A single bumphead parrotfish creates approximately 200lbs of sand every year. There are 120 (thereabouts) in this school at Sipadan who make around 24000lbs of sand, about the same weight as a school bus or three African Elephants. There's a link to a longer video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq9tdYfI8ys&t=7s. Thank you for the beaches bumpheads.

J'habite assez loin de la mer, donc j'ai décidé d'essayer la plongée sous-marine dans une piscine d'abord pour voir si ça me plairait avant de faire le trajet jusqu'à l'océan.
J'étais un peu nerveuse avant, mais dès que je suis sous l'eau, toute mon appréhension a disparu. C'était comme entrer dans un monde complètement différent. Tout était si calme et paisible, et mon esprit s'est complètement apaisé.
Je ne m'attendais franchement pas à aimer autant, même dans une piscine ! Maintenant, je suis encore plus enthousiaste à l'idée d'essayer la plongée dans l'océan !!!

Hi all,

For full disclosure my friend and I are planning a small place (a couple of villas and a caf) on the coast between Amed and Tulamben, opening in 2028. Nothing to sell yet, no name (this isn’t promotion). I'd rather build something people actually want than guess, so I'd love to hear especially from anyone who's stayed in the area.

The questions I have are:
(Answer as many or as few as you like)

Why did you go: diving, freediving, snorkelling, a quiet escape, something else?

Who were you with, and how long did you stay?

What did you love about the area?

What was missing or frustrating? Food, accommodation, things to do, getting there?

If you went with someone who didn't dive, how did they find it?

Roughly what did you pay per night, and did it feel like good value?

If there'd been a place that was perfect, what would have?

Thanks in advance! Constructive criticism is supper helpful for us!

Best,
Ben

Should i take the open water certification?
last week i did discovery scuba at a pool and kinda enjoy the course, i ask my instructor about discovery scuba at the sea but he said, "why not just take OW certification, so youre not wasting your money"
Whats the advantage and disadventage, because i cant really go to a diving trip every other month 😄

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a side project I wanted to share: a dive computer simulator that runs in your browser. It can be installed as a PWA on your computer or your phone to be used offline

Try it: https://antjac.github.io/DiveComputerSimulator/

(Source code: https://github.com/Antjac/DiveComputerSimulator)

The idea: you steer a diver in the water column, and watch in real time how different dive computers react, side by side: NDL, deco stops, ascent rate, alarms, tissue loading, gas consumption, oxygen toxicity.

26 models simulated, each one built from its official manual: Shearw Teric), Garmin (Descent Mk3i, X30, X50i), Suunto (D5, EON Core, ZoopNovo, Nautic), Mares (Puck Pro, Quad Ci, Quad 2, Quad Air, Genius), Scubapro (G2, G3, Luna 2.0 AI), Cressi (Goa, Donatello, DaVinci), Aqualung (i330R, i770R), SEAC (Screen, Tablet) and the Azoth Systems Odyssey.

What you can do with it:

• Push the buttons of the computer on screen: menus, screens and gas switches follow the real procedure of each model
• Make mistakes safely: blow your NDL, ascend too fast, skip a stop,ch computer's alarms, penalties and lockouts
• Understand every alarm: a bubble explains what the alert means on that computer and what to do
• Exercises for students (safety stop, deco stops, gas switch, repetitive dives…), a dive recap after each dive, a logbook, a replay of your dives, and a playful 3D view
• Multi-gas (up to two deco gases), boat breaks for repetitive dives, metric/imperial, works offline on your phone (installable app)

Important: this is an educational tool only. Never use it to plan or conduct a real dive. Algorithms marked ≈ are proprietary and only approximated, and even the public ones can differ from the real device. Always follow your training and your own computer's manual.

It's free, no ads, no account, no tracking, and open source (AGPL).
I'd really love feedback, especially from people who own one of these computers: if you spot a difference with your real device (a wording, a threshold, a screen), tell me. I'll fix it and log it in the changelog. Instructors: I'd be curious to in your courses.

Thanks for reading, and safe diving!

I'm a new diver. Just got certified last weekend. I had a real problem with my ears. The first dive each day was ok, but on the second no matter what I would do I couldn't always get my ears to equalize easily. As a result my ears still feel kind of plugged up(no pain, just blocked) Do ear plugs like "surf ears" help with this? I had such a great time but if I have ear trouble each time that will make me not want to dive.

Title says it all. I'm currently in Thailand for work, I know it's the shoulder season for diving the Adaman, but. Since I'm Phuket I feel I have an easy chance to do a live aboard once I wrap up work.

The current dive itinerary would include the similan islands and richelieu rock. I forget the other dives, but these are the main two I care about.

How bad will the visibility be, is it worth the $2k CAD to dive when the weather is still rainy and lightning is really common? Can we dive when there's lightning??

The live aboard leaves tomorrow and I need to book now.

I'm brand new and have 14 dives, but I'm from Vancouver BC where I'm used to viz being kinda shit.

Any help is appreciated

Hello! Newly certified in open water diving. I was considering going to Bonaire as my next diving trip. Specifically have been looking at Divi Flamingo. There are some packages with unlimited shore diving. My question is: does the shore diving include a dive master coming along with you? My friends and I have literally no dives under our belt besides our training ones and from my research online it seems like you just go on your own with your buddy.
If a dive master does not normally go with you, is there an option where you can hire one to go with you?

Hey scuba fam. I live on Oahu and I just got my AOW. I want to get more dives under my belt, and not necessarily at an advanced level. What are your must-do dives off of Oahu?

Hi

Another end of the year approaching, another rip off from Padi.
How is it possible that we still are on board to pay Padi to teach and sell their business? In today’s world the salaries barely meet our daily expenses (specially if you have a family) and having to pay 341€ per year (OWSI + efr) is just a scam!!!! It’s half of my salary!!
Unfortunately, where I live Padi is my only option to work as an instructor so changing agencies doesn’t work for me. But shouldn’t we be gathering and stand up to them? Any ideas on how to approach this or do you know if there’s any group already working on this?
Having to spend 341€ with a salary that I can barely keep some savings, trying to survive with kids on today’s world it just makes me furious.

I'm planning on diving Anilao in February, at the moment looking at 5 days of diving, and will have probably another 5 or 6 days in which I can possibly visit another dive destination, any recommendations?

I've been to PH before so I understand that a lot of the destinations require extensive travel whether it is by plane/car/ferry, but I'd prefer if an additional location don't require an extra 6 to 9 hours of road travel, so places like Malapascua won't be on the menu, and is a location I'd base my whole trip around in the future.

So basically a flight from Manila to wherever and then an accessible location on the next island, less than say 3 hours by road for example.

Edit: What does eceryone think of Romblon as an option, it is a long ferry ride from Batangas, but it is overnight and no need for a plane journey. Apparently the diving is quite good as well. Anyone been before?

Some dive figures who’ve been around long time in the industry and who have 70k+ followers were recently called out for very serious allegations, and there’s been a wave following from other women who’ve experienced similar things within the dive industry.

https://www.instagram.com/karmaisaroundthekorner?xtok=ZWx0aG44ODNuc2J5

Hey everyone! I’m planning a scuba diving trip to Thailand in mid-December and would love some recommendations.
I’m looking for a premium 2-day, 1-night scuba diving trip, ideally with around 6–7 dives in total.
My main priorities are:
Crystal-clear water and excellent underwater visibility.
Colourful marine life, beautiful coral reefs, and a chance to see something truly special.
A premium experience with good equipment, professional dive instructors, and a well-organised trip.
I’m asking because I don’t want to end up at an overrated tourist spot when there might be some hidden gems offering a much better diving experience.
Could you recommend any reliable websites or dive operators to book through? I’d especially appreciate recommendations from people who have personally done these trips and can share their honest experiences.
I’m open to lesser-known destinations as long as the diving experience is worth it. If you know a hidden gem with stunning underwater scenery and rich marine biodiversity, please let me know!