NEWS

LIONFISH HAVE BEEN SPOTTED AT OAKLAND LEDGES AND AT TENNECO TOWERS

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:30:54 -0400

Lionfish have been seen at Oakland Ledges and at Tenneco Towers dive sites. This is a predatory fish which is not natural to Florida. You should take care if you see one as each spine is poisonous. They appear a very docile fish and allow divers to approach them. When hunting they dart much more quickly than you would expect.
The authorities are seeking to remove them from the area and recommend in water live capture then destruction in a controlled environment as there is a high risk of young being released when destroyed.

MANTA RAY HAVE BEEN SPOTTED OFF THE FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:54:53 -0400

When coming back from a dive trip Bill Cole of Sea Experience spotted Manta Rays swimming off the Lauderdale Beach. Within seconds two of the divers had put on snorkeling gear and were in the water swimming with them.

FLORIDA DIVER'S LEGS AMPUTATED AFTER BOAT PROPELLER ACCIDENT

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:33:37 -0500

I do not normally support tragic dive stories on my web site as I consider it important not to over sensationalize other peoples misfortune.

This was a tragic incident where a young man by the name of Rob Murphy was diving with friends and on surfacing was run over by a boat.
From the reports I’ve seen this resulted in his scuba tank being damaged and his legs were so badly injured it was necessary for both legs to be amputated below the knee.

I am not writing this to point blame on anyone, that is a job for the proper authorities. I am simply asking that we all think carefully about what has happened and make a point of listening before ascending at the end of a dive.

Best wishes to Rob Murphy.

SEA SNAKES DRINK ONLY FRESHWATER

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:22:18 -0500

Sea snakes may live in saltwater, but they sip the sweet stuff.

So concludes a university of Florida zoologist in a paper appearing in the online edition of the November/December issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology and can be purchased ($15.00) via this link.

Harvey Lillywhite says it has been the “long-standing dogma” that the roughly 60 species of venomous sea snakes worldwide satisfy their drinking needs by drinking seawater, with internal salt glands filtering and excreting the salt. Experiments with three species of captive sea kraits captured near Taiwan, however, found that the snakes refused to drink saltwater even if thirsty — and then would drink only freshwater or heavily diluted saltwater.

Experiments have demonstrated they actually dehydrate in sea water, and will only drink freshwater, or highly diluted brackish water with small concentrations of saltwater — 10 to 20 percent.

Lillywhite believes the sea snakes that spend their lives in the open ocean drink water from the “lens” of freshwater that sits atop saltwater during and after rainfall, before the two have had a chance to mix. That would explain why some seawater lagoons, where the waters are calmer due to protection from reefs, are home to dense populations of sea snakes — the freshwater lens persists for longer periods before mixing into saltwater.

Rather than helping sea snakes gain water, the snakes’ salt gland may help the snakes with ion balance — moving excess salts from the bloodstream, Lillywhite said.

Some sea snake species living in dry regions may already be suffering as a result of climate change. Lillywhite said a colleague in Australia, which is in the midst of a historic drought, has observed declines and possible extinctions in some species at Ashmore Reef, home to the most diverse and abundant population of sea snakes in the world.

“We are trying to look at rainfall in that region and see if there is a correlation,” Lillywhite said.

He added that his findings also raise questions about the accepted wisdom that other marine reptiles, including sea turtles, satisfy their freshwater needs by drinking saltwater.

SEAL CAMERAMEN LEAVE DIVERS STANDING

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:44:51 -0400

Seals have been kitted out with underwater cameras and lighting by researchers from the University of Texas. The animals shot unique footage under the Antarctic ice.
The researchers were becoming frustrated at their lack of information about the endangered toothfish. Attaching cameras to the seals allowed them to record ground-breaking data about the habitat and movements of the toothfish.
So does this mean that divers will become redundant as underwater cameramen? The seals may be able to go where no human diver could, but their talents as film-makers are rather dubious, as the shaky footage on the website shows.
The seals also have an un-nerving habitat of snacking on the fish being filmed.  Sunday 20 January, 2002

SHARK-FINNING FOUND IN FLORIDA KEYS MARINE SANCTUARY

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:01:07 -0400

KEY LARGO, Florida (6 Apr 2002) -- Local dive boat operators have alerted authorities after discovering evidence of shark-finning within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
As many as a dozen lemon and reef sharks may have died near the freighter"Benwood", a popular historic wreck diving site.
Fishing and all harvesting activities are banned within designated Sanctuary Preservation Areas to protect marine species that are threatened by overfishing and environmental degradation.
National Marine Fisheries Service law-enforcement agencies have been notified of the shark-finning incident.
"Everybody is on the alert now that this is happening," said Dave Score, Upper Keys regional manager of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We'll be watching for it."
Fishers now kill over 100 million sharks annually to satisfy the growing demand for shark fin soup, a popular dish throughout Asia. Shark-finning is a barbaric fishing practice in which fishers slice off a shark's fins and then release it to slowly die.
"Shark-finning is a wasteful and cruel thing that man does to make money.... It is senseless slaughter." said Upper Keys marine conservationist and dive advisor to the Keys sanctuary,Wayne Blevins. "The shark slowly and agonizingly suffocates there on the bottom of the ocean."
Wayne Blevins, Upper Keys marine conservationist and dive advisor to the Keys sanctuary, compared a finned shark to an abandoned human without arms and legs. “The shark slowly and agonizingly suffocates there on the bottom of the ocean," he said.
Because sharks reproduce so slowly, marine biologists and environmentalists fear they could be wiped out by overfishing.
by EVAN T. ALLARD

See Florida Animal Laws Questionable Loophole In Shark Finning Act here:
http://www.floridaanimallaw.com/2008/03/9th-circuit-creates-questionable.html

STOP SHARK-FINNING

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:26:07 -0400

New petition launched by New Yorkers Against Shark Finning (April 22nd 2008)
A new web site/ has been set up by New Yorkers Against Shark Finning whose mission is to stop the serving of shark fin soup in NY restaurants and throughout the USA.
They have set up a petition thepetitionsite.com/petition/146112738.
This is the list of restaurants in New York that currently serve shark fin soup. Please encourage these restaurants to stop serving shark fin soup by not eating there and contacting their owners.

FLORIDA MANATEE

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 04:08:46 -0400

The West Indian Manatee found in Florida and Southeastern US may lose its endangered species status. A review is being held to determine if the manatees should be listed by the Federal Govt. as "threatened". For more information, please visit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North Florida Field Office site at:
http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Manatee/manatees.htm

For additional information on the Florida Manatee go to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute site at http://www.floridamarine.org

WRECK COMMEMORATES LOST DIVER

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:09:49 -0400

Family and friends of an American man who disappeared while diving last year have bought a boat to sink as an artificial reef off North Carolina.

Greg MicKey, 49, became separated from friends near Frying Pan Shoals last June and his body was never found. Friends and family decided to commemorate MicKey by buying an 183ft former fishing vessel, Coastal Mariner. The $46,000 they managed to raise was combined with $29,000 from the Long Bay Artificial Reef Association.

The ship will be re-named Capt Greg MicKey in a ceremony on 16 June and sunk on 18 June - Father's day. It will be towed through the Intracoastal Waterway to its final resting place a quarter-mile from Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower, where it will be sunk in 22m.

Fittingly, the first person to dive the site will be Andy Illobre - who was diving with MicKey the day he went missing - along with MicKey's two sons and wife Julia.

DOLPHIN GUIDES WHALES TO SAFETY

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:50:39 -0400

Rescuers tending two stranded whales watched in amazement as a dolphin turned up, clearly communicated with the whales, and persuaded them to swim to safety.

The incident occurred off New Zealand's Mahia Beach, 500km north-east of Wellington. Before the dolphin arrived, rescuers had tried for over an hour to persuade the whales, a pygmy sperm whale and her calf, to swim away. They had been unable to navigate out to sea and had stranded four times on a sandbar.

The dolphin, a bottlenose, announced its arrival by surfacing between the rescuers and the whales, which were stranded in slightly deeper water than the wading people. The whales had arched their backs and were making anxious calls to each other, but once the dolphin arrived some sort of communication occurred between the three animals.

The dolphin was able to persuade the whales to relax and, clearly encouraged, they were then able to wriggle free and follow the dolphin off into a safe, deepwater channel.

"I don't speak whale and I don't speak dolphin," Malcolm Smith, the rescue team's conservation officer, told the BBC, "but there was obviously something that went on because the two whales changed their attitude from being distressed to following the dolphin quite willingly and directly along the beach and straight out to sea.

"The dolphin did what we failed to do. It was all over in a matter of minutes."

Later the dolphin, a regular in the area known to be a female and called Moko by local residents, returned to the beach to interact with swimmers. Smith admitted to breaking the usual rule among marine scientists of not directly handling a wild creature unless necessary as part of a rescue.

"I actually went into the water with the dolphin and gave it a pat afterwards, because she really did save the day," he said.