In Reply to: Diving in Stockholm Sweden? posted by Ross-O on March 13, 2006 at 13:33:27:

I live in Finland, the country next to Sweden. We share the same ocean and I am sorry to let you know that it is amongst the 7 most polluted oceans in the world. The ocean is very shallow and the Russians have channeled their waste water into it uncleaned for ages. The visibility is always down, and the nutrient level is so high that the ocean is covered by a green carpet (an algae) most of the summer.

The situation with the ocean (Gulf of Finland, Baltic sea) is comfortless. The people are advised not to eat fish from the ocean more than once a week. That is due to the high quick silver content of the fish.

However, Norway is a short flight away from Stockholm. In norway you propably need a dry suit. There you have Kelp and many creatures that you are very familiar with, having done diving in California. Naturally, the kelp looks a bit different, and also the creatures. You also get to see creatures you probably never seen before.

There is very few commercial dive operators in Norway. You will have to contact local dive clubs and join their dives. Norwegians generally speak excellent English, so that will not be a problem.