Squalls and Lionfish

This morning dawned pink with a sky circled by a ring of blue gray storm clouds.  With rain squalls on the horizon, our last day at French Frigate Shoals was looking like it would sloppy.  But by the time we loaded our small boat, the ship was still in a welcomed patch of sunshine.  Despite rough waves, we launched smoothly and motored out to our first dive site where waves breaking over the bow of the boat made it clear that we would not be diving there.  We had ventured up to the east side of the atoll and the trade winds were whipping up breaking waves in 45' of water - very impressive for that depth.  Not wishing to be tossed about, we headed back to the relative calm of the southern waters and tried for another survey site.

We didn't find anything spectacular at our first two sites, but as we were completing our second set of surveys in a rubble field, I literally stumbled upon this Lionfish.  Hiding alongside a dead coral head, I didn't notice this fish until I had put my hand down close enough to spook him.  These fish generally rely on camouflage to escape notice, so after settling on the bottom again, he was quite willing to pose for a few photos.  Known for their cryptic behavior, these carnivores generally prefer to hunt at night and use their long pectoral fins to corner small prey and to stir up anything that might be living in the sand.  Thankfully I didn't actually put my hand on him, as their long spines are venomous and deliver a nasty puncture wound. Some species even have a clever protective mechanism where the spines are attached to a venom sac at the base of the spine.  Once a spine enters a victim's flesh, pressure on it causes the venom to move up two grooves and into the wound - sort of a self-administered injection.  But although I have had fun doing some book research to find out about this, I am happy that it is not firsthand experience that I am describing here. I doubt I would be as found of this photo if it was!

So in a day of little more than rubble sites, this was my excitement.  We are now transiting to Pearl & Hermes Atoll and will be there the day after tomorrow.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying the evening.
Take care,
Cristi