The hidden world beneath Dartmouth Cove

Most people standing along the shoreline at Dartmouth Cove would never know what exists beneath the surface.

Below the murky water and rocky shoreline, Elli Ofthenorth sees a world filled with colour, movement, and life – sea urchins clinging to rocks, fields of eelgrass swaying with the current, and tiny sea slugs hidden in dark pockets.

For more than 20 years, Ofthenorth has explored Nova Scotia’s coastline by snorkel, spending countless hours drifting through coastal waters with an underwater camera.

“A lot of people think there’s no life in here,” Ofthenorth told the Post. “But there’s life in every square inch of the ocean. It’s just jam-packed. Creatures living on top of creatures. Everything’s eating everything. It’s a really interesting, fascinating world.”

As legal battles heat up over plans to infill part of Dartmouth Cove, Ofthenorth points to stakes that matter to her: an ecosystem within reach of anyone with a snorkel.

“It would be sad to lose a potential dive site,” she said. “I think the community here loves having this waterfront available to them.”

Ofthenorth’s connection to the water began years ago, during a vacation with her mom. The pair bought snorkeling equipment for a boat trip that was ultimately cancelled because of bad weather. When they returned home, the masks sat unused until they began wondering why they couldn’t explore local waters instead.

“We came home with these really expensive masks. And we thought, why can’t we do that here?,” said Ofthenorth.

Using Google Maps to search for accessible shoreline entry points, they began visiting beaches and coves around Nova Scotia. The fascination came quickly.

“I think as soon as you see a fish it [is] so exciting,” she said. “We were just hooked.”

Over time, the Halifax Harbour became one of Ofthenorth’s favourite places to snorkel.

“There are a lot of really pristine, beautiful dive sites in Nova Scotia,” she said. “But the harbor is really something interesting. There’s a lot of stuff in there I’ve never seen anywhere else.”

At Dartmouth Cove, Ofthenorth describes an underwater landscape that changes constantly depending on the tide, light, and depth. What appears murky from shore becomes increasingly detailed underwater.

“Every rock has something living on it,” she said. “Different colors of algae and some beautiful blue flora and stuff that’s all pink and purple.”

In recent months, the cove has become especially exciting for Ofthenorth because of the nudibranchs living there. Often called sea slugs, the small, elusive marine animals are known for their unusual shapes and bright colours.

“I’ve actually not seen a whole lot of sea slugs in the harbor myself. Because they’re generally considered a more deeper [ocean] creature,” said Ofthenorth. “This, for me, is really exciting because I’ve never seen so many sea slugs in any harbor anywhere.”

For Ofthenorth, snorkeling has never only been about finding new species. Part of the appeal is the act of slowing down enough to notice things that most people pass by entirely.

Ofthenorth said that one crab may seem much like the thousand a snorkeller has encountered before – until it does something surprising. “And all of a sudden, it’s exciting again.”

That sense of wonder is part of why Dartmouth Cove matters to Ofthenorth, and the value she sees in the cove is its ability to show Dartmouthians “that there’s life in the harbour and that we should treat the harbour better.”

For people standing on the shore, Dartmouth Cove may appear ordinary, but underwater, Ofthenorth says, there is an entire world still waiting to be noticed.