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Power Inflator Malfunction
Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Resorts – and One Real Dog – is yours, at no charge,
Global Protection for Silky Sharks?
What Do Fish Know?
Two Groups of Divers Go Missing: The Complete Stories
Fried Fish?
Have You Been Assigned a Buddy from Hell?
Some of the Other Things You Missed in the October issue of Undercurrent, in our 41st year of publication

Power Inflator Malfunction  October 14, 2016

Aqua Lung is conducting a voluntary product update of 53,000 Powerline inflators on Aqua Lung BCD/Apeks Black Ice BCS purchased since January 1, 2015. They must be returned to your point of purchase to determine if yours meets the specific recall criteria and requires updating. Aqua Lung is concerned that a failure may occur during a dive, causing the BCD to continue inflating after the inflation button has been released, increasing the potential of an uncontrolled ascent. www.aqualung.com/us/recall-notice-powerline

Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Resorts – and One Real Dog – is yours, at no charge,  October 14, 2016

with your trial subscription to Undercurrent. I’ve pulled together eight complete first-hand reviews of great resorts – and one dog -- from our best travel reviewers who pay their own way and never disclose their purpose. They tell you the truth about the diving, the fish, the reefs, the food, the beds, and much, much more, so you can pick your next dive destination without worry. Click HERE for details.

Global Protection for Silky Sharks?  October 14, 2016

They need your immediate help. Thanks to long-line fishing for tuna and mahi mahi, important silky shark populations have decreased by 90 per cent. It is the second or third most often commonly traded species in Hong Kong fish markets. You can sign a petition calling on the Presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to support listing silky sharks as an endangered species with CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). If silkies gain this status, countries will be required to take concrete action to reverse the negative population trend and begin protecting this shark species. https://seaturtles.org/takeaction/increase-protections-for-silky-sharks

What Do Fish Know?  October 14, 2016

More than you think! As we have our complex lives, so do fish, forming relationships, parenting and creating social order. What A Fish Knows by Jonathon Balcombe is a well-researched, well-written and fascinating read that will turn your beliefs about the underwater world upside-down. It retails for $27 hardbound and is available on Kindle. To get Amazon’s best prices, click HERE.

Two Groups of Divers Go Missing: The Complete Stories  October 14, 2016

During September, two groups of divers were lost at the surface in very different parts of the world and the rescues had very different outcomes. Both sequences of events involved strong currents. Off Mauritius, five divers were found after spending all day in the water but five divers off Malpelo were less lucky. Two lost their lives, one swam through the night and two others were miraculously recovered after spending 48 hours afloat at sea. We include a firsthand account. These harrowing stories first published in our October issue can be read for no charge at www.undercurrent.org

Fried Fish?  October 14, 2016

Dan Clements (Everett, WA) observed, in our article about strobes and video lights for photography (Undercurrent September), that we failed to mention the effect of a continuous bright light in close proximity to higher animals. He’s quite right in asking which of the types of light source mentioned does the least damage to photo subjects, strobes or video lights? We’ve dealt extensively with the subject in the past (Undercurrent October 2015) and with the effect of strobes flashes on seahorses (Undercurrent November 2013). We suggest that animals so affected resort to flight or fight -- so the cameraman should make a judgment at the time as to how any particular animal is affected.

Have You Been Assigned a Buddy from Hell?  October 14, 2016

Last month we asked you if you’d ever been paired up with a buddy who exhibited undesirable behavior underwater. Many subscribers responded with tales of woe -- so many in fact that we were unable to run the feature in this month’s Undercurrent through lack of space. Not to be disappointed, it gives those that never got round to telling us their own story a second chance. If you’ve been saddled with a buddy from hell, tell us about it and if we use your comments we’ll reward you with a free 6-month subscription to Undercurrent. BenDDavison@undercurrent.org Don’t forget to tell us your town and State too.

Some of the Other Things You Missed in the October issue of Undercurrent, in our 41st year of publication  October 14, 2016

A little known Honduras resort . . . The next hot destination . . . Other important recalls of faulty products . . . Who pays when bad weather forces cancelation of your pre-paid dives? . . . Are reef sharks over-valued and is it safe to feed them for the benefit of divers? . . . Equipment failure or diver mismanagement? . . . and much, much more. Subscribe to our monthly publication here and as our thanks, we’ll give you a free our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Resorts – and One Real Dog.

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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