AKSCUBA.COM NEWS
March 10, 2010
SITE MAINTENANCE Our old server was limiting and slow. In order to accommodate our changing needs, we have decided to move to a new address. Welcome to it! Unfortunately, the move has interfered with certain of the site's features, including the most popular feature (the forums). Please bear with us for the next few days as we work out some kinks and reenable these features.
It's easy to silt out yourself and your buddy in Alaska's muddy conditions. Avoid it by staying off the bottom (five feet is good,) improving your kicks (if you are pushing the water backward to propel you forward then you aren't pushing it down to stir up the muck,) and changing your finning techniques. Proven techniques to avoid silting out include the modified flutter and the frog kick.
Mammals
Whales, dolphin, seals, sea lion
Fish
Fin fish
Salmon, rockfish, halibut, lingcod
Other fish
Sharks, wolf fish, true eels
Arthropods
Crabs, sea spiders
Mollusks
Scallops, oysters, clams, sea slugs, sea snails, nudibranchs
Echnoderms
Stars of various ilk are very common in Alaska's waters. In fact, Alaska is rich with echinoderms including brittle stars
, various sea stars 
, and urchins.
Cnidaria
Jellys, anemone's , and, yes, corals. Alaskan corals are mostly the soft kind, although some brilliant corals have been discovered in the Aleutian chain.
Metridia (especially metridia pacifica) are very common.
Algae
Alaska has a rich population of algaes, including some amazing seaweeds. For instance, I am told that Alaska is home to feather boa kelps (Egregia menziesii) (please let me know if you have a picture to donate). We used to pop bull kelp in Juneau. Seward is home to massive turkish towels (chondracanthus exasperatus), some three feet long or longer. A little trivia - turkish towels can be used as exfoliating sponges when bathing, and the slime inside is full of carrageenan (that's the emulsifier used in chocolate bars).
Worms
...?...
True Plants
...?...
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE