“If there was an award for the most colorful fish in BC waters,” videographer Grant Callegari writes, “the rock greenling would be a strong contender. I shot this photo while on a recent dive filming trip with Hakai Institute at our Calvert Island research station. Although it seems hard to miss, they’re surprisingly well camouflaged in the colorful exposed rocky shoreline.”

In this video from Hakai, the ‘psychedelic rainbow coloration’ of British Columbia’s elusive rock greenling (Hexagrammos lagocephalus) is on display. The species normally avoids humans, living “in shallow waters subjected to heavy surge,” but this one particular fish seemed to respond to the attention, yielding some spectacular images.

Watch more videos from Hakai and more fish videos, including:
• Never-before-seen footage of baby clownfish hatching
• How To Save Our Coastal Seas: Marine reserves and smart fishing
• A massive Ocean Sunfish in the Galápagos
• Small fish hide inside a sea jelly
• A school of juvenile striped eel catfish (Plotosus Lineatus)