TRIP REPORT – JUPITER – 19/August/2014

[SSharkk]

www.jupiterdivecenter.com

Check In = Gerry and Adam

Captain = Tim

Dive Guide = Phil

Deckhand = Doug

Dive Buddies:

Connie G

Michael Patrick O’Neill Website of nature photographer and author Michael Patrick O'Neill | Michael Patrick O'Neill Please have a look at his webpage.

Regular 2 tank weekday dive with an emphasis on the goliath grouper spawn.

Seas flat

Moderate north bottom current

Vertical visibility 40 feet

Water temperature 68 to 84 F depending on depth and site

Animals of Note:

140 + or – goliath groupers that I saw. It can be reliably claimed that there were another hundred GGs that I did not see.

1 stingray

The species count was paltry today. However, the sheer numbers and aggregate weight of the animals was staggering. August and September are very special months in Palm Beach County. It is the season for the mass spawning aggregations for goliath groupers.

Last season, for the first time in many years, we had some groupers, but not the brown hills of a hundred giant fish that we had come to expect. This year, however, looks like it is going to be a doozy. On the first tank I saw about forty of the weighty and friendly beauties on the Zion Train / Miss Jenny / Esso Bonaire wreck complex. Michael O’Neill ventured out into the rubble field alone and reported an additional hundred fish.

Dive 2 at the MG 111 Barge and Warrior Reef was near spectacular. We easily had a hundred goliath groupers on these artificial reefs.

The grouper breeding season should come to its peak in the next few weeks.

 

[MrChen]

You did better than I did. We weren't specifically looking for GG, but we dove Governor's Riverwalk and the Mizpah. We saw 2 on Governor's on the 2nd wreck. There could have been more on the wrecks to the north as we didn't spend as much time near them. On the Mizpah, we had a bad drop the first time. About 6 large GG came out of nowhere checking us out. I'm sure we were close to the wreck. After redropping, we landed right on the wreck and I didn't see a single GG. One of the divers went off to the west and has video of a dozen or so. We barely made it to the Amaryllis as we were hunting for lobster and LF in the rocks.