Making the Most of A Shark

    Hot on the heels of the great shark  abuse imbroglio out at Honokohau, we arrived yesterday afternoon at Kahalu'u to find the beach closed.  There was a sign on the beach alerting one and all to the Shark Sighting.

鮫  攻撃 How Could a Shark Attack These Cuties?

The friendly lifeguard (Not!) had even called two of Kailua's Finest to be on hand in the event that someone should attempt to enter the shark infested waters.  I suppose that if one insisted on swimming with the shark, the men in blue would have no alternative but to shoot you.  The ensuing exsanguination would then attract even more sharks, proving their point beyond a reasonable doubt.

    There was no swimming to be done, but the chances for improving international relations were almost boundless.  I went down to the littoral to nab a picture of the Shark Citing sign, only to find a Japanese gentleman ahead of me.  He was photographing the sign with his four cute girls to provide human interest.  I assumed that  he was Japanese because he was speaking to the on'nanoko (girls) in Japanese.   After he got his shot, the on'nanoko wandered off.   I asked if I could include his daughters in my picture, as well.  The dad spoke to his daughters (heaven only knows what he said) and the and the results speaks for itself.  Domo arigato.

Yoshi and His Family.  Waiting for the Shark.

    Having made the most of that opportunity, I spotted my good friend Yoshi and his family milling around on the beach.   They've been hanging around K Bay for about a week.  A few days ago, attracted to their handsome red swim shirts, I screwed up my courage and attempted to ask about the shirts.  Yoshi speaks very little Engilish, so on my first attempt I didn't learn much, except that the shirts were purchased in Japan.  With such paltry information, I was unable to find the shirts on the internet.  

   Well, as there was little else to do and as Yoshi had proved to be such a good sport, this seemed like the ideal time to show him that (in these United States) no good deed goes unpunished.  So I approached Familia Yoshi for a second time.  He was still in good humor, but wondered what time the beach would re-open for swimming.  I said, "How the heck do I know?"   And then I asked if he would tell me the manufacturer of his shirt.  Which looks even better on the two josei, but I didn't tell him that.

Why is he talking about me?  I don't even like swimming.

   The answer was Mont-Bell, a clothing company founded in Japan by  Isamu Tatsuno, whose lifelong goals were to climb the Eiger and sell moutaineering equipment.  Sounds like he should be working for (or own) REI.  Just to show that he is well rounded, Isamu also practices the Tea Ceremony and plays the Japanese flute.  Which may make him the Nippon equivalent of Rajesh Koothrappali. 

    At any rate, I tracked down Mont-Bell on the internet.  They are going to open a flagship store in Portland next month, but there is no way that we here on this side of the pond can buy one of their swim shirts...in Portland or on Amazon.com Mont-Bell sells only running, climbing and winter sports equipment.  I don't need another high end parka.  Anyway, as far as I can tell, Mont-Bell is not currently producing snappy red swim shirts.

Look at Sandra's Cute Eyes!

 畜生 (This is the symbol for chikusho, which is the equivalent of  "Damn it!"   An indication of frustration and failure.) Yoshi and his ladies were happy to pose for a picture and we said sayanora.  And watch out for the shark!  鮫  攻撃

    As a parting cultural tidbit, I'd like to point out that in both of the pictures, the Japanese girls held up the V sign.  In Japan, this dates back to 1972 and the Sapporo Olympics.  Janet Lynn,  a U.S. figure skater gave a plucky performance and became a minor  celebrity.  Everywhere she went, she flashed the peace sign.  If you are my age, you will remember those days.  The Japanese, especially young women, began imitating her  peace sign.  Its now a singular Japanese gesture, especially for girls being photographed.  It may mean peace and sometimes they will say "Peace!", but its more in the fashion that we say,"Cheeeese!"  Its more likely to mean "I'm ready to have my picture taken."    It is said that when they hold the peace sign near their face, it is to draw your attention to their smiling eyes.  And possibly away from their cute bodies!

jeff

The Tiger Sharks of Honokohau

    Recently a video went viral on YouTube.  Two young men caught a tiger shark while fishing from the entrance to the harbor at Honokohau.  They took turns landing the shark and making a video of their

It Was Either Him Or Me!

exploits.  Being teenagers out on a lark, they exhibit a fair amount of youthful exuberance, bordering on frivolity.  They weren't alone out there.  This is, after all, the only boat harbor for the Kona Coast.  Other people observed them and a couple captured their deeds on film.  Supposedly the boys released the shark after the battle.

     Shortly after the episode, the boys posted their video on YouTube.  It took a day or two for it to catch fire, but soon enough it had gone viral.  Sandra and  I first heard about the video from Chris Barela, the artist who makes the cool octopus tables (and is now marketing them in his own gallery at the Mauna Lani shops.)  By the next day, the media had weighed in with a wheel barrow full of sanctimonious baloney.  The following evening we heard from my brother, who had seen the affair lambasted on one of the morning news programs.  Chuck came away with the impression

Peter from Jack's Dive Locker  and the Scene of the Crime.

that the tiger shark was a harbor pet!

     It was obvious that we here at Kona Snorkeling blogspot had to weigh in on this nefarious situation, so the next morning, after dropping off our yard debris at the Kona recycling center, the Redoubtable SKG and I made our way another mile north to Honokohau.  There we discovered an office for Jack's Diving Locker.   Jack's is a great company.  They'll take you diving or snorkeling from a boat, are good at reef fish identification and dedicated to protecting the marine environment.   I was lucky to interview Peter, the dive guide who was holding down the fort.  He was kind enough to take Sandra and I outside and show us the spot from which the boys caught the shark...essentially the rip rap at the mouth of the harbor.  He confirmed that the tiger shark was

Sandra Looks Cool in the Park at Honokohau

no pet.  There are a number of tiger sharks that frequent the channel outside the harbor waiting for lunch in the form of fish guts chucked overboard by the returning fishing fleet.  The victim was lured to its doom by chumming, throwing something in the water to attract fish, which is illegal in Hawai'i.

   In fact, the only law the yutes (see My cousin Vinny) broke was chumming.  This transgression got them a stern talking to by Kailua's finest, probably the first time the men in blue have given a rat's pitoot about a fishing infraction.  Proving once again that he power of the box is an amazing thing. 

    Back inside, we talked about Jack's mission statement, how the company had sent representatives, including our new friend Peter, to testify at the hearings held to discuss limiting spear fishing and collecting by scuba divers. Peter told us that a member of Jack's staff had appeared on TV in relation to this incident.  He also pointed out  the parking lot where 18 months ago 500 reef fish were dumped.   The fish were apparently collected for the aquarium trade and inadvertently killed.  This was a source of great interest for about two months.  I think the police got involved in that one, as well, although no one was apprehended.  So make this current incident the second time the men in blue have given a pitoot.   

Perhaps the Boys Were Channeling Richard Dreyfus.

 
     Peter was under the misapprehension that Governor Abercrombie ( he of the killer Orson Welles impersonation) was about to do something about all this fish abuse.  Your humble correspondent, having read the same blurb in the local paper, had followed up on this with a call to the the governor's office.  I had to give Peter some bad news. The edict is no where near the governors desk and Orson's ladylike phone representative cautioned me not to hold my breath.  Unless, of course, I wanted to end up like the fish in the Honokohau parking lot.

     Our last stop out at the boat harbor was the scene of the crime.  As it turns out, if you follow the road out past the parking area for the Dog Beach, it dead ends at a pretty little park on the south cusp of the harbor entrance.  There was a nice breeze blowing and it was delightfully cool under the trees. 

A Small Boat Returns Through the Shark Channel

This would be a great spot for a picnic, shade being a top commodity here in Kona.  In fact, there were two guys in beach chairs taking their morning leisure amid the pleasant leafiness with a view of the boat traffic in the channel.  From the small park, we found a primitive stairway down to the water, the Via Della Vergogna employed  by our young Hemingways.   The morning sun wasn't too hot, so Sandra and I strolled down and sat on the very rocks where we enjoyed the historical perspective.  Not to mention the engaging boat traffic.

   Sitting on the rocks we were brought back to the issue at hand.   To wit, we have the talking heads and morning show hosts all decrying cruelty to animals by teenage boys.  I was a teenage boy once, and I gotta tell ya, peer pressure forced me to turn my back on a  veritable parade of animal cruelty.  Even then, I didn't like it.  But I would be a hypocrite if I denied that,
like many a good German circa 1942, I turned my back and pretend that my friends weren't doing some evil things.  And I probably participated in some things that I regret.  Mea culpa!

    To be intellectually honest, one has to take a step back and think about a few things.  First, sharks aren't the smartest animals in the sea.  The State of Hawai'i does precious little to protect reef fish, virtually all of which are much more highly evolved than sharks.  Do you think those fish you see on the stringer suffered less than the shark?  They were speared, strung and left to suffocate.  Sounds like something that occurred on Calvary.  And collectors, who are apparently more prevalent than we would like to believe, lose a large portion of their catch to disease and suffocation.  In this instance, I'm not talking about depleting our reefs of fish for our viewing enjoyment, just animal cruelty.  If you think those kids were cruel, I believe a parallel accusation could be made against every single fisherman.

    And while we're at it, lets acknowledge that Hawai'i permits endless cruelty to rain down upon the heads

The Octopus Table, Chris Barela Gallery

 of one of our most intelligent sea creatures, the octopus.  Compared to Señor Tiburon, the octopus is Albert Einstein.  Yet I am forced to listen to one of the neighbor children boast about spearing an octopus in the shallows by Kailua pier.  Do you think that cephalopod had a pleasant death?  Please! My new friend Chris Barela tried to explain why adolescents kill animals, in particular our mutual friends the octopus.  His feeling was that it was a way for them to demonstrate their power in a world in which they didn't yet have very much.  And, of course,  in these very Sandwich Islands, ain't nobody gonna say shit.

     At this juncture, I am going to throw a line into the ether in the direction of Paul Allen.  I don't know if Mr. Allen is much of an environmentalist, but he did name his yacht the Octopus.  I'm hoping that someone out there knows Mr. Allen and will let him know that a couple million aimed at octopus preservation in Hawai'i would be appreciated.  You might also tell him about Chris Barela's coffee table which I'm sure would fit into the decor on the namesake vessel!

. 

Whitebar Surgeonfish, Honokohau, 10 AM

    One of the Jack's Diving Locker associates, a well spoken and deep thinking lady named Patty, pointed out that shark conservation is genuinely important.  I can remember sitting in the college library in 1969
reading about shark fishing and wondering what effect this would have on the ocean.  Worldwide, we have seen a drastic reduction in shark numbers.  Regardless of animal cruelty, it is reasonable that sharks be protected in Hawai'i and around the world.

    The bottom line here, is that the reef animals need to be protected.  I'm willing to play the tourism card.  The cruelty card.  What ever.  The sea creatures are being killed off and they need a friend in the worst possible way.

     Now its time to get down to the nit and the grit.  This blog is dedicated in large part to safe snorkeling and fish identification.  Honokohau, aka The Dog Beach, is an excellent place to take your young family for a swim (as long as they are OK with canines) and a

Heller's Barracuda.  A Regular Only at Honokohau.

major arrow in my quiver full of great places to see unusual fish following a safe shore entry.  The people at Jack's Dive Locker are in an excellent position to tell us about sharks at this site.  Every time we enter on the Dog Beach we swim out to the mooring buoy used by dive boats.  Frequently I will chat with the people on board a boat.  Several times I have swum around the Jack's Dive Locker boat.  They are at this spot every week.

    According to the dive guides at Jack's,  they are now seeing one or more tiger sharks at this dive site at least half the time.  Sometimes the sharks approach them while they are diving.  They say that this has been the case for over a year and the sharks don't make them very nervous.  The dive guides  feel they are at less risk than surface swimmers. The people at Jack's have not heard of a shark attack at Honokohau.  However, everyone agrees that it is safer to avoid shark infested waters at sunrise and sunset and when the water is cloudy.   And make no mistake, every single shark attack in Hawai'i is perpetrated by a tiger shark!

A Dive Boat Moored at the Honokohau Reef

   Last April I went to Honokohau with my nephew Andrew.  Being early birds, we entered the water about 9:30.   Not exactly sunrise, but we were the first ones in the water that morning.   There were few fish until 10:00, when a huge school of Whitebar Surgeon emerged from the reef.  It was a mystical experience.  And we did not see a shark. 

   In the past year Sandra and I have taken other friends swimming there.  Its a great place with a fun entry and a chance to see some unusual fish.  (Heller's Barracuda and Yellowtail Filefish are two specialties of this site.) We have never seen a shark.  Sadly, though, Honokohau must now bear this warning.  I imagine I will go there again, but if you choose to swim there, please be aware:  These are Shark Infested Waters!

jeff

          

A Most Amazing Immature

     A couple days ago, I wanted to show Sandra the Yellowstripe Coris.  Kahalu'u has been good to us lately and our luck held.  A thorough search revealed the immature wrasse.   As it turns out, Sandra had

already seen that fish.  Over the last week or so she had been muttering about immature parrotfish and the Dancing Queen.  The latter is an immature Black Snapper, small with black and white stripes and dots that emerges at sunset to dance in the shallows of Lipah Bay, Bali.

     Well, Sandra had seen the immature Blackstripe Coris twice.  To the right, you can see a picture of a group of immature parrotfish taken that same day.  Its easy to see how she might have been confused, although the fish we pictured in the previous blog was three times as large as these. 

    However, in The Ultimate Guide.. John Hoover notes that immature Blackstripe Coris is seen occassionally in the main islands (while it is very unusual to see the female or male forms.)  He pictures a

Miniature Flying Gurnard, Kahalu'u, August 2013

 small Blackstripe Coris that could easily be confused with those tiny parrots.  In fact, I would be hard pressed to say for sure that there isn't an immature coris in the above picture!  Not only that, its a long ways from Kona to the northwestern chain.  Where do these immatures go?  Are they all waifs?   In the words of the King of Siam, "Is a puzzlement!"

     Leaving that conundrum behind, the Redoubtable SKG and I headed for the barn.  Just before we reached the exit, flitting around on the salt and pepper sand, we discovered an incredibly small Flying Gurnard. Cute as a bug, he was the same size as many a self respecting moth, less than a two inch wing span.    

    Not only that, but look at all the purple and gold in his wings.  Shortly after we spotted the baby gurnard, our beloved Huskies made gefilte fish  out of the Boise State Broncos.  The way I have it figured, if Sandra and I can spot a really cool purple and gold fish for the next nine Saturday afternoons, the Huskies could go undefeated in 2013.

Find the Stareye Parrot, Win a Prize!

     Before I let you escape, I wanted to share an amazing picture.  Swimming the next day in sunny K Bay, I looked down and saw a fish eye looking back at me.  So deceptive was his cryptic coloration, that it took my brain a few moments to construct the rest of the fish.  We all know that fish can change color, and some are really good at blending into their surroundings, but this immature Stareye Parrot had tucked his belly under the lip of a stone encrusted with coraline algae and just disappeared.  Believe it or not, this picture has been photoshopped to make the fish more visible!  For those of you who can't find the fish, I'm including the follow up photo of him breaking cover.

   

Stareye Parrot Breaks into the Open

   May you always find your fish.  Especially if it is sitting on your plate next to a glob of wasabi!

jeff

Price Sees Him in the Corner

Touchdown Huskies!

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (Or Not)

   For almost as long as I have been vacationing in Kona, I have included an outing to the Mauna Kea Beach

The Most Beautiful Beach in Hawaii

Hotel.  Or rather, to the eponymous beach, which is routinely rated as the prettiest beach in Hawaii.   I always thought that the snorkeling here was excellent and the beach, protected by a reef, was an super place for the kids to play.  Now that we are living here in Kailua, Sandra and I find that we rarely go to the Mauna Kea.  Unable to remember the last time we were there, we packed a breakfast and headed up Hwy 11 towards Kawaihae. 

    "Breakfast?" you ask.  Well, just like several of the major resorts that have captured beaches, the MKBH is required to provide beach access.  Roughly the first 30 vehicles that show up at the guard house are awarded passes.  These passes aren't

Elegant Hermit Crab, Kahalu'u August 2013

recycled through out the day, so we have long known that if you want to go to this beach, if you were going to make the long drive, you should plan on getting there early or risk being turned away. 

     If you make the drive and are refused access, Beach 69, just south of Hapuna, is an excellent beach for the kids to play on and provides some shade for the adults.  49 Black Sand Beach at the Mauna Lani (also requiring a beach pass, but far less popular than the MKBH) is good for snorkeling.

    So, we arrived about 8:30, ate our breakfast in a shady spot near the beach, and did a little reading.  As you can see from my picture, it was a beautiful day and the beach was as lovely as ever.  We entered the water a little before 10.  The water was fairly clear.  As is the case everywhere in the world, a fair amount of the coral is dead or dying.  There remains some pretty patches...but for how long?   The variety and numbers of fish were just OK.   Long ago, I saw a Sunset Wrasse here.  This was back in the days of snail mail and Jack Randall was kind enough to send me back a note in which he explained

Cone Shell Hermit Crab, Kahalu'u  August 2013

waifs.  On this day, there were no unusual fish.  Achilles Tang was present in reasonable numbers.  (Surprising, as we saw at least two spear fishermen.)  And we ran across a pair of Milletseed Butterflyfish.   The only invertebrate of note was a Crown of Thorns Starfish.

     Our overall impression was that from a snorkeling standpoint, the reef at the Mauna Kea did not justify the hassle.  For those of you who just want to go the beach, it remains lovely.  There is relatively little shade, though, so you might want to keep that in mind.

    Right here in Kona, at the heavily touristed Kahalu'u Beach Park, snorkeling has been rather good of late.  In addition to the immature hogfish, which has persisted for a couple weeks, we have seen a couple interesting hermit crabs, whose photos grace this blog. Isn't it nice to know that Calcinus elegans and Celipaguras strigatus are still out there?

Coris flavovittata Chillin' at K Bay.  August 2013

Hermit crabs can be hard to find, but they are handsome and fascinating animals.

    Speaking of handsome and fascinating, how about this Yellowstripe Coris that we found yesterday at good old K Bay?  I was amused to find that the common name has been changed to Blackstripe Coris.  Its still C. flavovittata and a rare and wonderful fish to find at K Bay.  Along with an immature cleaner wrasse and a host of others, the fish at Kahalu'u were every bit as good as their well heeled brethren at the MKBH.

    Where ever you put on your mask and fins, good luck and see a fish for me.

jeff

    

   

Summer is the Time for Hogfish (It Says So in the Bible.)

     Are you familiar with Sharpe's Rifles, that amusing series of books written by Bernard Cornwell?   Set in India and the Iberian Penninsula Cornwell follows the career of Lt. Richard Sharpe, an up from the ranks

Hawaiian Hogfish imm  Kahalu'u August 2013

 superstar of fisticuffs, riflery, with a dazzling romance around every turn. If you are acquainted with Sharpe, you will remember Sergeant Hakeswill, the villain who has it in for our hero.

    Hakeswill is a despicable swine.  Obsequious to superior officers, he's obese, a talented liar and prone to making the most outrageous statements that he justifies by declaring, "Says so in the Bible."

    Well, I'm here to tell you that summer is the time for Hawaiian Hogfish immatures.   While I may or may not be an overweight mendicant, it says so in the bible.  Which is to say that John Hoover, in the Ulitimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, says that this fish is common in the summer.  Hoover's book is the bible for identification of fishes on our reefs.  He has many pictures showing different color patterns and lengthy text, in which he deposits little pearls like this.

H. Hogfish imm  B. albotaeniatus  Classic silhouette

      Common may be an overstatement.  Before Sandra and I saw one at Ho'okena last September, we hadn't seen an immature hogfish for years.  Of course, last year was the first that we started living year round in Hawaii.

   This summer we have seen two, the lone hog I reported at the pier in July and now this fellow at K Bay.  Here's the really cool thing about this guy:  He seems to be hanging around in the same spot.  Sandra discovered him a week ago.  That day I had the camera sans memory card.  Yesterday, in warm, cloudy water we had the camera, but the battery needed recharging.  Luckily I was able to come up with these two pictures of what I still consider a very rare fish.   But its common in the summer.  Says so in the bible.  Look for Junior Hogfish about ten meters to the left of the entry in the near shore rocky rubble.

Hawaiian Dascyllus imm   Kahalu'u  August 2013

   I saw two other nice immatures on the outing yesterday.  Careful to conserve battery power, I managed to get this nice picture of an immature Hawaiian Dascyllus.  This fish isn't rare, but sometimes hard to photograph.  Not only is it quite small, but like baby anemonefish, it darts for cover,  albeit in cauliflower coral, when approached.  Most often when we see immature dascyllus, we see several.  This guy was solitary.  Perhaps he was out of cover searching for his lost brothers and sisters.

    Out in the bay a found a large live Humpback Cowry.  I have good reason to fear that even here at Kahaluu, people remove cowries and other shelled molluscs to take home for their collections.  So I put a nice big piece of coral over this handsome living animal before bidding him adieu.  
    
    Most often, before getting out at Kahalu'u, I will take one final swim over to the Menehune Breakwater.

 Its good exercise, the water is clearer there and sometimes we see something special.  Yesterday we hit the big casino.  Sitting on a lump of coral only two feet deep was an immature Freckled Face Hawkfish.  This immature is so distinctive, that I play it as a separate fish on the list.  Forster's Hawkfish after the species name. (I do the same thing for Red Labrid Wrasse and Dragon Wrasse.) 

    As I was circling, preparing to dive down for a picture, I saw the tail of a Stout Moray Eel protruding from the adjacent coral head.  Picking my handholds with a bit more care, less Señor Stout mistake my fingers be mistaken for a quintet of Vienna sausages or a small octopus, I was able to nab the picture at right.  This is my best photo ever of this handsome and moderately uncommon immature.  I just love the chartreuse cape on this little guy. 

    So be assured that Obadiah Hakeswill will never get the best of Richard Sharpe.  And that immature Hawaiian Hogfish are common in the summer.  Says so in the bible.

jeff 

An Octopus, the Gilded Trigger and Razorfish Redux

   Despite its position in the title, I am going take the liberty of dealing with old business first.

Day Octopus and Manybar Goatfish

As I am not entirely bonkers, I sent my field notes of the Kona Crab and probable razorfish, along with my inferior pictures (as opposed to a link to the last blog) to John Hoover and Jack Randall.  Even though they didn't get to sing Ragtime Sandra Gray, they were both interested enough in the fish-crab association to write back.  Dr. Randall was quick to compare our newest finding to the well known association between day octopus and manybar goatfish.  The picture at right was taken by yours truly at 49 Black Sand Beach.  He also noted the association between Bluefin Trevally and Blue Goatfish.  Although one sees these two species hunting together all the time, its difficult to photograph, as they are on the move.

    John Hoover was kind enough to send my information on to John Earle, who he put forth as the expert on Razorfish (genus Iniistius) in Hawaii..  Here is his interesting response:

I have seen Iniistius associate themselves with all manner of non-threatening critters that stir up the sand, up to the size of rays, and also with anchors dragging in the sand.  A good hunting strategy for them, but I doubt this is a case of commensual hunting as one sees with octopus or Gymnothorax meleagris  [Whitemouth Moray] with Parupeneus [goatfish]  species and jacks (with the possible exception of the anchors ;-)  Nothing in it for the ray, crab, goatfish, etc.

Blackside Razorfish (Picture borrowed from the internet)

   I am including a purloined picture of a Razorfish, so you have an idea of what I assume we saw hunting with the Kona Crab 40 feet below.  I have never seen this species of razorfish well, except a couple times  in plastic wrapped containers in the meat department at the KTA or Oshima's up in Kainaliu.  Its nice to know that razorfish have a good time out in the sand before they end up as pescado.

     Moving right along, as we had guests last week and were determined to show off the best of Kona snorkeling, we went to two of our favorite locations.  On Monday we went to 49 Black Sand Beach at the Mauna Lani (following a morning walk out to the Puako Petroglyphs.)  The water was clear

and there were lots of handsome fish among the plentiful coral.  Fairly early into our excursion, Sandra tugged on my fin and pointed to a large octopus ten feet below us.
He was an excellent fellow, changing textures and colors.  If you are observant, you can see both his eye and his siphon in the accompanying picture.

    The next day we rolled down to Ho'okena.  On the way, we stopped at the Peace Garden on Painted Church Road.  Amid the multiple memorials commemorating the world's religions (whether or not they are peaceful)  there is a large planting depicting the our galaxy, the Milky Way.  In the Galaxy Garden, different plants represent different types of stars, nebulae, etc.  There was even a black hole at the center.  Brad, who teaches astronomy at the local college back in Mt. Vernon, Wa. was in Hog Heaven (to complete the religious metaphor).  Here is the website for the Peace Garden, including a Cracker Jack picture of the Galaxy Garden.  http://www.paleaku.com/

Gilded Triggerfish  X. auromarginatus  Ho'okena August 2013

    Finally, at Ho'okena the sky was a bright blue, the waves were small and the sea crystal clear.  Sounds like the perfect opportunity for underwater photography.  Luckily, there was a school of Gilded Triggerfish in about ten feet of water (way shallow for this species) and among them was the magnificent male you see pictured at right.  It just goes to show that if you hang in there, God will provide you an excellent fish aand a lovely day to take the picture.

   I hope you have lots of them,

jeff

In the words of the great P. T. Barnum,
"There's a sucker born every minute."  And that goes double when your dealing with an octopus!

When Brad and Dale Are on Vacation, They Really Have a Good Time!

   

  

Kermit the (Crab) Frog

     Early this morning my sweetie asked me to look at the wave predictor and, lo and behold, calm

conditions were predicted for the Kona Coast.  Sweetly she asked if we could go to Ho'okena, even though we will be going there again with our guests later in the week.  Not being the sort of guy who wants to disappoint his Honey, I cleared up the breakfast dishes, got our snorkeling equipment together and off we headed to the south.

    Lucky for us, on arrival we got a primo parking spot and, with our trusty old binoculars, were able to pick out the dolphin pod in the bay.  Wiki wiki we got down to the water and swam out toward the dolphins.  On the way out we saw the expected Yellowfin Surgeons and Gilded Triggerfish.  As a treat, Neptune sent us a pair of genuinely large Ulua.  This is not an uncommon fish, but, the cheesy  Island Insurance commercial not withstanding, you don't see the really big ulua very often.

     Although the dolphins were delightful, I was also keeping my eye on the sandy bottom 40 feet below.    

First, I noticed a group of Garden Eels.  Then, off to the side, I spotted two animals working in concert on the sandy bottom.  One was a fish, probably a Yellowstripe Goatfish, although it was too far away for me to be certain that I had identified what type of fish it was, much less the species.  It could have been a razorfish or some other wrasse. The second was clearly a crustacean.

    Doing my mediocre dives, I was able to close to within 30 feet or so of this pair.  I could clearly see that I was looking at a crab that was forging across the sand by pushing with its rear legs. I knew immediately that this was a Frog Crab!  His forward propulsion was in direct contradiction to those famous marine biologists, Tom and Dickie Smothers who sang, "Crabs walk sideways and lobsters walk straight. And we won't let you take her for your mate."  He was pushed along by a remarkably frog-like extension of his rear legs, leading with a pair of enormous pincers, his eyes erect on stalks.  The attendant fish worked around him, similar to a Multiband Goatfish teaming up with an octopus.

     I'm afraid that the picture above is the best I could do at this extreme distance.  Sandra thinks my picture looks quite a bit like that staple of our diet here in Hawaii, the Costco rotisserie chicken. Believe me, it was a Frog Crab.   I'm including a purloined picture so you can get a better idea what this animal looks like.   Interestingly, there were no good pictures in Google images of a frog crab in the wild.  More on that momentarily.

    This was my first frog crab.  Our friend John Hoover tells us that this was a Kona Crab, Ranina ranina (Linnaeus 1788) which means Frog frog.   "How did good old Linnaeus get one of these crabs?"  you may ask.  The answer is that they are widely dispersed in the Indopacific and are quite edible.  Hence, European sea captains were probably been offered them as food in trade and a few specimens undoubtably made it back to the curiosity collections of Holland.  They are trapped commercially even here in Hawaii, but the catch is regulated.  Consequently, most pictures on the internet are directed towards the chef, as opposed to the wildlife biologist.  Hoover goes on to say that the crab lives below 30 feet and is rarely encountered in the wild.  (Unless you count plucking them from traps!)

    We completed our circuit, encountering a school of Oval Chromis that deftly evaded my attempt at photography. 

Let's Go Bucks!

   Lately I have become enamored of an old tune, Ragtime Cowboy Joe.  As a child I bore the indignity of a Canadian father whose only interest in athletics was hockey.  Living in Portland, the only professional sports we attended were the Portland Buckaroos, who, purely by default were my childhood athletic heroes.  Before each period the Bucks would skate around their end of the ice to a peppy organ version of Ragtime Cowboy Joe.  Following which we would get out our cow bells and yell,  "Let's Go Bucks!"  With that in mind, as we swam in, I composed this ode to my sweetie whose enthusiasm had spawned this days adventure.  (In the event that you are not familiar with the tune, I'm including a version by the Flying J Wranglers of Ruidoso, NM.  I hope you will take the time to enjoy their singing.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_ZyqIa36E

Ragtime Sandra Gray

Way down in Ho'okena where the big fish  play,
You can swim with an Ulua or a Manta Ray.
But the hottest thing in the whole damn bay,
Is Ragtime Sandra Gray.

 (refrain)
She likes to sing raggedy music to the Dolphins,
As she bobs, back and forth upon the ocean.
With the sharks, she has never had a quarrel.
You can hear the dolphins chortle as she sings into her snorkel.

And they jump, every time they see her comin',
Cause the Dolphin folks all say.
She's the high falutin', rootin' tootin, Snorkelin' Girl from Hookena!
Ragtime Sandra Gray

Raggy Scorpionfish, S. venosa (Cuvier 1829)   Bali 2009

She sings her raggy music to the crabs and fish.
She could cook 'em in a chowder or most any dish.
But she like pipe her snorkely tremolo.
So she sings to her friends below.

refrain

I'm including a pic of the Raggy Scorpionfish, taken with the old $89 water camera at dusk in Permuteran, Bali.  My only regret is that I wasn't thoughtful enough to sing Ragtime Cowboy Joe to this magnificent stonefish. 

jeff