Ethereal Blue

Diving the Japanese cargo wreck yesterday turned up more than the usual pair of Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) and Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) that frequent the spot. Large Spanish mackerel or wahoo were also hanging about. Below 20 meters the visibility was fantastic. The wreck’s immense profile looked clean, resting in deep ethereal blue water. Also, blue was a nudibranch with yellow gills and rhinophores that we had assumed to be a typical Bullock’s nudibranch. But the blue variation has not been documented. Guests last week photographed three of these on the wreck. We hope the photo turns out! While traveling to farther dive sites, we watched a lone frigate bird (Fregata sp.) approach a school of large fish that were jumping and thrashing the deep blue water. Because these birds quickly becoming water logged, they rarely try to snatch fish directly from the ocean. This one, too, decided not to try.