work because his teeth are in good condition.

In the caption to his YouTube video, Kaplan said: ‘Since I have no cavities, I guess it works.

He has had the treatment several times since perfecting the technique – sometimes holding his breath for around 40 seconds to get a deep clean

The diver, who has filmed scuba and snorkelling trips in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean, said that the deep-sea dental treatment must work because his teeth are in good condition

In the caption to his YouTube video, Kaplan said: 'Since I have no cavities, I guess it works'

The diver, who has filmed scuba and snorkelling trips in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean, said that the deep-sea dental treatment must work because his teeth are in good condition

‘Oh, and it feels just a bit scratchy, not bad. And it’s lots of fun. ‘

He added: ‘But beware of eels.

‘They are often living with the cleaner shrimp.’

Since Kaplan uploaded the video in 2013 it has been viewed almost 25,000 times.

WHAT IS THE PACIFIC CLEANER SHRIMP?

The Latin name for the red-and-white striped shrimp is Lysmata amboinensis.

They also sometimes go by the name of Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimps.

Most individuals grow to between five and six centimetres long.

The fascinating crustaceans spend their lives swimming inside the mouths of fish to remove the parasites that lurk there

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums says: ‘The Pacific Cleaner Shrimp is omnivorous and will generally scavenge and eat parasites and dead tissue by cleaning larger fishes and so on.

‘It waits for its clientele at so-called cleaning stations where it is often accompanied by other fish and shrimp species offering similar services.

‘Some species will even clean the inner surface of the mouth and gill cavity without being eaten.’

https://youtu.be/7skg2VDT5TM

Turneffe Island Resort

Mala Pier Dive – Maui-Hawaii – Lahaina Divers

Galaxy S8 unboxing with sharks

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs the competition

Deeper down, are coral reefs holding up better?

Florida sharks worth more alive than dead, study finds

Undersea Groping – Huffington Post – Bullshit!

Responsible Shark And Ray Tourism

Advice from the Guide to Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism to Dive Operators

Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism – A Guide to Best Practice. WWF, Project Aware, Manta Trust 2017.

Five Ways to Get More Out of Your Scuba Diving Experience

Continue Your Education

Join a Dive Club – Like the Salty Dogs at SaltyDogs.com

Brush up on Your Species ID

Find Your Diving Specialty

Travel Often

James Bond Breathe Like A Fish Gadget

HOW TRITON COULD WORK

Cleaner Shrimp & Thai Massage

WHAT IS THE PACIFIC CLEANER SHRIMP?

Categories

Account

Quick Links

We offer 24/7 dedicated support

Got Question? Call us 24/7

CONTACT US

Sign up for newsletter