A MOONAH man has died while diving for scallops in the d'Entrecasteaux Channel.
The 48-year-old was in Great Bay, off Bruny Island, when he got into difficulty yesterday.
Marine Police and another boat in the Channel responded to the distress = call from the man's two diving companions.
Tasmania Police said cardio-pulmonary resuscitation was given until the Tasmanian Ambulance Service met them at Woodbridge but the man was pronounced = dead at the scene.
The divers were fishing from a 6m aluminium boat in the busy area when the = accident was reported at 11.35am.
Forensic and uniform police and detectives attended.
Detective-Constable Michael Glancy said the death was not believed to be suspicious and a report would be prepared for the coroner.
Also yesterday, Coast Guard Kettering's main rescue vessel caught fire in = the same area about 1pm.
Flotilla commander Malcolm Sutcliffe said he believed the Bendigo 1 and = its crew of three was returning from responding to the divers' distress call.
The fire was in the engine bay, and the police boat Vigilant was on hand = to tow the stricken boat.
"As well as the police, a number of boats went to their assistance and I'd = like to acknowledge that," Mr Sutcliffe said.
He said there was considerable damage and the Coast Guard would now rely = on its smaller support vessel, which had been their main boat before the Bendigo = 1.
The channel was opened for a one-month recreational scallop season on July = 1, which ends on Saturday night and divers have been flocking to the area.
The fishery did not open last year because of low scallop numbers.
Earlier this month, diving and hyperbaric medicine department medical co-director David Smart said many divers were risking death.
On July 5, three scallop divers were treated at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
One almost drowned and two were treated in the hyperbaric unit, one for decompression sickness or the bends, the other for injured sinuses and = ears.
Dr Smart said divers needed to take care and should have diving certificates.
He advised those using air hose hookahs to have a spare air cylinder in = case the hose was kinked or cut, and marker buoys should also be used.
Dr Smart said many carried bags of scallops that were too heavy and divers = rushed to the surface, risking the bends.