Page 565 - Visitor Guides

travel Male orangethroat pike- Sea of Cortez
blenny (left) displaying to
attract a mate while in it’s
burrow off Angel Island;
Aggregation (right) of
juvenile blue-and-yellow
chromis, scissortail chromis,
Mexican hogfish and
king angelfish swimming
above the rocky reef at
Andrea’s Eagle, Angel
Island; Angelfish swimming
amongst yellow polyp
black coral off Angel
Island (below)

lions swam by for closer
inspection. Lolo’s Cove
offered our first look at
the endemic bullseye
electric ray, and our
guide pointed out a pair
of seahorses that had
taken up residence with-
in the structure of an old
lobster trap. A school
of baitfish, corralled by
circling barracuda, pro-

Over the next two vided plenty For those adventurous souls willing to jump
days we would of distraction into a cage at night, it is also possible to dive
explore several on our safety with humboldt squid. Sadly, whether a prod-
dive sites, rock out- stop. uct of climate change, over fishing or a simple
croppings, bays The Sea change in their whereabouts, the squid have
and coves as the of Cortez, become increasingly hard to find.
crew guided us or Gulf of Sharks are another species that are difficult
down the western California to locate around the Midriff Islands, and unfor-
side of the island. as it is also tunately, mankind is very much to blame for
Our first stop was known, offers their absence. From 1985-1995 over 200,000
La Muela (Molar a varied mix sharks were killed by fishermen from camps in
Tooth) for a shal- of macro sub- San Francisquito Bay, 50 miles south of Bahia
low check out dive. jects, scenic de Los Angeles. Sadly, an equal amount of
Here, we were rocky reefs bycatch was also discarded in the process,
treated to an array of bluespotted jawfish, living and pelagics. Numerous colonies of California and when it was over, the shark population
in burrows amid the rocky bottom, several spe- sea lions provide ample opportunities to dive was decimated. We were encouraged to see
cies of stingrays and a fine spotted moray eel. and interact with these gregarious underwater a couple of sharks swimming at the surface
Next came a drift dive along walls covered in acrobats. Whale sharks and sperm whales can during our trip, and I hope that they make
gorgonians, hydroids and several schools of fish, be seen in the late summer and fall, along with enough of a comeback to consistently be
all the while, dozens of curious California sea pilot whales, dolphins, manta and mobula rays. found underwater as well.
Fine spotted jawfish hiding in rubble burrow on sea floor off Angel Island
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