Mission Journal 12 — Mark Hulsbeck: Mission Day 7: Sunday, June 20th, 2004
Day 7 of the mission has sneaked up on us like a barracuda on a grunt. It’s here before you know it. The Leichter missions always seem to pass quickly due to the amount of dive time that they put in. Keeps everyone busy. We definitely see signs of survival of the fittest on the reef surrounding Aquarius. We constantly see yellowtail snapper with chomped on fins and other body parts. They’re the ones that got away. Last night a shark was spotted through the bunkroom view port. It wasn’t close enough to tell the species. The next morning we noticed that one of the larger snook had some very deep mouth shaped (as in shark mouth) gashes in it. His fins were pretty battered, too. It looks like he barely got away.
We commonly see fish with hooks and wire leaders in their mouths. The Aquarius is in a Research Only Area designated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Fishing, diving, anchoring or boat mooring is prohibited so as not to disturb the scientific studies taking place. Despite this, some folks come in and violate the rules. The fines can be stiff when caught and we hope to spread the word concerning the area being Research Only.
I got a night dive in Friday night. I was cleaning the open bottom bell (an underwater air space near the habitat where Aquanauts can talk to one another) and the usual cast of characters came parading by. First was a giant hermit crab sporting a horse conch shell for a house. Then a smaller hermit crab cousin of his sauntered by. This one had a shell festooned with two anemones attached to it. One anemone was bright orange, the other yellow. It reminded me of a Key West Fantasy Fest Parade participant. A regular customer around here showed up also. He likes to bury himself near the open bottom bell. He (or she) is a large southern stingray with an unusual split on the forward part of his body, between the eyes. It’s all healed over, so it’s hard to tell if it was a birth defect or an old wound.
Time for the Aquanauts to return from a night dive. Back to work.
And thanks for the delicious lasagna and carrot cake Sue!