Opalescent squid at Alki Junkyard

[fnerg]

Some others saw a group of these guys at the junkyard last night, but I only saw this guy:




And a whitespotted greenling, which I haven't seen outside oif an aquarium yet:




There were also tons of juvenile tomcod all over the place, which was cool to see.

[Tom Nic]

Nice pics of both! Thanks for sharing... it's been awhile since I've seen one of the squid.

[diverden]

Yes, thanks! I didn't even know there was a whitespotted greenling! On Sunday at Cove 2 I saw a pair of squid like that in about 100 ft, 20ft off the bottom, just hanging out. My first time seeing them on the west coast!

[Tom Nic]

I've seen them both at Three Tree, the Whitespotted typically on night dives, and the squid once in a blue moon over the years. The Whitespotted have always seemed very skittish and unapproachable during the day - UNLESS they are guarding eggs, in which case they will take their little lives in their hands and their hearts in their mouths and charge you repeatedly! At night they are either "sleeping" or not quite as nervous for some reason. In any case, at night I can get pretty close with no problem.

Below are a couple of shots of two separate clutches that I saw on one dive. I understand that one male guards several egg masses - you can see that they are not identical. Both egg masses were guarded by a different charging, very upset male.





This guy I saw on a night dive in October. He let me get within inches.



Oh... and apologies for the thread jack.

[fnerg]

Totally on-topic, and a much better shot of the greenling too!

[oldsalt]

Seeing these is one thing, photographing them brings it up another level. I see the greenling throughout Puget Sound, but rarely enough that they always get a mention in my dive log. My impression with the squid is that you they come primarily to mate. I have only seen them twice, once mating and another time laying eggs. Good shots. Visiting this forum permits me to see these rarities.
Thanks, Curt

[ktb]

Nice!! I've yet to see a opalescent squid here for myself, but I did see a whitespotted greenling on a Redondo night dive in the last 3 months. I had to look it up because it was the first I had seen in the wild too.