Creatures of the deep

They don't really seem real, resting there in the Nautilus tank at The Deep. At first I thought they might be part of a static display, they looked that artificial... then one lifted off and started drifting in the water.  I quickly turned on my camera and started filming, hoping that in the dim light I could capture some of this graceful unreal motion.  By chance, he swam under a beam of light, providing this short clip, before drifting back into darkness. 

Amazing.

Rock Lobster

There are moments you really hope the camera is working...





...and really glad when it is.


Rock lobsters or slipper lobsters (Scyllarides latus) are becoming endangered in much of their habitat (including Tenerife) due to overfishing... you can see them in fish markets in Italy, but the catch levels are unsustainable.  There isn't much protection for them either, as they tend to be caught opportunistically and aren't considered to have much of a commercial market.  Divers, unfortunately, have been part of the problem, with their habit of considering anything large enough to fit in a goody bag as fair game.

Officially, their conservation status is "data deficient"