Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 5 May 2018

Time

11:17am - 1:00pm

Details

The tides and conditions were conducive for a second dive and I decided to do The Monument because I don't dive there often enough and I was keen to find the anglerfish again. I was also hoping to find the juvenile weedy seadragons and perhaps some ghostpipefish.

I got in at the protected area a third of the way to The Steps and waded out. It was so calm the only waves were from boats. I waded to the edge of the wall before descending and heading to the sand line. Visibility was around 10 metres and there was no surge or current. The water was around 20°C. I turned left and headed towards Sutherland Point.

I stayed on the sand line until I reached Block Rock and then moved up along the reef. I looked in all the usual places for anglerfishes and other interesting organisms.

As I swam along the wall I checked for the juvenile weedy seadragons as well as checking out the rocks for anglerfishes and behind the rocks for ghostpipefishes. Part way along the wall I spotted a large juvenile weedy seadragon on the sand in amongst the kelp. After returning to the wall I was looking where we saw the ornate ghostpipefish and I saw a Bennett's pufferfish in the rocks.

I swam up over the wall to the rocks where the orange painted anglerfish was last year. I was hoping to find pygmy pipehorses but found none.

I headed down to Carijoa Rock and looked for pygmy pipehorses but found none there. I also looked on Slope Rock, the rock where Dama's red pygmy had been and the rock a little farther along. I found none. I don't know where they have gone.

As I was approaching the rock where Mike pointed out the grey red-fingered anglerfish a couple of weeks ago I spotted a robust ghostpipefish between the rocks. This has been the year for robust ghostpipefish. Some fish were swimming around and kicking up the silt so I swam on.

I looked on the rock for the grey red-fingered anglerfish and spotted it a little higher than it was two weeks ago. I went back to the robust ghostpipefish hoping the silt had settled.

I swam past the anglerfish again and headed up to the rock where the White's seahorses had been. On my way up I spotted a female White's seahorse in a brown sponge. I don't know if it was the female from last year. It was close enough to the rock so it could be her.

I checked out the rock thinking the male may still be there but I couldn't find him. I also went to the sand in case the little dragonfish was still around. I found 2 Nembrotha sp. nudibranchs next to the rock.

I headed up to the Capnella colonies to see of the golden egg cowries were there but couldn't find them. I went all the way to the area where Daniela spotted the leaf scorpionfish last year before heading back to the seahorse rock and the nudibranchs, and then swimming back to the seahorse on the brown sponge. I quickly visited the ghostpipefish again before continuing along the reef towards Sutherland Point.

I swam past Split Rock and on to the area where Mike showed us the second grey red-fingered anglerfish. I was hoping I'd remember the rock and I did and the anglerfish was still there.

I headed along the next wall and down to the Carjoia covered rocks. I was looking for pygmy pipehorses but instead found a spindle cowrie on the Carijoa.

I followed the wall right to Sutherland Point and then swam up over the top of the reef to the rock where the large orange red-fingered anglerfish had been. I remembered that the small orange red-fingered anglerfish had been on the next rock to the east so I went there and found it straight away.

I headed west towards the rock where "Sunshine", the yellow female pot-bellied seahorse had been. On the way I spotted a large giant cuttlefish. At "Sunshine"'s rock, all the kelp that had been there last time was gone but after much searching I still couldn't find her. There was an octopus there and I wondered if that's how she'd met her fate.

I swam back via the orange anglerfish. I ascended to 5 metres and started my safety stop as I swam east and then south-east along the reef. I spotted a moorish idol under a ledge. After I had finished my safety stop as I was swimming through the shallows towards the exit, I spotted a large green pipefish on the sand. It didn't look well. I think it is a Stigmatopora argus which I have never seen before. I took a lot of photographs that should help with identification before heading for the exit. I surfaced in the shallows out from the bay to the south-east of the rocks on Sutherland Point.

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

103 minutes

Maximum depth

12.7 m

Average depth

9.6 m

Water temperature

19.6°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

Low

6:05am

0.57m

High

12:02pm

1.27m

Low

5:26pm

0.75m

High

11:58pm

1.62m