Often spotted scurrying across the ocean floor or peering out from their carefully constructed burrows, alien-like mantis shrimp are always a joy to see. These intriguing, carnivorous crustaceans come in a wide range of sizes and colours, and although some live in temperate waters, most…
It's all about the fingernails . Don't worry, we're not talking about getting a pre-dive manicure, we're talking about how to differentiate a dugong from a manatee. While both are commonly referred to as 'sea cows,' dugongs and manatees are different species, and if you happen across one…
The somewhat elusive mako shark is one of the ocean's top predators. These speed merchants have evolved to hunt some of the fastest fish in our oceans, live throughout the world's tropical and temperate oceans and have a very impressive family tree. Spending much of their time in the open…
Just as a seahorse is not a horse, a jellyfish is not a fish. These misunderstood creatures play an important role in the aquatic ecosystem, and while there are a few species that can inflict a painful sting, the vast majority harmlessly float by on the ocean's currents. As one of the oldest…
For many divers, their first glimpse of a shark will be a whitetip reef shark. Not to be mistaken for oceanic whitetips, whitetip reef sharks can often be seen resting on the seabed during the day and offer little, if any, threat to humans. As one of the most common sharks found on dive…
For DiCaprio, it was Titanic. For Scarlett Johansson, it was Lost in Translation. Since 2003, when Pixar cast a clownfish in the lead role of one of its blockbuster animated films, dive guides and instructors the world over have been inundated with requests to 'find Nemo.' Luckily, these…
While the thought of an 18-hour journey to visit a part of France may sound odd, especially to those based in next-door neighbour England, French Polynesia is a far cry from northern Europe. The 121 tropical islands and atolls spread across the South Pacific are an overseas collectivity of…
For those that like their dive sites the same way that Joseph liked his coats - amazing and in technicolour - the stunning south Pacific archipelago of Fiji has all that you desire and much, much more. The reefs in Fiji are bathed in soft corals of every shade, and its waters are inhabited…
The Belize Barrier Reef forms the southern part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest coral reef system in the world, and includes a number of idyllic, small islands, collectively known as the Pelican Cays. The barrier reef follows the 240 miles of Belizean coastline,…
The country's name, which means 'rich coast' in Spanish, was (by some accounts) first applied by Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the eastern shores of Costa Rica during his final voyage in 1502. There will be little argument from any diver who has had the fortune of diving below the…