USVI-On-Line

nuendelcapcod, we were there at the same time - what great weather, eh?
We spent most of our days doing things off the beaten paths. It was really great to hike and snorkle Tektite, Cobblestone and between Salomon and Honeymoon. The coastal rock scramble between Waterlemon and Brown Bay is awesome. I'm definitely going through snorkle withdrawal!

Scrawled Filefish


Caribbean Spiny Lobster


Mutton Snapper


Grey Angelfish (I think?)


Not so pleased to see this .... and we saw a couple of 'em @ Cobblestone and Francis


But a first for me was the Eagle Ray -- I was SO stoked to finally seen one!


What a magical underwater world!

pmk

Fantastic photos!

Did you mark the lionfish?

Those photos are spectacular! Please keep sharing!

Hi liamsaunt. It's sort of an interesting story (at least to me). We saw the first one snorkling off of Cobblestone, and while we were hanging out enjoying the solitude of this wonderful beach (the right side is super private), we saw a man off in the distance carrying a big box of trash. He came over, chatted, and I told him that we'd just seen a lionfish and needed to report it. He replied, "well, you just did! I'm 003 of the CORE and am certified to spear lionfish. I've killed 5 lionfish off of Cobblestone this week -- and now I'll go after the other one."

Nice! Then he told us how he did it, spearing them with his carbon fiber DIY spear and bringing them down to the bottom to cut open their belly and perforate the air sac so that they don't float. He said a lady snorkling mistakenly swam into a floating dead lionfish and got badly stung. He said he makes sure that they don't float.

Then he showed us a nasty wound on his thumb. He recently got skewered while cutting open the fish and his whole hand inflamed into one large bulbous mass. He said the pain of the neurotoxin was horrific and the only remedy is to stick one's hand into near boiling water -- double ouch!

I also reported the lionfish we saw at Francis to the CORE hotline. I later picked up the washer/cork marker but never had a chance to use it.

pmk

pmk- thank you for sharing your amazingly beautiful pictures, withdrawal is terrible

The DIP signs were one of my favorite things about driving around St. John. I needed a good reminder and smile on this incredibly snowy morning here in Illinois!

The northeast US still has lots of snow and leaf-less trees -- so I really miss the plants, cacti and general greenery.















pmk

I'm enjoying your withdrawal, tremendously. Thanks for sharing your great pics!
I wonder why the diver doesn't just carry the lionfish back to shore, to dispose of it? Why would you gut it underwater like that? I don't understand....

Thanks for the outstanding pictures. Makes me pine for the island!!

pmk, I have to ask (you might know why). Which one of your cameras did you use to take these photos? Were any of them taken with your S100?

Very much enjoying your photos!

Pickle, the underwater pics are with the Canon S100 (in Dicapac bag). I like this set up since I prefer to shoot in RAW to better control white balance, etc. The others were taken with a Canon 7D with either a 100-400 or 10-22 lens. Good luck with your P&S hunt.
pmk

Beautiful photos - thanks for posting

Pia

Anyone miss exploring all the cool ruins? I do.















pmk

More beautiful, beautiful pics, thanks so much for sharing.

mindehankins wrote:I wonder why the diver doesn't just carry the lionfish back to shore, to dispose of it? Why would you gut it underwater like that? I don't understand....

Hi Minde, my understanding is that reef fish eat the dead lionfish. I am guessing the fish are left behind to encourage this and hopefully develop learned predator behavior towards the lionfish.

More great pictures, pmk!