Topic: Courtney Platt

The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame added, for the first time, an all-female cohort of inductees at its annual awards ceremony.

WATCH: In a partnership with the Cayman Compass to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Ivan, photographer Courtney Platt reshot some of the most striking images from his book ‘Paradise Interrupted’.

In the two decades that have passed since Hurricane Ivan, books and films have documented its destruction, and the life-changing effect it had on all who experienced it.

If a picture tells a thousand words then Courtney Platt's post-Ivan collection is its own library. In a special project with the Cayman Compass, the veteran photographer has reshot some of his most striking images 20 years later.

It’s hard to imagine the utter devastation Hurricane Ivan left in its wake. Today, 20 years later, there are only a few lingering signs of its impact. Explore the stark differences in these photos taken by Courtney Platt following Ivan in 2004, and present day in 2024.

For two days, between the 11 and 12 September, Hurricane Ivan hovered over the Cayman Islands pummeling the islands before moving on leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake.

The 20-foot high wall of rock that faces the jagged remnants of the Balboa -- a ship that was damaged beyond repair in 1932’s major hurricane and was later broken up with explosives -- runs for a good 100 yards and is infused with brightly coloured orange and purple sponges, green and gold corals, moray eels, lobsters, crabs and a host of vibrant fish.

Spearfishing is only one part of a large variety of ways that I believe we must change our take from the reefs if we hope to solve this problem before it is too late for our most important, most endangered species.