Scuba Divers Save Shark from Frisbee Ring Off Palm Beach

There are consequences for our garbage; or in this case, our beach toys. Luckily for this shark, two divers took the risk to save it.

Two South Florida divers had a close encounter few would believe. They came face to face with a shark that had a plastic ring around its neck.

John Dickinson and Chip Garber not only saw it, they have proof. They videotaped it.

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They were with a group that was diving on a wreck off Palm Beach called "The Princess Ann" when they noticed a nurse shark lying lifeless on the bottom of the ocean.

"We thought the shark was dead, however after pulling her tail she began to swim away," Dickinson says.

They noticed the shark had a large Frisbee-like ring around its neck which prevented it from eating.

They decided to make a brave move. Chip was able to approach the shark from behind and grab the ring and remove it.

"You can tell in the video that the shark had lost a lot of weight. Hopefully the shark will begin eating again and live a long healthy life," says Dickinson.

Good for you, gentlemen. Our hats off to you.

Preview of the New Sculptures Added to Cancun's Underwater Museum

Three new sculptures were submerged as a part of the Cancun and Isla Mujeres Underwater Art Museum.

The sculptures - Dream Collector, Man on Fire and The Gardener of Hope – were carefully submerged to a variety of different depths throughout the national park.

Created by British/Guyanese artist Jason de Caires Taylor, the sculptures were placed near natural reefs and marine life in order to create an artificial habitat.

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The sculptures have been created with PH neutral concrete that will allow algae and small invertebrates to flourish, boosting the local ecosystem. The appearance of the sculptures will change over time as the coral reefs and marine life grow.

Here's a preview:


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Tech Divers Discover Missing Wreck Off Thailand Coast

From Big Blue Tech:

In April of 2009 a wooden overnight ferry that would transport passengers and goods from Koh Tao Island to Chumphon City sank in rough waves and strong wind. The boat sank slowly allowing all the occupants to be rescued.

In May of 2009 a group of individuals contacted big blue tech to conduct a search for the wreck in an attempt to identify it as a potential artificial reef which was completed after warm-up training. However, due to technological limitations the wreck wasn’t found at the position reported.

In Christmas of 2009 it was reported that fishermen were catching their drag nets on something big under the water. The position was logged with their GPS as an area to avoid in the future and this information was passed down to the technical divers who have been looking for information in that area.

Today staff from Big Blue Tech set out on the sea early in the morning armed with GPS and a type of sonar that shows the topography of the sea bed to find the lost nightboat. The staff members included Helen Artal. Duncan Tyler, Thomas Hallstrom, Yvonne Fries and James Thornton-Allan worked as a team relaying information from the sonar to the GPS to the captain as we got closer.

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10-Year-Old Becomes World's Youngest Scuba Diver

Last year we brought you stories of a 13-year-old rescue diver, and an 11-year-old Master Diver.

Now, it's a 10-year-old scuba diver.

Mumbai's Parth Sanghvi has become the youngest scuba open water diver when he plunged 40 feet underwater near Grande Island in India's western state of Goa, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) said Thurday.

The 10-year-old, who achieved the feat earlier this week, was awarded PADI junior open water scuba divers certificate on February 23, a day after his birthday.

Parth broke the record of Egypt's Natasha Turner, who had become the youngest diver at the age of 10 years and three days.

Of course, this obviously begs one question: how young is too young?