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SCUBA News 13~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 13 - June 2001 www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to the thirteenth issue of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). This month: - What's new at SCUBA Travel - SCUBA News Bookshelf: World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon - SCUBA News Bookshelf: Interview with Susan Speck - Diving news from around the world If you have any diving news, or comments on this newsletter, we'd love to hear from you. Just fill in our Contact the Editor form. __________________________________________________________ What's New at the SCUBA Travel Web Site ======================================== When is a nudibranch not a nudibranch? When it's a flatworm. Find out more at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/flatworm.html Our gallery has so many new photos we've had to expand into a second room. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photo.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photo2.html The Saudi Arabia section now lists contact details for tour operators http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/saudiop.html Finally, the Interviews and Reviews section continues to grow. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/interview.html __________________________________________________________ SCUBA News Bookshelf: World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon ====================================== The title of Dan E Bailey's book, "World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon", suggests at first glance that it covers only the sunken wrecks. This is far from the truth. In its 533 pages he also covers the history of the island, the Japanese occupation and the subsequent US air campaign against the Japanese. The book is split into two halves. The first describes the occupation and the air campaign. This is illustrated with detailed maps and photographs from the time. The second half is dedicated to describing the 57 wrecks: 52 ships and 5 aircraft. Each wreck has an introductory history of the ship. This is followed by detailed information about the wreck as it appears today on the sea floor. This section is illustrated with detailed historical maps, drawings of the wrecks and beautiful colour underwater photographs. As a boy I was inspired to go to Truk Lagoon by the 1969 Jacques Cousteau trip, and subsequent film documentary "The Lagoon of Lost Ships". In fact, this was one of the reasons I took up diving. I still haven't got there, but after reading Mr Bailey's excellent book I shall be be booking my trip very shortly. Thank you to Dan E Bailey for sharing what must be a lifetime's work. About the Author Dan E Bailey lives and works in Redding, California. He has also published "World War II Wrecks of Palau", and has been diving Truk (or Chuuk) Lagoon for over 30 years. For more about the author see our interview at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/danbailey.html + World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon is available from the publishers http://www.northvalleydiver.com/ And also from Amazon.com + If you would like to recommend a diving-related book please e-mail news@scubatravel.co.uk \\ADVERT__________________________________________________ For the inside information on Amazon, join the Amazon Associates Mailing List. Lively comment on Amazon, search engines and web site positioning. Visit http://www.listpartners.com/ ___________________________________________________ADVERT\\ SCUBA News Bookshelf: Interview with Susan Speck ================================================ Susan Speck's book, "Diving Baja California", covers both the Sea of Cortez and the rich Pacific waters that adjoin Baja. Eleven maps pinpoint 75 dive sites, many of which are little known. Also included are accommodation, dive operations, boat launching ramps and marine life. We asked Susan some questions about her book and passion for diving. What prompted you to write the book? I decided to write the book after I had been going down to Baja and diving the Sea of Cortez for 20 yrs. This body of water is so different from others around the world that it just seemed to capture me not only physically but emotionally and somewhat spiritually. The marine life is different and this great peninsula hugs the desert coastline, offering an incredible beauty like no other. What distinguishes your book from other dive guides? I think my book is different because it does describe the different dive sites along with other relevant information, such as: boat ramps for people traveling down by vehicle, lodging, places to eat and a little history about each town. Favourite dive? I don't think I have a favorite dive. Every dive is unique. Whether its a wall, a reef, a flat sandy bottom or just the open blue, you'll always find life. Where would you like to dive next? I'm always open to anything. But I think that I would like to start exploring even more of the Pacific side of Baja. What are you doing now? At this time, a couple of partners and myself have opened a dive operation in Loreto Baja (Dolphin Dive Center) at the Villas de Loreto resort. We plan to do some real exploratory trips out to the islands just offshore. Many of the areas are so new and undiscovered by divers. Remote areas have always been my favorite anyway. Eventually, I plan to write another book on many of the unseen places in Baja. (Back roads etc.) For the full text of this interview, or to buy "Diving Baja California" see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/susanspeck.html __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= May appears to be the season for reports urging environmental action to save marine life. Plus - divers disturb coelacanths? Protect the High Seas before its too late, Governments urged Urgent measures are needed to protect the deep seas from over-exploitation, according to a new report by WWF and IUCN, the World Conservation Union. The report says that the deep sea, and the creatures that live within it, are threatened by unregulated fishing and oil exploration, CO2 dumping, biotechnology and the exploitation of gas hydrates and hydrothermal vent heat. Within these seas exists marine life that is rich in diversity as well as scientific and geologically significant deep-sea coral reefs, seamounts, deep-sea trenches and fish stocks. Download report in pdf format Marine Turtles Threatened in Caribbean Greater co-operation between the countries of the Caribbean is needed to stem the demand for marine turtle products in this region. Overexploitation in the Northern Caribbean has brought some populations to the brink of extinction and severely threatening others. A recently completed report by TRAFFIC - the wildlife trade monitoring program of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and IUCN - revealed that demand for turtle meat, eggs and other products remains strong in many parts of the region, despite efforts to restrict hunting of turtles. Six species are found in the area: the hawksbill turtle, green turtle, loggerhead turtle, Kemp's ridley turtle, olive ridley turtle and leatherback turtle. Each of these species are classified by IUCN as either endangered or critically endangered. Download Turtle report in pdf format Dives for Coelacanth halted by authorities A South African expedition searching for the coelacanth, a "fossil fish" that has swum the seas for around 400 million years, has been halted by authorities in case they threaten the fish they seek. for conservation reasons. The move comes after the expedition caught one of the elusive fish on film and the footage was broadcast on the Internet. The coelacanth, which measures one to two metres (3-6 feet), was believed to have been extinct for about 60 million years until one was caught off South Africa's coast in 1938. KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, the authority responsible for the marine reserve where the coelacanths have been found, said it could not allow dives in the area until more information was obtained on the species' numbers. It is unclear how this information is to be gathered. The coelacanth inhabits canyons and caves at depths below 100 metres. Pieter Venter, who found South Africa's coelacanths during a dive in October last year and who filmed three of them with a team in November, said scuba divers were not very intrusive and were unlikely to disturb the fish, especially as the maximum time they can spend at 100 metres is 12 minutes. Reuters \\ADV_____________________________________________________ Download the free Windmill software to log data from GPS and sonar to your spreadsheet, database or mapping program. For diving, marine archaeology, salvage, coral reef conservation and deep-sea research. Visit http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html ________________________________________________________ADV\\ * Copyright SCUBA Travel - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/ * Reprinting welcomed with this footer included. We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and even use parts of it on your own website, providing the above copyright notice is included, and a link back to our website is in place. Previous editions of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) are archived at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING Visit http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html and add or remove your e-mail address. Subscribe To SCUBA NewsOur newsletter, SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011), is absolutely free. It is a monthly publication, delivered by e-mail. To receive your copy fill in your details below. We will never pass your e-mail address to any third parties, or send you unsolicited e-mail. You will receive an e-mail confirming your subscription. If you don't receive this you have probably entered your e-mail address incorrectly - revisit this page and resubscribe. Send us your Press Releases
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