natjtan Late July new fish started appearing just off the city beaches!
The visibility was still cloudy and I was still figuring out camera settings, hence some photos are grainy. I think the saddled sea breams were getting used to me, often coming up to swim with me. I noticed that when the pompanos arrived, a lot of the baby fish used to swim close by so as not to be eaten by them. I think too it was around this time I started noticing clingfish but as I’m not good at diving down any photos aren’t worth posting.
I think these are mullets. So elusive and fast swimmers! While sea breams swim in clouds, these guys swim in lanes.
According to my fish guide book, Marine Wildlife of the Mediterranean by Enric Ballesteros and Toni Llobet, pompanos are rated as uncommon in frequency of sighting, so it makes me happy to see them in the least expected place of a city beach. People are always surprised when I say I snorkel at a city, asking if I see anything as you know fish aren’t to be found in city beaches. Yet, wildlife is found everywhere even in urban settings where people least expect them. Which beach do I snorkel? That location’s a secret.
The way the light reflects on their scales is amazing. Sometimes iridescent.
Thank you for stopping by!