Alert Diver Archive

A specimen of spotted estuary smoothhound – aka ‘rig’ (Original photo: Arnim Littek/Wikimedia Commons) A new study has documented what is thought to be the first case of sound production by a species of shark, after scientists observed specimens of […]

Green turtle populations are doing well (Photo: SeanScottPhotography/Shutterstock) Following the news that global turtle populations are on the rebound, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has confirmed that conservation efforts ‘have improved the status of the majority of […]

Instructors and students are banned from using cameras during training (Photo: Shutterstock) The Thai government has issued an order banning dive students and instructors from taking photographs during training programmes, with the exception of underwater photography courses. Additionally, the use […]

By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The partial remains of a man mauled to death by sharks off the coast of Hadera, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, have been found, according to local reports. The man, a father of four believed to be […]

Emily Sherwin was diving at Old Harry Rocks when she was caught in a vortex and disappeared (Photo: Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Emily Sherwin, a 20-year-old diver who went missing during a dive off the south coast of England […]

The MV Firebird (Photo: Deep Blue Cruises/Facebook) Passengers and crew on board the Egyptian Red Sea liveaboard M/V Firebird were forced to abandon ship after the vessel struck a reef off the northern part of Sharm El Sheikh in the […]

‘Blenny With Attitude’ by Ralph Paprzkycki Check out the winning and highly commended images from our Big Shot Portraits underwater photography competition – as featured in our Spring ’25 print magazine The secret of a great portrait is the instant […]

Basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) are the second-largest species of shark – and therefore the second-largest species of fish – in the oceans. Here are some of the most important facts about one of our favourite shark species By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell […]

Brightly coloured sea slugs and nudibranchs are most active during daylight hours (Photo: Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A new study by scientists from Australia’s University of Queensland has found that brightly-coloured nudibranchs and sea slugs are most active by […]

Ceningan Divers resort on Nusa Ceningan, Bali, Indonesia (Photo: Ceningan Divers) Ceningan Divers on Nusa Ceningan, Bali, Indonesia, wins Green Fins Award 2025 for Outstanding Commitment to Sustainable Marine Tourism The Reef-World Foundation has announced Indonesia’s Ceningan Divers as winner of […]

The Sheba brand, part of the Mars family and more familiar as a brand of cat food, has announced a new documentary, Reef Builders, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The new documentary, announced in March this year, was premiered […]

Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada (Photo: Andy Williamson) Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada were in one of Sea Story’s mid-level starboard cabins when the liveaboard capsized – their bodies have never been found. Jenny’s parents have written a powerful open […]

An aerial view of a coastline near Rainbow Reef and Nakobo Village in the Cakaudrove Province (Photo: Andy Estep/Waitt Institute) National Geographic Pristine Seas has launched an expedition to study and film the vibrant waters of Fiji and Rotuma in […]

A Thai Navy patrol boat attempts to combat the blaze on board DiveRACE Class E (Photo: Phuket Info Centre/Facebook) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Sixteen divers and ten crew members (some reports say 18 divers and 9 crew) were forced to […]

A diver takes a picture of Balitmore FW282’s wreckage (Photo: AegeanTec/Australian Department of Defence) By DIVE Staff The wreckage of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bomber, which was shot down during the Second World War with the loss of […]

Laura Parker in her Richmond studio (Photo: Laura Parker) British artist and scuba diver Laura Parker has won the Artwork Category in the ‘Voice of the Ocean‘ underwater photo, video and art competition at the 2025 Asia Dive Expo (ADEX), […]

Survivors of the Sea Story liveaboard disaster recount how they were pressured into giving statements – described as ‘interrogations’ – just hours after being rescued By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell In the early hours of 25 November 2024, the Egyptian liveaboard […]

Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures, presents Anne Hasson with a lifetime achievement award (Photo: Aggressor Adventures) Vice President of Aggressor Adventures, Anne Hasson, has announced her retirement after a 41-year career with one of the world’s largest scuba diving […]

(Photo: Shark Trust) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The Shark Trust has launched a new photography competition designed to celebrate the diversity and beauty of sharks, rays and skates, with photographs of egg cases and rarely-spotted chimaeras also welcome. From now […]

The Port of Long Beach, California in December 2024 (Photo: photojohn830/Shutterstock) By DIVE Staff The body of a firefighter who went missing while freediving in the Port of Long Beach, California, in December 2024 has been recovered by the Long Beach […]

The overflow from a water treatment plant at Langstone Harbour, Hampshire (Photo: Alex Ford/MCS) A new YouGov survey commissioned by the UK’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has found that the majority of the UK public is unaware of the dangers of […]

Rockpooling and seaweed searching are fun ways to spend Easter (Photo: Billy Barraclough/MCS) Looking for something fun to do over the Easter holidays? The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has some suggestions for combining family fun days out with some citizen […]

  By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell At least six people have died and nine have been injured after a tourist submarine sank in Hurghada, Egypt. Four of the injured have reportedly been taken to hospital and are said to be in […]

Female green turtles leave the water to nest on a Hawaii beach (Photo: Shutterstock) By DIVE Staff A new study has found that worldwide turtle populations are on the rebound thanks to the implementation of extensive conservation efforts to protect […]

Passengers waiting to be rescued on the capsized Sea Dragon 2 (Photo: Klungkung Police handout via AFP) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A 39-year-old Australian woman has died after the boat she was travelling on capsized as it was travelling between […]

Aerial view over Pointe-aux-Piments, where the explosion occurred (Photo: Shutterstock) A 27-year-old man has been killed by a scuba tank which exploded while he was filling it at a dive centre in Pointe-aux-Piments, Mauritius. Local news reports describe the scene […]

Dr Eugenie Clark dives the Jolanda as it lies on Shark Reef in Ras Mohammed (Photo: David Doubilet) A review of Treasures, Shipwrecks and the Dawn of Red Sea Diving, by Howard Rosenstein, published by Dived Up – now available […]

Jackson Blue Springs is at the head of Merritt’s Mill Pond, Florida (Photo: Shutterstock) One diver has died and two have been rescued after getting into trouble in the Twin Caves system in Marianna, Florida. Jackson County Sherrif’s Office received […]

Still from a video of the Nusa Penida great white shark (Fabian Clinton/Instagram) A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) has put in a rare appearance around Nusa Penida, a large island located off the southeast coast of Bali.  The large […]

Plastic is on the rise on UK beaches (Photo: Aled Llywelyn/MCS) The Marine Conservation Society has released data from its 2024 beach cleans showing that the amount of plastic washed up on the UK’s beaches increased by nearly 10 per cent […]

The dive boat was rapidly consumed by fire (Photo: Surat Thani Provincial Public Relations Office) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A 26-year-old British woman from Lambeth, London, has been reported missing after a fire broke out on board a dive boat […]

(Japanese divers with Shearwater computers and Gull wetsuits Photo: Shearwater Research) Canadian dive computer and electronics specialist Shearwater Research has announced a new distribution partnership with Japan’s Kinugawa Corporation Founded in 1955, Kinugawa Corporation is one of Japan’s top scuba […]

A newly discovered species of guitarfish (Photo: Sergey Bogorodsky/Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, the world’s largest collaborative effort to accelerate the discovery of marine life, has announced the discovery of 866 new […]

Mollie Ghiz-Flynn and her husband were diving out of Florida’s Riviera Beach when tragedy struck (Photo: Rob Atherton/Shutterstock) The captain of a Florida dive boat has been found guilty of manslaughter over the 2020 death of a 37-year-old female scuba […]

A ‘massive fireball’ was seen engulfing an oil tanker after it was struck by a container ship in the North Sea ten miles off the coast of Yorkshire, northern England. The alarm was first raised shortly before 10 am. A […]

Stress and rescue diver programmes are among the most important courses a diver can take (Photo: Shutterstock) Former instructor Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell on why continuing education programmes are essential for both divers and dive businesses. By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell I’ve […]

The sperm whale stranded on Raasay with ropes around its head (Photo: Norman Gillies/BDMLR) A sperm whale recently freed from entanglement by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) has tragically died just a few days later. The whale had […]

A male European lobster with its fighting claw to the fore Approaching its 25th anniversary, The UK’s National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow continues to develop its successful stock-enhancement programme. Words and photographs by Lewis Jeffries The UK’s National Lobster Hatchery […]

The Center of Archaeology at the University of Montenegro, Ulcinj, is to host a five-day training programme for budding marine archaeologists from Montenegro and Albania. The programme, which is being held in collaboration with the UNESCO International Centre for Underwater […]

The rescue team prepares to search for the missing divers (Photo: Guangxi provincial department of public security/Handout via Xinhua news agency) Two cave diving scientists have been rescued after becoming trapped in a cave system at the source of the […]

DIVE talks to Michael Miles, a 71-year-old Swiss diver who spent some 36 hours trapped in his cabin in the capsized Egyptian liveaboard, Sea Story By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The Dive Pro Liveaboard-owned Sea Story, carrying 46 passengers and crew, […]

Verde Island is a popular site for Advanced Divers (Photo: Lexter Yap/Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Two Russian divers have died after being swept away by strong currents while diving near Verde Island out of Batangas, in the Philippines. Local […]

The true colour image of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance (Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/Voyis) Colour-corrected images of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance have been published by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and underwater imaging specialists Voyis. The images depict Endurance […]

The wire coral crab (Xenocarcinus tuberculatus) often lives on whip corals and can take flesh from its host as camouflage The Coral Triangle in the western Pacific Ocean is home to the greatest variety of marine life on the planet. […]

Atlantis Young Dive Ambassadors Charmaine, Lara and Jehiah diving together at Atlantis Dumaguete (Photo: Jenny Stock) Jenny Stock joins three teenage girls discovering the joys of diving thanks to the Young Dive Ambassadors programme at Atlantis Resort, Dumaguete Word and […]

Study author, Maëlan Tomasek, with a ‘volunteer’ in the experiment conducted in the Mediterranean Sea (Photo: Maëlan Tomasek/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour) Fish use visual differences between divers to recognize the person who rewarded them A new study by […]

Alvaro Herrero’s humpback whale mother and calf wins Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025 Spanish photographer Alvaro Herrero has been named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025. His photograph ‘Radiant Bond’ shows the special relationship between a mother humpback whale […]

A humpback whale mother and calf (Photo: Marc Quintin) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A new study has found the song of humpback whales is a complex, culturally transmitted behaviour, and is structured in a way that the authors say challenges […]

Jenny Stock (right) and LEGOLAND’s head aquarist Rosie David (left) are photobombed by a batfish while Squeak the zebra shark hogs the background (Photo: Jenny Stock) Jenny Stock, British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024, DIVE contributor and Big Shot […]

Protecting dive sites could increase the size of the biomass – and the size of the fish. (Photo: Manu San Félix/Pristine Seas) A new study has highlighted the positive effects of turning the world’s most popular scuba diving sites into […]

Still from DANCast premiere video with Howard and Michele Hall (DAN/YouTube) The Divers Alert Network has recently launched a new podcast to improve diver safety through discussions with a range of divers from across the industry. The DANcast is available […]

File photo of dive boats in Komodo National Park (Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell An inquest into the death of a British scuba diver in Komodo in September 2023 has found he likely died from Immersion Pulmonary Oedema. Robert Bolton, […]

The second in a series of articles detailing how survivors of the Sea Story liveaboard disaster escaped from the capsized boat to find themselves drifting for hours before being rescued By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell In the early hours of the […]

Two orcas known as ‘Ripple’ and ‘Bent Tip’ photographed in Australian waters (Photo: Karl Bromelow/Reeves et al) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Orcas – also known as killer whales – have been documented preying on great white sharks in South Africa […]

The winners of our readers poll of images from our Big Shots underwater photography competitions of 2024 We asked our readers to vote for their favourite images from our most recent Big Shot underwater photography competitions. Here are the top […]

(Photo: Nattapon Ponbumrungwong/Shutterstock) It only eats one flavour of sponge, and it feasts so voraciously that Syanptula lamperti’s dinner takes less than an hour to pass from one end to the other! Lampert’s sea cucumbers (Syanptula lamperti) are small white […]

An Egyptian tourist boat has sunk in the Red Sea off Jabal Al-Zeit, north of Hurghada, with six crew members on board. According to local reports, the boat was travelling from ‘Rashid’ – presumably Port Rashid, east of the city […]

Sea Story under construction (Photo: Ali Aref, President of Dive Pro Liveaboard/MAIB) Substantial modifications, defective or missing lifesaving equipment, poor fire protection, poor crew training and poor safety briefings all identified as Red Sea liveaboard safety issues. The UK Government’s […]

A male orca in the winter sunrise. Lofoten, Norway (Photo: Cristina Mittermeier) Cristina ‘Mitty’ Mittermeier has spent much of her life working to protect the world’s oceans – but the creatures that live beneath the waves don’t always appreciate her […]

Pitcairn grey reef sharks were monitored by Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems – ‘BRUVS’ (Photo: Blue Belt Programme) Henderson Island and Ducie Atoll, part of the Pitcairn Islands, have been named as Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) by the IUCN, marking […]

A volunteer taking manta ID photographs in the Maldives (Photo: Kaitlyn Zerr/Manta Trust) The Manta Trust has launched a new initiative aimed at getting businesses involved in manta ray conservation by offering their employees the chance to join ‘Volunteer Time […]

Rüdiger ‘Rudy’ Koch looks out of his record-breaking SeaPod (Photo: Ocean Builder) By DIVE Staff A new Guinness World Record for underwater living has been German aerospace engineer Rüdiger ‘Rudy’ Koch, after he completed an extraordinary 120-day stretch beneath the […]

BDMLR volunteers going to help a stranded minke whale near Hartlepool (Photo: Jordan Crosby/Shutterstock) Musician, author and now a British Divers Marine Life Rescue volunteer, Ross Merrin talks to Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell about the serious fun of learning how to […]

Aerial view of Bikar Atoll, with southern tip and Bikar Islands in the foreground. (Photo: Steve Spence/National Geographic Pristine Seas) By DIVE Staff The Republic of the Marshall Islands has announced that it is to implement protection for two of […]

By DIVE Staff A baby shark born in a US aquarium appears to be a rare case of parthogenesis, in which a female animal reproduces without having mated with a male. The swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) pup hatched from an […]

Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell reviews the amazing story that is The Diver and the Cook by Lasse Spang Olsen, published by Dived Up. Review by Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Every now and then the diving world produces something truly inspirational. The case of the […]

DIVE talks to Dr Sarah Martin, survivor of Egypt’s most deadly scuba diving liveaboard disaster about her escape and rescue after Sea Story capsized By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell In the early hours of the morning of 25 November 2024, the […]

Google Maps image from Cueva del Agua A 37-year-old woman has died in the Cuevas del Agua, a popular underwater cave system located in Cartagena, Spain. The incident occurred late on Saturday, 18 January when the diver reportedly failed to […]

(Photo: Jenny Stock) Insta360’s X4 action camera is capable of filming 360° footage in 8K resolution. Award-winning underwater camerawoman Jenny Stock put one to the test Review by Jenny Stock In short, I love the Insta360 X4, primarily because it […]

The Diver Clinic, Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine Unit based in Poole, Dorset has said it will be permanently closing to patients as of 31 January 2025. The closure follows a public consultation and review of hyperbaric medicine and oxygen provision […]

Indonesia regularly tops polls of best places in the world to scuba dive – here are ten of the best dive spots (and there are many more!) of Indonesia’s vast archipelago of more than 17,500 islands Indonesia’s top dive spots […]

The winners of the 2024 annual Ocean Art underwater photo competition have been announced. The 13th iteration of the competition has seen record-breaking participation with thousands of entries received from more than 90 countries spread across 14 categories and competing […]

By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Survivors of the Sea Story liveaboard sinking in November 2024, in which 11 people lost their lives, have spoken out about how they felt pressured into signing statements absolving its owner, Dive Pro Liveaboards, of any […]

(Photo: aldarhino/Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A joint statement by hyperbaric physicians from the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) and the UK Diving Medical Committee (UKDMC) has advised scuba divers who have suffered immersion pulmonary oedema not to dive […]

A female whale shark being chased by a larger male (Christine Barry Research/YouTube) Scientists in Australia have witnessed whale shark mating behaviour at Ningaloo Reef, in what is believed to be the first documented recording of ‘pre-copulatory’ biting. In a […]

Photo: Shutterstock Egyptian liveaboard operators have called for a grace period before new regulations concerning crew qualifications are enforced. The request comes after a number of liveaboards were cancelled or held in port due to a clampdown by authorities in […]

Currents at Peleliu Corner can be immense (Photo: Shutterstock) Eight Chinese scuba divers and their dive guide have been rescued after drifting at sea for more than 24 hours off the Pacific islands of Palau. The divers were reported missing […]

(Photo credit: Gerald Robert Fischer/Shutterstock) Named for the sailors of Greek mythology, argonauts – also known as paper nautili – are a unique group of shelled octopuses (and can’t sail) The common name ‘paper nautilus’ refers to the paper-thin shells […]

The beach at Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam (Photo: Shutterstock) A 48-year-old Italian man has been killed and another seriously injured in a shark attack off the coast of Marsa Alam, Egypt. Italian media has named the dead man as Gianluca […]

A diver inspects the ancient wreck of the coast of Sicily (Photo: Soprintendenza del Mare) By DIVE Staff A shipwreck dating back to the fifth or sixth century BC found off the coast of Sicily has provided evidence of trade […]

A number of scuba diving liveaboards in the Egyptian Red Sea have been prevented from leaving port this week, apparently due to authorities clamping down on regulations concerning qualifications held by members of the crew. A report in German dive […]

North Wales Police has announced that the body of a diver who went missing around the Llyn Peninsula on 28 November has been found, just over a week after he disappeared. The missing man has been formally identified as 53-year-old […]

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are classed as Vulnerable to extinction (Photo: Richard Smith) A new study finds that overfishing has caused populations of sharks, rays and chimaeras to decline by half since 1970. By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A new […]

Andrew McKnight, who went missing during a dive in Cornwall (Photo: Devon & Cornwall Police) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The family of a scuba diver who went missing while diving near Falmouth, Cornwall in September have paid tribute to him […]

Karl Bareham died at Julain Rocks – also known as Nguthungulli – in 2019 in controversial circumstances (Photo: Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A coroner’s inquest in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, into the 2019 scuba diving death of British […]

An aerial view over Las Vistas Beach in Arona, Southern Tenerife (Photo: Shutterstock) A 42-year-old man has died while scuba diving off the coast of southern Tenerife, according to reports in the Canary Islands’ media. The tragedy occurred around 12:32pm […]

An orca inspects the body of a dying whale shark (Photo: Guillermo Aceves Salazar/Pancaldi et al/Frontiers) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A new study analysing the behaviour of orcas (aka killer whales, Orcinus orca) in the Gulf of California suggests that […]

The rocky shoreline of the Llyn Peninsula (Photo: Shutterstock) North Wales Police have issued a press release asking anybody who might have seen a missing diver in North Wales to get in contact. The 53-year-old man named ‘Imrich’, who is […]

David Doubilet posing on one of the Jolanda‘s cargo of toilets (Photo: Howard Rosenstein) An extract from the book Treasures, Shipwrecks And The Dawn Of Red Sea Diving, in which Red Sea scuba diving pioneer Howard Rosenstein details what happened […]

By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The five passengers found alive on Tuesday following the sinking of the Egyptian Red Sea liveaboard Sea Story were found in their cabins, according to one of the men involved in rescuing them. The bodies of […]

Alex Mustard’s latest book 52 Assignments: Underwater Photography is packed with great tips to improve your technique. Here are three of the assignments to get you going. ASSIGNMENT 1: AVAILABLE LIGHT FANTASTIC Your task for this assignment is to photograph […]

Photo showing VSG Glory listing and slowly sinking in strong waves (Photo: HEPCA/Instagram) In an incident that provides some context into the sea conditions that may have sunk the MV Sea Story, a 100m cargo ship reportedly ran aground at […]

Canadian dive computer specialist Shearwater Research has announced a partnership with Avelo Labs, a training organisation based around an innovative new scuba diving technology which aims to ‘revolutionise’ how divers control their buoyancy underwater. organization and dive technology company renowned […]

The newly described deep-sea nudibranch Bathydevius caudactylus (Image: Bruce Robison; Steven Haddock/MBARI) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have discovered a new species of nudibranch – named Bathydevius caudactylus – swimming in the […]

St Helena’s seasonal aggregation of whale sharks is one of the most important in the world (Photo: Danny Copeland) Charged with looking after a Marine Protected Area twice the size of Great Britain, the isolated South Atlantic island of St […]

The small community of Waitangi, the main port and town of New Zealand’s Chatham Islands (Photo: Steve Todd/Shutterstock) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell A 24-year-old commercial diver has died after being mauled by a shark – believed to be a great […]

Dive training agency RAID has launched two new courses designed to bridge the gap between recreational and full-on technical diving. The news has been announced as the DEMA Show begins in Las Vegas, with a new ‘more logical’ course flowchart […]

Lionfish are among our favourite venomous creatures (Photo: Jenny Stock) Jenny Stock ranks the venomous creatures that lurk underwater, and details the treatment if you’re unlucky enough to get stung. As a kid, I loved Top Trumps. My favourite one […]

A diver swims over the world’s largest coral in the Solomon Islands (Photo: Manu San Félix, National Geographic Pristine Seas) By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell The world’s largest single coral colony so far recorded has been discovered in the Solomon Islands […]

The drifting divers as filmed by Camila and Ryan Storchi (Camila Storchi/Instagram) Five scuba divers who spent two hours drifting off the coast of O’ahu, Hawaii were rescued after a yachting couple radioed their position to the Coast Guard – […]

A compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella) feeding on plankton in the sea off Falmouth Positioned at the extreme southwest tip of the United Kingdom, the waters around Cornwall are where three ocean currents collide. The resulting combination of tidal flows and […]

Snorkelling with diving gannets, Isle of Noss, Shetland, Scotland Photographer Rebecca Douglas talks to Joanne O’Brien about her connection to the sea, and the wild edges of the UK coast Words by Joanne O’Brien, photographs by Rebecca Douglas The chunk […]