Hood Canal Underwater - Some Amazing Wildlife

This week I took a little trip to Hood Canal to explore and research a wonderful area of the Pacific Northwest. During my two 60+ minute dives, I spotted and photographed 16 Wold eels, 8 Giant Pacific Octopus. I also shot stills of the many other species such as four different Rockfish, Squat lobster, a few Nudibranchs, Blackeye Goby's, and some healthy but small Sunflower Sea Stars.  The water temp was around 50º, much colder than Puget Sound this year. 

Squat Lobster (Cervimunida princeps)

Wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

Hudson's Dorid (Acanthodoris hudsoni)

Wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

Heath's Dorid (Geitodoris heathi)

Blackeye Goby (Rhinogobiops Nicholsii)

Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides)

Wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

Eggyolk jelly (Phacellophora camtschatica)

During my two dives in Hood Canal, I spotted 16 Wolf eels and 8 Giant Pacific Octopus

Rockfish populations are rebounding very well, one of the few good news stories of the past couple decades.