Historic Shipwrecks in Biscayne Bay

I surface dive into the sun dappled water; my swim fins propel me below to a span of only ten feet. In the vertical stabs of sunlight the vague shape of a ship’s hull materializes against the sugar white sand: chocolate brown timbers, coral encrusted ballast stones, shards of pottery.

I reconstruct the ship mentally. She’s a square rigger – a war ship? She’d have cannons spiking her hull. I imagine sailors with swords and muskets manning her decks.

I stop kicking and float in zero-G in absolutely clear 80-degree water, hovering a few feet over a ship that sank 237 years ago. I’m only a few minutes by boat from Miami in the transparent emerald waters of Biscayne National Park, diving on an 18th century wreck in only twenty feet of gloriously clear water.

TIME CAPSULE
Biscayne National Park is a 200 square mile emerald-green time capsule. The waters around the bay have been crisscrossed by ships for over 6,000 years. When the Spanish first explored and later colonized Cuba and the Florida Panhandle, their wooden-hulled sailing ships were common sights in Florida waters.

But navigating Florida’s waters could be hazardous. Square riggers had to ply the Gulf Stream and shallow channels, and survive powerful hurricanes. Not surprisingly, there are large numbers of shipwrecks in the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay.

Today the bay is a mecca for boaters, sunbathers and tourists. But beneath the beach umbrellas and tanned tourists is a rich archaeological legacy overlooked by most park visitors.

More than 70 shipwrecks are located within the waters which now make up Biscayne National Park in southern Florida. However, three wrecks in particular will not appear on any chart. Ancient shipwrecks within the park boundaries are only now being identified by the park service.

HMS FOWEY
Not far away from where I am diving is the wreck of the HMS Fowey for which the nearby lighthouse is named. HMS Fowey was a fifth-rate warship of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 August 1744 in Hull, England. She spent only four years in service before she struck a reef and sank in what is known today as the Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park. Two hundred twenty seven years would pass before the remains of the Fowey would be identified in 1975 by archaeologist George Fischer of the National Park Service.

Four years later, discovering the wreck in 1979, a sport diver from Miami requested title in Admiralty Court to a “wrecked and abandoned sailing vessel within Legare Anchorage in Biscayne National Park.” The United States sued for title. In 1983, the United States won the case and the Fowey became officially part of the parks service “submerged antiquities.”

Late in 2013 the National Park Service came to an agreement with the British Government to jointly preserve the wreck site of the HMS Fowey. Today the wreck is preserved and the artifacts are on view at the park service office.

THE ENGLISH CHINA WRECK
Among the few colonial wrecks within the park boundaries the “English China Wreck” is one of the best preserved. The crockery remnants have been identified as pieces made by England’s Staffordshire pottery sometime between 1765 and 1770. Also found were several mysterious unglazed figurines.

Charles Lawson, National park archaeologist, believes the wreck was a wooden sailing vessel about 65 feet long that may have caught fire and sunk, based on burned timbers from the bowels of the ship. During the 1984 evaluations, archaeologists speculated that the ECW could be the remains of either the Ledbury, a British vessel lost in 1769, or the Hubbard, another British vessel reported lost in the area in 1772.

In 2010, an inventory was conducted which may have cast doubt on that original guess. The presence of Spanish-made ladrillos or bricks along with British artifacts may indicate the ship was involved in trading, and could be of North American colonial, not British origin.

THE SOLDIER KEY WRECK
Lawson is also actively working on another maritime mystery in the park – the “Soldier Key wreck,” in shallow water on a sea-grass flat near the island for which it is named. According to Lawson, the ship’s construction reveals the vessel was built sometime in the late 1700s to early 1800s, and that it was a large ship, probably in excess of 100 feet.

The fact that it is located in water only a couple of feet deep indicates that the ship could have sunk during a major storm. The condition of the timbers also revealed that the vessel was built with an extraordinary level of care and great expense. There was a large number of allspice seeds present, indicating that she was carrying a cargo of Jamaican trade spice, probably on her way back to a European port.

Currently the park service has no plans to open these wrecks up to the public, but many of the artifacts including one of the Fowey’s cannon are on display at the park office in Homestead Florida.

by Rafael Lima at https://www.allatsea.net/colonial-shipwrecks-in-biscayne-national-park/

Collecting Marine Debris

Unfortunately, where there are people, there is pollution. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, at least 14 million tons of trash end up in the ocean every year, 80 percent of which is plastics. Rather than biodegrade, plastics break into smaller and smaller pieces, which are consumed by marine animals. As scuba divers, we not only seek adventure, but simultaneously work to protect what we love. On your next clean-up dive, these tips will help you safely execute your mission.

When participating in a Dive Against Debris event, you’ll want specialized equipment to deal with the additional demands and hazards involved with this type of diving. Always follow local laws. When diving in boat-traffic areas, a dive flag may be required for every buddy team. It’s standard to carry a cutting device on every dive, but on cleanup dives you might need a few different cutters as well as a dive bag to collect the debris. Line cutters, underwater shears and dive knives can be used to cut rope, wire, textiles, tarps or hoses. Polypropylene plastic fishing line wraps around coral reefs, wrecks, pilings and just about any other underwater structure. Game bags with a one-hand, quick-release handle, designed for crab or lobster fishing, make great collecting bags for cleanup dives.

Hooks can puncture you or get stuck on your equipment. Use care and carry an old glove or piece of neoprene to stick them into. Cut the line into smaller pieces or wrap it up as you collect it so you don’t get entangled. Avoid wrapping line around your fingers as this can cut off circulation and tighten over time. Instead, wrap line around old neoprene or another object to keep it organized in your bag. When cleaning up fishing areas, carry a bag to collect line, and a separate bucket to collect the lead weight. Larger knives work better to cut ropes, lines and buoys.

Always assess a scene, and make decisions on what to leave behind for your safety. It’s also important to know what not to collect. Fish and octopuses often find refuge in glass bottles or lay eggs on tires or cans.

Before touching or untangling anything, make sure you know the ecosystem and avoid poisonous corals, hydroids and stinging animals. Wear gloves to protect yourself, and touch only trash. Diver safety always takes priority; never attempt to remove something if doing so could be hazardous to you. Sometimes a ghost net draped on a reef may be too big or heavy to handle, or it might be so old that it has become a part of the reef.

Batteries and other heavy objects need to be left on the bottom unless using a lift bag. Trying to remove a heavy object without a lift bag can exhaust you or lead to an uncontrolled ascent if you were to lose contact with the object. The Search and Recovery Diver and Rescue Diver courses introduce divers to lift-bag techniques. Download the PADI app to learn common knots, including the bowline, sheet bend and half hitch. When using a lift bag with your buddy, agree on roles and responsibilities. Use your alternate air source to fill the bag until the load becomes neutrally buoyant. If you lose control of the bag during ascent, let it go and reunite with it at the surface. Never attach a bag to yourself.

Eighty percent of ocean trash is plastic. Plastics do not biodegrade; instead, they break into smaller and smaller pieces, bioaccumulating up the food web.

Position yourself in a head-down, finup position. Anticipate a change in your buoyancy as the weight of the trash in your bag increases. For light loads, you can control your buoyancy with your BCD. Ensure all your gauges are in place, and be careful not to drag your bag of trash. Consider wearing neoprene dive shorts with pockets over your wetsuit or adding a pocket to your drysuit/wetsuit so you can collect trash on any dive.

Marinas can be extremely silty environments. When diving in silt, the bottom can get stirred up to the point that you lose all visibility. Carry a light and discuss what to do if you become separated from your buddy. Create a good dive plan to account for potential issues like this. A dive stick (a thin, sturdy metal piece of equipment) is handy for helping you balance your body when cleaning up coral reefs or highly silty areas, and also for preventing damage to the environment.

Cleaning up the ocean feels good and allows you to take immediate action. All cleanup dives need shore support. Get kids, teens and scouts involved. Work with schools and local conservation groups. Encourage nondiving friends to take PADI AWARE specialty courses with no dive requirements. Underwater cleanups give your friends and family a way to learn more about scuba diving and the importance of a healthy ocean, and they unite us in action for the environment. Make it a daily practice to refuse single-use plastic, reduce your trash, and support companies that care about sustainability. Make sure you take images of your efforts and share them on social media with #PADIAWARE. Your voice and actions matter.

Pro Tip

Before you do a cleanup dive, practice in a pool with your buddy. Put objects of different weights on the bottom. Maintaining neutral buoyancy, know the limit of weight you can put in your bags before needing to surface. Use a lift bag with heavier objects, and never clip bags to yourself. Practice ascending with the load. Repeat until you feel confident with these skills.

Biscayne Bay Oyster Indicate Severe Pollution

Unlike some spots in the state, the oysters found in Biscayne Bay aren’t good for eating — they’re typically too scarce, too small and too tainted with pollution to be safe. But for researchers at Florida International University, the shellfish that grow in the briny bay also can serve an important and counter-intuitive purpose. They’re actually indicators of the safety of fresh drinking water pumped from Miami-Dade’s wells into household taps. A newly published FIU study of oysters in three coastal Florida areas — Miami-Dade, Tampa and Naples — found they were contaminated with potentially harmful chemicals known as PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. And Biscayne Bay’s shellfish had, by far, the highest levels of what are also known as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS include thousands of man-made chemicals used in everything from nonstick pans to fast-food packaging to waterproofed clothing to fire-fighting foams. Though research is ongoing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says high exposures have been linked to different types of cancers, thyroid issues and disruption to the reproductive system. These chemicals have bled into drinking water in every state, and experts say nearly everyone has been exposed to at least some PFAS. But multiple studies, including the latest from FIU, suggest that Miami-Dade’s water has particularly high levels of contamination. .

The oysters in Biscayne Bay were, by far, the most contaminated. FIU As recently as 2020, the county shut down three drinking water wells over unsafe levels of PFAS, including several chemicals that posed serious enough public health risks that production was halted years ago. “PFAS has been known to be toxic for many years. This is an ongoing problem,” said Natalia Soares Quinete, an FIU assistant professor of chemistry and one of the authors of the paper, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

She and other researchers collected oysters from Biscayne Bay, Marco Island near Naples and from an oyster farm near Tampa Bay. They found PFAS in oysters from all three spots. Oysters, “filter feeders” that constantly pump water through their systems, are particularly vulnerable to coastal pollution. Chemicals can build up in their meat, which makes them valuable to water quality researchers. Decades ago, when more fresh water from the Everglades flowed into Biscayne Bay, oysters were common in some areas. They have largely disappeared since, although a grassroots restoration effort is underway. Oyster restoration project aims to improve the quality of the water entering Biscayne Bay

Alberto "Tico" Aran, Founder of the Watershed Action Lab, talks about the Native Oyster Restoration Project to Biscayne Bay, which aims to improve the quality of the water entering Biscayne Bay as a tool to mitigate algal blooms. In the study, the Biscayne Bay oysters were the tiniest of the bunch, which initially led the researchers to assume that they were younger and might have absorbed the least amount of PFAS. “But what we found was exactly the opposite. Biscayne Bay oysters were the smallest and they had the most contamination,” said Leila Lemos, a postdoctoral scientist at the FIU Institute of Environment. Biscayne Bay oysters also had thinner shells than they should have for their age. Lemos suspects it’s because Biscayne Bay is far more polluted than the other two spots, so struggling oysters struggle with higher concentrations of PFAS and other toxins.

The study wasn’t intended to assess the health of actually eating oysters. None of the farmed Tampa oysters, for instance, exceeded recommended PFAS levels, but Lemos warned that her team only tested for a handful of known compounds linked to health issues. And there is no commercial harvest of oysters in Naples or Biscayne Bay so they’re rarely, if ever, eaten. The health problems posed by PFAS are still being assessed but are potentially wide-ranging. Unlike more well-known contaminants, like lead, where one dose can cause immediate problems, PFAS builds up in the body over time and are linked to long-term impacts like birth defects or certain cancers. A Harvard University study even suggested that high exposure to PFAS could decrease the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

So far, there isn’t even a firm standard for a ‘safe’ level of PFAS for water utilities. The EPA has never set mandatory regulations for the chemicals, but in June, the agency did dramatically toughen recommendations for some chemicals identified as the worst of the bunch.

For one of the most common and harmful forms, called PFOA, the agency dropped its recommendation for a safe daily dose from 70 parts per trillion to 0.004 parts per trillion. That’s thousands of times stricter — and a sign that particular PFAS is more problematic than initially believed. That’s such a minuscule amount — think a fraction of a grain of sand in an Olympic-sized swimming pool — that most water utilities don’t have sensitive enough equipment to even measure a near-zero level. “We shouldn’t be seeing those compounds. The goal is to not see them in our water,” said Soares Quinete. FIU student Morgan Fatowe gathers water samples to test for levels of toxic PFAS chemicals. FIU In Miami-Dade, PFAS have been measured way above the new recommendations in some past sampling — high enough to shut down some wells.

The county has explored suing some of the chemical companies who originally made the toxic PFAS chemicals to help pay for future cleanups, an approach Tampa is also considering. Florida beat them to it with a state lawsuit filed in May accusing several major chemical companies of failing to warn consumers of the dangers of their products. Miami-Dade has been under fire for high PFAS levels even before the EPA tightened up its recommendations for safe levels. When an environmental advocacy group named Miami’s water number three on the nationwide list of most PFAS contaminated in 2020, Miami-Dade pushed back and declared its water safe and within the EPA guidelines it uses as a yardstick.

The Environmental Working Group said it found PFAS levels of 56.7 parts per trillion in Miami’s drinking water, the third-highest of the 31 states it tested. The nonprofit advocacy group did not say where it sampled that water. At that time, the EPA suggested limit for PFOA — one of the most infamous chemicals — was around 70 parts per trillion, so the county argued that it was still well within safe limits. And when water levels exceeded those safe limits, the county acted. Around the same time, Miami-Dade found unsafe levels of PFAS in six drinking water wells and shut down three of them. Two of the wells, in Hialeah, registered about double the 70 ppt limit then suggested by the EPA.

Since then, the average PFAS levels reported by the county have been far below that older 70 ppt threshold. Miami-Dade County’s latest annual drinking water report showed a PFOA concentration of up to 10 ppt in the main system and South Dade water supply system and undetectable levels elsewhere. But under the new EPA suggested threshold of 0.004 ppt, Miami-Dade’s water contains thousands of times more PFOA than it should. And more recent one-time samples, like those in a newly published paper from Soares Quinete and Lemos examining PFAS levels in surface and drinking water across Florida, are even higher.

Read more at: https://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local/environment/article263227843.html#storylink=cpy

Sick Manatee Rescued

Marine mammal rescuers in the Florida Keys removed a sick and underweight manatee from a canal Wednesday afternoon. A veterinarian who works for the Dolphin Research Center, one of the organizations that rescued the manatee, said other than being underweight, the nine-foot long male mammal had a cloudy right eye. During the rescue from the canal in the Middle Keys city of Marathon, the team surrounded the manatee with a long net and pulled him to land, said Mary Stella, director of media and marketing for the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and workers from Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters also made were on the rescue team, Stella said. FWC biologists decided that the manatee should be taken to SeaWorld in Orlando for further assessment and treatment, according to Stella.

Read more at: https://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local/article263262878.html#storylink=cpy

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT: 07-08-22

Water quality remains poor both near shore and further out. Massive dumps of rainwater runoff from the Intracoastal mixed with algae bloom and seaweed create a tea-like concoction that destroys visibility. Expect 2-4’ close to shore and 6-8 on the first reef. Other than that, temps are warmish at 84, surge and current moderate to strong. Beware lightning during passing thunderstorms.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade-
Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami
707 AM EDT Fri Jul 8 2022

.TODAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........Moderate.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....High.
Waterspout Risk**...........None.
UV Index**..................Extreme.
Water Temperature...........In the mid 80s.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 102.
Winds.......................Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 09:52 AM EDT.
                            High at 04:39 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:35 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

.SATURDAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........Moderate.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....High.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 102.
Winds.......................Southeast winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 10:51 AM EDT.
                            High at 05:43 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:36 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT: 07-07-22

Average summer day with smallish surf, warm water, some surge and current, and sketchy viz. Greenish-brown tinge on surface 10’ due to freshwater, algae, and seaweed. Clearer at depth and on first reef but could be better, still your dive can be great if you take your time and do not expect wide vistas. Thousands of lobsters still arriving ahead of this month’s mini-season.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade-
Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami
707 AM EDT Thu Jul 7 2022

.TODAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........Moderate.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....High.
Waterspout Risk**...........None.
UV Index**..................Extreme.
Water Temperature...........In the mid 80s.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 100.
Winds.......................Southeast winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 08:54 AM EDT.
                            High at 03:36 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:35 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

.FRIDAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........Moderate.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....High.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 102.
Winds.......................Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 09:52 AM EDT.
                            High at 04:39 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:35 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

New Turtle Hospital at Zoo Miami

Sunny, a green sea turtle who got a fish hook stuck in a flipper, was released from the hospital into the Atlantic Ocean from Crandon Park on Wednesday. The hospital that treated the injury also had its ceremonial opening a few hours earlier at Zoo Miami. Although Sunny is the first patient released from the new Zoo Miami Sea Turtle Hospital, it’s actually the hospital’s second patient. The zoo facility took in Baymax, a 100-pound loggerhead turtle with a flipper missing from a shark attack, back in May. The hospital successfully amputated her missing flipper’s exposed bone, saving Baymax’s life. The team hopes to return her to the ocean in coming weeks. Baymax, a loggerhead turtle, is fed a variety of seafood including crab and lobster. Baymax had been attacked by a shark. Zoo Miami hosted a grand opening for its new turtle hospital on July 6, 2022. The hospital is meant to take in endangered turtles from the wild that need treatment and aims to be the first hospital to treat turtle fibropapillomatosis virus that causes tumors on the skin.

The 1,600-square-foot hospital on the Zoo Miami grounds has five saltwater pools that can house 16 turtles. While the hospital will treat turtles for injuries such as boat strikes or pollution ingestion, it will specialize in treating fibropapillomatosis, a disease that forms potentially fatal tumors that look like cauliflower on a sea turtle’s skin. The Turtle Hospital, in the Middle keys city of Marathon, has been saving sea turtles since 1986. The hospital helped Zoo Miami employees get hands-on experience. The Miami area needs its own major turtle hospital because of all the waterways and boat traffic, said Genevieve Simon, a clinical intern at Zoo Miami. “Think about how much ocean we have,” she said. Genevieve Simon stands in front of a mural she painted on one of the walls by the entrance of the turtle hospital on July 6, 2022.

In addition to saving sea turtles, the hospital will eventually educate visitors through public tours. “While humans cause many of these problems, we also have the power to work to make things better,” Simon said. Rosemary Lucas, hospital manager at Zoo Miami, talks about the turtle hospital to guests during the show and tell part of the opening ceremonies on July 6, 2022.

The tours will help people understand the hospital’s work in saving sea turtles, and maybe even persuade them to donate to the zoo, said Rosemary Lucas, a hospital manager at Zoo Miami. To house turtles, the hospital needs to buy food, medicine and special equipment, which can be expensive, Lucas said. Although smaller turtles like Sunny are easy to feed and will only be on site for just a few months, turtles like Baymax need more time at the hospital and have a more luxurious diet of lobsters and crab, Lucas said. Sea Turtle Hospital is run by Zoo Miami, which is under Miami-Dade County, and supported by the private nonprofit Zoo Miami Foundation, which reported $30 million in assets last year. Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, center, along with other elected officials and guests, cuts the ribbon to officially open a new turtle hospital. Zoo Miami hosted a grand opening for its new turtle hospital on July 6, 2022.

At the hospital’s grand opening on Wednesday, foundation leaders and county officials stressed the important work ahead for the zoo’s new addition. “Sea turtles are important,” said Miami-Dade Parks Director Maria Nardi, “and we know that they are kind of like a litmus test for the health of the oceans.”

Read more at: https://www.flkeysnews.com/news/state/florida/article263177663.html#storylink=cpy

Angry dolphins herd pilot whales into a ball

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/watch-angry-dolphins-herd-pilot-whales-into-ball/vi-AAZg4Lg?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2b610279291b4a7cc5075d165fb37b42

Splashing on Surface Drew Bull Shark Bite

A 35-year-old Texas woman who was attacked by a shark while with family in the Lower Keys a week ago is recovering from a large wound on her leg, Florida wildlife police said Tuesday. “Surgeries have gone well and she started physical therapy,” said Jason Rafter, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in a text message. The update is different from the terrifying moments described in the FWC’s report about a shark biting the woman off Summerland Key on June 29 — a rare event in Florida, particularly in the Keys.

FWC released the report Tuesday, nearly a week after the shark bite, and after not announcing the incident at all. On Friday, Rafter confirmed a woman had been bitten by a shark but offered no details and said the full report would be made available after the Fourth of July. Lindsay Rebecca Bruns, of Flower Mound, Texas, was on a pontoon boat with her husband and their two daughters, east of Sawyer Key on the Gulf side. At about 8 p.m. June 29 — 20 minutes before sunset that day, according to the National Weather Service — they stopped to jump into the clear, calm water that measured about 10 feet deep. The mother jumped off the boat’s top platform multiple times into the water. Then she did a flip. That’s when her husband Luke Bruns, 42, heard a huge splash — too big to have been made by his wife, he told state wildlife officers.

He turned and saw more splashing and water spilling over and into the vessel. Then he saw nothing but blood in the water. His wife emerged from the water screaming, “Help!” That’s when Luke Bruns dove in and helped her to the boat’s ladder and onto the pontoon. “He saw the large wound on her right leg, consistent with a shark attack,” the state agency’s report said.

With blood squirting from his wife’s leg, he used some rope as a makeshift tourniquet to try to stop the bleeding. He called 911 and was told to bring her to Tonio’s Seafood Shack on Summerland Key. OFFICERS HELP THE FAMILY Lindsay Bruns was left with a half-circle sized wound on her right leg, the report said. “It extended from the top of her hip to just above her knee,” wrote FWC Officer Christopher Boley, who met the pontoon as it arrived and showed Luke Bruns where to park it. “It appeared to be from a serrated impact, and there were puncture marks on her thigh, consistent with a shark attack.” Boley wrote. Boley took out his FWC-issued tourniquet and applied it to Lindsay Bruns’ leg until paramedics arrived. He and other FWC officers helped place her onto a backboard and into the ambulance.

She was taken to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade on Monroe County’s Trauma Star helicopter air ambulance. During the flight, she was given a blood transfusion, according to Kristen Livengood, a spokeswoman for Monroe County. Lindsay Bruns was in stable condition when she arrived at the Miami-Dade hospital. Most shark bites happen in the United States, and the state where most of them occur is Florida, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, which tracks annual shark bites worldwide. FWC didn’t confirm what type of shark bit Bruns.

Typically, it’s smaller species of shark that mistake human limbs for prey but seldom leave life-threatening injuries. Florida had 28 shark bites last year, none fatal. Volusia County topped the list with 17 shark bites, followed by Brevard, Miami-Dade and St. Lucie counties — all with two bites each, according to the ISAF. The report on the Keys shark bite also shows FWC officers doing whatever they could for the family that night. Boley and other officers washed the blood off the pontoon while Luke Bruns cared for his daughters. An officer later drove the pontoon back to the 1000 block of Ocean Drive on Summerland where the Bruns family was staying at the time.

Read more at: https://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local/article263195153.html#storylink=cpy

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT: 07-06-22

Weather system moving through bringing passing storms, lightning and murky water close to shore. Breezes generally soft between downpours but churned surf muddles seaweed and freshwater. Divers won’t see much until the first reef and then a milky 6-8’ viz at best. This weekend looks much more promising than mid-week.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade- Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami 707 AM EDT Wed Jul 6 2022  .TODAY... Rip Current Risk*...........Low. Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet. Thunderstorm Potential**....High. Waterspout Risk**...........None. UV Index**..................Extreme. Water Temperature...........In the mid 80s. Weather.....................Mostly sunny. Showers likely and a                             chance of thunderstorms. High Temperature............In the upper 80s. Max Heat Index..............Up to 100. Winds.......................Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Tides...    Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 08:00 AM EDT.                             High at 02:38 PM EDT. Sunrise.....................6:35 AM. Sunset......................8:16 PM.  .THURSDAY... Rip Current Risk*...........Moderate. Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet. Thunderstorm Potential**....High. Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and                             thunderstorms. High Temperature............In the upper 80s. Max Heat Index..............Up to 100. Winds.......................Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Tides...    Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 08:54 AM EDT.                             High at 03:36 PM EDT. Sunrise.....................6:35 AM. Sunset......................8:16 PM.

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT: 07-04-22

Great holiday diving weather! Small surf, little to no surge or current, warm water and somewhat decent visibility. Passing storms may interrupt the picnic but all are transitory. Seaweed staining in some parts but clear by the first reef. Transit cloudy water with caution and beware of boating traffic, as with all holidays.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade- Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami 707 AM EDT Mon Jul 4 2022  ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...  .TODAY... Rip Current Risk*...........High. Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet. Thunderstorm Potential**....High. Waterspout Risk**...........Low. UV Index**..................Extreme. Water Temperature...........In the lower 80s. Weather.....................Sunny. A slight chance of showers and                             thunderstorms. High Temperature............In the upper 80s. Winds.......................East winds 10 to 15 mph. Tides...    Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 06:26 AM EDT.                             High at 12:56 PM EDT. Sunrise.....................6:34 AM. Sunset......................8:16 PM.  .TUESDAY... Rip Current Risk*...........High. Surf Height.................Around 1 foot. Thunderstorm Potential**....High. Weather.....................Mostly sunny. Showers and thunderstorms                             likely. High Temperature............In the upper 80s. Winds.......................Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Tides...    Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 07:10 AM EDT.                             High at 01:45 PM EDT. Sunrise.....................6:34 AM. Sunset......................8:16 PM.

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT: 07-03-22

A great day for the beach, diving or not. 1-2’ surf makes an easy entry but seaweed and other debris create visibility issues until well away from shore. Expect moderate surge and 4-6’ viz until the first reef, where it improves slightly to a cloudy 8-12’ - clear enough to see lobsters and coral but not enough to navigate easily. Take extreme caution with boaters and jet skis; holiday weekend brings scores of unskilled, uncaring operators near the beach. The Beach Diver limits surface swims and remains at depth as long as possible to avoid contact.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade-
Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami
707 AM EDT Sun Jul 3 2022

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...

.TODAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........High.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....Moderate.
Waterspout Risk**...........None.
UV Index**..................Extreme.
Water Temperature...........In the lower 80s.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A slight chance of
                            showers and thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 101.
Winds.......................Southeast winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....High at 12:12 PM EDT.
                            Low at 05:53 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:33 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

.INDEPENDENCE DAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........High.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....Moderate.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Max Heat Index..............Up to 100.
Winds.......................East winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....Low at 06:26 AM EDT.
                            High at 12:56 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:34 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT 07-02-2022

If one were desperate for a dive and wanted to brave the chop and deal with crap viz, today would be okay. Otherwise, enjoy something else until conditions improve. Between freshwater runoff, seaweed detritus, and strong surge, water off the beach is a bit messy (not much better off the boats, either). Improvement may come next weekend.

Coastal Broward-Coastal Miami-Dade-
Including the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami
706 AM EDT Sat Jul 2 2022

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...

.TODAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........High.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....Moderate.
Waterspout Risk**...........None.
UV Index**..................Extreme.
Water Temperature...........In the lower 80s.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and
                            thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Winds.......................Southeast winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....High at 11:29 AM EDT.
                            Low at 05:14 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:33 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM.

.SUNDAY...
Rip Current Risk*...........High.
Surf Height.................1 to 2 feet.
Thunderstorm Potential**....Low.
Weather.....................Mostly sunny. A slight chance of
                            showers and thunderstorms.
High Temperature............In the upper 80s.
Winds.......................Southeast winds around 10 mph.
Tides...
   Miami Harbor Entrance....High at 12:12 PM EDT.
                            Low at 05:53 PM EDT.
Sunrise.....................6:33 AM.
Sunset......................8:16 PM

DAILY BEACH DIVER REPORT 7-01-2022

2’ waves and the promise of more kicks off the second half of our diving year. Viz is poor from the beach with 3-4’ close in and a cloudy 6-8’ on the first reef. Surge building below as waves mount into the weekend. A good day to get chores done, so to have free time for diving when conditions improve.

Weekend Beach Diving Forecast (July 2-3, 2022) (Copy)

All indications are for strong winds and heavy surf this weekend. Steady breezes in the 15-20kt range will create 3-5’ waves and challenging shore conditions. Visibility is already poor from storms and rain runoff dumped on the reef from the Intracoastal. Divers report good viz so far at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach but parking will be an issue on Saturday and Sunday.