News
Mares acquires rEvo Rebreathers
MARES Enters the World of Rebreather Diving
MARES has announced that effective July 1st 2016 they have signed an agreement to acquire 100% of REVO BVBA Belgium, one of the world’s leading Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) manufacturers.
After the successful introduction of “Extended Range,” a new line of diving equipment specifically designed for Advanced and Technical diving, the rEvo CCR will complete the MARES XR Line offering anyone the opportunity to not only go beyond the limits and extend their range – now they can do it silently and get even closer to the marine life.
For a long time, Rebreathers have been exclusive to only the extreme Technical market. Mainly this was due to the cost and complexity of the unit. The objective for acquiring rEvo is to broaden the rebreather community by making rebreathers more affordable while maintaining the quality and performance.
rEvo, Brugge/Belgium, will continue to market and sell the Rebreathers, and MARES will support the company with their research and development, manufacturing facilities and their worldwide distribution network.
“We are excited! Both rEvo and MARES are driven by innovation and technology. We are convinced that this acquisition will be a ‘game changer’ to bring rEvo and Rebreather diving to a whole new level,” stated Paul Raymaekers, rEvo Managing Director.
Gerald Skrobanek, MARES President, said: “The addition of rEvo is just another example of our continued quest for quality and performance. rEvo will simply strengthen our brand and complete the XR Line and our product offerings.”
For more information about Mares products, visit www.mares.com.
For more information about rEvo Rebreathers, visit www.revo-rebreathers.com.
News
Euro-Divers to close dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda
Euro-Divers have announced that as of 15 April 2024, they will no longer be operating the dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda (formerly known as Amari Havodda).
The popular dive centre chain released this statement regarding the closure:
Dear valid customers, business partners and friends,
We are leaving NH Collection Maldives Havodda – former Amari Havodda as of 15th of April 2024.
Unfortunately, the information reached us on short notice that we are no longer operating the dive centre at the resort.
It was a great pleasure to work with the Amari Hotel group and continue to work with the NH Hotel group.
We wish our partners great success with all their new changes.
Thanks a lot for cooperating during our time at the resort. We wish everyone with whom we have worked a good and hopefully successful future.
Euro-Divers continue to operate in several other dive resorts throughout the Maldives in addition to other locations.
To finds out more about Euro-Divers, visit www.euro-divers.com.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: Undulate Ray
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re looking at the Undulate Ray. Easily identified by its beautiful, ornate pattern, the Undulate Ray gets its name from the undulating patterns of lines and spots on its dorsal side.
This skate is usually found on sandy or muddy sea floors, down to about 200 m deep, although it is more commonly found shallower. They can grow up to 90 cm total length. Depending on the size of the individual, their diet can range from shrimps to crabs.
Although sometimes called the Undulate Ray, this is actually a species of skate, meaning that, as all true skates do, they lay eggs. The eggs are contained in keratin eggcases – the same material that our hair and nails are made up of! These eggcases are also commonly called mermaid’s purses and can be found washed up on beaches all around the UK. If you find one, be sure to take a picture and upload your find to the Great Eggcase Hunt – the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen science project.
It is worth noting that on the south coasts, these eggcases can be confused with those of the Spotted Ray, especially as they look very similar and the ranges overlap, so we sometimes informally refer to them as ‘Spundulates’.
Scientific Name: Raja undulata
Family: Rajidae
Maximum Size: 90cm (total length)
Diet: shrimps and crabs
Distribution: found around the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat: shelf waters down to 200m deep.
Conservation Status : As a commercially exploited species, the Undulate Ray is a recovering species in some areas. The good thing is that they have some of the most comprehensive management measures of almost any elasmobranch species, with both minimum and maximum landing sizes as well as a closed season. Additionally, targeting is entirely prohibited in some areas. They are also often caught as bycatch in various fisheries – in some areas they can be landed whilst in others they must be discarded.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Image Credits: Banner – Sheila Openshaw; Illustration – Marc Dando
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