Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

[Scuba_Jenny]

yes, thank you. When can I expect to see the photos?

GEtting there...

 

[Pipehorse]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 0735 for an 0813 hightide, the park was not crowded. Entered the water on the westside at 0805. Visibility was 40ft, sea temp was 85f. Found an iphone underwater today, that is the 5th I have found. Did a REEF fish count 85 species in 90 minutes. Did a second REEF count on the snorkel trail (snorkeling) after the dive, 59 species in 60 minutes. Of note were a couple juvenile Creole Wrasse. A common fish out on the reef, but they generally like deeper water, so rarely found shallow, I guess a case of a few juveniles being advected into BHB from the inlet. Also of note was a pair Checkerboard Frillfins, only recorded one time prior in the whole REEF database. Respectively, Barred Cardinalfish, Two Spot Cardinalfish, Checkerboard Frillfin, Juvenile Creole Wrasse, Juvenile Lionfish, Juvenile Schoolmaster, Juvenile Threespot Damselfish, Lined Seahorse I, Lined Seahorse II, Sandal Fish, and Tiger Goby.

 

[Jaan]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Sandal Fish,

LOL, those darn sandalfish! Usually seen in pairs!

 

[Eric802]

Are you able to remove lionfish that you see there? Or just other invasive stuff like Sandal Fish?

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Pipehorse.. There's a black hamlet on one of the structures on the snorkel trail

 

[MrChen]

Are you able to remove lionfish that you see there? Or just other invasive stuff like Sandal Fish?

Regulations state:

Any organization or individual requesting to remove tropical fish or invasive species that are otherwise prohibited per Rule 68B-42.001 F.A.C. must first obtain a Special Activity License (SAC) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Commission (FWC). FWC will then contact the Department Director for final approval. The Department Director has the right to approve or deny any SAC on park property.

Parks & Recreation - Phil-Foster

discover.pbcgov.org

 

[Pipehorse]

Regulations state:

Any organization or individual requesting to remove tropical fish or invasive species that are otherwise prohibited per Rule 68B-42.001 F.A.C. must first obtain a Special Activity License (SAC) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Commission (FWC). FWC will then contact the Department Director for final approval. The Department Director has the right to approve or deny any SAC on park property.

Parks & Recreation - Phil-Foster

discover.pbcgov.org

Generally it has been a Frost Science Museum Team that collects invasives at the bridge. Their approval through FWC for the above SAC is usually coordinated by the USGS. USGS is the US government service that tracks invasive species (I know, kind of strange that US Geological Service tracks invasives). One to two invasive species (besides Lionfish) are usually reported every year for BHB, most likely said invasive species being the result of an aquarium dumping. The last one removed was a Regal Demoiselle, however since this species has been showing up on a regular basis, they are no longer being collected by Frost Science Museum. Regal Demoiselle is not the result of an aquarium dumping, it is thought they were most likely introduced to the Gulf of Mexico from oil rigs that were being towed from Indo-Pacific waters to the Gulf for deployment. Regal Demoiselle is easily confused with Brown Chromis a native species.

 

[Pipehorse]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 0708 for an 0846 high tide. Park was not crowded when I arrived. Entered the eastside at 0729, visibility was 45ft, sea temp 85f. Stayed on the eastside for one hour, did a REEF fish survey 67 species in 60 minutes. Exited the eastside walked across the parking lot and entered the west side at 0845. Did another REEF fish survey 76 species in 70 minutes. Snorkeled the trail for one hour and did a third REEF survey, 63 species in 60 minutes. Of note was the mermaid on the eastside, the extremely cooperative Hogfish on the westside, the Banded Manits on the westside, and the Naked Sole on the westside. There were actually 2 mermaids on the eastside, but they were not doing a lot free diving, plus they were having an issue dealing with the current so difficult to obtain good images. The Hogfish on the westside just did not care about my presence or presence of my camera. At one point I reached out and stroked it caudal fin with my finger and still kept on digging in the sand. I have only seen one Banded Mantis shrimp out and about before. In that case a Sharptail Eel had invaded its borough and it came popping out. In this case I am thinking the one pictured was perhaps sick or dying. Lastly, and probably the coolest find of the day is the Naked Sole. Usually I find soles that are 1-2 inches and dark without good markings. The one today was 4-5 inches with nice markings, only recorded once before (by me) at BHB.
Respectively, Mermaid, Banded Mantis I, Banded Mantis II, Barbfish, Bighead Sea Robin I, Bighead Sea Robin II, Hogfish I, Hogfish II, Lined Seahorse, Naked Sole 1, Naked Sole 2, Night Sergeant, Sheepshead Porgy (not to be confused with Sheepshead) and Hogfish video.

 

[tarponchik]

We did 3 dives at BHB last week, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. The 1st two were classic dives, started 30 min before high tide etc. The last dive was an experiment that worked quite well. The high tide was at around 5 am, and we went underwater at 6:15 at West span. Current and vis were still OK, and when the current picked up we went to the snorkeling trail. Overall, a very good dive that lasted for 2:20. It started as a night dive with flashlights, blinkers, etc when the Parrotfish were still asleep and ended in the bright sunlight. On Friday evening at twilight a zillion of crabs got out of their holes and began feeding frantically. A nurse shark swam by, another one was spotted on Tuesday resting under concrete rubble. Of exotics, we spotted a Lancer Dragonet, the rest were the usual suspects.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

What's the difference between a naked sole and a zebra sole? To me they look alike.
I saw what was identified as a zebra a few years ago. Two different dives...