If you’re a lobster diver planning on participating in the mini-season later this month, you may want to check out what the Divers Alert Network is doing to help keep you safe.
DAN recently announced it plans to hold a series of free safety presentations in the days leading up to the July 27th to 28th event.
The presentations will be held in different locations from July 20th through the 26th.
As the largest two-day recreational diving event in the world, the Florida mini-season draws thousands of divers to the area. Each year, though, some divers experience either life-threating or non-fatal injuries during those days. To identify root causes of the injuries, DAN collected and analyzed hundreds of reports and created a targeted presentation to raise greater awareness of the dangers a diver could face while hunting lobster during the mini-season.
The presentations describe the number of deaths per year and compare hunters with non-hunters, to highlight additional considerations hunters should be aware of. The briefings include a review of incident case summaries, identifying common hazards associated with this event and tips for how to avoid them.
DAN President and CEO Bill Ziefle says:
“We recognize the perils of underwater hunting during mini-season. Our objective is to heighten awareness, reinforce best practices and reduce the number of incidents during this two-day event. Even one diving injury is one too many.”
The series will kick off on July 20th in Islamorada and is scheduled at additional locations ranging from Lauderdale-by-the-Sea to Key West. This year’s presenter is Dr. Peter Buzzacott, DAN‘s director of injury monitoring and prevention. For more information and a detailed list of presentation locations, check out the DAN website at DAN.org/Events.
