Dive Pics

Well the Worm thread didn't do well..maybe it's the Title...maybe boredom with it all...in any event, I will continue to post pics from our dives....Tonight we have a Brittle Star on an encrusting sponge, and a Caribbean Reef Octopus....

john

and the Octopus.....close up lens so the entire body does not fit in the frame...sorry

Aloha John! Very, very cool pics! I have been away visiting with my oldest daughter and her family who came out to Kwaj finally, or I would have posted sooner! Great shots as usual! Who could possibly be bored???

Yokwe,
Shari

Hey Shari! Been a while....hope you had a good trip visiting!! I trust that your shoulder is healing up nicely and you're ready for some altitude bungee jumping or something! I hope this finds you well....stop by the dive pics forum and say hello again!! Nice to see your post...

john

Too good for Natural Geo.

Chris

Aloha John,

Wonderful pictures, seems to me that they are getting better and better, if that was possible...don't you just love the expression on the octopus's (?) face! Please keep on posting even though only a few of us seem to be around lately...

Warmest Aloha...

no worries...the South Beach Diet has put us in the water alot more than before.....(No Beer) boo hiss.....oh well, honing my skills a bit now and getting some decent stuff...going tonight again so tune in tomorrow....

j

I had no idea there was a dive pics forum!!!! I will go look for it! So excited....

Yokwe,
Shari

a dive pics forum? really? I haven't been here much and would like to check it out too....where it is?

j

Well, I thought you were telling me to go to it...but I couldn't find anything, so is it that you meant to stop back in here?? I get soooooo confused!

Yokwe,
Shari

Sorry for the confusion....I was stating the name of this new thread called dive pics....sounds more inviting than WORMS!

j

I actually like Worms for the headline better. LOL.

Great shots, John! Always a joy to see your work!

Regardless of what the thread is called...your pictures are always amazing and beautiful, John. One of the dive mags that JB gets had a huge feature on the Caymans...I thought of you and Katie with each new page. I can see why you put up with the risks to live there. Fantastic!

Yokwe,
Shari

Hey gang....anyone ever eaten one of these boys??? I haven't but just curious if they taste as good as their cousins do....

This is a Sculptured Slipper Lobster....sort of an underwater armadillo looking creature....what'd ya tink?

Shark mating season right now....heading to North Wall tomorrow to try and see 'em...Reefs and Hammers!!! Can't wait....stay tuned...

Kinda reminds me of a turtle. It's a neat looking lobster. Never seen or heard of one before now.

John, what a super photo, what an incredible animal! Thanks for posting, I can't wait to see the sharks - be careful!

Been showing the lobster to everyone at work today, all were impressed!

Aloha!

Jen

Thanks folks...Those lobsters are quite unique...

All the dive operators have cancelled all trips today for time to move boats to safe harbor, or pull them out of the water as the Government has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for all 3 islands. TS FAY is making her way towards us but I think it will pass further North of us and we'll be fine...The latest Closest Point map shows it passing about 180 miles to our North....Watch this one as it most likely will become a Hurricane after passing Cuba....

john

Hope Fay passes you by with no problem, John. Are you putting up your hurricane shetters just in case?

I hope everyone in Fays path stays safe and sound, our news today shows Fay heading straight for Florida....

Beautiful pictures, John! Hoping and praying that Fay will not harm you or anybody else (please go away, Fay!),
Alexandra

Do you have any Lionfish yet?

One was captured in Little Cayman a few weeks ago....I haven't seen any here yet....just got in from a night dive and saw everything but!!

So where are the pics, John? We're waiting for them!
Alexandra

Oh, no, Gustav.

Lionfish crossing all that deep water, sideways to the sea's current. Wowee. I sure hope all fishermen have been educated to kill every single one they see.

I will get a picture of a Lion Fish if I ever see one....right before I stuff him into a mesh bag and embolize him!

this was in last week's paper about these fish

http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-8667--1-1---.html

They are SUCH bad news. Did anyone tell REEF about the one in Little Cayman? How big was it?

Go check your weather! You have a hurricane coming near, popped up overnight. Gustav.

Don't shoot the messenger!

Aloha my friend John! Who is Gustav? Is it just the red lionfish that is dangerous? The ones out here are no where near as nasty as you guys are talking about...curious. So sorry I haven't posted in a while John, but as always, I love your pictures...looking forward to more. Be safe...

Yokwe,
Shari

Gustov, Gustav is a hurricane headed for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Grand Cayman probably won't get hit very hard. Then the storm is sort of headed toward the N.O./Houston area, too soon to tell. He's conniving, was stationary overnight.

And now for Little Miss Enclyclopedia to rant:

Lionfish have spread from six or eight that found each other on the reef near Miami Florida in 1990. All the way north and south on the US East coast. Out 600 miles to Bermuda, down the Bahamas to Cuba, Hispaniola, and probably soon the Virgin Islands.

They have no predators in the Atlantic/Caribbean. Not even sharks will eat more than the first hand-fed one. There are almost no Groupers left, the fish that eat them in the Pacific.

They lay as many as 30,000 eggs. No other fish hunts like they do, so fish here have
no idea that they are being herded into a strike zone. Lionfish eat their weight every day, of all fish, shrimps, lobsters. They hunt in packs sometimes.

The gov't of Bermuda has hired a team of fishermen to hunt them full time. But they
can live much deeper than diving limits.

It's a true disaster. They eat the grazing fish that keep algae under control.

They were imported by the thousands into Florida by the saltwater aquarium trade. Other invasive critters are still being imported. Crazy.

Ergh, I'm going to get a speargun. Or just leave my St Croix for ?? someplace really remote.

OK, sorry for too much info. They're so horrid and I'm so miserable to be watching the coral reef dying away to dead silty lumps. I'll stick to gardening and Kudzu now...

Thanks for the lionfish info Mola - I have only seen one once. We must have the same type (I didn't even know there were more than 1) as Shari, because no-one here is concerned about them either as far as I know, although we probably should be judging by your info. How disastrous! I am going to ask the DL&R about them this weekend when we go to the beach, those guys know so much about the sea critters too.

I too will be looking for more information. Mola, thanks for the tip...maybe we need to be more concerned than we are at present...here when people see one they just shoot a picture, not a speargun. Perhaps that should change. Our reef is guarded most vigorously by the divers and snorkelers out here. Always on the lookout for crown of thorns, litter etc. This is the world's largest lagoon, and since we really have no tourism, it stays beautiful and human-friendly. About 12 years ago, a storm and some stupidity wiped out a section of the reef, now a constant reminder of what can happen if we are not vigilant. It is a matter of protecting what we cherish, is it not?

Yokwe,
Shari

Thanks for not scolding me about blathering too much, I get excited. The aquarium folk imported the very largest variety, get to something like eighteen inches long, in two years from two inch cuties. Sigh.

No such thing as blathering too much. Those of us who love the underwater world have few enough places to voice our opinions. John, Jenny and the rest of us islanders (whether in fact or in spirit) always welcome comments that advance the cause, ya know?

Keep up the good work!

Yokwe,
Shari

They're not a problem in their home territory, the Pacific, IndoChina and Indian Ocean. Their prey are savvy to their herding tactics.

No fish in the Atlantic/Caribbean hunts this way, the reef fish and critters are totally defenseless and vulnerable here. No balance, but the sea and oceans are way off balance anyway, from human activity, not meaning recreational diving.

A friend of mine flew on a long flight that took the shortest route, over the North Pole. Here's the photo he snapped as the plane crossed the North Pole a few weeks ago.

AHA! Maybe now I can apply for a speargun license!!! Wish it came with a license plate!!!//

okay, back to Hurricane prep...more plants than space...shutters are a pain......Gus is not sure what he wants....moving slow to gain strength once deep warm water holds his hand.....hopping around in Cayman.....j

John,

So far, if the eye misses you by only 40 miles, you won't get much but rain.

Go out and do a "Go That Way" dance, shoving your hands in the air three times to the south. Might work.

Get the other islanders to dance with you! The Power of Positive Dancing! Worked for the American Indians.....

I MISS YOU

Dearest friend...I miss you too! JB finally downloaded some pics, as soon as I have a chance I'll get them posted. You guys take care, and give Katie a hug from her sister islander!

Yokwe,
Shari

Regarding our discussion of Lionfish...my DH just took this pic a bit ago. It isn't real clear but there are two lionfish under this coral shelf. Not very big...only about 6 or 7 inches...some get quite big out here...close to 20 inches. Here are the lionfish, and then if you are interested, I have some other pics to post. Hope all is okay in Hurricane Alley!

Yokwe,
Shari

Wow. I have the bad habit of looking for live coral cover. Only the big one in the upper left, the rest is guff. I want to go back with my scuba gear and camera four hundred years ago!