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Although bioluminescence (BL) in the open ocean has been extensively studied, coastal BL remains poorly understood due, in large degree, to a lack of BL instrumentation appropriate to measure the fine‐scale biological and physical complexity of the coastal regime. As a contribution toward understanding coastal BL, we developed the Multipurpose Bioluminescence Bathyphotometer (MBBP). This compact, self‐contained bathyphotometer (BP) was designed to function in a variety of deployment modes, including conventional shipboard profilers, towed platforms, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and profiling moorings. In all configurations, the instrument preserves signal structure at centimeter to meter scale resolution, the scale at which higher‐flow instruments might disturb thin layers and other fine‐scale water column features. In the MBBP, seawater is conveyed with minimal premeasurement …