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The wreckage was first discovered 56km south of Cairns in 35m of water by Cairns diver Kevin Coombs in 2013, but weather and planning challenges delayed the final dives to complete the investigation.

The A24-25 was part of a task force flying long‑range missions against Japanese shipping and submarines during World War Two. On 28 February 1943, Catalina A24-25 and its 11 aircrew were on a 17-hour mission to provide anti-submarine cover to a convoy heading for Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea.

The survey began in 1986 and is conducted every two to three years. It covers coastal waters from Florida, where coastal shark species concentrate during the winter and spring, north to Delaware, where many shark species migrate during spring and summer as more northerly waters warm. Following this migratory route, at this time of year, makes it easier to survey the whole population.

During their field work this summer NOAA scientists tagged 2,835 sharks, compared to the 1,831 tagged in the previous survey done in 2012.

Nanomia bijuga is part of a group of organisms, known as physonect siphonophores, a group of chain-like hydrozoan predators and a relative of jellies, anemones and corals.

The Flying Fortress took part in a raid on Palermo on April 18 1943 when it was attacked by several German ME-110 fighters that knocked out one of its engines. The aircraft, part of the 353rd Bomber Squadron of the American air force, crashed into the sea, with the loss of all nine crew.

The WW2 bomber was found a few months ago by a group Italian divers who are part of a project called “Shadows of the Deep”, which aims to locate the wrecks of planes and boats off Sicily.

Every summer, hundreds of whale sharks gather off the Yucatan Coast near the Mexican tourist hubs of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox. The sharks congregate 32 km offshore to gorge on the eggs of a fish called the little tunny, skimming them from the ocean’s surface with enormous, gaping mouths. In recent years, the spectacle has attracted legions of tourists to snorkel alongside the graceful, slow-moving giants.

Such crabs have specially evolved to a more compact size so that they can hide in the nooks and small spaces within the coral reefs.

However, as coral reefs are being progressively lost worldwide (by as much as 80 percent in the Caribbean), these crabs risk losing their homes.

This conclusion was reached after Post Doctoral Associate Dr Adiël A. Klompmaker and his team compiled the body size measurements of 792 species of prehistoric crabs and lobsters, and concluded that habitat appears to be a factor in the evolution of crustacean size.

During their molting season, the concentration of methyl mercury in the seawater at Año Nuevo State Reserve was 17 times higher than normal. Scientists then found the toxin inside the shedded skin and hair that had been taken for analysis.

The mercury in the elephant seals comes from the fish and mussels they consume, which themselves have been exposed to high mercury levels in the seawater.

In the past, coral research has focused on radar and sonar mapping of the seafloor. With this kit, which is being used for the first time, biological samples can also be collected for analysis.

Currently on board the Okeanos Explorer’s Hohonu Moana, the compact kit can quickly extract tissues and preserve the sample’s DNA for analysis. This enables scientists to archive large amounts of the genetic material. Doing so can reveal important information about the evolutionary relationships amongst species.

Developed by roboticists from Queensland University of Technology, this is the world's first robot designed to search and destroy (so to speak) the dreaded crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS). It does this by seeking them out, identifying them and then administering a lethal injection of bile salts.

Its creators, Dr Matthew Dunbabin and Dr Feras Dayoub, equipped the robot with GPS, stereoscopic cameras for depth perception, thrusters to improve stability, pitch-and-roll sensors as well as the pneumatic injection arm.

Back when intrepid men donned hard hats to plumb the depths, they didn’t leave the surface without a trusty sheath knife. Wood-handled beauties like the brass-encased Morse MK V are works of art, and they make a great collectors item. But I can’t imagine any reason why I’d take one underwater.

Near sanctuary zones at Mangrove Bay and Coral Bay, marine biologists tagged 83 reef sharks. They then tracked the sharks' movements in order to find out how much protection the marine park provides the sharks. Over a two-year period, the movements of blacktip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and sicklefin lemon sharks at Ningaloo Reef were examined.