Blackwater Creatures, A Guide to Southeast Florida Blackwater Diving

By Linda Iannello and Susan Mears

Every night the largest animal migration on earth takes place in the oceans of the world. The zooplankton migrates vertically up from the deep to feed in the shallower water near the surface. With the plankton comes a variety of both pelagic and larval creatures to feed on the plankton and each other. This creates an opportunity for underwater photographers and divers looking for something new and unique. A "blackwater dive" means going out at night in the deep ocean and looking for these subjects, which include: fish and mollusk larvae, that will eventually settle on the bottom; pelagics that live their whole lives in this environment; and creatures like jellyfish and siphonophores, all traveling with the currents. When divers first experience these dives, they often get back on the boat and say "I saw a lot of stuff, but I don't know what any of it is!". The purpose of this book is to introduce new black water divers to the critters they may see on a typical black water dive in southeast Florida - both the more common subjects and a few rare ones. This will help them to recognize the creatures and, therefore, have a better dive experience.