On Wednesday, January 30, 2002 4:16 AM, Mark Bevelhimer

(snip)

>          Given your history with triggerfish, I'd be careful how much
> you're exposing.  For that matter, on those really cold days, sounds like
> you better look out for the Maori wrasses as well! :-)

Unless I'm wearing something as thin as a lycra suit, that's just not going
to be an issue!  :-))

>   I always enjoy
> your Shelly Beach reports.

Hopefully -  a little later on today - I'll be able to share more of this
morning's dive when Janet puts some of the pictures that she took up onto
the Shop's web-site.

Janet, Julian, Simon and myself met at 07.00 for a pre-work dive.  Because
of the slop and a large swell the visibility was reduced to about 2-metres
in the shallows.  Below 10-metres it opened up in patches to between 8 -
15-metres.

Searching among the seagrass beds, Julian found one solitary pipefish.
Buried in the sand were a few plaice; there were dozens of small rays; a
leprous looking Estuarine catfish and a ball of adult catfish.  Hidden among
the scattered remains of shells, Simon discovered a few juvenile humbugs.  I
found a dive knife - my only discovery of the dive!  :-)

A couple of Goby's (that we still haven't identified) stood guard outside of
a hole in the sand;  one darting inside for shelter when we approached.
Today we could only find one wobbegong - about 2-metres long - resting under
an overhang.  At one stage a school of large kingfish came swimming around
us before disapearing into the haze.  Julian spotted a ribbon like critter
about 12 cms long lying on the sand that appeared to have come from a small
tube-like sheath partially buried in the seabed.  He also showed us a tiny,
slate grey 'worm'(?) with a light stripe down its sides that had attached
itself to his glove.  (It looked like a leech to me and next to trigger
fishes, I don't like leeches!) :-)

But the best find of all was a critter that - when Janet has the pics up on
the website - somebody with knowledge of these things may be able to
identify for us.  Looking remarkably like the shredded blade of a piece of
brown/green seaweed, I had difficulty at first in recognising it as the fish
that it was.  :-)

Strike