The advent of biotechnology has prompted researchers to attempt the synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds. Some success has been achieved with synthetic combinatorial chemistry and biosynthetic gene cluster manipulations. However, natural product discovery still proves to be one of the best sources for new bioactive chemicals. Nature’s superiority in bioactive chemical production and the unknown number of undiscovered compounds provide poignant motivation to protect the aquatic environment from human alteration. The alteration of the delicate aquatic environment due to human pollution has unknown consequences for the undiscovered life forms. The vast diversity of undiscovered life in the aquatic environment affords many opportunities for increasing the arsenal of therapeutic chemicals used to treat human disease. With each new finding we can continue to marvel at nature’s ability to produce such complex and beneficial structures.