Today we went on a 2 tank dive, we visited the Monk Seal center again, and listened to a presentation on black water dives. During the dive trip we dove in 2 different areas. In the first area, I saw an octopus, a white tip reef shark, a sea turtle, and dozens of species of fish. We swam through an old lava tube, which was where the shark was resting in the second location was very unique because it was over an old lava passage. All of the rocks around us were formed by lava, creating a really cool “maze” through that we swam through. I saw 2 species of eels, a Frogfish that was camouflaged on some coral, and lots of other fish. The Frogfish camouflages itself and sits still for weeks or even months. It dangles something that resembles food off of its head and waits for a small fish to come try to eat it. Once the fish gets close enough, the Frogfish uses his speed to quickly grab the fish. After the dives we went to the Monk Seal center. At the Monk Seal center we helped record data about the Seal “Sole” and we examined blood and fecal samples. We watched live footage of the staff feeding the Monk Seal a fish. Monk Seals have a reverse gag reflex, which means that once something reaches their gag reflex they swallow it instead of spitting it out. To train the Monk Seal to swallow it’s food whole when they release it into the wild, they literally shove the fish down the Seals throat. Lastly, we listened to a talk by Joshua Lambus on black water diving. He has been a photographer in Hawai’i for around 15 years and has worked with National Geographic, BBC, and other companies. He has discovered new species and was the first person to get footage of wild Cookie Cutter Sharks. We learned about different species’ bioluminescence and how they light up in the black water. He showed us some of the pictures he took and it looked so cool to me. That why the thing I’m most excited about now is the black water dive. At first I was hesitant about the black water dive and wasn’t sure what it would be like, but after he showed us his pictures, I’m really excited for it.
Joshua Lambus’ website: makafineart.com
