Well, I certainly have been remiss in posting over the summer, but I’ve also happily been very busy over the past three weeks. We were on vacation and most of the time we were in paradise, aka Hawaii. If I had to do it over again, I think I’d be a marine biologist. The ocean is the place to be.
Within the Honolulu city limits is Hanauma Bay, a great place for easy snorkeling. Hawaiian reef fish are right there, up close and personal, only 15 or 20 feet offshore. Hanauma Bay has a lot of the usual suspects: Moorish idols, Fourspot butterflyfish and Achilles tang, and reef triggerfish, known in Hawaii as the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. (All photos by moi.)
They make a serious point of trying to protect the reef when you’re out swimming. They show a film before they let you down to the beach. Among the many insults to coral reefs all over the world is just plain stepping on reefs and disturbing marine life. One of the first things I learned as a scuba diver is to avoid touching reefs whenever possible.
There are, of course, many threats to the ocean, and it was one of the breakthroughs of the Fifth Assessment Report last year to identify ocean impacts as a key component of what we’re up against with the climate crisis.
Stay tuned over the next days while I bring you some more thoughts and images from Hawaii and beyond.
