Dive Industry Articles

(Dive Travel Business News - September 23, 2011) -- A travel companion to the classic Reef Fish Identification, the divers' standard reference for more than 20 years, has been published by New World Publications. Written and produced by veteran underwater photographers and founders of the non-profit REEF (Reef Fish Identification Foundation) Paul Humann & Ned DeLoach, the new TRAVEL EDITION is a lightweight field guide rugged enough for gear bag and boat. Less than 3/4 of a pound, with plastic comb binding and waterproof covers! 132 pages, 281 species and 560 photographs in a 6 x 9 format.

The book includes information on each species including their common, scientific and family names, descriptions, identification markings, preferred habitat and the animal's range. Suggested Retail Price is $29.95. For more information on the entire series, and to order visit New World Publications.

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(Dive Travel Business News - Sept 1, 2011) -- A unique resource is being built to help curious ocean adventurers identify the inhabitants they encounter.  Everyone from the advanced SCUBA diver and underwater photographer to the occasional snorkeler is helping build the largest user friendly online database of our ocean's inhabitants to date.  By utilizing the power of the public, everyone from the professional ocean adventurer to the casual aquatic vacationer can quickly and easily identify a chance encounter with one of our world's ocean inhabitants. read more »

Dive Travel Business News - March 27, 2011) -- Continuing to demonstrate its value as a new customer acquisition tool and a diving awareness program, DEMA's Be a Diver Pool kicked off 2011 with a big splash at all of its first quarter pool stops. DEMA's Big Wave Dave Reidenbach and DEMA Member retailers who were on-site with the Be A Diver Pool, educated attendees about the ease of learning to dive, and why diving is a fun and family-friendly activity. As a result, thousands of dollars in scuba class signs-up and multiple broadcast coverage spots were generated in the first quarter of 2011. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - March 23, 2011) --- Dedicated to recognizing and honoring the contributions of women divers, the Women Divers Hall of Fame™ (WDHOF)  is an international, non-profit, professional honor society whose member contributions span a wide variety of fields including: The Arts, Science, Medicine, Exploration & Technology, Marine Archeology, Business, Media, Training & Education, Safety, Commercial & Military Diving, Free Diving, and Underwater Sports.

The Women Divers hall of Fame recently announced the selection of ten new Members who will be inducted into the Hall at the Beneath The Sea Dive & Travel Expo Awards Banquet at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey on Saturday March 26, 2011 ().  These outstanding professionals will constitute the WDHOF Class of 2011: read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - January 31, 2011) -- Shark dive operator Jim Abernethy is recovering from a shark bite that occurred on a diving excursion with the commercial diving vessel Shear Water in the Bahamas last week. In a press conference this past weekend, Abernathy stated he had been mistaken for a fish.  The operator had been ten feet down tending to bait in rough water in a cluster of about 40 sharks when he was bitten on the arm. The choppy water stirs up the bait and can confuse sharks.  Abernathy stated that he would no longer bait sharks in rough waters.

Apparently concerned about the press releasing bad information about sharks,  Abernethy, who wore a shirt that read "Stop eating shark fin soup”, took the opportunity at the news conference to spread the his message that sharks must be protected.

"Any diver anywhere on Florida, the Bahamas, or most of the world, realizes that our reefs are covered with algae. Scientists now believe that this algae is caused by the removal of over 90 percent of the sharks," Abernethy said. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - December 6, 2010) -- There's money in your pool, and Scuba Schools International (SSI) wants to help you get it all. With the debut of sister company Swim Schools International, SSI  is helping dive centers to turn their dive facilities into an aquatic destination for all ages, use their pools around the clock, and gain clients at the beginning of the underwater sports lifecycle.

Launched at the DEMA Show 2010 in Las Vegas (Nov 17-20, 2010), Swim Schools International is a swim teacher training program that piggy-backs onto existing scuba school offerings. Dealers from around the industry and around the world took a strong interest in the new program, which offers an unparalleled swim teacher certification program to create a complete Aquatic Training Facility. By offering a swim school in the same way a dive center offers a scuba school, dive stores can use existing infrastructure to maximize their return on their pool investment.  read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 22, 2010) -- DEMA News Release -- The diving industry today is mourning the loss of photographer and explorer Wes Skiles.  Wes passed away suddenly on July 21, 2010.

Diverwire.com reports that The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a 52-year-old High Springs man was pronounced dead after he was found motionless at the bottom of a reef Wednesday afternoon. The agency could not immediately provide the name of the man, citing confirmation that the man's family had been contacted.

The man had been diving with three others about three miles off the Boynton Beach Inlet, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera. The diver had been filming locally for National Geographic, she said.

The man apparently alerted the other divers that he was ascending because he was out of film, Barbera said. The others continued in the water but later decided to ascend. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 15, 2010) -- The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) has released the following Oil Spill Update that includes steps divers and the dive industry can take to help protect dive sites, assess potential damage and help mitigate the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:

Before the Oil Reaches Local Dive Sites:
Divers should get involved in cleaning their areas NOW before any oil from the spill reaches nearby dive sites. Trash and obstacles in the water only serve to act as "collectors" for oil and will cause it to aggregate there, making the cleanup even more difficult.  Get in touch with organizations such as Project AWARE Foundation for guidelines and help in setting up these cleanup and marine debris removal activities. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - June 4, 2010) -- The April 20, 2010 explosion and oil spill on the British Petroleum Oil Drill Platform Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico has caused concern for the diving industry, specifically in regions around the Gulf.

The extent of the environmental damage is not yet known, but in anticipation of damage occurring to the coastal areas and the potential for extensive economic damages concerning the diving industry, the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) has put together an Oil Spill Assistance Planner to help dive businesses impacted by the spill to connect to contacts that can assist them. The Oil Spill Assistance Planner is available by clicking here. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - April 23, 2010) -- Dive centers in the U.S. have a new channel to help promote their dive trips to a larger audience. DiveCenterTravel.com allows local dive stores to list their upcoming dive trips along with trip details to reach divers who may not otherwise know about the dive store or the trips offered.

(Dive Travel Business News - February 2, 2010) -- The Diving Almanac & Book of Records is now online. Edited by Jeffrey Gallant, the 2009 edition is also available in a 750-page book version for $29.95 USD.  An excellent general reference for divers and dive industry professionals, the book contains 3000 articles, 484 diving records, 596 diving personalities, and much more updated on a daily basis. The online version is free.  

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(DiveTravelNewswire.com - Oct 23, 2009) - A recent petition demanding a restructuring of the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) - the international diving industry association - is gaining momentum.   A growing group of DEMA Members are voicing concern that recent decisions made by the DEMA Board do not represent the majority of its Membership.

The petition asks for sweeping changes to DEMA, a special vote on bylaws and a re-election of all Board Members to take place by December 31, 2009.  The primary areas to be addresssed in the vote are: The institution of "One Member/One Vote"; Voting within Industry Segments; Re-establishing term limits for Board Members and; A call for a re-election of Board Members based on the new voting changes. read more »

(Travelweekly.com - Oct 16, 2009) - The Honolulu City Council committee on Executive Matters and Legal Affairs has voted to defer action on legislation that would ban shark tour operations on Oahu, likely killing the proposal. 

Introduced last summer by Councilman Charles Djou, Bill 67 at the request of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board. Many in the East Oahu community were upset about a plan to start shark tours in Maunalua Bay. The proposed legislation would make it illegal to maintain an office, collect money, market or conduct any other activity related to a shark tour on Oahu, penalizing violators with up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

If passed, the measure would affect two businesses that currently operate out of the Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor. North Shore Shark Adventures and Hawaii Shark Encounters who take visitors beyond that three-mile limit to view sharks. The two companies oppose the measure, saying their tours pose little danger to humans and little disturbance to sharks. A recent University of Hawaii study also concluded that shark tours have no significant impact on public safety because of the remote sites. read more »