Derawan, Sangalaki, Maratua and Kakaban

Hi all

A few pics from a trip last week to Derawan, Sangalaki, Maratua and Kakaban, Indonesia. The trip was superb - highlight being watching Jawfish hatching and releasing baby turtles into the sea. Unfortunately, the Mantas at Sangalaki were hiding for most of the week...

The rest of the pics are here - http://colinlee.zenfolio.com/p202605896

#1 Jawfish hatching

#2 flatworm

#3 Blue ribbon eel

#4 Green algae

Enjoy!

Col.

#5 Black sailfin goby

#6 Baby green turtle

#7 Sea fan

Superb images, Col! I love the jawfish, sailfin, and that fatty denise.

Catching the jawfish releasing the babies is really special. Based on your photos, I am assuming you were watching it for a couple of days. Do you know how many days from when you saw the eyes develop to when they hatched? What time of the day? Looks like you were right on the tail of a denise seahorse giving birth, too. That's got to be quite the sight.

Great finds on the jawfish and the sailfin goby, Colin.

Alex

thanks for the comments guys...

laz217:

From what I understand, the Jawfish give birth 1-2 days after full moon and before sunrise - the 5am jump in the water was worth it as we had action both both days. The best thing is that they're not shy when they're ready to hatch - their minds are obviously preoccupied with something else

I'm not sure what the birthing cycle of the Denise is as we saw it twice over 4days - agree that would be something really special!

Alex:

The Jawfish were pretty much everywhere - although the guides did a good job of marking out roughly which ones were most likely to show-all. Same with the Sailfin - credit goes to the guides.

Hey Col

That jawfish shot is fantastic!

Mike

Truly amazing catch on the jawfish hatching. Your early morning dives paid big dividends.

Wonderful picture of the jawfish! I like the ribbon eel a lot as well.

Regards

Bent

Damn man! That jawfish pic is magical! Love the others as well.

The Jawfish w/ babies is just brilliant! Thanks for sharing! - Mike

thanks for all the kind comments