CS FORT LAUDERDALE BY THE SEA
COASTAL SYSTEMS JOURNAL ONE
BY LIS G. CONTOLI
08/27/2018
FORT LAUDERDALE BY THE SEA
SNORKELING SOUTH OF ANGLIN’S PIER
WEATHER
Temperature: 75 – 87°F
Precipitation: 0.48 In.
Dew Point: 75°F
Wind: 20 MPH, Visibility: 10 MPH
Sea Level Pressure: 30.13 Hg
REFLECTION
It was 9:40 AM when I arrived at our meeting point in front of the Anglin’s Fishing Pier. It was raining a little bit on my way there, but a moment later, it was pouring. I was filled with fear as I heard a loud lightning strike coming from the clouds. I said, “Are we really going out snorkeling with this weather condition?”. I remained calm, as I know that in Florida, it can pour for an hour, and then it clears up like no storm was ever there. While we were waiting for the storm to pass, I was reading about how The Anglin’s donated this area to the city of Fort Lauderdale. Very interesting.
As you can see in the picture above, the storm was gone. But the ocean was left rough. The ocean was choppy, the water wasn’t clear, and it was hard to see anything unless you dove deep down. The current wasn’t helping either, it was a nightmare actually. I swam a foot, and by the time I looked up, I was already three feet away. It was tiring. Because I was out of breath, it was hard to catch any to dive down in the water and try to take a look. But, I managed to get some quick shots with my GoPro. In the pictures below are the corals and fishes I encountered.
In this picture you can see some Smallmouth grunts and Southern Flounders (Paralichthys lethostigma) fishes.
And in this one, those striped cute little fishes are called Sergeant Major (Abudefduf saxatilis).
In the picture above, that turquoise mixed with light orange/red fish is a Redfin parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne), and the one on the far right is an Ocean surgeon (Acanthurus bahianus)
The yellow fish with stripes through the eye is a Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus).
And of course, I saw sea fans, palythoa corals, soft corals gorgonian and worm reefs.