the File - American Academy of Underwater

JANUARY 2002
A News Publication of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences
JANUARY 2002
Cold Water Scientific Diving
A Personal Historical Look
By Bill High, Fisheries Research Biologist, President, PSI, Inc.
When Bob Hicks asked me to speak to this group of science divers
American Academy
of Underwater Sciences
430 Nahant Road
Nahant, MA 01908
THE SLATE
AAUS Board of Directors and Officers
PRESIDENT
Mark Flahan
San Diego State University
College of Sciences
5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego, CA 92182-4610
619-594-6799
Fax 619-594-7301
flahan@sciences.sdsu.edu
STATISTICS CHAIR, WEBMASTER, &
VIRTUAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Steve Sellers
Diving Safety Officer
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
252-328-4041
Fax 252-328-4050
sellerss@mail.ecu.edu
PRESIDENT–ELECT
William Dent
Diving Safety Officer
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave., PED 214
Tampa, FL 33620
813-974-5018
Fax 813-974-4979
wdent@research.usf.edu
DIRECTOR & SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR
Gavin Wuttken
Diving Safety Officer
Volunteer Coordinator
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
831-648-4800
Fax 831-644-7597
gwuttken@mbayaq.org
SECRETARY
Vallorie Hodges
Diving Safety Officer
Oregon Coast Aquarium
2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd.
Newport, OR 97365
541-867-3474 x5302
edofleini@yahoo.com
valh@orcaq.org
TREASURER
Ted Maney
Marine Science Center
Northeastern University
East Point, Nahant, MA 01908
781-581-7370
Fax 781-581-6076
emaney@lynx.neu.ed
DIRECTOR & MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
Douglas E. Kesling, BSN, DMT-A
Training and Safety Coordinator
National Undersea Research Center
Univ. of North Carolina–Wilmington
5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane
Wilmington, NC 28409
910-962-2445
Fax 910-962-2410
keslingd@uncwil.edu
DIRECTOR & STANDARDS CHAIR
Samuel Sublett
Diving Safety Officer
University of Washington
Hall He
Seattle, WA 98195
206-543-7388
Fax 206-543-3351
sublett@u.washington.edu
DIRECTOR
Sherry A. Reed
Unit Dive Officer
Research Specialist
Smithsonian Marine Station
701 Seaway Dr.
Fort Pierce, FL 34949
561-465-6630 x144
Fax 561-461-8154
reed@sms.si.edu
EDITOR, THE SLATE
Walt Jaap
Florida Marine Research Institute
(Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission)
100 8th Ave. SE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5095
727-896-8626 x1122
Fax 727-893-1270
Walt.Jaap@fwc.state.fl.us
AMERICAN ACADEMY
OF UNDERWATER SCIENCES
430 Nahant Road
Nahant, MA 01908
781-581-7370 x334
Fax 781-581-6076
aaus@neu.edu
www.aaus.org
JOIN AAUS!
The American Academy of Underwater
Sciences exists to promote safe and productive underwater scientific exploration
and to advance the state of underwater
technology The strength of the AAUS is
its membership, those institutions and individuals that pursue scientific objectives
beneath the water surface across the
North American continent and beyond.
If you are involved in scientific diving
and underwater exploration, you should
be a member of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences.
Join the AAUS and be a part of the
scientific diving community. Learn and
benefit from communications with your
counterparts across the United States.
Participate in the annual AAUS Symposium and workshops. Help create for
yourself, your associates and staff the
most efficient, productive, and safe scientific diving program possible. For
membership information, contact
American Academy
of Underwater Sciences
430 Nahant Road
Nahant, MA 01908
781-581-7370 ext 334
aaus@neu.edu.
about cold water diving, my first thought was why, since nearly all
these scientists and technicians will have dived in cold water throughout their diving science pursuits. You dive, you get cold—simple as
that. My thoughts were based upon my experiences beginning with
my first science dive in 1955. By the way, that was my first dive. I wore
a Bell Aqua waist entry dry suit that was by no means dry.
What should I tell you about diving for science projects in the
1950s, or anytime before you joined the ranks of science diver in the
1980s, 1990s, or even after the year 2000? Diving means cold, simple
as that. For me, there were two obvious reasons for accepting cold
as a condition of being a diver. One, the early exposure suits were less
than best whether either striving to be the so-called dry suit or the wet
suit with insulating capacity. The second reason is harder to explain
but, as enthusiastic and dedicated diving scientists, you will understand.
It was the job to be done. We stayed too long in cold water to make
just one more observation, to gather just one more set of data, to discover something that those bound to land would never see.
When I began diving for science in 1955 and well into the 1960s,
very few traditional scientists considered diving as a legitimate research tool. The prestigious Dr. Fleming, Dean of the University of Washington College of Oceanography, stated to me in 1960 that so-called
diving for science was only an excuse to play and that all meaningful
research in the ocean could be accomplished by deploying instruments from a ship and cable.
Fortunately, leaders with vision such as Dr. Lee Alverson, Al Pruter
and Richard McNeely of the then Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
allowed me to prove Fleming wrong. Although I brought diving as
a research tool to the International Halibut Commission in 1958, it was
the BCF Gear Research Unit where we dove day to day and got cold
each day we dove in custom fitted wet suits. We dove onto a variety of fishing trawls at speeds up to three knots in 49° water as often
as seven times each day. Our findings were essential to the development of commercial and research sampling trawls, seines, gill nets,
long lines, and fish and crab traps. Persons interested in a more detailed reports on the variety of diving research performed by the
NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science center should obtain a copy of Observations of a Scientist/Diver on Fishing Technology and Fisheries Biology, Processed Report 98-01.
A more personal account of the many problems, hazards and mistakes while pursuing science and other diving objectives will be
found in the 300-page illustrated book Beneath the Sea—A Sampling
of Diving and Other Adventures.
Did we urinate into those wet suits to gain warmth? Of course we
did, because one, we needed to urinate, and two, for a moment
the sensation was warm even though in reality we lost core heat and
that fluid very soon was cold and sloshing inside our suits.
In 1970, I was selected to lead the first team into Tektite II, the undersea laboratory sunk beneath the clear, “warm” waters of the Virgin Islands. My previous diving experience in such waters forewarned
me so that my team took with us the best available wet suits. Being
from the Pacific Northwest, we took full 1 ⁄4-inch custom wet suits with
1 ⁄ 8-inch
undervests and short
pants. Some observers thought it
outlandish that we
took suits designed for 49°water for diving
into bathtub-like
80°. However, we
had the opportunity while living on
the ocean floor for
14 days to spend Jumping into Resurrection Bay on a dry-suit field
as much as 10 trip at AAUS’s 2001 Symposium, Seward, Alaska.
hours each day in
the water column lying quietly on the sea bed studying fish behavior. And we got cold.
By 1971, a new type of diving dress was imported from Scandinavia, the Uni-suit. I acquired early models for my cold water trawl diving team. At last we were not cold while clinging to a fishing trawl
traveling across the sea floor. The first three or four dives in a day
elicited no thoughts of cold, and thereafter the later dives were cold
but tolerable.
Later saturation dives in the Hydro-lab and Edalhab saturation
projects located respectively in the Bahamas and Florida did not generate major concerns for my dive team even though many hours were
spent working outside the habitat. In those years, 1971 and 1972, we
better understood what wet suit combinations provided warmth in
relatively warm water.
In 1975, the Helgoland undersea laboratory was deployed into the
North Atlantic at 132 ft. My science/diver team and nearly all other
divers wore Uni-suits. Each scientist and technician living within that
underwater structure was amazed to see what his Uni-suit looked like
when removed at the habitat pressure. The suit seemed to have no
shape, thickness or capacity to provide insulation. We did our assignments and got cold.
I twice pursued marine science at locations where it was warm. I
was on a diving assignment in Japan. The water there was in the low
70s, so I took along a 1⁄ 8-inch neoprene jump suit. I was not cold. From
Japan I traveled to Micronesia and Truk Lagoon. I don’t recall the
water temperature there, only that during the first dive I became too
warm and thereafter removed the thinly insulated jump suit to dive
to depths of 150 ft or more in just a bathing suit.
In 1972, I sailed to the equator in the eastern tropical Pacific to discover a means or technique to save the thousands of porpoise that
were trapped inside of tuna purse seines. Diving alone inside tuna
seines even at depth along the eastern tropical Pacific, jeans and a
tee shirt were more than enough insulation to be warm. Every science
diver should, at least once in his/her career, discover a true warm water
dive—but I don’t recommend diving alone inside a tuna seine with tons
continued on page 2
A Little Peace of Mind
Do you have marine mammals at your facility? Do you need to dive
2
among them? Have you found yourself telling would-be divers that
they won’t get sick diving in the high levels of enterococci found in these
pens? That’s where we found ourselves in 1998 at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium when our Sea Otter Exhibit was redesigned to allow alga
mats, invertebrates, and fish to co-exist with otters. Water sampling revealed spikes of enterococci higher than allowed by EPA standards for
human contact. To pinpoint the source, we sampled before the water
entered this exhibit. That confirmed that the high levels were from the
otters and not from our seawater intake system.
We decided then to follow EPA standards and close the exhibit to diving anytime levels exceeded the 104 single-sample limit. We also instituted standards to minimize the risk of illness. These included the following:
1 Check seals on face masks and regulators. 2 AGA full-face masks made
available to divers. 3 Freshwater rinse immediately after diving. 4 Wetsuits treated with “sink the stink.” 5 Divers avoid touching their mouths
or eyes before showering. 6 No diving with open wounds. 7 Notify the
DSO of any unexplained illness.
In the meantime, our Water Quality Department staff, veterinarian,
Diving Doctor, and I searched for any literature on cross-contamination
between marine mammals and humans. Looking to the EPA provided
very little relief. Their main study was undertaken in the 1970s and naturally focused on human source-points. Only one study—”Health Effects of Swimming and Nonpoint Sources of Contaminated Water,”
Calderon, 1991, International Journal of Environmental Heath Research—
looked at animals (cows specifically) as a source. We also polled AAUS
as well as ADPA (Association of Dive Program Administrators) members.
As we expected, very few institutions had looked at this issue.
The “Implementation Guidance for Ambient Water Quality Criteria for
Bacteria—1986” allowed for two options to exempt a “site-specific”
body of water from their standards, one of which was to provide rationale and data supporting “site-specific” nonpoint (animal) source. In
2001, we conducted our own study. We compared divers in our Sea Otter
Exhibit to divers in our Kelp Forest and Monterey Bay Habitat exhibits. Sea
Otter divers were allowed (if they wanted) to dive in water exceeding
the single-sample limit for enterococci. Twenty-eight divers were sampled over two and a half months. A survey created by our Diving Doc-
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tor was e-mailed to divers four days after their dive. Divers returned the
form via e-mail. Water samples were taken 18 times during this survey.
Four times during the survey, enterococci levels were above singlesample limits and twice fecal coliforms exceeded the EPA limits. All
sampling was done following the EPA standards for testing.
Our results: <2% of the divers reported any symptoms—three divers
in the Sea Otter Exhibit and two in the control groups. The largest reported
symptom was a sore throat.
Our conclusion: When we studied our uncontrollable, known, marine
mammal source of fecal contaminant, we saw no relationship between
high levels of enterococci and diver illness. “So get back in there.”
continued from page 1
of tuna and a thousand or more porpoise confined along with several
unhappy sharks.
I supervised a number of deep submersible programs, primarily in
Alaska waters, from near Sitka to Kodiak. Scientists and technicians with
diving experience made the best observers and recorders of usable data.
Divers were less awestruck by the amazing undersea world at 1,000 ft
or more and could get the work done. There too it was cold. So-called
mini-subs or research submersibles become very cold inside when cruising along the North Pacific seabed or when just sitting on the bottom
to allow the scientists to observe sedentary events for as long as six hours.
For the submersible scientist, the solution was much simpler than for the
diver/scientist. They only had to wear lots of insulating clothing and
hope the submersible didn’t leak so that clothing became soaked with
very, very cold water. If you want to know what it is like to be in a flooding submersible 800 ft underwater, you will find the written account
along with many other diving adventures and mis-adventures in my book
Beneath The Sea—A Sampling of Diving and Other Adventures.
Perhaps I have left you with the impression that we didn’t try enough
ways to stay warm. We tested everything that came to mind. We poured
hot water into the wet suits between dives, we wore electric socks in dry
suits and activated chemical packets, which were too hot in one spot
and useless over the remainder of the body.
We early science divers survived the cold because of our missions. We
were the cutting edge of today’s scientific diving. We fought the mindset of land-bound science convention so that you here today may pursue diving science as a routine. We saw and reported upon things that
no one had seen before. We did things that no one had done before,
and when you are the first to make a valid observation useful to your
profession, it doesn’t seem to be that cold.
I regret that I could not be with you today, but conditions beyond my
control prevented it. Participants at this conference are invited and encouraged to contact me anytime if they have questions about any of
the diving science projects I participated in. Call me at 425-486-2252 or
e-mail me at psicylinders@msn.com.
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from the
PRESIDENT–EDITOR
Walt Jaap
This is my last column as president. I can say honestly that I have not suffered too badly
in the course of the past two years. The Board of Directors has worked long and hard
to keep me from getting into too much trouble. I have enjoyed working with Bill Dent,
Mark Flahan, Henry Fastenau, Doug Kesling, Ted Maney, Patrick Pitts, Steve Sellers, and
Sam Sublett. We have had moments of dissension, but mostly our tour of duty was a
team effort to move AAUS in a progressive way to better serve the members. In January, a new BOD will take the reins: Mark Flahan will be the new president, Bill Dent
the President-Elect, Vallorie Hodges the Secretary, and the directors include Doug
Kesling, Sherry Reed, and Gavin Wuttken. Steve Sellers is now our webmaster and Virtual Office administrator. I wish them well and will track their actions.
The Alaska meeting was a great show in the way AAUS members responded and
participated. Amid the great turmoil and anxiety during the prior week, it was a very
challenging experience to make the call to go ahead with the meeting. We weighed
the options and concluded that we wanted to be positive and hold the meeting as
scheduled. It turned out to be one of the better workshops and meetings in terms of
content and participation. My hope is that we do not have a similar decision to make
ever again. Bob Hicks, Steve Jewett, Vallorie Hodges, and Brenda Konar put together a fine meeting. The next Diving for Science AAUS Symposium will be in the spring
of 2003 in North Carolina.
A lesson that I learned from the Alaska experience was never to assume that you
are prepared for an operation without checking all the details. I participated in the
cold water workshop and brought my dry suit to go for the dives off Fox Island in Resurrection Bay. I did a moderate inventory of the gear before leaving for Alaska (I even
purchased some new Capliene underwear). I got on the boat, rode to Fox Island,
donned the insulation, dry suit, and weight harness and was getting into my BC & cylinder when I discovered that my BC would not fit over the dry suit with all the extra insulating garments. I was not a happy camper. Several of the group offered me their
stuff, but at that point my frame of mind was in a funk. I lent my video camera to Ted
Maney, and Ted did get some very good shots of a Steller’s sea lion diving among
the herd of AAUS DSOs. Bob Hicks reports that the dives off Fox Island set an Alaskan
record for the most divers in the water at the same time at the same place— something like 43 were raising the tide level off Fox Island.
We are disappointed to report very poor compliance with submitting organizational
diving statistics for 2000. The BOD is very concerned that 17 organizational members
did not file statistics prior to the September AAUS annual meeting. This is unacceptable performance. We DSOs have numerous ways to compile and summarize diving statistics, from homegrown spreadsheets and data management programs to
hybrid-commercial software programs, so I am unsympathetic to the DSOs that
whine about compiling the statistics and submitting them. The science diving statistics were one of the principal reasons that OSHA provided AAUS with the science diving exemption. We may again be called upon to document the AAUS safety record,
and the science diving statistics are very important to that end. My suggestion to all
the DSOs and OM representatives is to think about being more punctual in submitting your diving statistics. By 15 April, you must file your income tax. This is 3.5 months
after New Year’s, and you should be able to compile your diving statistics within that
time and send them in. We have made the process less painful by reducing the number of items that need to be submitted and by automating submission through the
web page—Virtual Office. You are responsible for timely submission of these data.
The final face-to-face board meeting was a day-long session in Seward. We reviewed much and made several policy decisions that will be implemented over
time. The summary of the meeting minutes is included in this Slate. You should be aware
of changes in membership dues. In 2002, student memberships will increase by $5.00.
In 2003, the organizational membership dues will go up by $25.00. Under a change
in policy, every person who serves on an organizational member Diving Control
Board will be provided an AAUS individual membership (full or associate, depending on qualifications). The renewal process is now flowing through the virtual office
(VO) www.aaus.org/vo, and each OM needs to complete registration on the VO. The
DCB members are identified in the renewal process, and they will receive membership forms.
In October, Ted Maney and I assisted in a YMCA diving-instructor training institute
in Orlando. We encouraged AAUS DSOs and programs that are seeking AAUS membership to participate in a cost-effective training program to qualify the DSO to instructor certification. Seven people from AAUS and future AAUS programs participated
in the five-day program. The facilities were excellent—the Y in Orlando has a huge
aquatic center with a 17-ft deep platform diving pool. We had DSOs and DCB people from Alaska, Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, New Hampshire, and Michigan. Remember that by June 2002, all AAUS DSOs must be certified Diving Instructors.
So I bid you a fond farewell and will continue to serve in the capacity of managing editor of The Slate. Continue the quest for knowledge
about the ocean, lakes, and rivers; train the new people to
the best standards possible; follow your dreams.
AAUS Gear!
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We are proud to announce that AAUS gear is now in
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spelled out. For a look-see, go to www.aaus.org.
Golf Shirts
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AAUS Member
Organizations
Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation
Aquarium of the Americas
Aquatic Research Institute
Arizona State University
Aubrey Consulting Inc.
Bermuda Biological Station for Research
Broward County, FL, Dept. of Natural Resource Protection
California Department of Fish and Game
California State University
Caribbean Marine Research Center
Colorado Ocean Journey
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Duke University, School of the Environment
Duke/UNC Oceanographic Consortium
East Carolina University
Florida International University
Florida Marine Research Institute
Florida State University
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
Humboldt State University
Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
Louisiana University Marine Consortium
Marine Biological Laboratory
MBC Applied Environmental Sciences
Minerals Management Service, USDI
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Mote Marine Laboratory
New Zealand Natl. Inst. of Water & Atmospheric Research
Northeastern University
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center
Oregon State University
Prince William Sound Science Center
R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc.
Rutgers University
Saint Mary’s College
San Diego State University
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Seattle University
Smithsonian Institution
Stanford University
Texas A&M University at Galveston
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Texas State Aquarium
The Florida Aquarium
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Davis
UCLA
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Southern California
University of Connecticut
University of Florida
University of Guam
University of Hawaii
University of Maine
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
University of Miami–RSMAS
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of Rhode Island
University of South Florida
University of Texas at Austin
University of Washington
University System of Georgia
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
11
NOAA / HBOI Cruise
Florida’s Oculina Reefs
John Reed
Senior Research Specialist, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
The first leg of NOAA’s Islands in the Stream 2001 Expedition in September to the deep-water Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern
(HAPC) off the east coast of Florida was a great success. This 300-nmi2 reserve is the first protected marine area in the world to attempt to
protect deep water coral. Scientists from NOAA, HBOI, NURC, NASA, NMFS, University of Florida, and Dynamac joined to map and survey
these unique reefs. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution provided the ship and CLELIA submersible for the dives. In 8 days, 16 sub dives
and 13 ROV dives were conducted throughout the reserve and resulted in more than 70 hours of underwater videotape documentation.
Numerous historical sites, some not seen for nearly 25 years, were revisited. In all, much has changed during the past two decades, including
significant habitat destruction, apparently from shrimp trawlers and reduced reef-fish abundance. In contrast, the apparent success of artificial-reef-ball experiments and occasional sightings of grouper aggregations were encouraging. This work significantly improved our understanding of the Oculina Reserve and provided valuable new findings to support management of these special resources.
BC: Sustainable Sea Urchin Fisheries
By Michael T. Nishizaki
University of Northern British Columbia and Bamfield Marine Station
Over the past two decades, sea urchins from the west coast of British
Columbia have been harvested for export to Japan where the gonads are used for sushi. These spiny bottom-dwellers are important
grazers of the kelp forest and can live up to 100 years. In British Columbia, there are three species of urchin, (red, green, and purple),
and commercial dive fisheries exist for both green and red urchins.
For sea urchins, juvenile recruitment is a highly variable and poorly
understood phenomenon. Divers have observed since the late 1970s
that juvenile red urchins are found almost exclusively under the
spines of aggregating adults. Some have called for regulations protecting shallow aggregations of adult urchins as nursery habitats for
juveniles. However, imposing these types of restrictions would be difficult without knowing why juveniles shelter under adults.
With the support of the Bamfield Marine Station, we are combining laboratory experiments with field surveys to understand juvenile
urchin ecology. Scientific divers conducted subtidal surveys estimating urchin size distributions and making species inventories at several sites. In addition, we had divers search for juvenile urchins both
by hand and by using an underwater vacuum. We then estimated
near-bottom water motion by measuring the dissolution of balls
made from plaster of Paris set out over two tidal cycles.
This study, which has improved our understanding of juvenile
urchin ecology, has several applications. For commercial divers,
we have identified several reasons why adult sheltering benefits juvenile growth. Apart from harvesting, the topic of “outplanting”
laboratory-raised juveniles in the field to boost wild stocks has been
proposed. Our work has helped identify what type of biological
and physical microhabitats one should look for when outplanting
these vulnerable juveniles. Results of this project are presently being
published: the first article is available as of August 2001 in the Proceedings of the 10th International Echinoderm Conference (Swets
& Zeitlinger Publishers).
2002 AAUS
Member Benefits
Deep-water reef with thickets of Oculina coral at 270 ft.
Unfortunately, vast areas of the Oculina reefs have been decimated over the
years, some due to shrimp trawlers.
Aquaflite Wetsuits—$10 off standard sizes, $20 off custom suits
Best Publishing—10% discount on most retail prices
Citizen Watch—HyperAqualand watches (contact Ted Maney for prices)
AAUS Publications—20% discount
Divers Alert Network (DAN)—Insurance coverage for scientific divers who
are DAN members, have purchased additional member insurance coverage offered through DAN, and are diving under the auspices of an
AAUS Organizational Member.
10
3
Schools of gag and scamp grouper dominate healthy Oculina reefs.
Several hundred 3’-diameter artificial reef balls with live coral attached have been
deployed in the dead coral areas to provide structure for new coral growth and
fish habitat.
Farallon USA is pleased to be a supporting corporate member of AAUS. We believe strongly in the mission and purpose of the Academy.
Farallon DPVs…
• are the only commercially available Diver Propulsion Vehicles authorized for U.S. Navy use.
• allow divers to move materials as well as themselves from place to place faster with less effort and less diver fatigue.
• are useful to scientists and researchers for surveying large areas in the study of reefs and marine life.
• have been used in long range transit of material and equipment repairs.
• are excellent tools for the supervision of diver training.
A large scamp grouper displays its dominant super-male coloration.
Submersible lockout dives (J. Reed) in the 1970s and 80s documented the high
biodiversity and slow growth of the Oculina coral.
1901 Montreal Rd. Suite 105, Tucker, GA 30084 • Tel. (770) 414-0550 Fax (770) 414-4004
e-mail: Farallondpv@mindspring.com • www.farallonusa.com
ROV Exploring: Alberni Inlet’s Glass Sponges
AAUS 2001 Awards
By James Mortimor, Scientific Diving Coordinator, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, British Columbia, Canada
Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Award for Scientific Diving Leadership
Alberni Inlet, leading into the mouth of Barkley Sound, Vancouver
Island, played host to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition to facilitate the
research into glass
sponges
undertaken by Dr. Sally
Leys (University of
Victoria and “Marine Invertebrates”
course instructor at
Bamfield Marine Station). To make this
exploration possible
at depths beyond
SCUBA diving range,
an ROV was operated by a team from the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility (http :// www.ropos.com) using the Canadian Coast
Guard Vessel John P. Tully as a dive platform. The exploration’s purpose was to use ROPOS (Remotely Operated Platform for
Ocean Science) to evaluate sites
for the presence of glass sponges
and to collect glass sponges to
gather information on their biology and physiology.
ROPOS undertook two dives,
one at Chup Point and another
at San Jose Islets, to a maximum
Chonelasma calyx
4
depth of 200 m—
shallow, considering
that the pilots routinely work on hydrothermal
vents
and that the submersible has a 5,000m depth capacity.
Throughout the dives,
continuous high-resolution video was obtained, along with
real-time data logging, as both text and still frames. Amid much excitement, the glass sponges (Hexactinellida) encountered were the
cloud sponges (Aphrocallistes vastus and Chonelasma calyx) and
Presented annually to an individual who has made a significant
contribution in diving safety and diving leadership on behalf of the
scientific diving community.
Jimmy Stewart—2001
“Among scientific and technical divers, Jimmy Stewart enjoys
the status that Chuck Yeager has among professional pilots. Stewart didn’t invent scientific diving in America; that distinction belongs
to his predecessor, Conrad Limbaugh. But he organized it, standardized it, and spread that knowledge around the country and
around the world. In the process, he made a lot of history and had
a lot of fun. In 1991 Stewart retired after a 30-year career as diving
officer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.”1 He is still very active in providing leadership in the scientific diving community.
boot sponge (Rhabdocalyptus
dawsoni). A diversity of other
fauna was observed, including
ratfish, rockfish, and gorgonian
corals. Using the capabilities of
the manipulator arms and suction sampler, small sponge specimens were collected for
subsequent laboratory work.
Chonelasma calyx
Cloud sponges estimated to
measure an impressive two metres
across were seen. Boot sponges of
an equally inspiring magnitude (up
to two metres long) were also surAphrocallistes vastus
veyed. Mysteriously, a number of
dead sponges were observed during the surveys. Interestingly, these
sponges were characteristically exceptionally large and predominately occurred at about 100 m deep—a
finding that fuelled much discussion, as
healthy glass sponges do occur above
(and below) this depth. Future research
into glass sponges will address this phenomenon. In next year’s ROPOS trip, Dr.
Leys plans to carry out in situ experiments
to examine settlement and recruitment of
hexactinellid sponges in British Columbia
Rhabdocalyptus
fjords. Using a smaller commercially avail- dawsoni
able ROV (a research tool that the Bamfield
Marine Station plans to purchase), her
team will survey and map glass
sponge distribution in Barkley Sound.
This work forms part of the ongoing
research of Dr. Sally Leys (spleys@
uvic.ca). The exploration science
team (Sally Leys, James Mortimor, Glen
Elliott, and Archie McLean) acknowledge and thank NSERC, the highly
skilled ROPOS team, the enduring skipper and crew of JP Tully, Bamfield
Coast Guard, and Bamfield Marine
Station
for their assistance.
Gorgonian coral (Paragorgia)
UI 2002 Finalizes Technical Program
The Underwater Intervention Committee is in the process of reviewing over 100 abstracts for technical papers to be presented at
the upcoming UI 2002 event. UI 2002 will be held February 27–March
2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The technical papers and panels planned reflect an expansion of
the most dynamic and well-attended topics of UI 2001, which was held
in January in Tampa, Florida. Including discussion of advanced technical solutions for deepwater intervention, trends in diver training and
accreditation, review and debate of the changing worldview on
shipwreck exploration, and industry-defining discussions of AUV applications and standards in the commercial sector, Underwater Intervention remains at the forefront in determining the future of the
underwater contracting industry.
Recognizing New Orleans as the most popular venue for oil-related
industries-including commercial diving, ROVs, and AUVs, the UI Committee has booked the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the
conference through the year 2005. Proximity to major offshore oil
companies and underwater contractors assures that the conference
will be a catalyst for development of important relationships, both
Conrad Limbaugh was an underwater naturalist and chief diving officer
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he directed the Institution diving program. He was killed in a scuba diving accident in the Mediterranean
on March 20, 1960. Limbaugh graduated from Whittier College in 1948 and
did graduate work at the University of California at Los Angeles before
going to the Scripps Institution in 1950. He was largely responsible for developing the diver-training program at Scripps, as well as many techniques
used by marine scientist.
Scientific Diving Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented annually to an individual from the scientific diving community who has made a significant contribution in the field of science
while using underwater diving techniques as a research tool.
Doug Kesling
Wheeler J. North, PhD—2001
“A PhD in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Wheeler North developed many techniques now standard in
scientific diving, including the study and transplanting of kelp. Many
of today’s leaders in the diving field owe their start to this distinguished
underwater scientist.
“North’s influence extends into sport diving as well. He was one
of this nation’s first scuba instructors, a dive store owner, and an editor of one of the early diving magazines. But he is best remembered
for his contributions to California’s kelp forest. Studying them since
the early 1950s, North developed methods to control urchins and to
transplant healthy kelp plants to resurrect depleted beds. He developed the world’s first deep-water kelp farm and is presently working on a plan to utilize the marine algae to counter the greenhouse
effect. The healthy kelp forests off Palos Verdes and Orange County
are his lasting monument.”1
AAUS Service Recognition Awards—2001
Presented annually to an individual member or members in the
Academy who have provided outstanding service to AAUS and its
ongoing mission.
Dick Bell, Kathy Johnston, John Duffy, Don Harper, Kathy Mitchell
AAUS Service Recognition Award—Past Presidents—AAUS
Lee Somers, PhD; Bob Given, PhD; Chuck Mitchell; Gary Davis;
Michael Lang; Glen Egstrom, PhD; Woody Sutherland; John Heine;
Ted Maney
1Excerpts from Eric Hanauer. 1994. Diving Pioneers: An Oral History of Diving in America. Watersport Publishing, Inc., San Diego, CA.
Student Scholarship Winners
This year’s student scholarship competition was the first time that two
awards were made. One was for best Masters, and one was for best
PhD candidate. The two-award system will continue in the future.
In spite of an increased chance of winning, especially for a Masters student, only 24 papers were submitted: 10 papers were received in the Masters category and 14 in PhD. Although there were
fewer papers than in previous years, all the judges commented
that the quality was much better, which made their task of ranking
papers more difficult.
The unanimous winner in the Masters competition was Salvador
Jorgensen of the University of California, Davis. His paper was “Pelagic
fish assemblages: Implications for Marine Reserve Design.” When informed of his accomplishment, Mr. Jorgensen said, “Thank you very
much. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to accept the generous scholarship in person. This is not only an opportunity to do logistically expensive studies, but also on a personal level reassurance of the
value of my efforts.” Salvador’s studies involve diving in the Sea of
Cortez. The scholarship will help pay for those trips.
The PhD competition was so close this year that it required an extra
round of reviews and rankings. Irene Tetreault Beers, of UCLA, was
the award winner. Her paper was “A test of the spillover effect from
no-take marine reserves using California sheepshead in southern California”. Ms Beers commented that she sincerely appreciated the
scholarship, adding, “More than the money, however, I am grateful for the recognition and your confidence in our work.” Irene also
reports that her studies are going so well that she has expanded them
to include another species of fish.
The AAUS looks forward to reading more about these two studies and hearing the presentations at an upcoming symposium.
The time-consuming and difficult task of reviewing and ranking all
these papers was carried out by a group of dedicated volunteers.
Reviewing the Masters papers were John Heine and Drs. Valerie
Paul and Jay Stachowicz. The PhD reviewers were Drs. Roy Caldwell,
Charles Ellis, Laura Rogers-Bennett, Mark Snyder, and John Valentine.
The reviewers will have free membership in AAUS next year. However,
that cannot begin to repay them for their time and dedication to
the advancement of diving science. Our sincere thanks to them all.
The scholarships next year will follow the same guidelines as before. There will be at least two awards of $2,500 each. Deadline for
application will be June 30, 2002, even though there is not a symposium scheduled at that time. For more information visit the AAUS
website, http://www.aaus.org.
More on Our Virtual Office
Howie Doyle
domestic and international. Underwater Intervention has become
known as a staging ground for significant breaksthrough in operations and technology that benefit underwater contractors.
Panel and technical paper topics for UI 2002 include the following:
diver, ROV, AUV, and manned submersible operations; platform,
pipeline, and production system installation and maintenance;
deepwater applications; inshore diving and ROV utilization; remote
intervention technology; contaminated diving; bridge inspections;
and safety, certification, and insurance and industry trends
Approximately 200 booths have been reserved by exhibitors. Exhibit
space is still available. For information, contact Ross Saxon at 1-800-3162188.
Underwater Intervention is co-sponsored by the Association of Diving Contractors International, Inc., and the ROV Committee of the
Marine Technology Society. Advance registration is now being accepted. Advance registrants receive significant discounts compared to registration at the door. There is a downloadable registration
form available in PDF format at www.underwaterintervention.com.
For more information, call 800-316-2188.
We hope that by now all of you are aware that AAUS is moving to
a centralized database that requires all OMs, current or new, to submit an OM application online. The application is accessed through
the AAUS website at www.aaus.org.
Everyone goes through the same application process. However,
current OMs do not have to submit another application fee. When
you submit the application the BOD will receive an e-mail stating that
it is in the pipeline. Soon after that, current OMs will have their application fees marked as paid. This will cause individual applications
to be sent to your DCB and DSO(s). The membership committee (currently Doug Kesling) will then review these submitted applications,
and the applicants will be assigned either Full or Associate membership status. The fees for these individual memberships are covered with the payment of your OM dues. The last part of the OM
application process involves the uploading of a digital copy of your
diving manual in either Word or txt format. Since your manuals have
already been reviewed, current OMs will have their manuals marked
as approved soon after they are uploaded.
As part of this online system, OM Reps and/or the person who first
submits the OM application will receive automatically generated email messages when certain actions are taken with regard to the
processing of your application. These messages will appear to come
from a BOD member such as the President, Treasurer, Membership,
Henry Fastenau
Steve Sellers
or Standards Chair. These individuals did not generate this message,
so if you have a “technical” problem submitting an application,
please direct it to Steve Sellers at sellerss@mail.ecu.edu and save
them the step of forwarding the message.
The most common problem encountered so far is people not reading the three short lines of instructions at the top of the applications,
the most important of which is DO NOT LEAVE ANY FIELDS BLANK. Leaving a field blank will cause an error message to be displayed.
There has been a retrofit to the application process since some
of you submitted your OM application. Please go online and “Check
Where Your Application Is In The Application Process”. This function
is available under the link to the OM application process, or the link
to Organizational Membership Services in the Virtual Office (click VO
at the bottom of the left-hand column on the AAUS website), and
will allow you to re-send individual applications to your own people.
This centralized database will be the core of improved information distribution for the Academy, but it requires you the user to
manage your own information. Proper e-mail addresses are critical
for the function of this system. Please double-check them prior to submission. Individual application information is for Academy use only
and will not be distributed outside of the Academy. Individuals will
be given the ability to remove themselves from any lists, such as the
DSO list, that will be developed from this database.
9
Executive Summary
Patrick Pitts
AAUS BOD Meetings 2001
8
2001 Symposium
Bob Hicks reported that despite the terrorist tragedy on Sept. 11, estimated symposium attendance will decrease only 10%. Bob’s estimate turned out to be too pessimistic: attendance was about as
projected (100+ attended). Several technical forum presenters canceled due to travel problems. However, the forum would proceed
as scheduled. The symposium was greatly aided by donations from
many local organizations including Alaska Sea Grant (published
the Proceedings), Alaska SeaLife Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Prince William Sound Science Center, Kenai Fjords Tours,
Alaska Underwater Science Foundation, Prince William Sound Science Center, USIA, and Viking.
Finance
The BOD approved a dues increase for AAUS membership. The new
dues are now $15 for Student, $25 for Individual, and $300 for Organizational memberships. Dues increase will become effective in
2002 for the individuals and 2003 for organizations.
Standards
With the AAUS Virtual Office (VO) now online, the BOD moved that
all Organizational Members (OM) must apply through the VO and
meet all application requirements. All OM manuals must be compliant with AAUS standards and submitted with the 2003 membership renewal application. The board amended the OM application
process to include the following provisions: 1 All DCB members must
complete an individual application, including their science diving
background. 2 The institution’s science diving description must be
provided, including diving activity estimate. 3 A review and verification of program must be obtained (assigned by Membership
Committee). All diving manuals (including current OMs and applicant OMs) must address all diving modes included in AAUS Standards.
If the OM does not conduct a certain mode, then this must be
stated in the manual. For example, if an institution does not use Nitrox, they may state that in that section, or they can list those elements in which the OM does not participate.
In a previous meeting, the BOD had agreed by vote to develop
an AAUS Verification of Scientific Diver Training card. The target
date for implementation of card issuance is Jan. 1, 2002. AAUS will
make the card available for a nominal cost, and the OM may, if they
so choose, issue these cards.
Statistics
Failure to submit statistics in a timely manner continues to be a problem. Letters will be sent to delinquent OMs explaining that statistics
and dues must be submitted by December 1, 2001, or risk losing membership status. The Statistics Committee will compile a 5-year or 10year statistics report by 2003.
Membership
AAUS membership currently includes 70 OM, 261 Full, 56 Associate,
61 Student, 30 Life, and 4 Honorary members. The BOD agreed that
the Membership Committee should prioritize recruitment of OMs
rather than individual and student members. The BOD agreed to produce and send an AAUS certificate to new members as a welcome
to the organization.
AAUS Service Awards
Inaugural AAUS service awards were awarded to past AAUS presi-
Seward, Alaska, September 18 and 20, 2001
dents—Gary Davis, Glen Egstrom, Bob Given, John Heine, Mike
Lang, Ted Maney, Chuck Mitchell, and Woody Sutherland. Other inaugural service award recipients include Dick Bell, John Duffy, Don
Harper, Kathy Johnston, Cathy Mitchell, and Lee Somers.
Scholarship
Twenty-four scholarship proposals were submitted for the 2001 AAUS
Scholarship Award (10 for the Masters award and 14 for the PhD
award). Salvadore Jorgensen from UC Davis won the scholarship at
the Masters level; Irene Beers from UCLA received the award at the
PhD level. Both of the winning proposals were related to marine protected areas, and each will receive $2,500. AAUS will continue to
make scholarship awards on an annual basis.
Future Meetings
Because DEMA has moved their show to the fall, the BOD decided
in an earlier meeting to postpone the next AAUS symposium to
spring of 2003. East Carolina University will host that symposium. The
President noted that there should be more emphasis on regional
meetings during 2002 since there will be no symposium next year. Moss
Landing Marine Lab will host the next DOCAL meeting (date to be
announced); the FMRI Keys Marine Lab (Long Key, Florida) will host
the next SEADO meeting (March 12, 2002). A new regional organization is in the process of being formed—the Carolina Consortium
for Scientific Diving.
Other Business
AAUS has accepted an invitation from DAN to become a “Business
Member.” Benefits of membership include discounts on DAN merchandise and materials (excluding oxygen equipment) for OMs.
The BOD agreed that specific goals and deadlines should be set
for AAUS. The BOD formed the Long-term Planning Committee,
whose duty will be to formulate a long-term plan for AAUS that includes goals, action plans, responsibilities, and deadlines.
The BOD approved Walt Jaap (outgoing AAUS President) to remain as Managing Editor of The Slate.
Ratification of Miscellaneous March-to-September BOD E-mail
Motions:
Reviewers of scholarship proposals will receive free 1-year memberships to AAUS. San Francisco State University’s Diving Safety Manual was accepted. The 2000 Medical Review Panel was instated as
the AAUS Medical Advisory Panel.
Election Results
The 2001 election results were approved:
President Elect—William Dent; Secretary—Vallorie Hodges; BOD
Positions—Doug Kesling, Sherry Reed, Gavin Wuttken.
THE SLATE ADVERTISEMENT RATE SCHEDULE
The Slate is published quarterly by the American Academy of Underwater
Sciences Board of Directors. Approximate publication dates are January, April, August, and November. The newsletter carries announcements, articles on scientific diving, research, safety, technical issue
updates, and book reviews. The current liaison is Walt Jaap. The AAUS
Board of Directors reserves the right to reject advertisements on the basis
of content and appropriateness to the mission of AAUS. The appearance
of an advertisement in The Slate does not represent AAUS endorsement of equipment or the sales firm. Advertisers should include a check
payable to AAUS.
DISPLAY ADS (Greyscale text & graphics. Need not be camera-ready;
see below.)
Display ad size
(in inches)
Internet/Intranet-based Dive Log
has been developed to serve as a recordkeeping and reporting tool. It allows individual users to enter their own diving
activities, which are then summarized in real
time in the report format defined by AAUS
Statistics Collection.
Dive Log allows tracking of numerous
parameters associated with diving operations. It tracks annual physical check-ups
and generates a report of divers whose
physical exams have expired. Dive Log
also monitors various certifications for
each diver as well as emergency contacts
and other personal information.
Try our Demo version!
Visit us at www.dive-log.com.
For details and pricing, please contact
Jitka Hyniova, kytka@tampabay.rr.com.
1⁄ 2
One issue
(US $)
page
$225
horiz. 8.75 x 7
vert. 4.25 x 14.25
1⁄4 page
$125
horiz. 8.75 x 3.375
vert. 4.25 x 7
1⁄ 8 page
$75
(vert. only) 4.25 x 3.375
Four issues
(US $)
Corporate member
1 issue
4 issues
$800
$200
$700
$400
$100
$350
$200
$50
$175
CLASSIFIED ADS (LIMITED TO AAUS MEMBERS)
Each member is entitled to one three-line classified ad per calendar year
at no charge. Additional classified ads are $10 per three lines. Ads for
sale of equipment, jobs, opportunities to dive on projects, and the like
are suggested.
Please send your advertisements (including check to AAUS) to
Walt Jaap, 273 Catalan Blvd., St. Petersburg, FL 33704
FAX: 727-894-6719; e-mail: wkjaap@worldnet.att.net
Direct questions regarding newsletter and ad production to
Llyn French, 727/896-8626 ext 1104 (FMRI); llyn.french@fwc.state.fl.us
Sea Urchin Sex
Jon Hardy
A Drysuit Adventure
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
Meghan McNeilly
“You’re clear!”
As the boat tender signals that the time is right for your descent
into the Pacific, you secure your hoses and gauges, press your reg
and mask to your face, and drop backwards from the side of the
boat into the water. Quickly, the few parts of your body not covered
by your drysuit are fully aware of the 10°C water, and you grab a dive
line. Now, keeping in mind the experiment about to begin, you
grab as many pieces of equipment as you can wrestle beneath the
occasionally choppy seas, give and receive the “descend!” signal
from your dive buddy (who in this case is your major professor), and
begin dumping the air from your BC. Although your hands are already
full of large and ungainly apparatus, you are still managing to do
the valsalvo maneuver, as well as clearing your mask as needed. Passing through the surreality of the halocline, approximately 25 ft later,
you reach bottom and are galvanized into action!
Having been debriefed as to the details of the subsequent experiment, you know what to do with what, and where. You and your
professor arrange the 5×5-meter rope quadrat into a square underwater. This time, your goal is a so-called “mass spawn” dive, in
which a large number of sea urchins scattered around the interior
of the quadrat will be injected with potassium chloride—an interesting
chemical that, when injected, causes widespread muscle contraction. In the case of the sea urchins, the desired effects of almost
immediate spawning are seen. Minutes after injecting all the urchins,
clouds of male and female gametes begin to float upwards from
their gonopores, requiring another piece of equipment, colloquially
referred to as “The Beast,” to be brought into play.
Constructed from 12 separate filters connected by PVC tubing to
a bilge pump and a hose, the sizable Beast was created to suck up
female gametes emitted from a particular urchin into a particular
filter. Thus, if eleven filters and closed and one is open, the hose will
direct the gametes passed through the hose into the one open filter, where they are kept to be extracted when the Beast returns to
land. The concept is that the injected males in the quadrat will fertilize the released eggs, which are then sucked into the Beast.
Roughly an hour after you descended, the dive is complete, and you
will ascend slowly to the surface with a large bucket of urchins that
have just been injected, banded, and recorded on an underwater
slate as to their gender and location in the quadrat. As you reach
the surface and the boat tender relieves you of your bucket o’
urchins, you tell them to “winch up the Beast” on the sizable winch
especially designed to bring the somewhat delicate Beast up and
down from the boat to the sea floor. After the rest of the experimental
paraphernalia is recovered by the primary diver, you return your tired
and rather cold self to the boat, stripping off your neoprene hood
and gloves, clapping and stomping to restore proper circulation, and
keeping in mind the tempting possibility of hot coffee in your future.
This type of gametes-or-bust experimental scenario has been the
almost-daily routine for Dr. Don Levitan and a host of graduate and
undergraduate student divers accompanying him over the years. Dr.
Levitan is interested in fertilization ecology, especially gametic competition, in this case of the red sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus. Since he accepted a post-doctoral position at Bamfield
Marine Station in British Columbia, Canada, in 1989, he has been returning to continue his burgeoning research with students from his current research institution, Florida State University, located in balmy
Tallahassee, Florida. When he returns to FSU every spring and summer
following about two months of data collection in Bamfield, his lab data
will be analyzed via various molecular techniques to discover the
parentage of the hundreds of larvae resulting from dives such as the
mass spawn. Then the position of the male and female parents of a
given offspring are reflected upon and compiled with other data concerning percentage of fertilization, indicating which males reliably fertilize which females best in respect to position, timing, etc.
As Dr. Levitan continues to expand both his repertoire of experiments in the field of fertilization ecology and his reservoir of student
minions, the biological diversity and fecundity of the Pacific Ocean
surrounding Bamfield Marine Station will probably keep him returning year after year.
Meghan McNeilly is an Undergraduate Science Diver with the Florida State
University Biological Science Department.
Vallorie Hodges
When one among us dies, it is natural to pause and consider the contributions that person made to the world. When it is one of our diving pioneers, we can’t help but think how they have changed the
world of diving. Sometimes these are in-your-face radical changes
to the way we dive, the equipment we use, or even the way we think
about diving, and sometimes the changes these people achieve are
more subtle, incremental, and hardly noticeable. Then one day we
look back across the landscape of where we have been and realize that, with the help of our guide, we have crossed a great chasm
of the unknown, the undone, and the unthinkable. Recently we lost
one of these guides. Jon Hardy, one of our leaders in the diving community, died August 29th after a brief battle with cancer.
Undoubtedly, Jon will be remembered for some of the “big picture” contributions he made, including his work as the founder and
director of ScubaLab, the industry’s first consumer-oriented diveequipment testing facility. He will be remembered for the many articles he wrote and presentations he gave as a result of that testing,
and for how he was able to push and pull the industry forward in terms
of not only how equipment is made but indeed how it is used. This
was not something that made him terribly popular with some, since
his straightforward approach to challenging conventional wisdom
made many uncomfortable. Long before it was politically correct,
Jon was talking about using dive computers without backup devices,
solo diving, reverse profiles, and “extended-range diving.” Of course,
this shook the solid ground we thought we walked on.
Jon will be remembered for his contribution to the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) as a past executive director
who made critical changes to that organization, and by Scuba
Schools International, who have lost a program author, a trusted advisor, and long-time friend.
Those who have been in the industry for awhile might remember
his involvement in the early days, when he taught scuba diving at
Camp Fox for Glendale YMCA, or his role in the L. A. County Diving
Program. Many among the legal community will remember Jon for
his involvement as an expert witness in diving litigation.
Perhaps those most affected will be the local Avalon, California,
community on Santa Catalina Island, whose daily lives were punctuated by the image of Jon and his worthy vessel, Argo, as he went
about his routine of light commercial diving activities, equipment testing, and dive charter operations.
Certainly, there were those singularly significant “moments” in
Jon Hardy’s career, and there are many divers who have directly and
indirectly benefited from these contributions. Yet for me, the gift is
how the landscape of my life is forever altered. As I look back and
see the bridges I have crossed and the things I have learned, I remember how to continue challenging the future. Looking ahead,
the chasm of the unknown, the undone, the unthinkable seems
somewhat less intimidating.
AAUS Assists Belize
Two fatal accidents this year stimulated the Belize Coastal Zone
Management Authority (CZM) to convene a diving safety workshop for the staff biologists, rangers, and park managers. Walt Jaap
coordinated a three-day workshop that included a Scuba lifesaving accident management certification course, lectures on shallow
water blackout, and hyperbaric trauma. The 21 individuals also received CPR, first aid, and oxygen administration training. The CZM
staff has responsibilities in remote regions of Belize such as Glovers
Reef, South Water Caye Marine Reserve, and Sapodilla Caye Marine Reserve. The parks are visited by many tourists who stay at resorts or come to the park on a live-aboard diving vessel. Evacuation
may often take hours; thus fundamental knowledge of first aid, rescue techniques, and assessing injuries is very important. In the offshore exercise, the participants simulated rescuing an unconscious
diver from the sea floor, provided care components, and arranged
to evacuate the victim. We encouraged the Belize CZM–Fisheries
Authority to consider joining AAUS as a way to enhance diving
safety in the agency.
5
Bob Hicks on safety
Bill Dent awards Walt his Thanks-Prez kyak jacket
Hiking on the glacier
A stroll around Seward
Walt passes the torch
Taking care of business
Alaska’s welcoming committee
Swimming with Steller sea lions
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Jimmy Stewart on cold water diving
A room with a view
A-ha! Bill, Sam, and Ted catch Uncle Walter in the act of waltzing with bears
Another computer problem?!!?
Resurrection Bay dry-suit field trip
Alaskan night life sampling field trip
Look Ma, no hands
Kevin enjoys the balmy waters off Fox Island
Vallorie with the glacier blues