Through the drizzle and fog, a group of young harbour seals resting on rocks at the base of Cap-Trinité watches us go by in our inflatable boat. A quick glance at the shore reveals a near-vertical wall of solid rock, almost 300 meters high, that fades into the low-lying clouds. Although we're only a few meters away from the shore, the chart tells us that there's another 260 meters of water beneath our boat. The Saguenay Fjord is no ordinary place, and even on this rainy August morning, the beauty and majesty of the site leave us breathless. It's our second year in this area, exploring what are mostly virgin dive sites. The fjord is a well-known destination for kayakers, climbers and other visitors attracted by the spectacular scenery, but its scuba diving potential has gone mostly unnoticed. Probably because of the proximity of Quebec's diving mecca, Les Escoumins, most divers do not realize that the nearby fjord offers so much to the inquisitive diver.

The Saguenay Fjord is the downstream section of the Saguenay River, which flows from Lac St-Jean to the St. Lawrence River. It is a classical fjord, narrow (1 to 3 km) and deep (280 meters) with cold and salty waters except for a thin layer of surface freshwater. The area is protected within a national marine park and a provincial park. The shores are bordered by vertical cliffs and, with a few notable exceptions, access by road is impossible. Therefore, the only way to really appreciate the panorama is to board a cruise boat from one of the few localities like Ste-Rose-du-Nord or Anse-St-Jean, or rent a kayak and explore the area on your own.

We knew from the start that diving the fjord would be more challenging than a popular site like Les Escoumins. With almost no diving infrastructure and limited shore access, it is no surprise that the fjord has kept its reputation as being a secluded and inhospitable place for divers. Then there is the nature of the river itself: with a surface layer of reddish, tannic freshwater, anything below 10 meters is cold and in perpetual darkness. All Saguenay dives are therefore "night" dives, even when done at midday. Finally, there are the currents caused by the river's 1000 m3 /sec average flow and the five-meter tides. However, after talking with local divers and marine biologists, our apprehension soon gave way to curiosity and expectation.

All dives done during our first visit were shore dives. Dive sites accessible without a boat are rare (mostly Ste-Rose, Anse-St-Jean and Anse-de-Roche), but these provide an opportunity to do simple dives and grasp how different the fjord is from the St. Lawrence. On our second trip, we opted to visit sites accessible only by boat. We used the access ramps at Anse-St-Jean and Petit-Saguenay. These put us close to the most interesting dive sites, which are only a 15-20 minute boat ride from these scenic villages. Most of the fjord is still unexplored and of interest to divers, but we found that marine life increases in diversity and abundance as we moved east towards the mouth of the river. After diving at a few sites chosen at random between Baie Éternité and Anse-de-Roche, we unanimously decided on our favourite: Île-St-Louis. This small island is located 6 km east of Petit-Saguenay, near the southern shore of the river. The western end of the island offers good protection against the currents and provides a safe harbour for the dive boat.

During our dives at Île-St-Louis, we first encountered fresh and dark water, where visibility did not exceed 1 to 2 meters. The only visible marine animals we could identify were mussels, which seemed to cover every solid object in the top layer. Moving down our line, we reached the transition zone, where freshwater ends and seawater begins. The oil-in-water effect is striking, so is the sudden change in buoyancy. This halocline appeared to be characterized by a single species of bryozoan that makes thick "bushes" along a 2-5 meter zone. Below, visibility increased dramatically and was only limited by how far our lights could shine.

During our descent, we soon noticed that our intrusion into this strange world was being nervously monitored by tiny orange eyes belonging to dozens of northern shrimp. Reaching 25 meters, we were surprised to see hundreds of basket stars and cerianths, rarities in the St. Lawrence but very abundant in the fjord. Soft corals, knobby anemones and various species of sponges made for a colourful panorama that grew richer as we approached our planned maximum depth of 35 meters. Fish were not very abundant, but we did see many Greenland cod, alligator fish and Arctic shannies. Looking closer, we noticed various smaller invertebrates such as the flower-like solitary hydroids, stalked jellyfish and fan worms. We were told that encounters with octopuses (probably Bathypolypus sp.) are common, but as with our other dives in the fjord, we were not lucky on this one.

We started our slow ascent, looking at the various planktonic species that were surrounding us, some bioluminescent, others like the ctenophores showing iridescent colours when hit by the beam of our dive lights. We then reached the dark tea-coloured surface layer and were greeted with a blood-red glow coming from the sun above. It does not offer much in terms of scenery, but warm fresh water is certainly a welcome feeling after spending an hour at 5°C. The 3-meter stop was quite comfortable, and it was during one of these that we realized that it's not often that you can do a saltwater dive and rinse your gear before the end of the dive!

Diving the fjord left us with an impression of exploring a world that few have seen before. Even seasoned divers who are used to the marine life of the St. Lawrence and the Maritimes will find the Saguenay to be full of surprises. Its odd mix of fresh and salt water combined with its peculiar biology make it a unique destination in eastern Canada.