Dolphin Attacks

There were two accidents during dolphin encounter programs recently, but the reasons unknown.

 According to the Orlando Sentinel, eight-year-old Jillian Thomas was feeding the dolphins at Dolphin Cove last week when the "marine mammal lunged toward her during the feeding and snapped his toothy snout around the 8-year-old's hand." The attack left four puncture wounds in the young girl's arm and was captured on video by the girl's parents.

The article with the video continued here.

Life and death of sharks

I recently saw a video. It was taken in a Chinese aquarium where a nurse shark baby was born. It's really cute- hopefully someday I'll see a nurse shark in real life. Usually the divers see them in the Caribbean where I haven't been yet.

Let me recommend another interesting article about sharks: two marine biologists took photo of a wobbegong shark which ate a bamboo shark. I think it was a really extraordinary moment to see as a shark killed a smaller shark.

The last story is about death sharks as well but it's much more sad. Thousands of divers arrives to Bali island in Indonesia to see the wonders of the sea. Most of them are keen to see sharks as well. But it seems the sharks is more important for the fisherman than the divers so they catch dozens of  thresher sharks every day. They sell their fins in the Chinese markets- to kill a wonderful predator for a few plates of shark fin soup, it's so horrible...

News 44-45/2011

I confess I'm disappointed when I read news about wreck looters, and sadly they're everywhere: even in Finland.

Many people dislike the idea of artificial reefs. I don't know if it's a good way to reduce the stress on coral reefs or we just create an underwater backyard. Recently the Vandenberg wreck won a conservation award.

I wish I had the chance to travel to Queensland to see the annual coral spawning. Sadly I can't do it but many tourists can, this year a lot of them arrives to the Great Barrier Reef to see it.

I regularly join underwater cleanup days, great to see how much garbage we bring to the surface- and disappointing to realize the people dumped them into the water. And many other divers join conservation project around the world! It was very interesting to read an article about scuba diving priests of the Philippines who works for the sea.

Michael K. Williams says no to the chumming: the actor liked the diving with great whites but the the way of attracting them.

Interesting news from week 43/2011

An American diver was attacked in Australia, near Rottnest Island. The government made a controversial decision when let the fishermen to catch all the white sharks in the area. It seems there is a shark panic, two sightings was enough to talk about safety again.

The Japanese whalers suspended their hunt last year earlier than they planned. The Sea Shepherd celebrated the victory but it seems the Japanese don't give, they spend even more money on whale hunt.

A man found an underwater camera which traveled hundreds of miles in the sea. Now he try to find its owner- check out the photos which can help.

Sometimes we feel we know nearly all secrets which lie in the shallows but it seems divers find always new wrecks in different areas. In Panama they hope to find the remains of Francis Drake's ship, while a diver documented three wrecks in Lake Michigan.

In the Ukrainian Black Sea divers do real underwater art: they paint in the deep.