CCR Tech Instructor Trainer, owner of Koh Tao Divers & KTD Malta, explorer and wreck hunter, absolute hero as part of the rescue team during the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand. We chat about life before, during and after the events of 2018.

If you're keen to dive with Mikko on one of his expeditions or receive some top-notch training... you can reach him by:

• His pro website: https://www.mikkopaasi.com/
• Thai dive shop: https://kohtaodivers.com/
• Malta dive shop: https://kohtaodiversmalta.com/

And you can also reach him via FB and Instagram

• https://www.instagram.com/mikkokohtaodivers/

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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At the close of this crazy year, I catch up with Kristian Parton and Brendon Sing to find out what they've been up to since last being on the show.

Brendon updates us on the bid to ban shark fin importation to the UK and Kris touches base about his new Youtube channel, Shark Bites.

Help spread the word of Scuba Goat and hit that cheeky little follow button and feel free to ping me any ideas of content you would like to hear in future episodes.

Dive operators and dive pro's - I know this year has been particularly difficult for everyone in the industry.  All we can do now is look forward and prepare for life to begin again.  So, if you would like to highlight your location, your plans, how you've sustained yourselves through this epic travel drought then please do get in touch and let's get chatting.  If an episode can bring you exposure then count me in!

Kristian's Youtube channel: Shark Bytes

Here more about the fab work Kristian has done during Episode #6

Shark Guardian's webpage

Brendon & Liz talk about Shark Guardian at length during Episode #2

Find out more at www.scubagoat.com

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Kristian Parton is a marine biologist and shark enthusiast conducting his research in collaboration with the University of Exeter*, the Shark Trust and Citizen Science.  He is also the lead author of a recently published scientific paper focusing on the direct impact of microplastics on demersal sharks and the father of Sh.a.R.E.N - The Shark and Ray Entanglement Network.

Kristian's passion for marine biology and in particular, sharks, was very clear during our chat.  I was left feeling energised through his enthusiasm for the work he and his colleagues have achieved so far.  Closing loopholes and filling in the blanks is one of the many components in achieving an increased global dedication to protecting our earth and its inhabitants.  With individuals such as Kristian entering into the battle and producing work such as this, I left our discussion with an air of excitement as to what comes next,  and I will be closely following the growth of ShaREN as well as Kristian's future work.

Click on the links below to follow Kristian and ShaREN and should you witness, film, photograph or simply find evidence online of shark and ray entanglement, get involved and send the information into the database for Kristian and his team to continue with their research and provide up to date and invaluable data.

Links:

shark-and-ray-entanglement-network

Investigating the presence of microplastics in demersal sharks of the North-East Atlantic

Kristian Parton on twitter: @Kjparton

ShaREN on Twitter: @SharkEntangle

Find out more at www.scubagoat.com

*Authors - Kristian Parton, Brendan J. Godley & Lucy C. M. Omeyer

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Komodo National Park in Indonesia is world-renowned for its vast array of marine biodiversity and bucket list scuba diving.  Marcus Blake has spent the last 4 years based on the perimeter of the park as the dive operations manager at Komodo Resort and Dive Club.

I hosted an expedition for 10 guests at Komodo Resort and Dive Club in November 2019 and I was seriously impressed with the entire operation.  This excerpt taken from the resort's website perfectly describes the location...

Nestled in a sheltered bay fringed with white sand, the Komodo Dive Resort offers a unique and friendly environment to enjoy some of Indonesia's best diving. Imagine a place where you are welcomed as family on a paradisiac island in the middle of the Komodo archipelago surrounded by crystal clear waters and pristine reefs.

The Komodo region is renowned for being among the top dive sites on earth. Divers, snorkelers and photographers from all around the world come to the Komodo National Park to experience its very rich and unique marine biodiversity.

Komodo Resort is definitely one of my go-to places now and I look forward to leading further group expeditions through Nomadic Scuba in the not too distant future at the resort and on their new liveaboard the Komodo Sea Dragon.

During the podcast, we talk about Engel Tani (a dive pro and member of the resorts dive crew) and the dive team assisting a manta in distress and tangled in lines.  You can view the camera footage on Engel's Youtube channel.  If you watch the full video you can see how the Manta keeps returning to the divers until it is free. Awesome jobs guys, well done!

Manta Resuce - Engel Tani & Komodo Resort dive crew

Find out more at www.scubagoat.com

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Not to be missed is Episode 4 of Scuba GOAT with diving industry
heavyweight Paul Toomer.  We pack a lot into this hour; as this
mould-breaking President of RAID shares the successes and challenges behind a decade of growth, and the coming evolution of the diving industry.

DIVE TRAINING IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

RAID has taken a new, and we believe, a far better approach to diver training. It starts by ensuring we train great instructors and in so doing, we are literally rewriting diver training standards creating new benchmarks of excellence. For example, our minimum requirements and prerequisites to enter instructor training necessitate almost twice that compared to current industry standards. We feel this is essential to ensure divers in training are only exposed to highly-skilled, truly experienced and extremely dedicated dive professionals.

We also require all RAID instructors to have completed a Deep Diver and Nitrox Course as these are major interest areas for all divers and where unparalleled expertise and a state of the art approach to training is needed.

At RAID we feel there are no short cuts to training. For example, our most popular entry-level program: Open Water 20, requires more in-water hours developing skills than is generally required by industry standards. This means new divers are able to build their skill level whilst maintaining their personal confidence and safety. This general philosophy is maintained by RAID professionals throughout all courses.

To be a RAID instructor or even a RAID entry-level diver, your buoyancy control needs to be at the top of the skills list. While diving is a safe sport if you firstly gain proper training and follow the safety rules, the Divers Alert Network (DAN) statistics have revealed that dive accidents often reflect poor buoyancy control and therefore is a major risk factor in all forms of diving. This is why we at RAID put so much emphasis on great buoyancy control at every level of training. For example, the RAID Open Water 20 course covers buoyancy skills generally reserved for a separate specialty course with other training agencies, because we believe it is a prerequisite to

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Jason Fondis is a dive professional, co-owner and manager of Blue Corner Dive Nusa Penida, Indonesia. Join us as we chat about the phenomenal aquatic biodiversity on his doorstep, hilarious island life insights, and a thrilling manta rescue caught on camera which can be viewed on our youtube page.

Blue Corner Dive Nusa Penida

I first visited Nusa Penida on the recommendation of a good dive buddies of mine and I was pleasantly surprised to find it still relatively new to the tourism circuit.  Getting there is a very easy process, landing at Denpasar airport, Bali and with a short taxi ride to Sanur beach some 35 minutes away, you have a great number of ferries to choose from for a 35 minute to just over 1-hour crossing to dock at Nusa Penida.
 Nusa Penida is rapidly growing with many new businesses being built, including a variety of dive shops, resorts and centres.  Accommodation on the island also varies from a few top-end resorts to basic bungalow rentals.  My personal favourite that I use on every visit is an Indonesian owned resort some 10 minutes walk along the beach from Blue Corner Dive.  Ring Sameton Resort Hotel is Indonesian owned and I find the staff extremely helpful no matter what questions I have asked them.  They can arrange a taxi to collect you from the pier or organise scooter rentals should you wish to have more freedom to explore.  The Resort itself has a good-sized pool, surprisingly large air-conditioned rooms for the price and it is located within a distance of the busier areas but equally far enough away from the nightlife noise. Blue Corner Dive is sandwiched between the beachfront and main road.  It comprises of the main building (the office and classroom), a large kit cleaning area, an even larger kit storage building and a beautiful pool area with large shaded seated areas alongside.

Diving with Blue Corner Dive Nusa Penida is exceptionally enjoyable, all dives are co-ordinated around the day's tides and as such you can be diving early doors or having a lazy lay-in prior to heading out on their boats. During high season the dive shop runs two boats and the team arrange dive groups to best suit the needs and skills

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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Shark Guardian is a UK registered charity focused on the protection and conservation of sharks worldwide; along with research and education initiatives on these apex predators. Join me as we talk through current conservation topics and the important work undertaken by this team.

Shark Guardian operates under four pillars, conservation, education, research and expeditions.  During this episode, Brendon and Liz expand on what each pillar means for them and how the charity operates and its future goals.

You can help support the charity in a number of ways and you can also order some really cool merch……Take a look and get purchasing!

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Support the show

Love the show?
Reviews help us grow and let us know you're listening - If you can spare two minutes, please leave a review here.

Want to be a guest on the show?
GREAT! - use this link, drop your details & let's get chatting.

Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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Matt Waters: A little story on how the Scuba GOAT podcast came about

Matt Waters is a multi-agency scuba diving instructor, travel agency owner and now podcast host.  Matt has certified hundreds of recreational divers and conducted 1,000’s of dives around the world.  With a true passion for the Ocean and its inhabitants, Matt needs little excuse to don his dive gear and get those fins wet and when he’s not submerged he’s generally doing something dive related, whether that be tinkering with cameras, scoping out new bucket-list locations, organising expeditions and bookings or simply catching up with dive buddies.  It’s fair to say that he’s a little bit addicted to the Ocean.

Podcasting is an easy way to keep in touch.  Right?

Forging my way through these uncharted waters seemed quite daunting at first, and so without much knowledge, I dived into my first attempts at recording an episode with a good mate, Jason Fondis who is based on the beautiful island of Nusa Penida, Indonesia.  Nusa Penida is contactable, however, two blokes chatting via zoom, with very little experience of recording audio was just plain hilarious! I think it took us 5 attempts to overcome connection issues, background interference, audio drop-outs and blips, my lack of Audacity knowledge let alone knowing how to alter the Loudness or use the effects, generators, analysers and tools.  Thankfully I chose the best person to torture with continuous repeats of the recording efforts, Jase is naturally a hilarious chap and always has something to say, so it was bloody good fun.

Whilst struggling to finalise Jason’s episode a couple of friends reached out as they had exciting news about a shark finning campaign that they were spearheading in the UK.  Brendon Sing and his wife Elizabeth are the Directors of Shark Guardian and it was a no brainer to include them in the show.  Only 2 recordings this time.  Since recording their episode, Shark Guardian has been successful in its bid to ban the import/ export of Sharkfin across the UK borders.

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Want to be a guest on the show?
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Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy… Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!

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