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Until relatively recently the Red Sea has
often been regarded as a winter destination for divers landlocked
by the British weather, The last few years have seen the steady
expansion of the market to the present status of a year round
destination. Regular visitors to the Red Sea will have noticed
that they are seeing different species and behaviour dependent
on the time of year and it soon becomes obvious that although
it appears to be "always warm" there are very definite
seasons under the surface of this desert sea.
First visits to the Red Sec can be a little
overwhelming for many divers as they struggle to absorb all
the colour, and activity on the reef and they return with
the memory of stunning visibility and an explosion of life.
On subsequent visits you can absorb more of what is happening
and how certain species are behaving. The next stage may be
to refine this further and visit the region at specific times
of the year to experience a particular phenomenon or activity.
One of the most exciting times to dive in
the northern ked Sea, particularly around the Ras Mohammed
area, is in early summer. At this time of year the first plankton
bloom (March and April) has cleared and the water temperature
is beginning to rise. This triggers breeding activity amongst
many fish and sees them congregating in massive shoals. Although
you can glean this type of information from many authoritative
reference books, my experience has always been that local
knowledge, particularly from fishermen, will prove invaluable
when planning to encounter these events.
You need the flexibility of a live aboard
boat to pursue these objectives and a little research will
show that a proportion of those operating from Sharm El Sheikh
are crewed by Bedouin fishermen who have unbeatable knowledge
of the movements and behaviour of various fish species. In
June this year my objective was to photograph the schools
of red snapper and, as I joined the Coral Queen in Sharm,
I hoped that the advice I had received was accurate. The owner
and crew (all Bedouin fishermen) informed us that our timing
was perfect as they explained that many fish species generally
spawn on a full moon spring tide having eaten very little
during the preceding days. They then congregate in these massive
shoals during which time they are very easy to approach.
Much discussion had built up our anticipation
for the first dive at Ras Mohammed and we were not disappointed,
it was simply electric. AS predicted by our crew, we were
confronted by a massive shoal of thousands of red snappers
hanging in the water column just off the northern end of Shark
Reef. The fish were solid from a metre or so below the surface
to thirty metres or more and were moving slowly in a spiral
formation. Being a neap tide period there was virtually no
current which enabled us to swim easily off the wall and mingle
with the fish who showed absolutely no concern for our presence.
It is an owe inspiring experience to swim as part of a huge
shoal and be almost "accepted" by the fish, some
of which are almost half your size ! The action was joined
by intruding groups of thirty to fifty jacks who would swim
through the shoal intermittently. Every so often pairs of
these jacks would peel off from the main group and swim erratically
together whilst one changed colour from silver to jet black
in preparation for mating. Once again these fish showed no
interest in the proximity of divers but would suddenly depart
in their pairs toward the surface presumably to spawn.
I was getting through film fast as I dropped
through the shoal and realised that there was movement of
a different kind just below me. Directly below the snappers
and following much the same formation was a much smaller shoal
of unicorn surgeon fish, perhaps a hundred or so, a sight
I had not witnessed before. The light was not good below the
snappers, but 1 followed the surgeons in the hope of good
shots until I realised that my depth was now more than 40m
and a gentle ascent was required!
Time and air consumption dictated that we
should now move along the reef towards the pick up point between
Shark Reef and Jolanda reef. As we approach the sand saddle
between these two coral masses another surprise awaited us
in the form of shoaling batfish preoccupied in their spiraling
mating dance. These fish are normally encountered in pairs
or small groups, but here was a shoal of fifty or more making
preparations to spawn. The shoal would spiral from the surface
down to 20?30m and every so often a pair would break away
and pursue each other in a more vigorous spiral chose whilst
changing their pattern of stripes from pole grey to dark brown.
The grand finale to this was four or five black tip reef sharks
cruising ever closer for a look at the action 1 Needless to
say this was the first of many dives here and we were able
to plan our pursuit of particular subjects for subsequent
dives.
Although Ras Mohammed is always potentially
a busy site, diving from a live aboard gives you a distinct
advantage as you can plan your dives for early morning or
late afternoon and early evening, when the day boats are in
harbour. The main shoals appear to prefer the northern end
of Shark Reef, one of the busiest areas, and so following
this routine means that your group can have the site almost
to yourself. However, even diving at the busiest time of day,
you will be amazed to find that most groups swim by concentrating
on the wall or only giving these huge shoals a cursory glance.
The months of June and July are perhaps the
busiest with a number of species congregating in shoals either
as a prelude or conclusion to spawning. These include white
snappers and jacks in early June, red snappers, unicorn surgeons,
batfish and sweetlips in late June and barracuda, masked butterfly
fish and masked puffer fish in July. However, there are several
other seasonal high spots during the year so don't despair
if you can't make a trip in the summer months. Below is a
short calendar guide of the high spots:
March: First plankton bloom of the
year which brings with it regular sightings of manta rays
particularly in early morning and evening. Comb jellies and
jellyf ish swarms and the occasional whale shark.
June: Shoals of white snappers at
the be~qinninq of the month, red snappers toward the middle
after the full moon, jacks, batfish and unicorn surgeon fish.
Ras Mohammed and Jack Fish
Alley are hot spots ?
July: Shoaling barracuda with an escort
of silky sharks, masked butterfly fish, masked puffer fish
and the remnants of the snapper shoals. Turtles begin to mate
close to the surface.
Auqust/September: Second plankton
bloom of the year with more reliable sightings of mantas and
whale sharks but visibility can be variable and potentially
poor
November/December: Grey reef sharks
begin to congregate around Pas Mohammed displaying their apparently
aggressive mating behaviour of biting their mate. If you want
to witness this you need to have patience and concentrate
all your efforts on the blue water off the reef.
Travel Information:
The Coral Queen can be booked through Oonasdivers,
Tel. 01323 648924
Reproduced
from in focus 68
(June 2000)
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