Basura: Creature watching a huge benefit of snorkeling

“People come to me and say, ‘What’ll I do if I go in the water and see a shark?’ You don’t have to do anything. The chances of that shark attacking you in any way is so remote. The sea should be enjoyed, the animals in it. When you see a shark underwater, you should say, ‘How lucky I am to see this beautiful animal in his environment!’” — Eugenie Clark

I’ve done a lot of snorkeling over the years.  It has come to my attention that readers of Townbroadcast (some, anyway) enjoy reading about fish watching. Another loyal reader of Townbroadcast is planning a trip that will take him to some snorkeling sites. He’s not snorkeled before, and looks forward to checking it out.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have snorkeled in Florida, Hawaii, Turks & Caicos, Mexico, Bonaire, and in the North Atlantic at Renville, and the end of the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. The Irish snorkeling was very cool – as in shockingly cold, that is. Still, it was fun, with things to see that are not prevalent in warmer waters.

There was a very social bachelor bottlenose dolphin that resided in west Ireland that often liked to come out and play – but we weren’t fortunate on that day. His name was Fungi, and there’s a statue to him in Dingle, a favorite town in the southwest of Ireland.

In Key Largo, the first key south of Miami, is John Pennecamp Underwater State Park, where there are places to rent snorkeling equipment, and boat excursions that go to visit nearby reefs.

I’ve seen big whale sharks and little red lipped blennies, and lots in between. There are lots of fish in the sea, but there are other things too, like squid, turtles and there are octopi, clams, sea stars (commonly called starfish), conches, scallops and crabs, bristle worms, and sea slugs. There are birds, too, that fly above the sea, sometimes paddle on the surface, and now and then venture briefly into the sea to feed.

I have the excellent Guide to Corals & Fishes by Idaz & Jerry Greenberg, published by Seahawk Press. I enjoy knowing a little bit about the fish I see. I’ve been putting little indelible marks in the book as I find new observations.

I’ve become interested in fish/sea life behavior. Cleaning stations are always worth a few minutes of quiet observation. These are areas where small fish snack on the parasites that they pick off larger fish. Larger fish come to station to have the service. The small fish, either tiny by nature or small due to being very young, get tasty parasites, and the larger fish get rid of the parasites. I’ve found that if you see a fish holding motionless in the water, usually head up at a 15 to 30 degree angle to the sea floor, there’s usually cleaning activity, and closer inspection reveals the little ones doing their thing.

Usually, all participants are honest brokers, but not always. Occasionally a big fish will eat a cleaner, or a cleaner will take a little bite of the big fish. I’ve seen barracudas patiently allowing cleaners to swim in their mouths to clean around those fearsome teeth. I think if I was a cleaner fish, I might be more drawn to a parrotfish than a barracuda, but, as I said, most of those on both sides are honest. Occasionally a sea turtle will avail himself or herself to a cleaning station.

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to sometimes be still when snorkeling.  While it’s fun to race around and chase interesting specimens, being still is often rewarded too. The fish don’t seem to get spooked by calm, sedate movements. That said, sometimes a spotted eagle ray will appear, and they are too beautiful to ignore. Whatever program I had in mind changes when I see those big beautiful fish, and I follow them. If I swim as fast as I can, I can’t keep up with an eagle ray if it wants to move out, but if I’m calm and easy going, they mosey along leisurely, picking shellfish from the sea bottom, and I can watch for a while as long as I don’t crowd them.

Squid tend to be curious, and are often in small groups. To me, they bring to mind little space ships, often very rapidly changing color patterns. They’ve been known to follow snorkelers, keeping whatever they seem to think is the proper distance, seemingly observing the observer.

Also curious are the beautiful angel fish, of which there are several varieties. Many are about the size of a dinner plate at maturity. French angelfish are black and gold, Grays are gray and black, Queens are multi-colored, and Rock Beauties, black and bright yellow, and are aptly named.

With good fortune and sharp eyes, an octopus might be spotted, usually moving gracefully along the top of a coral head. How can gracefulness be attained while coordinating the movement of eight legs?

Some fish, like spotted drums, are difficult to find. Others, like sergeant majors, are very common. Fish swimming in schools are interesting to watch, and fascinating when they form bait balls – swirling masses rotating in something akin to the shape of a huge bagel or donut. A bait ball usually signals the proximity of a predator of one sort or another – though sometimes the snorkeler is perceived in those terms. But inspection of the nearby vicinity most often reveals the presence of something looking for lunch.

         Dangers of snorkeling: 

1. drunk tourists on rental jet skis, especially when Margaritaville was renting them on Cozumel (avoid such areas)
2. sun poisoning, or skin cancers that develop later (use sun screen, maybe wear a dark tee-shirt or a shirt designed for water use)
3. accidentally stepping on something like a scorpionfish, or sting ray, or sea urchin, or fire coral. (shuffle into the water to alert fish you’re coming, and watch where you place your feet until you get into a little depth and swim)

COLUMNIST’S NOTE: In the Townbroadcast archives under Basura there are a couple of old columns called “Adventures of Snorkeling Search for Manta Rays”, and “Snorkeling Featured” that were publish some time ago.