Sailing on SV Humpback with the Beck family
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We have not seen many of this type of Squirrelfish (bottom in image), perhaps because the water here is fairly shallow. We also call them the ‘Big Eyed Yuck Fish’. This 6” fish was caught along with his fellows when we were bottom fishing. His fellows were eaten, but he was not. Common throughout the … Read more
Arthur and Theo like to bring large clumps of sargassum that floats into the bay onto the boat, investigating it for creatures; they were thrilled to discover this Sargassumfish. It was extremely well camouflaged, with feathery, plant-like growths all over its body that perfectly mimic the sargassum it hides in. Typically grow to 8 inches … Read more
As the tide fell, a couple of these fish were stranded on the sand. Perhaps they were corralled by predatory fish into the shallows as the tide fell. This fish was only a couple of inches long. We sometimes see them darting around the pools left by low tide, usually on their own. We would … Read more
Caught by Arthur using a flicky little maggot grub while dinghy trolling across the bay. It was his birthday breakfast and he enjoyed it very much. Big bar along its back and on its bottom tail fin. We have seen a couple when diving, too. Common member of the jack family. Distinguished by its dark … Read more
We have seen and eaten less of this jack species than the Yellow Jack, but they are not uncommon. These two tasty specimens (top and third in the image), 5-6” long, were caught while bottom fishing. Distributed across the Atlantic Ocean. Found from the surface down to 2,400m – juveniles normally inhabit lagoons or sheltered … Read more
This (first photo) 6” fish was caught along with his fellows when we were bottom fishing. He was tasty. We have seen juvenile schoolmasters in the bay as well, but no other examples of this species. Identified by his yellow stripe which is vivid in younger fish. Second photo taken in Turks and Caicos is … Read more
Hector managed to catch this fish from the boat, fishing on the bottom with a weighted line. The local fisherman often catch these in their cast nets on shore. These fish are part of the grunt family. The more prominent mid-line stripe that crosses the eye, and black spot on tail, are typical colouration. Their … Read more
We spent almost 14 months in Samaná, giving us an unusual opportunity to really get to know the local area. There we were saw a vast range of different plants, corals and animals, so decided to make a record of what we found and take photographs (where possible) in order to aid identification. We later … Read more
Found in shallow water (less than 1 foot) in mix of sand, turtle grass and rubble. Markings gave good camouflage. Diameter of disc approx. 5 inches. Typically inhabit sandy areas around reefs; often covered with sand on bottom. Diameter of disc, excluding tail- up to 15 inches. Venomous spine near end of tail. The ray … Read more