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SCUBA News...
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For news, articles and updates on scuba diving, travel and the marine environment.
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Galapagos still at risk
The World Heritage Committee decided to remove the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger, despite IUCN's recommendation to the contrary. "Threats from tourism, invasive species and overfishing are still factors and the situation in the Galapagos remains critical".
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Trawlers damaging precious sponge beds
Deep-sea trawling is damaging the UK's sponge beds and threatening a potential source of medical cures, scientists have warned.
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New technique to collect DNA from dolphin breath
A new technique to harmlessly extract DNA from dolphin breath could assist conservation efforts aimed at marine mammals.
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Sea level rise looks inevitable, even with intervention
New findings by international research group suggest that sea level will likely be 30-70 centimetres higher by 2100 than at the start of the century even if all but the most aggressive geo-engineering schemes are undertaken to mitigate the effects of global warming.
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NOAA Stands by "the oil is mostly gone" conclusion
Scientists aboard a U.S. research ship have started an around-the-clock search for elusive signs of oil lurking beneath the Gulf of Mexico's surface in what they jokingly "Operation Dipstick".
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Great Barrier Reef's great-grandmother is unearthed
JUST 600 metres away from the Great Barrier Reef, the jewel in Australia's crown, a less spectacular but more ancient reef has been discovered.
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Gulf spill: Is the oil lurking underwater?
What has happened to the 4.9 million barrels of oil from the busted Macondo well? Some say it's all dispersed - others say it'll be around for months.
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Geoengineering won't undo sea level rises
None of the proposed technologies will stop sea levels rising this century and swamping low-lying lands, a modelling study finds.
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Australia and Japan have most Diverse Marine Life
The Census for Marine Life has found that the most bio-diverse waters so far studied are around Australia and Japan. These each feature almost 33000 species. However, this could change as some highly diverse areas such as Indonesia and Madagascar have yet to report.
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Horned turtles butchered to extinction
The giant horned turtles of the Pacific became extinct later than we thought - and we were to blame. The half-tonne meiolaniid turtles were thought to have died out 30 to 40,000 years ago. With no signs of human interference, climate change was blamed. Now butchered turtle remains have been found in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
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Update: Diving Spain - Tenerife, Medes Islands...
SCUBA Travel have updated their guide to diving Spain, including Tenerife and the excellent diving around the Medes Islands - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/europe/spain.html
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High Levels of Carbon Dioxide Threaten Oyster Survival
It has been widely reported that the build up of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, which is caused by human behavior, will likely lead to climate change and have major implications for life on earth. But less focus has been given to global warming's evil twin, ocean acidification, which occurs when CO2 lowers the pH of water bodies, thus making them more acidic. This lesser known phenomenon may have catastrophic effects on all sea life.
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SCUBA News 123 Now Online
The latest issue of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) is now freely available on-line. In this issue: diving India, Philippines underwater photo gallery, diving Thailand, win a dive computer, creature of the month and the marine environmental news from around the world.
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Deep oil in Gulf appears to have vanished
Just weeks after BP capped its broken Deepwater Horizon well, the plumes of oil and dispersant in the Gulf's deep waters have gone.
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Rescue Plan for Endangered Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico
Wildlife experts have announced an ambitious plan to rescue hundreds of turtle nests and eggs from the potential impacts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy has never been used before on such a massive scale.
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Oil spill dispersant could damage coral populations
Coral populations in the Gulf of Mexico could fall because of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster - from contact not with oil but with the dispersant that's supposed to get rid of it.
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Marine Recorders Being Used to Assess Ecological Impact of Gulf Oil Spill on Whales
Like giant canaries in a coal mine, whales reflect the health of their environment. Now scientists are placing marine recording units in the Gulf to listen to whales and document the state of that oil-threatened ecosystem.
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Give Sharks a Fighting Chance
It's been one month since Project AWARE launched the "Give Sharks a Fighting Chance" petition to demand international protection for critical shark species on the brink. In just a few short weeks more than 30,000 divers have voiced their concern. If you've not yet taken signed the petition to protect threatened sharks species like hammerheads, oceanic whitetip and spiny dogfish, you can do so at http://www.projectaware.org/givesharksachance
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How does a bowhead whale smell? Quite well, actually .
Bowhead whale brains have a fully developed olfactory system, questioning assumptions that the largest animals on Earth have a lousy sense of smell
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Fish certification scheme shows its true colours
Several landmark studies have, over the past 20 years, highlighted the problem of mislabelled fish. One-third of fish on sale in the US is not the species it is sold as, and one-quarter of cod and haddock sold in Ireland is neither of these. Now an exercise in eco-forensics has found that the certification scheme run by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a global not-for-profit organisation, offers a way of ensuring you get what you think you're buying.
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Teenage drivers: why whales smash into boats
Not just humans
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Update: Diving Thailand
More on the dive sites and operators of Thailand is now on the SCUBA Travel site at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/.
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Fishing skews sex ratios in fish
Population crashes in many species of reef fish may be linked to an excess of males brought about by fishing - and imposing quotas won't remedy the situation. In many species, particularly those where individuals can change their sex, each fish produces fewer young as the population density drops. The research suggests that marine protected areas are a better strategy for conserving populations than fishing quotas. Protected areas maintain the density of populations whereas quotas may still allow populations to decline, increasing the rate of sex change.
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New 'walking' fishes discovered in Gulf oil-spill zone
Two new fish species - with pancake-flat bodies, wiggling lures on their faces, and elbowed fins for "walking" on the seafloor - have been discovered in the path of spewing Gulf of Mexico oil.
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Latest issue of SCUBA News now On-line
Includes competition to win a dive light, disabled diving in the Red Sea, Harlequin Ghost Pipefish, diving South Africa, underwater Australia photo gallery plus diving and marine research news from around the world.
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Submarine robots learn teamwork
Studying the deep ocean floor is cumbersome, expensive and dangerous. The majority of exploration efforts have to employ an autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV), which works without control cables. But many AUVs are specialised, they cannot travel far alone and they can only provide a narrow range of data. Moreover, there are few AUVs and the unexplored kilometres of ocean are many. The work of one European project, however, has the potential to dramatically increase the range and functionality of the world's AUV fleet using networking technologies and software.
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Super goby helps salvage ocean dead zone
A resilient fish is thriving in an inhospitable, jellyfish-infested region off Africa's south-west coast. And crucially it is helping to keep the local ecosystem going, and to preserve an important fishery.
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Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland
Rising seas from global warming, coming after years of coral reef destruction, are forcing thousands of indigenous Panamanians to leave their ancestral homes on low-lying Caribbean islands.
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Antidepressants in sea may damage food chain
Second-hand Prozac in waste water could be sending shrimps' swimming patterns haywire, making them easy targets for predators. 'Crustaceans are crucial to the food chain and if shrimps' natural behaviour is being changed because of antidepressant levels in the sea this could seriously upset the natural balance of the ecosystem.
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Right whales yell over the ocean din
To cope with the blitzing level of noise in today's oceans, North Atlantic right whales are calling louder to each other. It is the first time a baleen whale has been observed compensating for the din in this way.
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Aqua Lung America Recalls Apeks Power Inflators
Aqua Lung America are recalling Apeks WTX Power Inflators as the oral inflator button is not properly bonded to the oral stem and can fall off during use. This poses a leak of the buoyancy compensator contents and could result in drowning.
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Win a dive light worth up to 1000 Pounds
Subscribe to Cathx Ocean's eZine and win your choice of dive light. Cathx Ocean dive lights are designed for working divers and they are offering you the chance to WIN a world class dive light by simply subscribing to their newsletter.
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Update: Philippines Diving Pictures
From pygmy seashorses to sharks, see some great underwater photos in the new Philippines photo gallery on the SCUBA Travel site.
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Scientists Call for More Ocean-Observing in the Antarctic
Oceanographers are calling for more Antarctic Ocean observations as Antarctica's climate is changing faster than anywhere else on the planet. This has a crucial affect on marine life.
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Update: Diving Corfu, Greece
A hidden gem of underwater caves and arches, offering a bit more mystery than, say, the Red Sea which is now so well dived. Here you sometimes feel it's a new adventure.
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Revealed: Japan's bribes on whaling
An investigation by a British newspaper has exposed Japan for bribing small nations with cash and prostitutes to gain their support for the mass slaughter of whales.
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Sea snail venom provides potent pain relief
Sea snail venom could become the gold standard for the relief of nerve-related pain following the development of a pill that is 100 times as potent as leading treatments.
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Update: Diving Sharm El-Sheikh, Red Sea
Two of the top ten dives in the world are in the Sharm El-Sheikh area, and we've updated our coverage of this Red Sea spot, including notes from a disabled diver on his experience learning to dive there.
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Several species of Killer Whale, scientist say
It has long been thought that there are at least three types of killer whales: residents who eat fish; transients who eat mammals; and offshores about who little is known. The new research gives the strongest evidence yet supporting the theory there are several species of killer whales throughout the world's oceans.
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Top Ten Dives in the World?
The new Top Ten Dives of the World list is up at the SCUBA Travel site. The Yongala (Australia) narrowly holds its position as the premium dive site, but there is just one vote separating it from Palau's Blue Corner Wall. Cast your vote at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdives.html
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Update: Australia Underwater Photos
More Australia underwater photos are now in the SCUBA Travel photo gallery: potato cod, bull ray, sea snake...http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photoaus.html
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Greenpeace confronts Mediterranean Tuna Fishermen
The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior has headed off to sea on a campaign to defend the Mediterranean and halt destructive bluefin tuna fishing operations.
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Killer Seaweed Damages Coral
Several common species of seaweeds in both the Pacific (Fiji) and Caribbean (Panama) can kill corals upon contact. Seaweeds are normally kept in check by herbivorous fish. But in many areas overfishing has reduced the populations of these plant-consumers, allowing seaweeds to overrun coral reefs.
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Update: Diving Sardinia
The second largest island in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is surrounded by marine caves and cliffs shearing into the sea. More on her dive sites and dive operators is at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sardop.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sarddive.html
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Hamlet fish sheds light on evolution
SCUBA divers recording distribution of reef fish have helped make an evolution discovery.
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Update: Diving Tunisia
More recommendations for the diving around Tunisa are at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/africa.html#Tunisia
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Red Sea Photography Gallery
New underwater photo gallery featuring Elphinstone, Daedelus and Marsa Alam in the Red Sea is at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photomarsa.html
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Update: Diving Mauritius
"Brilliant...Saw Jenkins rays, Eagle rays, huge trevally...Overall plenty of fish, big and small." Just one of the new comments on the diving around Mauritius in the Indian Ocean at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/africa.html#Mauritius
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Precious red corals remain unprotected
A proposal to regulate trade in precious red and pink corals, widely used in jewellery, was defeated again at a CITES meeting this week.
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Update: Diving Palau
Palau offers world-class diving with sea walls, sheer drop-offs, caves and an exuberance of marine life. Its Blue Corner Wall dive is currently second in the Top Ten Dives of the World list. SCUBA Travel has therefore added a new page to its dive guide, dedicated to the diving around Palau.
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