Disturbing truth makes seafood unappealing

• By Susan Scott
• Sept. 9, 2017

Many people think that marine animals’ sole purpose in existing is to feed us. Not so. Their roles in ocean ecosystems far outweigh our need to eat them. Read more

Nightmare on kid’s feet is critters’ big moment

• By Susan Scott
• Sept. 2, 2017

Bloody attack! Mysterious sea creatures! A taste for human flesh! Unstoppable bleeding … And so went the sensational terms describing an injury sustained by a 16-year-old Australian boy last month. Read more

Eagle ray finds a way to soar on minus snout

• Aug. 26, 2017

Last week reader Pat Goding sent several photos of a spotted eagle ray with its snout missing. Part of what looks like a hook protrudes from the ray’s mouth below, and another metal piece sticks up, below the eyes, like a protruding tooth. Read more

Grotesque acorn worm helps clean sand in sea

• By Susan Scott
• Aug. 19, 2017

An acorn worm’s skin is so thin that when it’s full of sand, which is nearly always, the creature bursts open if you pick it up. Read more

Asia market far extends American eel’s journey

• By Susan Scott
• Aug. 12, 2017

I thought I knew my eels, but a recent news item in this newspaper, about a species called the American eel, left me blank. Read more

That golden time of year has arrived on kolea wings

• By Susan Scott
• Aug. 5, 2017

Writing in all caps with multiple exclamation marks is the text equivalent of shouting. But those punctuation points and uppercase letters have their moments, and here’s one: OUR KOLEA ARE BACK!!! Read more

People love turtles; it’s pretty easy to see why

• By Susan Scott
• July 29, 2017

What is it about sea turtles that touches so many of us so deeply? Read more

Pulsating pyrosome lights up dive in Galapagos

• By Susan Scott
• July 22, 2017

Pyrosomes have been in the news this summer because masses of them are, for the first time, showing up along North America’s northwestern coast. Read more

Albatross killings at Kaena Point were slaughters of innocents

• By Susan Scott
• July 15, 2017

The Kaena Point incident is a stark contrast to the aloha spirit we enjoy in Hawaii, but the sentencing is done and it’s time to move on. Read more

Snorklers see red with slate pencil sea urchins

• By Susan Scott
• July 8, 2017

The outer reef in this North Shore area takes a beating from the surf every winter, and is therefore riddled with cracks and crevices. Read more

Turbulent waters draw crowd of sea cucumbers

• By Susan Scott
• July 1, 2017

Two weeks ago I picked up a flu bug that knocked me sideways. Aching muscles and violent coughing kept me down for days. Then one morning last week, I had enough. Sick or not, I had to get in the water. Read more

Peculiarity above water in Australia also amazes

• By Susan Scott
• June 17, 2017

I’ve been home from Australia nearly a week, and I’m still smiling over some of the comments locals there made about Hawaii. Read more

Sailing trips in great reef marine park never get old

• By Susan Scott
• June 10, 2017

For the last three years, as often as our work allows, Craig and I have been sailing our 37-foot ketch, Honu, in the stretch of water between the Queensland coast and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Read more

Ocean ‘jewels’ encompass life stories of amazing snails

• By Susan Scott
• June 3, 2017

The combination of afternoon low tides and Cyclone Debbie’s recent stirring up of the ocean floor has sparked a new passion in me: snails. Read more

Spring tides are perfect for strolling among reef

• By Susan Scott
• May 27, 2017

When sailing among the hundreds of islands in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, there are no activities I would choose over snorkeling or diving. Except during spring tides. Then, with pleasure, I choose walking. Read more

Storm allows closer look at wildlife on reef isle

• By Susan Scott
• May 13, 2017

After voyaging from Pancake Creek to the Gladstone Marina, where we planned to set sail for Heron Island, a gale appeared. Not only did it pack sustained winds of more than 30 mph, the storm front promised to stick around for a week. Read more

Australian snakes keep residents on steady alert

• By Susan Scott
• May 6, 2017

Australia has a national phobia about snakes. Read more

Tetiaroa a fine spot for Obama to pen book

• By Susan Scott
• April 8, 2017

The news that Barack Obama is writing his memoir in Tetiaroa caused excitement at our house. In 2013 we sailed the Honu 40 miles from Tahiti to Tetiaroa, when the luxury hotel hosting the former president was still under construction. Read more

A precious skeleton is found amid many birds

• By Susan Scott
• April 1, 2017

While visiting Molokai last weekend, friends and I went to Moomomi Preserve, a 912-acre coastal area shaped by tradewinds so gusty they sandpapered our legs. It was worth the prickles. Read more

White terns are at home in the trees of Honolulu

• By Susan Scott
• March 13, 2017

Last week I walked into Waikiki with 11 other Oahu residents, zigzagging through tourists, street performers and pamphlet-givers. But we weren’t there to people-watch. We were there to see some of our city’s most charming marine animals: white terns. Read more

White terns turn heads in Waikiki

• By Susan Scott
• March 11, 2017

Last week, I walked into Waikiki with 11 other Oahu residents, zig-zagging through tourists, street performers and pamphlet-givers. But we weren’t there to people-watch. We were there to see some of our city’s most charming marine animals: white terns. Read more