Our Divemaster from the Rapid Bay Jetty trip, Wayne Rosenboom of Underwater Sports in Adelaide, South Australia came to dive with us this morning. We took him to two sites we hadn't visited in a long time, Hawthorne Reef and Buchanan's Reef.

The upper sixty feet of the water column was dirty, but visibility opened up nicely as we dropped to the reef below. It was dark, but we had at least twenty-five feet vis. The last time Merry Passage and I dived here it seemed pretty barren. The sponges and invertebrates were still lacking today, but the rockfish have returned. I found six species swirling around me.

At Buchanan's Reef, we mucked around in the kelp. There wasn't a lot to see except the numerous three-foot-long male Sheepheads. We hadn't seen them in years. The Pt. Vicente MPA seems to be working, although we had to chase yet another fishing boat out of the marine protected area. I guess they hadn't heard the area was closed to fishing...for the past thirteen years.

Sebastes umbrosus, Honeycomb rockfish

Sebastes miniatus, Vermilion Rockfish

Sebastes serranoides, Olive Rockfish

Sebastes mystinus, Blue Rockfish

Sebastes carnatus, Gopher Rockfish

Sebastes atrovirens, Kelp Rockfish

Austraeolis stearnsi

Triopha catalinae

Peltodoris nobilis

Coryphella trilineata

Urticina mcpeaki

Anthopleura artemisia

Norrisia norrisii, Norris' Top Snail

Pteropurpura trialata, Three Winged Murex

Crassedoma giganteum, Rock scallop

Panulirus interruptus, California Spiny Lobster

Anthopleura sola

• Re: The Rockfish Files Diver X 08:50:45 09/18/23 (0)