So-so conditions at Honaunau Bay on Sunday. Moderate swells and a fair amount of particulate matter in the water with visibility around eighty feet. The water was a touch colder at about 76 degrees.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
My first dive was just a little after sunrise and I caught this Spotted Pufferfish still napping on the plate coral. Sometimes they also rest in sand patches. There is a mixed school of several species of puffers that hangs in the water column just beyond the drop-off during daylight hours.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
This little Hawaiian Dascyllus has attitude far out of proportion to its small size. It boldly approached me, trying to persuade me to leave its territory by making quick darting movements at me. This is common behavior for this species and sometimes they even make faint clicking noises when trying to chase off interlopers.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
Early morning finds a number of Peacock Grouper visiting cleaning stations around the reef. These robust fish were introduced to Hawaiian waters in the late 1950's for reasons that aren't clear to me. They are inedible as their diet of small reef fish fills them with ciguatera toxin. They can often be seen following eels or octopi, hoping to snatch any small creatures that may be flushed out.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
The second dive provided lots of photo ops of Green Sea Turtles. I've been putting a lot of honu pics in recent posts so I'll limit myself to this one shot of a turtle hanging on the surface.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
Saddleback Butterflyfish are my wife's favorite fish. They have beautiful coloration accented by the dark black "saddle" on the upper rear quarter. They usually occur in pairs, but this one was definitely all alone on Valentine's Day.
Photo Copyright 2010 by Barry Fackler
A fairly nice day of diving but no surprises or hidden treasures. There were, again, Humpback Whales outside the bay but no breeching that I saw.
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