Muck and Mayhem

For training and exploration Miguel’s Diving staff ventured out last weekend during a break in the weather. However, night winds that forced fishermen back to land also brought billions of jellyfish larvae right into shore. We had chosen to do some muck diving on a steep sand slope in a sheltered bay where the backwash of the current prevented the jellyfish from being carried back out to the open ocean. Fortunately, only one of the staff was allergic and enjoyed showing off the welts on his lips. This is another reason we don’t offer diving at this time of year!

Since local fishermen frequently rake this section of sand with dragnets, the muck was not as spectacular as that of Lembeh in North Sulawesi. But we did enjoy poking around. The invading humans did not intimidate a patch of usually shy Elegant sand divers (Trichonotus elegans). The males have the long, elegant dorsal fin rays and flashing, round ventral fin. A nearby Curious wormfish (Gunnelichthys curiosus) with stripe ablaze was not as sure. A flounder watched warily, its two eyes poking about the sand.

Numerous anemones and sea pens dot the sand slope. One large, strange sand anemone was entirely translucent, except for black rings. The anemones hosted Saddleback anemonefish, large porcelain crabs, large banded cleaning shrimps, and numerous commensal shrimp species. Discarded wood attracted evil-looking lionfish. Udotea leaf algae endured many sap-sucking slugs, a kind of nudibranch with wing flaps and peculiar eating habits. A dappled Bonaparte snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti) peered out of the sand. A pale Short-tailed pipefish (Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus) almost 40 cm long drifted along the slope. All in all the muck dive was worth a few stings.