Nudibranchs of the Piscataqua River with Andrea Dec and Luis Figueroa
This session provides an in‑depth overview of two of New Hampshire’s popular shore dives for underwater macro photographers: the Pierce Island Wall and the UNH pier at Fort Constitution. Luis and Andrea will cover the practical ins and outs of diving these sites, including entry and exit considerations, site navigation, currents, visibility, and the hazards unique to each location.
Drawing on more than 300 dives at Pierce Island since 2008, Luis will share firsthand insights into site conditions, seasonal variations, and best practices for safe and successful dives. Complementing this, Andrea Dec will present on the remarkable diversity of nudibranch species encountered at these sites, highlighting notable and unusual finds documented over years of exploration.
Together, this session blends site‑specific dive knowledge with marine life discovery, offering valuable guidance for divers interested in safely exploring these environments while deepening their appreciation of the region’s unique underwater biodiversity.
Andrea Dec was certified locally in 1989 and she remembers her checkout dives were at Old Garden Beach and Folly Cove vividly. After that experience, she decided to purchase all of the needed scuba gear. It wasn’t until the 2006 when a local diver told her that there were nudibranch found off our shores, that she got her underwater camera. She enjoys photographing most marine animals but is mainly interested in mollusks and is also the President of the Boston Malacological Club. She also enjoys finding and photograph nudibranchs locally, and around the world.
Luis Figueroa began his diving journey at age 17, exploring the beaches of Southern California and the Channel Islands. After a brief hiatus from diving to raise his young children—now all certified Open Water divers—he returned to the sport and earned his Divemaster certification through SSI. Since then, Luis has logged more than 3,000 dives across dive sites around the world. With over 30 years of experience diving New England waters, Luis is an active volunteer diver supporting Rutledge Marine Lab on Star Island, the Seacoast Science Center, and Oceanswide as part of the Traps to Treasure program. He also shares his passion and experience as a guest blogger for iDive New England.
