January 2021

Two more dive shows postponed

On Friday 29 Jan and only a few hours apart, we received similar updates from the organisers of the New Jersey-based Beneath the Seas dive show and the Swedish Dive Show, Dykmässen, which in recent years have been taken place in Gothenburg in the Swedish West coast. Both announced that they will be postponing their respective events until next year due to the restrictions being imposed because of the pandemic.

Beneath the Seas writes:

Press Release

North Atlantic right whale
North Atlantic right whale

Good news for north Atlantic right whales in southeastern US

As at the end of January 2021, 68 north Atlantic right whales have been spotted in the waters off the coast of southeastern United States, a number that wildlife officials in Florida describe as “encouraging.”

Three of these are young calves that have been spotted for the first time.

The mothers of these calves are a 12-year-old whale named Champagne, a 19-year-old named Infinity and a 14-year-old with no recorded name (but is known simply as Catalog #3720).

The Maldives' Deep South Atolls

Snorkelers can swim with whale sharks at Gaafu
Snorkelers can swim with whale sharks at Gaafu

We were in Addu, the second largest “city” in the Maldives and capital of the southernmost atoll. Located 45 miles below the equator, and 540km south of Malé, this is the most remote of the 26 atolls that, scattered along almost 900km of the Indian Ocean, make up the archipelago of the Maldives.

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Triples in Size

Photo credit: G.P. Schmahl/NOAA

Moving forward, this expansion means increased protections for important species and habitats. The expansion areas will be home to future conservation work and support resource protection, recreation and stewardship for local communities and the country. In particular, the sanctuary’s expansion provides an excellent opportunity to: 

Fourth Element states it creates "products that perform in the world's most extreme environments"

Fourth Element is recruiting!

The candidate would join the current Marketing Team to help expand and develop the company’s online capabilities to support their continued growth.

We create products that perform in the world’s most extreme environments as well as working to minimise our impact on the planet and our oceans. — Fourth Element

The successful candidate should have an enthusiastic approach to driving sales through creative marketing, be a team player and share the company’s ambitions of sustainability and passion for the marine environment.

Felicitas Mine

Dive team member sheds light on old mining equipment left in Felicitas Mine.
Dive team member sheds light on old mining equipment left in Felicitas Mine.

The more time passes, the less the distance is that separates one from the object of one’s desire—in this case, it was a place. With time spent seeking, observing, studying, writing and pinning drafts of questions, all waiting for an answer, I decided to follow a line of inquiry into diving an old German slate mine in Schmallenberg (east of Düsseldorf) to understand its feasibility, aesthetic beauty and historical meaning.