Current Online Updates*
The Latest Dive News   What's this?

Recall of Full-Face Dive Masks
The Connection Between Shark Dives and Shark Attacks
Need a Fish, Coral or Critter ID Book?
Were You in the Military?
Beware PNG Baggage Charges
Speaking of Baggage Charges
There's A Cockroach In My Regulator
Another Advantage of Diving in No-Fishing Marine Preserves
Japan and the Sea Shepherd Clash in Palau
Our Thoughts Exactly
What You're Missing in This Month's Undercurrent

Recall of Full-Face Dive Masks:  April 25, 2011

While full-face diving masks are a wave of the future for sport divers, we ought to note that Ocean Technology Systems has recalled its Guardian full-face dive masks due to a potential drowning hazard. About 1,700 are in use in the U.S., and 80 in Canada. The purge assembly on the mask can disengage from the regulator, resulting in loss of air. This recall involves Guardian masks with serial numbers 9051284 through 100070954; the serial number is printed on the main regulator body. For information, contact Ocean Technology Systems at 877-270-1984, or visit its website at www.otscomm.com

The Connection Between Shark Dives and Shark Attacks:  April 25, 2011

Earlier this year, nine people swimming in the Red Sea were attacked by sharks in the span of just two weeks. What made the sharks so aggressive? Three American scientists flew to Sharm el-Sheikh to find answers for the spate of shark attacks - what they found shows a direct connection to feeding sharks in order to get them closer to paying divers. One of the scientists tells us what they discovered in our April article "Sharks Under Siege: Part I" - read it for free at Undercurrent.

Need a Fish, Coral or Critter ID Book?:  April 25, 2011

Our website is the place to go to buy books from the marine ID masters, Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach. We offer their definitive ID guides, which include exceptional photos and detailed descriptions, at www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/bookpicks.shtml. Among their books we offer are The Reef Set (a three-volume set of Caribbean Reef Fish, Reef Creatures and Reef Corals), Reef Fish Identification: Baja to Panama and Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific. Even if you have no plans to go diving overseas right now, you'll get inspired just by thumbing through the pages. Order through us and you'll get Amazon's best price - - and our profits will go to save coral reefs.

Were You in the Military?:  April 25, 2011

Or know a diver who is or was? Undercurrent subscriber Rusty Hubbarth (Austin, TX) shares this story from his buddy, Jim, that could help divers who served save some money on their next dive trip. "Flying back home from South Carolina, I checked in at the American Airlines desk and handed the agent my retired military ID and a credit card to pay the $100 baggage fees for the two bags my wife and I had. When I asked for the receipt for my bag fees, I was told they were waived as a courtesy, because I was military. So whatever airline you fly, always use your military ID card at check-in - - whether you're active duty, inactive duty or retired - - and you may just get your bag fees waived." Get these valuable tips from Undercurrent subscribers by becoming one yourself now - sign up for issues now here

Beware PNG Baggage Charges:  April 25, 2011

Undercurrent reader and underwater photographer Mike Emerson just returned from Papua New Guinea, where he was charged $565 for being nine kilograms overweight on an Air New Guinea flight. He says, "Prior to the flight, I had an e-mail from the airline through my agent which told me how much I could bring. Apparently they dropped the weight by 10 kilograms between the e-mail and my flight. Nasty."

Speaking of Baggage Charges:  April 25, 2011

Had any excessive charges for your dive equipment? Any bad experiences while flying? Please let us know so we can do a story to alert your fellow divers. E-mail me at Publisher BenD@undercurrent.org

There's A Cockroach In My Regulator:  April 25, 2011

Our book has 240 pages of the best of the unusual, entertaining and jaw-dropping stories Undercurrent has published during the past 35 years. We're offering autographed copies for just $17.95. (Shipping/handling is $5 in the U.S., $9.95 for Canada; California residents add $1.80 for sales tax.) Order online

Another Advantage of Diving in No-Fishing Marine Preserves:  April 25, 2011

The fish are friendlier and more likely to come closer to you. That's the summary of a study by marine scientists just published in Conservation Biology: Fish regularly exposed to speargun fishing take flight much earlier when a diver approaches, compared with those living in protected zones. Researchers went to Muluk, Papua New Guinea, where local chiefs close areas of reef to fishing, sometimes for several years at a time, whenever the prey (typically triggerfish, parrotfish and surgeonfish). get shy. They found that inside protected areas, fish moved off when divers were within six feet of them. Outside the protected zone, they fled when divers were within 13 feet.

Japan and the Sea Shepherd Clash in Palau:  April 25, 2011

In a move that reeks of spite from this year's earlier failed whale hunt, Japanese officials have proposed a counteroffer to a Sea Shepherd plan to help patrol the Palau marine area, designated as the world's first shark sanctuary. A memorandum was signed between Palau and Sea Shepherd last month, on condition that the group would help curb illegal shark fishing in the 240,000-square-mile sanctuary on its own dime. But now the Palau government is reconsidering the offer after a high-level Japanese delegation weighed in on the decision, calling the group "terrorists". The official said the Japanese are willing to send their own patrol boat to help enforce the zone. Want to send comments to Palau officials about who you think they should pick? E-mail Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Harry R Fritz at mnret@palaugov.net and/or Marine Resource Bureau Director Theo Isamu at bmr@palaunet.com.

Our Thoughts Exactly:  April 25, 2011

We're posting this blog post verbatim from Conrad Blickenstorfer, editor of Scuba Diver Info : "A good number of DEMA members and other industry representatives attended Vision 2020 sessions, hosted by Beneath the Sea 2011, to talk about the dive industry and where they see it in 5 or 10 years. Most commonly mentioned: The importance of scuba retailers and supporting them; the need to listen to divers and tailor products and programs to their wants and needs; more 'face time' between new divers and instructor/store personnel, as well as putting fun activities back into diving; a need to better embrace the Internet and leverage it to the industry's advantage; use and benefit from social media. Our take: These are noble goals, but they describe what should have happened five or ten years AGO, and not IN five or ten years."

What You're Missing in This Month's Undercurrent:  April 25, 2011

Easy diving, easy living in Cuba's Bay of Pigs . . . unexpected diving in Curacao, Fiji, Maui, Papua and other places . . . cure jet lag without drugs . . . how PADI stonewalled a dead diver's grieving family . . . does breathing nitrox reduce post-diving fatigue? . . . what divemasters really think about you . . . the connection between shark feedings and shark attacks on humans . . . and much, much more.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

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Note: Undercurrent is a registered 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization donating funds to help preserve coral reefs. Our travel writers never announce their purpose, are unknown to the destination, and receive no complimentary services or compensation from the dive operators or resort.

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