FAQ
A contribution of The Cephalopod Page
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Dear Mr. Wood, I was delighted to discover your page on the internet while looking for information on good 'ol Architeuthis. I too am a big fan of cephalopods, though my favourites are the squids. I have been 'in love' with these colourful creatures for a long time because of their chameleon good looks and smart, communicative minds. I have had the pleasure of snorkeling in Bonaire for the last 2 years, and will be able to do so annually for some time to come due to a nice timeshare my fiancé and I have down there. The highlight of my time there was seeing the reef octopus that lived near our hotel, and the reef squids (this shocks most people, as I've also seen such coveted things as sea turtles and dolphins in the wild). Seeing that you had the pleasure to visit Bonaire yourself, I saw that you had the opportunity to see mating reef squid. I would love to be able to do such a thing. By any chance, could you tell me the season you visited the island, and the sites and times you might recommend to see this event? I am currently limited by a lack of scuba training, but do often freedive 15 feet or more. Even if the sites are inaccessible by depth for now, it would be nice to have an idea for future visits. I know you might worry about the impact of divers in the region at that time, and if so, I don't mind not knowing; but I always practice non-impact diving, never touching, harassing or following anything in the ocean. I appreciate any info you might be able to give me to make my squid and octopus hunt more successful. If you know any dive leaders or researchers down there that might not mind being 'looked up' by me, that would also be nice. Sorry for the long letter! Fellow cephalopod lover and amateur squid social behaviour observer Melissa Drake |
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| Melissa, Our team of volunteers, lead by Dr. J Mather (and has included TCP authors Roland Anderson, Alison King and myself) go to Bonaire in the summer - I think some of us will be there in June this year. Dr Hanlon has led similar groups to the Caymens and I've observed these squid in South Florida as well. I'm pretty sure, but not certain, that the squid mate year round. They tend to hang out in the same areas everyday. I don't remember the name of the place (Sand Dollar?), but we were working right off one of the major hotels that caters to divers. We used their dock and freshwater rinse pool in exchange for giving a talk to their divers, a win-win situation for all involved. Getting people that appreciate nature, such as divers, involved is perhaps the only way to protect marine wildlife. People won't protect something that they don't know exists. Bonaire is on the right path by promoting ecotourism and their economy at the same time. I'm all for divers who are practicing good diving to get involved and see these kewl squid. 99% of the work we have done has been in water from 20 feet to 3 feet, the squid are not deep and you certainly don't need to dive to see them. Any divemaster worth his salt will know exactly where to look for squid. It can be hard to find them at first, but once you get used to watching them, you will be able to spot them much more easily than those around you. I always push to dive as much as I can so I can film them at their level. An added bonus is that the footage doesn't make some people sea sick later due to bobbing up and down at the surface while snorkeling and filming. Other than that, there really isn't a strong advantage to diving as these guys are in shallow water. Mating itself is rather quick, but the male-male competitions and male-female interactions of these squid are stunning! Dawn and dusk seem to be the best time to see this - and it is awesome! The video "Incredible Suckers" has shots of what I'm talking about. The squid school there during the day and break up each night to hunt. Dr. James Wood |