August 23, 2006

Amy and I absolutely HAD to go out to the water today. I couldn’t leave nails with big, red cow tags cable tied to them stuck in the reef, and Amy had three experiments still going that she had to pull up. Sure enough, to welcome us back, it was raining. As usual, we geared up and went out regardless. At least the visibility was good and we were able to get our work done. My sites were surprisingly easy to pull up. I was expecting to cuss and struggle with the nails while trying to pry them out of the rock. Nope. It was pretty easy. But, and isn’t there always a ‘but’, collecting the cyanobacteria that I needed to finish an experiment turned into a typical Fiji nightmare for me. This is the same cyano in which the bone crushing mantis shrimp live. I didn’t have a problem with them this time, but I did get pinched by a crab, stung by something painful (not sure what), nearly gouged by a sea urchin AND a lionfish, and had a small eel charge me and two very large moray eels glare at me angrily. I was carrying my shiny dive-knife and poking my hands into holes and under rubble to get the cyano. Morays have very poor eyesight and could mistake my hand/knife for a fish. Plus, they don’t really like it when people go poking sharp objects into their homes. To top it all off, the tide went out much faster than expected and I got trapped in shallow water surrounded by soft coral. I tried really hard not to damage any soft coral getting out. I think I did okay, but it was very stressful.
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“…reasons not to stick your hands into holes are moray eels. The moray eel lives along rocky areas, in holes, and under rocks. A very private creature, they are not known to attack unless threatened. Their home is their castle and they will defend it at any means. They usually come out only to eat. The scent of dead fish, blood, or bait will get them curiously out of their holes. Moray eels have razor sharp teeth and powerful jaws, so powerful that they can render severe muscle damage if one ever gets its jaws locked onto you. More commonly, they can cause severe tendon and nerve damage.”