garropa!

i think i might have mentioned somewhere that one of the last dives i did was the wreck again. this time the visibility was FANTASTIC. it's so rare there that the vis is good. it's a very productive sea so often dives are murky and green. not so good for recreational lookyloos but very good for the ecosystem.

i was really happy i could get more shots of the garropa. i love them. garropa is the spanish common name for this species. It's scientific name is Mycteroperca jordani, the Gulf grouper. This is a species of concern because, like many species, used to be in abundance but have been fished heavily. now you're lucky if you see any. there are a few spots in the park where you can see 3-4 that appear to be residents of those particular reefs. it was a matter of discussion amongst the people we were working with whether they had enough numbers to effectively reproduce or were these just the last remaining adults and once they're gone they are extinct in the park. well, imagine my delight when we were seeing juveniles on the sunken boat. whether or not there is a large enough breeding population in the park or if there presence is the result of long distance transport of their larvae from other areas in the Gulf it is exciting to see there are juveniles. and i'm sorry but they're gorgeous fish, just look at the intricate patterns on their bodies. these guys in both of these pictures are approximately 30 cm (12 inches).




not a bad size fish, but still just a baby considering that they grow to approximately 2 meters (6 feet). check out the photo below from fishbase.org. this photo was taken by a researcher i worked for in 2001. keep in mind that the angelfish in the front is about 30-40 cm in length and compare that to the BEAST behind it.

awesome