DIVE Spring 2026 print issue

Issue # 41: Personal Connections

In our Spring ’26 magazine we take a look at some of the personal connections divers make with the underwater world, from Bella Zandoná’s friendly neighbourhood wolf eels to the groupers of the Costa Brava and the hammerheads of Cocos Island – and more!

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CATALAN CHARM

Jo Caird visits Catalonia’s Costa Brava and discovers the rich fauna that makes the destination a top spot for the CMAS World Championship underwater photo competition, and why groupers are such a hot with the locals. Featuring some fantastic shots from the competition, courtesy of CMAS.

Read: Grouper Think – why Costa Brava is perfect for a CMAS photo competition

NOT WOLVES, NOT EELS

They’re never going to be described as pretty fish, but wolf eels are some of the most charismatic denizens of Sund Rock in America’s Pacific Northwest. Marine Biologist and underwater photographer Isabella Zandoná hangs out with some of the local celebrities as they go about their daily lives.

Read: Neighbours of the North Wall – life among Sund Rock’s wolf eels

WARMING WELCOME

An unexpected marine heatwave in the summer of 2025 caused a massive explosion in the octopus populations of the southwest coast of England. Lewis Jefferies visited Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula to document the bloom and report on the science behind its occurrence and the knock-on effects it had on local businesses.

Read: Octopus Boom! The UK octopus bloom of 2025

PURPOSE BUILT FOR DIVING

El Gouna was created as a self-contained resort to escape the hustle and bustle of Hurghada, one of Egypt’s largest and busiest tourist destinations. Graeme Gourlay visited and found himself taken back to the days when he first fell in love with diving, through the well-oiled business of day-boat diving.

Read: Day-boat Dreaming in the charming Egyptian resort of El Gouna

ISLA DEL TIBURÓN MARTILLO

Cocos Island is a 36-hour journey across the ocean from Costa Rica – but is it worth it? Richard Aspinall boarded the Cocos Island Aggressor liveaboard to find out, and saw more sharks in one dive than a whole lifetime of diving! There was plenty more to focus his lenses on, however, once the sharks became too commonplace.

…AND THERE’S MORE!

In this issue’s skills article, conservation filmmaker, writer, marine scientist, and award-winning underwater photographer Jasmine Corbett describes the game-changing experience of learning to dive with a closed-circuit rebreather. In conservation news, Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell visited a reef restoration project in Bali which is, in part, sponsored by the charitable arm of tourist industry giant TUI.