According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- comprised of 2500 experts from 130 countries -- the Great Barrier Reef could become "functionally extinct" within a few decades. According to the Panel's leaked report -- the final, official draft of which should be available this Friday -- the reef will (might?) die from bleaching, which occurs when water temperatures grow too high, and which involves a breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and their color-giving zooxanthellae. Interestingly, the cooling waters associated with last year's Cyclone Larry preempted the potentially catastrophic bleaching event that scientists had predicted for 2006. However, the thought is that by 2030, the GBR will likely begin suffering from routine bleaching events and quickly perish.

What's most disturbing to me about this news is that the GBR is the largest living organism on the planet. Able to be seen from space, a dead GBR would be a permanent, hideous scar -- a constant reminder of beauty and life wasted.

[Thanks, Drew!]

Oops, I meant to write the largest "fossilized" coral reef has been found in the arid mountain range near Dadu, about 100 miles north of Karachi, Pakistan. Yes, Pakistan.

In fact, researchers haven't just discovered fossilized reefs, they've also found fossilized fish, plants, snails, sponges, and "other organisms" in the area's mountain ranges, which, naturally, were once underwater.

Raising speculation (and fueling a much-hoped for bidding war, no doubt), Miller has announced that no international deals have been made...yet: "We haven't heard from [Oprah Winfrey's production company], but that's about the only one we haven't heard from." Right. Miller has not indicated how much money is being offered for the story.

Since Nerhus escped with all his limbs and *only* deep lacerations, I'm guessing the fees won't be that high. However, if Nerhus can cry on cue, then I can hear dollar signs ringing.

[Via Swim At Your Own Risk]

Earlier this week, we told you about Kendra Motter, a rookie diver who died during a dive excursion in the Florida Keys. Although there's no update available concerning the manner in which she died, some odd details have emerged from the investigation into her death.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, when officials tried to remove Motter's gear, Michael Ryan -- a staff member with Horizon Divers, with whom the Motters were diving -- began to hose down the gear. Although ordered to stop, Ryan continued to rinse the equipment, and, according to Deputy Becky Herrin, also "picked up Motter's dive computer, attached to the equipment, and reportedly appeared to be attempting to alter it in some way." Ryan was subsequently arrested and charged with a felony count of attempting to destroy evidence; a misdemeanor count of obstructing a law enforcement officer; and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Last week, Greenpeace released a 74-page report, Trading Away Our Oceans, which concluded that trade liberalization is bad for fish and for communities dependent on fish. Using data from official bodies such as the OECD and the EU, the Greenpeacers determined that liberalization of fisheries will increase the speed at which over-fishing occurs; further increase unsustainable aquaculture production; and have "generally devastating consequences for fish, the wider marine environment, developing countries and the one billion poor people worldwide who depend on fish as their primary source of protein." Ouch.

The report also concludes that developing countries must be provided with the capacity to establish and enforce effective fisheries management systems in their own waters.

[Via NowPublic]

ScubaVision Productions

• Interview with John Hanzi, Dive Safety Officer at the New England Aquarium and author of adventure novel Out of Hell's Kitchen
• Whiteface (The Anchor) at West Caicos
• The Driveway at West Caicos
• Boat Cove at West Caicos

On Sunday, the 62,000-ton MSC Napoli was intentionally run aground near the East Devon Coast -- a World Heritage site -- to avoid sinking. An estimated 200 tons of oil from the ship's tanks immediately began entering the water, as did up to 200 of the ship's 2400 cargo containers, some of which carried hazardous materials such as battery acid and perfume. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said the leak, which has spread up to five miles from the vessel, is believed to be coming from waste oils in the flooded engine spaces but does not pose a major environmental threat. Salvage teams are hoping to pump out the remaining 3,000 tons of oil in the ship's tanks.

Although the Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned the public to stay away from any containers they see because of their potentially toxic contents, hundreds of beach-combers have plundered goods that have washed ashore. Apparently, many of the stolen items have already started to appear on eBay. For example, steering wheel airbags advertised as coming "from the MSC Napoli" were on offer. (Caveat: I couldn't find these items, though I did find some genuine MSC Napoli sand.)

The operation to salvage the vessel has now started and the ship may be towed to Lyme Bay. For some pretty amazing images of the wreck, check out the BBC for a photo gallery. It'll be interesting to see what kind of environmental damage this ultimately causes.

Last week, several dozen dolphins accidentally trapped themselves in the shallow, windswept coves off New York's Long Island. Efforts to free the animals have so far been unsuccessful -- in fact, 6 dolphins died during the weekend, including one that had to be euthanized. In order to save the remaining dolphins, a team of shallow-water boats will try to corral them through the mouth of a shallow creek and out into the ocean. A team of scuba divers will stand by in the event anyone falls overboard, or if help is needed getting dolphins out of the water. Time is of the essence, officials say, since there are no fish for the stranded dolphins to eat. If you're interested, NBC5 has a small, sad video documenting the stranding.

Wearing a tiny purple bikini, Reid described her experience thus: "It was one of the most magical moments of my life . . . I'm on a total high. I think this will be my favorite experience - this is just amazing... I love Australia. The people are amazing." Amazingly, the dolphins did not return the compliment. For more <ahem> amazing shots of Reid's escapade, check out this image gallery.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Franklin D. Burgess sentenced Coma to 16 years in prison for armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer. He was overheard to've said, "Man, if only I'd been wearing Flip Fins!"

Apparently, when Hill and Duque entered the water, they were tethered to lines handled at the surface. Inexplicably, the two divers were carrying more than twice the amount of lead weights required for the dive. Unable to ditch the weights, the pair quickly entered free fall. Single jerks on the line signaling "stop" were misinterpreted by unqualified dive tenders who erroneously paid out more line. Hill descended to 187 feet, and Duque plummeted more than 200 feet. By the time the tenders realized what happened, the pair was dead.

Want to learn more? This week, the the Coast Guard released a 33-page (PDF) Final Action Memorandum on the tragedy.

• An interview with Stewart
• Another interview with Stewart
• Variety's review of the film
• Deeper Blue's review of the film

• Amazon Selling Shark Fin Soup?
• Amazon Still Selling Shark Fin Soup?!
• Now Amazon is Selling Shark Fin Cartilage Powder

Ralph lived in the aquarium for nearly two years, and had grown six feet while there. He was joined by another male whale shark, Norton, and two female whale sharks, Alice and Trixie. I wonder if the other whale sharks will realize Ralph is missing?

Sadly, on January 2, the aquarium euthanized Gasper, a 17-year-old beluga whale. Gasper, who delighted visitors by blowing bubbles, was ill prior to his October 2005 arrival at the aquarium, and the facility said his condition had deteriorated in the weeks before his death. According to officials, Gasper's condition "was believed to be the result of his weakened immune system due to years of chronic illness." The past two weeks have been tough for the Georgia Aquarium.

[Thanks, The Tick!]

Beyond the Blue is a British dive magazine with a decidedly technical focus. Shipped throughout Europe and even to the US (for about $58), the current issue of the magazine discusses rebreathers, rebreathers, and, um, rebreathers.

Even if you're not all that geeked up about rebreathers, you might still be interested in visiting Beyond the Blue's website. Divided into either wreck or cave, the site features lots of exciting trip reports (read about Guy Wallis' 8-days exploring the Karst Regin of the Czech Republic and Hungary), technique tips (where else are you gonna learn about Differential GPS and Proton Magnetometer?), and gear reviews (e.g., the C-Bear Tri-Glove). Quite simply, Beyond the Blue goes way beyond the ordinary dive magazine and explores the limits of our sport.

Over in Wetpixel's forums, a photo assistant for Scuba Diving Magazine posted an open call for entries for the magazine's upcoming "Wrecktacular" issue. Spotlighting wrecks from all over the world, the forum-post claims that, "If you have compelling wreck photos and are interested in submitting them for possible publication, please contact us." The editors will accept submissions via disc or e-mailed hyperlinks -- just be certain the images are clearly identified by destination and wreck name. Unfortunately, all submissions need to be recieved by Tuesday, January 16th. But don't worry: you've still got the weekend!

For contact information -- or to see the tentative list of wrecks the magazine will cover -- head over to Wetpixel. This could be your big break!

As you know, this weekend several divers went missing during a dive in the Red Sea. Apparently, five divers -- three Russians, a Dutchman, and an Egyptian guide -- were exploring a reef off Marsa Alam when the instructor warned them of sharks and instructed the group to surface. Several hours later, one of the Russian divers stumbled onto shore and told authorities about the accident. The other four never appeared.

A helicopter and 15 boats have been searching the area for four days, but today, officials called off the search. According to Alaa El Din Abdelgeleel of the Red Sea Association for Diving and Marine Sport, "I am sorry to say there is no chance to find them alive. We are limiting the search to the coastal areas, looking for their bodies."

Egyptian authorities are not planning to charge the owner and employees of the dive center that organized the excursion. An inspection concluded that the dive center had all necessary licenses, and that its equipment was in good condition. Rather, the prosecutor concluded, "Bad weather conditions, large waves, and the fact that the current swept the tourists away from the vessel were the main causes of the accident."

You may recall the earthquakes that rattled Taiwan just after Christmas. In addition to leaving 2 people dead and about 50 injured, the quake shut off international phone and Internet service for much of the Far East. Since last week, 5 repair ships have been working to repair the damaged cables lying on the ocean floor.

How do you repair a cable that's lying half a mile or more below the surface of the ocean? Simple: find the broken section of cable, and pull the loose ends of the cable to the surface, where a technician makes the repairs. Okay, it's a bit more complicated than that...but only marginally.