Atlantic Aquasport Trains
NH Fish & Game Dive Team
NH Fish & Game Department trains its divers at Atlantic Aquasport in Rye, NH.
Pursuant to RSA 206:26 XII, the NH Fish and Game Department is the agency responsible for conducting search and rescue missions within the woodlands and inland waterways throughout the State of New Hampshire.
In the early 1960s, the first department diving activities began to take hold. Conservation Officers James Clark and William Mooney were amongst the first divers to make recovery dives. In 1967, the NHFG Law Enforcement Division established the State’s first, and only, recognized dive team. The team was established through the leadership of Conservation Officer Lt. Peter B. Lyons and Dive Training Instructor Don Stevens, owner of Atlantic Aquasport in Rye, NH. The mission of the team was then, as it is today, to recover drowning victims in the waterways in the state of New Hampshire. In addition, the team assists federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies with search and recovery of submerged evidence in criminal matters. The team also conducts dive operations serving in a Homeland Security capacity upon request.
