• PADI Open Water: Manual & Recreational Dive Planner included

Underwater Spotter® California Ocean Life Guide

Find · Learn · Identify

The Underwater Spotter California Ocean Life Guide highlights the 50 most common and interesting ocean animals found in California waters. Designed for divers and snorkelers, this guide makes fish identification simple, visual, and genuinely fun—no scientific jargon required.

Instead of overwhelming you with hundreds of species, Underwater Spotter focuses on just 50, helping you build confidence and recognition dive by dive.

Unlike Any Other Fish Guide

We wanted a fish identification guide that didn’t feel like homework.

Underwater Spotter Guides are:

• visually clean and easy to use

• packed with fascinating (and sometimes bizarre) fish behavior

• designed for real underwater observation, not memorization

Whether you’re diving, snorkeling, or flipping through between dives, this guide helps you see more by knowing more.

How It Works

🔍 FIND

Challenge yourself to find all 50 ocean animals in the guide.
Each species includes a checkbox so you can track your progress and turn every dive into a purpose-driven search.

🧠 LEARN

Skip the scientific names and focus on what matters.
Each entry highlights:

• fun fish facts

• unique behaviors

• when and where you’re most likely to spot them

The result: better observation and deeper appreciation of marine life.

🐠 IDENTIFY

Learn to recognize entire fish families, not just individual species.

Each family includes:

• 3 obvious visual traits for quick recognition

• 3 simple distinctions to tell commonly confused fish apart

This makes identification faster, easier, and more intuitive underwater.

What’s Inside the Guide

• Top 50 California ocean animals

• Fish, sharks, nudibranchs, starfish, sponges, clams, rays, turtles, and more

• Interactive progress tracking

• Clear visuals and comparison tools

• Behavior-based insights for each species

Who This Guide Is For

Casual Divers

For divers who want to recognize what they’re seeing—without diving into technical manuals.

Beginner Divers

A confidence-building tool that simplifies fish identification and avoids overwhelm.

Ocean Animal Lovers

For anyone who loves asking “Why is that fish doing that?” and wants real answers.

Also great for snorkelers and marine life enthusiasts.

Specs

• Weight: 5.5 oz

• Dimensions: 8.5 × 5.75 × 0.5 in

• Format: Durable, dive-friendly guide

Why We Love It

This guide pairs perfectly with:

• Fish Identification specialty courses

• Catalina Island and SoCal diving

• Divers who want to feel more connected to the ocean

It turns every dive into a discovery.

A dive log book is used by a scuba diver to record the details of dives they have done. This serves many purposes that are both safety focused and personal.

From a purely personal view point, as you progress through your training you should keep a close eye on your air consumption, weighting, and use of equipment. Seeing how you improve and react to different diving conditions and events will help you become an efficient, and safe diver. Only if you log these down will you remember them. Additionally, in your early days, when you go on holiday you should expect to take your log book and certification cards to prove your competence to go diving. A dive center will want to see proof that you can handle the diving conditions.

A log book is also a great way to journal your experiences, sightings, new buddies, travels, and it will serve as a great walk (or swim!) down memory lane.