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Most wanted fish in the sea
WHAT-TO-DO - FREEPORT/LUCAYA & GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND - JAN 2007
Most wanted fish in the sea
Divers rate their favourites
You won?t find the photo of a shark on the ?most wanted? list in the post office, but they?re by far the fish most divers want to see in Grand Bahama.
Woody Woodcock, dive supervisor at UNEXSO, says ?many divers come to The Bahamas just to see these animals close up.?
While sharks are the most popular, Woodcock adds, ?dolphins, turtles, stingrays, large grouper and the queen angelfish? are also on the list of sea life most visitors want to see.
?All these animals can be seen at most of the dive and snorkel sites around the island. Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezii) are normally seen only by divers, but snorkellers can glimpse nurse sharks and stingrays.?
Nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) often lie on sand or under ledges and overhangs according to those in the know. They may grow to 14 feet, but are usually five to nine feet long.
Shark watching makes a major contribution to The Bahamian economy. One study estimates that every living shark in the sea contributes $100,000 a year to the Bahamian treasury.
?Everybody seems to love the graceful, slow-moving turtles and rays,? Woodcock says, adding that large Nassau groupers (Epinephelus striatus) are inquisitive and approach closely, looking for a handout of food.
Dolphins are playful mammals that many visitors first learned about from watching the Flipper movies. One of UNEXSO?s most popular programmes is swimming with dolphins in the open sea.
Queen angelfish (Holacanthus cilianis) are among the most colourful of reef fish. They would stand out anywhere else in the ocean but they blend right into the colourful corals on Bahamian reefs.
?I like to look for the small stuff on the reef,? says Woodcock. ?The blue and white Pederson?s cleaner shrimp will often crawl on your hand and will give you an underwater manicure.
?Pistol shrimp and arrow crabs are often missed, so it?s always fun to find them and show them to divers,? adds Woodcock. ?One of my personal favourites is the juvenile spotted drum (Equetus pubcatus), a very small, shy fish, about the size of your little fingernail. It has black and white stripes and has a dorsal fin longer than its body, looking like a pennant streaming out behind while it swims.?
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