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Scuba diving news from South Africa and Worldwide destinations - Archive January 2006
News and articles relating to scuba diving in South Africa and abroad. Topics include diving equipment, dive sites, diver training, dive specials, wreck diving, reef diving and shark diving news.
- US tourist scuba diving in Jamaica missing, feared drowned
The Westmoreland police fear that a missing American visitor who was vacationing at Grand Lido, Negril may have drowned after he went scuba diving with a friend three days ago.
- Florida divers, adrift for hours, survive scare
The divers had been floating in the chilling water for hours when they saw the shark fin cut through a wave.
- Son recreates Cousteau documentaries
Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of legendary underwater film-maker Jacques, has made a modern version of his father's famed diving film series of the 1960s and '70s.
- Egypt awarded Shark Guardian of the Year
Due to the campaign, led by HEPCA and supported by the Red Sea Governate, The National Parks of Egypt, the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, to secure a decree banning shark fishing in the whole of the Egyptian Red Sea, in order to protect the shark population and environment of Egypt, the Shark Project has named Egypt as the Shark Guardian of the Year 2006.
- Gulf of Mexico: Reefs damaged by Hurricane Rita and warmer temperatures
Hurricane Rita's pounding waves and a hotter-than-usual Gulf of Mexico took a toll on the Gulf of Mexico's only government-protected coral reefs about 100 miles off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
- Australia: Northern reefs next in line for bleaching
Scientists say north Queensland reefs are next in line to be hit by coral bleaching.
- Satellite tags to solve hammerhead mating, migration mysteries?
How far would you go to save a species? When it comes to great hammerhead sharks, Wes Pratt shows more mettle than most.
- Deep, dark and still 99.8% unexplored
Join a team scientists as they explore the cold waters of the Davidson Seamount, 4,100 to 12,000 feet deep (1250 to 3660 meters), off the Central California coastline.
- Rare megamouth shark netted in the Philippines
Hundreds of residents of Bayawan City in southern Oriental Negros woke up yesterday to the sight of the biggest fish they ever saw following the accidental capture by fishermen of a rare five-meter megamouth shark.
- Australian oil spill 'tragedy for marine life'
A oil spill in the Australian state of Queensland is being described as a tragedy for the area's marine life.
- DEMA announces new Board of Directors for 2006
The results of DEMA's 2006 Board of Directors Election are in and DEMA Members have spoken. New board members elected to serve and represent the industry in 2006 and beyond.
- Buzz your divebuddy with a SCUBuzz
If you're looking for an underwater noisemaker, maybe you want check out the SCUBuzz, an underwater signaling device worn like a wristwatch.
- Dice with Death: Diving pair claims new world record
A diver from Borehamwood has plunged a death-defying 205 metres underwater to set a new world record.
- USA: Diver rescued after becoming disoriented on San Diego wreck
A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized Saturday after she became disoriented while scuba diving near a sunken ship off Mission Beach, a lifeguard lieutenant said.
- South Africa: Shark victim's long wait for rescue
Mauled and bleeding after a shark attack on the Wild Coast, a Scottburgh man watched his emergency air ambulance circling vainly above Mthatha Airport for more than an hour, unable to rescue him because no one was around to switch on the runway landing lights.
- Scientists fear calamity for marine life
Worried about the future of some marine species or other? Well, noble though your concerns are, there could be a much more emphatic disaster looming.
- South Africa: Anti-whaling ship detained by authorities
The anti-whaling ship Farley Mowat, which has spent six weeks harassing Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, has been detained in Cape Town harbour by South African authorities.
- Online training program from SDI enters second phase
2nd Generation Online Open Water Scuba Course: Scuba Diving International's ground-breaking Online Open Water course has entered the next phase.
- Sea level rise 'is accelerating'
Global sea levels could rise by about 30cm during this century if current trends continue, a study warns.
- Australia: Fears that oil spill may threaten Great Barrier Reef
A fisheries conservationist has raised concerns about the possibility of an oil spill in the Gladstone Harbour in central Queensland reaching the Great Barrier Reef.
- Deep-sea fish species decimated in a generation
At least five species of deepwater exotic fish - only caught since the 1970s - are now on the critically endangered list, according to Canadian scientists. The researchers say many other species are likely to be similarly endangered and, worse, there seems little hope of saving them.
- Dive-Logs announces new online program for retailers
Retailers and industry members can make money through the Dive-Logs program. Dive-Logs launched a new on-line affiliate program where each new customer referral that results in an order earns a generous 10% commission!
- Sport Diver publishes new comprehensive Diving Resource Guide
The World's Best Diving & Resorts provides a one-of-a-kind complete look at all the world's best diving locations.
- Australia: Gladstone oil spill a tragedy for marine life
As the multi-million dollar clean-up of Queensland's worst oil spill in more than 30 years moves into its second day, the focus is turning to the environmental impact.
- SCUBAPRO/UWATEC launches Smart Z Hoseless Computer
In early 2005, SCUBAPRO UWATEC introduced the highly-sophisticated Smart TEC hoseless dive computer to the global marketplace. It is designed primarily for technical divers as it fully supports 3-gas diving. Now, for sport and traveling divers, SCUBAPRO UWATEC is pleased to introduce the UWATEC Smart Z, a full-featured hoseless computer ideal for recreational use.
- Bahamas Recompression Chamber Announcement
Effective immediately, the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, LTD will, until further notice, no longer accept the Divers Alert Network (DAN) America insurance for payment of diving related injuries.
- Suunto launches NEW D6 Dive Computer
Suunto dive computers give all divers, from beginners to advanced underwater explorers, the freedom to enjoy their underwater surroundings by providing them with the information they need to maximize their safety.
- Hawaii: Dive and Snorkel Operators join to form Reef Fund
Dive and snorkel operators on Hawaii's Big Island and Maui have joined local conservation organizations to raise money for marine conservation.
- Coral reefs cheaper to save than neglect - UN
Costs of safeguarding the world's fast-disappearing coral reefs and mangroves are small compared to the benefits they provide from tourism to fisheries, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Tuesday.
- White Shark taggers team up for TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Pelagics)
The blue whale carcass undulated with the swell, a huge, pale and nutrient-packed spread for the hungry denizens of top predators patrolling the waters around the Farrrallon Islands. A gift from the sea to Scot Anderson of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, who works the area each fall, identifying and tagging white sharks...
- Autopsy confirms: Body in river was area diver
Autopsy results have confirmed that the remains of a man found in the St. Lawrence River over the weekend are those of a Rochester man who disappeared while diving in the river nearly 25 years ago.
- Scuba Diving's Reader's Choice Awards names top Pacific/Indian Ocean destinations
Divester reports that the Chicago Tribune received some information concerning Scuba Diving's newest Reader's Choice Awards.
- Lebanese scuba diver rescues guitar shark
Naji Cherabieh is a scuba diver with more than a dozen years of experience in both diving and underwater photography. On a trip diving in Mauritius he noticed a guitar shark (an endangered species) struggling in an agitated way in the sand. Cherabieh moved closer to investigate...
- World's biggest fish 'shrinking'
Whale sharks spotted off the coast of Australia are getting smaller, researchers have said.
- USA: Body of missing scuba diver found after 25 years
A Group of scuba divers, diving in the St. Lawrence River, were looking for remains of the Sir Robert Peel wreckage when they found more than they were looking for.
- Cozumel home to Mexico Underwater Show for second year
The Cozumel Tourism Promotion Board is pleased to announce that the island will be home to the 2006 "Mexico Underwater Dive Show."
- PADI and Sport Diver Magazine announce GO DIVE program
New National Promotion from PADI and Sport Diver Targets New Divers to Go Dive with Your Facility
- UK diving incidents in 2005 highest ever recorded
Diving incidents in 2005 were the highest ever recorded, but the number of fatalities was reduced from last year, according to the BSAC's Diving Incidents Report.
- Mares introduces Lifetime Service Parts Policy
Mares Diving announces a new Lifetime Service Parts Policy for all Regulators sold in the U.S. and Canada effective January 1st, 2006.
- Innovative new dive ropes lighten up the scuba diving industry
New company introduces Glow In the Dark ropes designed for divers and other aquatic applications. New distributors and dealers wanted!
- Mares announces new UK distributor
Head UK is taking on full responsibility for the sales, marketing and distribution of all Mares diving products in Britain from 15 February this year.
- PADI launches 40th anniversary Certification Card series
PADI Americas is pleased to announce the commemorative 40th anniversary replacement card series, available for a limited time only.
- USA: Woman hospitalized following scuba dive
San Diego - A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized Saturday after she became disoriented while scuba diving near a sunken ship off Mission Beach, a lifeguard lieutenant said
- Japan grapples with invasion of giant jellyfish
A slimy jellyfish weighing as much as a sumo wrestler has Japan's fishing industry in the grip of its poisonous tentacles.
- South Africa: Divers recover body of helicopter pilot
Divers on Wednesday afternoon recovered the body of a trainee pilot killed when his helicopter crashed into the sea off Cape Point.
- South African scuba divers need new permits
Scuba divers who were granted an exemption allowing them to dive in marine protected areas (MPAs) will need to re-apply for such exemption, said the department of environmental affairs on Monday.
- Nicaragua bans freshwater shark fishing
Nicaragua banned freshwater fishing of bull sharks and sawfish on Tuesday because of alarming population declines, and said it wants neighboring Costa Rica to impose a similar prohibition.
- South Africa: Divers to recover body - advanced sonar equipment to be used
Divers will try on Wednesday to recover the body of a Cape businessman and father of two sons from his watery grave along the Peninsula coast after his helicopter crashed into the sea on Tuesday.
- South Africa: Navy divers search for crashed helicopter and pilot's body
The search for the body of a pilot and wreckage of a helicopter is to continue today after the craft "nose-dived and crashed" into the sea near Buffels Bay at Cape Point, yesterday.
- South African diamond diver crushed by rock
A diamond diver at Alexander Bay in the Northern Cape died an underwater death after a rock with a five metre diameter fell on him.
- Project 'Digital Skins': Sensors watch Barrier Reef coral
With the fragile ecology of coral reefs around the globe increasingly under pressure, scientists on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are establishing a network of sensors to better understand this beautiful part of the underwater world.
- DAN SA members not affected by DAN America Insurance and recompression treatment lawsuit
DAN Southern Africa releases a press release on their website to assure members their insurance is fully accepted by the SSS Network.
- Officials using DNA to identify illegal Great White poaching
Law enforcement agents are using a genetic test - similar to those used by investigators in popular television programs - to identify fins and other products from the highly protected Great White Shark, according to an article published in the journal Conservation Genetics...
- SSS Recompression on the DAN America lawsuit
SSS Recompression Chamber Network hereby wishes to state clearly for the record that there is no dispute between SSS and DAN Europe or DAN Southern Africa regarding recompression therapy for their members, that DAN Europe and DAN Southern Africa have consistently paid all insurance claims, and that their insurance is not affected in any way by the lawsuit against DAN America.
- South Africa: Scuba diver found dead at Kommetjie
A scuba diver died near Kommetjie in the Western Cape on Sunday afternoon, reported the National Sea Rescue Institute.
- Australia: Man to continue scuba diving after shark attack
A scuba diver injured in a shark attack off Perth says he wrenched his bleeding arm from the predator's jaws and hid in a crevice on the ocean floor until he was rescued.
- What is the best SCUBA certification agency - PADI, NAUI, SSI, or other?
I found a very interesting post on the DiveSpots.com Captain's Blog. Who do you think is the best SCUBA certification agency and why?
- Scuba diver survives great white attack
A scuba diver has survived an attack by a great white shark by fighting it off with his speargun and his hands.
- Australia: Lack of coordinated shark studies putting swimmers at risk
A LACK of co-ordinated studies may be putting swimmers at risk, according to a leading shark expert.
- Aussie tragedy sparks calls for shark fence
North Stradbroke Island tourism operators have called for a shark-proof swimming enclosure to be built off Amity Point where a young woman was fatally mauled by up to three bull sharks at the weekend.
- Australia: Calls for shark patrols as experts predict more attacks
Shark patrols must be urgently re-introduced, experts warned yesterday, as hotter than average summers and a plentiful supply of food leads to a surge in sightings of the man-eaters along the coast.
- Blogging tool for divers: Sharing your Diving Life
We can't be underwater all the time, we know that. It is a simple fact. Us, the diving species, sometimes we need to do "irrelevant" actions like eating, sleeping, filling the tanks and blogging.
- New 'Dive Bar' with ginger wards of seasickness
You always knew that your customers craved sport bars as a convenient snack while diving. Now there is a delicious and nutritious sport bar called Dive Bar, made exclusively for underwater enthusiasts.
- Marine Passions DVD released
Encounter worlds beyond imagination and submerge your senses in this visual extravaganza. Marine Passions breaks new ground in underwater imagery.
- Wales: Diver back on his feet after near-fatal dive at infamous quarry
A MAN who almost lost his life in a notorious North Wales quarry last night told how he is learning to walk again.
- Scottish adventurer in freediving record attempt
Darcos Grey, 33, of Perthshire is perhaps most renowned for killing a 5-meter Great White that had attacked him in the waters off Cape Town, South Africa.
- Diver rescued 45 miles off Florida coast - 'Purple but still breathing'
A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah, Ga., medevaced a recreational diver approximately 45 miles off the coast of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., after he surfaced unconscious.
- South Africa: Navy divers apprehend abalone poachers
Navy divers hauled 120 suspected perlemoen (abalone) poachers from the sea between Cape Recife and Sardinia Bay near Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
- Layang-Layang: Unexplored diving destination
The Layang-Layang atoll is tucked away in the South China Sea, roughly 340 kilometers northwest off Sabah in Borneo.
- New Zealand Underwater Association to introduce new scuba diving guidelines
New scuba diving safety guidelines are to be introduced in New Zealand to try to reduce the number of deaths.
- RegalDive offer new resort in Egypt's deep south
BSAC Preferred Travel Partner, Regaldive, are now offering holidays to a new resort in Egypt's deep south region - Hamata.
- New Zealand: Diver turns down lift by rescue helicopter
A stranded New Zealand diver turned down a lift by rescue helicopter - because he was afraid of heights.
- New Guinea sponges and more may help save lives
The Fogarty International Center (FIC), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced two new awards to support the search for new pharmaceutical compounds and agricultural agents from organisms found in coral reefs, forests, and extreme environments, the cataloging of these diverse organisms, and the training of scientists in the United States and developing countries...
- Australia: Conservation council questions shark nets
One of New South Wales' peak environment groups says shark nets along the coast harm other species and provide little protection for swimmers.
- India's Coral Reef Film highlights fragile ecosystem
A film of the amazing and beautiful coral islands in India filmed by a group of environmentalists will be shown at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC). The film focuses on the key role of the ecosystem and the importance of its protection.
- Tabu waters: Protecting Fiji's Great Sea Reef
Dakuwaqa, the Polynesian shark god, would have heard the ruckus coming from the small village of Naduri in a verdant corner of the Fijian archipelago on the morning of a new beginning.
- PADI seeks applicants for Marketing Manager position
Leading diver training organization has started a search for a Marketing Manager. Qualified candidates encouraged to apply.
- Deep Gear unveils 2006 Catalog
Deep Gear Sportswear continues to be "The Hottest Thing Going" - New catalog available to dive retailers wanting to add hot new products for the coming season.
- DAN Responds to Press Release
The DAN Diver Accident Insurance Program has provided coverage for hundreds of thousands of divers and their families, and DAN America's insurers have paid out more than $20 million dollars in claims to members and treatment facilities around the globe.
- Bull sharks blamed for swimmer's death
A bull shark - and perhaps a group of the animals - is thought to have been responsible for the fatal attack on a young swimmer off Queensland, Australia on 7 January.
- New Dive Show: Go Diving! 2006
Diving's newest show returns this year with a whole host of new features, including a major underwater imaging festival. Go Diving! 2006 will run alongside the Ordnance Survey Outdoors show at the Birmingham NEC between 17 and 19 March, with special offers available for DIVE readers.
- New shark species found in Gulf
Ichthyologists have described a new species of shark from the Gulf of California.
- Deep-sea disaster causes shark influx in Bangladeshi coastline - More Whale Sharks caught
Aquatic life experts fear an unidentified deep-sea disaster for massive influx of sharks in the Bangladeshi coastlines as deaths of whale sharks and dolphin in the hand of local fishermen, local daily The New Nation reported Friday.
- Genetic test reveals illegal international trade in great white shark fins
Law enforcement agents are using a genetic test - similar to those used by investigators in popular television programs - to identify fins and other products from the highly protected Great White Shark, according to an article published in the journal Conservation Genetics.
- Recompression Chamber Network to stop accepting DAN Insurance
In a Press Release made yesterday, the recompression chamber network branded SSS (Sub-aquatic Safety Services), in service in a dozen popular dive destinations worldwide, announced that certain facilities in some destinations will no longer accept the Divers Alert Network (DAN) AMERICA insurance as a payment method for hyperbaric chamber and medical services.
- Coral planting project to save Singapore's reefs
Budding undersea colonies are being planted around Singapore in an effort to reforest some of the world's most silt-filled waters.
- 'Turtle Lady' Norine Rouse, female diving pioneer, dies at 80
Norine Rouse, one of the USA's first female diving instructors and a champion of sea turtle and reef protection off Palm Beach County's shores, died Tuesday. She was 80.
- South African crayfish diver bitten by 'unidentified 1.5m shark'
A 49-year-old Strand man was bitten on Sunday by an "unidentified 1.5m shark", while diving for crayfish about 250m offshore of Soetwater, near Kommetjie, on Sunday, said the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
- New website explores Oceans of the World
The World Ocean Observatory, dedicated to public education about the world's oceans, announced the establishment of its Web site - http://www.thew2o.net - an online place of exchange for ocean information and educational services...
- Great white shark spotted off Hawaii by cage divers
When Jimmy Hall realized he was within mere feet of a great white shark, he did not swim away. Instead, he left the safety of a shark cage off Hale'iwa and swam with the beast. He even reached out and touched it.
- South Africa: Divers rescued off Robberg after being swept out
Two divers were rescued after being swept out to sea off the Robberg Nature Reserve at Plettenberg Bay yesterday.
- South African man spears himself
In a freak incident a 33yr old man speared himself with his own speargun.
- Body of leading rebreather diver recovered
The bodies of leading BSAC diver Penny Glover and her buddy, Jacques Filippi, have been found off the French island of Porquerolles. The pair had gone missing during a rebreather trimix dive on 21 November.
- New diving computer watch from Scubapro
Suunto tends to lead the Scuba diving watch market, however it seems that its reign may be over with the new diving watch from Scubapro/Uwatec - the Aladin Prime and Tec.
- British divers claim wreck dive record
British technical divers Leigh Cunningham and Mark Andrews claim to have carried out the world's deepest wreck dive, after descending 205m to the wreck of the Jolande, off Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
- Thailand: Paradise regained as Koh Phi Phi bounces back
Even as the mourners were placing flowers on the beach in memory of loved ones lost in the tsunami, Koh Phi Phi was welcoming fresh boatloads of its lifeblood - tourists and beer.
- Asian adventurer breaks Guinness World Record for scuba dive
Singapore adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow broke the Guinness World Record for the longest scuba dive by staying underwater for 220 hours, Channel NewsAsia reported Sunday night.
- Marine reserves 'good' for coral reefs
Marine reserves give a boost to coral reefs as well as fish stocks, new research shows.
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