2. Diving

Sund Rock Low O2 Mon Sept 27th

While some of this may appear normal to non-Pacific NW divers, it is most certainly NOT normal. Fish are out of their usual depth ranges (usually found deeper) and all clustered within 15 feet of the surface of the water. They are up so high in the water column because this is the only area that contains oxygen. There are also freakishly huge schools - we don't usually see that many at once. Fish that normally hide were found out in the open, lethargic and "panting". See comments under each photo or video for details. Each video clip is about one minute or less.
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This Giant Pacific Octopus died right before me. It was breathing (you can see its gill area open) and it even moved one arm just a bit. The next minute, it stopped breathing. GPOs are usually hidden, not out in the open like this, and are usually a nice ruddy brownish red color, not all white and ghostly like this one.
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This Giant Pacific Octopus died right before me. It was breathing (you can see its gill area open) and it even moved one arm just a bit. The next minute, it stopped breathing. GPOs are usually hidden, not out in the open like this, and are usually a nice ruddy brownish red color, not all white and ghostly like this one.

  • The top three feet under the surface are occupied by hundreds of small silvery Shiner Perch. Under them are hundreds of schooling Black and Copper Rockfish - densely packed and hardly moving. (to conserve energy). It is very unusual to see SO MANY of these fish together. All of this is in 9 feet of water or less. (The top number you see on my dive computer is the depth).
  • Now in 11 feet of water, I see two lethargic and "panting" Wolf Eel. Usually not seen in the open like this, they hide in caves under rocks, and are usually found below 40 feet. Up in the water column are many small Quillback rockfish - also highly unusual. Normally you'd only see a few, and they usually stay close to rocky structure and kelp in 60 ft or deeper water, not swimming out in the open in the shallows like this. You can see some sitting on top of a rock.
  • Adult Spot Prawns are not something recreational divers see very often. They inhabit waters much deeper than we go. If they come shallower, they do so at night, and might be found in 100 feet of water, and certainly not during the daytime. These Spot Prawns are in about 7 feet of water, and there are hundreds of them. Also note the many Copper Rockfish sitting on rocks, very lethargic, not moving.
  • Four wolfeel, all "panting" for breath - out in the open, in about 12 feet of water. Normally they hide under rocks and in caves, and are found about 40 feet or deeper, and you'd only see their heads peeking out at you under a rock. To see one in the open, acting so lethargically, is highly abnormal.
  • It's rare to find a Decorated Warbonnet. They are usually hiding and we might see one once in awhile. Today I saw between 10 and 20 of them, all out in the open and "panting". To the left of the Warbonnet are two Blackeye Gobies - also struggling to breathe.
  • A mixture of adult and juvenile Rockfish of several species cluster under the surface of the water. Shiner Perch are seen in the background occupying the top 3 feet, with Quillback, Copper, Black, and Yellowtail Rockfish under that.
  • A mixture of Rockfish, Spot Prawns and Ling Cod perch on the rocks near the surface of the water.
  • Hundreds and hundreds of Spot Prawns sit on rocks in about 5 feet of water.
  • This Giant Pacific Octopus died right before me. It was breathing (you can see its gill area open) and it even moved one arm just a bit. The next minute, it stopped breathing. GPOs are usually hidden, not out in the open like this, and are usually a nice ruddy brownish red color, not all white and ghostly like this one.
  • Now it has stopped breathing. This was gut-wrenching to watch and it still bothers me.
  • Stressed sunflower stars show a lot of webbing between their arms - as you can see in this photo. Perhaps this is to increase surface area for maximum respiration.
  • A Vermilion Rockfish (upper center), Copper Rockfish (lower left) and Quilback Rockfish (lower right).
  • Dead Spot Prawns. These are recent and not ones from last week's low O2 event.
  • Young Quillback Rockfish and a few Yellowtail Rockfish hover near the surface. This is highly unusual behavior for Quillback rockfish - they are usually found deep and hang near the bottom.
  • Shiner Perch were found in the hundreds just under the surface of the water.
  • Mega-schools of Black Rockfish and Copper Rockfish just below the Shiner Perch. All acting very lethargic.
  • Even these rockfish were working their gills, trying to breathe. They had a pinkish tint to them, which was very strange.
  • Dead Ratfish on the beach at Potlatch.
  • Dead Pacific Sanddab at Potlatch.
  • Dead Ratfish.
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