Wherever one travels in SE Alaska it's evident that the marine environment is one of the predominant aspects of the region. Whether it be physically, biologically, financially or spiritually, the waters of this region permeate one's experience. The mountains may tower above, and the forests may carpet the slopes, but it is the ocean and its biologically rich waters that form an ever present and all-important niche that everything revolves about and focuses on.

Today we cruised the waters around the city of Petersburg (pop. 3,200). In the morning we lowered our Zodiacs and toured amongst the sculpted growlers, bergy-bits, and icebergs which had calved off the unseen face of the LeConte Glacier and were floating about LeConte Bay. In the early afternoon some of us flew over the nearby mountains to catch a glimpse of the overall aerial picture of this coastal marine ecosystem. After lunch we docked in the community of Petersburg where it was quite obvious that fishing, not tourism, was the mainstay for the people who lived in this scenic community. For dinner we ate freshly caught Dungeness crab, and afterwards we cruised with a pod of 12 Killer Whales.

To live here successfully, and to appreciate all its beauty, one must embrace the sea.