The future of scuba diving is not with our current generation of scuba divers; the future of diving is with the next generation of scuba divers – specifically the Gen Z, Millennials and younger generations. They could be ready to become the future but is the diving industry ready for them. There are challenges including

Breaking down the financial barriers is needed to overcome the high entry cost. Once certified, how do we keep this new generation of divers engaged.

All stakeholders in the scuba diving industry need to coordinate efforts to meet these younger generation where they are – not where the industry is today.

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Sea State discusses

The Dive Pirates Foundation is an organization dedicated to enabling individuals with physical disabilities enjoy the underwater world through scuba diving. Their motto is “We no longer see disabilities, we see possibilities”.

Each year, Dive Pirates runs a dive trip for adaptive divers, their buddies and volunteers. This year, I decided to volunteer, observe, learn and be part of the team. While on the trip, I was able to complete my training and certification as an SDI Scubility Adaptive Dive Buddy.

As a Dive Pirate I am now part of another family in the diving community.

The State of the Oceans report from Statisa and the German Ocean foundation gives us an overview of how they see the current state of the oceans around the world.

This report discusses how the oceans are critical for an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable future. However, the impacts of climate change and pollution are seriously impacting the state of the ocean.

In 2015 global leaders agreed to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for protecting the planet. SDG 14 focused on life below water. Unfortunately, the 2020 goals for SDG 14 have not been met. But we keep have to keep trying. In 2022, world leaders again looked to protect 30% of coastal and marine environments by 2030. Progress is being made. Eleven countries have already met the target. We still have a long way to go.

The report is available at www.statista.com

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Sea State discusses

Another of my favorite spots to get in some scuba diving is Key Largo. I finally returned after five years. The last time I made it to the Keys was 2019 before the pandemic. It was also an opportunity to find my blue mind again after being out of the water for over 200 days.

We stayed at The Courtyard Key Largo at mile marker 100 and did two days of diving with Horizon Divers. We chose the two-tank shallow dives. Our dive sites included

Listen for some details about the dives.

Our dinning included

Our trip wrapped up with a visit to the History of Diving Museum and Islamorada Brewery and Distillery.

Oceana recently released a report – Plastic Foam Needs ‘To Go’

Plastic foam is one type of polystyrene that is incredibly harmful to the environment and human health. Most US registered voters agree and 78% support policies that reduce single-use plastic foam.

More than 8 million metric tons of plastic foam is produced globally each year and plastic foam fragments are among the 10 most littered items found across the US. Unfortunately only 1% or less of plastic foam is recycled each year. Additionally production of plastic foam emits incredible amounts of greenhouse gases.

You can download the report from the Oceana.

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Sea State takes a look at:

Like many federal – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is being drastically impacted by efforts to shrink government. And this effort not only seriously undermines the mission of the agency but also we are seeing the political impacts and assault on the environment.

Let’s take a look at how these layoffs are causing issues across the various mission areas of NOAA.

We will also discuss how today’s political environment is toxic to the natural environment.

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Our oceans are under assault.

From the US withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the number of executive orders issued by President Trump we are seeing an all out pummeling of initiatives designed to protect the environment and the oceans.

On April 8, 2025 an executive order was signed to reinvigorate America’s beautiful clean coal industry. Another executive order looks to sunset environmental regulations. There is also a presidential memorandum targeting regulation related to the environment.

As the US moves away from environmental leadership, we will continue to see the planet get hotter, and ultimately the demise of the oceans through global warming, pollution, offshore drilling and overfishing.

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I recently attended one day of the Beneath the Sea Scuba Ocean Exposition, Dive and Travel Show.

This was their 46th show that was started by Zig and JoAnn Zigahn back in 1976. The show made its come back from the pandemic in 2023.

The show ran March 28 – 30, 2025 and featured seminars, conferences, dinners, receptions and of course the main exhibition hall. 

I had a chance to touch base with a number of folks and find some new travel options.

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The Boston Sea Rovers 71st International Ocean Symposium and Film Festival kicked off the Northeast dive season with a fantastic show March 15 and 16. As one of the worlds longest continuously running scuba diving shows, the 2025 edition lived up to its mission of Raising the Level of Knowledge of the Underwater World. The two-day event featured 39 daytime seminars with unique themes covering wrecks and maritime history, marine science and technology, photography and videography, dive travel and programs along with marine conservation, corals and animals. The signature event of the weekend was the 71st Annual International Film Festival. Nancy McGee, a member of the Women’s Divers Hall of Fame and an Explorers Club Fellow served as the master of ceremonies. The packed hall was treated to an outstanding program featuring work by Hergen Spalink, Eric Chang, Jennifer Selloitti, Rose Darlymple and Cristian Dimitrius. We were also treated to a surprise presentation by Dr. Bob Ballard and the incredible work he is doing with EV Nautilus.

While the show may be considered small, it is powerful with high profile attendance and offers an intimacy and energy that is difficult to get with large scale productions. This year the exhibit floor was packed with both returning and new exhibitors ready to engage with the multitude of attendees. What is very encouraging is the number of younger participants eager to learn and interact with some of the legends of the dive industry.

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Sea State looks at –

As scuba divers we love adventure and exploring dive destinations around the world.

When I consider a dive destination and resort some of my criteria include:

Here are my top three dive destinations and resorts

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Sea State looks at: