A male with left front flipper missing was having a tough time, at one point being driven into Ursula 56K JPEG | 
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The Cladophora algae bloom that has plagued us all summer turned it up a notch this week. It had help from a swell that's still working through. It was a-movin' and a-shakin' us all around.
Turtles bobbed in the currents.
A male with left front flipper missing was having a tough time, at one point being driven into Ursula, who was trying to photograph another turtle.
A male with left front flipper missing was having a tough time, at one point being driven into Ursula 56K JPEG |
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If the forecasts are correct, no sooner will this one subside than a new south swell will arrive--bigger than the one kicking up this mess.
The diving has been awful. The green slime in the water is so thick that close to shore it is difficult to pick up landmarks. Still, we only have to dive in this soup. The turtles call this home!
| Can you see the turtle in this image? No? OK, then how about the human with the video camera? 24K JPEG |
Some of you might be asking yourselves, "So what's the big deal with an algae bloom?" Well, we know from years of diving at Honokowai (this is Ursula's 24th summer here) that this bloom is simply not natural. Something is wrong in the water. We don't know what, and we don't know whether it harms the turtles--but we do find it an interesting coincidence that the algae blooms and the fibropapilloma tumors both started to increase around the same time.
It seems more turtles than ever are missing body parts. We don't know whether the percentage is the same as in the old days (early nineties) and there are just more turtles now, or perhaps there really is an increase in the number of injured turtles.
One has a fish hook through its flipper.
One has a fish hook through its flipper 62K JPEG | 
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One doesn't even have a flipper. (See above.) Five have only portions of a flipper remaining.
| Five have only portions of a flipper remaining 46K JPEG |
As well, there are plenty of shell dings suggesting losing battles with boats and propellers.
There are plenty of shell dings suggesting losing battles with boats and propellers 64K JPEG | 
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The ocean is a dangerous place--made even more dangerous by human beings.
By the end of July we had identified 160 turtles, compared to 145 for all of 1999, but that's about the only comparison that can be made. At least part of the increase in sightings is the result of exploring new territory both to the north and south. New territory means new turtles.
Some turtles, though, are conspicuous by their absence. Zaphod, sighted almost daily every summer since 1993, is missing. In 1998 we wrote this about her:
"We believe Zaphod is a female and expect her to make her first reproductive migration soon, perhaps even for the Summer of 1999."
Well, Summer 1999 we saw her on the first dive and most dives thereafter. Looks like we might be one year off in our prediction!
Other friends not here are accounted for. Tiamat crawled up on East Island and nested on June 22nd, laid her eggs, and got her picture taken.
| Tiamat crawled up on East Island and nested on June 22nd Photo by Vanessa Pepi and Aaron Dietrich 62K JPEG |
Turtle U249, whom we've known since 1994, had made her appearance just a day earlier (June 21).
U249, whom we've known since 1994 Photo by Vanessa Pepi and Aaron Dietrich 55K JPEG | 
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George Balazs has confirmed Shredder (A240) was nesting at the French Frigate Shoals this summer. He wrote:
Week 7 Summary
Summer of '00 at Honokowai
Who's Who Underwater at Honokowai
Turtle Happenings
Table of Contents