Giant Pacific Octopus Sightings on the Rise and Seal Pup Mania

Harbor seal pup resting in West Seattle

August has been an incredibly busy month for us here at Seattle Dive Tours! PADI Instructor Richard and PADI Divemasters Chris, Chen and Brian have been working hard to show all of our divers the beautiful marine life around Seattle and Puget Sound.

Over in West Seattle, across Elliott Bay from Downtown, a very large GPO (Giant pacific octopus) has taken up residence under a small sunken boat at Seacrest Park. Our divers have had a great time taking a peek at this Puget Sound native in its natural habitat while also checking out the While-lined dirona Nudibranch that has been seen in increasing numbers. Redondo Beach (just South of Seattle) has also experienced an increase in GPO numbers, in addition to the smaller Red octopus.

Late summer and fall are also the best times to experience bioluminescence in Puget Sound during night dives. Towards the end of a night dive during our safety stop, we will circle around and point our dive lights towards our chests to block out all light. Then we will wave our hands around to see the thousands of beautiful glowing dots in the water.

Seal pup mania has hit Puget Sound this month as well. Recently weaned harbor seal pups have been coming ashore all over the Seattle area to rest and warm up before resuming their foraging activities. As always, it’s important to not disturb harbor seal pups, and at Seattle Dive Tours we have been reporting harbor seal pup sightings to our local NOAA Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteer group, Seal Sitters.

With fall almost here, and with it some of the best diving conditions of the year, now is the time to book either a day tour or an exciting night dive with Seattle Dive Tours.