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For news, articles and updates on scuba diving, travel and the marine environment.

Fish certification scheme shows its true colours

Several landmark studies have, over the past 20 years, highlighted the problem of mislabelled fish. One-third of fish on sale in the US is not the species it is sold as, and one-quarter of cod and haddock sold in Ireland is neither of these. Now an exercise in eco-forensics has found that the certification scheme run by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a global not-for-profit organisation, offers a way of ensuring you get what you think you're buying.

Teenage drivers: why whales smash into boats

Not just humans

Update: Diving Thailand

More on the dive sites and operators of Thailand is now on the SCUBA Travel site at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/.

Fishing skews sex ratios in fish

Population crashes in many species of reef fish may be linked to an excess of males brought about by fishing - and imposing quotas won't remedy the situation. In many species, particularly those where individuals can change their sex, each fish produces fewer young as the population density drops. The research suggests that marine protected areas are a better strategy for conserving populations than fishing quotas. Protected areas maintain the density of populations whereas quotas may still allow populations to decline, increasing the rate of sex change.

New 'walking' fishes discovered in Gulf oil-spill zone

Two new fish species - with pancake-flat bodies, wiggling lures on their faces, and elbowed fins for "walking" on the seafloor - have been discovered in the path of spewing Gulf of Mexico oil.

Latest issue of SCUBA News now On-line

Includes competition to win a dive light, disabled diving in the Red Sea, Harlequin Ghost Pipefish, diving South Africa, underwater Australia photo gallery plus diving and marine research news from around the world.

Submarine robots learn teamwork

Studying the deep ocean floor is cumbersome, expensive and dangerous. The majority of exploration efforts have to employ an autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV), which works without control cables. But many AUVs are specialised, they cannot travel far alone and they can only provide a narrow range of data. Moreover, there are few AUVs and the unexplored kilometres of ocean are many. The work of one European project, however, has the potential to dramatically increase the range and functionality of the world's AUV fleet using networking technologies and software.

Super goby helps salvage ocean dead zone

A resilient fish is thriving in an inhospitable, jellyfish-infested region off Africa's south-west coast. And crucially it is helping to keep the local ecosystem going, and to preserve an important fishery.

Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland

Rising seas from global warming, coming after years of coral reef destruction, are forcing thousands of indigenous Panamanians to leave their ancestral homes on low-lying Caribbean islands.

Antidepressants in sea may damage food chain

Second-hand Prozac in waste water could be sending shrimps' swimming patterns haywire, making them easy targets for predators. 'Crustaceans are crucial to the food chain and if shrimps' natural behaviour is being changed because of antidepressant levels in the sea this could seriously upset the natural balance of the ecosystem.

Right whales yell over the ocean din

To cope with the blitzing level of noise in today's oceans, North Atlantic right whales are calling louder to each other. It is the first time a baleen whale has been observed compensating for the din in this way.

Whales and humans linked by 'helpful grandmothers'

Scientists have discovered an evolutionary reason why humans and whales both have grandmothers. As post-menopausal females age, the researchers say, they become increasingly interested and helpful in rearing their "grandchildren". This could help explain why female great apes and toothed whales (cetaceans) have lifespans that extend long beyond their reproductive years.

Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Efforts Miss the Mark

Conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered Caribbean corals may be overlooking regions where corals are best equipped to evolve in response to global warming and other climate challenges.

Activists liberate 800 bluefin tuna

Environmental activists from the Sea Shepherd group say they have "liberated" some 800 bluefin tuna that had been caught by what they described as poachers and were being towed by two fishing vessels off the coast of Libya. Five scuba divers on Thursday afternoon cut open a circular holding net filled with fish below legal weight and caught after the fishing season closed.

Aqua Lung America Recalls Apeks Power Inflators

Aqua Lung America are recalling Apeks WTX Power Inflators as the oral inflator button is not properly bonded to the oral stem and can fall off during use. This poses a leak of the buoyancy compensator contents and could result in drowning.