As divers, we are often reminded of what is being lost.

We witness coral bleaching, ghost nets, declining fish stocks and degraded coastlines. News about the oceans can sometimes feel overwhelming, as though the problems are so vast that individual actions no longer matter. Yet one of the striking things about the diving community worldwide is that this assumption is increasingly being proven wrong.

Love written in light and sound

Seahorses are famous for one extraordinary fact: the male becomes pregnant. How did it happen that, in seahorses, the roles are reversed? No one knows. 

But this biological wonder is only the beginning. Before mating, pairs perform elaborate, daily courtship dances. They change colour together, entwine tails, and rise through the water in slow spirals. Hidden within these dances are tiny clicking sounds—soft snaps made by rubbing bones in their heads. 

Yet again, the world’s leaders convened, debated, produced lofty rhetoric—and left without the binding commitments, measurable targets, or decisive action that the science demands. The fact that several of the most influential leaders and governments did not attend speaks volumes. The US administration did not even bother to send delegates; however, over 100 state and local US leaders did show up. And even though China’s leadership was absent, it did send a large delegation.

We like to think of equality as a universal principle—that all human beings are created equal and should be afforded the same rights and opportunities. The idea has echoed through history, from Enlightenment thinkers to the ringing words of the American Declaration of Independence. They are noble ideals, ones we like to believe in, but when we look around us, reality tells another story. Where we are born, into which family and in which part of the world, still determines far more about our lives than any amount of effort, talent, or ambition.

Once upon a time, when we were drafting and tinkering with the design and editorial profile of this magazine before it was launched, I had already made the observation that American dive magazines focused predominantly on US dive sites, the Caribbean and some Pacific destinations, while European magazines were mainly centred on local dive sites, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, with the occasional mention of the Maldives or Thailand.

A big thank you to the many who responded positively to my previous editorial about the balance we have to walk to maintain complete editorial independence and integrity while relying on sponsorship and advertising.

To elaborate, sticking to old-school, fact-based, in-depth reporting has been an easy choice. While going against the tide of the media landscape and macro-economic trends presents many challenges, adhering to these virtues provides us with a safe haven, with classic journalistic principles and press ethics providing guidance and a protective framework.

I live very much in the present and appreciate modern technology, gadgets and applications that make my life easier. I do not think of the old days as good, but in some ways, I am quite old-fashioned. I adhere to classic journalism, and I consider it a mission to be an educating communicator. Fluff pieces, short stories without substance and other empty mental calories are just not my thing.

Autumn is approaching in our hemisphere. In the forests around our city, the deer are in heat, and the stags can be seen fighting for dominance and the right to mate. It can be a dramatic but entertaining spectacle, provided you understand the need to keep a sensible distance from the animals at this time of year.

A review published in the journal Animal Sentience describes the surprising abilities found so far among octopus species.