FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION

November 2018 Volume 25 Issue 11

The Presidents’ Corner by Mike Cassetta

Happy Thanksgiving all and I hope you have a wonderful and safe Turkey Day. Speaking of holidays, the annual FCDA Holi-day Gathering is scheduled for Friday, December 7th at the cot-tage. More details to follow at our next meeting. It is always a fun time, so make sure and put it on your calendar.

Our next meeting will be on Friday, November 30th. Michelle Lapin will be presenting video footage of a recent trip to French Polynesia. Michelle always does awesome videos and we look for-ward to what she has in store. A big thank you to Capt Noel, he was our guest presenter at the October meeting and shared footage from a recent trip to St. Croix.

Near the end of October, a group of us traveled to Glouces-ter with plans to go diving for scallops and to see our seal friends. Unfortunately, condi-tions were not safe for boat div-ing. How-ever, we did get an ex-cellent 60+ mins dive in at Folly Cove. Wa-ter tempera-tures were in the low 50s, max depth 50 feet & visi-bility well

above 25 feet. We saw a variety of different see life, including an up-per close encounter with an in-quisitive Sea Raven.

The thermometer will be drop-ping, and water temperatures will dip into the “cold” range. If you dive in the Northeast year-round, as I enjoy doing, please remember to dress warmly both for in water and after water activities. For those of you have the time and money, enjoy your travels. Other-wise, this is a great time of year to have your gear serviced so it is ready for you in the spring.

It is hard to believe another year has almost passed. It is also almost that time for our FCDA an-nual elections. If you are inter-ested in becoming an officer, please let us know. We are still in desperate need of a secretary. If anybody is willing and capable, your help would be greatly appre-ciated.

See y’all soon…..Mike

Inside this Issue

The Presidents’ Corner by Mike

Cassetta page 1

FCDA Donor I page 2

October 2018 FCDA Meeting

page 2

The looming threat to our oceans by Robert Lovell

pages 3, 5,

FCDA Member Ads page 3

Events of Interest to FCDA

Members page 4

October Meeting DAN Raffle

Winners page 4

Argentine sub found partially 'imploded' after yearlong

search by Hugh Bronstein, Jorge

Otaola pages 5, 6,7

FCDA Donor II page 6

Zeagle Recalls Sport BCD

Inflators Due To Automatic Inflation Hazard page 7

Faces of Climate Change

by Lauren Wenzel pages 8, 9

Why a Sunny Pacific Island Is

Banning Sunscreen by Billy Perrigo page 10

Arctic Circle page 10

Back by Popular Demand! FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies!

pages 11. 12

Next FCDA Meeting

page 13

Page 2

FCDA Donor

The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association.

October 2018 FCDA Meeting

Page 3

FCDA Member Ads

Hey - have you got a non retail-diving business that you’d like to share with your fellow members of FCDA? Get your business card size ad in the FCDA monthly newsletter “Surface Interval” for only $50.00 for one year. Give your business a boost and help support the production of our monthly newsletters. For more information, write to FCDA, P.O. Box 554, Fairfield, CT 06824 or email to fcda@aol.com.

The looming threat to our oceans by Robert Lovell

chided by Friends of the Earth. Ideas such as a plastic bottle re-turn scheme and a charge on takeaway coffee cups were not included, but Environment Secre-tary Michael Gove said on BBC Radio 4 at the time that “We’re also, I have to say, taking action on a wide variety of ideas al-ready.”

Regardless of the relative mer-its of the government’s plan to tackle plastic pollution, they re-flect the growing urgency of the unfolding crisis facing the ocean. Years of doom-laden predictions and depressing statistics are be-ginning to get through to people, and to governments, as the truth, and, thus, yielding real policy ef-fects. In the UK, at least, this

On January 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled her plan to tackle the growing tide of plastic waste filling the ocean. The proposals were designed to help the United Kingdom catch up with other European countries like Finland who have led the way in plastic reduction for a number of years. In her bid to put Britain at the forefront of the war on, what she called, “one of the great envi-ronmental scourges of our time”, the PM unveiled policies including plastics-free aisles in supermarkets and a tax on takeaway containers.

The 25-year strategy was met with criticism from environmental groups, with Greenpeace calling them “a missed opportunity”, whilst “wooly promises” were

process was aided by documenta-ries including the wildly popular and much watched Blue Planet II, fronted by Sir David Attenborough.

A whopping 8 million tonnes of plastic is left unrecycled across the world every year. That is an in-credibly difficult number to imag-ine. It means that in 10 years there could be well over 80 million tonnes of plastic in the ocean. If you were to pile all of that up, it would be far, far larger than any man made structure on Earth. Big-ger than the Burj Khalifa, bigger than the Empire State Building, bigger than the Eiffel Tower.

And some of the eye catching facts circling about the looming threat to our oceans are truly terri-

(Continued on page 5)

Page 4

Events of Interest to FCDA Members

Friday, December 7, 2018 - 7:00 PM - Annual FCDA Holiday Party Tuesday, January 1, 2019 - Annual Frozen Fin Dive sponsored by SECONN Divers. For more information - http://www.seconndivers.org/frozen-fin/ Friday - Sunday, March 8-10, 2019 - Boston Sea Rovers 2019 - DoubleTree by Hilton Bos-ton North Shore, 50 Ferncroft Rd, Danvers, MA. For more information - https://www.bostonsearovers.com/ Friday - Sunday, March 29-31, 2019 - Beneath the Sea 2019, Boston Sea Rovers 2019

- For more information - http://www.beneaththesea.org/

After Captain Noel Voroba’s presentation on Div-ing St Croix the club held its monthly raffle to sup-port our DAN Sponsorship.

Winners were: Caribiner donated by New Eng-land Dive Center - Mark Hill; Scuba Max Weight Belt donated by New England Dive Center - Ken Easley; Go Pro Tripod donated by New England Dive Center - Jeff Susa; Coral Safe Sun Screen do-nated by New Eng-land Dive Center - Jeff Susa; TUSA Dive Mask/Snorkel Set donated by Or-bit Marine Dive Center - Bob Sawczuk and a US Divers Aqua-lung Regulator Bag donated by Orbit Marine Dive Center - Jeff Susa.

Thanks to New England Dive Center for donat-ing tonight’s raffle

prizes for our DAN raffle. Remember, you can't win if you don't buy

tickets and you can't buy tickets if you don't get up and come out to FCDA events and meetings!

October Meeting DAN Raffle Winners

Page 5

Internet mail: fcda@aol.com

http://www.fcda.us

2018 Board

Presidents Matt Rownin &

Mike Cassetta

Vice-President Lisa Jarsosik

Secretary vacant

Treasurer Paul J. Gacek

P.O. Box 554 Fairfield, CT 06824

fying. Every day, about 8 million items of plastic enter the ocean. Plastic consistently makes up 60-90% of all marine debris studied. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, and an incredible one mil-lion seabirds are killed by plastic every year. Recent scientific stud-ies have found plastic in the bod-ies of 100% of deceased marine turtles, 59% of dead whales, 36% of dead seals, and 40% of dead seabirds that were surveyed.

These facts, whilst mind bog-gling in scale, are just a snapshot of the monumental challenge posed to our world in the next

(Continued from page 3)

The looming threat to our oceans by Robert Lovell (continued)

couple of decades. As a society, we are just beginning to take the very real danger plastic poses seri-ously, but it may be too late. To those of us who love scuba diving, this is not just an existential crisis for our planet’s beautiful and frag-ile ecosystems, but a danger to the joy we get from seeing the won-ders the ocean holds. We all have our role to play in passing on plas-tic and adapting a world that needs all of us to take an interest in its future survival.

Reprinted from Scuba News Oc-

tober 28, 2018`

Argentine sub found partially 'imploded' after yearlong search

by Hugh Bronstein, Jorge Otaola

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The Argentine Navy submarine that went missing a year ago off the country’s Atlantic Coast was found by a private company in-volved in what had been a mas-sive search for the vessel and its 44-member crew, the defense ministry said in a news confer-ence on Saturday.

The ARA San Juan submarine was discovered by marine track-ing contractor Ocean Infinity, 907 meters (2,975 feet) below the ocean surface. The vessel was found in an underwater can-yon with its tail partially “imploded,” Argentina’s Defense Minister Carlos Aguad said.

Given the poor visibility at the site, the ministry said it only had preliminary information about the

state of the submarine, which was scattered in pieces on the ocean floor.

Aguad could neither confirm nor deny if the vessel could be re-covered, but said the government did “not have the means to extract the submarine.”

The disappearance gripped the nation’s attention as the govern-ment struggled to provide infor-mation about the tragedy. Rela-tives of the crew still have ques-tions.

“We have found them,” Jorge Villarreal, father of one crew mem-ber told local radio. “Now we are going to search for the truth. For us this is the start of a new chap-ter.”

Aguad said: “Much of what (Continued on page 6)

Page 6

FCDA Donor

The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association.

Argentine sub found partially 'imploded' after yearlong search by Hugh Bronstein,

Jorge Otaola (continued)

happens from here will have to be resolved by the justice depart-ment. If there is someone respon-sible, they will be held responsi-ble.”

At the time of the disappear-ance, the Navy said water that had entered the submarine’s snorkel caused its battery to short-circuit.

Naval officials said international organizations helping to search for the missing vessel a year ago de-tected a noise that could have been the submarine imploding, just two hours after its last con-tact.

The first anniversary of the sub-marine’s disappearance was com-memorated at the Mar del Plata naval base on Nov. 15, with Presi-dent Mauricio Macri in attendance.

The crew had been ordered to return to Mar del Plata on the country’s east coast. But the vessel was never heard from again.

Ocean Infinity, a U.S. company that can search and map the sea-bed, was hired by Argentina fol-lowing the failure of an interna-tional operation to find the vessel after it went missing in the South Atlantic.

Ocean Infinity used five autono-mous underwater vehicles to carry out the search, according to a statement from the company.

“Our thoughts are with the

(Continued from page 5)

many families affected by this terrible tragedy. We sincerely hope that locating the resting place of the ARA San will be of some comfort to them,” the statement said.

The San Juan was some 430 km (270 miles) off Argentina’s

Patagonian coast when it sent its last signal.

The disaster spurred soul-searching over the state of the military in Argentina, which after a series of financial crises has one of Latin America’s smallest defense

(Continued on page 7)

Page 7

budgets relative to the size of its economy. Some families of miss-ing crew members blamed the government for underfunding the Navy.

Argentina learned a harsh les-son of submarines’ military value during the 1982 Falklands War, when a British sub sank the ARA General Belgrano cruiser. It was the only major ship Argentina lost in the war over the disputed Falk-land Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.

Reprinted from Reuters.com -

November 17, 2018.

(Continued from page 6)

If you own one of these BCs, stop using it and either call Zeagle at 888-270-8595, or visit a registered dealer for instruc-tions on how to receive a free

Argentine sub found partially 'imploded' after yearlong search by Hugh Bronstein, Jorge Otaola

(continued)

replacement (www.zeagle.com/sport-bcdinflator-recall) .

Reprinted from https://

www.zeagle.com/

Zeagle is recalling five models of its Sport BCs because buttons on the direct-feed inflator and/or the oral inflation valve can break or fracture while in use, leading to either loss of air or uncon-trolled inflation of the BC, which could cause a diver to drown .

The Consumer Product Safety Commission states 23 reports of buttons breaking, but no injuries so far . This recall is for the mod-els Sport Base, Sport Resort, Sport Base Plus, Sport Resort Plus and Sport Focus . Around 2,600 of the Sport BCs for recall are in the U .S ., and another 800 in Canada . (None were sold in Europe because they didn’t meet the required safety standards .)

Zeagle Recalls Sport BCD Inflators Due To

Automatic Inflation Hazard

Page 8

At the current rate of warming,

some climate models predict that summer sea ice will likely be gone

from most of the Arctic by 2050, while other models indicate it could

happen much sooner. Loss of sea

ice affects the growth of algae, which provides the base of the

ocean food web. Walruses and seals

also depend on sea ice to rest, breed, rear young and feed. The

problem is also self-perpetuating: As sea ice diminishes, new areas of the

Artic are open for industrial and

commercial uses, resulting in further regional environmental impacts.

We can already see several dis-

turbing changes. In some areas, polar bears have been feeding more

on birds nesting on the ground and cliffs than on ice, which may lead to

local population declines for these

species. Seabirds such as black guil-lemots, which have traditionally fed

at the ice edge, are traveling further

for food, leading to poorer health and lower breeding success. Wal-

ruses are losing opportunities to rest on ice directly over rich feeding ar-

eas and are hauling out in coastal

Faces of Climate Change by Lauren Wenzel

areas, which increases the dangers

to their young, who are more likely to be injured or killed in stam-

pedes. Arctic scientists emphasize the

importance to local species of the

ocean north of Greenland and in northeast Canada, which is ex-

pected to be the last area that will

be covered by sea ice through the

summer. This "last ice area" is an

example of refugia — areas that provide the last refuge for species

that are increasingly threatened by climate change and other impacts.

On the other side of the globe,

Antarctic sea ice has temporarily expanded in recent years due to

increased fresh water and stronger

winds, but studies predict a loss in sea ice area over the coming dec-

ades. Already, the loss of ice shelves and retreat of glaciers in Antarctica

have created huge new areas of

open water, affecting the structure of the entire ecosystem. Emperor

penguins depend on sea ice to sup-

port the krill populations on which they feed and to provide a refuge

from predators; studies indicate at least 75 percent of emperor penguin

colonies are therefore vulnerable to

anticipated low sea-ice conditions. Ocean Acidification

The ocean absorbs about 25 per-

cent of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing chemical

reactions that reduce the pH of sea-(Continued on page 9)

Page 9

Faces of Climate Change by Lauren Wenzel (continued)

water. As a result, the ocean has become 30 percent more acidic over

the 200 years since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. In some

places, acidification is affecting the

ability of marine life to form and maintain shells and skeletons; shell-

building species are not limited to

shellfish and include microscopic animals near the base of the

ocean's food web. Species such as the walrus, salmon and gray whale

feed directly on organisms vulner-

able to ocean acidification. The problem is exacerbated by the fact

that cold waters are naturally low in

calcium carbonate — the mineral that forms the shells of many ma-

rine organisms — which is further reduced by the acidification process,

meaning that shell-building species

in polar regions are particularly threatened.

Shifting Habitats

With warming oceans, melting ice and growing acidification, in-

creasing numbers of southern spe-cies are moving into Arctic waters.

In some cases, they are competing

(Continued from page 8) against or preying on native spe-

cies. Killer whales (orcas), for ex-ample, are expanding into Arctic

waters, competing with other predators for seals and stressing

native populations such as nar-

whals. Arctic cod — a key food source for seabirds and marine

mammals — may be at risk from

the current expansion of Atlantic cod into Arctic waters. These shifts

are just a few of the more visible

examples of how entire food webs in the Arctic and Antarctic are re-

sponding to increased fresh water, availability of nutrients, shifting

ocean currents and other factors.

What You Can Do Take action to reduce your car-

bon footprint and spread awareness

about climate impacts. Support ini-tiatives from governments, indus-

tries and nonprofit organizations to protect natural areas that store car-

bon, including coastal "blue carbon"

habitats such as seagrasses, man-groves and tidal wetlands. While

marine protected areas (MPAs) can-

not slow climate change, they can be used to protect those refuges

that are experiencing fewer climate-related effects and other threats.

You can also encourage actions to

protect and conserve marine species and habitats in our polar regions.

Reprinted from Alert Diver - Summer 2018.

Page 10

The Pacific archipelago of Palau is regarded as one of the best div-ing locations in the world, with hundreds of varieties of fish and coral found within its reefs. In an effort to protect those natural treasures from harmful chemicals, Palau recently became the first country to ban many types of sun-screen.

Amid growing anxiety about the world’s oceans, advocates hope that Palau’s law—which fol-lows a similar measure by the state of Hawaii—may be just the first swell of a new legal wave.

An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen wash into the oceans each year, but research shows that chemicals that protect skin from harmful ultra-violet light can also damage coral. When ocean temperatures rise, the algae that feed coral and lend it its vivid col-ors leave, causing coral to bleach and eventually die.

Chemicals in sunscreen can cause bleaching to occur at lower temperatures than normal. When combined with the rising mercury, that bodes bad news for both bio-diversity and tourism.

Palau’s ban, which was signed into law on Oct. 25 and comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, will outlaw sunscreens that rely on any of 10 chemi-cals, like oxybenzone. Offend-ing brands will be confiscated at airports, and their import or sale will carry fines of up to $1,000.

The law is designed to “walk a smart balance between edu-cating tourists and scaring them away,” Palau’s President Tommy Remengesau said.

In 2016 and 2017, record heat caused 50% of the coral in A u s t r a -l i a ’ s G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef to b l e a c h . By 2030, scientists p red i c t , 90% of t h e w o r l d ’ s coral will b e t h r e a t -

ened. And on Nov. 6, the U.N.’s bio-diversity czar told the Guard-ian that species loss poses a risk to human life everywhere.

So officials in places like Palau and Hawaii say that with so many environmental factors out of their control, regulating sunscreens is the least they can do. And while some sunscreen companies are opposed, the ban creates an in-centive for “reef-safe” varieties—a move that officials hope might help save everyone’s skin.

Reprinted from Time.com -

November 7, 2018

Why a Sunny Pacific Island Is Banning Sunscreen by Billy Perrigo

Page 11

Back by Popular Demand!

FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies!

Graphite grey shown - Cotton/Polyester blend - Adult Sizes SM - 3XL $25.00

Also available with long sleeves (not shown) $30.00

Both available in choice of ten colors

Get your FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies with a high quality embroidered FCDA logo on the front and an embroidered dive flag on the back. Available in sizes from Small to 3XL.

Gildan Heavy Cotton T-Shirt

The Endurance Poly Hoodie

High quality embroidered FCDA logo on the front and an embroidered dive flag logo on the back.

Hoodie also available in Grey with Red Insets.

Available Colors for Tee Shirts and Long Sleeve Shirts

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Page 12

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Name _______________________________________________ eMail ________________________________________________ FCDA Tee Shirt with Logo and Dive Flag No. _____ Size _____ Color _______ @ $25.00 = $_________

No. _____ Size _____ Color _______ @ $25.00 = $_________ FCDA Long Sleeve Shirt with Logo and Dive Flag No. _____ Size _____ Color _______ @ $30.00 = $_________

No. _____ Size _____ Color _______ @ $30.00 = $_________ FCDA Hoodie with Logo and Dive Flag No. _____ Size _____ Black Inset @ $35.00 = $_________ or No. _____ Size _____ Red Inset @ $35.00 = $_________ No. _____ Size _____ Black Inset @ $35.00 = $_________ or No. _____ Size _____ Red Inset @ $35.00 = $_________ Make your check payable to FCDA and mail to: TOTAL $_________ FCDA, P.O. Box 554, Fairfield, CT 06824

FCDA Shirt/Hoodie Order Form

Please note that all items are custom made and must be prepaid. Items will be ordered as soon as we have the minimum quantity for an order and will generally be available at the next scheduled meeting.

Page 13

Next FCDA Meeting

Friday - November 30, 2018 - 8:00 PM

US Coast Guard Auxiliary Cottage - South Benson Marina, Fairfield, CT

"Diving French Polynesia"

a presentation by

Michelle Lapin

Michelle Lapin will be presenting footage from a recent trip to French

Polynesia - a remote paradise of incredible beauty with pristine diving. !