The 2nd Wetpixel Bahamas expedition is underway! Marcelo, Bart, Mike, Sterling, Alexis, Jim, Phillip and I are onboard the Shear Water with crew members Jim Abernethy, Captain Jamin, Chef Mike, and Jeremy (Cris, starting tomorrow). We're in the middle of our first day out on the water, which has been spent hanging out with goliath groupers (Epinephelus itajara) on the wreck of the Zion (Jupiter, Florida). Every late August / early September, goliath groupers aggregate in large numbers off of Jupiter to spawn. David Doubilet and Jen Hayes are in the area as well (as was Wyland, last week), working with scientists who are tagging goliaths and collecting eggs.
Two days ago, we received reports that goliath numbers had peaked already, and that hurricane Earl brought large bottom swells that had chased the animals deep. Still, we were hopeful that we would see at least a few of them. Yesterday, we heard that there were 40 on the Zion, which brought new hope!
When we jumped into the water in the morning, there were only a handful of groupers around the wreck (~6). Upon surfacing, Sterling reported that he had seen 30 goliath groupers in a group (and had photographic evidence to back up his claims). We found the big group on the second dive, but the visibility wasn't that great (40-50'). Also, we're told that there aren't as many this year as there were last year; still, it was incredible to see so many huge groupers clustered together.
I was shooting my 3D video rig, which is terrible in bad visibility. Here's a screen grab from one of the eyes:
Hopefully, someone who was shooting stills will join this thread and upload images!
