When Wheelchair Users Experience Weightlessness Underwater. Since 2013, Austrian Lotteries, in collaboration with Sports Media Austria and Austrian Sports Aid, has presented the “Athlete with a Heart” award at the LOTTERIEN Sports Aid Gala - honoring athletes who demonstrate a passionate commitment to helping others outside of their sporting careers.
40 years of data show a clear trend. For four decades, the Whale Unit at the University of Pretoria has been monitoring southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off the South African coast - with clear results: Today, female whales are in about 23 percent poorer physical condition than they were in the 1980s.
DAN Alert Asked the Experts. Reports of shark attacks are often rife with myths and misconceptions. DAN Alert Diver magazine asked two behavioral scientists what the data reveals and what we can learn from it.
Yachtdiver Weissensee offers its diving catamaran as a full charter for private groups, associations, and clubs with up to 8 divers. The advantage of a full charter: The group has the boat all to itself—no rotating guests, no crowds, and no tightly scheduled itinerary. Instead, the diving day is tailored individually to the specific group, the divers’ experience levels, and their preferred dive sites.
To this day, no one knows exactly how many species of rays actually live in the waters around the Fiji Islands. According to the literature, there are said to be around 19 species - an incredible diversity. Yet nearly 70 percent of the Fijian stingrays documented to date are considered to be at risk of extinction. This is a clear signal of how urgently research and conservation are needed here.
At the Six Senses Kanuhura resort in the Maldives’ Lhaviyani Atoll, marine biologists have been surveying four house reefs since early 2026 using a method previously reserved primarily for leading research institutions: three-dimensional photogrammetry. The project is called the Kanuhura Coral Census and, according to those involved, is considered the world’s first long-term 3D reef monitoring program operated directly by a resort.
Crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster spp.) are among the greatest threats to the Great Barrier Reef, alongside cyclones and coral bleaching. These predators, which can grow up to 80 centimeters and are armed with venomous spines, devour entire sections of the reef during mass outbreaks by wrapping their stomachs around stony corals and consuming the digested tissue.
Off the Portuguese coastal city of Sines, an invasive brown algae has been spreading at an alarming rate for the past two to three years. Rugulopteryx okamurae, native to the northwestern Pacific (Japan, Korea, China), was first detected in the region around the Sines marina about ten years ago.
Off to sea with “The Vision”. I’ve just reached the border with Oman in Dibba - Norway of the Middle East. My transfer from Dubai Airport went smoothly. The border official stamps my passport, clearing the final hurdle before my liveaboard. Ten minutes later, “The Vision,” a luxurious 29-meter-long liveaboard, appears before me in the port of Dibba al-Bayà (Oman). The boat accommodates 12 divers. It operates in Oman in the Musandam area.
Two Days of Hands-On Training in Neckarsulm. On October 10 and 11, 2026, the Association of German Diving Instructors (VDTL - Verband Deutscher Tauchlehrer) will host this year’s diving training and rescue seminar in Neckarsulm. Over the course of two days, participants can expect up-to-date technical presentations, hands-on workshops, and realistic rescue scenarios -all aimed at further improving safety both underwater and on land.