Northwest Dive Club

To clarify the question of the age requirements: In Washington State the Archaeological Sites and Resources Act (RCW 27.53) extends state protection to submerged historic sites and artifacts greater than 30 years old: "RCW 27.53.045 Abandoned archaeological resources — Declaration. All historic...

I concur, the second one is definitely the vertebral column of a small fish - if you zoom in you can see the ribs on the left side of the frame and the fused neural and haemal spines of the caudal region on the right side of the frame.

Ross

I can appreciate your interest in these objects and I know that I cannot stop you from collecting bottles and other historic artifacts. I posted the wording of the WA state law because I think it is important to increase awareness of the historic importance of submerged sites and objects. There will...

That's right - It's sobering to realize that when I am submerged I am now classified as "historic"

In Washington State the Archaeological Sites and Resources Act (RCW 27.53) extends state protection to submerged historic sites and artifacts greater than 30 years old: "RCW 27.53.045 Abandoned archaeological resources — Declaration. All historic archaeological resources abandoned for thirty ye...

Hi Brian,
Welcome to NWDC! It's been a while since we dove together - Give me a call anytime you'd like to meet up in the Seattle area.

Ross
206-427-9244

The fish is a Pacific Staghorn Sculpin. Their name ("staghorn") refers to the distinctive branching three pointed spine on their preopercle (one of the bones of the gill cover) that is clearly visible in your photo.

Ross

If any of you are lurking around the Critterwatchers board and are wondering how to identify some of those fishes you are seeing on your dives, take the time to attend REEF Fish and Invertebrate classes. Last night Janna and Claude presented the Basic Fish Identification at the Marine Science Center...

Great pictures of my mystery poacher!
I was down at Sunnyside Beach Park on Monday and saw a bunch of these poachers but didn't have a camera. I have been trying to identify them from memory, but without a picture it has been tough. Do you know what species these are?

Ross (archaeofish)

Hey Marielle!
Nice to see you online and ready to get back to the saltwater! Let me know if you ever want to explore some dive sites in the Seattle area.

Ross (archaeofish)

Hi Janna, I love a good "mystery bone"... Well, there are some landmarks that suggest it is a fish neurocranium, however, it is not from one of the taxa that I am familiar with. Can you tell me how long it was? and if you touched it, do you remember if it was hard or soft to the touch? Als...

Good morning. I am an archaeologist who specializes in the identification of fish bones from archaeological sites around the North Pacific. I've been following the Critter Watcher threads for a while to get pointers on the identification of live fishes while diving and this is the first time I can a...

Thank you for all the suggestions!

I will be trying on some new/used neoprene drysuits this weekend and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on fitting. Depending on which company produced the suit I fall anywhere between a Medium to an XLarge. When you try on a drysuit are there specific things to check and how much &qu...

Hi Scott,
Thank you for the great workshop last night, very informative and useful for dive planning. I will definitely recommend it for other new divers.
Ross (archaeofish)

Had a great dive today at Keystone Jetty, Whidbey Island. Visibility around the jetty was about 20 feet, water temp at depth was 40 degrees, lingcod and greenlings were plentiful and the sun came out to warm us up after the dive. Who could ask for more?
Ross (archaeofish)

Welcome to NWDC! I am one of those former Portlanders that relocated to the Puget Sound area that selkie was referring to. If you ever want to check out some new dive sites up north in Washington feel free to drop me a line.
Ross

But I'm doin' Muk tomorrow. I gotta see me a squid. =D> If you don't have any luck finding squid at Mukilteo you might consider the Alki Junkyard. Had a great dive there on Thursday night and their were a pair of squid hanging around egg cases near the west end of the park. Have a great dive!

Dove at Sunrise Beach today at 8:30 am, visibility was approx. 20'. Dive time was 30 minutes with a max depth of 65'. Current was variable depending on depth; southbound between 50-60' and northbound at 60-70'. One large GPO near the sound end of the wall in a large crack and one large wolf eel on e...

I'll take the reel if it is still available.

Nice try Selkie,
You were there when I found it, and unless you made your safety stop and ascent without your mask... It likely belongs to someone else. Was great to dive with you again and I'm looking forward to your next visit to the Seattle area.

On Saturday afternoon I found somebody's mask near the end of the aquarium pier at Redondo. Please email me a description of the it and I would be happy to return it to you.
Ross
( Archaeofish )