Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog » Aqua News

Invasive Species of the Great Lakes

Creedence — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:18:51 +0000

via Mike Licht

The Great Lakes are one of the United States’ greatest treasures, not only for their beauty, but also for the amount of history that is contained within them. Unfortunately, they are enduring several environmental threats that are putting entire ecosystems at great risk, as well as the livelihoods and lives of many people. One of their biggest problems comes from invasive species. As we’ve been able to learn from the lionfish invasion of the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean, invasive species can quickly overtake native species and destroy an ecosystem that has been in place for decades, sometimes with little chance of regeneration. If you would like to help with the management of these invasive species, there are several programs that can be found through a simple search on the internet.

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Dive The Coast

Creedence — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:55:34 +0000

Update: There is a weather movement coming into the California coast, make sure to visit the Dive The Coast Facebook Page for updates about tomorrows event!

Dive The Coast is an upcoming charitable SCUBA diving event scheduled for June 2013 along California’s coast. Why are we telling you about it so early? Because they’re having a test dive tomorrow! Read on for details about the November 19th dive as well as the whole event.

About Dive The Coast

The plan is to have thousands of divers dive the entire length of the California coast, raising money in the form of donations that will go towards conservation groups. On October 15, 2011 a group of divers from five counties did a test dive in Monterey to calibrate dive distance, depth and tank time. More test events will be held between now and the June 2013 main event, including tomorrow.

Designed to both raise money for conservation groups as well as help divers from across the state (and those willing to travel) to explore parts of the coast line they haven’t before, this is a significant undertaking. Working with supporters including California Diver Magazine, Oceanic and LeisurePro, the group is hoping to have enough divers interested to do a “Dive the Bay” event in June 2012 covering the length of Monterey Bay.

November 19th

The next “calibration dive” will be tomorrow, November 19th. If you’re available, meet at Breakwater Cove in Monterey at 9AM to see how far you can go on a single tank. There will be an after-party with pizza, wine and beer, but if you plan on attending be sure to let them know as soon as possible. Use the form below to RSVP.

Sorry, the cutoff time for RSVPing to the after party has passed! Come join us for the dive though!

How You Can Help

Visit the Dive The Coast contact page to contact your local county organizer. If you are interested in helping to organize, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Orange counties all need someone to take the lead. All money raised must go towards charitable groups. Also, if you are a dive operation or would be interested in volunteering your boat, Humbolt and Del Norte counties could use some help due to limited shore access. If you are interested in being a supporter or participant, email kim@divethecoast.com for more information.

This is shaping up to be a great event, so help spread the word!

DEMA Show 2011 Day 2

Nick Bostic — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:26:43 +0000

The DEMA Show in Orlando has been a busy one and shows no signs of letting up! New gear, great seminars and meeting other dive professionals happen from the early morning to late at night. If you’re a professional in the industry and have never been, I would encourage you to attend in the future.

On to the highlights!

DEMA’s Big Announcement

The morning started off with the DEMA industry update meeting. Attendance this year was up slightly over last year, DEMA will be working hard to promote diving to people who enjoy other adventure sports so you may soon have some new dive buddies and promotional materials will soon be available in a wide variety of languages for all of our international readers.

The big announcement however is that DEMA is creating a consumer oriented festival. Planned for April 26-28, 2013 in Fort Lauderdale, the Be A Diver Adventure Sports Festival “is a celebration of diving, adventure sports, water sports and outdoor lifestyles and includes events, exhibits, seminars and other activities to promote diving and other crossover activities.” It sounds like a bigger, more fun (not that the industry DEMA show isn’t fun) diving event open to the public.

More Travel Friendly Gear

With airlines restricting carry on quantity and raising prices on checked bags, it comes as no surprise that dive manufacturers are keeping size and weight in mind with new products. Mares has a BCD with a foldable rigid back that collapses down to an incredibly small size. Hollis has a new sidemount rig that is designed to be even more streamlined and travel friendly. Computers from every manufacturer are smaller, yet offer more features and better screens than ever before. Gear bags are being reduced in size and weight to help traveling divers as well. For anyone who regularly travels by air to dive, the next year or two will offer a variety of new gear to help with your travels.

New Suit Materials

Likely designed to help with travelers, but beneficial even to those who don’t fly, many suit manufacturers are using new materials to help strike the best weight/warmth balance. We’ve previously mentioned Lavacore here before and they have been popular at the show. Getting the benefit of 2-3mm of neoprene in the weight of a traditional skin combined with the sizing and layering options of separate tops and bottoms (or whole suits if you prefer) makes for a great new innovation in thermal protection.

If you want to see more frequent updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter!

DEMA Show 2011 Day 1

Nick Bostic — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:01:17 +0000

I’m here this week in Orlando Florida attending the 35th annual Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) Expo. For those unfamiliar, this is the largest industry trade show each year. It is open to industry professionals – like divemasters, instructors, dive center employees, gear manufacturers, travel industry members and dive media (us!) – and not consumers.

The DEMA Show is a combination of an equipment showroom as well as a variety of seminars covering new teaching tools, marketing ideas, product information and more. It’s a fast four days, but I’ll be doing my best to see and learn what I can to report back to you, our readers.

Along with being the Social Media Manager for LeisurePro, I’m also a PADI Master Instructor, so I’ll be reporting on both equipment as well as new training programs. Throughout the event, these articles will be covering daily highlights, but we’ll be covering a variety of topics in greater detail afterwards.

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Pumpkins and Knives and Bubbles, Oh My!

Creedence — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:03:30 +0000

Halloween is a favorite time of year for many people, kids and grownups alike, for all the fun that can be had before the last leaves fall from the trees and winter settles in. What’s not to love? Costumes, haunted houses, scary movies, shenanigans, free candy, and best of all — the pumpkin carving — are a recipe for a very happy Halloween. Even SCUBA divers love to get in on the fun! Some dive with costumes, tour “haunted” wrecks, and even carve jack-o-lanterns underwater. In fact, many dive shops hold an annual underwater pumpkin carving contest, and it would seem that these divers take their duties very seriously. This is a great video of one contest that just took place on Australia’s Gold Coast — check out their awesome underwater skills!

Photo via wwarby

DEMA Expo 2011

Creedence — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:56:39 +0000

Daily Coverage

DEMA Show Day 1

The annual Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) trade show is coming soon!

From November 2nd through the 5th, dive and travel industry professionals will be showing off and learning about the latest new SCUBA gear, educational advancements and dive travel destinations.

Hosted this year in Orlando Florida, the DEMA show is the largest international professional dive conference in the world, with representatives from all aspects of the dive industry. While the dive industry appears to be a little different from many other industries in that they like to announce new products in the weeks leading up to the conference instead of at the conference, there is always a variety of new products that should be announced during this event.

If you’re not an industry professional or can’t make it to Orlando this year, don’t worry because we’ll be reporting live from the DEMA Show convention hall! For the most rapid fire updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter. If you don’t mind waiting for more periodic updates, we’ll make sure those hit our Facebook Page too. If you’re not into checking those sites regularly, be sure to check back here each day as we round up some of the most interesting things we find throughout the day.

Since our representative on the floor is an instructor as well, we’ll be sure to share any of the latest information regarding new training classes and techniques. However, please feel free to let us know in the comments if there’s anything special you’d like us to be on the look out for so we can better serve our readers.

This post will be your table of contents for all the material we share over the next week, so be sure to check back or subscribe to stay on top of what’s new!

If you are a Twitter user, be sure to use/follow the #DEMAshow hashtag. We’ve embedded a search below so you can follow along regardless of having a Twitter account!

America’s Most Wanted: 5 Invasive Species of the US

Creedence — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:56:18 +0000

A species invasion can have a drastic impact on a local ecosystem, with far-reaching and sometimes irreversible effects. The world’s history is rife with the woes of a species brought in intentionally or otherwise. Here in the US, we have more than just a handful of invasive species, but the ones listed here are causing quite a bit more havoc than a few aphids on a rosebush. In many areas where invasive species have moved in, there are programs in place where you can participate in their population control. It takes everyone’s help to combat a widespread problem like invasive species!

Have you ever seen the effects of an invasive species?

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Learn Cavern Diving with a PADI Specialty Course

Creedence — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:22:43 +0000

Although pictures of divers silhouetted against the sun blazing through a cave opening beckon SCUBA divers to explore the great unknown, there is actually quite a bit of training that is required to safely dive caverns and caves. Many cave diving deaths can be attributed to a lack of proper training, equipment, and experience. Sometimes people’s excitement at the prospect of seeing what few others have overrides simple common sense, and the appropriate precautions are not taken. In our advanced technological age, there is simply no excuse for death as a result of carelessness. If you have a passion for diving underwater caves, you will get a great introduction with PADI’s Cavern Diver specialty course.

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Fate Sealed for Sea Creatures Imprisoned in Oil

Creedence — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:26:17 +0000

There’s been a lot of coverage lately about how the pollution from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 has somehow been negated by a bacteria that has been steadily consuming the oil since the leak first began, reducing the spilled oil at a rate far quicker than nature could on its own. Effective as the bacteria may be, there still remains a very serious threat to all forms of sea life, from plants to birds, out on the open sea. And without the help of people who are dedicated to rescue and rehabilitation, it would seem that these animals’ only fate is death, by one means or another.

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Art Imitating Life in the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reefs

Creedence — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:33:37 +0000

It is always uplifting to see a truly creative form of art, especially one unequaled by any other in the world. It is even more amazing when you discover an installation is created by the world.

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reefs are a truly stunning collaboration by handicrafters from all around the globe, using a technique called “hyperbolic crotchet” based on a mathematical algorithm to create each individual life-like piece of the earth’s coral reef systems. The technique was introduced in 1997 by a Cornell mathematician when she created a crochet model demonstrating hyperbolic space.

Two sisters, having grown up near the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, decided in 2005 to begin an art project that would bring attention to the vibrant but delicate nature of our coral reefs. They began their reef construction in their living rooms, crocheting an endless variety of coral reef species based on their own adaptation of the hyperbolic crochet technique. Their collection includes a bleached reef exhibit, as well as an installation called The Toxic Reef, where every piece is crocheted from plastic garbage. Crochet enthusiasts from around the world have contributed to this project, and it has been an international success. Here are some highlights of the exhibit — enjoy!

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