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Kirk Krack of Performance Freediving International gives a talk on the high-tech underwater habitat deep.com being developed in the UK. Diving Talks 2024. Photo by Peter Symes.

Autumn Trade Shows: Diving Talks and the DEMA Show 2024

Diving Talks

We will take them in chronological order. Diving Talks, held in late October, has quietly become one of my top favourites. This year’s event was the fourth in a row, and since I have reported extensively on the previous editions here in the magazine, which you can easily go back in the archive and fish out this time, I will limit myself to an update and not repeat all the premises and characteristics of this unique event.

Palaeohypotodus bizzocoi tooth.
Palaeohypotodus bizzocoi tooth. /McWane Science Center.

Scientists Discover Fossilized Remains of New Ancient Shark Species

Palaeohypotodus, pronounced pale-ee-oh-hype-oh-toe-duss, translates to "ancient small-eared tooth," a reference to the shark's distinctive small needle-like fangs found on the sides of its teeth. Spearheaded by Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections at McWane Science Center in Birmingham, alongside David Cicimurri, Curator of Natural History at South Carolina State Museum, and T. Lynn Harrell, Jr., Paleontologist and Fossil Collections Curator at the Geological Survey of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the team named the new species in honour of the late Dr.

Newborn White Shark Pup
Newborn white shark pup

Drone Discovery: A Newborn Great White Shark

(TOP BANNER IMAGE: Carlos Gauna/The Malibu Artist) 

The remarkable sighting occurred on 9 July 2023, approximately 400m (1,300ft) off the shores of Carpinteria, California. Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna and Phillip Sternes, a doctoral student in the Department of Biology at the University of California Riverside, stumbled upon the extraordinary sight while filming aerial footage.

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Rice Corals (Montipora capitata), Kane'ohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawaii

Coral Resilience Under Climate Stress: Insights from Hawaiian Reefs

In 2015, amidst a marine heatwave, Barott’s team tagged numerous coral colonies, initiating a study on coral adaptability. Their focus: the rice coral (Montipora capitata) and finger coral (Porites compressa), two dominant species in the region. Over the years, multiple heatwaves provided a unique opportunity to observe coral responses, revealing both resilience and vulnerability.

DEMA 2023: The Tech Community’s Farewell Party for Bret Gilliam

Bret Gilliam was a larger-than-life personality—dare we say, character—in the dive industry. Over a 50-year career, he was involved with several dive-industry firsts, holding a number of influential postings, including serving on the boards of NAUI and IANTD, as well as CEO of TDI. But he was most known for being a co-founder of what would become the largest technical diver training agency in the world, TDI.

DEMA 2023: Back to Normal

It was an upbeat and vibrant edition, reminiscent of how it used to be in its heyday in the late 1990s, when it peaked and only got bigger from year to year. Even the social events and various parties were plentiful and back at full strength—at least, that was my impression. 

That is not to say that the show and the dive industry have not changed since DEMA was last held in the Big Easy (New Orleans’ nickname). More than two decades have passed since then, so of course, they have. 

The steel bulk freighter Huronton sunk in Lake Superior on Oct. 11, 1923
The steel bulk freighter Huronton sunk in Lake Superior on Oct. 11, 1923

WWI Era Freighter Wreck Located in Lake Superior

The Huronton was a steel bulk freighter. It was designed to transport large quantities of bulk cargo, such as coal, grain or ore. These types of vessels are characterized by large, open holds and are specifically built to handle and transport unpackaged bulk cargo efficiently across water bodies. The Huronton, in particular, was navigating Lake Superior during its time of operation in the early 20th century.

Diver Zach Whitrock at the site of the Trinidad wreck

Historical society finds 1880s shipwreck in Lake Michigan

According to a Facebook post, shipwreck enthusiasts and historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck located the schooner Trinidad earlier this year, submerged in 270 feet of water off Algoma.

The schooner, constructed in 1867 in New York, was a "canaller," specifically designed for navigating the Welland Canal connecting Lake Erie and Ontario. It primarily served the Great Lakes grain trade, shuttling coal and iron from New York and returning with Midwest grain.