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SCUBA News 37~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 37 - 2003 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to May's SCUBA News. We hope you enjoy it but should you wish to cancel your subscription please do so at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html Contents: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Creature of the Month: Lionfish - Bookshelf - 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. E-mail the Editor at news@scubatravel.co.uk __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? =========================== Australian Photo Gallery More photos of turtles, sharks and other sea creatures are now up in the Australia room of the SCUBA Travel Photo Gallery. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photoaus.html Thailand Dive Sites We've increase our coverage of Thai dives sites, and added more photos and sketches. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thaidive.html Thai Dive Operators We've also added to our Thai diving schools list. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thaiop.html Catalina Island, Dominican Republic Brief notes on diving Catalina Island are now at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html Fish Species to Avoid Eating With fish like cod, haddock and grouper now listed as endangered by the IUCN, many people are worried about eating them. Another concern is the death of dolphins and turtles in fishing nets. This table lists the top 20 fish to avoid eating for conservation reasons. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/fisheat.html __________________________________________________________ Creature of the Month: Lionfish, Pterois species ================================================ You see different species of Lionfish (or Turkeyfish) around the world. Distinctively striped, they use chemical warfare to protect themselves. A sting from one of the spines on their backs is extremely painful and might be fatal. Lionfish are found at the surface and down to over 50 m, often under ledges by day. At dusk they come out to hunt, shepherding fish and crustaceans into their mouths with their fanned-out pectoral (side) fins. Confident in their protection by their poisonous spines, they are bold and regularly photographed. Part of the scorpionfish family, the biggest lionfish grow to 38 cm. This is Pterois miles found in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea, and the similar P. volitans found in Australia, Malaysia, Japan and elsewhere. To treat a sting from a lionfish, immerse the wound in hot water then consult a doctor. For images of lionfish see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/lionfish.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/lionfishaus.html For a good identification guide to coral reef fish, including lionfish, we recommend Coral Reef Fishes (Collins Pocket Guides). Read our review at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/fishbook.html For more on the lionfish's ability to wound, see the eMedicine site. http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic300.htm __________________________________________________________ SCUBA News Bookshelf ==================== Last month we reviewed Great British Marine Animals by Paul Naylor. Unfortunately we gave the wrong URL for where you could buy the book. We should have directed you to the distributors at http://www.nhbs.com/xbscripts/bkfsrch?search=136195 or to Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/095228314X/1286 If you missed the review you can read it at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/britishmarine.html Other reviews, and interviews with authors, are at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/interview.html __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= BREATHING HARDER WHEN SNORKELLING We all know that breathing can be hard work when snorkelling in full kit. A recent study has shown this is due to exhaled CO2 being trapped in the snorkel's 160-170 ml dead space. Rebreathing while snorkelling can be prevented by new snorkel designs. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/ GREECE TO OPEN UP COASTLINE TO DIVERS? The Greek parliament are debating whether to open up much more of their coastline to divers. If so it's predicted that the number of dive centres, currently 100, would increase to over 1000. http://www.greece.gr/TRAVEL/Adventure/wetappetite.stm ZEAGLE REGULATOR RECALL Zeagle Systems is recalling 931 first stage Scuba regulators sold between 20 January and 19 May this year. For details see http://www.zeagle.com/RegRecall.htm TEN YEAR STUDY SHOWS DEVASTING GREAT FISH DECLINE Recent research has revealed that predatory fish numbers are in an even worse state than previously thought. Populations of fish like shark, marlin, swordfish and tuna plummet as soon as big fishing boats arrive. They fall by about 80 per cent within the first 10 or 15 years, but eventually stabilise at around 10 per cent of the original numbers. In other words, the world's oceans once held 10 times as many predatory fish as they do today. And that's not all: the fish that remain are smaller. Tuna average only half the weight they did in 1982, for example, and marlin only a quarter. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993731 :ADV_____________________________________________________ Save money on a vast selection of posters and prints: whales, sharks, dolphins, seascapes... Browse the offers at www.allposters.com 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 re-subscribe. Send us your Press Releases
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______________________________________________________ADV:
DIVER SPEARED BY SWORDFISH
Whale researcher, Mark Ferrari, was attacked by a
swordfish whilst underwater filming a pod of false
killer whales. He filmed the fish as it speared its
5 foot bill into his shoulder.