I'm on the beach to talk to Mel Flynn, an Australian teenager who spends most of her free time underwater. Hello, Mel.
Hi.
How did you become interested in diving?
I grew up near the beach and I liked watching little fish. My parents say they knew I'd work with fish when I got older. They're both biologists, but more interested in land animals. When I was old enough, I asked if I could go diving. So I could take a closer look at all the amazing things living underwater.
When did you start to dive?
I learned to swim when I was 3, but I had to wait 7 years to dive. But even then we couldn't go deeper than 12 meters.
Did you feel scared?
Not really. The teacher told us which dangerous fish to avoid and as long as we left them alone, we wouldn't be in danger. And we were never too far from our dive boat.
And what do you do now?
I joined a group of teenagers who help scientist with their research. I like working with them. We're volunteers, but many of us are planning on becoming biologist on see animals in the future. I've learned so much already by watching the scientists at work.