Scuba Shack Radio

The Women Divers Hall of Fame is now accepting applications for their 2023 scholarship and grant programs. Deadline for application is October 31, 2022. Find out more at wdhof/scholarships.

There is a new show coming to the Discovery Channel on diving. It is called Destination Dive. Their first episode aired earlier this month. It was about the Florida Keys. New episodes however won't be aired until the summer 2023, but you can check it out on their YouTube channel.

Maui County is banning all chemical sunscreens. This prohibition will start October 1, 2022 and includes the sales, distribution and use of all chemical sunscreens. You can only buy and use sunscreens with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.

NASA has reported that the loss of Antarctic sea ice has double it's previous estimate.

The Florida Manta Project has teamed up with the Angari Foundation and Digital Life to create the first digital anatomically accurate animated model of a manta ray.

The Scuba Educational Alliance of Connecticut is a new non-profit organization to foster the development of a new generation of ocean stewards through scuba diving. Because learning how to dive or extending diving education can be cost prohibitive for young people, SEACT will look to provide financial support through grants and tuition assistance/scholarships. Our plan is to launch our Ocean Steward I program in the spring of 2023. Other programs are in development.

You can find out more about Scuba Educational Alliance of Connecticut at seact.org.

SEE Turtle, a non-profit protecting sea turtles has developed an app - SEE Shell to detect illegal trade of tortoise shell.

Moon jelly fish are invading Alaskan waters. Why?

The Coral Restoration Foundation in Key Largo has announced four Dive and Snorkel program dates for September 2022.

The Historical Diving Society, USA has announced their 2022 HDS USA Pioneer Awards. This awardees are Sheck Exley and Edwin Link.

The results of the Great Shark Shapshot 2022 are in - listen for the numbers.

Thanks to the work done by The Spicy Shark and others, the last shark kill tournaments in New England have been cancelled.

In 1983 PADI released a completely revised Standards and Procedures Manual along with a new and improved product catalog. The new Standards and Procedures Manual reflected the significant changes from the course revisions in 1982, that supposedly made it easier for individuals to take up diving. They also talked about changing the academic requirements.

Back in 1983, teaching with slides and cassette tapes was big along with the new VHS material. Beta was special order.

The Rosalia Project has teamed up with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative to remove debris from the Gulf of Maine. The Ocean Conservancy blog provided an update.

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) was instrumental in convincing the American Medical Association (AMA) to advise against unsafe mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy in mild hyperbaric treatment facilities.

If you like deep shipwrecks, listen for an update on Dusty Klifman's dive to the wreck of the John V. Moran - a deep Lake Michigan wreck at a depth of about 400 feet.

PADI AWARE Foundations' AWARE Week 2022 will take place September 17 to 25, 2022. Check with your local dive shop to see what activities they might have planned.

If you know someone who is new to the dive industry and is making waves consider nominating them for the DEMA 2022 Wave Maker Award. The deadline for nominations is August 22, 2022.

The USPS has release a 16 stamp series on Marine Sanctuaries. The 16 stamp forever stamp pane is at an affordable price of $9.60.

The first and second quarter new diver certification numbers in the US are available. It is a bit of a challenge to understand where we are with a recovery from the pandemic but the trends look like they are going down when compared to where we were in 2017. These numbers are just one indicator on the health of the scuba diving industry here in the United States.

Stream2Sea has been named the number one reef-safe eco-friendly sunscreen by Rolling Stone Magazine for the second year in a row.

Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute's president Peter de Monocal recently penned an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe title "Turning the Tide Against Climate Change."

The NOAA Administrator - Dr. Richard Spinrad has affirmed the ban on swimming with dolphins in Hawaii. This ban is known as the approach rule and should put an end to the lawsuit being filed on the validity of the ban.

Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA has closed, but it is being resurrected as Lake Hydra. It will be exclusively for scuba diving and should be up and running by mid-April 2023. Great news for northeast diving.

iDiveNewEngland.com is a new website by Maura Keene that is a great reference site for all things diving in New England. Maura has done a great job compiling a wealth of information.

Shameless plug for my upcoming Boston Sea Rover's workshop - You Can Do It - Writing and Publishing Your First Book.

The Shipwreck finds Mike adrift in a life raft with three other shipwreck survivors off the coast of Baja. It is a fight for survival as Mike uses all his experience as a Navy UDT diver to save the group.

Congratulations Tec Clark on the release of his Risk Management for Dive Professionals course. If you are a dive professional, you should seriously consider this class on scubaguruacademy.com

Listen for an update on the recently completed shark fishing tournament that took place in Florida in early July.

A group of Chinese scientist have come up with a tiny fish robot that eats plastic.

More innovation from REEF. They are introducing SMILE - Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimates. They are using a special 3-D camera to support this effort.

Divers Alert Network has now introduced a new Spanish emergency hotline and they will also have hotlines for Australia, Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

Tickets for the Boston Sea Rovers 2022 clinic are now on sale. The clinic dates are October 1 and 2, 2022.

The Book of Eels by Patrik Svennson is a combination memoir and history of the scientific efforts around one of the most mysterious creatures in the natural world. From Aristotle to Sigmund Freud, to Rachel Carson - all have had a fascination with eels. The mystery of where eels are born was finally resolve in 1921. An award winning book, worth putting on your reading list.

Plastic Free July is a global initiative started in Western Australia in 2011. It is easy to participate. Just pick one plastic item to avoid in July and beyond.

REEF is conducting a Fishinar titled Adventures under the Blue Heron Bridge. This is an absolutely amazing shore dive and you can find many unique species at the bridge.

Did you know that you can buy a wallet or sneakers made from lionfish leather? Inversa is producing leather made from lionfish skin.

The Great Shark Snapshot is just around the corner. The Shark Trust is asking that divers record all sightings of sharks, rays, and skates between July 24 and 31, 2022.

PADI Club is sponsoring an exclusive trip to the Florida Keys for club members. The trip runs between September 3 through 9. You'll make your way from Key Largo to Key West. The trip is limited to 60 club members.

The Atlantic Right Whales are staying in Cape Cod Bay 18 days longer than in the past. This presents some challenges with increased boat traffic as well as lobster fishing.

Single-use plastic accounts for about 40% of all plastic produced. Used once, these pollutants enter our environment. Here are the top 10 single-use plastics according to the World Wildlife Fund from Australia:

Plastic straws

Plastic drink stirrers

Plastic balloons and balloon sticks

Plastic cotton buds (cue-tips)

Coffee cups

Coffee cup lids

Plastic cutlery

Plastic drink cups

Take out food containers

Plastic disposable plates

Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) is sponsoring a diving scholarship - the NextGen Scholarship. The deadline for this program is July 1. Listen for more information on the specifics of the entry requirements and the benefits offered by this scholarship.

The Crown of Thorns starfish can cause havoc on the reef. Now there is a simple solution for controlling the predator - kitchen vinegar. Seems it is effective without causing adverse impacts.

A tech diving team - Darkstar recently completed an expedition to the WW I wreck of the SS Libourne. The ship was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1918. The Libourne was carrying a unique cargo. Listen for more details.

REEF is having their 13th annual Florida Key Lionfish Derby and Festival this September. Early bird registration ends August 9th.

Scuba Diver Destinations - a publication from the Scuba Diver brand was introduced in 2019 to serve the US and Canada markets. With that in mind, the magazine is being rebranded as Scuba Diver North America.

In this installment of Sea Hunt It's Still Alive I review a season 4 episode titled Confidential Mission. In this episode, Mike is on a secret mission for the government to try and get pictures of an underwater missile system being installed just off the coast of a Caribbean island. Mike gets into an underwater fight with two bad divers, gets away and tosses a grenade at them. But there is more. Check out Confidential Mission here on Scuba Shack Radio.

Congratulations Leslie Leaney on receiving the 2022 California Scuba Service Award.

There is a new bill making its way through Congress. House Resolution 7431, titled the Don Young Veterans Advancing Conservation Act or VACA if passed will be a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA grant program providing funding to non-profit groups who hire, retrain, and redeploy veterans to conduct coastal, Great Lakes and underwater conservation missions.

The second quarter Alert Diver magazine from Divers Alert Network is now available. One article that may cause a lot of stir around the dive community is the one on the placement of an octopus alternate second stage regulator.

There is a new recall notice from Aqualung for their i330R dive computer. It is for all computers made and sold in 2021 and 2022.

Big news from Shearwater Research this week regarding their top of the line Perdix dive computer. They are releasing a new version of the Perdix. It will be the Perdix 2 and come in two different versions, the TI or TI Black.

Some more good news on the pandemic recovery front. The Philippine government has announced that it will no longer require a PCR or Antigen covid-19 test for fully vaccinated and boosted tourists as of May 30, 2022.

The British Sub Aqua Club Diving Manual from 1976 was a comprehensive guide to the techniques of swimming underwater. This manual listed all of the training requirements necessary to progress from a snorkel diver through their 3rd class, 2nd class and 1st class scuba diver. Listen for more information on the requirements to become a BSAC diver.

May 23, 2022 is World Turtle Day, now in its 22nd year. A day to "shellebrate" and take a "shelfie".

The second quarter Journal of Diving History is now available. As always, it is packed with some great information. Get yours delivered to your home by joining the Historical Diving Society, USA.

If you are into Ikelite gear, you can tag your gear with their new stickers. You can get a three-pack for $2 from the Ikelite store under their logo gear menu.

NASA Climate Change Newsletter reports a four inch sea level rise since 1990. This is based on satellite data and shows the alarming trend.

Halcyon is discontinuing its Traveler and Traveler Pro BC. They are replacing this lightweight travel BC with their Adventure Series. You can get the Adventure or Adventure Pro with the carbon fiber backplate.

The Spiegel Grove artificial reef turns 20. The ship was sunk on May 15, 2002. It is the third largest ship ever sunk as an artificial reef and has a very interesting history.

Blue Mind by Wallace J Nichols was published in 2014 and is subtitled the surprising science that shows how being near, in, on or underwater can make you happier, healthier, more connected and better at what we do. The book takes us through a great deal of the neuroscience of how our brains react to water. Dr. Nichols also tells us about those of us who work or play in the ocean have a profound relationship with water.

DEMA has released the results of their survey related to opening up the DEMA Show to consumers. The survey results indicated that 62% of respondents were opposed so the board has decided that the show will remain exclusively a trade show.

Some Hawaii business have brought a lawsuit against the US government on their regulation that bans swimming with spinner dolphins.

Lake Mead is at a record low. The 1971 water intake valve is now exposed. More evidence of the impacts of climate change.

Ocean Reef, the maker of full-face masks for scuba divers has released a new dive light for their mask. It is called the Vesper.

The Coral Restoration Foundation is well ahead of schedule on their out planting of boulder coral. They are already over 50% of the way toward their 2022 goal.

Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA will be opening on May 12, 2022 on a rolling three-week schedule while the final agreement is reached. One last hurrah for Dutch Springs.

In this installment of Sea Hunt It's Still Alive, I take you back to season 3 episode 18 titled Cindy. Cindy premiered on May 7, 1960. In this episode, a little girl, Cindy has fallen down an abandoned air shaft. The old mine is underwater of the man-made lake. Mike tries to get to Cindy but reaches a dead-end and is trapped as the ceiling crashes down on him. He escapes with one last breath and heads to the surface.

There is another way to get in. Mike and his partner Tom head back underwater. They find the air shaft and rescue Cindy.