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Below is the active list of scheduled boat dive trips. Be sure to contact the charter directly for confirmation, rates, booking and other info.
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Author |
: Bruce Watkins |
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Location |
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Monterey County
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Date |
: January 30, 2009 |
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Sometimes we’re in the mood for a high adrenalin dive with big animals and spectacular drop-offs. At other times it’s all about relaxing and enjoying all the little critters that the reef has to offer. Some of Monterey’s least crowded, most relaxing dives may be found at Aquarium Reef. Aquarium Reef is not a place where you need to cover a lot of territory to experience the site or a place where you can expect grand vistas. Rather, it is a place to get your face close to the reef and look. This is a macro photographer's heaven, if you take the time.
The reef begins near shore and gently drops to a sand bottom at about 60 feet. The bottom is principally a rock and sand patch reef. This is a low-profile reef, with ridges of granite that run approximately parallel to shore, separated by sand channels. The rock rarely rises up more than a foot or two above the bottom. This reef supports a large bed of giant kelp, which can be very thick in summer months, but is rather thin in winter.
On a recent dive we saw more nudibranchs than we could easily count. They were in plain view doing what nudibranchs do—mating, laying eggs, feeding on bryozoans, or looking for their next meal. Most of the nudibranchs we saw were dorids, but there were many hermissendas and even a few dendronotids. Some nudibranch can be very small, so you will have to get close to the rock and look carefully. Others, particularly dorids, can be the size of your fist.
You will not need good eyesight to find some invertebrates. Sunflower stars are everywhere. These large sea stars can be up to three feet in diameter, and are actually one of the quickest invertebrates on the reef as they move on thousands of tube feet. There is also a huge population of bat stars here. Lucky divers may come across sea stars mating. While sea stars do not exchange gametes the way higher animals do, some species do physically interact before releasing sperm and eggs into the water column. This behavior ensures that the stars are in close proximity when their gametes are release and maximizes reproductive efficiency.
While it is illegal to hunt here, Aquarium Reef is a great place for fish watching and fish photography. Small rockfish hang close to the reef or among the kelp fronds. Countless sand dabs and starry flounders are found in the sand channels. Look for gobies and little sculpins perched on top of sponges or hiding in cracks.
Aquarium Reef is also home to a dozen or so sea otters. These fuzzy-faced mammals spend much of the day rapped up in a kelp blanket or busy hunting for clams, fat innkeeper worms, abalone or other mollusks. The rap-tap-tap that you often hear around Monterey is the sound of otters using a rock to break open a hard-shelled mollusk.
Aquarium Reef has a lot to offer divers who move slowly, get close to the reef, and develop their powers of observation. Remember, with all of this "bottom scratching" you should be careful not to damage the reef. There is plenty of sand next to the reef on which to kneel. That way you can enjoy the critters, and the diver behind you can enjoy them, too.
Dive Spot At A Glance
Location: Offshore of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, between David and Prescott Streets.
Access: Boat only. Private boats may be launched from the Breakwater, or kayaks from McAbee Beach. Monterey’s charter boats frequent this site.
Depths: 20 to 60 feet
Visibility: Fair, 15-30 feet.
Photography: Great macro for shrimps, crabs, nudibranchs, etc. Good otter and small fish photo ops.
Hunting: This area is within Ed Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area; only finfish may be taken with hook and line; no spearfishing is permitted.
Hazards: Watch for boat traffic and thick kelp.
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