News
Book Review: Muck Diving – A Diver’s Guide to the Wonderful World of Critters
The Author
Nigel Marsh
Review by Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown
If you are a fan of muck diving, rooting about in tiny crevices, scouring the bottom of the sea, or even looking for some of the larger critters, then this book is an absolute must for you. The book is really well organised and Nigel has managed to break down his guide to readable bite-size chunks. He talks initially about the different kinds of muck diving and their histories and then looks at the different kinds of animals that you may be looking for next time you go muck diving. He talks about invertebrate muck critters, muck fish and muck reptiles, describing them all, and even including a few statistics and a little bit of science. In one chapter, he also delivers a muck diving bucket list of destinations, including the usual suspects and one or two others that a few people may never of heard of.
I particularly liked the short chapter on muck diving techniques, where he emphasises the need for buoyancy control, fin control and correct use of scuba pointers, i.e. these rods should not be used to harass, manipulate or poke the critters. It is refreshing to note that the images in this book show these species in their natural habitat, rather than the manipulated shots you see regularly online.
Also included in Nigel’s manual is a short chapter on muck diving photography. This is not a photography guide, but Nigel looks at some of the main issues of this style of photography, such as backscatter, lens choice, night photography, capturing behaviour, etc.
This book, however, is essentially a guide to the numerous critters, fish and reptiles that you can find in the muck diving environments of the world. The book is a paperback with a useful plastic protective cover, so that you can take it out on the boat with you when you are diving, and not worry about the odd splash. It contains some great images of all the amazing creatures you can find whilst muck diving, making it a book that you will want to leaf through on a regular basis. It is packed with useful information. As Nigel describes all these different destinations, there is a fact box for each region, which helps to describe how to get there, best time to visit, visibility, diving conditions and water temperature… what more could you possibly need?
Muck Diving by Nigel Marsh is published by Reed New Holland at £15.99, paperback, and available from all good bookshops or online via www.amazon.co.uk or call 01206 255777. It will be published in May 2017.
Or you can enter our competition to win a copy here!
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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