Hornby Island Scuba Diving with Sea Lions BC, Canada, 2013

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• published: 26 Jan 2013
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Scuba Diving with California and Steller Sea Lions off Hornby Island, Canada, January 2013. Most of the video was shot using the Hero2 GoPro video camera. It's amazing at what self video footage you can get with the GoPro. Some segments were shot using the Canon 5DMII. Though I am from the PNW and have been diving here for the past 12 years this trip was organized by Florida Underwater Sports. If you're ever in Florida be sure to check them out. The sea lions migrate up from California for the winter. The more mature sea lions pretty much stay away from divers but the juveniles are incredibly curious and playful just like puppy dogs. There is nothing we do to attract their attention other than get into the water with them. In fact the idea is to just be in the water and not do anything. No chasing, no touching, just swim. The conditions for this trip were pretty close to optimal. The air was stagnent for several days so the water was very calm. There hadn't been any sun in a while so there was no algea growth. There hadn't been any rain so there was no run off from the land areas. The water temperature was running about 42-43 degrees. These conditions in addition to a particularly large number of juvenile sea lions made for excellent diving and visibility conditions. In one frame of another video I was able to count 60 sea lions. That number plus all the sea lions you couldn't see in the frame added up to a fairly large number. This is not dangerous but the divers need to be experienced and confident in their scuba skills. As you can see in the video there are a lot of them and they just pile on top of each other and you. This can make for a very intimidating experience and divers need to be very much in control. Because they are curious and they have no other way to check you out, they lightly bite on your arms, legs, fins and even your head just to investigate who and what you are. Because they are playful they will tug on your equipment including your mask. You need to keep your hands in close and be prepared to hold on to your mask. Some of these sea lions have been known to pull the mask off ones head. Again, not dangerous but only a confident diver would effectively respond and handle the situation correctly. Divers need to respect the fact that these are wild animals and follow all the rules of scuba diving and the divemaster. You shouldn't directly interact with them but just let them be curious and check you out. Don't touch or play directly with them. Just be there and let them check you out. Be sure to Like and Share with your friends if you in fact like this video. Thanks for watching.