News

The Siren Fleet is teaming up with Paul Collins and Richard Barnden of Sam’s Tours Unique Dive Expeditions to offer guests some extraordinary encounters in Palau: the spawning aggregations of bumphead parrotfish and red snapper. These underwater phenomena have only been witnessed by a few divers. The guests that came on the first Palau spawning trip on February 13th were some of the lucky ones!

Divers joining the team aboard the S/Y Palau Siren have a chance to see these amazing natural events, where they can witness literally thousands of bumphead parrotfish spawning, or huge aggregations of red snapper, which also bring forth exciting shark encounters with oceanic blacktips and bull sharks preying on the snapper. These massive aggregations only occur during new and full moon, respectively.

For night dive lovers, Paul and Richard have pioneered “blackwater” diving. Watch, miles away from the shallow water of the reefs, as one of the largest migrations on Earth of weird and wonderful creatures from the depths head closer to the surface to feed. From post-larval fish to cephalopods, most smaller than a fingernail, these amazing dives present some of the weirdest creatures you are ever likely to see without a submarine.

Paul and Richard will deliver a number of presentations during the trips about these unique dives. They will cover the ecology of the dives as well as how to photograph them. The best part is that this adventure comes at no additional charge.
 

“There were hundreds of bumpheads gathered around the reef, ready to participate in a typical spawning fusion,” said Richard Barnden. “Loud bangs, sounding like big guns, erupted around us as male bumpheads banged heads like buffalos to gain superiority over females with colour changes taking place as the fish prepared to spawn. From the deep, rising from the sandy bottom to the surface like a firework display, the fish released their gametes into the water column over and over again as we all looked on in amazement. A truly unique spectacle!”

The blackwater night dives were no less disappointing. As Richard put it: “Copepods and plankton started arriving attracting bigger predators like miniature squids and the show was on. […] Bobtail squid, larval stage mantis shrimps hunting cocopods and several species of cardinalfish harbouring fully formed eggs in their mouths were among the candidates. Ninety minutes later and nearly a full SD card, the dive was a success!”

If you would like to know more about this unique spawning adventure, read the Siren Fleet’s full trip blog. To participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, visit the Siren Fleet website or contact the reservations team (info@sirenfleet.com) for further details and ask about the following dates. Be quick, as spaces are limited.