SCUBA News - #191 - April 2016

SCUBA News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 191 - April 2016 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to SCUBA News. This month - where are the world's best wreck dives? Plus, what to do if you're stung by a jellyfish. New research has the answer. You can download a pdf version of the newsletter here. Comprehensive hair and skin care system formulated especially for SCUBA divers. subseries.com Contents: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Letters - What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish? - Diving news from around the World What's New at SCUBA Travel? World's Best Wreck Dives Where are the 10 best wrecks on the planet? Readers have been voting for their favourite wreck dives and we've updated the top ten. The Yongala, though, remains at number one. See the World's Top Ten Diving Malta and Gozo The Maltese archipelago lies at the centre of the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km north of Africa. It comprises three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. With clear waters and rocky scenery the islands are very good for diving. Read More Diving Tioman, Malaysia Tioman is a Malaysian island in a marine park. The water is warm, from 27 oC during the diving season of February to November. If loads of fish and nudibranchs are your thing, then Tioman is for you. We've many more dive descriptions for Tioman Read More Letters Snorkelling in Saudi Arabia I,am going to visit Mecca to do Omra I like to do snorkelling in the Red Sea too. How should I do it? Any advice? Thanks Moheidin Hanafi BSAC Novice I If a diver was a BSAC Novice I diver, what would be the equivalent nowadays? Thank you :) Bev Spanish translation needed Yo tengo un 2 profesional restringido, si quisiera comvalidarlo con un deportivo por cual me lo convalidarian, mi titulacion es una titulacion sacada militar, del ano 1982 Josep If you have suggestions for our letter writers - email news@scubatravel.co.uk and we'll pass your message on. What to do about Jellyfish Stings Jellyfish stings are responsible for more deaths than shark attacks each year. Even "mild" stings can hurt for hours, or sometimes days, and leave lasting scars. According to some estimates, more than 150 million people are stung by jellyfish each year. Scientists have now found overwhelming evidence that applying hot packs, or immersing in hot water, is much better for treating jellyfish stings than the cold water which was previously widely recommended. Mauve Stinger Jellyfish, the most venomous in the Mediterranean, by Andrew Reay-Robinson The researchers, Christie Wilcox and Angel Yanagihara from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, trawled through more than 2,000 articles in major scientific journals to find every study to date that looked at using temperature-based treatments for jellyfish stings. They found that the data conclusively supported immersing in hot water, finding that the venom is inactivated at temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius. "I was shocked that the science was so clear, given that there is so much debate over the use of hot water," said Wilcox. Hot-water immersion is already the standard of care for other severe marine stings including those from the potentially life-threatening stonefish. "It's simple, really: If you're stung, use hot water or hot packs rather than ice or cold packs." Lion's Mane Jellyfish, one of the biggest in the world, by Tim Nicholson The scientists concluded that immersing a stung limb in 45 oC water for 20 minutes has no ill effects, is a safe and effective method of reducing pain and improves the outcome of the sting. So, if you're stung by a jellyfish, you know what to do. Diving News From Around the World Our round up of the more interesting underwater news stories of the past month. For breaking news see our Twitter page or RSS feed Right whales threatened by planned seismic surveys A series of seismic surveys for oil and gas planned for the coastal areas of the United States pose a substantial threat to one of the world's rarest whales, according to a group of renowned marine mammal scientists which is urging a halt to the surveys. Tuna industry calls for a cut in yellowfin catch It's got so bad that even the big tuna fisheries are calling on the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to reduce catches of yellowfin tuna. Investigation finds rampant illegal fishing in Costa Rica Authorities estimate that as many as half of Costa Rica's small-scale fishers may not have fishing licenses Great Barrier Reef: 93% of reefs hit by coral bleaching Comprehensive aerial survey reveals full extent of the devastation caused by abnormally warm ocean temperatures Creating Super-Charged Corals to Beat Climate Change By giving evolution a helping hand, Ruth Gates aims to produce corals tough enough to survive in increasingly hostile oceans. Diving scientists record 'cloud' of thousands of swarming crabs Researchers have no idea why red crabs off Panama might be behaving in such a way, says a biologist: Nothing like this has ever been seen Limiting catch of one type of fish could help save coral reefs Study finds that just protecting parrotfish could be crucial to the recovery of Caribbean reefs from damage related to climate change. Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Raja Ampat and Northeast Indonesia 2016 New book looks to be very useful for trips to Raja Ampat and the nearby islands. SCUBA News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. This means we are happy for you to reuse our material for both commercial and non-commercial use as long as you: credit the name of the author, link back to the SCUBA Travel website and say if you have made any changes. Some of the photos though, might be copyright the photographer. If in doubt please get in touch. Photo credits: Tim Nicholson, Tioman Diving Centre, Andrew Reay-Robinson, Runeng Previous editions of SCUBA News are archived at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING Visit Unsubscribe and add or remove your e-mail address. To change whether your receive the newsletter in text or HTML (with pictures) format visit this link ADVERTISING Should you wish to advertise in SCUBA News, please see the special offers at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsad.html Other advertising opportunities are at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/advertising.html CONTACTING THE EDITOR Please send your letters or press releases to: Jill Studholme SCUBA News The Cliff Upper Mayfield DE6 2HR UK news@scubatravel.co.uk PUBLISHER SCUBA Travel Ltd, 5 Loxford Court, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6AF, UK

--