Welcome
We are by no means at the end of the British diving season, but there is a sense that the series of heatwaves that dominated the summer is finally abating. Judging by the story pitches arriving at my desk, it looks as if BSAC divers have made excellent use of the long, hot summer of 2025.
Will it go down in memory as a halcyon time of sun bleached and warm evenings, or was it some sort of tipping point on our journey into an uncertain future? The changing environment is something that affects all our lives, in and out of the water. BSAC members have asked us to cover these issues, alongside the many other factors affecting our seas.
This month sees the first of a series of updates from Katherine Knight, Chair of BSAC’ s Environment Committee( see page 52). Katherine’ s role will be to report on the activity of this new committee, the results of their investigations and the alliances they forge with other water-using organisations.
Katherine will offer advice on how BSAC members can get involved with conservation activity, at the same time highlighting the efforts of citizen science projects such as Operation Oyster and the Great Seagrass Survey.
On this subject, I was heartened to learn that the new Marine Champions initiative is gaining traction after its launch in August. BSAC is establishing a network of people to help coordinate activities such as underwater litter picks, beach cleans and habitat surveys. You can read about some of the project’ s new recruits in the HUB section( see page 12).
While SCUBA has a dedicated environment section in Protect our Seas, these themes will appear organically throughout the magazine. Our regular columnists focus on marine biology, oceanography, club activity and the reality of underwater exploration in the 21st Century. All of these are intrinsically linked to our changing world. Whether it be club news appearing in HUB or your own letters in the Chat section, these issues increasingly permeate our world.
I wish you all a safe and productive autumn of diving, and hope to see some of you at the North West Dive Fest at Capernwray on 3 October. We may even get an Indian summer; hope springs eternal!
Simon Rogerson – Editor simon @ scubamagazine. co. uk
Cover photo: Common cuttlefish on the James Eagan Layne wreck, by Kirsty Andrews
3