Scuba Diving to collect Ocean Creatures
I go diving with my son to find ocean animals for a temporary aquarium display at the Isle of Man Festival of the Sea (2021).
The Festival of the Sea is an annual two-day festival held on the Isle of Man each summer.
The Isle of Man is an island in the middle of the Irish Sea, only 30 miles long by 13 miles wide and although everyone is familiar with the coastline there are very few of us who see what lies beneath the opaque, dark waves.
We have no public aquarium here, so the Manx Wildlife Trust set up the marine exhibits, large temporary tanks, so the people of the island can see first-hand what creatures can be seen around our shores.
My son Dylan (13 at the time) and I dove as a buddy pair. Our club has divers in the water in pairs (the buddy system) so that we can offer each other immediate assistance in case of an emergency. But it's also cool to share experiences and fun to talk about what we've seen on the boat.
The video:
This time was different, as instead of our 'look, don't touch' policy, we were bringing some of the creatures up onto the boat with us! (They were returned afterwards!).
Credits:
Discover Diving (Boat Operator and Dive Club)
Manx Wildlife Trust (for organising the event)
Dylan Wilson (my buddy on the dive)