Face to face. A great moment in scuba diving and in my life.
This may be the pinnacle of my recreational ‘career’ as a scuba diver. Unless, of course, I get attacked by something.
Face to face with the friendliest fish I’ve ever seen.
The Nassau Grouper tagged along with us on a dive in Roatan, Honduras in August. Joined us almost as soon as we descended. Hung around for a while – swimming awfully close. Disappeared briefly only to reappear late in the dive. Even happier to see us.
Most fish are afraid of divers. It’s the bubbles and movement they don’t like. Sharks and parrotfish are notoriously skittish. The rest never really let you get close.
Not this grouper.
Not only was he happy to pose for photos, he wasn’t timid about close-ups.
This is a short video of the grouper interacting with Brian, the divemaster. You can see the fish turn toward the camera when I swim up.
I’m not a toucher of marine life. That’s a BIG no-no. So, our ‘moment’ was not through touch, but through sight. Looking into each others eyes. Would have stayed longer, but we were running out of air.
This was my best diving experience ever in 211 dives (diving with Manta Rays in Bali a close second. Diving with Pandas was the strangest).
- Scuba diver kisses grouper in Roatan earlier this year. The same fish? Who knows. This guy shouldn’t have touched the fish. NO TOUCHING MARINE LIFE.
Roatan grouper. I’ll be back. Mostly in the hope of seeing you again.
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