We started our day off by visiting the kampachi fish farm where we were given a tour of their farm. While we looked over some of the large tubs holding baby fish, our guide said that the kampachi fish can grow to harvest size in just seven to eight months. I found this interesting as the minimal growth time seemed unnatural to me. Also, the guide said that Mahi Mahi can grow faster with noticeable results daily but prove to be challenging to farm as they love deep water. After the fish farm, we went on a tour of an abalone farm. The farm was an industrial sized farm with over 4.5 million abollone growing in their facilities at the moment. Due to the large size, they also need around a lot of water for the abalone and do this by using OTEC to pump them deep sea water, which costs them around $100,000 a month. After tasting the $5 a piece abalone, I do t think that their large production is worth it as it tasted pretty bad. After a long break, we finally headed out on our black water dive. I have been looking forward to this for the entire trip but was a little bummed out when they said cameras wouldn’t be allowed. Although I was a little disappointed, I still had a great time during our 20 minute dive as I saw unimaginable things. At first in the dive, nothing seemed to be lurking in our area but the aquatic animals started popping out of nowhere. One of the cooler looking fish looked like a clear piece of tape with LEDs on it. Also, we saw a large chain of siphonophores which I also think cut in half with my rope connected to the boat.
