Mission Bay is a protected San Diego shore dive used most often for training, refreshers, and backup plans when open-ocean swell makes the coast less practical. The water is usually calm enough for easy entries and controlled skill work, but the site is not chosen for scenery, long visibility, or dramatic terrain. Divers generally spend their time around jetty rocks, sand, and bay-bottom habitat looking for stingrays, crabs, octopus, bass, and other hardy local life that tolerates the murkier conditions.