BIOT MPA Survey Expedition 2015 - Day 9 - Speakers Bank

On from Blenheim Reef northward there is just open ocean until the Maldives. We rolled along the waves overnight and on sunrise were presented with what appeared to be more open ocean. But an atoll lies several meters below the surface here revealing no visual references on the surface. Nothing to let you know where you are. Speakers Bank as this place is known only reaches to within 10 meters of the surface at its shallowest so the waves do not break to delineate its perimeter. 

It was an overcast day so we couldn’t make out the bottom in the shallows so we were diving pretty much off the charts we had studied earlier on the bridge of the research vessel. What interesting dives they were though – healthy coral reef interspersed with rich beds of seagrass (thesalinodendrum ciliatum). The emerald green soft swaying of the grass contrasting with the hard immobility of the stony corals.

Currents were strong across the bank. Without the seabed reaching all the way to the surface the ocean currents run unbroken up and over the atoll. As a result there was a lot of life that can be associated with currents. Our first dive we encountered a lot of whip corals at a depth of around 20 meters.

There were numerous branching corals that were rich with small life. Numerous species of crab – spider crab, hermit crab, porcelain crab – all nestled in amongst the branches. Plenty of small fish too, Chromis and Damsels all huddled in the protective arms.

Interestingly there were few large grouper – although we did see an enormous Morey eel. One of the highlights was being surrounded by a huge shoal of Yellowback and Neon fusiliers at the start of the second dive. A heaving mass of colour. Really beautiful to watch.

On the smaller side we also came across a beautiful set of chromodoris nudibranchs.

This was an unusual and rarely dived spot that offered up some really worthwhile sights. Another successful day!