Europe Archive

  • How Healthy are Mediterranean Rocky Reefs?

    How Healthy are Mediterranean Rocky Reefs?

    Intense exploitation over millennia has depleted Mediterranean Sea species from the large to the small. What would a ‘healthy’ Mediterranean rocky bottom look like? There are no pristine sites (i.e. undisturbed by humans) left in the Mediterranean against which to compare the health of current ecosystems. SCUBA divers surveyed the rocky reefs throughout the Med, from Morocco to Turkey.

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  • Creature of the Month: Plumose Anemone

    Creature of the Month: Plumose Anemone

    Plumose anemones (Metridium senile) occur in large numbers in good diving areas in temperate waters. They comprise a tall, smooth column topped with a crown of feathery tentacles. When they contact they look like swirly blobs, as can be seen in our photograph. Individuals may be white, orange, green or blue in colour. They grow [...]

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  • New wreck dive off Comino, Malta

    New wreck dive off Comino, Malta

    There is a new dive waiting off the coast of Comino: former Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Patrol Boat P31. The wreck is 52 m long and lies at 18 m. The Malta Tourism Authority co-ordinated the scuttling of the former Patrol Boat to add to the number of underwater attractions for scuba divers visiting [...]

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  • Survey Reveals Top 10 Dive Sites in Europe

    Survey Reveals Top 10 Dive Sites in Europe

    Europe boasts some world class dive sites, with great visibility and masses of underwater life. In a recent poll of SCUBA Travel readers, these were voted the ten best dive sites in Europe. Disagree? Then cast your vote. The Zenobia, CyprusThe pristine wreck of a huge ferry. Lying on its port side, the wreck starts [...]

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  • EU launches shark protection plan

    EU launches shark protection plan

    The European Commission has launched a Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. The aim is to rebuild shark stocks and to set down guidelines for the sustainable management of the fisheries, including where shark are taken as by-catch. The plan also hopes to increase knowledge of shark stocks and shark fisheries. [...]

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