Greg McFall – NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
We arrived on glasslike seas this morning at Gardner Pinnacles, the third of five sites that we’ll visit on this cruise. The two pinnacles, one larger than the other, stand as testimony to time and resistance to the ravages of nature. These volcanically formed mounts of basalt are all that remain of what must, at one time, have been a very large island. Diving around Gardner Pinnacles can be a real challenge for anyone (like me) who doesn't typically have to deal with the strong currents and surge to which these pinnacles are constantly subject and in which the majority of my colleagues are completely comfortable diving.
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Gardner Pinnacles
Photo Credit - Kimi Werner |
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| Tony Montgomery outside a cave at Gardner Pinnacles |
My dive buddy for the afternoon is Tony Montgomery from Ecological Services of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Tony is a real pro at diving in these conditions and I take my cues from him as the dive progresses. The first thing which is abundantly clear is that you might as well embrace the energy of the hydrodynamic regime because there is no fighting it. At one point in the dive I saw a couple of eagle rays that were gracefully maintaining position in the current which swept by the south side of the island. I tried my best to swim against the current to catch up to them and take a picture but my efforts were futile; Tony would later both applaud and laugh at my attempt to fight the energy of the water surrounding the pinnacles. The other complicating factor was the surge. As oceanic swells impinge upon the pinnacles, they carry with them any passive particles, apparently including humans, which dare to venture into the water. I found myself being transported about six feet forward and then six feet back; not all that bad until you are four feet from a boulder moving rapidly forward with an expensive camera system in your hands. Luckily, I was prepared and avoided any potential impacts but it did make taking pictures incredibly challenging.
While the terrestrial portion of the pinnacles, on appearance, seemed to be devoid of life (notwithstanding the birds that roost here), underneath the waves it is a completely different story. There are fish of every ecological niche (role) imaginable; there are predators like Galapagos and Whitetip reef sharks, Ulua (Giant Trevally), algivores (algae eating fish) such as parrotfishes, knifejaws, surgeonfishes and damsels, corallivores (coral eating fish) such as butterflyfishes and the goatfishes who endlessly search for and eat organisms living in the sand. All this activity has fish of every color going everywhere all at once and whose movements are a coordinated balance between response to a neighboring fish’s escape from predation or an opportunity to dine on their victuals of choice. Add to this the panoply of color provided by the blue of the ocean, the brown, green, yellow, pink, red and purple corals and sponges and the scene becomes incredibly rife with visual appeal.
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| Goatfish at Gardner Pinnacles |
Although we were invited aboard this cruise to serve as scientists to study, catalog and monitor the natural resources of Papahānaumokuākea, I find it extremely difficult to visit a place this energetic and lively without becoming a bit introspective and without beginning to question how one fits into the grand scheme of things. While some might simply say "you don't fit into it", from a natural perspective, maybe it's our responsibility to serve in some capacity as "protector" of these special places; to educate others and to foster development of a pragmatic sense of "guardianship" in people who may never be able to see for themselves how important these places are. Practitioners of Polynesian culture believe in ‘aumakua or benevolent-guardian ancestral spirits or protectors. While several of us on this trip clearly do not see ourselves as ancestral descendants of Polynesians, one of my Hawaiian friends reminds me that "we are all connected ancestrally." So if we’re all connected then it seems to make sense that we all have a shared responsibility to educate others about these incredible areas and to protect them for future generations. With all due respect, I’m not attempting to draw any comparisons between the deities of Polynesian culture and our admiration of and endeavors to be, protectors of these incredible resources but will just say that simply being here imbues one with a palpable sense of responsibility to mālama our kūpuna, that is, to respect and care for our elders. This respect applies not only to people but to the cultural resources and places that are so important to us all; fitting in this case, as these island 'elders' are amongst the geologically oldest in the Hawaiian archipelago. That they still thrive today is tribute to their strength and ability to endure whatever comes their way; an acceptance of what natural progression will bring.
I’ve heard it said that there is no such thing as a "bad" sunset in Papahānaumokuākea and tonight is certainly no exception. We sailed in on calm seas and we're sailing out in the same fashion. The colors of sunset tonight are compliment to the palate of color experienced underwater and we look forward to what tomorrow's explorations will bring at Maro Reef.
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| Papahānaumokuākea sunset |
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