Where to find it

The main issue with photographing bioluminescent oceans is finding the algal blooms in the first place. I’ve had emails from people in places like Japan and America who admired my images and then asked me where and when it occurs. They seemed to believe that this was a regular occurrence, like the tides, that could be easily predicted and viewed from specific locations. Unfortunately that is most definitely not the case and far and away your biggest problem will be finding the algae in the first place.

There are some locations worldwide where bioluminescent algal blooms has been known to appear and visiting one of these locations is definitely the best way of maximising your chances of viewing it in the wild. It has been regularly seen in Puerto Rico, the Maldives and America (particularly Florida) and also in several hot-spots around Australia.

Here in Oz, the bioluminescence has been seen in Tasmania, Cairns, Port Lincoln, Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes – but I’m lucky enough to live a very short drive away from one of the most reliable hot-spots – Jervis Bay.

The common link between these locations is that they are at the end of a tidal circulation area, in which flotsam and jetsom traditionally washes up. The dinoflagellates in the water accumulate and get deposited in these areas on an incoming tide. In the case of Jervis Bay, the natural circulation of the bay often leads to the depositing of ocean matter on the beaches on the southern side.

“The primary source of flow-agitated bioluminescence is dinoflagellates. These single-celled organisms are common members of the plankton—tiny marine plants, animals or bacteria that float on or near the ocean’s surface.” Source

So to maximise your chances of seeing the bioluminescence, concentrate on an area where there has been more than one previous sighting. Do proper research though, because there is a lot of misinformation out there. For instance the tourist authorities in the Maldives (and several hundred tour operators and tourism websites) have been illegally using one of my photographs (taken in Jervis Bay here in Australia) for years, so don’t believe everything you see online – particularly if you’re expecting to see it in the Maldives!