Northwest Dive Club

Scott wrote:John,

You said there wasn't anything in this picture but coral. There are two fish, one's hiding in the sponge. Folks with better eyes than mine for seeing little things could probably pick out all kinds of 'stuff!

Actually, I think that's a crab hiding inside that sponge at the lower right. From its shape and coloration, the fish at bottom center appears to be a female Kelp Greenling, which may give folks a better idea regarding the size of the coral itself.

I still think that a diver in the photo would add a lot to the scene, plus it would REALLY give some size perspective to the coral specimen.

Sigh....looks like I'll have to somehow find a diver or two to go back up there with me to get into the shot!

- John

See what a good set of eyes will do!

We're on our way out the door in a half hour so will see you in a couple of days

Scott

I'm thinking the fish could be a Puget Sound Rockfish ...

- Janna

nwscubamom wrote:I'm thinking the fish could be a Puget Sound Rockfish ...

- Janna

And I'm thinking that you're probably right!

When taking the photos of the coral I was completely focused on it....didn't even recall a fish being there until I saw the final photo.

You've got me curious now, though. I'm going to poke around the other shots that I took of that particular coral to see if a few more of them might not have more "parts" of that fish in them.

- John

Kelp Greenling versus PSRF would be a big difference in size (scale to the coral) wouldn't it?

Sounder wrote:Kelp Greenling versus PSRF would be a big difference in size (scale to the coral) wouldn't it?

Depends on the age of the fish - a young small Kelp Greenling wouldn't be that much bigger than a fully grown PSRF.

I was basing my snap judgement on the coloration and spots that can be seen on the back of the fish in the photo, which is the only part that is visible....plus my memory that there were Kelp Greenlings all OVER the place up there.

I'm still going to rummage a bit through the photo files.....that particular coral took up a LOT of my attention, as you might imagine, so maybe there will be a shot or two that shows the fish more clearly.

- John

I found another shot that shows more of the fish. I blew the shot up and then cropped it for a better view of the fish itself. It definitely is NOT a Kelp Greenling. Like Janna said, it looks like a Puget Sound Rockfish:

Cool.

Are you guys making up names for fish when you don't know what they are:-}

Scott wrote:Are you guys making up names for fish when you don't know what they are:-}

I'm convinced that they do exactly that. I mean: "Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker?" C'mon.

Scott wrote:Are you guys making up names for fish when you don't know what they are:-}

Hee Hee Hee.....on occasion! It's a dangerous thing to do when Janna is around, though!

OK, now that you guys are done ID'ing the fish...

WHAT A GORGEOUS CORAL! Just beautiful!!! And what a FANTASTIC foto, John!!

Any size, small or large, that is an amazing critter (critters, actually if it's a true coral) that I'd LOVE to see. I have a friend who spent his childhood in Tahsis many moons ago. Gotta get up there in the next year or so!

-Tom Nic

Yeah, and I'm heading up there first week of April to see 'em!!!



- Janna

Tom Nic wrote:WHAT A GORGEOUS CORAL! Just beautiful!!! And what a FANTASTIC foto, John!!

-Tom Nic

Thanks, Tom!

We thoroughly enjoyed the diving up there, and the underwater colors took our breath away. Gorgonian corals can be found in many places in BC, of which Nootka Sound is but one. There is supposed to be a lot of them in Agamemnon Passage as well, plus a lot more spots.

- John

Yup... I'm,
Loaded & Tied,
Ready to ride..

Heading up there with Barb & Ron (ADU) on Feb 21st.

I agree, Nootka is an undiscovered site. I went here about 3 years? ago??? Stayed on the Fishing Float Pacific Safaris.
good diving on one of the walls, but unfortunately, they weren't really knowledgeable for dive sites... hit or miss... one wall was just completely covered like Browning wall... Look forward to coming back again and again...

Hopefully will get some photos that might help the cause...

See you all in Feb...

I just wanted to echo TomNic...that is a beautiful coral. Excellent photo John!

fpoole wrote:Yup... I'm,
Loaded & Tied,
Ready to ride..

Heading up there with Barb & Ron (ADU) on Feb 21st.

I agree, Nootka is an undiscovered site. I went here about 3 years? ago??? Stayed on the Fishing Float Pacific Safaris.
good diving on one of the walls, but unfortunately, they weren't really knowledgeable for dive sites... hit or miss... one wall was just completely covered like Browning wall... Look forward to coming back again and again...

Hopefully will get some photos that might help the cause...

See you all in Feb...

You're going to REALLY enjoy diving with Tahtsa Dive Charters, Frank! Scott and Jude Schooner are great folks and they have some great sites. The one that I liked best, Mozino Point, is so large and diverse that you can dive there multiple times and never see the same part of it twice!

Pinkpadigal wrote:I just wanted to echo TomNic...that is a beautiful coral. Excellent photo John!

Thanks so much, Amy! That photo brings up fond memories of one of my favorite dives!

I wanna go back!

- John

fpoole wrote:Yup... I'm,
Loaded & Tied,
Ready to ride..

Heading up there with Barb & Ron (ADU) on Feb 21st.

I agree, Nootka is an undiscovered site. I went here about 3 years? ago??? Stayed on the Fishing Float Pacific Safaris.
good diving on one of the walls, but unfortunately, they weren't really knowledgeable for dive sites... hit or miss... one wall was just completely covered like Browning wall... Look forward to coming back again and again...

Frank,

Glad to hear that you're coming up to check out our diving. It is truly amazing!

Scott

Thanks Scott & John,
Looking forward to it again...
Now, as long as it doesn't snow heheh...

See you all up there soon...
Thanks...

fpoole wrote: Now, as long as it doesn't snow heheh...

Snow???? That would merely add to the ambiance! What are you....a WUSS???

- John

Heheh...
Yah, you know the dirt road out there...
Just thinking of the drive from CBR to Tahsis...

At least in WWWT (Warm Water Wussie Travel)
you land, take a bus, grab a boat and then grab a Rum Punch...
all out on the deck in 80F weather...

Not driving in Blizzard conditions on a 60 mile dirt road out in the middle of now where.. (just joking) I'm sure it'll be fine, but with my luck, I have to count that will happen... ](*,)

fpoole wrote: Not driving in Blizzard conditions on a 60 mile dirt road out in the middle of now where.. (just joking) I'm sure it'll be fine, but with my luck, I have to count that will happen... ](*,)

Hey, It's not 60 miles, it's 60 km and almost half of it is paved now. It only took 3 attempts over 2 days to get out earlier this month, but the good thing about that kind of weather is that Big Foot uses the road to travel on- too much snow in the bush.

Amen Frank - John, one year we went out there in early March and a front came in while we were in Tahsis diving. Showed up as rain there, but going back over the pass on the dirt road, it was very snowy and we got stuck a few times in our van. Not my idea of a good time.

We planned our trip this time in April hoping to avoid that very situation. And we'll be driving a Subaru this time

Sure was a beautiful drive though!!



- Janna

nwscubamom wrote:.....one year we went out there in early March and a front came in while we were in Tahsis diving. Showed up as rain there, but going back over the pass on the dirt road, it was very snowy and we got stuck a few times in our van. Not my idea of a good time.

- Janna

Ahhh.....but the memories! Think about how impressed your grandkids will be when you tell that story! "MY Gramma's tougher than YOUR Gramma!"

Oh....and Frank....it's still possible to make Rum Punch when you're snowed in!

- John

Tom Nic wrote: Any size, small or large, that is an amazing critter (critters, actually if it's a true coral) that I'd LOVE to see.
-Tom Nic

Actually, Tom, just like the warm-water corals that everyone is familiar with, these corals are also made up of tiny fragile animals known as "polyps". Just like their tropical brethren, they are all linked together into colonies of hundreds or thousands, (depending on the size of the colony), completely surrounded by a calcareous skeleton. So you are right....the correct term would in fact be "critters", (one of my favorite words!).

Unlike the tropical corals, however, they do NOT depend at all on photosynthesis for nourishment..... instead they filter microscopic particles from the water column. This enables them to live FAR deeper than warm-water corals (which disappear with depth) and they are found in areas where currents habitually channel food to them. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint!), this places them out of the depth range of most divers. As has been mentioned elsewhere, Valerie and I were fortunate enough to find some specimens at 93 FSW, but that is unusual and most were deeper, beginning around 100 FSW.

Like their tropical cousins, gorgonian deep water corals provide habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates, including rockfish, crabs, and several species of shrimp. As aways in the PNW, structure will attract life to it and the deep reefs at which gorgonians thrive also abound in other species as well.

I was up at the Vancouver Aquarium for the "Divers Weekend" show this past Saturday. They have a few small specimens of gorgonian corals in a small low-light wall tank display. It's a good way to see what they look like close-up.

- John