The exotic looking Cerataspis montstrosa is an uncommon subject too. The dragonfish is known as an apex predator even though it will only reach a maximum size of 26cm. Inhabiting an area that never receives sunlight and evolve some very special features to survive there. The Dragonfish, a member of the Stomiidae family are also a a deepwater fish that settles in the dark zone of the ocean. Cusk eels are a very diverse group of fish that can also be seen worldwide. The pearl fish larva are difficult to photograph as they are long and slender, tend to move vertically through the water column and like many other larval fish, has an elaborate streamer attached to its head. Deep water fish such as the Pudgy Cusk eel ( Spectrunculus grandis) is known to settle in depths ranging from 2000-4800 meters. Pearlfish are another somewhat common larval fish which will eventually settle much deeper. The pearl fish larva are difficult to photograph as they are long and slender, tend to move vertically through the water column and like many other larval fish, has an elaborate streamer attached to its head. SoapfishĬommon baseline subjects like sea butterflies pteropods and salp chains play an important role in our oceans ecology and an important role in discovering new locations for blackwater diving. Pearlfish are another somewhat common larval fish which will eventually settle much deeper. Planktons like sea butterflies, pteropod, crab and shrimp zoa but then there’s the caveat of localized, endemic subjects and the possibility of deep water subjects too. One of the things that I’ve noticed about the subject matter seen on BW dives, is that in many locations the subject matter can be very similar, I call this a baseline. Soon we were all excitedly chatting about the dive and learned from the captain that we had drifted nearly 6 miles on that first night. We experienced large salps chains with male Argonaut hians, jellyfish and some even deepwater fish which indicated to me that our site selection was also right on the money.Sticking to our plan, we all surfaced at 90 minutes to find our captain was positioned perfectly and surface crew managed to get us all back onto the boat without issue. The pace was right and the line was perfect and after a short period of time everyone settled in, relaxed, and had a great time! Dragonfish Seeing the divers spaced apart and flashing the strobes reminded me of twinkling fireflies in a dark garden.
The first thing I noticed once we got into the water was the clarity that Cozumel is known for.
The idea is to allow the light system to move through the water fast enough to explore, yet slow enough for us to keep up, stop and shoot photos, tethering is not an option. Once we arrived, the boat crew and dive team configured our downline, discussed safety protocols and after a quick briefing, our dive team was ready to splash.
First we must consider wind and the size of the buoy, then adjust the weights and rope length. PearlfishĬonfiguring a downline isn’t always as easy as slapping a couple of lights on a rope either. Not knowing what to expect, It was important to check the water and to make any adjustments to our position per the Captains advice.
We then dropped a pin on our nav map and set out just prior to sundown. We discussed the possible target points by using google earth and my trusty navigation app and with the help of local divers, DM’s and most importantly, the boat captain, we identified our first jump location. Male Nautyĭue to the swift and legendary down currents in Cozumel, it was important for us to select the location that would keep us away from impending peril but close enough to benefit from the moving water. Fortunately, I was introduced to a dive operation where the owner was not only interested but fully supportive and was instrumental in providing us with the proper platform, boat crew, captain and guides. The common feeling of blackwater being a novelty style dive, is still relevant so there is a little (or alot) convincing that needs to be done which often times runs right to the wire. One of the highest hurdles in doing blackwater in a new location is getting the dive operations to get “on-board” with the idea.
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