Shannon Micallef
Assistant Director - Sea Dumping Section - Contract Role at Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Shannon, a newly minted technical instructor originally from Sydney, Australia, is a marine/environmental scientist who normally works fly-in-fly-out in the construction industry.
A diver for the past ten years, Shannon has been diving rebreathers and caves around the world for the past seven. After deciding to take some time off from work, Shannon arrived in Belize, Central America at the end of 2015 to complete a technical instructor internship at Belize Diving Services. His other goal was to continue work on his postgraduate studies.
Shannon has undertaken extensive rebreather and sidemount exploration dives within the cave systems of Belize. He has had various exploration partners as well as completing solo dives. During this time of exploration, he has discovered and surveyed five new caves on the Cayes of Belize and also inland in the Chiquibul National Park (Chiquibul is Belize's largest karst plateau).
Additionally, he has spent extensive hours within Giant Cave system under Caye Caulker. This has resulted in advancing the exploration, mapping and preservation efforts of this cave of national significance. Shannon has made numerous archaeological discoveries along the way and worked with his technical instructor trainer, James 'Chip' Petersen, to ensure recognition of these finds by the Government of Belize.
