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SCUBA News 76

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 76 - August 2006
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to August's SCUBA News.  We hope you enjoy 
it, but should you wish to cancel your subscription you 
can do so at 
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html

Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Prize draw winner
- Your Letters
- Creature of the Month: Masked Puffer
- Diving News from Around the World 

:ADV_____________________________________________________

  Love diving in the Red Sea?  Luxury development of 
  apartments and villas in new development in Hurgada - 
  top class facilties and diving from just £29000 
  (42000Euros) Guaranteed rental option available - low 
  deposit, finance etc.  Year round resort plus others 
  across the world. E-mail 
  Linda@tlc-overseasproperties.co.uk for full details 
  or tel: 0044 115 937 5080
______________________________________________________ADV:
__________________________________________________________

What's New at SCUBA Travel?
===========================

Diving Indonesia
  We've added more pages to the Indonesia section.  
  Previously it concentrated almost exclusively on Bali. 
  Now you can also find information on Lombok, Alor, 
  Manado, Gili Islands, Sulawesi, Komodo and West Papua/
  Irian Jaya.
  http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/indonesia/

:ADV_____________________________________________________

  Millite Scuba finger-mounted hand free LED torch. 
  Rugged, powerful, ultra-bright. Two selectable 
  intensities blinking/signalling modes. Designed for 
  diving Special Forces to operate up to 60m/200ft.  
  View at www.fingerlight.com.  £34.99 inc PP UK. 
  E-Mail jarvillm@aol.com to order or for further info.
______________________________________________________ADV:
__________________________________________________________

Prize Draw Winner
=================

The winner of our final draw for an on-line coral reef 
course, worth $99.55, is Ashley Upham. Ashley lives in 
Washington, DC, USA. She have been a diver for 13 years, 
becoming certified when she was just 12. She is currently 
working on her Dive Master with PADI at Splash Dive 
Center in Alexandria, VA--and loving it.

Ashley's entire family dives--brother, sister, mother 
and father.  They've recently been on liveaboard dive 
trips to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos, BWI and 
Georgetown, Bahama.  She especially recommends Turks 
& Caicos 
  "Beautiful. TONS of sharks, squadrons of eagle rays, 
   huge sponges and corals out at West Sand Spit. I 
   was blown away."

Our thanks to Beautiful Oceans for the prizes they have 
provided for our draws over the last few months.  For more 
details about their coral reef courses see our review 
http://www.news.scubatravel.co.uk/
__________________________________________________________

Your Letters
============

Dive Course and 40th Birthday

   Looking to celebrate my 40th in June 2007 with approx 
   8 friends.  

   I carried out Padi open water 10 years ago and would 
   like ideas of a dive course that could accommodate 
   all the parties different needs (assume no one has 
   dived before)  Looking for dive course, accommodation, 
   nightlife etc etc.  

   Stuart Rowland
  
  Please contact us with your ideas

--

Turkey
  
   Hi everyone

   I am planning on doing my Advanced Open Water in 
   Turkey in October. Can anyone recommend any good places? 
   Am going to be on a cheap package holiday, probably in 
   Antalya or Bodrum. Has anyone got any experience of 
   these places?

   Thanks for any advice!

   Mark

   http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589
__________________________________________________________

Creature of the Month: 
Masked Puffer, Arothron diadematus
======================================

For a photo of a Masked Puffer see
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/puffer.html

Distinctive looking, this small pufferfish has a black 
mask over its eyes reaching back to its pectoral fins, 
and a black mouth. It is common on fringing coral reefs 
in the Red Sea.  Elsewhere it is replaced by 
Arothron nigropunctatus (the Blackspotted Puffer). 
However, some experts believe these to be the 
same species.

Pufferfish are bulbous fishes with a scaleless, prickly, 
skin.  Their mouths look pursed and are fused into a beak. 
They are called pufferfish because when threatened 
they greatly inflate themselves with water, making 
themselves look much larger than they usually are.  
This defence mechanism is important because they move 
so slowly through the water they would otherwise be 
easy pickings for predators.  Their second line of 
defence is their toxicity.

The Puffer is harmless, unless eaten.  The liver, 
intestines, gonads and skin are highly poisonous and 
cause death in around 60% of people who eat it.  If 
prepared properly the puffer (or fugu) is edible and 
considered a delicacy in Japan and Korea. 

The Puffer's toxin - tetrodotoxin - is produced within 
the pufferfish by bacteria. The fish aquire the 
bacteria by grazing on the reef and eating molluscs 
and other invertebrates.  Weight-for-weight, 
tetrodotoxin is up to 100 times as deadly as the 
venom of the black widow spider and one of the most 
poisonous natural substances.

Further Reading:
----------------
Coral Reef Fishes, Indo-Pacific and Caribbean 
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/fishbook.html

Tetrodotoxin Poisoning Associated With Eating Puffer Fish 
Transported from Japan
http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/PrevGuid/m0041514/m0041514.asp

Tetrodotoxin...an ancient alkaloid from the sea...
By Jim Johnson
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/ttx/ttx.htm
__________________________________________________________

Diving News From Around the World
=================================

If you would like to read the diving news as it happens, 
without waiting for this newsletter, then grab the SCUBA
News feed from http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsfeed.html
It's free and automatically updates you with the latest 
SCUBA news via your web site, e-mail or any news feed 
reader.

Streamlined PADI training dismissed as "madness"
  Short diving courses are "madness", an expert said 
  as inquests were held into diver deaths in the 
  South West of England.  Dr Philip Bryson, who 
  specialises in diving accidents, said he was 
  amazed beginners could be certified at advanced 
  level after just eight dives. (In fact PADI says 
  nine dives are needed to get an advanced open 
  water certificate.)
  Traditionally British training agencies, such as 
  the British Sub-Aqua Club, have offered much more 
  rigorous basic training than PADI to prepare their 
  divers for what can be demanding British diving 
  conditions.  People who have learnt to dive on say
  Mediterranean or Red Sea holidays are often not 
  adequately prepared for British diving with its 
  tides, currents and cooler conditions.
  http://tinyurl.com/es3jj 

Sipadan Development Scaled Back
  The contract for the controversial RM4.5 million 
  (650 000 GBP, 1.2 million USD) clubhouse project 
  on Sipadan, Malaysia, has been terminated. However, 
  a smaller, "environmental-friendly" development 
  is to be allowed.
  http://tinyurl.com/kuncu

International Effort to Combat Med Oil Spill
  Over 140 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline have 
  been polluted after Israeli forces bombed a power 
  station last month.  Environmental groups say fish 
  spawning grounds are threatened and endangered green 
  turtles will be prevented from reaching the sea after 
  they hatch.  The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 
  says the quantity of oil spilled is comparable to 
  13,000 metric tonnes.  Whilst the damage at the 
  moment is affecting Lebanon and Syria, the oil 
  slick is moving towards Turkey. Greece and 
  Cyprus are also threatened.
  http://www.news.scubatravel.co.uk/  

DNA Technique May Help Whales
  Australian researchers say that analysing the skin 
  flakes of some whales could help determine their 
  age, a development that could invalidate one of
  Japan's argument for killing them.
  http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11001  

Divers Still Flock to Andrea Doria, Despite Risks
  On a foggy night in July 1956, the Italian luxury 
  liner Andrea Doria was speeding toward New York on 
  the last leg of a trans-Atlantic crossing when it 
  collided with a passenger ship and sank, killing 51 
  people.  At least 14 people have since died while 
  exploring the wreck. The latest fatality came July 8, 
  when researcher David Bright suffered decompression 
  sickness after making his 120th trip to the Andrea 
  Doria ahead of an anniversary dive there.  The Andrea 
  Doria has been called one of the most difficult dives 
  in the world.
  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/ 

Seaweed Stopped by Gardening Divers
  An invasive seaweed that is powered by its ability to 
  grow fast, out-compete local species, reproduce within 
  the first year of life and fertilize itself can  
  be slowed by hand weeding. Chemical methods using 
  herbicide have failed due to lack of selectivity and 
  the large doses needed. Tests show that the only 
  effective control is sustained manual removal a few 
  times a year.
  http://www.enn.com/net.html?id=1590  

Test-Tube Coral Babies May Mend Reefs
  Marine scientists hope "test-tube coral babies" will 
  take root to help restore a tract of reef ravaged by 
  a 1984 ship grounding in the Florida Keys National 
  Marine Sanctuary. 
  http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11081  

Warmer Waters Disrupt Pacific Food Chain
  The steep decline of one bird species for the second 
  straight year has rekindled scientists' fears that global 
  warming could be undermining the coastal food supply, 
  threatening entire marine ecosystems. 
  http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10925
__________________________________________________________

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