 Jan/Feb 2008 Printer-Friendly | Back Top Quality DVDs Sought for Underwater Film Festival Assemble now your best underwater video film footage for the SCUBA Show 2008 underwater film festival. The 21st SCUBA Show is the largest dive expo of its type in the U.S. and this year takes place June 21-22 at the Long Beach Convention Center. One of the most popular portions of the annual Southern California SCUBA Show has been the unique continuous film festival. Films will be screened digitally on a massive screen with state-of-the-art equipment and viewed by thousands of attendees. Featured at past film festivals have been footage and films from some of the world’s greatest underwater cinematographers. Even so, some of the most well received films have been from non-professional and semi-professional underwater camera operators. For this year’s show, the film festival will be wide open to this talented group. The management of the popular annual dive convention is conducting an aggressive all-out search for the best in underwater video films. They are also opening up the category to include digital still presentations set to music or narration. Submissions for consideration should be new material, never before shown in a film festival setting or on television. Films and digital slide shows of 3 to 30 minutes in length are preferred, but shorter is usually better. Footage can be from anywhere in the world, but the video should contain at least 50 percent underwater footage. Those films accepted for screening will be paid an honorarium. Deadline for DVD submission is March 14, 2008. For a complete guideline sheet on submissions, call (310) 792-2333, e-mail mail@scubashow.com or view the guidelines web page at www.scubashow.com/filmguide.html. Student Ocean Art and Poetry On Display at Aquarium; 2008 Contest Announced The artwork and poetry of several southern California students will be included in an exhibit at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro from through January 6. These youth were honored in the 2007 California Coastal Art & Poetry Contest for kindergarten through 12th grade students, presented by the California Coastal Commission. Among the local artists to be exhibited are Dianne Faith T. Jamandron (5th grade) of Los Angeles, Allysen Bay C. Merrill (6th grade) of Glendale, Shivya Ganesh (2nd grade) of Aliso Viejo, Cary Lin (12th grade) of Irvine, and Sofía Tonatzin Ortíz (2nd grade) and Michael Jankowski (6th grade) of Santa Ana. The California Coastal Art & Poetry Contest is held annually to encourage youth to reflect on the beauty and spirit of California’s beaches and ocean. Through this effort the Commission endeavors to inspire a greater sense of appreciation and stewardship for these natural places, since a population that cares about the coast is more likely to conserve and protect it. The deadline for entering the 2008 contest is January 31. For more information about the contest and the Commission’s other education programs, visit www.coastforyou.org or call 800-Coast4U. Lobster Punch Card and Abalone Tags to be Required for 2008 Effective in 2008 any individual taking spiny lobster will be required to have a newly issued “punch card” ($7.90). This is in addition to the normal sport fishing license and Ocean Enhancement Stamp. Any time a hunter catches a lobster they are required to indicate the take on the card. The card is then to be mailed to the California Department of Fish and Game at the end of the year. Abalone hunters on the north coast (it is illegal to take abalone south of San Francisco) have similar “punch card” requirements. But in addition to the punch card abalone hunters will now be required to “tag” each abalone taken with a tag supplied by Fish and Game with purchase of the abalone punch card. Purchase of this card with the tags is also in addition to the requirement for purchase of a sport fishing license. Abalone season begins April 1, 2008. Abalone hunting on the north coast can be done by breath-hold diving only; no scuba or surface supplied air is allowed. NAUI Approves Inspiration and Evolution Rebreathers NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) has announced the addition of the Inspiration and Evolution Rebreathers manufactured by Ambient Pressure Diving Ltd. and distributed by Silent Diving Systems LLC to their list of approved rebreathers for NAUI training courses that can be found in the Technical Diving Section of their website at www.naui.org. In order for a rebreather to be added to the list, it must be independently tested and pass within the testing criteria as set forth by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NAUI Technical Diver Training Division was started over a decade ago to create a higher standard of training worldwide by codifying technical diving community training practices. NAUI was the first major training organization to offer certifications at all levels of diving from traditional recreational training through technical training The NAUI advisory councils are comprised of professional divers, engineers, physicians and researchers and help develop all aspects of training. These are volunteers who serve on the Technical Diving Advisory Council and Rebreather Diving Advisory Council and assist in the development of technical diving training standards. You can find information in the Technical Diving Division Section of their website at www.naui.org. Order For Remaining MPLA Study Regions Announced Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman has announced the order of three remaining study regions to implement California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) by 2011. Data collection will begin in the MLPA South Coast Study Region, (Point Conception south to the border with Mexico), in early 2008, followed by the MLPA North Coast Study Region (Alder Creek north to the border with Oregon), and then the MLPA San Francisco Bay Study Region (from the Golden Gate Bridge northeast to the Carquinez Bridge). A specific timetable for the remaining regions has yet to be established. The MLPA North Central Coast Study Region, the second region identified for implementation of the act, is undergoing a process for evaluating marine protected areas (MPAs). In 2004, Gov. Schwarzenegger directed the Resources Agency to launch an effort to implement the Marine Life Protection Act as part the administration’s ocean and coastal protection policy. In March 2006, a blue ribbon task force delivered recommendations on the first study region (from Pigeon Point to Point Conception, called the MLPA Central Coast Study Region) to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the California Fish and Game Commission. In April 2007, following extensive public input and scientific analysis, the Fish and Game Commission identified 29 marine protected areas within the Central Coast Study Region. Those regulations went into effect in September 2007. Building on a model that has been demonstrated successfully to complete one region and is being used in the process on another, a blue ribbon task force will be appointed by Secretary Chrisman in early 2008 for the South Coast Study Region. The task force and DFG will appoint another regional stakeholder group to ensure local interests and knowledge play a role in developing MPA proposals for the region. DFG will also name a science advisory team to make use of the best readily available science. The MLPA directs the state to reexamine and redesign California’s system of MPAs through a comprehensive program and master plan. Its primary goals are to protect marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems and marine natural heritage, as well as improve recreational, educational and study opportunities provided by marine ecosystems. MPAs include state marine conservation areas, state marine parks, and state marine reserves. For more information on the MLPA visit www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa. Atomic Mask Wins Award For the second year in a row, Atomic Aquatics has been recognized with a RED DOT Award for product design excellence. The company received this award for its innovative and highly popular “frameless” dive mask. The prestigious Red Dot Awards have been presented from the last 50 years recognizing true product design excellence in a wide range of categories. This year, there were more than 50,000 entries from more than 50 countries. Atomic Aquatics last year became the first dive company to receive Red Dot recognition when the company’s “Sub-Frame” mask was singled out for design excellence. This year, judges awarded Atomic Aquatics a SECOND Red Dot Award for the “frameless” mask design. For more information visit the Atomic Aquatics website at www.atomicaquatics.com. © Copyright 2007, all rights reserve, by Saint Brendan Corporation, P.O. Box 11231, Torrance CA 90510, mail@cadivingnews.com. No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system/website, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The contents of this publication/website are opinions of the individual writers. The publishers of California Diving News and its contributors assume no responsibility for any mishap claimed to be a result of use of this material. Diving is an adventure sport and with it comes inherent risks. Improper use of diving equipment or improper diving techniques may result in serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death. Readers are admonished to use their own best judgement in each individual situation. |
