A registered nurse since 1974, Susan Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Hawaii in 1985, and a certificate in marine journalism from the university’s Marine Option Program. 

Besides her weekly newspaper column, “Ocean Watch,” which has been running in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin since 1987, Susan has written three books about nature in Hawaii and three medical guidebooks with her physician husband (see below).

Susan is a frequent lecturer on subjects ranging from counting albatrosses and managing a Bangladesh clinic to sailing the South Pacific. During her talks, she shows her own photos, which she shoots for her books and newspaper columns. Susan works as a volunteer biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at such wildlife refuges as Palmyra Atoll and the Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument. 

A volunteer nurse for the Aloha Medical Mission, Susan has worked in China, the Philippines, Vanuatu and Bangladesh.  A lifelong hiker, she climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, trekked to Mt. Everest base camp and crossed Pakistan’s Baltoro Glacier to spend her 50th birthday at the base of K2.

As first mate, Susan sailed with her husband in 1986 from Connecticut to Hawaii via the Panama Canal.  From 2004 to 2006, she skippered her 37-foot ketch Honu from Hawaii to Tahiti and across the South Pacific to Australia. From there, in 2008, Susan transported her sailboat by ship to Mexico and is currently exploring the Sea of Cortez.

Susan is a Wisconsin native who moved to Hawaii in 1983 and never left.  Today she lives on the windward side of Oahu with her husband, their dog Lucy and several remarkable zebra fish.

BOOKS BY SUSAN SCOTT:
Oceanwatcher: An Above-Water Guide to Hawaii’s Marine Animals: A biologist’s view of the wonders of marine wildlife from a boat and a beach. (Green Turtle Press; 128 pages paperback; in print since 1988)

Plants and Animals of Hawaii: What’s native, what’s not, who brought it here, how it survives: Easy-to-read biology for high school students, teachers and general readers. (Bess Press; 168 pages hardcover and paperback; in print since 1991)

Exploring Hanauma Bay: From beach walking to wading to snorkeling to scuba diving: six tours of Oahu’s most popular marine preserve. Photographs by David Schrichte. (University of Hawaii Press; 90 pages paperback; in print since 1993)

BOOKS CO-WRITTEN BY SUSAN SCOTT AND
CRAIG THOMAS, MD:
All Stings Considered: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Hawaii’s Marine Injuries: Scrapping myths (urinating on a jellyfish sting doesn’t work) and other practical science-based information for lay readers and medical professionals. (University of Hawaii Press; 233 pages paperback; in print since 1997)

Poisonous Plants of Paradise: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Injuries from Hawaii’s Plants: For parents, gardeners, pet owners and anyone injured, this science-based guide is also used as an essential reference in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices. (University of Hawaii Press; 233 pages paperback; in print since 2000)

Pests of Paradise: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Injuries from Hawaii’s Animals: What’s dangerous (licking toads), and what’s not (centipede stings). Banishing folklore with science: facts vital to lay readers as well as medical professionals. (University of Hawaii Press; 190 pages; paperback; in print since 2000)