New Cool LOCAL Diving Opportunity

We have a new, cool local diving opportunity for you - oyster diving in the Chesapeake Bay! Diving for oysters in the bay is a really fun, easy, and exciting opportunity to go diving. The best part - its local! You don't have to jump on a plane to do this - our boat leaves every Friday and Saturday from Annapolis, so just jump in the car and do some fun diving with us!


Charters start the weekend of Oct. 9th. For the early part of the fall, the water won't be all that cold - in the upper 60's even - 7mm suits are all you need.



Charters are only $60, and you get to keep your oysters! Impress your friends and family with all the delicious oysters you can find.


Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to See Schedule and Register Online

Coral Restoration Trip Info Session

We will be having an info session for the November Coral Restoration Trip next Tuesday night (Oct. 6th) here at the shop. Dan Higgins, an experienced Coral Restoration trip leader and the leader of the November trip, will be conducting the session. Dan will be able to answer all of your questions about this awesome trip. Come out, learn about the trip, and meet some divers!

November Coral Restoration Trip Coming Up

One of the most rewarding and unique experiences that we offer at Atlantic Edge is our Coral Restoration Trips down to the Florida Keys. On this trip we work with the Coral Restoration Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Key Largo that grows corals in a nursery and then transplants them to the living reef. This is a very cool project and has the potential to be a groundbreaking way to help restore the world's ailing coral reef system.

On this trip you will get hands on with the corals- working with them in the nursery, transplanting them to a site on the reef, and doing some condition monitoring of old transplant sites. You will also take part in lectures with Ken Nedimyer, the founder and president of the Coral Restoration Foundation.

This trip will change the way you look at diving and the coral reef system. We as divers CAN make a difference, and taking part in this trip is a great first step. To learn more, click here.

OC Dive Boat Moves to the Bay

We will be moving our dive boat from Ocean City to the bay next week! The diving in Ocean City has been awesome this summer, but its sadly over. While its sad to leave the beach, we're lucky enough to live in an area where we can keep diving!

The bay diving is different from the ocean. The depths are shallower, the visibility can be more limited at times, and the spearfishing isn't quite as good. There are, however, oyster beds, which make for really interesting dives collecting oysters. There are also over 400 known wrecks in the bay ( not to mention all the uncharted and unknown wrecks ), so there are tons of opportunities to get in and do some exploring. Lots of these wrecks almost certainly still have artifcacts on them.

Don't put your gear away for the year quite yet. Come out and do some dives with us - you can learn more at www.atlanticedge.com/baydiving.

Lake Season Quickly Coming to an End

Its hard to believe, but lake diving season is quickly coming to a close, and with it your opportunity to take advantage of local training dives. We will be running a full schedule of Lake classes through the end of October, with opportunities still left to do Open Water Training Dives, Advanced Class, and Rescue Class.

The early fall is actually a really nice time to dive some of the local lakes. The water has had all summer to warm up, and while the air may be a little crisp we are usually lucky enough to have pretty warm air through most of October. There generaly won't be as many divers at the lakes so the clarity tends to be a little better, too.

If you have taken a Learn to Dive class but have yet to do your training dives, remember that your referral is good for 12 months from the point of completion. Don't let your referral expire - take advantage of these last few weeks of training dives and complete your certification! This is also a really good time to take that Advanced or Rescue class you've been promising yourself all summer!

Summer slips away so quickly, but we still have some time - sign up for a local lake class today!

Click Here for Info on Training Dives

Click Here for Info on Advanced Classes

Click Here for Info on Rescue Classes

Save Bluefin Tuna

Western Atlantic bluefin tuna are in deep peril. This amazing fish that can swim over 40 mph and weigh up to 1,500 pounds is in danger of becoming extinct within 10 years. Rampant commercial fishing has reduced the mature population of this fish by 80% since 1970. Despite this, the federal government is proposing to increase the catch in the Gulf of Mexico, the only known spawning area for bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico targeting swordfish and yellowfin tuna deploy up to 40 miles of long-lines in the water with hundreds of baited hooks attached. During the 10 hours a day these long-lines are fishing, species that are supposed to be protected in the Gulf of Mexico including bluefin tuna, marlins, and sea turtles are caught and killed. Instead of eliminating this wasteful fishing gear, the Federal government is proposing to allow commercial fishermen to kill and sell more bluefin tuna, despite the fact that their population is at the lowest levels on record.


Click Here to Read More and Sign the Petition

Its Shark Week!

Remember that this is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. There is lots of great shark focused programming going on all week, so if you're into sharks, check it out!!


Click Here to Learn More About Shark Week



Click Here to Watch a Clip from the CBS Morning News on Shark Week



Check out Sharks After Dark on Thursday at 9pm, co-hosted by the National Aquarium in DC's Director of Biological Programs Andy Dehart