Temperate oceans are found circumglobally in an area that can be loosely defined as a horizontal band from Southern California to Alaska. A virtual mirror image of this band can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere, from roughly Peru to the tip of Chile. Temperate oceans are characterized by cold but extremely productive marine ecosystems. Major upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water is present in these systems. The upwelling supports enormous amounts of phytoplankton, and in turn, zooplankton, krill, and huge populations of forage fish like anchovies and sardines. The most productive fisheries in the world can be found in temperate oceans. The tremendous biomass of krill, sardines, and anchovies in these areas attracts large numbers of megafaunal predators such as whales, dolphins, seals, and sharks. In the nearshore environment of temperate oceans, the productivity remains very high, but takes the form of impressive towering kelp forests, which are home to a myriad of bizarre invertebrates and fishes.

Depsite the vast productivity of this marine ecosystem, temperate oceans always seem to play second fiddle to the warm tropical seas. This is partly due to the fact that our temperate oceans are rarely an inviting place. They're characterized by very cold water, low visibility, dramatic and exposed coastlines, high energy waves, surge, and massive swell. It can be a dangerous place and few souls venture beneath the surface here. For the few that do, many fantastic treasures await.