Vulnerable Animals Caught Between Nets, Noise, and Climate Change. Porpoises are the small, often inconspicuous inhabitants of our coastal waters—yet their situation is anything but unproblematic. In the Baltic Sea, particularly in the inland sea-like areas around Rügen and the Darß, this species faces a serious existential crisis.
Ghost nets—for many divers, they’re a distressing sight underwater. Tangled in shipwrecks, stretched across the seafloor, or drifting seemingly harmlessly—yet they’re deadly traps. Ever since the tragic case of the humpback whale “Timmy / Hope,” who made headlines with pieces of net stuck in its mouth, the issue has come to the attention of the general public. For us divers, this raises an important question: Can I help—and if so, how?
Dive, take photos, and learn from one of the best. There are still spots available for the underwater photography workshop with Wolfgang Pölzer on Elba: If you want to capture your most beautiful underwater experiences professionally in the future, you should act fast. Spots are still available for the underwater photography workshop with Wolfgang Pölzer at OmniSub Elba. The registration deadline is Sunday, June 21, 2026.
Oceans as Heat Reservoirs and a Warning Sign for Climate Protection. The latest IGCC analysis shows that greenhouse gases are exacerbating the energy imbalance, leading to ocean heatwaves and rising sea levels. The Earth is increasingly losing its balance.
Millions-of-years-old whale bones and living deep-sea ecosystems in the Diamantina Zone offer insights into evolution. An international research team led by Xiaotong Peng (Chinese Academy of Sciences) has discovered a previously unknown, gigantic accumulation of whale carcasses and fossils in the southeastern Indian Ocean.
Probably the largest dive gear swap meet in Switzerland: Is your basement full of old diving gear that’s too good to let gather dust? On Saturday, June 27, 2026, the legendary flea market returns to TSK Bern in Liebefeld—the often-copied original and probably the largest dive gear swap meet in Switzerland.
In the face of the ongoing climate crisis, the U.S. government is cutting back precisely where we need more observation and knowledge: The Trump administration has decided to largely dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) network. Funded with approximately $368 million, the system consists of more than 900 instruments—buoys, sensors, and autonomous gliders—and has been providing continuous real-time data from parts of the Atlantic and Pacific since 2016.
ReefExplorer Online Lecture Series 2026: On June 11, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., ReefExplorer, led by Prof. Dr. Ralph Schill, cordially invites you to an exciting online lecture with Prof. Dr. Frederike Hanke from the Marine Science Center at the Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of Rostock.
Many first-time divers, positive feedback, and strong partners at the launch: This summer, a very special experience awaits you at the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum (RNZ) in Viernheim: the RNZ Dive Hub. From June 6 to August 29, 2026, a roughly 6.5-meter-long diving container with three large glass sides will be transformed into a fascinating stage for the underwater world.
A Call to Action for Our World’s Oceans: Today, June 8, is World Oceans Day—an annual call to action by the United Nations that, since 2008, has served as a reminder of how indispensable the oceans are to the climate, ecosystems, and human life. The oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, produce about half of our oxygen, regulate weather and climate, and are home to a large part of our biodiversity.