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Recreational diving is very popular with tourists in the UK and abroad, especially in areas with coral reefs. There are an estimated 23 million scuba divers worldwide and industry leaders say the activity is growing at a pace of about one million extra devotees every year.
Scuba diving takes place for both recreational and scientific purposes. Divers have helped gather data for globally important research projects, such as Seabed 2030, which is an ambitious plan to map all the world's oceans.
Recreational scuba diving
Across the UK, there are many unique scuba diving spots, in different environments. One of the most famous destinations for divers is Scapa Flow, in Orkney - an archipelago off the northeast tip of the Scottish coast.
The wrecks of 52 German Naval ships from World War II attract divers from all over the world. A favourite is Blockship Tabarka, voted one of Europe’s best diving sites. Easily accessible at depths of 14 to 18 metres in crystal clear water, it is covered in sea life.
Farne Islands, off the Northumberland Coast, are among the most hazardous shipping areas around Britain. Scuba divers can explore dozens of wrecks, alongside anemones, fish and crustaceans. The site is also home to a large 5,000-strong grey seal colony. Some are very curious about divers and have been known to swim right up to them!
Capernwray is one of the world's most unique inland diving centres. Situated just outside Lancaster, the flooded quarry pit is filled with many interesting attractions, including a minesweeper, a 120-seater plane, a helicopter, a cannon and even two giant plastic horses from Blackpool Pleasure Beach at a depth of 18 metres.
The Manacles, off Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula, has amazing pinnacles, drop-offs and reefs covered with jewel anemones and Gorgonian Sea fans. More than 110 shipwrecks are found here, at depths of between eight and 80 metres.
Can anyone scuba dive?
Anyone can learn to scuba dive, but for health and safety reasons, it isn't advisable without any training.
If you're interested in becoming an underwater explorer, contact a diving school registered with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors to book some lessons. Unlock the door to new adventures by completing a scuba certification course.
Once you've completed a beginners' course, you can go on to take an intermediate course and higher training levels.
What equipment would you need?
A reputable diving school will tell you about the equipment you'll need to scuba dive safely. This will include a reliable wetsuit, a high-quality diving mask, fins to get you through the water, depth gauge, submersible pressure gauge, compass, diving cylinder, tank bangers for communication and quality diving footwear.
You will also need a good-quality, durable, water-resistant trunk to store your scuba diving gear. This is the case, whether you're a beginner or a scuba instructor.
How does recreational diving affect coral reefs?
Recreational diving can have a negative impact on coral reefs, leading to the scuba diving industry adopting environmentally responsible policies. While diving as a leisure activity provides important economic activity for coastal communities, this must be countered with the potential for coral reef damage at heavily dived locations.
A survey in 2016 revealed 88% of scuba divers admitted to having made contact with a reef at least once per dive. Statistics such as this have led leading organisations worldwide to support the Green Fins initiative, launched by the Reef World Foundation.
The aim is to create a sustainable diving industry by asking participants to follow environmental guidelines to protect and conserve coral reefs. PADI has worked with the Reef World Foundation since 2018 to realise the potential of a global industry supporting people, the planet and profit.
Scientific diving
Coral reefs are some of the ocean's most threatened ecosystems. Vulnerable to rising sea temperatures, pollution and carbon dioxide emissions dissolving in the water; they house about 25% of marine species, so these would be under threat if coral reefs disappeared.
Up to 50% of the world's coral reefs have been lost or severely damaged to date, including 14% lost due to the ocean warming caused by climate change in just under a decade, according to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
Surprisingly, a giant coral reef described as being "pristine" was discovered off Tahiti in November 2021 and announced in the press in January 2022. The 3 km long reef, at a depth of 30 metres, is "remarkable", according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, which led the mission. There is no evidence of any damage to the coral reef, which is estimated to have formed over the past 25 years.
The discovery was made during a diving expedition for the international seabed-mapping mission, the Seabed 2030 Project. Now researchers are finding out what species live around this huge reef. Investigations will continue over the coming months.
Seabed 2030 is a joint research project being carried out by Japan's Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans. The aim is to collect all available data to create a definitive map of the world's ocean floor by 2030.
The project is part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal to sustainably use and conserve our oceans and marine resources.
Volunteer diver-scientists
In 2017, it was revealed 250 diver-scientists had been carrying out underwater research for the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, at the University of Tasmania, as part of the Reef Life Survey. This global network of volunteer divers had been recruited in 2014 and was trained to conduct scientific surveys into ocean life.
Working free of charge, a combination of divers and scientists studied the impact of humans on marine life, as there was insufficient financial backing to conduct such a large-scale survey otherwise.
The team collected observations of more than 4,000 species of macroscopic organisms in the oceans around 44 countries. They each had at least 50 dives under their belt before being sent down to gather data.
The major undersea project had various challenges, not least of which was keeping the scientific gear safe in water-resistant trunks after data was recorded on underwater sheets and later transferred to Excel forms.
Published in the journal Science Advances in October 2017, the results concluded that marine biodiversity was highest in the coral reefs of the tropics. Global warming was recognised as a major threat that could cause coral reefs and marine life to seriously decline.