July 08, 2016
By Florida Sportsman Editor
Press Release - Divers Alert Network
Pursuant to its mission, Divers Alert Network® (DAN) will offer a series of presentations addressing lobster mini-season and risks associated with this two-day event. The series will start one week prior to this year's mini-season throughout Southern Florida and the Keys.
As the largest two-day recreational diving event in the world, the Florida mini-season draws thousands of divers to the area — and each year, some divers experience either life threatening or non-fatal injuries during these two 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 may face while hunting lobster during 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 presentations include a review of incident case summaries, identifying common hazards associated with this event and tips for how to avoid them.
“We recognize the perils of underwater hunting during mini-season”, said Bill Ziefle, President and CEO of DAN. “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.” added Ziefle.
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, Director of Injury Monitoring and Prevention at DAN. All lobster divers are encouraged to attend these free events. For more information and a detailed list of presentation locations, visit the DAN website at DAN.org/Events.
