Fred Howard Park

I'd have to say that this was the most memorable & slightly embarrassing field trip but it was one of my favorites. I had only been snorkeling once before so it was neat to get to do it again. We brought an underwater 35mm camera to capture the grasses & wildlife but most did not come out because of the waters cloudiness :(

The reason this was an embarrassing trip? Who could forget me being singled out & "attacked" by the remora!

I was floating on my back over the grasses & felt something latch on & it would not let go as much as I flailed around! I panicked not knowing what it was & couldn’t run very quickly with the flippers on! Finally, I could see what it was & another classmate identified it. It followed me into shallow waters & a couple people tried to capture it but it was too fast. It was black & white, slender, about 5” long & very exotic looking. 

The majority of species found in this underwater meadow were the turtle & shoal grasses which seemed to be thriving. They were dense & plentiful. I did notice the difference in the grasses based on the amount of sunlight coming through the water. 

I had become a host for the remora, they are "sucker" fish & I was it's target. It was odd for it to be in the area because they are typically in open water latching onto large fish. Whatever it's reason for being there I had a good time & won't soon forget it :)

 

 This picture says it all, thumbs up for this field trip!