Tristan da Cunha ~ an underwater view

Sue Scott is the first underwater photographer to have intensively studied the marine life of the remote south Atlantic archipelago of Tristan da Cunha (which also includes Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands), as part of a project funded by the Darwin Initiative.

She has been visiting the islands regularly since 2004, making many important discoveries including a number of seaweed species which may be new to science. In 2006, she also studied the impact of an oil-rig, which was lost at sea and grounded on Tristan, carrying with it many alien species that could have been disastrous to the delicate marine ecology of the islands. Her work led to the abandoned rig being refloated, moved from the islands, then sunk in deep water to minimise the risk from the marine life it carried with it from South America.

(The photo left shows the view to Tristan da Cunha from Nightingale Island).

A small selection of her underwater photographs are shown below. Go here for a range of her land photographs of the islands. She would be delighted for her photos to be used in publications celebrating the life of these remote islands; please contact her here to discuss your needs.

Note that this website only allows us to display extremely low resolution images; all the photographs displayed are available either as 35mm transparencies or as high-quality digital images with a minimum size of 2GB.

All images copyright Sue Scott

PREVIOUS GALLERY                   UNDERWATER HOME                     SPECIAL FEATURES

TRISTAN ROCK LOBSTERS The rock lobster or crayfish (Jasus tristani) is key to the economy of Tristan da Cunha; the fishery is the main source of the island's income. The photo right shows them in their habitat in the clear waters around the island.
TRISTAN WRASSE (Nelabrichthys ornatus) Known on Tristan as the concha, this species is endemic to the archipelago.	KLIPFISH (Bovichtus diacanthus) Another fish species endemic to the islands (ie found nowhere else).
BROAD-NOSED SEVENGILL SHARK (Notorynchus cepedianus) For some reason every underwater image library is expected to have shark photos, so here are two!	BROAD-NOSED SEVEN-GILLED SHARK These sharks proved to be more inquisitive than threatening underwater. They have been known to kill humans, but only when they were attacked first!
SUBANTARCTIC FUR SEAL Another inquisitive species that investigates divers underwater.	TRUMPET ANEMONE Underwater Tristan is not without spectacular colour.
GIANT KELP Many of the shores around Tristan are dominated by Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) which grows to 30m long.	SEAWEEDS IN ROCKPOOL Sue's studies have shown that seaweeds are the main food for the rock lobsters which are the mainstay of the island's economy.
TRISTAN SEAWEEDS A colourful array of red, brown and green algae (seaweeds).	GROUNDED OIL RIG The abandoned oilrig which grounded on Tristan in 2006, threatening the marine ecology of the isolated archipelago.