Divers share a collective passion for the underwater world and a mutual fascination with the wondrous creatures of the sea. Perhaps it’s swimming with dolphins off the sunny coast of California they dream of, or diving side by side with whale sharks in the warm waters of Western Australia. …

By Heather Creech Dan is a South Australian freediver who loves to snorkel the Port River estuary – a site near Adelaide’s marine shipping terminals not often visited by divers. One day last year, Dan spotted something in the shallows he didn’t recognize: an unusual bivalve. So he took …

Did you know that there’s a natural carbon sink—even bigger than the Amazon rainforest—that helps regulate Earth’s climate by sucking up to six billion tons of carbon from the air each year? A new report from researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals for the first time the …

Eric Vohr takes a private jet to explore Indonesia’s Eden – Wakatobi   Sometimes, you have to travel to the end of the world to find spectacular diving; Wakatobi Dive Resort is one of those places.  The name Wakatobi is a portmanteau of the four main Tukangbesi Islands in …

Far beneath the waves, glistening under the new moon, the mood strikes right for two fish in love. Swimming side by side and holding tails, seahorses engage in a ritual of love that is both fascinating and magical. Seahorses, named for their “horse-like” head, are actually fish despite their …

Text and Photo by Tobias Friedrich Sometimes you just get lucky. We were diving on the Red Sea wreck, Chrisoula, when good fortune came my way in flash. I was waiting for a fellow photographer inside the wreck, filling up most of a small hatchway when this moray eel …

Text and Photography by Andy Murch Just after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef near Port Fidalgo, spilling more than 260,000 barrels of Alaskan crude oil into the pristine waters of Prince William Sound. Oil bled from the ruptured hull for three days until emergency …

Text by Jean-Michel Cousteau Three flights from Santa Barbara, California, to Barbados, followed by a 45 minute single propeller plane ride to Union Island, a brisk 20-minute boat ride across the southern Caribbean’s turquoise water to a lush green mountain rising steadily from a seemingly endless ocean, I finally …

One of the most spectacular but little known events along the Florida reefs—as well as around the world—is the annual synchronized spawning of corals. Yes, corals do have sex to reproduce and to observers it looks like a brilliant underwater fireworks display.  In the middle of the night several …

Valentine’s day is just around the corner, and what better gift to get your loved one, than a manatee. Ok, so not a manatee per se, that would be cruel. But an adopted gentle giant they you can follow, support and love! Whether you’re buying for your wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, …

Text and Photography by Andy Murch You would think that a large, globally occurring species like the great hammerhead would be a relatively easy shark to encounter but until a couple of years ago that simply wasn’t the case. Shark diving operators in the Bahamas and elsewhere raved about …

Text by Jean-Michel Cousteau and Jaclyn Mandoske Ten million people of the Pacific Island Nations are calling – and we have yet to answer their plea. Like the canary in the coalmine, thousands of drowning islands in the Pacific are telling us that something dangerous is happening. As ocean …

Ocean inhabitants traveling Australia’s marine superhighway have made this rest stop a dive site that doesn’t disappoint at any time of the year Text by Lilla Clare Just 1.73 miles (2.8km) off the eastern-most point of the Australian continent, there’s an unassuming little outcrop called Julian Rocks.  By chance …

Since we wrote our Netflix for Divers feature, a new, feature length documentary from the Oscar winning producer of The Cove has been released. Mission Blue focusses on famed oceanographer and eco-activist Sylvia Earle, and her mission to educate the world about our oceans and their importance to all life on …

A new study suggests fish are behaviourally complex and possess a mental capacity that can match or exceed other vertebrates A paper just published in the scientific journal Animal Cognition states that “fish perception and cognitive abilities often match or exceed other vertebrates.” Dr. Culum Brown, a professor in the …

Gorgonian corals become rockfish communities Photograph by Lou Lehmann – Text by Neil McDaniel Gorgonian corals are common in the cold waters off Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts, but they usually dwell in deep, dark water well beyond SCUBA depths. But on the Pacific coast, a few species are …

A third generation of diving’s famous family follows in the footsteps of pioneering grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau  ByJean-Michel Cousteau As a proud father, I always look forward to watching the accomplishments of my children and these past two months of May and June proved to be an amazing milestone for …

Text and Photograph by David Fleetham As a rule, waves can be tricky to shoot underwater. In the shallow surf zone it’s not unusual that you’ll take a bit of a beating in the quest for a worthy wave shot, but this image at the Molokini Marine Preserve near …

Scientists have recently revealed the true champion of the deep Even the whale watchers among us are impressed by the scientific revelations released recently by cetacean researchers at the Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) in Olympia, Washington. They’ve been studying Cuvier’s beaked whales over the past few years and what …

The University of British Columbia’s Project Seahorse just announced a rare documented sighting of a seahorse in Canadian waters. The sighting comes to light as a result of iSeahorse.org, the new citizen science initiative created by Project Seahorse. Two divers recently uploaded a photograph of the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) that …

The Caribbean reef squid is a shooter’s delight and challenge Text and Photograph by David Fleetham In many areas of the world squid can be very difficult to locate during the day; not around the island of Bonaire. The Caribbean reef squid population at this diver-friendly island can be …

Former DIVER Editor, renowned underwater videographer, and all round local legend Neil McDaniel has released a short video giving a brief overview of the disease that has effected the west coast of Canada and the US.

Divers encounter jelly with a bubbly personality Text and Photo by Trisha Stovel During a recent search for six gill sharks with Rendezvous Dive Adventures, I encountered one of my favourite critters: a fried egg jelly. In the end, we didn’t see any of the elusive sharks during our …

  Text and Photography by Michael AW Dining out with the big fish makes for a well-mannered meal I was at the surface composing a shot of three whale sharks as they peered at fishermen in the parallel universe above. Like a pet anticipating a treat, the big fish …

  By Andy Murch This was the most energetic and entertaining giant pacific octopus that I’ve encountered, and I’m chalking it up to youthful trial and error. Daytime GPO sightings are usually rather fleeting but this young animal was bouncing all over Race Rocks looking for the perfect spot …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau Far beneath the waves, glistening under the new moon, the mood strikes right for two fishes in love. Swimming side by side and holding tails, seahorses engage in a ritual of love that is both fascinating and magical. Seahorses, named for their “horse-like” head, are actually …

Dive into the underwater wilderness of the Pacific Northwest in this new book then grab your gear and go get wet! Photo by David Hall   David Hall’s sumptuous volume, Beneath Cold Seas, is a celebration of British Columbia diving and a perfect fit for this, DIVER’s first Big …

Jellyfish are increasing in the majority of the world’s coastal ecosystems, according to the first global study of jellyfish abundance by University of British Columbia researchers. In a study published in this month’s edition of the journal Hydrobiologia, UBC scientists examined data for numerous species of jellyfish for 45 …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… Researchers from the University of British Columbia have been using Google Earth to investigate fish enclosures of the Mediterranean. Read Article. Source: New Scientist Could mobile …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau The biological clock of the Pacific Northwest is set to the rhythm of the ebb and flow of five different species of Pacific salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Sockeye and Pink. Preparing to spawn, adult salmon travel upstream from the open ocean along coastal rivers and streams. …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… This round up of “Little known facts about the ocean” has some great statistics. Read article. Source: Marinebio Post Valentines Day blues? Maybe this picture of …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau Beginnings are always a time for renewal and optimism and the debut of 2010 is a good time to consider what we are faced with that concerns the ocean and the environment. The meetings on climate change in Copenhagen must now result in global policy change, …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau I have traveled most of my life and have seen changes in the sea that no one, not even my brilliant father, could have predicted.  Jacques Cousteau, however, did point the direction on many things—the danger of nuclear waste, overfishing, habitat destruction, even the high cost …

Winter diving along Canada’s Pacific shore has its benefits and principal among them is the astonishingly clear water to be enjoyed much of the time by scuba enthusiasts up and down the length of the British Columbia coast. As temperatures cool and summer plankton blooms die off, underwater photographers …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau Imagine you have just returned from a life-changing dive trip to an absolutely magnificent island chain surrounded by the most beautiful reefs you have ever seen. Immersion in this candy store of luscious treats has given you a deep connection to the miraculous wonder of life …

Ablaze with what appears the reflection of a dazzling fireworks display, the eyes of a Red Irish Lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus) add to the brilliant colouration of this striking species of sculpin. Its typically vivid coat can vary from hues of orange through red to magenta and into striking pinks …