Press Release
Received from: Peter Rowlands | UWP Magazine

Elephant Seal Pups Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph

Rockpool Rookies, The Falklands

“Once their pups are weaned, elephant seal mothers abandon them ashore,” explained Smith. “I watched dozens clamber over one another in shallow rockpools, awkwardly learning to swim. On my very first evening, the sky ignited with colour and I captured a handful of frames before the light vanished. It was the defining moment of the long trip.”

Press Release
Received from: Gözde Akbayir | Marketing Manager | Halcyon Dive Systems

Halcyon Symbios Chest Mount Rebreather Expands Availability to Divers Worldwide in Mid-March

Halcyon

The Symbios CCR has been available only in limited release during the development of an instructional platform and larger-scale production. During this period, the system was placed with select instructors, explorers, and early adopters to support structured training development, field validation, and real-world operational feedback.

With deliveries increasing in mid-March, Symbios CCR will now be produced at full production capacity.

Hollis Issues Stop-Use Notice for 200LX Second Stage

Hollis has issued a formal Stop Use / Stop Sale notice for certain 200LX second-stage regulators, advising divers to remove affected units from service immediately due to a potential safety risk.

Hollis 200LX Second Stage
Equipment
Hollis

The notice applies to Hollis 200LX + DCX regulator systems and related second-stage configurations purchased between 2 May 2017 and 15 May 2025.

Component concern

According to parent company Huish Outdoors, internal components within some 200LX second stages may separate or fracture, either before or after a dive. The issue centres on the inlet tube assembly, which may lose impact resistance if the regulator is dropped or struck at the adjustable inhalation knob.

Masters of Light: From Forest Canopies to Coral Reefs

There are places on Earth where evolution seems to have lingered longer than usual, experimenting not merely with survival, but with beauty. In the high branches of tropical forests, a chameleon sways like a leaf in the wind. Far below, drifting over sandy plains, a cuttlefish ripples in living light. They are separated by vast distances—by air and water, by reptile and mollusc, by ancient evolutionary divergence. And yet, they share a remarkable gift: mastery over light itself.

Cuttlefish
Ecology & Science

The art of becoming

The chameleon bends light through structure. Beneath its skin lie layers of cells that manipulate reflection, shifting crystal lattices to alter the wavelengths that reach our eyes. A mood, a rival, a shift in temperature, and forest-green suddenly blooms across its flanks.

Deep-Sea Vents and the Mystery of Life’s Origins

At the bottom of the ocean, where sunlight never reaches and pressures would crush a submarine like a tin can, volcanoes blaze and chemicals gush from cracks in the seafloor. It is here, amid utter darkness and crushing cold, that some of the most bizarre and unlikely life forms found on our planet thrive. These places—called hydrothermal vents—are more than just alien oases of life. They may also hold the answer to one of the greatest questions ever asked: Where and how did life begin?

Filamentous algae
Ecology & Science

A world without sunlight

For much of human history, it was assumed that all life depended, directly or indirectly, on the sun. Plants absorbed sunlight through photosynthesis, herbivores ate the plants, and predators ate the herbivores. Each step in the food chain was based on solar energy.

But, in 1977, that notion was turned on its head.

Press Release
Received from: Poseidon Diving Systems

Experience Poseidon at Buddy Dive Bonaire – November 2026

Poseidon

Imagine yourself diving the pristine shores of Bonaire, the shore diving capital of the world — warm water, easy conditions, and spectacular marine life — all together with the global Poseidon diving community.

In November 2026, Poseidon Diving Systems invites you to a unique dive experience in collaboration with ScubaTravel Scandinavia and Buddy Dive Resort.

This trip is for you if you are:

US Climate Rollback Sparks Coral Reef Debate

Scientists weigh global policy shifts against local action on reef resilience.

Ecology & Science

US President Donald Trump has rescinded a series of federal environmental protections, including reversing the long-standing “endangerment finding” that classified greenhouse gas emissions as harmful to public health. The decision has been widely reported as one of the most consequential climate policy reversals in recent years. Environmental organisations have criticised the move, legal challenges are expected, and analysts warn that it could slow US emissions reductions if upheld by the courts.

Luxury Steamer Lac La Belle Found in Lake Michigan After 150 Years

Images and survey data confirm the wreck of SS Lac La Belle, a 19th-century passenger and cargo steamer that sank in 1872 during a storm on Lake Michigan.

Lac La Belle
Wrecks & Archaeology

More than 150 years after it sank, the remains of the steamship Lac La Belle have been identified on the floor of Lake Michigan. The discovery, announced in February 2026, follows a long-running search by US shipwreck hunters using side-scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys.

The discovery

The wreck was located approximately 20 miles off Racine, Wisconsin, at a depth consistent with historical accounts. 

Press Release
Received from: Sea Save

2026 Sea Save Foundation SCUBA Travel Auction - Feb 19

Sea Save

With just days remaining, the 2026 Sea Save Foundation SCUBA Travel Auction is entering its final stretch. Featuring 60 specially curated dive travel packages donated by some of the most respected names in the global dive industry, this is the largest SCUBA-focused travel auction in the world — and it closes February 19.

Press Release
Received from: SUEX Statement posted on Facebook

Official Statement from SUEX – The Submarine Exploration Company

SUEX XK DPV Scooter
Suex

Based on internal records, long-term operational experience, and extensive feedback collected over many years from professional and cave divers worldwide, this type of event is considered extremely rare. It is particularly important to clarify that SUEX has no documented cases of simultaneous failure or detachment of all propeller blades during normal operating conditions.

The Secret Lives of Sea Sponges

Sponges are the oldest animals on our planet, yet they thrive without brains. A sponge silently stuck to the reef blends perfectly into its environment, so that divers often pass it without a second glance. And yet, beneath that still surface, a sponge is astonishingly busy.

Barrel sponges
Ecology & Science

Alive in ways we are only beginning to understand, it is pumping, filtering, sensing, repairing, coordinating. 

A sponge survives by moving water. Through thousands or even millions of tiny pores, it draws seawater into its body. Specialised cells beat microscopic hairs that create a continuous current, bringing oxygen and food particles inside. A sponge the size of a football can filter thousands of litres of seawater in a single day.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Långban Mine: A Dream for Mine Divers

When you think of Sweden, IKEA, Volvo and Greta Thunberg might be the first things that come to mind. But think again, because Sweden—and more specifically Västmanland, Dalarna and Värmland—offers some of the best diveable mines in the world. Constantin Ene and Martina Utzinger take us on a tour of one of them: the Långban Mine.

Words:
Constantin Ene and Martina Utzinger
Images:
Constantin Ene
Diving in the Långban Mine
➥ Download the full article as pdf ⬅︎
Tech and Training

The Långban Gruva (Långban Mine) in the municipality of Filipstad in Värmland was opened in the 16th century and closed its doors in 1972. Located in Långbans Gruv och Kulturby (Långban Mining and Culture Village), the mine’s dive base is now operated by Långbans Dyksällskap (Långban Dive Club).