Juvenile striped burrfish The striped burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfii, is one of the most common warm-water fishes to show up in our seine nets during Long Island’s brief collecting season. Sometimes referred to as the spiny boxfish, C. schoepfii belongs to the family Diodontidae, which [...]
Juvenile cobia One of the most satisfying aspects of collecting tropical fishes in New York, far outside of the tropics, is knowing that your activities have no impact on wild populations. Naturally, not every warm-water species you encounter will be the ideal candidate for your tank, but at [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4cXHStGmc&feature=youtu.be With summer well underway in New York, you would expect marine fish diversity to be nearing its peak for the year. Normally, by early August, signs of the tropical influence of the Gulf Stream are abundant in the south shore bays [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5surCzqBF1M Typically, my last dive of the season in New York takes place by late October, but, since poor weather kept me out of the water for the last two weeks of the month, I thought I would push the limits of my cold tolerance with a November dive this [...]
It’s late October. As autumn progresses, it gets increasingly difficult to put on my gear and get in the water. Between the head-numbing cold and the departure of the tropicals, the idea of diving in New York becomes less appealing with each passing day. Sometimes I need to stop and remind [...]
Two years ago I posted here about a deep-water anthiine caught in 3 feet of water in Shinnecock Bay, by my friend, Bob Jankie. From photos of the specimen, Smithsonian ichthyologist and deep-water serranid expert, Carole Baldwin tentatively identified it as either Hemanthias vivanus (red [...]
In the next issue of Reefs Magazine, I'll be discussing the second most represented fish family in the coastal waters of New England: The Serranidae. Interestingly, most of the species found here are generally considered to be tropical strays that are doomed when winter sets [...]
This time of year, each dive in New York becomes a little less pleasant. Every time I go out, I tell myself: “This will probably be my last dive of the year.” Each throbbing headache from the cold water is a little more intense, and the period of post-dive shivering lasts a little longer. [...]
