Day 5

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Once again we woke up, ate and left on the vans in a rush due to a lack of communication about what time we were going to be leaving at. We went to the NELHA campus to learn about efforts being made to reduce human impact on the marine ecosystem through various forms of aquaculture. The first place we visited was Kampachi Farms where they were exploring various methods of raising marine life and doing aquaculture research. A resident scientist/researcher explained to us the different types netting used to farm fish and the challenges that come with trying to raise fish such as egg harvesting, larval stages and rate of growth. After returning home from the NELHA campus I took a solid 3 hour nap back at the house in preparation for my most daring marine adventure to date. The brave men and I boarded the van and headed to the harbor. While waiting on the dive boat to return with the previous group of divers, we donned our wetsuits and were briefed on the types of animals and organisms that could be seen on the dives. They told us about various jellyfish, squids, invertebrates and most notably sharks. As soon as sharks were mentioned my heart started racing and the nerves began. Once I descended under the blood moon my nervousness immediately went away with how amazing the view was. You could see everyone but beyond that the water was pitch black like outer space. I saw creatures that I never could have dreamed of even in my wildest imagination. There was a siphonophore that was 40 feet long and countless bioluminescents. The reason we were able to see these animals is that in the pelagic zone which is open ocean, at night the largest animal migration on Earth by biomass occurs with plankton and these other animals moving from the deep ocean to shallow waters less than 40 feet. Once I got my buoyancy under control and my flashlight in hand, it was smooth sailing from there. I really enjoyed this dive not only due to its unique environment but also the unique animals seen that I would have never known existed if not for this dive.