Barents Sea

Barents Sea, High Arctic, June-August 2024

Out with The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research on a two months marine mammal survey in the Arctic.

This summer’s survey covers the offshore waters of the Barents Sea, Greenland Sea and around Svalbard.

 

From calm seas and clear skies to rainy and windy days or long lasting thick fog, from our watch towers we get a great variety of weather and views while patiently keeping a good lookout for signs of any potential marine mammal in the sea.

 

The northern fulmar keeps being our most frequent and very appreciated company during our watch hours. Such a great experience it would be to be a fulmar for a day effortlessly flying in the strong winds and above the stormy seas!

 

 

When winds are strong and the sea too big for the survey, the mountainous fjords of Svalbard provide us with good shelter.

 

This year, we sighted the elusive bowhead whales, more on this in the next blogpost.

 

 

 

 

Viva Mediterranea

Columbretes Islands, Mediterranean, Spain

A little visit to Columbretes, a Natural Park and Marine Reserve formed by isolated volcanic islets off the Spanish Mediterranean coast. 

Even if brief, it is always lovely to return to the wonderful, blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea to observe life both inside as well as outside of the marine reserves.

It clearly shows how incredibly important marine protected areas are for both marine life and those who live on them! 💙

More on Columbretes in a previous post: Islas Columbretes

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful May

Orust, West Coast of Sweden, Scandinavia

Wonderful spring! Although I appreciate all seasons, spring is probably my absolute favorite. So much that happens in nature, behind every single bush and stone, full of life among both animals and plants.

Lovely May, a time that for me is among the most beautiful in Sweden, and what a fantastic display of flowers there is this year!

 

Meanwhile there is so much rising life in both forests and waters, this is also a peaceful time for reflection and magical moments.

 

 

 

 

Life In The Shallows

New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific

There is troll-binding world hidden beneath the waves. This place, filled with beauty, fascination and surprises, is always calling for me.

As much as I love taking the scuba gear on, I love the simplicity and freedom freediving and snorkelling provide. All one need to start exploring the incredible underwater world is a mask and snorkel.

 

 

In this blogpost I´d like to share some shallow water beauties from the New Caledonian lagoon. The majority of the pictures are taken just a couple of meters below the surface, only the photos of the turtle, rays and nurse shark are from 5-7 meters depth.

 

So here are some of our many aquatic friends, how they commonly are called in english, and their latin names:

Blue-green chromis (Chromis viridis)

 

Surf parrotfish (Scarus rivulatus)

 

Zebra shark/Leopard shark  (Stegostoma fasciatum)

 

Bluelined snapper (Lutjanus kasmira)

 

 Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus)

 

Fringelip mullet (Crenimugil crenilabis)

 

New Caledonian sea krait (Laticauda saintgironsi)

 

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

 

Pink whipray (Pateobatis fai)

 

Ocellated eagle ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)

 

Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)

 

 

 

Where The Ocean Meets The Lagoon

New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific

 

New Caledonia is home to the world's largest lagoon, a natural jewel classified as a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

 

The reef systems enclosing the lagoon are considered to be the second largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

With a length of 1,600 km it is the longest continuous barrier reef in the world and home to an exceptional diversity of marine life.

 

 

New Caledonia is a windy place all year round, making the the calm days at the exposed barrier reef precious. This is where the ocean meets the lagoon and from where the breaking waves can be heard from afar.

 

Where the ocean meets the lagoon, where deep water creatures, pelagic life and lagoon inhabitants can be spotted.

 

During our previous visits at the reef, we had, among plenty fish and reef sharks, the privilege of a brief but sweet meeting with a hammerhead shark while freediving, and during our scuba dive we had huge, old loggerhead turtles joining us at the depth.

The magical underwater world calls for more… 💙