Buried In Fine Sediments

After a long time I went for a dive to Mahurangi Harbour from the beach in Otarawao (Sullivans) Bay. Actually I did it twice; first time my camera’s strobes were flat so all the pictures turned up greenish-brownish. The main reason of the dive was to see what the fine sediments coming from the shore were doing to the underwater environment. I can confirm the situation is getting worse, the harbour is suffocating. Also Sabella is spreading more and more. I probably would not care that much about Sabella if there was no or little sediment in the harbour. Sabella is a living organism even thought it is a pest. Sediment kills everything.

Seaweed on flat sea bottom

Brown seaweed detached from rocky substrate resting on short algae on flat muddy bottom. Location: Mahurangi Harbour New Zealand

Fanworms and yellow boring sponges

Large Mediterranean fan worms and bright yellow boring sponges growing from small rock in very murky harbour. Location: Mahurangi Harbour New Zealand

 

Sabella fan worms

Large Mediterranean fan worms growing from small rock in very murky harbour. Location: Mahurangi Harbour New Zealand

Tree branch on sea bottom

Tree branch covered with encrusting life forms rising from flat bottom in murky harbour. Location: Mahurangi Harbour New Zealand

You can find more pictures at pacificimages.net.