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Ghost Net Recovery in the Baltic Sea

A ghost net at the stern of the Elbing IX floats 20m above the wreck, trapping and killing marine life
A ghost net at the stern of the Elbing IX floats 20m above the wreck, trapping and killing marine life

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of tons of ghost nets lie at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, often caught on shipwrecks, many of which are historical in significance. The Baltic Sea Heritage Rescue Project brings together volunteers from all over the world with the drive to locate, document and remove such ghost nets from wrecks in the Baltic Sea, thus saving marine life, protecting the wrecks and keeping their stories alive.

Finland: 17th to 19th-Century Wrecks at Hanko

Diver at port side of the figurehead wreck Osborn & Elisabeth in Hanko, Finland
Diver at port side of the wooden figurehead wreck Osborn & Elisabeth in Hanko, Finland

To help promote dive tourism in the Baltic Sea, the European Union’s Project Baltacar, a collaboration between Sweden, Finland and Estonia, has developed underwater heritage trails for visiting a selection of unique wreck sites in the three countries. In Finland, the project has established buoys and created dive site maps for a group of five wrecks from the 17th to the 19th centuries, located just outside Hanko. Susanne Lundvall reports.

The Generic Breathing Machine: Front-Mounted Rebreather Innovation

Gregory Borodiansky diving his Generic Breathing Machine (GBM), a front-mounted rebreather he invented
Gregory Borodiansky diving his Generic Breathing Machine (GBM), a front-mounted rebreather he invented

Technical diving instructor and inventor Gregory Borodiansky is qualified to dive 20 different rebreathers. He is also a rebreather instructor on many units and a rebreather instructor trainer. Since Borodiansky has a background in electronic engineering and computer science, he took the features he liked on each unit and designed a front-mounted rebreather. Larry Cohen reports.

Merlin's Sentience: The Story of a Sea Turtle

Merlin, the sea turtle, illustration by Ila France Porcher
Merlin, the sea turtle. Illustration by Ila France Porcher

Sighting a sea turtle on a dive is always a pleasure. However, few know much about what they are like as animals. Being reptiles, it is assumed that they are essentially on automatic—emotionless and thoughtless. But we changed our minds about that when Merlin came. Ila France Porcher relays the tale of rehabilitating a sick sea turtle in Tahiti, at a time when turtles were often hunted for food.

Beach scene on a sunny day
Being at or on the water can be great fun but be very wary of the amount of radiation you receive and mindful that the water will also reflect harmful UV rays.

Are You Confused About Risks of Tanning and Sunburns?

According to the survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, 63% of respondents reported getting a tan in 2021. Of the survey respondents who reported getting sunburned, 28% reported that their sunburn was severe enough that their clothes were uncomfortable. The top four places they were burned were their face (60%), arms (59%), shoulders (55%) and neck (41%).

Swimming and diving at Hon Mun Island in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Vietnam halts diving off popular island to protect coral

Recent photos taken off Hon Mun Island (also known as Ebony Island)—about 14km from the city of Nha Trang and popular with divers thanks to its diverse ecosystem—showed the reef bleached and damaged.

Consequently, the Nha Trang Bay management authority has decided to halt swimming and scuba diving activities in areas around Hon Mun Island, Macau News Agency reports.

In a statement, the authorities said the ban was to “evaluate the condition of the sensitive area so that an appropriate plan to enact the sea conservation area” could be made. 

Unidentified beaked whales sighted in Nemuro strait. Note the short beak, dark body colour, and sparse linear scars (photo taken by Hal Sato on 21 May 2009).
Unidentified beaked whales sighted in Nemuro strait. Note the short beak, dark body colour, and sparse linear scars (photo taken by Hal Sato on 21 May 2009).

First live sighting of elusive Sato's beaked whale

For decades, Japanese whalers have known of the existence of a whale species that resembles the Baird’s beaked whale, but is smaller in size. It was only in 2019 that DNA samples taken from deceased whales were able to confirm their existence.

The new species was named Sato’s beaked whales, after researcher Hal Sato, who sent photos of deceased stranded individuals to Tadasu Yamada, curator emeritus at Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science, in the early 2000s.