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

Freediving French Polynesia

The chronology of my last sojourn to French Polynesia was much longer than the travel time from Seattle, Washington, to the capital Papeʻete on the island of Tahiti.

A bird’s-eye view from Moorea

The Dive Light: A Tool for All Divers

The dive light is essential equipment that can benefit all divers on most dives. There are several types of lights with various uses and a few key considerations you should make before purchasing. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to dive lights, so each diver must carefully consider their own goals and needs before deciding which model is most useful.

Lights are tools for all divers

Nestled in God’s Pocket

A visit to God’s Pocket Marine Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada, is worth experiencing wherever you live, local or not.

sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) rests on a rock

Making Avatar: The Way of Water

Upon its release in December 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water drew huge attention from the dive community for its remarkable underwater scenes.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) pilots the skimwing

Spawning Seas Forever

To the delight of the divers staying at Tawali Resort on the shores of Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, Anna’s hunch turns out to be right on track.

Staghorn coral nurseries create fish habitats even as suspended branches

The Philippines

During the pandemic I asked my partner, David Doubilet, a question: “If you had one full year to dive in one country, what country would it be?” I thought he might need some time to consider, given he has spent five decades documenting the sea for National Geographic. 

A backlit Rhinopias scorpionfish

Watch My Garden Grow

In late 2019 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a cadre of state, federal, university, and restoration practitioner partners launched Mission: Iconic Reefs (MIR), a two-phased, 20-year, ecosystem-scale restoration initiative for the Florida Keys that focuses on restoring seven high-value, iconic reef systems.

A diver prepares the seafloor for coral outplants