All Things Aquatic Dive Center

wonderful first night with our Divers in Grand Cayman at Sunset House. Truly one of the best views of the setting sun in the world.

Greenland sharks are extraordinary creatures of the Arctic, known for their slow growth and astonishing longevity. Scientists estimate they live at least 250 years, with some possibly reaching 400–500 years. Radiocarbon dating of eye lens proteins revealed one specimen at about 392 years old, making them the longest‑lived vertebrates ever studied.

To put that age in perspective, a shark born around 1627 would have been alive when Shakespeare’s plays were still being performed in London, Galileo was defending his heliocentric theory before the Inquisition, and the Mayflower had only recently carried settlers to North America. It has silently witnessed centuries of human history from beneath the ice.

Their longevity is tied to their biology: Greenland sharks grow only about one centimeter per year, reach maturity after more than a century, and inhabit the cold, deep waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic. This slow pace of life, combined with frigid conditions, helps explain how they endure for centuries, making them living time capsules of the ocean.

During the 2020 lockdowns, dolphins in Queensland, Australia, were observed bringing gifts like shells, coral, and wood to shore, seemingly in response to the absence of human visitors. This remarkable behavior was documented at Barnacles Café and Dolphin Feeding Centre in Tin Can Bay, where a pod of humpback dolphins had long interacted with locals and tourists.
According to My Modern Met, when the pandemic forced people into lockdown and visitor numbers dropped, the dolphins began showing up with items from the sea, including starfish, bottles, and pieces of timber, as if trying to rekindle the connection with their human friends.
While scientists caution against interpreting this as emotional longing in human terms, the timing and consistency of the behavior suggest a strong link between the dolphins’ social habits and the presence of people. According to ABC News Australia, the dolphins may have been responding to the sudden change in routine and the lack of stimulation from regular human interaction.
This episode highlights the intelligence and social sensitivity of dolphins, who are known for their curiosity and complex communication. Whether it was a gesture of affection, boredom, or a clever ploy to earn fish treats, the dolphins’ gift-giving during lockdown became a heartwarming symbol of interspecies connection.

For the first time in over 40 years, Panama’s vital ocean upwelling system—a natural process that drives marine productivity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific—has collapsed, sending shockwaves through the region’s ecosystem and economy.

This phenomenon, normally active during the dry season, pulls cold, nutrient-rich water from deep in the ocean to the surface, feeding massive blooms of phytoplankton that sustain the region’s entire marine food web.

However, in 2025, the upwelling started 42 days late, lasted just 12 days instead of the typical 66, and failed to cool surface waters below 23.3°C—far warmer than the normal 19°C threshold needed to trigger productive biological activity.

As a result, chlorophyll levels (a proxy for ocean life) dropped to historically low levels, and satellite images confirmed a near-total shutdown of marine productivity along Panama’s Pacific coast.

The collapse is primarily blamed on unusually weak trade winds, likely influenced by climate change and El Niño conditions, which failed to drive the normal oceanic currents.

This disruption jeopardizes Panama’s marine biodiversity and fisheries sector, which generates nearly $200 million annually, mostly from exports.

Experts at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) warn this could signal a new, unstable phase in regional ocean dynamics.

If the trend continues, it may lead to a long-term ecological shift, undermining both food security and economic stability in coastal communities that rely heavily on the sea.

This marks a significant warning about the fragility of ocean systems in the face of accelerating climate disruption.