Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Senior Campaign Director, Science

Based in: Washington, DC, USA

Kayaking in Alaska

My most memorable ocean activity was kayaking with a friend in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Alaska has a beautiful and amazing ocean environment. I remember arriving in Gustavus and watching the incredible vibrance of life in and around the ocean. It was a joy to watch the salmon crowding upstream to spawn, the whales coursing through the waves and the eagles and sea birds winging overhead. A true Alaskan ocean adventure.

Warmer Climes

I love to snorkel and scuba-dive in the warm waters off Florida and the Mexican Caribbean. While diving I find myself astonished anew at the vastness and beauty of the ocean. From the bright and colorful shallow coral reefs, I can swim a few yards and suddenly see no ocean floor, no coral and no color. Then I drop down a few feet along the cliff-like wall, turn on my flashlight, and once again observe the rich and abundant life of the ocean as it changes and continues down the wall as far as I can see.

Of Flounders and Corals and Cobbles and Rocks

Whether diving or snorkeling, I've found the ocean floor a source of constant wonder and beauty. Swimming across an apparent bare stretch of sand, I glimpse just a flash of color and stop to watch more closely. Then, as if by magic, I see the faint outline of a peacock flounder in full camouflage with just a speck of sapphire blue along her sides to betray her presence. Everyone who sees unspoiled coral gardens loves and appreciates them but I've seen coral beds cut away for cruise ship berths and suffocated with the waste running off the overdeveloped hillsides in coastal communities. But it is the glanced-at but seldom truly seen wonders of baby fish hiding and feeding in the rich, cold, waters among the cobble and gravel beds and the rocks and boulders of the northern ocean floor that provide many of the most exciting discoveries waiting in our ocean world.