Archive for March, 2009
Posted by DeeperBlue.com - News on
March 31, 2009
Freediver Mehgan Heaney-Grier has launched a new website, with news, photos, and a blog.
Mehgan
is the ultimate underwater adventurer. At the age of 18, she achieved
worldwide recognition when she established the first ever United States
freedive reco...
Posted by DiveBuddy.com on
March 31, 2009
For anyone who’s interested in reading the senseless ramblings of a self-important nobody, here they are.
I am an experienced free diver, having made numerous dives on the Corpus Christi side of the gulf, with the crazy one-legged cajun who got me started spear fishing. After a few years of free diving, I decided to take the next step, and got certified in scuba diving, and realized that I had to start calling myself a novice diver again (I’ve managed 3 dives since certifying due to work/money). So I found myself looking for like minded people online, being stuck in the middle of the country, I knew I wouldn’t have much luck finding a local group, I did luck out and find an amazing LDS (The Dive Shop - kcdiveshop.com) run by a group of the coolest divers I have ever met. So short version, I waste a few hours, get lucky and stumble upon DiveBuddy.com! AND THE SKIES PARTED AND A CHOIR OF ANGLES HERALDED..... well not really but, after finding web sites for every other freaking state in the union except Kansas it kind of felt like it. So, I click a little button here, fill in a few blanks there and BAM! I am now a member of one of the coolest sites on the web. Now, fast forward several months, here I am again killing time and brain cells looking at all the web has to offer, and up pops an add for Reef Drift........So I think to myself "hmmm looks interesting might be another site where I can meet divers and make new friends." I should have tossed my computer out the window right then. But I didn’t, foolishly, I signed up, and things just got worse. I finally got a confirmation e-mail 3 months after I signed up, telling me I needed to go to some other site from this link and set it as my default hompage, and I did. Here is the part of the story where it goes from rated g to rated xxx for use of language. I changed my default home page, something DiveBuddy.com DOES NOT REQUIRE, and what do I get for all my trouble and head aches? A really cool picture with some pop-ups on it containing factual information about the fish/reef/area in the picture. Ok, kinda cool, but it’s not a photo taken by a member, Hey it changes everyday, but you can’t add any of your photos to it. Oh look, there’s a comment section, but.....I can’t leave a comment, because none of the buttons work. So I think I’ll call it a night and try again tomorrow, this is after all just the beta version right? Next day comes, I go and check again, GUESS WHAT? Nothing works still, and now my anti-virus software is telling me there has been an unathourized registery change by the same site that I was told to use as my homepage. You know what I found? That if you remove all that crap, and go back to DiveBuddy.com, it still works, just the way it’s supposed to. The moral of this rant? For my time and networking site, DiveBuddy.com is going to be the best all around, it’s like Match.com, just for divers. Because if you do hookup with someone, you already know that both of you are looking for the same thing, and at the end of it, you’ll both be soaking wet, worn out and grinning from ear to ear.
And yes, Greg rocks, but did not pay/bribe me to write this.
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Posted by DiveBuddy.com on
March 31, 2009
We’re baaack. Sorry about the three day delay, but the woods and mountain peaks of California’s Big Sur called and the dogs dragged me out of the office to heed that call - glad I did. With no access to media at all, not even cell, it was an interesting three days. Meanwhile in the shark world: Research from the Australian Acoustic Tagging and Monitoring System (AATAMS) shows the effect of water temperature on the movement and distribution of sharks. The movements of reef sharks at Ningaloo Reef are being tracked by AATAMS, part of the nation-wide collaborative Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). Long term patterns of habitat use and dispersal will help manage the populations in areas where sharks are vulnerable to habitat degradation due to climate change. Shifting current patterns, seal-level rise and increasing temperatures affect the availability of prey and suitable habitat for shark populations. Scientists from Charles Darwin University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the University of Adelaide and CSIRO have so far tagged 83 sharks and collected thousands of detections of their location. Cheers, Patric Douglas CEO www.sharkdiver.com www.sharkdivers.com www.sharkdivers.blogspot.com www.guadalupefund.org www.islandofthegreatwhiteshark.com 415.235.9410 [ This is an external blog. Read complete blog here... ]...
Posted by DiveBuddy.com on
March 31, 2009
The Yin: Sharks Over the past months I have mentioned the progress of HR 81, the Shark Conservation Act that requires sharks to be landed whole with fins attached. This will allow for better enforcement and monitoring of shark catches. Additionally, it indirectly imposes on captains to re-think the value of shark as a catch, once they are no longer allowed to fill their holds with only higher-priced fins. It’s U.S. legislation that helps the U.S. to encourage other nations to be leaders in shark conservation. "The Shark Conservation Act will improve existing laws that were originally intended to prevent shark finning. This legislation will also allow the U.S. to take action against countries whose shark finning restrictions are not as strenuous, labeling the U.S. as a continued international leader in shark conservation," says Beth Lowell, Oceana federal policy director. The legislation died on the floor of the Senate last year, but was reintroduced by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) for this new session. Earlier this month it was passed by the House and has once again moved on to the Senate. This is the government moving in the right direction, so to ensure its final passage, take a moment and send an email or call the senator from your state. You can find contact information for your senator by clicking here. The Yang: Sea Turtles On the other hand, regarding the protection of sea turtles, particularly loggerhead and leatherback turtles in U.S. waters, the government - specifically the National Marine Fisheries Service - failed to respond to petitions filed to review their status as threatened or endangered species (many populations have dropped by as much as 80% through commercial fishing and/or loss of nesting habitats). Petitions must be reviewed within 12 months and as the NMFS failed to do this, they are in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Turtle Island Restoration Network, Center for Biological Diversity, and Oceana have filed petitions to sue - once again taking proactive measures to break the government’s legacy of indifference and inaction left over from the prior administration. "It’s time for the Obama administration to overturn the Bush policies of hostility and disregard toward endangered marine species. We are asking for immediate action based on the best available science to determine their current endangered status and better protect them by creating designated critical habitat," said Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network. What this all says is that government action is critical in protecting our natural resources, but it must be supported by diligence on the part of all of us, least specific issues fall through the cracks. [ This is an external blog. Read complete blog here... ]...
Posted by SCUBA News... on
March 31, 2009
When Atlantic herring get together, they don't mess around with small gatherings. Using a new ocean imaging technology, scientists have found that the fish form "mega-shoals" of hundreds of millions of fish, covering dozens of square kilometres.
Posted by SCUBA News... on
March 31, 2009
2009 is the 31st year of the International Festival of Underwater Photography, Films and Children's Artwork. The festival is open to both amateurs and professionals and you can upload your photos at the web site. The deadline for accepting the works is 22 April 2009.
Posted by UnderwaterTimes.com News of the Underwater World on
March 31, 2009
Posted by UnderwaterTimes.com News of the Underwater World on
March 31, 2009
Posted by UnderwaterTimes.com News of the Underwater World on
March 31, 2009
