Goat Island Channel

30/12/2016 (610)

A sort of an unfortunate dive. I usually don’t go to Goat Island in summer. There are a lot of people in the water, fish are nervous and the big ones move further off shore. This time I went for a family trip so the spot was very convenient.

It was very murky close to the shore, but the visibility improved a lot on the other side of the channel. There were schools of young trevally and snapper there hovering facing the current. On the flat bottom groups of goatfish were digging in the sand or resting in debris.

Slovak

Neveľmi vydarený ponor. V lete ku Goat Island väčšinou nechodím. Vo vode je veľa ľudí, ryby sú nervózne a tie veľké sa presunú do hlbšej vody ďalej od brehu.

Voda bola pri brehu dosť špinavá, ale v kanáli sa viditeľnosť výrazne zlepšila. Stáda mladých “trevally” a “snapper” sa tam vznášali natočené proti prúdu. Na plochom dne skupiny “goatfish” ryli v v piesku, alebo odpočívali v bioodpade.

Male goatfish Upeneichthys lineatus resting in debris on flat sandy bottom near Goat Island.

Snorkeler descending into shallow water kelp forest.

Australasian snapper Pagrus auratus in front of rocky wall.

Kelp Ecklonia radiata on vertical rocky wall playing with sunlight.

Lonely rock covered with oyster shells reaching to sea surface from dense kelp vegetation.

Young trevally Pseudocaranx dentex in blue water of the channel at Goat Island.

Bright orange nipple sponge on flat bottom with coarse sand.

School of young trevally Pseudocaranx dentex above sun-lit flat bottom in the channel at Goat Island.