Table of contents for 1/2023 - 126 in Scuba Diver/Asian Diver

CoCo Tie Dye On a small island with limited natural resources, CoCo Tie Dye works on eco-focused projects using coconuts found abundantly across the island. They use the discarded husks to make the dye, after which the remaining mulch is used to fertilise the soil, so nothing is wasted. This cottage industry provides income for local people, and customers can even partake in making their own unique souvenirs. Jai, founder and creator, is also part of the land and water conservation community that initiates projects to protect the environment around Koh Tao. She developed the concept during the COVID pandemic when all the island businesses had to shut down. She wanted to create something unique from Koh Tao, where visitors could enjoy an activity that is environmentally conscious and sustainable.…

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT Displayed in the full spectrum of colours, the region is so blessed with some of the richest waters for marine biodiversity that Jacques Cousteau described it as an “untouched piece of art… a jewel”. SIPADAN Formed over thousands of years by living coral growing on top of an extinct volcano, this little island off the east coast of Borneo is usually the first destination divers want to go to when planning a dive trip to Malaysia. Deep water currents bring in the nutrients that support one of the richest marine habitats in the world. Be prepared for turtles, grey and whitetip reef sharks, and the world-famous swirling schools of barracuda and jacks. MABUL AND KAPALAI Diving in Sipadan often means also diving the nearby Mabul Island and the…

For those looking to experience the best diving in Australia, heading to one of its many islands is a must. Here are eight of the best island dive locations in Australia that are sure to leave you mesmerised. Lord Howe Island Diving at Lord Howe Island is an unforgettable experience, with its crystal-clear waters, diverse marine life, and stunning underwater scenery. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the Tasman Sea, approximately 600 kilometres east of mainland Australia. One of the main attractions for divers is the world-famous Balls Pyramid, a towering sea stack that rises up from the ocean floor to over 550 metres high. The sea stack is home to a diverse range of marine life, including grey nurse sharks, kingfish, and schools…

TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF EMERGENCIES An important part of being prepared for emergencies is being a DAN member. Regardless of where or when an emergency takes place, DAN can be instrumental in facilitating medical care and, if needed, evacuation. In addition, having dive accident insurance can defray substantial expenses. With more than 40 years of experience helping divers, DAN takes the guesswork out of emergencies. NADIA’S STORY Nadia, a long-time DAN member, was no stranger to international travel, spending several months every year diving or snorkelling. During a recent trip to a remote Pacific island, Nadia spent a day snorkelling only to wake up the following day with a large, swollen bump behind her ear. She wasn’t too concerned with the swelling and went to a local pharmacy, thinking…

1 SCUBAPRO SEAWING SUPERNOVA The ultimate in build, fit, versatility and performance The Seawing Supernova’s innovative two-piece design, blade and foot pocket are moulded separately for portability, and there’s even an option for a full-foot pocket for diving in warm water. Its central panel membrane and innovative blade shape produces more power and manoeuvrability with little effort, and the Monpreen Elastomer construction will give you the long-lasting durability and control you would expect from a top-performing fin. A drawstring bag and multi-tool are included. www.scubapro.com 2 NAUTICAM EXTENDED MACRO WIDE LENS (EMWL) Mind-blowing “bugeye” perspectives of macro life Built to work with several popular macro lenses from different camera brands and optimised for both stills and video, the EMWL allows you to get creative with your shots. Its wet-mount, modular…

DIVING IN KOH TAO Koh Tao’s dive sites offer a wide range of environments, from deep offshore pinnacles to calm, sandy bays. The underwater scenery has coral-encrusted rock pinnacles, vibrant reefs and shipwrecks complete with colourful reef fish, schools of barracuda, yellow snapper, and trevally. Lucky divers can even catch glimpses of whale sharks or eagle rays cruising by. Sail Rock This impressive pinnacle is a great way to begin your dives around this tiny island. Entering through a “chimney” in the shallows will portal you into the underwater world below. This is an easy site to navigate. Look out for whale sharks and bull sharks, too! Southwest Pinnacles This row of pinnacles offers wall dives with schooling snapper, trevally, and barracuda in the blue. The shallower points are carpeted…

There are literally hundreds of dive sites in Indonesia, so this is just a taster of what to expect when you book your dive holiday! “The macro life, coral diversity and schooling fish are the main attractions and best accessed via liveaboard.” ALOR This small island north of West Timor offers world-class dives that are far, far away from the madding crowd. The macro life, coral diversity and schooling fish are the main attractions and best accessed via liveaboard. Kal’s Dream All the action takes place on a seamount where swarms of Anthias, schools of fusiliers, surgeonfish and snappers go about their day. Grey reef sharks, barracudas and rays also feature prominently here. Sharks Galore Just from the name, you’ll know what to expect on a dive like this! Dog-toothed…

THE SHEER VARIETY OF UNDERWATER LANDSCAPES The country stretches from north to south with some 6,000 islands, and because of the long distance between Hokkaido in the north and southerly Okinawa, the huge difference in the climate and temperature of the water presents a variety of underwater landscapes with many different types of marine creatures living there. A DYNAMIC AND COMPLEX TOPOGRAPHY Over 70 percent of the country’s landscape consists of mountains, many of which are volcanic. The underwater seascape is no different. Dominated by volcanic rock formations and deep trenches that are constantly shaped by tectonic movements and volcanic activity, the underwater topography is complex and dynamic. OKINAWA Great visibility, big animals, stunning seascapes and sheer number of dive sites are just some of the reasons people come from…

Booking a trip on a liveaboard is the ideal way to get the most of your dives and to experience the best Maldives has to offer. But spending carefree days in a resort can be a great plan too – there’ll be time to sunbake on some of the world’s best beaches and most resorts offer scuba diving as well. There are hundreds of sites around the country that offer amazing dives. These are just a few to whet your appetite! Banana Reef, North Malé Atoll This was one of the first dive sites discovered in the Maldives and is now protected. Just 15 minutes away from Hulhumalé, the curved reef features caves, canyons and overhangs sheltering sharks, trevallies, snappers, and barracuda, while sweetlips add colour and dimension to the…

Situated off the coast of Queensland, Australia, the SS Yongala wreck is a hauntingly tragic maritime disaster that has become an alluring and captivating dive site for adventurers worldwide. For more than a century (just a year shy of the Titanic), this sunken vessel has served as a flourishing ecosystem and an enthralling playground for divers. The Tragic End The SS Yongala was a passenger ship that sank in 1911 during a cyclone, taking with it all 122 passengers and crew. For decades, the wreck lay undiscovered, until it was finally located in 1958. As you venture deeper into this protected site, the colossal steel structure of the wreck gradually emerges from the blue like a ghostly apparition, adorned with a kaleidoscope of vibrant corals and bustling with marine creatures.…

“Blackwater diving is done best with a guide who is experienced in the technique and knows how to spot the creatures likely to be encountered.” This is my absolute favourite type of diving. Originating in Kona, blackwater diving it involves heading out, at times, miles offshore into the open ocean, where the water could be thousands of metres deep, at night. An incredible exchange of ocean life happens here, with an infinite number of marine organisms ascending the water column from the dark ocean depths. These include jellyfish called siphonophores, the special Hawaiian seahorse (Hippocampus fisheri) locally known as “Lio Kai”, squid, crustaceans, and other bizarre and exotic creatures not typically seen on regular dives, which make this migration every night. Relatively new, this type of diving is gaining popularity…

This year’s annual Spotlight Koh Tao festival, celebrated at Sairee Beach in April, focused on sustainable tourism. It aimed to shine a light on preserving Nature, and developing the green economy, community power and responsible tourism management. Supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Koh Tao Tourism Association and several local businesses, the event saw visitors take part in conservation activities that included coral restoration, beach and land cleanups, beach activities, the Koh Tao Green Market, and a mini dive and adventure expo. Responsible Tourism for Sustainability President of the Koh Tao Tourism Association, Mrs Rumluek Assavachin, said their goal is to “create a new image of the world’s leading dive destination as a centre for learning about social and environmental best practices and responsibilities”. She hopes this…

Truly Unique It is not that the animals living here cannot be seen anywhere else, but that it is truly unique to be able to find so much variety in such a small space. When you are a resident in Lembeh, you have to be careful not to forget how special this place is. Every day, our guests come back from their dives and tell us excitedly about their encounters with hairy frogfish, mimic octopuses, blue-ring octopuses, harlequin shrimps, Rhinopias, or other rare marine life, not to mention the countless shrimps, crabs, nudibranchs and fish. What’s So Special About Lembeh? Well, first of all, North Sulawesi is right in the centre of the centre of the Coral Triangle, the marine area with the greatest biodiversity on our planet. The black…

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF The world’s largest coral reef system stretches over 2,300 kilometres along the northeastern coast – big enough to be visible from space! This marine protected area is home to over 1,500 species of fish, 600 types of corals and thousands of other marine creatures. It is also the breeding ground for six species of turtles. The reef system was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Cod Hole Named after the massive but friendly potato cods on the outer edge of the reef, this site offers excellent visibility that shows off the vibrant reef life, including turtles, rays, reef sharks and countless species of reef fish. Ribbon Reefs Easily accessible by liveaboard, this stunning area is covered in corals that attract creatures great and small.…

A DIVER’S PARADISE Fiji is home to some of the planet’s prettiest, healthiest and most colourful soft corals, blooming across 300 islands and atolls entwined in a complex system of barrier reefs. The area supports about 1,000 species of fish, hundreds of coral and sponge species, and an infinite array of crustaceans, molluscs, anemones, worms and other invertebrates. Cave divers have also discovered underwater cave systems, and the wrecks from WWII make for some exciting exploration dives. GREAT ASTROLABE REEF This is the fourth largest coral reef system in the world and is located off the southern coast of Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu. Its incredibly diverse marine life includes 12 species of whales and dolphins, and numerous species of sharks and rays. Ranging from shallow coral gardens to…

Fakarava – Next on the List Aptly coined “Pearl of the South Pacific”, French Polynesia is home to 118 islands and atolls scattered across an impressive nautical surface area the size of Western Europe. From the famous tourist island of Bora Bora, to the diver’s heaven of Rangiroa, French Polynesia has it all. But the one atoll less travelled that is quickly finding its way onto every diver’s bucket list is Fakarava. Located about 430 kilometres northeast of Tahiti, Fakarava is the second-largest atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is essentially a huge 1,000-plus-square-kilometre lagoon with two main passes that lead out to the open sea, one in the north, and the other in the south. This is the famous Tumakohua Pass, which everyone is talking about, and for good…

I first fell in love with South Africa when I dived the famous Sardine Run. Since then, I’ve returned multiple times – to dive the run again, and also along the coastline. Whether you’re an experienced scuba diver or someone looking to get into the world of diving, here are my favourite spots to scuba dive in South Africa, from Cape Town, all the way up the Wild Coast to KwaZulu-Natal. Cape Town The entire Western Cape, particularly Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula, has an abundance of dive sites for scuba, snorkelling and freediving. Simon’s Town is a hub for many operators (including Pisces Divers and Dive Team Cape Town) that visit dive sites in False Bay daily. Grab your gear and explore Windmill Beach and Miller’s Point on…

KEY FINDINGS The Reef-World Foundation leads the global implementation of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative, which focuses on driving environmentally friendly scuba diving and snorkelling practices across the industry globally. Their key findings include a strong demand for sustainability education, that divers are willing to pay more for dive centres committed to sustainable practices and conservation, and that they want transparency about how dive operations present themselves as “eco-friendly”. “The Reef-World Foundation leads the global implementation of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative” MAIN ISSUES Both tourists and professionals feel there is a lack of education and awareness about proper environmental training in the industry and local communities. Tourists, especially, expect dive professionals to be trained in basic marine biology and sustainable diving skills, apart from the…