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Scuba Compendium: The Scuba Series Books 1 to 4, by Simon Pridmore

Scuba Compendium: The Scuba Series Books 1 to 4, by Simon Pridmore
Scuba Compendium: The Scuba Series Books 1 to 4, by Simon Pridmore

Author Simon Pridmore has just released a new single-volume e-book that brings together four books in his bestselling Scuba series. As Simon puts it, this is “a remastering and repackaging of the original albums rather than a greatest hits.”

Indonesia's Raja Ampat: A Papuan Odyssey

Whale Shark, Teluk Namatote, West Papua, Indonesia
Whale Shark, Teluk Namatote, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Pierre Constant

The Raja Ampat Islands, located in Indonesia’s West Papua province, nestled between the Pacific Ocean, the Halmahera Sea and Seram Island, are at the crossroads of tremendous biodiversity and coral diversity—home to 75 percent of the world’s reef species. Pierre Constant returned to the region and shares his tales of diving and cultural experiences there.

42nd Annual Underwater Treasure Hunt

This event is a true ‘treasure hunt’ where divers get to scuba dive off the rock jetty at Radio Island in Beaufort, NC. They seek treasure in the form of numbered oyster shells.

After numbered oyster shells have been found and collected, we then return to the dive shop for a pig pickin’ feast and the drawing for prizes. It’s all very exciting and makes for a really fun day! This event is one of the largest single-day gatherings of divers and like-minded people in North Carolina.

Wedgefish being tagged by Dr Andrea Marshall. Photo courtesy of the Marine Megafauna Foundation
Wedgefish being tagged by Dr Andrea Marshall. Photo courtesy of the Marine Megafauna Foundation

Tagging wedgefish in Mozambique

This signalled the start of a first-of-its-kind study for these species in Mozambique, with the objectives of identifying primary aggregation sites, understanding their movements and home range and identifying the threats they face in the region.

Two types of tags are being used in the study—acoustic and pop-up archival satellite tags—so that both fine and broad-scale movements can be studied.

Certifications in the US Rebounded in Second Quarter 2021

Encouraging News!

Entry-level open water certifications rebounded in the USA in April, May, and June of 2021 but are still below the pre-pandemic level, an analysis by Darcy Kieran finds.

The second quarter of 2021 is still lower than the pre-pandemic level, with 37 thousand certifications this year compared to 42 thousand in 2019, which is a decrease of 13.8%.

Great White Shark near a boat off Cape Town, South Africa
Great White Shark near a boat off Cape Town, South Africa

Shark tourism becoming popular in Massachusetts

Cape Cod's slow embrace of its shark reputation comes three summers after the popular vacation destination saw its first great white shark attacks in generations.

Businesses dreaded the negative perception seared into the public imagination by Jaws, the 1975 blockbuster movie about a man-eating great white shark that made its director, Stephen Spielberg, a household name.

Several years ago, there was a concern that it might have a negative impact on tourism. But we’ve been working to educate people about sharks and what we’ve actually seen is no negative impact.

— Paul Niedzwiecki, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce

Finding sharks off the coast of Cape Cod is not hard, with some shark tour operators using the same methods that shark researchers use to find the predators: drones, or an overhead "spotter" plane, to locate sharks and direct their boats to them.

The British cruiser HMS Drake in the United States in 1909.
The British cruiser HMS Drake in the United States in 1909. On October 2nd 1917 HMS Drake was was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-79

Divers reminded not to disturb protected wrecks off Northern Ireland

A prolonged period of sunshine and calm seas over the summer has led to an increase in the numbers of people visiting the historic wrecks which lie off Northern Ireland's shore.

Of the 340 known ship and plane wrecks within Northern Irish waters, only two have special levels of protection;  La Girona, a warship of the Spanish Armada which sank near Portballintrae in 1588, and HMS Drake, a WW1 cruiser that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in 1917 and sank in Rathlin Bay.

30 days to Diving Talks

Last opportunity in 2021:    Meet the world's leading divers.

Being at the Tróia Peninsula lets you meet the world's leading divers: to watch their Talks and talk with them face-to-face.

You have two options:   To attend or to attend and bring your partners.

Attending Diving Talks is a dive related trip for you and a relaxing weekend for your partners and loved ones.

Sail the Sado river

Sail the Sado river