Kirsty and I had a great Valentine's Day dive at Rickett's Point, shared with thousands of Snapper! There seemed to be lots of Sea Urchin shells on the floor, so perhaps the culling is continuing in the reserve, and the Snapper are following divers around in the expectation of a free feed... they treated us as the lead fish in the school, and followed us around throughout the dive.

There were a few Leatherjaclets around, and some of them were species that we haven't recognised. We also spotted a couple of maie Moari Wrasse, as well as a Brown-banded Morwong, a couple of Dusky Morwong, a Banjo Shark, Magpie Perch, Silver Sweep, Old Wives, Moonlighters, and Flathead. The visibility varied from over 6 metres in the shallows to under 3 metres in some spots, apparently due to the level of spawning that had been taking place.

 

Divers: Kirsty Batchelor, Peter Batchelor

Weather/Sea: Calm.
Visibility: 3-6 Metres.
Water temperature: 21°C.
Maximum depth: 5.1 metres.
Time of entry: 10.15
Duration: 90 minutes.