SCUBA Diving News

IUCN to unveil mysteries of the deep

2009-11-16T16:40:00.000Z

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) hopes that its new project will reveal the mysteries of southern Indian Ocean seamounts and help improve conservation and management of resources. Two research expeditions will survey seamounts. These underwater mountains are magnets for marine life. The aim is to determine priority areas for the establishment of future marine Protected

Swarms of ocean robots to monitor oil spills

2009-11-11T12:09:00.001Z

Swarms of miniature robotic ocean explorers that could one day help predict where ocean currents will carry oil spills, and which marine areas should be protected. These autonomous underwater drifters will trace the fine details that can determine underwater ocean currents of a few kilometers. These are important for understanding marine protected areas, algal blooms, oil spills and the path

NSF Launches Ocean Observatories Initiative

2009-11-06T12:52:00.000Z

The National Science Foundation has announced agreement for vast undersea observing network. Called the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) it will provide a network of undersea sensors for observing complex ocean processes such as climate variability, ocean circulation and ocean acidification at several coastal, open-ocean and seafloor locations. Continuous data flow from hundreds of OOI

Tags reveal Great White Sharks' Beat

2009-11-05T13:46:00.001Z

A tracking study of white sharks in the northeastern Pacific Ocean shows they follow a rigid migration route across the sea, returning to precisely the same spot on California coast each time they come back. Over tens of thousands of years, this behavior has made the population in the northeastern Pacific genetically distinct from other white shark populations. "White sharks are a large, highly

SCUBA Travel release last quarter's bestselling books list

2009-11-04T14:19:00.000Z

The SCUBA Travel best selling diving books in the third quarter of 2009. Yet again the Dive Atlas of the World keeps its top spot. Previous quarter's position is shown in brackets. Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites by Jack Jackson 300 pages detailing some of the world's best dive sites. (1) Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die by Chris Santella The fifth in

Western Australia to Protect Whales with Marine Park

2009-10-12T17:21:00.000+01:00

The state government of Western Australia is creating a marine park to protect and manage a key nursery of the world's largest humpback whale population. The marine park is to be at Camden Sound, about 400km north of Broome, protecting its pristine marine environment for generations to come. Allowing for consultation, including a public comment period of three months, a marine park could be

Albatrosses feed with Killer Whales

2009-10-09T16:34:00.000+01:00

Scientists have recorded the first observations of how albatrosses feed alongside marine mammals at sea. A miniature digital camera was attached to the backs of four black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys). Results are published online this week in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. Albatrosses fly many hundreds of kilometers across the open ocean to find and feed upon their prey.

Creature of the Month: Plumose Anemone

2009-10-09T16:33:00.000+01:00

Plumose anemones (Metridium senile) occur in large numbers in good diving areas in temperate waters. They comprise a tall, smooth column topped with a crown of feathery tentacles. When they contact they look like swirly blobs, as can be seen in our photograph. Individuals may be white, orange, green or blue in colour. They grow up to 30 cm tall and 15 cm across at the base. They like areas with

Killer Whales Die without Chinook Salmon

2009-09-23T10:11:00.002+01:00

When you mention killer whales, the image of one ambushing a terrified seal often springs to mind. But there are populations of killer whales who live exclusively on fish. And not on just any fish: they are very specialised in which fish they will eat. According to research published in Biology Letters, two populations studied in the northeastern Pacific Ocean prefer to eat Chinook salmon (

Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2009 Low

2009-09-21T13:33:00.002+01:00

The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center. While this year's September minimum extent was greater than each of the past two record-setting and near-record-setting low years, it is still

New wreck dive off Comino, Malta

2009-09-16T10:27:00.005+01:00

There is a new dive waiting off the coast of Comino: former Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Patrol Boat P31. The wreck is 52 m long and lies at 18 m.The Malta Tourism Authority co-ordinated the scuttling of the former Patrol Boat to add to the number of underwater attractions for scuba divers visiting Ċirkewwa and Comino.The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Dr Mario de Marco said that

Rare Algae Saves Caribbean Coral

2009-09-11T13:57:00.003+01:00

A rare opportunity has allowed a team of scientists to evaluate corals--and the essential, photosynthetic algae that live inside their cells--before, during, and after a period in 2005 when global warming caused sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean to rise.The team, led by Penn State biologist Todd LaJeunesse, found that a rare species of algae that is tolerant of stressful environmental

Warming Ocean Contributes to Global Warming

2009-08-15T13:01:00.002+01:00

The warming of an Arctic current over the last 30 years has triggered the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed. Although this had been predicted as a possible consequence of climate change, it is very worrying that the process has already started.Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton working in

Healthiest US Coral Reef is in Gulf of Mexico

2009-08-14T09:23:00.006+01:00

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is among the healthiest coral reef ecosystems in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, according to a new NOAA report.Sanctuary managers will use the report to track and monitor changes in the marine ecosystem located 70 to 115 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. “We found that 50 percent of the area surveyed for this report is covered by live

Earthquake off Andaman Islands

2009-08-10T22:03:00.007+01:00

An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has struck the Andaman Islands off the coast of India. It has triggered a tsunami watch for India, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.According to the The U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake happened 160 miles (260 km) north of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, India and 510 (825 km) miles west of Bangkok, Thailand. It was 20

Fish surveys could be inaccurate

2009-07-21T16:02:00.005+01:00

Fish surveys are often conducted by SCUBA divers or snorkellers. A study in the journal Environmental monitoring and assessment has found that these surveys may be inherently inaccurate as snorkellers frighten away the fish they are supposed to be counting.Researchers from at the University of Victoria, Canada, used an underwater video camera to assess how fish abundance, family richness and

Creature of the Month: Dragonet, Callionymus lyra

2009-07-15T10:32:00.003+01:00

One hundred and eighty-six species of the "Little Dragon" fish live from Iceland in the North to the Indo-Pacific oceans in the South. You will find the species we are concentrating on today, Callionymus lyra, from Norway to Senegal: in the Eastern Atlantic and the North, Irish, Mediterranean, Black, Baltic, Aegean and other Seas. The adult male C. lyra is colourfully patterned in orange and

Belize barrier reef in Danger

2009-07-02T12:22:00.002+01:00

UNESCO has added the Belize Barrier Reef to its list of world heritage sites in danger. The reef was added as a world heritage site in 1996 as the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, with offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries. The main problem with Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System concerns mangrove cutting and excessive

Third of Pelagic Sharks Threatened with Extinction

2009-06-25T10:14:00.007+01:00

The first study to determine the global conservation status of 64 species of open ocean (pelagic) sharks and rays reveals that 32 percent are threatened with extinction, primarily due to overfishing, according to the IUCN Shark Specialist Group.“Despite mounting threats, sharks remain virtually unprotected on the high seas,” says Sonja Fordham, Deputy Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and

Poseidon Recall Diving Wings

2009-06-24T16:18:00.003+01:00

Poseidon are recalling their Besea W50 Diving Wings (also known as a BCD or stab jacket). The inner bladder inside the diving wing can break, causing the wing to fail as a buoyancy device. This poses a drowning hazard to divers.The recall involves the Poseidon inner bladders with batch number 5445 sold with the Poseidon Besea W50 wings. The inner bladder is located inside the outer cover of the

Scientists predict Large Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

2009-06-24T15:37:00.002+01:00

University of Michigan scientists say this year's Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" could be one of the largest on record, continuing a decades-long trend.Most likely, this summer's Gulf dead zone will blanket about 7,980 square miles, roughly the same size as last year's zone, ecologist Donald Scavia said. That would put the years 2009, 2008 and 2001 in a virtual tie for second place on the list of the

Snorkeller killed by shark at St Johns, Egypt

2009-06-03T16:19:00.002+01:00

A female French tourist was attacked and killed by a shark while snorkelling at the Saint John's reefs in the Red Sea. The first fatal shark attack in Egypt for five years.The woman's leg showed visible bite marks, and medics said she probably bled to death before being lifted to the surface.The shark was an oceanic white tip. Although inexperienced divers sometimes confuse it with the white tip

Protecting the oceans makes economic sense

2009-05-24T08:06:00.004+01:00

Protecting the oceans through marine protected areas can provide higher and more sustained income through tourism and controlled fisheries than continued exploitation. This is the result of IUCN’s new compilation of case studies about the economic benefits of marine protected areas, launched on World Biodiversity Day at the 2nd International Marine Protected Area Congress. “Marine protected

Endangered right whales found where they were thought extinct

2009-05-21T10:30:00.004+01:00

Using a system of underwater hydrophones that can record sounds from hundreds of miles away, a team of scientists has documented the presence of endangered North Atlantic right whales in an area they were thought to be extinct.The discovery is particularly important, researchers say, because it is in an area that may be opened to shipping if the melting of polar ice continues, as expected.Results

Manage corals and minimise climate change

2009-05-21T09:51:00.005+01:00

A better assessment of the threats to coral reefs along with improved management will give corals a much higher chance of survival in the face of warming oceans, says IUCN's latest report.“We already know that climate change is destroying coral reefs through warming waters that cause coral bleaching and through acidifying oceans that hinders coral skeleton growth. We also know that if we want to