Alessia Zecchini celebrating her new world record (Photo: Alessia Zecchini/Instagram)Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini breaks her own freediving world record at the Philippines’ Camotes Freediving Challenge Italian freediver, Alessia Zecchini, has broken her own CMAS Free Immersion (FIM) discipline world record at the recent Camotes Freediving Challenge held in Cebu, Philippines. Zecchini set the new record of 104m (341ft) – three metres deeper than her previous record of 101m (331ft), set in the Bahamas in 2021 – on 19 April, in a time of 3 minutes, 46 seconds. She was the first woman to rea ..read more

Welcome to our ray identification quiz! Let’s see how well you know the different species. Score 75% or higher for a special discount! The post QUIZ: Rays appeared first on DIVE Magazine ..read more

Growing up on a small farm in Wales, UK, I spent much of my time outdoors, surrounded by nature, and constantly discovering new animals to identify. Despite relocating to Australia in 2010, my fear of water persisted, and it wasn’t until 2017 that I summoned the courage to undertake my Open Water course, bravely diving into the cold, murky depths of Sydney’s winter waters. Initially, my diving experiences primarily consisted of boat dives in Sydney during winter, as well as a few overseas trips to Thailand, the Philippines, and South Africa, where I captured videos and photos using a GoPro. I ..read more

A bristle shark photographed in the deep waters off New Zealand (Photo: William T White et al/Fishes) A new species of shark has been discovered in the deep waters off the coast of New Zealand, according to a new study, which has also described an entirely new family made up of previously described species – the bristle sharks, The new species, named the roughback bristle shark (Dichichthys satoi) is a type of catshark, and was identified from specimens taken from natural history museums, with additional observations of live animals during deep-water surveys of the western Pacific Ocean, from ..read more

Photo: Jon Bunker/MCSThe Marine Conservation Society showcases the UK’s rich variety of marine life with a vibrant display of photography for Earth Day 2024 The Marine Conservation Society has created a roundup of incredible ocean photography from the charity’s supporting photographers to mark Earth Day, which falls this year on 22 April with a focus on ‘Planet vs Plastics’, and a call for a 60 per cent reduction in plastics production by 2040. Plastics currently make up at least 80 per cent of all marine litter, and pose a significant threat to the health and survival of marine species throug ..read more

Challenge yourself with our moray eel quiz and see how well you know the different species. Score 75% or higher for a special discount! The post QUIZ: Moray Eels appeared first on DIVE Magazine ..read more

Secrets of the Octopus – a new must-watch documentary series from National GeographicA preview of Secrets of the Octopus, premiering this Earth Day (22 April) on National Geographic LIVE and Disney+ By Mark 'Crowley' Russell A new three-part documentary series is coming to National Geographic LIVE and Disney+ this Earth Day, offering a fantastic glimpse into the lives and behaviours of octopuses. Narrated by Paul Rudd and produced by film-maker and explorer, James Cameron, Secrets of the Octopus is presented and co-produced by National Geographic Explorer, Dr Alex Schnell, a marine biologist a ..read more

Bleached coral in the Maldives (Photo: The Ocean Agency/Ocean Image Bank)It’s official – scientists have announced that the second global mass coral bleaching event of the decade is underway Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), have announced that the fourth global mass coral bleaching event is underway, the fourth recorded since NOAA’s coral reef and sea temperature monitoring began in 1985, and the second in the last ten years. According to NOAA, bleaching-level heat stress, as remotely monitored and pr ..read more

The Claudia Gas sitting on the reef in Sharm El Sheikh (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Environment) By Mark 'Crowley' Russell A Libyan-flagged LPG tanker, the Claudia Gas, has been seized by Egyptian authorities after running aground on a coral reef in Sharm El Sheikh. The tanker was reportedly returning to Russia after unloading its cargo in Aqaba, Jordan, when it struck the fringing reef on the night of Friday, 12 April, prompting a state of emergency to be declared by Egypt’s Minister for the Environment, Dr Yasmine Fouad. The stranding coincided with Eid Al-Fitr, the celebration at the end of ..read more

Ocean Census’ deep sea submarine, Pisces VI (Photo: Ocean Census) The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, a global alliance dedicated to the discovery and protection of marine life, has announced it has been officially endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Programme. The UN Ocean Decade project is an initiative to complete 10 different challenges over the next ten years, with the aim of bringing humanity closer to the world’s oceans in order to better protect them, as outlined in its ‘Vision 2030‘ statement. In doing so, a series of collaborative expeditions have set out to discover as many new spe ..read more