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A single lineage of fishes, the Antarctic notothenioids, dominates the frigid and icy waters around Antarctica. They survive by virtue of special antifreeze proteins that bind to and arrest the growth of ice crystals that invade their bodies.

Finding and observing polar fishes sometimes requires diving in 28 ˚F (-2 ˚C) water through 21 foot (6.5 m)-thick sea ice. With a drysuit, it's not as cold as it looks.

Otherworldly landscapes greet the SCUBA diver below the sea ice of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

Myriad forms of ice - solid water - shroud the earth's polar regions.

McMurdo Sound, at about 78˚ S. latitude, is the highest latitude regularly-accessible marine environment in the Southern Hemisphere.

Some populations of the large Antarctic Toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni (a.k.a. Chilean Seabass), are under threat from commercial exploitation.

Antarctic field work is fraught with difficulty. How would you catch a fish hiding under 21 feet (6.5 m) of sea ice?

In McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, subfreezing seawater drives the growth of ice on the sea floor, creating special challenges for the resident animals.