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Sirena headed out today to the southern reefs on another Palm Beach diving adventure! Our first stop was at Tear Drop reef where we had top to bottom visibility with 50-60 horizontal. The water has begun to warm up again with the dive computer marking 75 degrees. A slight north current slowly moved us along the reef ledge.

The reef was teaming with life. In fact, we could stay in certain spots and watch as different fish would swim passed the specific area. Here was one example:

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As we were preparing for our second dive on Flower Gardens, our friends on The Wetter The Better radioed us to tell us they had come across a pretty special, albeit weird-looking, fish… A longlure frogfish! This fish is special in that we rarely come across them as they are masters of camouflage; they look just like a sponge on the reef. Uniquely is their method of ambushing prey. They use a modified dorsal fin ray, shaped much like a fishing rod and lure at the end, to attract their prey within reach of their fast-striking mouth.

140412-113445-0100Their camouflage is so good that it took a while before anyone noticed a second frogfish right in front. These two appeared to be a mated pair with the larger of the two being the female.

After spending a little time admiring these unique fish, we continued our drift along Flower Gardens where we encountered all kinds of marine life. Just another wonderful day of scuba diving on the reefs of West Palm Beach. Come join us!