The Ocean as a Metaphor for Life
Sentience, the capacity to experience feelings and sensations – pleasure, pain, joy, and fear – was once deemed exclusive to humans. Assigning human traits and emotions to non-human entities would tank a researcher’s career. Now we know better. We invite ocean explorers to “show some emotion” when sharing stories of the sea.

Beneath the waves, explorer Tiff Duong uncovered the courage, clarity, and purpose to transform her life. In ‘Lessons from a Diver,’ she reveals how scuba’s powerful lessons—flow, courage, joy, and resilience—can propel you to brave uncharted waters, unleash your boldest self, and create your own legacy of impact.

Ghost nets are lost, abandoned, or discarded commercial fishing gear that gets caught up on wrecks or reefs or continues to drift in the ocean. This poses a significant threat to marine animals by entangling and killing them. These destructive nets become part of the ocean’s plastic pollution problem, fragmenting into microplastics, damaging coral reefs, and creating hazards for both wildlife and human activities like fishing and tourism. Mark will talk about the scale of the problem but also talk about some of the groups that are working to retrieve GhostNets and reduce these problems. He will also talk about why he enjoys getting involved in these projects and why you should consider getting involved.

This presentation will challenge current business with a view of understanding why the diving training business is declining globally by interpreting feedback from 400 diver professionals and challenging key issues in pricing models, training quality, and customer loyalty. The industry has focused on volumes over quality with certificates becoming the actual product at the expense of skill, safety, and sustainability. The presentation will recommended business strategies for change and growth.

This presentation showcases a hybrid virtual and in-person learning approach in a community-led training model for leadership education that redefines value in a fragmented dive training industry. Through an innovative project conducted as NAUI regional conferences, candidates engage in personalized, competency-driven development, integrating online and in-person skills, non-technical skills, and peer collaboration with access to global expertise as part of their development and training as a dive professional. The result is elevation of leadership training beyond standards and cultivation of a new generation of dive professionals.

At just 15, Kaila Marine Krack—daughter of dive industry leaders Kirk and Mandy Krack—has already built an enviable water-based career while charting her own path in the sciences. A certified scuba and freediver, she has explored oceans around the world and, thanks to her diving skills, worked as a “diving double” on Avatar: The Way of Water alongside her father.
In her talk, Kaila will share her experiences and highlight the opportunities now available for young divers. She will also speak about ocean advocacy, a driving focus for her generation. Today’s youth stand to benefit from rapid advances in diving technology, training, and access—and will likely lead the way in shaping the future of human settlement in the oceans, a vision her father and his colleagues, Dr. Dawn Kernagis and Phil Short, are pursuing at DEEP Research Inc.

A fast, practical talk sharing the top overlooked practices divers can adopt immediately to improve safety, backed by DAN data.

As scuba divers, we share a perspective and connection to the ocean that others may not — giving us a strong desire to protect it. Scuba Network makes this possible, empowering every diver to contribute effortlessly to citizen science by transforming dive logs into actionable data, connecting NGOs, and driving conservation into the digital age.

Join me on a journey through the depths of the ocean, where I’ll share my experiences and techniques for capturing stunning underwater photographs. From deep wrecks to mysterious cave systems, I’ll share some techniques and ideas on how to create images of my style of photography.

On the way to artful imaging, we’ll face several exciting challenges. What distinguishes our photographs from snapshots, considering various aspects of art? We have a look at some methods of improving our art level, starting with the mindset above water and diving deep into the beautiful ocean of art.

In Madeira Archipelago, Portugal, the creation of MPA, as well as the creation of artificial reefs, have always gone hand in hand. It’s sometimes difficult to understand where it all began. It is a successful journey that started in 1971 and that is the story I will tell you about.

CCR is a phenomenal tool for Scientific Diving due to increased bottom time capability. Using CCR for Marine Science in the ‘Twilight Zone’ (Metophotic range between 50 & 200 metres).
Phil will walk us through a successful 9 day project diving numerous remote walls and Sea Mounts off the West Coast of Scotland to gather samples for a University team with a live onboard lab utilising Technical volunteer Citizen Science divers. Learn how your diving can lead you to contribute to the expansion of knowledge of our oceans.

Yearly, Kirk Krack of DEEP Research Inc, has provided updates on where their objective to build and place subsea habitats around the world has progressed, and this year provides the most exciting update with the launch of their Vanguard habitat this November. Looking to redefine marine exploration by developing 21stCentury subsea habitats and the supporting technologies to make this happen, Kirk takes you through the history of underwater habitats and the parallel developing scientific saturation diving technology with an update on the DEEP Saturation Training Facility. Mesophotic zone coral and bottom trawling restoration, bioprospecting, critical infrastructure monitoring and maintenance along with a host of other scientific opportunities are where ‘keeping the human in the loop’ is at the heart of DEEP’s core mission.

The ocean is our shared home, yet it faces growing pressures from climate change, pollution, and overexploitation. In this talk, we highlight the marine research performed at the University of Coimbra, and showcase how science and innovation support ocean sustainability, address global challenges and present solutions for a resilient future.

Established nearly five decades ago, the Handicapped Scuba Association advances the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by promoting equal access to the ocean through adaptive diving. This talk examines how standardized training, accessibility frameworks, and global partnerships foster inclusion, ocean literacy, and disability rights in diving and marine recreation.

The legendary and old alpine climber Walter Bonatti’s hands were thick, but in spite of that, the Alps’ cold wind cut them. Wreckers’ hands test the water, touch very gently, toss roughly or smoothly. Hands, for us wreckers, are more than eyes: they feel, see, and perceive. These hands sometimes plunge as do Amore’s marble fingertips into Psyche, remembering the classic tradition of sculpture. Touch is decisive, but cognitive. Hands clutch, and fingers cling into a pianist’s dance.
This is the story of the Ocean liner MN Viminale, sunk during World War II by an American torpedo boat off the coast of Palmi, South Italy.
The Ship now lies at 107m / 350 ft of depth.

At Vrak – Museum of Wrecks, we bring the unique cultural heritage that lies beneath the surface of the Baltic Sea closer to people – both divers and others that, for various reasons, might never be able to experience it underwater for themselves. In this talk, we will share our in-situ approach to preservation, outlining what it entails for the research and management we conduct, as well as some of the newest findings and projects we are working on, such as Vasa’s sister ship, Äpplet, and the Osmund Wreck. We will also share how we present maritime archaeology in our museum, including the tools and technologies that enable us to connect with and engage various communities.