August

About August – 2018 Underwater Paparazzi Calendar

The tope shark is always a fun find in Southern California! They tend to be skittish around diver bubbles so most of my encounters have been while freediving or snorkeling. This particular photo though was one of the rare times I got close to a tope shark while on scuba! It was at San Clemente Island and it came right up to me to check me out in the kelp forest! It bolted shortly after though. It was an awesome experience!

Here are some Tope Shark fun facts:

• Tope sharks are also referred to as soupfin sharks because they were heavily fished in the 1930’s & 1940’s for their fins for sharkfin soup. This took a toll on their population, but thankfully their population is bouncing back with numerous bans on shark fining!
• In the northern part of its U.S. west coast range (British Columbia to northern California), most soupfins are males. In southern California, females predominate. Along the central coast of California, there are roughly equal numbers of males and females.
• Males mature around 3.9 to 5.6 feet and females mature at 4.3 to 6.1 feet. Pups measure 12 to 14 inches.
• It feeds mainly on fish, squid, and octopus near the seabed or in the water column, not a “man eating shark” in the slightest. 😉

I love watching Giant Kelpfish. They are masters of disguise and easily blend into the blades of kelp, mimicking the sway in the surge. They can be pretty mesmerizing to watch. Even though they can change colors and patterns to match their surroundings, this guy still stood out in the invasive sargassum that has hit our coastline. It was an “A for effort” try on that fancy color pattern though! While it still provides some protection, it doesn’t have quite the same effect as our beautiful kelp stalks.

The tuna crabs! Which are actually a type of squat lobster. They are named from being a favorite meal for tuna (even though they are also enjoyed by many large fish, whales, and other mammals). They are a pelagic species that live at the bottom but also ride the warm currents. And that’s how they came to be in San Diego with the warmer El Nino waters! These guys are VERY entertaining. At least for the first week they are here. They blanket the sea floor and bounce off you like little maniacs. Which is hilarious at first until you have to start playing the game of “find anything BUT a tuna crab”. If you think I’m exaggerating, then check out my video on Instagram:

 

I’ll take your squid run and raise you some tuna crabs! 🤣🤣 @brentdurand @sharkbaitjulian @ianuhaltimages @michaelzeiglerphoto @eye_n_sky_productions . 📷©️: @underwaterpaparazzi

A post shared by Jami Leslie Feldman (@underwaterpaparazzi) on Mar 10, 2018 at 11:27pm PST

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