Ocean Safari Blog

Ocean to Table: Sustainable Practices in Local Marine Harvesting

Join us on Saturday, May 10, for an engaging seminar on the sustainable harvesting of wild coastal delicacies. Learn how to identify, ethically harvest, and prepare common edible species found in our local waters—all while deepening your connection to the marine ecosystem.

Whether you’re a curious diver, forager, or foodie — this seminar will expand your knowledge and your palate.

Topics include:

Which marine species are edible (and which to avoid!)

Sustainable and legal harvesting practices

Prep and cooking tips for ocean-to-table dining

Date: Saturday, May 10
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cost: $38

Call us at 626-287-6283 to sign up!

We did a lot of diving in 2024 both locally and internationally. Locally, we went diving at the beach and all around the Channel Islands. We went to Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and San Miguel Islands in the north, and Catalina, Santa Barbara, and San Clemente Islands in the south. Overseas, we went to Taiwan, Anilao, Socorro, Loreto, and Spice Islands. Wherever we go, we always have fun diving and hanging out with happy, friendly divers. We appreciate your continued love and support and hope to keep sharing our love of the ocean with you all!

In November, Ocean Safari led a trip to one of the most remote areas of the Coral Triangle – the Spice Islands and the outer Raja Ampat. 16 lucky souls embarked on this epic journey covering more than 900km aboard the luxury liveaboard, Arenui. Everyone did more than 30 dives, many of which were exciting exploratory dives. So many fun memories!

At home, we went diving at the oil rigs aboard the Giant Stride. It's always amazing to see the contrast between the structure above and below the water. As you approach the oil rigs, all you see is the cold and grungy structure. Underwater, it is a completely different world. The whole structure is covered with invertebrates and there are countless fish swimming around the structure. Every now and then, you will be visited by the playful sea lions!

We had so much fun diving and hanging out at Santa Barbara Island on a two-day dive trip aboard the Bottom Scratcher on October 19 & 20. 
Check out the cool video by Sam Regan from this trip.

As usual, we had the playful sea lions zoom by and play around us. It's always fun to see them twirl around and swim around like crazed puppies. On a few of the dives we had the black sea bass approach us and stay close for almost the entire dive. They are such magnificent creatures, The lobster hunters also did very well on this trip. Everyone went home happy!

Interested in learning more about the ocean and her inhabitants? Come join Ocean Safari’s marine biology seminar series, taught by our in-house biologist, Haruka Ito, who will be filling you in with content from her college marine biology course! 

The lessons will all be independent from each other - so worry not if you aren’t able to commit to the full series. Topics include marine geography, seaweeds & marine plants, invertebrates, adaptations of marine mammals and seabirds, and more! 

You can also obtain a NAUI Underwater Naturalist certification when combined with one field survey on one of our local boat trips and completion of a small homework assignment.

Sign up onlne using our trip booking system, or call us at 626-287-6283 to get more info and sign up.

Session 1: July 3, 6:00pm -8:00pm

Session 2: July 10, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 3: July 17, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 4: July 31, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 5: August 6, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 6: August 14, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 7: August 21, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Session 8: August 28, 6:00pm - 8:00pm