If you’re planning to go head-to-head with a sea creature, it’s probably best to start small.

Only the very brave, or very stupid, would begin a headbutting competition with a 50-ton sperm whale… after all, its head is one third of its overall size.

Nevertheless, here are pictures of a snorkeller doing just that – swimming with his head down right up to a massive whale.

Up close and personal: A lucky snorkeller takes whale-watching to a new level by nudging heads. The amazing photo was taken of Dominica in the Caribbean.

Of course, you can’t make a 60ft animal do anything against its will, so it’s up to the whales to decide if they are in the mood to play. But, when they are feeling sociable, the results lead to amazing pictures like these.

Dominica has become known as the whale-watching capital of the Caribbean. Sperm whales can be seen year-round and – because the ocean floors drops to thousands of feet deep just off the coast – the whales are within easy reach of humans.

Whale of a time: The snapping snorkeller keeps his distance from the giant whale to capture more intimate shots

Read Full Article at Dailymail.co.uk

After years of looking for the big stuff we were getting a little bored. Then we discovered blennies. Blennies are everywhere and we travel the globe to find them. No seas are too rough, no dive site too remote and no blenny too fearsome. Features short clips of blennies from Bonaire, Florida, Baja California, the Philippines and Indonesia. Visit Blenny Watcher.

Check out the sardine run from 2009 – quite a different story!

skeleton shrimp encounters from Mike Elliott on Vimeo.

Skeleton shrimp are always entertaining and this is about what they deal with on a regular basis.

Photo by Mauricio Handler

A diver has almost been swallowed by a whale shark during a feeding frenzy.

The whale shark is actually the world’s largest fish and have mouths up to 1.5 metres wide that contains 350 rows of teeth. Despite this, they’re very docile creatures and feed on plankton.

They eat by sucking vast amounts of water into their mouths where they filter feed plankton.

This photograph was taken in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where more than 600 of the 12 metre animals converged to feed on tuna spawn.

Read full article from Seven News.

Strong currents that rush between the islands of West Papua's Raja Ampat (pictured) help seed much of the 1.6 billion hectares of reefs and marine life that spread from the Philippines to the Solomon Islands.

ABOUT once a month, a ship from Townsville makes the long journey to Raja Ampat, a seascape of astonishing beauty and diversity in the far western reaches of Indonesian New Guinea.

Here, where the westerly currents of the Pacific Ocean flow into the Indian Ocean, hundreds of improbable domed limestone pinnacles rise from the sea, encircling placid, turquoise lagoons. And if the 612 islands and countless shoals and reefs of Raja Ampat take the breath away, they only hint at the treasures below.

This remote part of West Papua province is the hub of the world’s marine biodiversity, home to 75 per cent of its coral, as well as 1500 fish species, including huge manta rays, epaulette sharks that walk on the sea floor with their fins, turtles and an array of weird and wonderful fish.

Yet the vessel that makes the regular trip to and from Townsville does not bring tourists or divers. There are no scientists on board to study this marine wonderland. Rather, it is in Raja Ampat to take a consignment of tens of thousands of tonnes of the red clay soil, rich in nickel and cobalt, and destined for the Yabulu refinery owned by one of Australia’s richest men, Clive Palmer.

According to conservationists and marine scientists, this mining activity and the prospect of further exploitation puts one of the world’s most precious ecosystems under threat.

Read more from the Brisbane Times.

A few tips to improve your muck diving techniques. Responsible divers are careful to protect the fragile marine environment they love so much. In this video you will discover that even sandy and mucky bottoms need careful technique too.

Jetties At Night from Alex.Be. on Vimeo.

Macro Version – Under The Jetties from Alex.Be. on Vimeo.