In 1982, I published a review about ultraviolet (UV) visual sensitivity. Since that time, there have been many reports contradicting the earlier dogma that vertebrate animals do not see UV. I pursued this work in collaboration with De-Mao Chen working in my laboratory. We showed, using electrophysiology, that the juvenile goldfish is sensitive to UV light while the adult is not. We obtained evidence that there is a diminution with aging of a UV cone mechanism. When Guangjun Dong, an EM specialist, came for one year's fellowship in my laboratory from the Institute of Microbiology in Beijing, we pursued this topic into the realm of UV light damage. Widespread cone damage by UV, transmitted through the eye's optics, suggests a mechanism independent of visual pigment absorbance. It seem as though the primary site of damage is to mitochondria, which fits with a growing literature on mitochondrial involvement in light damage. Surprisingly, UV light was more damaging to double cones than to UV cones. Protection by retinoic acid adds to a growing literature on its relevance to visual system.