(UPDATE: Wednesday March 11, 2009)  The sunken wreckage of the scuba diving liveaboard vessel that recently sank near Phuket has been located by divers from the diving company that owned the vessel.  According to the divers, they were able to spot the bodies of four of the missing passengers inside the ship.  “We have found the ship and there were four bodies stuck inside. The wreckage was about 60 to 70 metres deep,” Lieutenant Colonel Wallop Puangpaka of Phuket marine police said.  Due to the extreme depth, officials were unable to immediately conduct a body recovery operation.  They are expected to release plans for the recovery later today.

Read the Original DiveSportsBlog Post Here

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Diving Gear @ DiveSports.com

Thanks to my friends over at Neutral Dive Gear, I was alerted to a story breaking in numerous online publications today.  It appears that wildlife activists in Pilar, a small town on the eastern side of the Philippines, have found what is believed to be the smallest whale shark ever found in Philippines waters.  At just over 15 inches in length, representatives of the World Wide Fund for Nature say that the tiny whale shark is the smallest living specimen they have ever encountered.  It was found in shallow water and was tied by the tail to a small rope on the beach.  Officials  quickly removed the tiny whale shark from the shallow water and released it in deeper seas.

The Philippines has long been recognized as a transit point for migrating whale sharks.  The presence of this extremely small juvenile shark may be the first indication that the waters around the Philippines are actually a “birthing” ground for the gigantic animals.  Very few juvenile whale sharks have been spotted near the Philippines, making it difficult to confirm the area as an important link in the reproductive habits 0f the whale shark.

We will keep a keen watch for additional information on whale sharks in the Philippines waters and will update this post as required.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Gear - Save on Brand Name Scuba Equipment

Photo from Yahoo! News and Associated Press International

(Monday, March 9, 2009 8:02 AM CST)  News is just in that a dive live-aboard boat sank late Sunday night in the Andaman Sea near Phuket in Indonesia.  The boat, the MV Dive Asia 1, sank in an apparent storm that swamped the vessel, throwing all 30 passengers and crew into the sea.  Most of the passengers were able to get aboard several inflatable life rafts and were later picked up by a fishing trawler and Phuket Marine Police boats.  Unfortunately, there are seven passengers that are not yet accounted for.  According to the operator of the vessel, a severe storm approached at about 11PM local time on Sunday night and the vessel began to flounder.  The crews was able to get most of them safely into life rafts.  There were no Americans aboard the vessel at the time of the sinking.

We will update this story when additional information is available.

Phil Ellis

www.divesports.com

The Global Pet Expo is one of the premier pet and aquarium supply industry shows in the world.  Each year, the expo draws pet industry insiders by the thousands.  Such was the case last month for the annual show in Orlando, Florida.  Gunther Wenzek, owner of CoraPet in Essen, Germany was just one of many who traveled to the United States for the show.   For traders like Gunther Wenzek, this annual show is the place for forging business relationships and setting the stage for the year’s business economics.  Unfortunately for Mr. Wenzek, things didn’t turn out quite as he expected.  Upon arrival at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, Mr. Wenzek was arrested by United States Marshalls and charged with illegal importation of a contraband substance.

In July of 2008, a federal grand jury in Portland, Oregon issued an indictment against Gunther Wenzek for the illegal importation of  living coral, a violation of U.S. law.  According to the indictment, Mr. Wenzek made shipments of substances listed on customs documents as “rock, broken gravel, and coral sand”.  To federal customs agents, the material looked more like live coral rock, so they refused the shipment and returned it to the Philippines.  However, retained samples were tested and it was determined that the rock was actually living coral from the Philippines.  While maintaining complete secrecy, they later interrupted two large shipments totaling 40 tons of living coral.  Evidence was presented to the Portland grand jury that the coral was illegally harvested and a sealed indictment was issued for Wenzek.  Tight control over the details of the sealed indictment allowed officials to investigate Mr. Wenzek’s travel plans and  to surprise him when he arrived in the United States for the annual pet expo.

Living coral is under intense survival pressure due to changing ocean conditions, accidental damage, and unethical collection and resale by individuals like Mr. Wenzek.  “Preventing the further decline of coral reefs is of paramount importance in preserving our marine environment and fisheries,” said John Cruden, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  Concerned nations all over the world are undertaking considerable measures to stop any damage that can be avoided, and eliminating the illicit trade in living coral rock is a paramount part of those efforts.  Andrew Bruckner, a biologist from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, added that “the removal of dead coral and live rock is of major concern for coral reefs, including those reefs protecting coastal communities from storms.”   “These corals are the fundamental building blocks of the coral reef ecosystem,” he added. “Unsustainable collection of coral frequently results in the loss of important nursery areas, feeding grounds, refuge for fish and invertebrates, and increased erosion of reef systems.”

We will follow further developments in this story and provide updates here at DiveSportsBlog.com.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Gear from DiveSports.com

Everywhere I look, there are news stories about octopi.  We had a lot of calls and comments about our recent video post titled Shark vs Octopus.  It seems that everyone is intrigued at the exploits and capabilities of these beautiful, but misunderstood sea creatures.  Demonstrating strength and dexterity far beyond what seems possible, the octopus clearly is a one-of-a-kind animal.  Not long after I made this post, another news story surfaced about an octopus at the Santa Monica Pier  Aquarium.  It seems this little fellow manipulated a valve in an aquarium tank and caused an overnight flood.  Now, another octopus in the news.

Truman, the eight-legged, thirty pound attraction at the New England Aquarium in Boston surprised officials and visitors when he reacted quite unexpectedly to a task laid before him by caretakers.  It seems that aquarium employees like to combine feeding with “enrichment activities” to challenge the more intelligent animals.  In this situation, they placed a snack of tasty crabs inside a latched clear acrylic box.  Of course, they expected Truman to manipulate the latch and retrieve the snack.  Instead, Truman slightly dislodged the hinged top and proceeded to pack himself tightly into the box.  In fact, he got his entire 30 pound body into the acrylic case that was no larger than a milk crate.  After spending about 30 minutes in the box, he smoothly slid outside.  Staff and visitors who observed the feat were thrilled.  Based on the news, octopi are fully capable of surprise.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Gear at DiveSport.com

The oceans of the world are inhabited by a diverse variety of plants and animals.  Of course, the corals are among the most beautiful and provide a stunning landscape for divers and explorers.  Science Daily has just announced the identification of up to six new species of deep-water corals in the waters off of Hawaii.  The deep-water expedition in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument preserve was originally chartered to conduct a general study of this unique deep reserve.  During the course of numerous deep dives with remote-controlled submersibles, scientists collected a number of samples of “unusual” looking corals for further study.  Scientists who evaluated these samples were able to identify at least six new species of bamboo corals that may represent a complete new genera of corals.  Pictured above, one new species of  orange bamboo coral measures four to five feet tall and was collected more than 5,700 feet below the surface.   Bamboo corals have growth rings much like those found on trees.  This allows scientists to “date”  small chemical changes over time and make important conclusions about the condition of the water at various times in the life of the coral.  According to Richard Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA’s assistant administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the discovery of these corals may provide important data about ocean acidification, a process where changes in ocean chemistry occur as a result of an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide.

Scientists will continue to evaluate a vast variety of samples collected during the 2007 expedition in hopes of identifying even more new species.  The study of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is unique because it is the deepest protected area in the United States and contains corals that have existed for thousands of years.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Gear @ DiveSports.com

Our retail store offers dive-theme t-shirts from three of the major dive clothing manufacturer.  Our wide selection of shirts from Amphibious Outfitters, Bob the Fish, and Deep Down offer any scuba diver an opportunity to tell the world that you are a diver, and to do that with a quality shirt loaded with some of the most edgy artwork designs offered.  Each spring, the major manufacturers make slight changes to artwork and this provides an opportunity for you.  Until our 2008 inventory is gone, we are offering a unique sale…the T-Shirt Blowout Grab Bag Sale! This promotion is very simple;  all t-shirts are ONLY $10 EACH.  You simply visit our website and choose the size and quantity you want….we will pick a nice selection of shirts for you.  You don’t choose the specific design, but all are brand-new current inventory, featuring the hottest graphic designs from these major manufactures.  This is not shop-worn merchandise that has been hanging on hangers for months;  all shirts are brand new, properly folded, and individually bagged.

Take this opportunity to fill your closet with some of the hottest t-shirts in the dive business.  Inventory is going fast, so don’t delay.  At ONLY $10 EACH, this is a dive shirt bargain that can’t be beat!

Phil Ellis

Name Brand Dive T-Shirts Only $10 Each!

www.divesports.com

In January of this year, we made a blog post about the selection process for the Best Job in the World…..a unique marketing scheme to promote tourism in Queensland, Australia.  This contest asked for applications to serve as the caretaker of Hamilton Island, one of hundreds of beautiful islands on the famous Barrier Reef in Australia.  The lure of this six-month job assignment offered everything a care-free, adventurous person could want…..a great job assignment , all living and travel expenses paid, and a pretty good salary for the assignment.  As we reported, the applications came pouring in from all over the world.  With little surprise, video applications were submitted by over 34,000 applicants.  It seems that everyone wants the Best Job in the World.  Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle reports that tourism staffers had a very difficult time reviewing the video applications and narrowing the list down to the top 50 finalists for the position.   It is now up to visitors to the efforts unique website to vote for the one individual best suited for the Best Job in the World.

Unfortunately, the popularity of this unique promotion is causing a few problems.  First, many of the videos submitted were not applications at all….just promotional plants from various commercial enterprises.  The sheer volume of the submitted videos caused last minute applicants to be completely shut out and unable to submit applications.   The strain on the internet site causes frequent downtime and voting is obviously impacted by this.  Despite the problems, the voting continues until March 24, 2009.  On that date the decision will be made;  someone will get the Best Job in the World.

Phil Ellis

www.divesports.com