Andrea and I have been really busy lately….counting fish! Tuesday we headed out early in the morning to the Danny to see the Goliath Grouper. While we did see some grouper, we also saw tons of other fish! As soon as we got to the wreck, we started to write furiously! As the bar jacks and sheepsheads whizzed around our heads we scoured every nook and cranny for bicolor damselfish and sharpnose puffers. There was rumor a spotted drum lived in the main room of the Danny, so we descended into grouper domain. We were immediately distracted by the school of baitfish dancing above my head.We heard the tinkle of a bell and knew it was time to move on to Atlantis, a long pile of rubble stretching between the Danny and the Spud Barge. Allison, our fearless leader, took us to a tug/barge combination wreck, making sure we saw the butter hamlet on the way. Next stop: The Spud Barge, where we were greeted by a Caribbean reef shark and more grouper! As we were leaving we caught sight of some rainbow runners and a spotfin hogfish.
For our second dive, we entered the beautifully blue water above South Double Ledges. The mad rush to scribble down all of the new fish began as soon as we hit the water. A queen angel posed for a photograph under a ledge. Some juvenile blueheaded wrasses were hanging out around an anemone. A bright orange coney was coaxed out for a cameo. As we were pushed forward by a very light north current, we encountered two huge green morays amongst bazillions of grunts. From the safety stop we observed a large amberjack at a cleaning station. Check out the photos from a REEF fish count dive!
Want to join us? We´re doing REEF fish count dives every Sunday afternoon
Don´t know much about fish ID? We can teach you! On Sundays, we conduct a quick ID session for one species of fish before each dive, so you can familiarize yourself with your ocean backyard! We can also show you how to find fishinars on your favorite fish! Plus we stock all of the slates, fish ID cards/books and materials you need to get started in our dive shop!
What´s a fishinar? REEF.org has webinars about specific kinds of fish to enhance your fish identification skills. They are called fishinars. To see them, all you have to do is sign up to be a volunteer at REEF.org! Are you ready to come count some fish with us?!
