A hungry whale mid-gulp, a lazy seagull riding a sea turtle, an adorable-yet-deadly mini octopus and a group of alien-looking fish babies fused to eggs were some of the stars of a recent ocean ...

Bursts of laughter echo from a speedboard bobbing on the turquoise Mozambique channel, miles off the west coast of Madagascar. It's a sunny morning. The only land in view is a tiny islet of white sand ...