For an avid fish collector with a young child and no boat, life can sometimes be frustrating. I am limited to a small number of access points like public beaches and fishing piers, and once I’m there, getting to where the real treasures are can be problematic. Apparently, according to the latest [...]
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 in. One interesting [...]
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. [...]
By October, spotfin butterflyfish are putting on some serious size. As the water temperature continues to drop in the waters of New York, north winds and fall nor’easters do their part to diminish water clarity by stirring up sediment and breaking up our meager seasonal thermocline. Many of [...]
A pair of reef butterflyfish. Photo by Ashleigh Gardner It’s late August and, as always, things are heating up in the waters of Long Island. I haven’t had a chance to log many of my excursions for the past month – partly because I’ve been traveling, but mostly because I’ve spent so much [...]
Last week I reported on the arrival of the first tropical fishes of the year to appear in Long Island waters after a seining trip at Fire Island inlet turned up a filefish, groupers, and northern sennets. This week I am happy to announce that the next wave has arrived. Yesterday I accompanied a [...]
The northern sennet, a close relative of the great barracuda, is usually among the first warm-water species to appear on Long Island each year. After a long cold winter and amid disturbing reports that the North Atlantic may be entering a cool phase, I am very happy to report that the first [...]
