Fergus Maclaren’s Post

The diving adventures continue!! This time it was a trip to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. With its white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, and endless shore diving options, Bonaire is truly one of the last unspoiled places on earth. You know me... new location + local conservation = new certification. So naturally, I was super stoked to undertake the PADI Invasive Lionfish Tracker certification. :) After some buoyancy tests, target practice, and being told that students don't ever score on their first hunt (um hi, challenge accepted), my instructor and I descended down the reef... 30... 60... 90... slowing at a depth of 100 feet. Since lionfish are nocturnal predators, they spend much of the daytime chilling under rock ledges and corals, deep on the reef wall. It wasn't too long until I spotted the feathery venomous spines of this husky fella peeking out from a crevice. With buoyancy in check, I fired my spear and hit my target. But this may have been the easiest part. Not only was I in for a good fight with the lionfish, but also caught something else coming from below me - a large green moray eel. Although I was unwillingly prepared to let him steal my catch, I managed to get the lionfish into the Zookeeper and safely ascended to celebrate on the surface. Back at the dive shop, I let the instructors gawk before I learned how to safely fillet the lionfish and prepared us some fresh ceviche for an evening snack. DELICIOUS!! The next big question is... WHERE TO NEXT??!! *FUN FACT: Spearfishing was banned in Bonaire in 1971. However, with the arrival of invasive lionfish in 2009, a special spear called the E.L.F. (which stands for Eliminate Lionfish) was created to minimize the impact on the reef while hunting the lionfish. #PADI #lionfish #invasivespecies #conservationdiving #seasims #Bonaire

Yesterday, Gareth Lock and I had a short conversation on the observation that research in the realm of dive safety / dive accident management is often very focused on 
 ➡️ either trying to predict (and thus prevent) DCI, which seems to be a challenging, if not impossible task due to the intra- and interpersonal variances that become more and more evident the more research there is conducted ➡️and / or often reactive measures to dive incidents, focusing in crisis management only rather than working towards a system that aims to prevent a ‘system failure’ as much as possible but yet allows ‘the system to fail safely, should it fail’. 
This conversation prompted me to do some digging and see if there is indeed less research done on proactive safety measures, such as diver training (in particular first aid) and recompression chamber access.⁉️

In fact it is hard to find relevant publications (part of this is because some of the research is hidden behind paywalls, but that is a separate problem in academia)..

However, I came across these three interesting studies that I would like to share with you:   1️⃣ Lucrezi, Serena, et al. (2018) "Safety priorities and underestimations in recreational scuba diving operations: A European study supporting the implementation of new risk management programmes." Delves into dive safety awareness and education in the European recreational scuba diving industry and proposes programs to foster a safety culture among dive centers and divers.

https://shorturl.at/kmyEH   2️⃣ Ranapurwala, Shabbar I., et al. (2017) "Mishaps and unsafe conditions in recreational scuba diving and pre-dive checklist use: a prospective cohort study." Looked into the useof pre-dive checklists and the incidence of recreational diving mishaps. Highlights that the routine use of written pre-dive checklist is an effective tool for promoting dive safety.   https://shorturl.at/rxAFN 
3️⃣ Wilks, Jeffrey. (2000) "Scuba diving and snorkeling safety on Australia's Great Barrier Reef."   Investigated risk management among scuba diving operators on the Great Barrier Reef. Focused on training, skills management, pre-dive briefings, and site supervision. 
https://rb.gy/7v3joz 
Thank for the prompt to look into this Gareth Lock ! I will keep on reading… Let's keep the conversation flowing for safer and more informed diving experiences! 

#DiveSafety #ResearchInsights #ScubaDivingSafety 🚀

🛑 A temporary closure for collecting Abalone and diving for other benthic aquatic animals is in place in waters in the state’s South East with immediate effect following a positive detection of Abalone Viral Ganglioneuritis (AVG) in wild abalone. On 14 May 2024 the presence of the herpes virus which causes AVG was confirmed in abalone collected by a recreational fisher at Stanway Point near Southend. In consultation with industry, PIRSA has implemented a closure area to reduce the risk of human-induced spread of AVG from the outbreak site while the extent of the recent outbreak is established. The closure area extends from approximately 750m southeast of Blowhole Rd, Beachport to a location on Canunda Beach approximately 19km southeast of Cape Buffon, Southend and approximately 10 nautical miles out to sea. Within this area, the collection of abalone by diving or collecting shells from the beach area, as well as the collection of benthic aquatic animals such as Rock Lobster and Turbo shells by diving are prohibited. The collection of pipis is still allowed. The closure is a temporary arrangement until 30 June 2024 while the extent of this latest outbreak is determined. AVG can spread through the movement of: • infected abalone or abalone product (tissue, offal, shell or mucus) • diving equipment (including wetsuits) • people who have come into contact with infected abalone or bottom habitat. AVG has no known effects on human health. More info can be found at www.pir.sa.gov.au

Wondering about the legal aspects of dumpster diving? Explore the regulations for public and private property in Florida and uncover tips to prevent theft and disruptions!

So what the hell are Sea Pansies? There are no sea pansies in Hawaii where I grew up diving, so they were a complete surprise when I started diving in California. Sea pansies are cnidarians and a type of soft coral. They are composed of a collection of specialized polyps which have varied functions. The most prominent are the anemone-like feeding polyps. These extend off the disc and use their short tentacles to snare bits of food (plankton) floating by. Certainly, the polyps are tall and prominent when the water is “dirty” and there is a lot of debris suspended in the water column. Don’t know whether the polyps are beefy enough to snag the relatively large mysid shrimp that are so common off La Jolla.   Other polyps function as valves to inflate or deflate the pansy with sea water. And a single giant polyp - the peduncle - serves to anchor the pansy to the substrate. Wave action, or burrowing / feeding fish, can uproot a sea pansy and I don’t know whether they can re-anchor themselves.   The species we have in California is the Purple Sea Pansy (Renilla koellikeri). Max size is about 8 cm in diameter.  One of the most interesting things, other than dressing up sheep crabs, is that sea pansies are bioluminescent - using the enzyme luciferase on GFP (green fluorescent protein) - when disturbed. I will have to do some diving on a calm night to try and see this for myself.

It's the law of large numbers: more visitors, more incidents. No wonder that the DAN Europe alarm centre registers more calls from iconic and heavily visited dive sites. Instructor and author Claudio Di Manao identifies the critical issues at each site and offers advice on how best to keep on diving those sites safely. #alertdiver #safety

According to Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S records an average of 6 to 13 commercial dive fatalities every year. However, these statistics are nowhere up to date. Considering the OSHA requirements for diving activities were updated way back in 1978, the fatality rate may be higher as the number of operations and underwater welders have increased over the years. Among the estimated 5,000 to 7.000 professional divers in the U.S.,the annual death rate is 40 times higher than the average non-diving profession, according to an article by Washington reporter Linda Thomas. https://lnkd.in/ee-98yZ9 Abstract The distributions of fatal diving accidents in commercial diver populations were examined in the Gulf of Mexico from 1968 to 1975 and in the British sector of the North Sea from 1971 to 1978. Influences and causes of death were analyzed by examining the interaction between host, environmental and agent factors. The interaction of host and environmental factors appeared to be the greatest contributing factor to diving fatalities among the estimated 900 commercial divers in the Gulf of Mexico and the 700 in the North Sea. The most significant host factors were level of experience and behavioral dysfunction. They are also the host characteristics most amenable to change through improved and more thorough training. The most significant environmental factors were equipment failure and supervisor/tender errors. These factors would be minimized by improved selection, maintenance and operation of equipment, together with improved operating and emergency diving procedures. In recent years there has been a significant downward trend in mortality rates in the commercial diver populations of this study due to improved diving techniques and operations. Further research is needed, however, on the cause(s) of diver unconsciousness and inexplicable actions that occur at depths below 91.44m (300 ft.).

I’m often asked about one’s impact on marine tourism. Question: Do dive lights harm manta rays? Answer: Probably not, but it's the divers, boat (and guide) behaviour you should be aware of. I select operators that have a code of conduct and who support science & outreach. If they arrange ocean cleanups then even better. More at scuba diving mag: https://buff.ly/4bKxpGE Join my fortnightly newsletter for more ocean stories (that matter).

For nearly two decades, Edgardo Ochoa has picked away at a problem. A net here, some fishing line there — Conservation International’s marine and diving safety officer has single-handedly scooped up thousands of pounds of abandoned fishing gear from the bottom of the sea. It’s impressive, but it’s not nearly enough to make a dent: According to one estimate, nearly a third of fishing lines are lost or discarded at sea. This so-called “ghost gear” — along with lost nets and traps — is deadly for marine animals. Experts estimate that more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die each year after getting tangled in them. Once, Ochoa saw a whale caught in a fishing net that ended up severing its tail. With far more “ghost” nets than any one person can possibly handle, Ochoa created a course to teach recreational divers how to safely remove ghost gear from the sea. Over the past five years, that course has certified nearly 100 divers in Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia and Timor-Leste. #GhostGear #OceanCleanup #MarineConservation #DiversUnite #SustainableSeas #SaveOurOceans #OnboardOnline

Is Dumpster Diving Illegal In Texas? https://lnkd.in/dukwJQeM Dumpster diving, also known as totting, skip diving, or skip salvage, is the practice of picking up items from large commercial containers, residential containers, industrial containers, and construction sites that have been thrown away by their owners, but which the picker believes can be salvaged. This activity is not limited to dumpsters or skips and may include standard household waste containers, curbside waste collection, landfills, small dumps, etc. There are various terms used to describe different types of dumpster diving. For picking up materials from curbside refuse collection, some people use curbside shopping or trash picking, while others use street scavenging. In the UK, scrapping is when someone is primarily looking for scrap metal, and gleaning is when someone is picking up food left over from farming in the fields. Some people do it out of necessity; others do it out of ideology; others do it for profit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #Lawscope #lawandlawyers #bloglikeyourown #bloginusa #blogger #blogs #blog #lawblog #businessbloggerger #lawblogger #seoblog #guestposting #writeforus #writeforusblog #DumpsterDiving #TexasLaw #LegalInTexas #TrashPickup #WasteManagement #Recycling #WasteReduction #FoodWaste #EnvironmentalJustice