From a young age, I have been fascinated by where marine things are and how they ‘work’. My PhD (1971-1974) on Water Movement and the Ecology of Sublittoral Rocky Areas reflected opportunities that scuba diving offered in marine research. When the Nature Conservancy Council ‘discovered’ marine environments, I was, with others, able to start surveying the shore and shallow seas around Britain, leading to my appointment as Head of the Marine Nature Conservation Review of Great Britain in 1987. By 1998, I was discussing with the Director of the Marine Biological Association Michael Whitfield, how databases, the internet etc. could bring together information for marine environment management, protection and education: the Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN). Although retiring in 2007, I continue to contribute to the work of the MBA as an Associate Fellow. Having published over 60 journal papers or chapters in books, my activities now are mainly disseminating my knowledge, editing the annual report on South-West Marine Ecosystems, contributing to the development of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, diving and photography. In 2014, I published Marine biodiversity conservation: a practical approach and in, in 2018, Exploring Britain’s Hidden World: a Natural History of Seabed Habitats.