Puerto Rico protects leatherback hatching grounds.

Troy Bodden is working to keep Utila a natural paradise by improving the lives of its residents.

In the Bahamas, you’ll find a Caribbean reef shark for every 100 yards of underwater habitat. And when feedings occur, sharks appear in droves, swimming increasingly tighter circles around the divers gathered in an arc on the sand.

St. Croix-native Kemit-Amon Lewis is working to conserve and grow coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The islands of the Bahamas are a wide-angle paradise. Dolphins, goliath groupers, sea turtles and other hard-to-miss attractions regularly cruise up from the depths to feed in the shallows.

When marine creatures converge for the sake of their species, the results can be a kaleidoscope of a dive.

Current is king at these 6 global hotspots — choose your flyby and let yourself be swept away.

Thank poor captains and skilled explosive handlers for the 40 ships that litter the waters off the Bahamas’ 12 main islands. Here, divers can explore everything from freighters and steamships to airplanes, landing craft and patrol boats.

These human-assisted habitats act like defibrillation paddles, revving up struggling reefs and reviving declining fish populations from Florida to Indonesia and beyond.