Scubafriends Network

I haven’t forgotten the site, and I still have some big plans for the future. So far this year (mid-Jan onward) has been dominated by a series of medical issues. (Not only keeping me out of the water but keeping me off my feet, and eating up all my non-real-job time.) In theory we’re (again) in the final stages of all that, so keep an eye out (or just grab the rss feed) for a bit of refocusing and some new content. (And maybe even a trip or two to be planned..)

If anyone has questions, suggestions, good wishes, etc post a comment below. (You must be logged in to post comments - keeps spam to a minimum.)

The Telegraph has a great excerpt from Raising the Dead by Philip Finch. The book is about the recovery of the body of Deon Dreyer a full 10 years after his death in Boesmansgat (Bushman’s Hole).

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16 year old David Wentz found a 3″ petrified shark tooth (technically Carcharodon megalodon) while snorkeling near his Michigan home last summer.

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Some things don’t change - Dive Atlas of the World is still number 1. But some newcomers made a surprisingly good showing, such as the Lonely Planet Sardinia (joining the list at #3). Read on for the whole list.

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The Georgia Aquarium announced last month that they would be allowing guests to swim or dive with a whale shark (the world’s largest fish) in the world’s largest aquarium exhibition tank. The 30-minute dive includes aquarium admission, equipment, logbook signing, participation certificate, t-shirt and commemorative photo.
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So due to major knee surgery I’m forbidden from diving this year. (I’m going to appeal in the fall..) BUT.. all hope is not lost. We do have a trip planned. (And we won’t even have to fly there. Or spend 3 weeks driving.)

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A 20-year-old Australian tuna fisher got more than he bargained for when he pulled a 10-foot Mako shark on deck.

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Filmed at a depth of 1000m, a submersible spooked a 6-gill shark and got some great footage. (The lasers are 6″ apart, and the excited commentary is from University of Hawaii Oceanography Professor Jeff Drazen.) See the video after the break.
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According to Fortune’s list of Top 100 Employers, the most interesting employee perk is free scuba lessons in Chesapeake Energy’s on-site olympic-sized pool. (My biggest employee perk? A 4-hour round-trip commute all summer, usually done in the Jeep with the top and doors off.)

(via Nature.com)

Last year, only about 12% of the 1,533-ton quota was caught. The huge schools (between 80 and 200) of several-hundred-pound fish are gone. Suspected reasons range from overfishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean to environmental stress, but the fact is that we don’t know enough about the bluefin tuna to make any real guesses.
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