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the smooth flute mouth
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date: 11/9/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunshine
Air Temp: ºC
Wind: South East 10- 20 knots
Water Temp: 23ºC
Water Visibility: 20m ~
Sea State: Calm
Morning broke to sunshine, blue skies and whales breaching in front of the bar. It is so special to be having your morning coffee and see the enormous explosion of water made by a breaching whale!
The divers that got up early had a tremendous dive with the sharks. They saw a whopping 2.5 metre leopard shark swimming slowly and gracefully along the sandy bottom with its mouth ruffling up the sand in search of invertebrates. They also saw a guitarfish, which isn’t technically a true shark but a cross between the sharks and rays. It has a broad triangular head and a shark like body and is also a bottom dwelling animal. Later in the dive a white tipped reef shark came past and curiously circled the group and the rear end of a wobbegong shark was seen jammed in a coral crevice. When the divers surfaced one of them hooted “Wow we just saw four species of sharks!”
Guests on the glass bottom boat saw some interesting fish life. One of the species that caught attention was the smooth flute mouth, an elongated fish that looks just like a length of pipe and has a long wispy tail. Guests actually thought that the tail was a barb and were shy of it, however it is just the shape of the tail and is most likely shaped like that to confuse predators as to the orientation of the fish. Guests also marveled at the size and abundance of some of the coral trout and cods. They had recently been to Indonesia and were very upset as to the state of the reefs there and when they came here they could only speak great things about the effects of a “Green” protected zone. A lot of commercial and recreational fisheries inadvertently target top order carnivorous fishes through their method of capture which is baited hooks. By removing the coral trout, the trevally, the cods and the sharks it creates an imbalance on the system as a whole and it degrades quickly. Here at Lady Elliot all creatures are protected great and small and it really shows. The world needs a place like Lady Elliot Island; it is a treasure trove of natural wonders and a place of endless inspiration for the human soul.
In the evening guests came along to reef trivia and had a great laugh with some of the questions. It was a fantastic way to meet more people through the resort and when trivia was finished and the prizes were handed out everybody stayed and continued drinking and chatting into the night. It was a day of big smiles and wonder of the world we live in!
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trumpet fish and coral trout - Jess
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