Mola Molas

Mola molas, or sunfish, are some of the heaviest bony fish in the world. They are interesting creatures who dine on jellyfish.

A giant blue-gray mola mola swims through kelp

The Edge of Extinction

I WAS HOOKED THE FIRST TIME I saw a southern sea otter bobbing in the surf off the coast of California’s Big Sur. I didn’t know then that I would be as spellbound by these rare creatures decades later as I was at that very first sighting.

Birds of the Sea

One of the greatest symbols of wildlife in the animal kingdom, penguins endear themselves with their comical antics and wow us by thriving in unbelievably hostile environments.

king penguins

Blue Whales

SHARING SPACE WITH WILD ANIMALS in nature is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer. Maybe you’ve locked eyes with an orangutan in Borneo, or perhaps you’ve watched […]

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Wolf-Eels

ASK DIVERS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST what makes for a great dive, and most will agree that a wolf-eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) is involved. There is something about the face of […]

Alert Diver a wolf-eel enjoys a green sea urchin, Wolf-eels have a slimy coating, Salish Sea’s cold waters, Puget Sound and Hood Canal, wolf-eels are not endangered, Sund Rock in Hood Canal, wolfies are not related to eels, Alert Diver magazine Q4 2023magazine Q4 2023

Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands host a strange, yet wonderful collection of animals. The area also boasts great dive sites. Learn more about the Galapagos.

Spotted eagle ray goes for a swim near a school of fish

Under the Jetties in the Southern Australia Seas

It is early June, the onset of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and an army has just reached its destination. It has marched from the ocean’s depths into the shallows, amassing among the pilings at Blairgowrie Pier in Port Phillip Bay, south of Melbourne, Australia. 

Rapid Bay Jetty is a great dive site where one has a good chance of seeing leafy seadragons and other fascinating marine life.

Impacts of Climate Change on a Deep-Sea Fish

As I drove west past Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on my way to a photo shoot, I watched in disbelief as the temperature gauge in my vehicle rose from 64°F (18°C) to 113°F (45°C). I thought something was wrong with my gauge, but a local radio station reported the same temperature. British Columbia had record-high temperatures throughout the province that week in June 2021.

A plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) in the Salish Sea

Leaves of Grass

Seagrasses have evolved to thrive in marine environments — adapting to shallow, salty or brackish habitats at least three different times over 100 million years.

Electric ray floats above grass

Conch

Conch snails are remarkable creatures with a set of eyes, a nose (sort of), a mouth and one foot. And because they’re slow, conches are commonly picked up and are a considered a delicacy in some regions.

A queen conch peers out of its shell.