SCUBA News 296
(ISSN 1476-8011)
March 2025

Diving Albania: A new European frontier for Scuba An expanding area for diving with many wrecks, caves and caverns to be explored LEARN MORE...

Scuba Diving British Virgin Islands: Your Guide to the Best Spots Sharks are protected, wrecks abundant, chimneys and rocky formations to be explored - what's not to like? READ MORE...

8 Amazing Wreck Dives in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is best known for its spectacular coral reefs and rich marine biodiversity, but it is also home to many fascinating historic shipwrecks. SEE WHERE...

6 Great Liveaboard Deals - Save up to 50%

More liveaboard diving deals, to some of the best diving destinations in the world, specially selected for us by Divebooker.com, the liveaboard specialists.

1. Felicity, Maldives. SAVE 50%. A traditional Turkish gulet, the Felicity is full of character. There are 7 cabins with private en-suite bathrooms and air-conditioning for 10-14 guests. The large open deck has ample space for relaxing. There is a covered outdoor dining area where meals are served family-style and an outdoor lounge. The boat's bow has loungers for sun lovers to soak up the rays. Indoors is an air-conditioned lounge and dining area. Read our article about whaleshark research on the Felicity or book now.

   

   Half price Maldives diving

2. Jelajahi Laut, Indonesia SAVE 35%. Six cabins accomodating up to 14 divers. Visiting remote Maluku and West Papua.



Save Now

3. Argo, Egypt. SAVE 30% in May. Visit the famous Daedalus, Zabargad, Rocky Island and my favourite, Elphinstone.

   

   GET DEAL

4. Caribbean Explorer II: Saba, St. Kitts and St. Maarten, up to 32% off.

   

   Save 32%

5. Calypso, Galapagos, SAVE 30%. The top destination on the planet for pelagic species and a healthy marine environment. Swept by both the cold and warm water currents, the Galapagos is where polar meets tropical which is reflected in the marine life. The northern islands of Darwin and Wolf have the largest shark biomass in the world. A must-visit destination for experienced divers.

   

   Save Now

6. Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago . After a long break, Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago is back on the diving map. With over 800 islands, it offers some of Southeast Asia's best diving, featuring iconic sites like Black Rock and Western Rocky, renowned for their pristine underwater landscapes and diverse marine life. Liveaboards depart from Thailand and are selling out fast.

   

   Book

See more liveaboard deals to some of the best diving in the world - Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Cocos Islands...

Creature of the Month: The Sea Snake

With the most potent venom of all snakes, you'll mostly find sea snakes in shallow, tropical waters.

Sea snake photographed by Lady Bowen Island, Australia. Tim Nicholson

Sea snakes only drink fresh water

It has been a long-standing dogma that all sea snakes satisfy their drinking needs with seawater, their internal salt glands filtering and excreting the salt. However, scientists have now found that sea snakes refuse to drink saltwater even if thirsty - and then would drink only freshwater or heavily diluted saltwater.

The research may help explain why sea snakes tend to have patchy distributions and are most common in regions with abundant rainfall.

DepositPhotos

One theory is that sea snakes that spend their lives in the open ocean drink water from the "lens" of freshwater that sits atop saltwater during and after rainfall, before the two have had a chance to mix. That would explain why some seawater lagoons, where the waters are calmer due to protection from reefs, are home to dense populations of sea snakes - the freshwater lens persists for longer periods before mixing into saltwater.

Most sea snakes never return to the land from the sea. The exception is sea kraits which come ashore to lay eggs.

Banded Sea Krait, Laticauda colubrina, swims along a shallow limestone wall in Raja Ampat's rock islands. DepositPhotos

70 Species of sea snake

Of the 15 living families of snakes, four contain marine species. Altogether there are 70 known species of sea snake.

Only bite when provoked

The bite of the sea snake is painless. However, half an hour later stiffness, muscle aches and spasm of the jaw or pain in the bitten limb may occur. This can be followed by blurred vision, drowsiness and respiratory paralysis.

Sea snakes are are generally not agressive and will not bite unless provoked. Even then they tend not to use their venom, and their short fangs cannot penetrate a neoprene wetsuit. Although many are shy and will not approach divers, some can become very curious - swimming close to you to get a better look. If this happens to you remain calm and enjoy watching these elusive animals.

Diving news from around the World

Deadly Stings: Which fish cause divers the most pain? New research shows which fish most commonly sting divers, and which are the most painful. Read which and find remedies.

Spotted Snake Eel: The Red Sea's imposter fools divers and prey alike Seen sea snake in the Red Sea? It's actually a spotted snake eel. Find out why

Scuba divers better at assessing fish levels than harmful gillnet surveys Gillnetting is commonly used to assess fish levels, but it kills many of the fish it samples. New study finds surveys by divers provide comparable results without loss of fish life

The great whale pee funnel Whales move nutrients thousands of miles - in their urine - from as far as Alaska to Hawaii, supporting health of tropical ecosystems

Underwater mics and machine learning aid right whale conservation A safer and more cost-effective way to monitor this critically endangered species.

Marine litter has already reached the deepest point in the Mediterranean Sea The bottom of the Calypso Deep, a 5112-metre deep depression in the Ionian Sea, contains one of the highest concentrations of marine debris in the deep ocean

Ship pollution cuts mean less lightning at sea In 2020, new international regulations cut ships' sulfur emissions by 77%. Newly published research shows lightning over shipping lanes dropped by half almost overnight.

Red coral colonies survive a decade after being transplanted in the Medes Islands These colonies, seized years ago from illegal fishing, have found a second chance to survive and contribute to the recovery of the coral reef

Home sweet home: some great hammerhead sharks stick to the perfect neighborhood in the Bahamas instead of migrating Scientists tracking endangered great hammerhead sharks show that Andros Island, in the Bahamas, is a year-round refuge for some individuals that choose not to migrate

Award winning liveaboard destroyed by fire in Red Sea Emperor Divers reports that in the early hours of Thursday 13th March, Emperor Seven Seas was moored in Port Ghalib when a fire broke out. The fire could not be contained and all occupants had to be evacuated. Why does this keep happening?

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SCUBA News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. This means we are happy for you to reuse our material for both commercial and non-commercial use as long as you: credit the name of the author, link back to the SCUBA Travel website and say if you have made any changes. Most photos though, are copyright the photographer. Please get in touch for details.

Photo credits: Tim Nicholson, Jill Studholme, Tatiana Ivkovich, Rob Atherton/DepositPhotos, divebooker.com.

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The Cliff

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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)

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