CRITTER: Giant great white sharks headed to Hawaii
Scuba diving with a 20 foot long fish with big teeth that weighs over 3,000 pounds is quite thrilling but diving with five of these giant great white sharks at the same time is beyond description!
CRITTER: Schools of aweoweo showed up when King Kalakaua died
When diving in Hawaii you often can look into small caves in the reef and see the bright red aweoweo bigeye fish. These beautiful fish are normally seen by themselves and are easy to identify as their skin and eyes reflect light. The name aweoweo means “glowing red” like the caldera atop Mauna Loa. Red is also the royal color in old Hawaii and this fish is important to Hawaiian culture.
CRITTER: One of the world largest coral discovered in Palau
Coral reefs around the world have been reported to be dying due to an increase in sea water temperatures but in some locations the corals are thriving!
CRITTER: Sphinx Nudibranch a rare find in Kauai waters
I have been scuba diving for over 20 years in Hawaii and have done over 2,000 dives on almost all of the main Hawaiian Islands and from time to time I find a critter that I just can’t identify.
CRITTER: Rare pake ulua the Bigeye Trevally
I was scuba diving off my kayak on a deep water ledge at Pua’ena Point outside of Hale’iwa and got a big surprise. This 100-foot tall underwater cliff is open to the deep blue water and I often see game fish there like the Giant Trevally (ulua aukea) and the Bluefin Trevally (omilu), but on this dive I saw a large shape emerging out of the blue water and I thought it might be a humpback whale.
CRITTER: Reef fish baby to adult color change
After scuba diving and shooting video at Tunnels Beach one day I had a tourist come up to me and say she saw a clownfish out on the reef while snorkeling.
CRITTER: Dying corals equal homes falling into the sea
9 years ago I first noticed the corals out in front of Sunset Beach Oahu starting to get sick and die.
CRITTER: How and why the hilu piliko’a fish fight
When you go out diving or snorkeling next time, relax and observe the fish on the reef and see if there seems to be any order involved in their movements.
CRITTER: Amazing rebirth of Kauai corals
Most of the time on the news we see stories about entire coral reefs bleaching and dying and the cause of the coral decline is blamed on climate change and rising sea temperatures.
CRITTER: Wainiha River helps giant corals stay healthy
Kaua‘i is an unusual island for corals to grow because we have a lot of rain and runoff from rivers and streams.
CRITTER: Loggerhead — the honu that travels the world
Living in Hawai‘i we get to see a lot of green sea turtles and occasionally a hawksbill turtle feeding on limu close to shore while we are out surfing, diving or swimming.
CRITTER: Comeback of the Maui black coral
In 1985 if you walked into a jewelry store in Lahaina Maui the first thing you would see is a big sign saying “we sell the famous Maui black coral necklace.”
CRITTER: Unusual marine life living in the Hale‘iwa trench
Hiding submarines in WW2 from the enemy here in Hawai‘i was not an easy job but the military was successful at doing so right offshore of Ali‘i park in Hale‘iwa O‘ahu.
CRITTER: Koloa Landing would make a good Marine Reserve
Marine reserves in the past have often been controversial because they can create a “no take” zone which keeps the local community from fishing their favorite part of the coastline.
CRITTER: What is killing our corals in Kaua‘i?
In 2010, I took my first boat ride down the magical Na Pali Coast and stopped at Nualolo Bay to snorkel. The water was crystal clear and the corals were just stunning. Huge mound and pork chop corals mixed in with golden and pink antler and cauliflower corals.
CRITTER: Out to sea and surrounded by eight large tiger sharks
We left Grand Bahama Island off the coast of South Florida early in the morning heading out to sea on our 100 foot research ship.
CRITTER: Pipeline reef is made up of fossilized coral
I was recently watching an old surf movie about the Pipe Masters surf contest held at Pipeline on O‘ahu North Shore and got a kick out of the prio surfers talking about the reef at Pipeline.
CRITTER: Controlling shark behavior face-to-face
I was surfing in Hanalei Bay one sunny afternoon with a group of friends that surf there often, and we were all talking about sharks while we waited for a set to roll in.
CRITTER: Female honu pick the sex of their babies
Just think how wonderful it would be if you had two boys in your family and you decided you would like a girl for your third child and the mom could just decide on her own what sex child she wanted.
CRITTER: Dangerous man o’ wars washing up on our beaches
While surfing at Makaha on O‘ahu’s South Shore one day, I went through a wave and felt like I had been bit by a huge shark. My entire body was in intense pain but when I surfaced I could not see any wounds and I was really confused as to what was happening.