“I learned to scuba dive in a swimming pool in Saskatchewan- why you might ask? Although I was raised in the prairies and my early dives were in prairie lakes (often with only 5 feet of visibility) it was only the beginning of my exploration below the blue line.

My grandmother lived in an apartment near the ocean in Vancouver and as a child I began to wonder where the crabs, prawns, flounder and salmon I had on my dinner plate came from. The answer began to unfold in the late 1970’s when I started scuba diving in the Georgia Strait.

For me, that world then became a three dimensional potpourris of life, colour, shape and diversity. At times I would see a trail of disturbed sand. The cause was a flat fish about 45 cm long with both of its eyes on one side of its body, a Starry Flounder. It didn’t start life that way. When it is young it swims around like a normal fish. Over time it starts to tilt, eventually lying and swimming on one side. As part of this metamorphosis both eyes migrate to the top side. The bottom scales become white or cream coloured and the top stays a grey or brown to blend in with the environment. The name Starry Flounder comes from the shape of its scales.

When you look out over the ocean, try to imagine the wonderment of the diversity and adaptability of life below the blue line. We need to continue to work on understanding that diversity and adaptability- something to behold and protect.”

Sheila Kerr, Arthritis Patient Advisory Board at Arthritis Research Canada.