NEWSLETTER February 13, 2005, Issue 47
Members are encouraged to submit articles, dive plans and dive reports.
Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/
DA Dive Log
DA Dive Plan
Movie report
January meeting minutes
Next Meeting Notice
Next club meeting is Monday, February 28, 2005.
We will have our regular business meeting at 730PM
Meeting Program:
Tom and Ben’s Boat Charters, Payment and Sign-Up,
And
Kevin Mc Murray presenting “The Empress of Ireland”
The 2005 Divers Anonymous Holiday Party was held on Saturday, January 08, 2005 at San Carlo restaurant in Lyndhurst , N. J. Twenty four members and guests attended and were treated to an exciting evening of dinner, drinks, awards, video, prizes, gifts, and fun. Thanks to everyone who attended so we could continue our DA tradition with our year end and year beginning event.
Thanks to Al Nesterok and the rest of the members who contributed to the festivities, Mike, the marine, Edith, Rich M, Tom and Norva G, Don, Sarah and anyone else that I missed. Good Job!
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Peggy’s News
The http://www.scubanj.org/ webpage is up again.
Undercurrent -- Consumer Reporting for the
Scuba Diving Community since 1975
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January 31, 2005
Trouble with Travel?
======================
In a disturbing trend, we are hearing more "Undercurrent" readers' accounts of being charged excess luggage fees from airlines when they travel, being denied permission to check some scuba equipment with their checked luggage, being subjected to extensive searches, and having bags or items stolen. If you have had any recent problems with traveling with scuba gear, your input could be helpful to an upcoming "Undercurrent" article.
Please e-mail us at <mailto:editor@undercurrent.org> and let us know.
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2. Pallone wants reef-building to continue
Published in the Asbury Park Press 1/23/05
by John Geiser
http://fishing.injersey.com/sports/fishing/story/0,20939,1184663,00.html
One would think that after 40 years of building artificial reefs along the New
Jersey coastline, and after all the good that has come from these structures,
that renewing the federal permit to continue the program would be a cinch.
It is not.
Herb Moore Jr., director of government affairs for the Recreational Fishing Alliance, said there are organizations and individuals who oppose reef building.
"The New Jersey reef program has proven to be a resounding success
since its inception, and incredibly popular with the recreational fishing
public," he said. "But there are people out there who oppose
it."
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., has weighed the concerns of commercial
fishermen and a few environmentalists about artificial reefs against the
benefits from the reef program and come out solidly on the side of the reef
program.
The opposition to reef building has occurred at a critical time when the state
Division of Fish and Wildlife is applying for renewal of the building permit
from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Pallone wrote Frank J. Cianfrani, chief of the Philadelphia district office of
the engineers, expressing his support for reef building.
"The artificial reef program has been a tremendous success for New
Jerseyans," he said. "By creating new habitat for a variety of fish
species, including black sea bass, scup, summer flounder and tautog, these
reefs have provided high quality year-round fishing spots.
"This is a tremendous benefit to the 800,000 recreational anglers in New Jersey and the $1.5 billion industry they support," he said.
"Unfortunately beach replenishment, sand and gravel mining and commercial
dredging have robbed New Jersey's natural sea floor of many of the firm
substrate features that attract certain types of fish. The reef program has
restored and created critical habitat for these fish species, replenishing
stocks and providing additional fishing opportunities."
Pallone reminded that the division is proposing to consolidate the permit
authorization process for all 14 artificial reefs into one permit, continue
deploying artificial material on the existing sites and creating one new
artificial reef site.
Opponents of the reef system claim that the reef material is not natural to the
environment, attracts fish species to its structure and sometimes prevents
commercial fishermen from netting or dredging on the grounds.
Moore counters that the state's reefs have played a significant role in the
state's fishery as federal, regional and state bodies, along with private
citizens and organizations, have dedicated a great amount of resources to
rebuilding and managing marine fisheries.
"New Jersey's artificial reef sites are teeming with life in areas that
would otherwise be relatively barren," he said.
"New Jersey's artificial reefs have become even more important for quality
of life, the recreational fishing industry and our marine ecosystem in recent
years due to the loss of coastal habitat from beach replenishment projects.
"Beach replenishment projects have resulted in the loss of habitat in two
ways: when the sand is dredged offshore and when the sand is pumped on the
beach. When the sand is dredged offshore, it often destroys important habitat
for New Jersey's marine ecosystem such as underwater ledges, hills and lumps
that fish inhabit," he said.
"Sand pumped on the beach has covered rock jetties, sea walls, flumes to
coastal lakes and nearshore structure, all of which is vital to New Jersey's
marine life and important to New Jersey's recreational anglers," he said.
"Sand being pumped onshore and covering this structure has eliminated a
tremendous amount of marine habitat along our coast."
Moore reminded that the state loses important marine habitat each year
because of commercial fishing operations. Clam dredges, heavy metal scallop
gear, roller rigs and bottom trawls all destroy habitat such as old wooden
wrecks, underwater ledges, sand hills, lumps, soft pumice-type habitat and
crustacean-covered structures.
"This makes the artificial reef program all the more important, because
while we are losing vital habitat from the sources above, and more, the reef
program is adding vital habitat for marine life," Moore said.
Copyright © 1997-2005 IN Jersey.
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Peggy Bowen, Director ....... New: pegdiver@earthlink.net
New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs
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DA Dive Log
DA Dive Plan
(Any sales of gear are subject to terms agreed upon by sellers and buyers.)
Al N. scissors at $3 per pair.
E-mail: Tom Gormley 50 cuft low pressure steel tank, Nitrox ready, new condition, Mercury 20 HP outboard motor, 2003 model.
Meeting Minutes
Divers Anonymous Scuba Dive Club
Mario’s Restaurant / 710 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ
December 13, 2004
Members Present:
Greg Collucci
Mike Dox
Edith Farmer
Tom & Norva Gormley
Mike Granado
Al Nesterok
Don Van Dyk
Brian Maglio
Matt Brinkerhoff
Paul Duffy
Gary Mullen
Larry Maleszewski
Fred Marcus
Sarah Kalicin
The meeting began at 7:30 p.m.
Executive Committee Reports
Vice President’s Report / Al Nesterok
Al gave his report of the annual DA Holiday party. He stated that next year we may change the location for a lower price, which he and Norva will be working on.
President’s Report / Thomas Gormley
Weather conditions permitting, we are planning to do some Thursday and Sunday shore dives in February and March.
We will have a table at the Ocean Wreck Divers Flea market Sunday, February 20, 205 in Tom’s River. Directions are posted on the OWD website. www.oceanwreckdivers.com
Tom outlined his program for meeting speakers they are viewable on our DA Calendar.
We will have a presence at this year’s BTS. Fliers and a DA representative are planned for the dive council booth. Tom will give a seminar on Saturday at 2PM on Shore Diving in NJ.
There was a discussion on DA T-shirts. Some suggestions were made and we will look into some possibilities.
Fred saw the movie Aliens of the Deep at the IMAZ Theater in NYC. A group email was sent from Fred to provide more details.
Membership
Welcome to new member Paul Duffy. Paul has a great deal of NJ wreck diving experience and has agreed to do a presentation on uplines and lift bags, possibly in June.
Web Site
Our webmaster Mike Dox needs your support. Send him your DA photos so he can post them on our site. Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/. Or the maybe easier to remember www.diversanonymous.com
After the business meeting we had an interesting presentation and workshop on “Marine Knots and Lines.” This was conducted and contributed to by: Tom, Sarah, Mike G, Matt, Larry, and Paul.
Minutes submitted by Tom for Secretary, Richard Mullen
2004 - 05
Divers Anonymous Calendar
Updated 12-31-04
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Jan 2005
· 01/05: DA Planning meeting 7:30 p.m. at 6 Bros Diner Rt. 46
· 01/08: DA Holiday Party 7:30 p.m. San Carlos Rest 620 Stuyvesant Ave, Lyndhurst
· 01/31: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m |
Feb 2005
· 02/01: Bottle Show, South River
· 02/20: Toms River Flea Market
· 02/28: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Tom and Ben’s Boat Charters, Payment and Sign-Up, and Kevin Mc Murray presenting “The Empress of Ireland” |
Mar 2005
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Apr 2005
· 04/03: Manasquan RR Bridge Dive, 8AM · 04/06: Pool Dive for gear check and warm-up 9:15 p.m. Clifton YMYWHA · 04/17 Sunday shore dive in Belmar SRI · 04/26: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Annual Dues and Officer Elections, Gary Gentile presents “U-boats of eastern US” |
May 2005
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June 2005
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Jul 2005
· Local Shore Dives TBA · 7/16 & 17 DA Weekend at Dutch Springs · 07/25: DA Club Meeting · 07/31 Sea Lion boat dive |
Aug 2005
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Sep 2005
· 09/04: Labor Day Delaware Picnic · 09/26: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m
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Oct 2005
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Nov 2005
· Local Shore Dives 11/21
· 11/28: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. 2005 Artifact & Story Contest
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Dec 2005
· 12/12: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. · 12/18: Lizzie H Brayton 101 year anniversary dive, 2PM · “Happy Holidays” · Friday, 12/31: Last Dive of Year 10AM
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Pink highlighted events are subsidized by DA dues