It’s 7:00 A.M. and the whole group shambles to the breakfast table. Tired and spent from the dives the day before, we slowly ate breakfast and woke up. Later, we climbed aboard our trusty vessel, the Twin Sister, with Curtis and Bernie, our dive masters. Our first dive site was Big Tunnel. Our dive master, Bernie, led us down to our deepest depth ever, 100ft. We cruised around the bottom of the ocean looking at coral and all types of fish. The first type of fish I saw was the hogfish which is distinguishable due to its large snout and resemblance to a hog. The hogfish is a protogynous hermaphrodite which means that it starts out as a female then matures to become a male. As we learned in class, this helps keep the population of these fish healthy as there are always males and females to keep the population at a sufficient amount. Fish such as hogfish are popular for fishing. Overfishing can lead to long term detrimental effects such as hunger. Later on in the dive, our group saw four large tarpon, also popular gamefish, waiting for smaller fish below an overhang. Tarpons are distinguishable due to their silvery color which reflects the sun. While surfacing, my dive partner and friend, Aidan Hoofard, pointed out a barracuda waiting 5 feet below the water. As we watched the barracuda’s silvery body, a school of a few dozen bar jack swam right through us and into the barracuda’s space. The barracuda attempted to jump at the bar jack but failed. We surfaced a few minutes later and we off to our next dive site, Bonnie’s Arch. As it’s name implies, the Bonnie’s Arch has a larch arch that divers are able to swim under. The arch was a great example of how small fish, such as the fairy basslet, use natural formations to hide from large predators. Fairy basslet hide inside the nooks and crannies of the arch. As we learned in class, a fish’s behavior can be helpful in determining what species of fish it is. Observing the small purple and yellow fish hide from the large predators, I was able to determine that, due to its timid behavior, it was a fairy basslet. Later on in the dive, our group saw a trumpet fish hiding amongst the sea weed. The trumpet fish is distinguishable due to its long body and great camouflage abilities. Before surfacing, our group saw a Queen Angelfish distinguishable due to its large “crown” that it has on its forehead. After observing the Angelfish, we were given freedom to dive around and observe the rest of the arch with our remaining air. After surfacing from the arch, our drowsy group went back to the resort for lunch and to discuss what we had seen on our dives. After lunch we had time to rest until dinner. After a wonderful pasta dinner, we concluded the day with Mission Blue, a documentary about the history of humans negative impact on the ocean. Today’s dives were great, and I can’t wait for the remaining dives throughout the week!
