Two hundred billion gallons of foaming seawater swirl through Sechelt Rapids on each turn of the tide in this constricted, islet-strewn passage on Canada’s Pacific coast. In the aerial view to the northwest, looking from Sechelt Inlet toward Jervis Inlet, a 13.5 knot ebb roars through the shallow gap. …

Every autumn sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) enter British Columbia’s Fraser River and battle their way hundreds of miles upstream to spawn in the big river’s countless tributaries.  Of these the Adams River run is arguably the best known.  A dominant run occurs every four years and after several dismal …

The Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus oblquidens) is among the most social and playful of marine mammals in British Columbia waters.  During autumn large numbers of them often move into the Johnstone Strait, off the northern coast of Vancouver Island, where they feed on large schools of herring and pilchards …

In the late 1970s I worked on a dive boat called the Oceaner.  Owners Gary Mallendar and Larry Mangotich, manufacture exposure suits under the Oceaner name and distribute dive gear such as the TUSA line, across Canada. Their vessel has been retired for their private use.  On several occasions …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It will take years, maybe even decades, before we know the full impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but we will begin to get a sense of just how far-reaching its effects are as the first round of wintering migratory birds makes their way through …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It’s often called ‘The Law of Unintended Consequences’. The simple explanation for this law is when we do something we believe is good or helpful but there is a counter, unexpected reaction that is not always so good. That is exactly the case with human sunscreens …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It is widely accepted scientific knowledge that climate change has drastically accelerated rates of ice melt all over the planet, contributing to sea level rise.  This is only part of the story, however. Like the visible part of an iceberg, it represents only a small part of …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau

 The ocean’s supreme hunter cleaves through the sea in dauntless pursuit of his prey. At the top of the food chain, he fears no other species. Using cunning and relentless force, he tracks his quarry, which can only feebly resist. He has one mission and one …

A mid winter opportunity to dive Browning Pass in B.C.’s Queen Charlotte Strait delivered up cold February winds and rain… but when they abated and the sun came out we were treated to some of the best visibility I’d ever enjoyed in these remarkably fertile waters at the top of …

  Perfectly ‘synched’, these Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus oblquidens) gracefully paced our boat as we motored across Blackfish Sound near Port McNeil on Vancouver Island’s rugged north coast. These playful and social marine mammals are a favorite in British Columbia’s Emerald Sea, and encounters such as this are among …

Winter diving weather along the British Columbia coast is not infrequently overcast but when the sun peaks through the clouds up there in the sky, divers can be rewarded with the best visibility of the year. This photo was taken during such a winter’s day in Agamemnon Channel, which …

Though modest in appearance and size, this food chain favourite is at the centre of a continuum oceanic in its scale and unforgiving in its nature. Text and Photography by Michael AW   Even the simple sardine is capable of greatness. Collectively, and I’m talking more than a family …