Seaweed Bed Reef Maintenance & Seaweed Observation Diving in Yawatahama_250311
Date: March 11, 2025
Location: Mukainada, Yawatahama City
Weather: Cloudy to Sunny
Water Temperature: 11°C
Well, this was a little while ago, but I went diving for maintenance and inspection work on the seaweed bed reefs and to study seaweed!
The water temperature was 11°C. It was really cold...!
However, the cold season is the main season for seaweed.
The underwater scene had changed completely since the last time I dove (in November).
The moment I entered the water, there was wakame.
Various types of seaweed could be seen right near the shore.
At the seaweed bed reef where we are testing various things, we didn't get the results we had hoped for, but
the hemp rope and floaters we installed nearby had undergone an interesting change!
To my surprise, the floaters had become a very popular spot! Lol
I hadn't imagined this, so I got really excited.
By the way, the seaweed attached to the floaters was Hirome, which looks similar to Kurome.
Compared to Kurome, the root-like holdfast is very small.
By the way, here is the holdfast of a Kurome ↓
The hemp ropes under the floaters only had Kurome,
and even though there is a lot of Kurome on the nearby concrete wall, there was Hirome on the floaters.
I'm happy that the seaweed is increasing, but I want to know why this happened.
By the way, near those seaweed bed reefs, desolate rocky surfaces spread out.
When you see it during a season when the seaweed is this vibrant, the difference is even more striking.
It's hard to believe it's the same sea area.
In the crevices of the rocks, there are many large long-spined sea urchins.
Since there is a lot of seaweed attached to the ropes stretched over the rocky surface,
you can really feel that the impact of the long-spined sea urchins is significant.
Also, on this day, I encountered a rare cushion star!
Perhaps because it was cold, I felt there were fewer fish than usual.
I hope the water temperature is a bit higher when I dive next time...!