|
REEF
Invertebrate Invasive
Tunicates Jan's ------------------- REEF
Geographic
All
text and photos Site
designed by
|
Looking
for lots more Cool Critter Sightings?
Visit our Archives!
David Jennings, Barb Roy and I were on a dive at East Pulali Point in Hood Canal. We were diving off Pacific Adventure Charters' boat and doing diver observations for the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Project. We were down at about 90 feet, on a pretty silty bottom, and it was very dark. David began flashing his light wildly at me. I went over to look, and here was a strange looking sculpin I'd never seen! Long and thin, but pretty obviously pregnant. After looking at ID books and closeups of many photos I'd taken, we ID'd it as a Slim Sculpin, largely due to the prominent nasal spines.
The Marbled Snailfish was sited on November 18, 2007 on a night dive at Day Island Wall around 6:30 PM in Tacoma. We were diving north along the wall in 45 feet of water. As I was taking pictures of a baby octopus, my husband signaled me to come over and look at this fish which was resting on a rock at the base of an 8 foot shelf. Taking several pictures was not a problem as he remained still, apparently relying on camouflage. We swam off with him still perched on the rock never moving.
We were diving in the San Juans doing REEF surveys at a couple of previously unsurveyed sites. Our second dive was to the north side of Cone Island. My buddy, Tim Renz, and I were at about 50 feet when Tim found this guy. It was tucked up under a rock overhang. We both looked at it and knew we had found something special. My immediate thought was Poacher but I knew it wasn't any of the Poachers I'd seen before. Very excited to look it up in the books and discover that it was a Smooth Alligatorfish!
More of Dan's photos of the Ocean Sunfish here Redondo
has been so good to me, so many firsts..... my first 6 Gill, my first
skate, my first Northern Spearnose Poacher, my first Blacktip Poacher,
my first Pacific Electric Ray...... and today, while doing IDC skills....
my first..... get this... OCEAN SUNFISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found this little critter in about 70 feet of water on the north end of the north wall of Sund Rock. I was just turning around to swim back on the wall and it caught my eye. At first I thought it was just an ordinary sculpin, but as I swam closer he raised his dorsal fin and I saw the long front 'spine' on his fin. This was a fish I had never encountered before! I approached and started taking the 'distance shot' and then gradually got closer and closer. He didn't move even when we swam off. After surfacing at the end of the dive my husband told me there was another one right next to this one about half the size that I missed. The sculpin in the photo was approx. 4 inches long. July 2007
This one was found about 30 ft 8pm-ish on the muddy muck bottom of Annas bay, near Potlatch on Hood Canal. July 2007
Saw this guy yesterday (7/25/07) at Hudson (Port Townsend) around 40 ft.! First time for me. He is really cool to look at and watch swim! Just wish he would have been a little more cooperative (stood still) and the viz had been better. My eyes really lit up and my heart skipped a beat when I saw him, It's really cool to spot something new like that especially when it's such an interesting and beautiful fish. I must have followed him for 10 minutes or more hoping I was getting some good shots. He wouldn't stop and settle so I had to keep shooting and hope I was getting good stuff. He was hanging out in the red slimy leaf that is covering everthing right now. Which I might add he matches quite well. Wish I had thought to flip over to video and get some footage.. |
