#Diving - As the Irish Underwater Council's 'Try A Dive' campaign approaches this weekend, Ivan Donoghue's photography of the sights beneath the waves off the Hook Peninsula might well be the hook you need to take the plunge.

Independent.ie has a gallery of the Wexford diving enthusiast's shots that reveal the diversity of marine wildlife and plantlife that are abundant around Ireland's coasts.

It's this biodiversity that needs protecting worldwide – that's the message behind Mission Blue, a new documentary on the work of marine biologist and longtime diving veteran Dr Sylvia Earle.

The 79-year-old, named Time Magazine's 'Hero for the Planet' in 1998, made her first dive 60 years ago, and since then has engaged in thousands more, including leading 100 research missions to study the ocean and its importance to life for all on earth.

As the Irish Examiner reports, she hopes her film – which is available to stream on Netflix – will "ignite public support" for her mission to protect the world's oceans.