TO FIND THE FIRST DESCRIPTION OF A LARVAL PEARLFISH in the wild, I had to search back to the early 1980s annals of blackwater diving and Christopher Newbert’s account of drifting 40 feet down a lighted downline tethered to a dinghy bobbing on a night sea somewhere off the Kona, Hawaiʻi, coast. The story appeared […]
THE NEWEST EDITION OF DAN’S ANNUAL DIVING REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE. While the release of the 2020 report was delayed, it offers fascinating insights, statistics, and case summaries of recreational dive incidents and fatalities that occurred in 2018.
IT’S NO SECRET THAT CARIBBEAN REEFS ARE IN CRISIS. Many stony coral species face an uncertain destiny, and some scientific predictors point toward extinction in the near future for some species.
OXYGEN HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS THE PRIMARY FIRST AID for scuba diving injuries, specifically decompression sickness (DCS) and arterial gas embolism (AGE). Part of DAN’s mission is to ensure that oxygen first aid equipment …
DIFFERENT TERMS CAN SOMETIMES DESCRIBE the same piece of equipment in the dive industry. What some divers call a dive light, for example, others call a dive torch. They are physically identical, so the names are interchangeable without causing more than minor confusion at worst.
PLANNING A DIVE VACATION and all the associated details can be a frustrating endeavor. The logistics of obtaining gear, arranging transportation to and from dive sites, and booking a place to stay that can accommodate your needs requires …
My catering business in California was going well, but the more it grew, the more I was stressed and wanted to be underwater. Diving and photography were cathartic, and I kept coming back to Anilao in my mind.
MY FACE IS STARTING TO FEEL NUMB, but at least my body and toes are still warm. The way the sunlight dances through the towering kelp is enchanting, and I’m mesmerized by each brown sea nettle I see — their long, corkscrewed tentacles seem to dance in the water like ribbons in a gentle breeze. […]
THE ANCESTORS OF MODERN SEA TURTLES shared the oceans with ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs during the late Jurassic period 150 million years ago. Their descendants now inhabit reefs and oceans around the world.
My son is on the autism spectrum and wants to learn how to scuba dive. Will his autism be a problem? Everyone with autism is unique and must be evaluated independently. There will never be an all-inclusive recommendation. First, all decisions must be made by you, properly trained dive instructors, and the physicians who are […]