SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida — Another scuba diver died on Thursday, the second diver death during Florida's "wild and crazy" Florida lobster mini-season. Despite heavy marine safety patrols aimed at limiting accidents during Florida's spiny lobster mini-season, a Winter Springs diver died 15 miles northeast of the inlet Wednesday afternoon. The death of the 36-year-old man Shane Slusarz marred an otherwise uneventful day as divers struggled with murky, cold waters trying to snare the elusive crustacean. Slusarz was diving with three friends in an area known as Pelican Flats. That is when he began experiencing trouble, said Maj. Greg Purden of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. "He was experiencing problems under water and was brought up," Purden said. "He was deceased on the boat. We're trying to find out what happened, whether this is a drowning or he suffered some other ailment. Purden said the investigation would take a little time to determine Sluzarz's diving history, skill level, health and other circumstances that may have led to his death. That was the second death of a lobster diver in Florida on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, a 47-year-old diver from Sarasota was found dead in 17 feet of water off Haulover Beach, north of Miami Beach. On average, one diver dies every year during the two-day spiny lobster season. The last local death occurred in 2007 when a retired Navy diver from Winter Garden died off Port Canaveral. At about noon Wednesday, patrol boats from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Indian River Shores Police, Indian River County Sheriff's Office and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office could be seen cruising Sebastian Inlet and making inspections on dive boats. Similar activity was reportedly happening near Port Canaveral. "We get tons of boats out there during these two days," said Officer Lenny Salberg of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "We're really trying to promote boater safety." Florida's dangerous, diver-unfriendly waters On July 29, Daniel Pochedley, 48, of Sarasota, was found dead about an hour after disappearing near Haulover Beach on the first day of lobster mini-season.On July 24, the U.S. Coast Guard airlifted David Baptist, 57, to Florida Hospital after he resurfaced with signs of potentially fatal decompression sickness.On July 23, a 57-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after she resurfaced from a dive to 18 meters with symptoms of potentially fatal decompression sickness.Also on July 23, a 38-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he started spitting up blood following a dive off Pompano Beach.On July 19, Lana Gandert, 58, of Edison, Ohio, died while snorkel diving with her husband and two sons at Sand Key Light, Florida.On July 17, popular elementary school teacher, David Sheppard, 60, of Cross City, died while diving off Steinhatchee, Florida, after he was hit by a boat.On July 16, Michael Manna, 46, apparently drowned five days after he married while snorkel diving at DuBois Park, Florida.On July 12, Craig Winnerman, 48, was rescued after his boat drifted away in strong winds while he was scuba diving alone near Dunedin Reef, Florida.On July 10, Richard Losz, 37, died off Hollywood, Florida, while scuba diving alone.On July 7, Daniel Goepel, 29, of Coral Springs died while snorkel diving off the Dolphin dive boat at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.On July 5, two more divers who were diving off Hollywood, Florida, were hospitalized after they were hit by a speed boat.On July 4, searchers found the body of 31-year-old Darren Rordan who died while scuba diving off Manatee County, Florida.On June 8, the Coast Guard airlifted Bill Nelson, 55, to Shands Hospital for emergency medical treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends) after a scuba diving accident off Tampa, Florida.On June 4, William Husic Jr, 61, a chemical engineer who resides in Brighton, died while snorkel diving at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys.On May 30, Robert A. Jones, 38, of Zephyrhills, died while solo free diving in a cave at Blue Spring State Park, Florida.On May 10, Timothy Allen, 52, and Paula Allen, 48, were rescued off Hernando Beach, Florida, after drifting in the ocean for nearly 24 hours. The couple were swept away from their boat while scuba diving in strong currents.On May 5, NOAA research diver, Dewey Smith, 36, died while diving at the Aquarius underwater laboratory in the Florida Keys.On May 3, searchers recovered the body of Michael McQuillen, 29, of Lakeland, who disappeared the day before while scuba diving with friends west of John's Pass, Florida.On April 12, Mary Darnley, a 58-year-old retired nurse from Pennsylvania who had recently learned to dive, died while scuba diving with her husband off Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida.On March 20, a man in his 40s who was scuba diving off the Emerald Dive Charters boat, was rushed to hospital for treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends).On February 18, Joseph Diver, 66, was rushed to hospital after a boat struck him while he was scuba diving at Pickles Reef in the Florida Keys.On January 11, two women in their 20s were rushed to Boca Raton Community Hospital after a boat hit them off Boca Raton, Florida.On January 10, Rob Murphy, 26, lost both legs after a hit and run boat struck him while he was scuba diving near Sandsprit Park, Florida. | | Firefighter Shane Slusarz died during a diving accident on Wednesday, July 29, while diving for lobsters off Brevard County, Florida.
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