November 2004
One of the greatest pleasures we derive from life afloat arises from the sea being our back garden. In the Tropics it is also nicely warm at up to 32°C and invariably crystal clear with visibility sometimes out to 40m. We have both been water babies all our lives, starting scuba diving over forty years ago. Di now has problems clearing her ears so is limited to snorkeling which is no problem as Dave only dons full scuba gear for excursions to significant depths at special locations. In fact, much of the most interesting marine life generally resides at depths of less than 10m.
We have a Bauer Junior compressor aboard which means Dave can dive extensively in remote areas, which is often where the best marine life is to be found. Memorable dives in places such as Tobago, Los Roques, Bonaire, San Blas, Galapagos, Tuamotos, Wallis Island, Tonga and Fiji would have be difficult if not impossible without it.
Until recently our camera was a Reefmaster comprising a stout, yellow, plastic case good to depths of 50m, housing a pretty basic 35mm wet film, automatic camera with a red compensated flash. Getting good results was hard work, as framing a shot underwater of what is often a moving target presents quite a challenge, especially as the optimum distance to the subject should be between 60-120cm (2-4ft). Initial results were discouraging with most fish either only partially within the frame or way off in the dim distance.
However, that all changed this season with the switch to a digital camera. Not only is the framing of the image underwater much easier with an LCD monitor screen but the Charged Coupled Device (CCD) sensor is much more sensitive than film, enabling images to be captured at lower light levels without resorting to flash. Light sources such as flash cause problems underwater due to flaring from small particles, such as plankton between the camera and the subject. Added to all of this is the ability to take hundreds of pictures on one dive and get instantaneous access to the results on surfacing, as opposed to hanging onto films for weeks or months until a trustworthy processing facility can be found.
Well, that's enough of the chat so on with our second marine show of over twenty examples of tropical marine life, from this year's cruise, beginning as before with some of our all time favourites, angel fish :-
In our first Marine Life issue we showed a couple of examples of these most beautiful fish from Tobago in the Caribbean. You can imagine how pleased we were to find different and perhaps even more exotic variants of the species in the Pacific. Many tens of thousands of years ago the South and North American continents were separated by water, before they joined at the Isthmus of Panama, so not surprisingly there are many evolutionary variants of common species.
Angel Fish are relatively approachable, being often seen in pairs which one would like to believe are stable male/female relationships. They also have distinct and equally eye catching markings in their juvenile stages. When we began serious classification of our rapidly burgeoning collection of marine images, we were delighted to find many branches of the family, that we had failed to recognise before.
Roaming these tropical waters with a camera with virtually unlimited picture taking capability has led to a widening of the range of subjects captured. One quickly realises that corals are prime targets as they seldom move around at speed! They are easy prey for the photographercompared with timid fish who, after an age of stalking, invariably dive into some inaccessible hole in the coral. Good reference works that enables us to make a stab at classification adds to our enjoyment by establishing the links between the hundreds of variants of each family. Comments on misclassification are welcome!
We began to see Picassos around the mid point of the Pacific in the Society Islands of French Polynesia and they seem to have become more common as we have moved westwards. The diversity and siting of their markings could only warrant a link to one of the most famous of abstract artists. Often they are easily approached and on the reef in Apia, Samoa where this picture was taken they actually brushed against us in what appeared to be a territorial statement.
These garishly adorned members of the Damsel family are also known as Orange Finned Anemone fish, as they are usually to be found close to some of the larger species of anemones such as the one seen below it here. This one was seen in a deep within the fringing reef of Wallis Island, a remote French territory 400nm NE of Fiji. The main island there is surrounded by a reef with large shallow areas just a metre or so deep at low water. However, at one point we discovered a deep about 350m long, falling away to depths of 18m with a sheer coral drop off on one side. Within this small enclave was an amazing, isolated population of thousands of marine creatures.
Sea Cucumbers are relatively common and come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and patterns. This one, around 40cm long was seen in Somosomo Bay, on the north of Naviti Island in the Yasawas, off the west coast of Fiji. Unfortunately, several species are harvested to be smoked and shipped to China. Though they are reputed to be somewhat of a delicacy there, we have never heard of locals in these waters consuming them.
These strange members of the Scorpion fish family are sometimes known as Lion Fish and harbour a dangerous venom. They are fairly rare so Dave was pretty lucky to spot this one in a dark crevice around 22m deep off the island of Yadua in central Fiji. This one was not particularly large at about 35cm diameter.
Sunken wrecks attract divers like magnets. It is it fascinating to observe how marine life takes over providing a habitat, sheltering an amazing variety of forms. This fishing boat had been around for about 20 years so was beginning to become integrated into the reef about a mile to the west of the central Tongan island of Haafeva.
This lovely example of a Giant Clam about 40cm long with its jaws open and veils exposed was also seen on the deck of the sunken Chinese fishing boat. More frequently they are seen encrusted or seemingly built into the reef coral. Only rarely does one get to see one of big enough proportions to remind one of the frightening childhood cinema images of a pearl diver getting his foot trapped within its closing shell.
Sixty years ago this US fighter aircraft which had a mechanical problem ditched in a lagoon on the eastern side of the island of Naviti in the Yasawas, Fiji. Fortunately the pilot escaped and was soon picked up by a flying boat rescue aircraft. We knew of the wreck but even with a reasonably good description of the location in about 5m of water, it was surprisingly difficult to locate. First we found an undamaged propeller blade sticking up vertically out of the just visible hub, a good indicator that the engine had not been developing power as the aircraft touched water. Around 200m away we came across the fuselage. Previous stories had it labelled as a Spitfire which we doubted. However, thanks to sailing friend Wayne, ex-airline pilot and aircraft buff, we reckon we have it right now. The identification came from the V12 Allison engine, mounted just behind the large yoke protecting the pilot. An unusual configuration as most engines were mounted ahead of the crew.
Coral comes in so many varied forms it is often difficult to believe that some of the more strange ones are not from another specie such as the sponges. Above are just two of the scores of forms of Acropora, the most common family. These were in shallow water in the Yasawa Islands of Fiji, whereas below, yet another form appears like an umbrella over a heap of dead coral 25m down off Yadu Island in central Fiji. These two images illustrate the problem of colour balance, one of the principal difficulties of underwater photography. Images taken in shallow waters normally require just a little correction at the red end of the spectrum. However, in deep water where the light has penetrated tens of metres of seawater, the full toolbox of image processing tools is often required to approach what one recollects as the true colouring.
No such problems with the crab below which was spotted below the tideline of a beach on Yadua, Fiji. He's only around 10cm across so was probably feeling pretty intimidated by the camera lens up his nose. Surprisingly, marine crabs as opposed to their shore based coconut colleagues are not as common in the Pacific as in the cooler waters of the North Atlantic. Not since the San Blas Islands off Panama's Caribbean shores have we enjoyed the taste of excellent crab meat.
Below is what is an exotic example of what is known in the tropics as a lobster but to those of us who appreciate their cooler water cousins with two huge claws, they are definitely crayfish and inferior eating. Normally their colouring is more prosaic, an orangy brown with some black markings. The southern coast of Cuba abounded with crayfish so we could eat our fill almost at will. We find the meat relatively tasteless and very filling.
Along the way we have seen several species of snake eels with various markings but it wasn't until here in the Western South Pacific that we came across the true scaled sea snake below which was seen on Wallis Island. Normally they are to be seen swimming on the surface using a wide sweeping motion. In Fiji we have even observed them climb up an outboard drive into a tender. This can be disturbing as they are extremely venomous, the good news being that their jaws are so small that they can only bite parts of our anatomy like the webs between our digits.
These vivid blue starfish are common throughout the whole Pacific and are also quite large, typically 25-30cm in diameter. Often we see them wrapped around fingers of coral. In this case it is the debris of dead coral which unfortunately is becoming ever more common in the tropics as a result of global warming and cyclone damage.
The Fusiliers below are a not untypical example of the colour and abundance of fish life we observe on reefs off Fiji. This image dates back to our analogue camera era and is a good example of the difference in resolution that digitals have brought us.
These Squirrel Fish below are common reef dwellers but normally quite camera shy, seen only peering from holes in the coral. On the reef off the eastern side of Apia harbour in Samoa there is a marine reserve with a large deep within the coral. Here fish are abundant and relatively tame so we managed to get this group picture.
This large anemone around 60cm across was seen in the waters on the south of Waya Island in the Yasawa chain of Fiji. As far as we are aware it is the only one we have seen in hundreds of hours of marine exploration in the Pacific.
If it hasn't already become apparent, the amassing of so many underwater images this year has led to a rapid climb up the marine biology learning curve. Our hitherto simple classification has yielded to a more scientifically structured system. This means one tends to view the sea bed to the accompaniment of a background of Latin mutterings.
Well, that's all from our wanderings of 2004. Next year we plan to be exploring new waters around Vanuatu where the diving in the northern islands should provide lots of opportunities for exploring wrecks from the 1940's Pacific conflict.