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At second reef a school of squid captured everybody’s attention
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date: 26/5/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Overcast
Air Temp: 22ºC
Wind: SE 15-23 knots
Water Temp: 24ºC
Water Visibility: 10m
Sea State: Chop
It was another great day on the Great Barrier Reef full of exciting discoveries.
The glass bottom boat steamed out to second reef this morning where conditions were smooth and the marine life was plentiful. At second reef a school of squid captured everybody’s attention rapidly changing colour in a courtship display. These squid have been seen mating lately making for unusual scenes of colours and activity. Guests were interested to hear that like most reef cephalopods (Octopus, Cuttlefish etc.) they have a short life span of only a year or so and after the energy consuming process of reproducing both the males and females will perish.
In the deeper water off second reef a shovel nose shark made for an exciting introduction to the big fish here at Lady Elliot. This strange piece of evolution is a cross between the biology of a ray and a shark with a big flat head and a streamlined back end. Guests were astounded at its size being over 2m and thought that it looked scary. It is in fact completely harmless foraging for creatures in the sand.
The green turtles were fascinating again today with many individuals out at second reef progressing up onto the shallow reef flat to feed on the marine plant halimeda, which is their favourite food. They were very relaxed and interactive with our guests. When everybody came out of the water they were nothing but smiles and stories about all the great creatures they had experienced.
The afternoon dive went out to the severance wreck and progressed back towards the lighthouse bommies. The severance wreck is covered in soft corals and those divers with cameras brought back up some extremely colourful photos. A black tip reef shark was also very impressive coming in close to guests with its agile swimming style. The manta’s topped off the dive arriving at the end and remaining with the group almost stationary and allowing everybody a really good look at their giant bodies.
It was a sensational day in the water and with few guests in house this is really an amazing time of year to have intimate encounters with the reef here at Lady Elliot Island. So come check it out and get amoungst the raw beauty of this magnificent place. |
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squid in a line - Al Jones
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