A giant stride entry from the boat.

A group of us left DBML at 7:00 this morning on the Scomber, a sturdy metal boat with two engines. We were off to deploy and recover BRUV devices, as well as do some diving. The sun was shining and the ocean was calm—a perfect morning for us. For each device, we attach a bait bag (full of dead, slimy mackerel) and a GoPro camera, and lower it to the seafloor. Ninety minutes later, we come back to each one, pull it up by the buoy—which is no easy task on the rough seas—replace the bait and camera, and drop it down again. Later, we will review and identify all the creatures caught by the camera. Most of this went without a hiccup, save for one instance where we pulled up a device missing a bait bag. Dr. Warren heroically geared up and dove down to retrieve it.

We did a dive to about 60 feet, in water clear enough to see the reef from the boat. We saw flamingo tongues, plenty of reef, a giant barrel sponge, and beautiful views of coral structures.

A Flamingo’s Tongue on a sea fan.

We arrived back at the lab at 12:30 pm, just in time for lunch. It was a great morning on the boat, and we had a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this trip holds!

Doing a handstand on a giant barrel sponge.

Hi Mom and Dad!

-Lila