The Athens Scuba park was one of my old stomping grounds when I lived in Dallas, Texas. Athens is about an hour SE from Dallas. I first learned of Athen Scuba Park in 1995 while visiting Athens, Texas. Since then until my departure from Texas in 2004, I visited the park extensively to perform training. Here is an article on a new plane just placed in the park made by scuba divers for scuba divers. Athens — It was a new experience in most localities for Memorial Day. Athens Scuba Park plummeted a 14-passenger jet into its crystal clear lake, Saturday, May 28 at noon. Calvin Wilcher, who owns the park with his wife, Shannon, said the plane  was transported  to the lake from an airplane salvage yard in … Read entire article »

A single reef shark can be worth nearly two million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime, according to a study released Monday by researchers in Australia. The analysis from the Pacific island nation of Palau shows that sharks — hunted worldwide for their fins, a Chinese delicacy — are worth many times more to some local economies alive than dead. “Sharks can literally be a ‘million-dollar’ species and a significant economic driver,” said lead author Mark Meekan, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. “Our study shows that these animals can contribute far more as a tourism resource than as a catch target,” he said in a statement. Sharks have reigned at the top of the ocean food chain for hundreds of millions of years. But because they mature slowly and produce … Read entire article »

Making It Count – April 2011 Putting It to Work: REEF Scientist Participates in Key Workshop By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science In addition to maintaining the REEF Survey database and providing data files to scientists, government agencies, and other groups, REEF staff participate in a variety of scientific conferences and workshops each year. Earlier this month, REEF’s Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, participated in “Engaging and Learning for Conservation”. Christy and 49 others were invited to the workshop to discuss ways to enhance biodiversity conservation and environmental stewardship through public participation in scientific research (PPSR). PPSR encompasses citizen science and other programs where the public is involved in one or more phases of scientific research. With support from the National Science Foundation, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, a leader in … Read entire article »

I read commercials from operators that offer opportunities for adventures where they feed the sharks while you watch and film. I am an advocate for NO shark feeding, or feeding of any kind. Because of that, I will not participate with that operator so not to promote or encourage the continuation of feeding. Human feeding of wild life is not in the best interest to both us and them. Darwin believed that any interaction with wildlife will embed that interaction into the genome of the creature and that memory will be passed to future generations. Should we be associating food from humans as a way to get a meal? How does that affect the ability to hunt when habit has them coming to humans for their next, easy meal? What are your thoughts? … Read entire article »

This past weekend, April 15-17 was Jacksonville’s Internaitonal Boat Show. TISRI was present to display the organization and what they do to promote artificial reefs off Florida’s coast. Here are some pictures from that days event. … Read entire article »

The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes on July 19, 2010. That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them. read more here … Read entire article »

Is your name important? To ourselves, our name is important. I know I would like to be remembered, my name mentioned for years, after I am gone. One way to do that is to have an artificial reef named after you or a loved one. There is a way to have a name live on for years, be placed in official documents and reference when ever the site is visited or mentioned. A project in motion has opened the opportunity to allow you to do just that. One that will allow you to Name A Reef. TISIRI is currently soliciting the opportunity to name a brand new artificial reef. If this sounds like an opportunity for you, please contact Joe Kistel  (joe@tisiri.org) for more details. … Read entire article »

One World Ocean, oneworldocean.com was founded as the worlds council on all things related to our worlds ocean. One World Ocean is the center which all authority come together and represent humanity as a single entity protecting our worlds interest in our single largest resource, the ocean. Together with scientists, organizations, and governments, One World Ocean combines all our knowldedge into a single force that explores, studies, analyse, and advocates change that  help ensure the survival of our One World Ocean. Part of that effort is in education. Through the use of various media, One World Ocean will educate the world about the world we know so little about, what rests beneath our oceans waves. I sincerly hope that you will enjoy these films and come from it a more excited individual knowing the … Read entire article »

On January 24, 2011 a Right Whale made a wrong turn and made it up the St. Johns River, entering at the mouth of the river located in Mayport Florida, just outside Jacksonville. For about 6 hours, officials stopped all inbound and outbound traffic on the St. Johns river and corralled the whale back towards the mouth of the river and back out to sea. I was privileged to be there to take some pictures of it as it was moving towards the exit. Here is the new article on that days event. … Read entire article »

TOKYO — Japanese and American officials discussed taking action to weaken a prominent anti-whaling group, with Tokyo insisting that Sea Shepherd’s confrontations on the high seas actually hurt efforts to reduce whaling, U.S. diplomatic cables show. The U.S. representative to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, discussed revoking the U.S.-based conservation group’s tax exempt status during a meeting with senior officials from the Fisheries Agency of Japan in November 2009, according to the documents released by WikiLeaks on Monday. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s yearly protest campaigns – which chase Japan’s whaling fleet in boats trying to disrupt the hunt by fouling fishing lines and throwing rancid butter at whalers – have drawn high-profile donors and volunteers, and spawned the popular Animal … Read entire article »

Happy New Years, 2011 … Read entire article »

Neafie & Levy Ship & Engine Building Company was one of the earliest iron shipbuilders and the chief rival to William Cramp in 19th-century Philadelphia.  Started in 1844 by Thomas Reaney, Jacob Neafie and William Smith. William Smith died in 1845 and John Levy took his place and Thomas Reaney left in 1859 to start his own shipyard in Chester. From then on it was Neafie & Levy, until it closed in 1907.  The shipyard was located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia on land now occupied by a Philadelphia Electric power plant. I am looking for any photos, models, anything on the 19th century tug, Thomas Cunningham Sr. known today as TUFF-E-NUFF. I am particulary interested in any pictures of … Read entire article »

This article hits close to home. I grew up in Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie was my playground. Area after he was caught in a swift Delaware River current and lost consciousness Saturday afternoon as he practiced diving with his wife, authorities said. John J. Osterhoudt, 27, of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., was taking scuba lessons with two instructors and his wife, Arlene, near the Dingmans Ferry Bridge when the current separated him from the group as he ascended from a depth of 14 feet, the National Park Service said Monday. Osterhoudt tried to swim to shore, but as one of the instructors swam toward him he went limp and face down in the water, the Park Service said. The instructor grabbed Osterhoudt and tried to get him breathing again as they headed for the … Read entire article »

2010 is almost over and might as well get in and claim your two free Discover Scubas. For yourself and a friend or for two friends or maybe you would like to go through the Discover Scuba twice. Which ever your preference is, stop by and claim your session now and be prepared for next year, when you’ll be ready to hit the water running. Happy and safe holidays to everyone. –Larry … Read entire article »

Saturday Dec 11, 2010 I, Larry Davis, Joe Kistel and Ed Kalakauski made it to TUFF-E-NUFF around 09:00 EST. The tide was coming in and getting higher. We liked this. As Joe and I made it across the marsh, we look west to see the profile of TUFF-E-NUFF in the background. The time we reached her, she turned 180 degrees. She is floating and we board from the port side. We tie our boat to the tug, and get a phone call from Ed. He’s at the marina waiting to be picked up. Perfect timing. Joe and I just reach the tug. So, off goes Joe to get Ed. [slideshow id=7] Putting on our new and clean environmental protection suits, and man gloves, the three of us go off to continue doing … Read entire article »

TUFF-E-NUFF still sits on St. Marys Georgia, waiting for approval to be moved south. The county has some items to address regarding the placement of artificial reefs. Just shows the amount of details one must tend to just to get a vessel placed as an artificial reef. I am confident everyone will be satisfied, it’s just a timing issue right now. So hang tight and as soon as I know more I keep you informed. So come back to divetalking looking for the date TUFF-E-NUFF will leave St. Marys Georgia and her approximate date of arrival and placement off shore as an artificial reef. Saturday December 11, 2010 Joe Kistel and I, Larry Davis head to TUFF-E-NUFF to perform some more maintenance and preparation. There’s always a little more that can be … Read entire article »