Discovering the UK's Marine Life Through Night Freediving
For many, the ocean depths remain a mysterious and intimidating environment, yet one freediver has developed a deep passion for exploring marine life after dark. Iestyn Morgan, 21, uses his TikTok platform to share vivid videos that have captivated viewers with the diverse species inhabiting UK waters.
"It's not everyone's cup of tea,"said Iestyn, who is dedicated to highlighting the varied and often overlooked species living off the coast of Wales.
Iestyn's love for the sea has been lifelong, but his interest in freediving was sparked in April 2025 after watching a video online.
"I was like OK, I need to try this out myself. So I bought a torch and just gave it a go."
"I think the reality is, these animals are probably more scared of me than I am of them.
It's not often they see a man bopping about in the sea with a torch."
He has found that his night videos attract the most attention, as nocturnal creatures such as squid, garfish, cuttlefish, stingrays, and cat sharks emerge and tend to be more daring after dark.
"People think you need to travel far abroad to experience such diversity, but you don't have to, it's right here on your doorstep.
The coolest encounter I've had, if I had to pinpoint one, was I was out at night and saw what I thought was a school of about 50 bass and they were coming towards me.
But as they got closer, I realised they were squid, which were attracted to my torch light. So for about a minute I had about 50 squid circling me, which was super cool.
I had no idea myself there was that much out there to see and that's what I want to showcase in my videos."
Understanding Freediving
Freediving is a sport involving underwater descent on a single breath. The British Freediving Association (BFA) notes that while many divers and swimmers have practiced freediving at some point, professional freediving demands advanced techniques and training.
The BFA also highlights the serious health risks associated with freediving and advises undertaking courses with qualified instructors and never diving alone.
Iestyn, who is a final year geography student at Aberystwyth University, acknowledges these risks and always dives accompanied and avoids venturing too far from shore.
Encounters and Environmental Observations
During a summer dive, Iestyn encountered thousands of mauve stingers, a small but venomous jellyfish typically found in the Mediterranean.
"I can't express how many there were. I had to get out because I couldn't see, there were so many."
He described this phenomenon as a
"telltale sign"of climate change.
According to the Met Office, average sea temperatures around the UK and Ireland range from 6-10°C (43-50°F) in winter to 15-20°C (59-68°F) in summer. However, a marine heatwave in summer 2025 caused temperatures in some UK areas to rise up to 3°C (37.4°F) above normal.
BBC analysis revealed that the world's oceans set daily temperature records throughout 2024, a trend driven by climate change.
"While it's cool for me as I get to see these cool encounters as we have new species that we wouldn't necessarily have before, it is a concern looking forward,"said Iestyn.
"In my night dives I see squid all the time, obviously I haven't been doing this for years so I can't say just how common they were before.
But the sheer amount of squid I've been seeing does suggest the warm waters are having an impact.
Everybody is going to be affected... I don't think it's talked about enough, it's become a normality.
I think if we can shift away from that and have discussions about how big of a problem it is, that could be really important."
Plastic Pollution Concerns
Alongside his marine discoveries, Iestyn has observed that plastic pollution affects every part of the environment he explores.
"Every time you go to the beach you see litter, plastic, you pick it up, put it in the bin.
It definitely makes you feel sad because, as an individual, there isn't much you can do about it.
But I think if individuals can come together, reach out, talk about it, give it more exposure, it will get people talking, talk about protection a bit more."
