Welcome. \u00a0On the menu today we have some of the blennies (and their near relatives, the pikeblennies and triplefins) that inhabit the waters off Bonaire. \u00a0Save one, all of these pictures were taken by one of your hosts, Chuck, during the last several months, and are protected by copyright. \u00a0The exception is the lead photo, which was taken by Barb back in 2011 using her housed Canon G12. \u00a0Chuck’s gear has not changed much since then, but he has gotten even more handsome. \u00a0Barb has switched to a GoPro, and you can expect to see some of her work in the near future. \u00a0She has also grown even more beautiful in the intervening years.<\/p>\n
The last fish in this series — the least visually striking — is actually the most exciting. \u00a0Thanks to a tip from Kim White, fish identification enthusiast and trainer, I visited a particular site to attempt to get pictures of Tessellated Blennies. \u00a0I eventually succeeded, but also came back with a picture that neither she nor I could identify. \u00a0She sent it off to a scientist, and the surprising response was that it is a fish not previously reported in Bonaire: an Oyster Blenny. \u00a0When she got the word she brought over a bottle of champaign so we could all celebrate the remarkable development.<\/p>\n
Folks, if you arrive in Bonaire, find out if Kim is on-island and conducting her periodic sessions on fish identification. She is an incredible resource and her enthusiasm is infectous.<\/p>\n\n\t\t