Seeking an Octopus in the Wild

Octopuses hole up in small dens, are quite excellent at camouflage and are most active at night, so not all divers have seen one on a dive. But biologist Matthew Birk, who studies octopuses, felt that never having seen one in the wild was a blemish on his career and sought to remedy the situation on a trip to Santa Catalina Island off Southern California.

Deep Diving for Fish

LUIZ ROCHA, PH.D., HAS BEEN A MAN ON A FISH MISSION since he was a young boy exploring the waters in his small coastal hometown in Brazil. He investigated tidepools, had fish tanks when he was 5 years old, and was declared a future scientist by his third-grade teacher …

Travel Smarter: Dive Resort Safety

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 …

Travel Smarter: Dive Resort Safety

SS Manasoo

NORTH AMERICA’S GREAT LAKES have long provided a natural transportation corridor to the continent’s interior. The Anishinaabe people — the region’s original inhabitants — utilized the Great Lakes for trade, […]

Kwajalein’s Shipwrecks

My friend Evan Gill pointed across the perfect beach to a spot about 650 feet offshore and casually said, “There’s a Japanese patrol boat from World War II,” as he leaned out of our golf cart. The ocean was an ideal blue and smooth as polished glass, not even lapping against the white sand.

Kwajalein Atoll aerial photo.

DAN Medic Exchange

The DAN Emergency Hotline provides 24/7 emergency medical assistance to divers worldwide without charge and regardless of DAN membership status. DAN medics and physicians working in shifts across different time zones make this continuous service possible, ensuring that a dive medical expert is always available.

DAN medic exchange

Using Travel Advisories

Smart travel begins with making informed decisions, and one of the most valuable tools available to U.S. citizens is the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Advisory system. These official notices outline potential risks and suggested safety measures to protect the welfare and security of U.S. citizens traveling abroad.

the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Advisory system on a laptop.

Beavers: Nature’s Ecosystem Engineers

In search of beavers, my colleagues and I followed the Cap-Chat River on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula to a village of immaculate, steep-roofed houses that shares the river’s name. Near the village a red- and white-striped gate blocked the road, and a forbidding sign read, “Zone d’Exploitation Contrôlée.”

beaver swimming

Member to Member: Giving Back

An ophthalmologist set up a team to perform eye surgeries in Grenada as a way to give back to the local community. More than 100 children received eye exams.

An ophthalmologist performs an eye test on a little girl in Grenada

Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer

Carbon monoxide (CO), an odorless, tasteless and invisible toxic gas that could find its way into your scuba cylinder, has caused the deaths of divers all around the world.

Old woman in a straw hat is smoking a cigarette in her garden