These female divers spend more time underwater than any other humans

[Onthefly]

The way Korea’s Haenyeo divers push human physiology to extremes is surprising

By Brianna Randall
AUGUST 18, 2025 AT 2:00 PM

The Haenyeo women who dive deep into the East China Sea to harvest sea urchins and shellfish spend the most time underwater of any humans ever studied — one to five hours a day, researchers report August 18 in Current Biology.
“It’s as close as you get to studying a mermaid,” says Chris McKnight, a marine mammal biologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

McKnight and colleagues worked with seven Haenyeo divers who live on Jeju Island in South Korea. Over 1,786 dives, the women wore devices that measured how long they stayed underwater and how deep they dove. The devices also tracked oxygen levels in the women’s brains and muscles.

The women dove repeatedly for two to 10 hours each day and spent an average of 56 percent of the time beneath the surface — more underwater time than many aquatic mammals, including beavers, polar bears and sea otters, the researchers say.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/female-divers-underwater-haenyeo-korea