The Debriefing

So, how do you get 377 fishes from Miami to Boston? It's a process that our trip leaders have honed to the finest detail. Each fish is carefully packed in plastic bags filled with oxygenated water. The plastic bags are sealed and placed in styrofoam liners which fit into a larger cardboard box.

In the end, it looks like this:


Back in Boston, there's a rush of activity when the fishes arrive. Each box is carefully unpacked, and each species is labeled and placed in holding tanks:



These fishes go through a quarantine that can last over a month. During this time, the fishes are carefully screened for parasites and are receive treatment accordingly. Since that process is done in waves, it may be several months until all of the fish we collected are placed in Aquarium exhibits.

In the meantime, each fish has time to acclimate to their new home. The Aquarists aren't just looking out for them physically, they're careful not to shock each fish mentally by introducing them to tanks too fast. You can see that the parrotfish is still shy because it takes advantage of the hiding places in its tank.



Meanwhile, the schooling fish are given larger tanks to move around in. The copper sweepers that Captain Lou chased out of the dark cave in the Bahamas are looking right at home in their temporary tank:



As are the Bahamian grunts, the first fish I helped collect:




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Labels: copper sweepers, grunts, parrot fish, return, shipping

Bahamian Grunt Roundup

Temp: 85
Skies: Clear
Seas: Calm
Underwater visibility: Fantastic!

After a check-in dive (to get familiar with the local waters) and a teach-in on the ins and outs of catching fish with vinyl nets on a stick (somewhat like using a butterfly net while 25 feet underwater), we headed to Three Sisters Rock just offshore from Bimini for the major event of the day. The goal: to round up several dozen French grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum) and smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum shown at right).

This was an unbelievable experience for a diver like me, since I was only recently certified. The basic strategy goes like this:

Four to five divers station themselves around the perimeter of a barrier net (somewhat like a seine net). Then another group of divers wielding vinyl box nets in outstretched arms attempt to herd a large--make that very large--school of grunts in the barrier net. It looks kind of like the old safari movies when the "beaters" drive the big game into the sights of the waiting hunters, except our task really is to bring 'em back alive.

Once the grunts are in place, the divers gradually encircle the fish with the net. Then, using the vinyl box nets, five to 10 fish at a time are transferred to the nearby "grunt hotel," about 10 yards away. The experts then select the desired species to share with our visitors back in Boston, while gently letting the others go.

And a good day it was. The tally for the dive: 38 French grunts and 17 small mouth grunts. And a special bonus: one spotted spiny lobster (Panulirus guttatus) and one Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) Both are clawless version of the Homarus americanus we're all used to in back home in New England.

There was another terrific treat upon returning to the boat. We discovered chef Mat had prepared crab rangoon for our afternoon snack. (From sustainable sources, of course!) Very tasty!

Captain John then fired up the engines for the 7 hour trip to the Berry Islands, 80 miles east of Bimini. We look forward to a great day tomorrow, and we'll keep you posted on the "catch."

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Labels: Bimini, catching fish, grunts, seine nets, spiny lobster, Three Sisters Rock, vinyl nets