Kona-Hawaii Trip report 8-15 thru 8-23-10

[Travelnsj]

I have been coming to Kona just about every couple of years since 1999 to dive. This was the first time in August I experienced 74-77 degree water, the coolest I have experienced before was around 79-81. Being forewarned about the cool water (after I booked the trip) I brought a 1mm fullsuit along with my normal short suit. The first dive I wore the 1mm fullsuit….I froze! For the second dive I put the short suit over my fullsuit along with a vest and a beanie….I was still cold…and No I will not wear a 3mm or a 5mm…LOL!

I stayed at the Seaside hotel which is a nice friendly basic hotel in Kona and I dove with Kona Honu divers. Three years ago I was told Kona Honu divers were getting a smaller boat for divers only. This was to avoid the cattle boat feeling with snorkelers etc on the larger boat. I specifically requested the smaller boat in my decision making between Big Island Divers and Kona Honu divers and they indicated that should not be a problem. Well the smaller boat was being used for instruction and the Dolphin swim. There were a couple of times we had 17 or 18 people which was 4 too many, otherwise there were around 12 people on the other dives which worked! Kona Honu is a very good operation but I did not care for a packed larger boat and I did not dive with the same quality DM’s I did 3 years ago. There was one dive guide Frank who was great, unfortunately I was only able to dive with him on 3 dives. Do not get me wrong Kona Honu is good operation with good boat captains and dive guides. I had just been spoiled last time with exceptional dive guides.

The Diving: I did two night Manta ray dives and five two tank days so a total of seven dive days. I had planned to do morning shore dives on the Manta dive days but the water was a bit to cool for me to enjoy thus I did not do any shore diving. The Manta ray dives were the finest I have ever done. We had eleven Mantas on the first dive and four days later around twenty on the second Manta dive which was exceptional, probably a couple of the finest Manta dives you could do. On the second Manta dive I had problem jumping off as there were five mantas at the back of the boat that would not move. John the dive guide finally jumped in on the side and turned on his lights to get the mantas to move. The Manta dives were the highlight of the diving. Overall I was surprised how depleted the waters were of Marine life. Saw a small school of Barracuda, a couple of Jacks, Eagle Ray a few nudis and a couple of other things. Even the small aquarium sea life like the Flame Angels, Yellow tangs, Damsel fishes etc etc were wiped out. Only saw one frogfish this time, three years ago I must have five or six. There were a couple of good dives going south, Kanaloa Arches and the Carousel which is a Hawaiian area and the Fish gathers leave that area alone. I understand there is an ongoing fight with the aquarium/fish gathers and the conservation groups with the aquarium gathers prevailing. Very sad when you can go to foreign nations like Palau, parts of Mexico and Indonesia where there are Marine preserves which has great marine life and the wealthiest nation on earth cannot or will not protect its own waters. The only place I have been to with less Marine life was St Croix.

I have dove Oahu once, Maui and the Big Island several times. Will I return to Hawaii for diving? Never say never but probably not as I see no reason to return for diving other than the Manta dive which is usually exceptional otherwise it is get wet diving for me.

 

[friscuba]

Must have had some bad luck on the fishes... We've got 4 frogfish we've been watching for a couple months and a couple others we've seen once but couldn't find again, flame angels seem to be at nearly every site (a few years ago we were only finding 1 or 2 a year). The aquarium fish "fight" is being overplayed by a few individuals who aren't even watching the fish count information. I've got friends who work doing fish counts that have had pretty much nothing but good to say about the recruitment numbers (recruits are juveniles dropping on to the reef) the last few years. Unfortunately, the state isn't real good about posting the results to be readily found, so the argument that collectors are "prevailing" can be readily made without actual numbers justifying it. Some days you just don't see the fish.

 

[Travelnsj]

friscuba...I was looking for the flame angels on the 12 dives i did over 7 days, found only one at the Carousel. I do not know what the bean counters are saying about the fish counts in Hawaii or the Big Island...I go by what I see and compared to 3 years ago...which was not much to talk about then...it was much more depleted this go around and when asking the DM's what was going on that was their explanation about the fish gathers. Otherwise the Manta dives were the best ever!

 

[friscuba]

Weird, we're seeing flame angels practically every day. In my opinion, the fish populations are way up over what they were in 1999-2004, coral's starting to come back too.. Iniki hit things hard back in the early 90's, the north slope of Honaunau bay was rockfall 10 years ago, now it's 8-9 inches of finger coral where it was pretty much barren. Back 10 years ago it was a thrill to see a flame angel, I went 3-4 years without seeing a frogfish, good numbers of them the last 2-3 years now, especially flames. We're finding lots more of the oddball critters these days. 34% of the coastline is shut off from collecting, up from somethng like 4% in '99, and they're negotiating a no-catch species list supposedly. I think the fish collectors sometimes turn into an easy excuse when one doesn't spot fish.

 

[Travelnsj]

Well all I can say is I saw only one Flame angel and the DM's said they are a rare sight these days. Regarding me hearing about the Fish Collectors talk to Kona Honu people. That is what they were telling me in fact they quoted a couple of meetings that had gone on to stop it and there was/is something on a ballot to vote against the fish collectors. Being that 34% of the shoreline is shut off from collecting....Where were the Marine Patrols/Police? Never saw one either during the day or night.....So whatever the "rules" are about fish collecting...well you gotta put teeth into it! Bottom line there was not a lot of anything in the waters except the Mantas and the two dives down south.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Do you have any pictures from your dives 3 years ago to compare with pictures from this recent trip? I have similar feelings to Steve above about my regular diving off Maui and Lanai; we are finding more of the fairly rare stuff and most of the sites I dive seem healthier now than the years following Iniki.

There are areas exposed to North Swell that were damaged by large surf 8-ish years ago. Was that January 10th, when the Eddie and Jaws both held their contests on the same day? Other than that resort and agriculture run off is the reason for worry on Maui, despite Snorkel Bob's campaign against collectors.

IMHO, off Maui the most damaged reefs are the ones where there was the most recent coastal resort development. North Ka'anapali Beach get's a double hit due to the most recent resort development AND significant near shore refuse injection wells. Run off from pineapple fields, golf courses, hotel landscaping; the coral is under attack and these are all areas where there is not really that much fishing or collecting so turning them into MCD's does not accomplish much unless the MCD designation limits urban run off.

Like my Maui analysis, which motivates the sites I dive regularly, there may be sites off Hawaii that are currently better than other sites. I am also interested in the temps you saw. This years Maui/Lanai temps have seemed typical to me, compared to the last 5-7 years. If it rains more in the mountains the fresh water seeps flow more cold water. The whole state is in the driest drought on record from what I've heard so colder than normal water temps seem strange.

Many trip reports name all the sites dived; how about letting us in on some details? Which sites did you find less populated than when you did them 3 years ago?

 

[friscuba]

Temps I'm seeing this year are exactly the same as last year using the same computer... but last year was the coolest summer I can recall in Kona. I've usually seem some 81s and 82s this time of year prior to last year, more 78s and 79s the last two years. I've had some customers tell me they're gettings 76/77, all in the computer I guess. We had a 4 degree bump in April or so, so I was expecting a quite warm summer as that was earlier than usual, but it hasn't changed more that a degree since. They're talking about a la nina coming in... could be a cold winter on/in the water, I've got to figure out a way to heat our towels.

 

[Travelnsj]

Do you have any pictures from your dives 3 years ago to compare with pictures from this recent trip? I have similar feelings to Steve above about my regular diving off Maui and Lanai; we are finding more of the fairly rare stuff and most of the sites I dive seem healthier now than the years following Iniki.

There are areas exposed to North Swell that were damaged by large surf 8-ish years ago. Was that January 10th, when the Eddie and Jaws both held their contests on the same day? Other than that resort and agriculture run off is the reason for worry on Maui, despite Snorkel Bob's campaign against collectors.

IMHO, off Maui the most damaged reefs are the ones where there was the most recent coastal resort development. North Ka'anapali Beach get's a double hit due to the most recent resort development AND significant near shore refuse injection wells. Run off from pineapple fields, golf courses, hotel landscaping; the coral is under attack and these are all areas where there is not really that much fishing or collecting so turning them into MCD's does not accomplish much unless the MCD designation limits urban run off.

Like my Maui analysis, which motivates the sites I dive regularly, there may be sites off Hawaii that are currently better than other sites. I am also interested in the temps you saw. This years Maui/Lanai temps have seemed typical to me, compared to the last 5-7 years. If it rains more in the mountains the fresh water seeps flow more cold water. The whole state is in the driest drought on record from what I've heard so colder than normal water temps seem strange.

Many trip reports name all the sites dived; how about letting us in on some details? Which sites did you find less populated than when you did them 3 years ago?

Of course I have pictures from 3 years ago, 4 years ago, 5 years ago, 7 years ago etc etc. This time I even did a couple of dives that I did not take a picture. The Big Island is my favorite diving and favorite island. I used to have a condo in Maui and quit diving there back in 03 or 04.

Here is the dive sites I dove on the big Island (i'm not spending the time to list them all)...Hoover, Kalako Arches, Eel Garden (2), Golden Arches, Naia, Pyramid Rock, Anchor Drag, Pipe Dreams, Dotties reef etc etc...OK enough!...I have dove most of these sites before...The diving was not up to Par with what it had been in the years past. The only two good dives I had were going south that I mentioned before. I have never expected the Hawaii diving to be at the same level as Palau, Indonesia, Tahiti etc....But I expected it to be better than it was or at least the same level as in the years past....It was not!...you can see more fish at a Sushi restaurant....LOL

Now where else have you dove? and how do you rate that to Hawaii diving? How do you rate the diving in Maui in 2000 compared to 2004? and the Big Island? and how do you compare the sites you have dove year to year?

 

[Doubler]

Of course I have pictures from 3 years ago, 4 years ago, 5 years ago, 7 years ago etc etc. This time I even did a couple of dives that I did not take a picture. The Big Island is my favorite diving and favorite island. I used to have a condo in Maui and quit diving there back in 03 or 04.

Here is the dive sites I dove on the big Island (I'm not spending the time to list them all)...Hoover, Kalako Arches, Eel Garden (2), Golden Arches, Naia, Pyramid Rock, Anchor Drag, Pipe Dreams, Dotties reef etc etc...OK enough!...I have dove most of these sites before...The diving was not up to Par with what it had been in the years past. The only two good dives I had were going south that I mentioned before. I have never expected the Hawaii diving to be at the same level as Palau, Indonesia, Tahiti etc....But I expected it to be better than it was or at least the same level as in the years past....It was not!...you can see more fish at a Sushi restaurant....LOL

Now where else have you dove? and how do you rate that to Hawaii diving? How do you rate the diving in Maui in 2000 compared to 2004? and the Big Island? and how do you compare the sites you have dove year to year?

I was in Kona from 14-21 August on the Aggressor and I support your observations. This is our first time back since the 90's and it was devoid of fish. I use to see hugh schools of yellow tangs (50-70) Largest I saw this trip was 8. I don't know where these other people are diving but the Aggressor crew said 'Good Luck" on finding the Flames as they are rare. I was bored, bored, bored all week. The only saving grace of the entire trip was the Manta Dives. First night there were so many Manta's you couldn't count them, 20-30 at least.
Part of the problem is, at least when I lived there, you had to get an "Aquarium License" The state actually came to my home and looked at my set up and then gave me the License which was also a "Collectors License" If everyone followed the law, there are thousands of Collector Licenses out there, not that everyone is using them. I was cold, it was barren like diving on moon scape and I don't plan on returning

 

[spoolin01]

If water temps are down a couple years in a row, I wonder if fish populations have shifted for that or other reasons - it happens here with the rockfish distributions. I think most of those sites listed are closely grouped and also on that western-most steep slope where the water is a little colder still (could that be related to increased plankton and manta presence too?). Not that collecting doesn't make its contribution as well. I did many dives up and down Kona last December and I thought I noticed fewer fish at some sites, in particular Kealekekua was deserted! Since it's a true preserve, it's hard to explain the lack of both big and small fish there by the aquarium trade. We did do Keahole Pt (is that the same as Pipe Dreams?) a couple of times and I thought the populations were about the same there as in the 2 or 3 previous years. Fish move around - don't know so much about tropical distributions but it certainly happens here along the west coast. The problem with listening to dive operators or anyone else is you never know whether you're getting data or marketing. Maybe a housekeeping species can be found to distinguish between systemic change and targeted depletion.