Hi again, everyone!
This is our first dive log of 2012.
Half a month of 2012 has already gone by, but we finally made it out to the sea in Sado.
Underwater, it feels like full “winter mode” has kicked in: long seaweed, clear water, and lots of invertebrates such as nudibranchs, crustaceans, sea cucumbers, and sea stars.
It's a real winter sea.
People tend to picture the Sea of Japan in winter as rough, but when the cold snaps ease off, the sea is calm and the water is clear, so as long as you prepare for the cold, there's no problem.
Underwater, with the cold air since the end of the year and quite a lot of snow piled up in the Ryotsu area, the water temperature has dropped, and many fish are less active.
On the other hand, as the water cools, creatures we don't usually see have started to appear.
Today we saw “hoteiuo” (smooth lumpsucker), a winter specialty (?) of Sado.
It hasn't spawned yet, and we were happy to see an adult wandering around in midwater.
It's purely a matter of luck, but if you want to see adults roaming in midwater, now is the time.
Going forward, I think we'll also start seeing some guarding eggs, so there's that to look forward to as well!
We also found a juvenile takanohadai (spottedtail morwong) quietly hiding in the shade of the seaweed.
We hope it grows up safely.
From the crustaceans we're seeing a lot of, here are a species of tsunomo ebi (a shrimp) and edatsunogani (a crab).
Nudibranchs have become more numerous too.
The aeolid (mino) types often seen when the water is cold are increasing.
A prime example is this one: “emura mino umiushi.”
Even more nudibranchs should show up from here on.
For nudibranch lovers, it's a season to enjoy until early summer.
Here are the sea conditions for January 16.
Dive date: January 16 (Monday)
Dive sites: Mushizaki (Hyogozaki, beach)
Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells
Wave height: 0.5 to 1 m
Current: Weak
Underwater: 11℃
Marine life seen: kobudai (Asian sheepshead wrasse: female, baby), hoteiuo, juvenile takanohadai, juvenile kinubari (a goby), kijihata (red spotted grouper), Japanese rockfish (mebaru), largescale blackfish (mejina), ainame (fat greenling), amimehagi (a pygmy filefish), sabihaze (a goby), hoshinohaze (a goby), sarasa ebi (a shrimp), koyanagiumiushi (a nudibranch), sakishima mino umiushi (a nudibranch), isoumiushi (a nudibranch), fujiera mino umiushi (a nudibranch), a species of tsunomo ebi, rousoku ebi (a shrimp), koshimagarimo ebi (a shrimp), and more
