Italy beach contamination – We report, You decide

Okay Divers, it has finally come to that point where I feel the need to present both sides of the story in regards to the Naples beach contamination levels.

THE CONTAMINATION SIDE:

Italy’s beaches are mostly vacant after bacteria warnings

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, July 18, 2009

NAPLES, Italy — Summer is in full swing, but the once-popular beaches in southern Italy are jarringly vacant.

That’s because of repeated warnings of higher-than-acceptable bacteria levels that have polluted more than 37 miles of coastline in the Campania region, prompting regional environmental officials to declare the ocean off-limits to swimmers.

…

According to the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale della Campania, the regional equivalent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, biweekly tests of the regional waters have turned up higher-than-acceptable levels of total coliform, fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria, the latter of which can cause strep throat, flesh-eating disease and a variety of other infections.

…

The U.S. Naval Hospital Naples reported that no one has sought medical treatment related to beach visits, base spokesman Lt. Paul Macapagal said.

Italian media outlets have reported some beaches have been plagued recently with worms and sand fleas. High contamination levels have been recorded in Mondragone, Castelvolturno, Licola, Pozzuoli, Portici, Castellammare di Stabia and along the Salerno coastline.

Levels of fecal coliform registered in waters between Lido le Ancore and the NATO beach in Giugliano in Campania, for example, were 1,200 times more than the Italian maximum contaminate level, according to testing documents posted on ARPAC’s Web site. The pollution is caused by illegal dumping of sewage and inefficient water purification plants, agency officials have said.

…

Italian investigators are probing reports of toxic dumping of untreated water along the Phlegean coastline west of Naples by the plant, according to several Italian news agencies.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

(Thanks Chris B. for the news link)

THE “IT’S ALL PROPOGANDA” SIDE:

According to the ARPA Campania (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale) reports bi-weekly on the quality of the water. Their report (which is too lengthy and detailed to quote here) shows that almost all of the beach dive sites are perfectly fine for diving. Contamination levels are either non-existent or well within the “norm” for Naples.

One site that is grossly out of acceptable levels is Pozzuoli.

The report can be downloaded here: ARPA Campania Report

The report only takes a second to figure out and is pretty self explanatory.

THE “LEWIS’S PERSONAL OPINION” SIDE:

I have lived in Naples since 2004. Since then I have seen the local people misled on many things. Either the news was telling only half the truth for effect or simply outright making stories up.

One thing most recent for the American people living in the Campania region is the health of the water. When the “water” issue first started becoming a topic in the news in Casal di Principe the American people were told that the problem was with all the water in the region. Our landlords told us the news stations were saying the problem was isolated to only the Casal area. The only facts that could be found in that whole story was that no one knew where the problem started or ended. I went to the American Housing office a week ago to see if the water problem had improved so that I could look at property in that neighborhood and was told that now the problem was “political” and had very little to do with the water from the beginning.

So we arrive today with the contaminated ocean issue. Just the other day I was told by a local Italian friend that I was “pazzo” or crazy for diving in the local waters because of someone he had heard about getting a white worm infection under his skin from the contamination. Now you should know that I am a natural born skeptic. So I immediately turned to my trusted Google homepage and searched for this story. This is what I found:

POLLUTED SEA IN NAPLES IS PSYCHOSIS

IN CLOSING:

In my opinion the news, and I include any news reporting outlet in that general name (CNN, FOX News, Rai Uno), will always trim down the information for greatest shock value. I look at contamination in the Naples bay to be another case of this shock value news reporting. I read the environmental reports released by the ARPA Campania for myself and I survey a dive site while planning a dive and before executing my dive plan.

Contamination in our worlds’ oceans is a serious matter. I try to reduce my carbon footprint at home and when I dive I try to leave nothing behind and take only pictures and octopus left-overs (clam shells). I always encourage my dive buddies to do the same.

In regards to diving locally, well, I’ve bumped into things that I wish I never made physical contact with but that to me is just “Naples”. If you see the trash on the sides of the road why would you expect that none of that would end up in our oceans?

What do you think? Do you think the pollution levels in the water is just Italian propaganda? Do you believe that the water is truly unsafe and that a white worm and sand flea infection has taken over?

Share your opinion in the comments section or step over to the forum and post in the environment forum or stop in here and leave a comment!

Diving Italy forum

A letter from the Editor:

Italy SCUBA Divers,

As most of you know this whole experience with the blog and the Master Diver List started out as a way to find dive buddies. In the beginning there were about 12 of us and we started to put the word out - "If you want to dive this weekend just shoot out an email and if someone is available they will respond".

That email list grew from 12 divers to over 61 at the time this article goes to press. 61 divers and wanna-be's looking for someone to dive with in just over 5 weeks! That's when we knew we had a problem. Email is good for 12 divers or even 20 but 61 was asking a bit much.

That's when the forum was born. http://www.divingitalyforum.com is now the new home of our beloved "Master Diver List". I encourage any and all who are interested to stop in and register and start interacting with your fellow divers today!

See you in the water,

Lewis

SCUBA Diver meeting this Saturday!

UPDATE: THIS MEETING HAS OCCURRED AND WAS AN AMAZING SUCCESS!!! THANKS TO ALL THE INTERESTED PEOPLE WHO STOPPED IN TO SEE HOW THEY COULD INTERACT WITH OTHER DIVE BUDDIES! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE ELSE AT THE NEXT GET TOGETHER!

• Are you interested in SCUBA diving?
• Are you already certified but don’t know where to go to dive in Italy?
• Are you looking to meet other enthusiastic divers?

Come join us for a group meeting at 1700 on Saturday, 18 July* on the Navy Support Site in Gricignano in the amphitheatre across from the bowling alley and become a part of one of the fastest growing SCUBA diver groups in the area! Our group ranges from “Wanna Be” divers to SCUBA instructor so don’t worry if all you have is an interest!

We look forward to seeing you there!

*correction to some of the flyers that went out- the meeting is JULY 18th not JUNE 18th.

How to speak SCUBA in Italian or Come parlare subacqueo in italiano

SCUBA diving is a wonderful sport. Diving presents many challenges to overcome and many opportunities to learn something every time you dive. I constantly feel challenged.

When you SCUBA dive in Italy there are many unique opportunities to develop certain skills that many other divers might not have the chance to learn. One of those opportunities is to learn the “lingua Subacqueo” or the “Language of SCUBA”.

Thanks to Anna Nardella for developing such an extensive list of Italian SCUBA words. I’ve included a couple of words below to wet your appetite.

assetto	buoyancy
assetto neutro	neutrally buoyant
contropiastra per appoggio bombola (su schienale)	tank pad (on backpack)
GAV, jacket	buoyancy compensator (BC)
gonfiaggio a bocca	mouth inflation
pulsante di carico	inflation button
pulsante di scarico	deflator button
valvola di scarico rapido	quick air dump valve
valvola di sovrapressione	over-expansion relief valve
acqua salata	seawater
computer	dive computer
curva di sicurezza	no-decompression limits
durata dell’immersione	dive time
immersione fuori curva	decompression-stop diving
immersione in curva di sicurezza	no-decompression dive
immersione successiva	repetitive dive
intervallo di superficie	surface time
risalita	ascent
risalita veloce	excessively fast ascent
tappa di decompressione	decompression stop
tappa di sicurezza	safety stop
tempo residuo di autonomia aria	air time remaining
pinne	fins
maschera a due vetri; maschera bivetro	two-window mask/design

Stop on over to Anna Nardella’s place and see the whole list and then stop back by here and show off your “Subacqueo” skills!

Greetings from Rob – PADI Divemaster

Hello everyone,

I was recently cruising a few websites for the latest in gear and information and would like to invite all of you, especially the newest divers and soon to be divers, to the Leisure Pro website and the PADI website.

The Leisure Pro homepage has several videos on tips and advice when shopping for new gear. They are well thought out and informative, take a look, they are each only a few minutes long.

On the PADI website, under the Scuba Diving Guide tab, select Keep Scuba Diving and there are 15 links to tips on all kinds of diving techniques and such. Some examples are buoyancy, breathing, night diving and so on. Check them, even as a refresher read before your next dive.

I’m a firm believer that you should never stop learning and relearning. The more often you review it, the longer and better you will retain it. I hope all of you find this information useful and help you in pursuing continued diver education and certification levels.

I hope to see you in the water soon. If I can be of any assistance in anything diving, please let me know.

Best regards,

Rob Clark

PADI Divemaster

“There is no such thing as a stupid question!”

Ventotene, Italy trip feedback

Divernet.com

Unspoilt charm of VENTOTENE

IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS A HUGE VOLCANO, more than 700m above sea level. All that remains now is a little piece of dry land, forming an island two miles long and less than 800m wide, and called Ventotene.

About a mile away is another little island, St Stefano, the remains of a lateral cone of the volcano now almost totally eroded away. Geographically these two islands, which belong to the Pontine group, belong to Italy's Lazio region, but culturally they seem Neapolitan from the way the people speak and their maritime lifestyle. Ventotene, then known as Pandataria, was the place of exile for Giulia, the famously licentious daughter of Augustus Caesar, and of Agrippina, grand-niece of Tiberius. But today it is a welcoming place - the Roman harbour is a cosy assortment of tiny buildings, as is the serene village, with its rose and white houses, little church and tortuous roads. On the village promenade is an array of bars and pubs, restaurants and pizzerias. Coming from the sea, the island resembles a squat turtle, with its little hill and steep cliffs. The transparency of the Tyrrhenian sea reveals the richness of its depths.

And to preserve its well-being, it is part of Italy's Marine Protected Areas. A marine reserve was established in 1997 with three levels of protection. Zone A is totally protected, with diving allowed only for scientific reasons and for groups guided by authorised staff, while the other two zones have lower levels of guardianship.
Diving World Ventotene was Italy's first scuba-diving centre, opened in 1978. In 2000 it was bought by the charming Valentina Lombardo and Dario Santomauro, assisted by a dozen PADI dive masters and instructors, whose professionalism reflects their pride in working for this famous centre. The centre itself forms a part of the surprising architecture of the Roman harbour, located under the arches excavated out of the rock.

Sandy bottoms:

The underwater views are a real surprise. The water around the two rocky islands descends to 50m not far from shore, and the walls of sheltered areas and submerged caves are covered by colonies of colourful anemones and jellyfish, filigree sea-fans and various species of encrusting algae. There are also sandy bottoms to around 40m, with wide prairies of oceanic Posidonia, a common Mediterranean plant. Here you'll find young mullet, cleaver wrasse, turbot, lizardfish and weavers. The channel between the two islands, deep and far from the Italian mainland, attracts more pelagic animals, schools of little squirrelfish and tiny grouper as well as giant dentex, big amberjacks and dense schools of Mediterranean barracuda. Most dives are made in the marine park area, where respect for the environment is a must. The pinnacles at La Molara in zone A are the place to find those schools of barracuda, and also grouper, and they allow divers to come close. There is plenty of micro-fauna, and on the seabed you'll see fragments of Roman amphorae. La Molara is comparatively shallow and current-free, so is one of the easiest dives. Also in zone A is Secca Santo Stefano, a sandbank near Santo Stefano Island in which flora and fauna proliferate in the caves and creeks.

There is also a wreck, the Santa Lucia, a steamer sunk by British bombers in July 1943. Their mission was to prevent shipping accessing Ventotene, though the ship carried only civilians on that voyage. Now it lies split in two at 46m, the propeller, the anchors and the handrail on the rounded stern all still intact. The wreck offers a comfortable haven for many species of fish, especially the anthias that swim around it with their usual peculiar frantic movement.

Our group was made up mostly of student divers either working on Open Water or Advanced Open Water. Here are some of the reviews:

As we approached the island of Ventotene I was suddenly struck by the absolutely translucent blue water. Then I caught myself nodding my head and smiling…this was going to be a good weekend of diving! I finally completed my AOW with Antonio and the dives were great! I would definitely go again.

~Lewis

Great trip! It's always nice to get out and meet new people. The night dive was an awesome and memorable experience. Helping the OW guys/girls with their stuff got me thinking, why not become a dive instructor? So that is my ultimate goal, thanks for helping me make that decision! I will not say any names, but someone also help me towards that goal by losing his weights, providing me with the opportunity to do some search and rescue. Antonio and his colleagues were nothing but great. I look forward to our next dive trip to Ventotene. All in all the entire trip went good, with the exception of my poor choice of shoes. The blisters finally healed. Thanks again to everyone for making the trip. Until next time Bubbles up, Fins down... and stay safe!!!

~Howard

To put in simply, Evan and I had a blast. It was exhausting, but it was worth every ounce of energy. We made some great life long friends and I even learned to spit in my goggles.

~Evan and Rayna

Some feedback from someone who wasn't able to attend:

Ode to Ventenone
Looking forward to a weekend dive
I worked and worked each day past five
Ready for my weekend fling
Was told by my boss he'd have no such thing
While other explored the world beneath
I was stuck at my desk just grinding my teeth
Missing the fun at Ventenone
I wanted to act like Michael Corleone
But instead I just worked as most of us do
And wishing it rained on all of you

~John

Download the PADI AWARE “AWARE - Our world our water” textbook free!

PADI has generously donated the AWARE textbook “AWARE – Our world Our water” for free via a PDF download!

If you have ever been interested in becoming an “AWARE” diver now is better time then ever to stop in and check out the details.

Fish identification in Naples, Italy and the World

When I was a kid I used to love watching the film “The Incredible Mr. Limpet”.

I used to watch this film over and over of course wishing that I, like the hero Mr. Limpet, could be a fish. During the initial scene where Mr. Limpet realizes that he is a fish and bumps into a hermit crab he says:

“Why, you're a splendid specimen
of a Pagurus pollicaris.

In common terminology,
you're a crustacean, a hermit crab.”

Those familiar with the film will know that the hermit crab immediately became offended and directed Mr. Limpet to “raise his fins” for a fight.

Well, unlike "Crusty" I was amazed at how a crab could be called a Pagurus pollicaris or even a hermit crab for that matter! (I was 6) I always wanted to be able to look at a fish and immediately be able to point out the genus and species of that creature without having to look through a thousand books. I now know there are 276,500 common names of fish in the ocean. I think I’m happy with just using this tool that I found at Fish Base.org:

Fish Base.org

This database contains over 31,200 species of fish and allows you to narrow your search to country or level of invasiveness. I learned that there are 491 different species of fish associated with the country of Italy.

If you use the fish identification tool then you can narrow your search just by what you saw in the water.

I located a species that I had seen out at Nisida several times and discovered that the true name of this little guy is a “Greater Weever”. These fish like to bury themselves under the sand when you approach them so all you see are their beady little eyes and little mouth.

After finding the shape of the fish I discovered there were 9 species of this family Trachinidae then narrowed that down to 4 specific species in the Mediterranean. (Lesser weever, Spotted weever, Greater weever, and Starry weever).

I guarantee that once you start playing with this site you will be identifying all the crazy fish you can find! The next thing you know we will all be A.W.A.R.E. Diver certified!

Did you finally find the name to that ‘weird’ fish you’ve been seeing lately in your favorite dive spot? Can you identify what genus and family that species is in? Share your find with us in the comments!