S/V Hoku Pa'a Photos - Fiji, Yadua 2005

...click on the small photos for larger versions...

During one dive we were surrounded by at least 30 barracuda, swimming spirals around us. Shorter than ones we've seen in the Caribbean, and with smaller mouths I'm sure.	These two-foot-long slugs move slowly along the bottom, vacuuming up debris and bits of food. At it's left end you can see several black sucker-equipped tentacles.	OK, we've already posted a few shots of the Regal Angelfish, but they are so spectacular! Couldn't resist one more.
This moray was being attended by a cleaning fish. Many larger fish rely on small wrasses and shrimps to clean them of dead skin, parasites, and food particles. In exchange, the cleaners enjoy immunity from being eaten.	The Spotted Toby is a type of puffer fish, and its flesh is toxic.	We call this starfish the Pentagon; its Latin name is possibly Culcita novaeguineae. They come in all sorts of cool '70s colours.
Nudibranchs are close relatives of snails, but without the shells; instead they use toxins and acids to defend themselves. They are usually a few cm long and come in many different colours.	Barb spotted this well-hidden Tasseled Scorpionfish. Scorpionfish can change their colouration, and remain motionless for so long that algae encrusts them.	The ring of bright flourescent blue around the Semicircle Angelfish showed up even better in real-life.
Sea Pearls nestle in coral crevices. I think they are a kind of fluid-filled round algae.	The Social Feather Duster is a segmented worm that lives in a tube attached to the reef. Its feathery appendages act as gills and capture plankton.	The soft corals in the current-swept reefs at Yadua were spectacular.
Sea Whips were several metres long and often grew in large spirals.	We don't know what this pink oyster is, but we only saw the one.	One more photo showing the huge variety of shapes and colours.
Back above the sea, we were cleaning out a locker and found this rusty aerosol can. Ironically, it contained a rust preventer spray.	The bures at Yadua were thatched with bundled grasses. A roof lasts about 15 years before needing replacing, unless you're careless with fire...	Folks down here know more about Canadian Rugby than we do! Pita proudly shows off his jersey. He's the local conservation officer, caring for Yadua's reefs and marine iguana habitat.

S/V Hoku Pa'a 1000 DeCosta Pl. Victoria, BC Canada  V9A 6Y3

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