Collecting animals while snorkeling (freediving)

[johnmaloney]

you guys kill me. i ask how is it like diving in these northern areas and you tell me it is cold.

 

big fish? structure? big kelps? macro doesn't get bigger than like 30 inches here. would love to see something 30 feet. do they have kelp forests laying out and about in california? what is there t look at?

[Jacobnano]

I love kelp forests...

[Jamie]

Here are a few pictures from my trip to the channel islands, which are off LA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

btw, these were taken while scuba diving, not free diving

[Scott Riemer]

Catalina Dive Park:

 

[johnmaloney]

eye candy is a great improvement....

 

man that must be a little spooky the first time you descend into the kelp forest. The can block out the light from all around huh? never know when something will come through there like a seal.

 

Scott, what is that orange fish called? a Girabaldi? I have seen something like that before...nice fish.

 

what is the orange spotted fish called jamie? also is that a goby above the lobster in your photo? those blue striped fish look cool. almost like catalina gobies from a distance...

[Scott Riemer]

I was swimming through a big patch of kelp once and came across a good sized black sea bass, had to catch my breath after I realized I was holding it. One of the coolest scenes I've ever seen is the sunlight streaming through a kelp forest.

 

The orange fish is indeed a Garibaldi.

[yardboy]

Very nice pics.

The one thing I learned out of those is that spiny lobster occur in that cold of water, on the West Coast. I thought they were Caribbean critters!

[johnmaloney]

same species? how big do they get out west? I have a now defunct lobster company's map to the Keys. I should digitize that at some point before it gets wet. I haven't tried it out yet.

 

the girabaldi is a cool fish. i think i may have seen it on the Discovery Channel.

[Jacobnano]

I thought the girabaldi were red like in the first pic? Or do they change color as they age like other damsel type fish?

[Scott Riemer]

Some copypasta re: the Garibaldi:

 

The Garibaldi or Garibaldi damselfish (Hypsypops rubicundus) is of the damselfish family, and is native to the north-eastern subtropical parts of the Pacific Ocean, ranging from Monterey Bay, California, to Guadalupe Island, Baja California. It is the official marine state fish of California and is protected in California coastal waters.

 

The fish is named after the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, who famously wore a red shirt, as did many of his followers.

 

Garibaldis are renowned for their brilliant orange color and grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in length. Juvenile Garibaldi have iridescent blue spots which they lose as they become adults. They live at depths of up to 30 meters (100 ft), usually in association with reefs and typically over rocky sea-bottoms. They feed mainly on invertebrates that they remove from the rocks.

 

Adult Garibaldis maintain a home territory. The male clears a sheltered nest site within his territory, and the female then deposits eggs within the nest. The male subsequently guards the nest until the eggs hatch after 19-21 days. This territoriality makes garibaldi incredibly aggressive, to the point of biting divers.

 

An interesting feature of the Garabaldi is the ability to change its sex throughout its lifetime. This process is prompted when the ratio of males to females is out of balance. Garabaldis of the over-represented gender will change in order to make up the deficit. This process can be undergone multiple times by the same fish.

[Jamie]

eye candy is a great improvement....

 

man that must be a little spooky the first time you descend into the kelp forest. The can block out the light from all around huh? never know when something will come through there like a seal.

 

Scott, what is that orange fish called? a Girabaldi? I have seen something like that before...nice fish.

 

what is the orange spotted fish called jamie? also is that a goby above the lobster in your photo? those blue striped fish look cool. almost like catalina gobies from a distance...

 

That's because they are catalina gobies.

 

And the orange with blue spots is a juvinile garibaldi - they lose the spots as they age, as stated above.

[johnmaloney]

oh cool. i thought they were catalina gobies, just didnt think i would get that lucky on the guess. so they are hanging out all over the place down there huh? Three in just that picture....It is surprisingly like Florida. Some big colorful fish, some small, some wrasses rays etc.... We have sargassum and dictyota, the Kelp is different but everything else is similar...Hi densities around structure?

[East1]

That's because they are catalina gobies.

 

And the orange with blue spots is a juvinile garibaldi - they lose the spots as they age, as stated above.

anyone have any tips for collecting fish?

or seagrass for that matter, i wanna collect loads of oar grass for my macro tank now

[organism]

same species? how big do they get out west? I have a now defunct lobster company's map to the Keys. I should digitize that at some point before it gets wet. I haven't tried it out yet.

 

They get pretty big, my biggest is in the 11lb range but I've let some bigger ones go since I try to only take males. They're similar to the caribbean ones except that their legs are shorter and they tend to be quite a bit slower, especially the bigger ones. The flavor tends to be a lot richer too, great on the bbq

[yardboy]

anyone have any tips for collecting fish?

or seagrass for that matter, i wanna collect loads of oar grass for my macro tank now

For fish, ya gotta be quick! Professionals use mist nets, real fine monofilament that they chase the fish into. I've onyl ever used regular hand nets, and have been limited in my success as a result. But my wife can catch practically any fish she sees. And If I see one that is unusual or rare that I want, I get her to catch it for me. Man, I hate to confess that.

Oar grass I'm not familiar with collecting, pretty much generally illegal to collect in Florida. But from the notes of others it needs bright light and water movement, plus some element of luck. Also, the tops will often die back but the roots will grow and send up new shoots. John will have more on that than I do though.

[johnmaloney]

no ideas on UAE laws, here you have to get it in drift.

 

there are tricks to catching fish....

 

use both hands, the trick is to scare the fish into the net, not to scoop the fish up by chasing it with the net. tickle sticks work better on tropicals than lobster....that is all you get for now. The fish targeted will determine the best netting method to use, but for most fish a hand net and a tickle stick does the trick.

[East1]

no ideas on UAE laws, here you have to get it in drift.

 

there are tricks to catching fish....

 

use both hands, the trick is to scare the fish into the net, not to scoop the fish up by chasing it with the net. tickle sticks work better on tropicals than lobster....that is all you get for now. The fish targeted will determine the best netting method to use, but for most fish a hand net and a tickle stick does the trick.

yeah here monofilament nets are illegal and i have very limited luckwith a hand net xD

i might get a bigger net and try with a tickle stick, maybe it will yield more luck

 

yeah yardboy i have collected shoal grass that has lived in my tank under 23w energy savers, it dosent grow very fast but it lives, i wanna get some oar grass and fill my tank though, i guess ill have to experiment. from what ive read the rhizome is very sensitive.

 

how does your wife catch fish so well?

[C-Rad]

anyone have any tips for collecting fish?

 

I agree that the best way is to hold one net still and use a stick, or another net, to chase fish into it. I can add that I have the most success when I place the net so that local structure funnels fish into it. Try to figure out where the "exit" for any scared fish will be (like a gap between two large rocks), and put your net just outside of it. I also think a fish is more willing to enter a big net than a small net.

 

An option I haven't tried myself is a slurp-gun, which is basically an acrylic tube three or four inches in diameter and about three feet long, with a piston inside attached to a stick. Pull hard on the stick and suck up any fish near the end. Just Google slurp gun to buy one, or learn how to make one.

[Mudfish]

Slurp guns are (supposedly) rather hard on the fishes; sand in the gills, etc.

 

We used 'em a lot when I was a kid. Just nets now.

[johnmaloney]

did they work? I never had any luck with slurp guns. I had one when I first got a tank, dropped it in the ocean at some point and never bothered with them. they just didnt have much pull and you had to get so close that you might as well have a net...

 

 

anyone chum dive a barrier net setup? too easy.....

 

 

the pros around here though I found out do a ton of chemical fishing. I was kind of surprised by that, but every diver I have talked to now admits they use quinaldine often. Not sure about quinaldine...

[jdl]

ive been diving commercially and recreational for over 15 years. where i live are some of the best dives in the world or at least the mainland. i do not however collect anything from the ocean. id rather leave it there and watch it grow in its own environment. i like to try to use it as a reference for my little piece of reef. however any edible fish and lobsters do not stand a chance, they all fall victim to the sling.

[Mudfish]

did they work? I never had any luck with slurp guns. I had one when I first got a tank, dropped it in the ocean at some point and never bothered with them. they just didnt have much pull and you had to get so close that you might as well have a net...

 

The slurp gun, best I can remember, worked well enough for fishes that "holed up", like little gobies or cardinalfish or such. Stuff that swam around too much, like butterflies and french angels, had to be netted.

 

I don't really mind anyone collecting for their tank, as long as they are being responsible, taking only single-or-paired fishes or small samples of colonies, etc. To me, even if it's violating the letter of a given regulation, if it's serving the spirit of careful and diligent collection, observation and husbandry then it's OK by me.

 

I realize that ain't gonna hold up in court...

[johnmaloney]

I feel the same way...as long as you take a sustainable amount then it is fine. The aquarium industry is much smaller than it looks on NR, the fishery is pretty well managed too....The only real dangers I see are when the regs dont keep up with the hobby. There is a lot of catching up for them to do too...

 

anyone else ever try larval fish collection?

[johnmaloney]

I was swimming through a big patch of kelp once and came across a good sized black sea bass, had to catch my breath after I realized I was holding it. One of the coolest scenes I've ever seen is the sunlight streaming through a kelp forest.

 

The orange fish is indeed a Garibaldi.

 

how do you feel about hookah rigs? does anyone have any experiences outside of Brownies?

[zemuss]

OHHHHH the Hookah!

 

Remember if your by yourself you have an addiction, but if your with a few friends don't forget to PUFF PUFF PASS!

 

"Z"