SCUBA News 33
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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 33 - January 2003
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
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Welcome to the first SCUBA News of 2003: I hope the New
Year has started well for you.
Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Your Letters (Koh Tao, Viet Nam, France)
- CITES, Whale Sharks and Western Australia
- Diving News from Around the World
If you have any diving news, comments on this
newsletter or dive reports we'd love to hear
from you. Just fill in our Contact the Editor form.
Should you wish to cancel your free subscription to
SCUBA News please do so at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html
__________________________________________________________
What's New at SCUBA Travel?
===========================
Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines
More comments on the Blue Corner Wall (Palau, Micronesia),
Kavieng (Papua New Guinea) and the Philippines. See
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/philippines/
Diving Qualifications Compared
We've a rough guide to equivalent qualifications from
different diving operators.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/training/qualifications.html
Top 10 Dives
Puerto Galera is a new entry on our top 10 dives list.
Add your votes and view the list here.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdives.html
SCUBA Diving Bestsellers of 2002
Keeping with the list theme, see the most popular
diving items of 2002 at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/bestsellers.html
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Your Letters
============
Dear Ed,
We've just returned from the most amazing diving holiday in
Thailand. We all have fast-pace lives and wanted something
as quiet and relaxing as possible. Boy, did we find it!
It takes a while to travel to remote Koh Tao island, but
it's worth every km. We found a real gem in New Heaven
resort and dive-shop, run by Devrim. This is NOT the place
for those looking for partying. They have two resorts,
both very quiet, the one we stayed in can only be reached
by longtail boat. As a result it has the feel of a genuinely
private beach, and I was often the only person on it,
especially every morning at sunrise. No frills here -
just beach and mountain huts - but the food is great and
Phi Kay who runs the resort is wonderful - looking after
us as if we were family. The amazing rates meant we could
stay for two weeks.
As far as the diving itself goes, the dives were always
organised around our preferences and diving levels. We
were often the only people on the boat. Our dive-masters and
instructors were very professional and the emphasis was always
on fun and safety. Devrim, who owns the diveshop, is one of
those calm, gentle souls who spreads a feeling of life being
good wherever he is.
So if any of your readers are looking for real peace, and
indescribably lovely diving, this is the place to advise
them to go.
Kindest regards,
Robynn
--
Hi
Could you perhaps post a request for information from
the subscribers about diving in Viet Nam? The only
thing I can find is Rainbow Divers, who operate out
of three locations: Nah Trang near Da Nang,
Whale Island nearby, and Phu Cuoc Island, which
is in the Gulf of Thailand right at the
Viet Nam/Cambodia border.
If there is any information on the type of diving,
how it compares to other good dive spots in types
of underwater life, coral condition, etc., I'd very
much appreciate it.
Regards,
Alan
PS - Personally, I use Palau, Puerto Galera, P.I.,
and the Red Sea as my comparison sites - anything
that comes near to them is going to be teriffic.
--
Have you dived in Viet Nam? Contact the Editor
and I'll pass your comments on to Alan.
:ADV_____________________________________________________
Save money on a vast selection of posters and prints:
whales, sharks, dolphins, fish, seascapes...
Browse the offers at
www.allposters.com
______________________________________________________ADV:
The following request for information was sent to the
website, but as you might find the answer useful I've
included it in the newsletter.
Dear SCUBA Travel
I have been an avide diver for 12 years - PADI advanced
certified and have more than 500 dives but I stopped
using a log book in 1993 or 1994. It was too bothersome.
Will this pose a problem in Southern France? I hope not
since I'm probably more capable than most who visit
France and dive; especially since I do principally all
of my diving in the NW US and Canada where conditions
are many times less than perfect.
Please advise.
Matt
--
Matt
If you have your certification and a current (less than
one year old) diving medical/certification from a doctor
that is all you will need. If you want to dive on the
deeper wrecks (40 m 130 ft+) then they will want to see some
experience of those depths logged, and some recent dives.
In France they also operate depth limits in relation to
your qualification level, which are quite restrictive for
CMAS 2 star divers (20 m), however you can dive deeper if
accompanied by an instructor.
For more on diving in France see our French section
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/france/
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CITES, Whale Sharks and Western Australia
=========================================
This article was contributed by Beccy Ingerson of Coral
Coast Dive Centre (www.ningalooreef.com), Western Australia.
She can be contacted at ccd@telstra.com
--
Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, are
famous for whale sharks. The whale shark is actually
widely distributed throughout tropical regions of the
world, but Western Australia has become a popular
destination to interact with these giants of the ocean.
People travel from all over the world for the opportunity
to snorkel with the largest known fish, some of which
reach up to about 12 metres in length. If anything, these
animals are sharks' greatest ambassadors, negating the
idea that all sharks have sharp, pointy teeth and are
only interested in killing and eating humans. Few
experiences can be more awesome than swimming with such
a huge animal which feeds entirely on plankton.
Unfortunately whale sharks have more reason to fear humans
than humans have to fear them. There is still a considerable
trade in whale shark meat and the population has declined
in recent years as a result of an increase in their commercial
value. Taiwan and Thailand are two large markets for the
meat and fins. Many countries of the Far East still
place a high value on shark fin soup, a delicacy which can
cost as much as $200 a bowl in Hong Kong. As a result, many
sharks suffer from the barbaric practice of "finning". As
the name suggests, the shark is caught, the dorsal fin removed
and the shark then thrown back in the ocean to suffer a slow
and painful death, usually by drowning.
A recent meeting of CITES, the UN Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species, voted to tighten the trade in both
whale sharks, and another large shark species known in temperate
waters, the basking shark, until scientists can find out whether
they are endangered. The critical decision was reached in the
final hours of the meeting and only after going to vote for a
second time to reach the required two thirds majority.
The whale shark and basking shark have now been placed on
CITES Appendix II. This listing will enable the international
trade of these species to be monitored so that the effects of
this trade can be more effectively gauged. It does not mean
that either species is completely protected. The measure
requires countries to take the necessary steps to prove that
the trade in the sharks is not having a negative effect on
their numbers. In spite of the size of the animals, little
is known about the size of the populations of either species.
The proposal was rejected outright by pro-whaling countries
Norway, Iceland, Singapore and Japan who feared that these
restrictions would impact on commercially important fish
species such as tuna. Other countries including the
Philippines, India and the UK argued that there are
tremendous benefits to keeping the sharks alive, and
illustrated the cost benefits of eco-tourism as
opposed to unsustainable harvests of shark fins.
The Philippines noted that whale shark populations had
declined around the world in the period 1994-97: 70%
in the Philippines itself, 48% in India and a
staggering 99% in South Africa.
Whale shark sightings are extremely common on the
Ningaloo Reef in the months of mid April-June. A
spotter plane communicates with boats as it spots the
large shadow of a whale shark near the surface.
Interactions are regulated by CALM (Conservation and
Land Management), which limits the number of snorkellers
in the water with a shark to a maximum of 10, forbids the
use of flash photography and lists guidelines including
how long a single interaction with a whale shark may last.
--
The full version of this article, with more information
specific to Ningaloo Reef, will be placed on the site in
when we launch our Australia section. Meanwhile,
for more on Ningaloo Reef see Alan's article at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/australia/ningaloo.html
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Diving News From Around the World
=================================
THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL DIVE SHOW
The weekend of the 1st and 2nd of March sees the LIDS at
ExCel - Docklands, London. In its 23rd year with over
250 exhibitors, the show features new equipment, holiday
destinations, presentations and seminars.
http://www.diveshows.co.uk/
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION PRESSES FOR US MARINE RESERVES
Vast zones off U.S. coasts must be declared off-limits to
fishing to help reverse the depletion of marine life in
the nation's waters, a commission found. Chairman Leon
Panetta cited a list of threats to marine life,
including the dead zone that forms in the Gulf of Mexico
where nothing can grow, the hundreds of non-native
species in the San Francisco Bay that are killing
native marine life, and runoff from agriculture and
cities that harms habitats.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/
CLUB DIVE BOATS POWERED BY STEAM?
Conventional outboard motors can be damaging to the
environment. They leak oil and have propellers that
can injure large sea creatures and divers. However,
a revolutionary new steam engine may soon be powering
RIBs, dinghies and speedboats more efficiently,
cleanly and safely.
http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2003/01/01172003/
POLLUTION-FREE CORALS RESIST GLOBAL WARMING
Increasingly coral reefs are exposed to both global
warming and pollution. How do corals cope with this
combination of hardships? A recent study found that
corals exposed to increased inorganic nitrates were
more stressed by periods of high temperatures than
those in pristine areas.
http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00227/contents/
:ADV_____________________________________________________
Log data from GPS, sonar and other instruments to your
database or mapping program with the free Windmill
software. For diving, marine archaeology, salvage, coral
reef monitoring, etc. Download your free copy at
http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html
____________________________________________________ADV:
ONLY CONSUMERS CAN SAVE COD
The Marine Conservation Society has launched the
second edition of its Good Fish Guide. The guide
contains the latest scientific information on the
state of fish stocks as well as information about
how fish are caught and the environmental and social
impacts of fishing. Copies are available from
mcsuk.org for £10 (inc. P&P) per copy. Proceeds from
sales will be used to support projects to promote
sustainable fisheries.
http://www.mcsuk.org/
NEW UK INLAND SCUBA DIVING SITE
Vobster Quay, Somerset, is now open to divers. The old
quarry has depths between 6 and over 35 m, and contains the
old crushing works, stone delivery tunnel and block house.
http://www.vobsterquay.co.uk/
DIVE SCOTLAND
For wide choice of gear, holidays and other diving
services and a whole range of free to enter seminars
visit Dive Scotland on 29-30 March at SECC, Glasgow.
http://www.diveshows.co.uk/
__________________________________________________________
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SCUBA News
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