Nemo and Dory oddly avoided darlings at sea (6)
I believe the answer is:
signal
'sea' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for signal that I've seen before include "Indication; a train control" , "Remarkable - communication" , "Outstanding - information sent over a distance" , "(Railway) light" , "Indication or warning" .)