Diversity in our inshore seas

I had to hunt for a fish picture in my files the other day, and came up with this set of pics which I just had to share. This first one proves that I can be a hunter gatherer. It's been in this blog before, but I need to remind myself just how good King Fish can be - raw, steaks, casserolles.

And in exactly the same bit of water where King Fish roam - off the Mangawhai Bar - I have sometimes seen whales. Quite close sometimes. This is a Bryde's Whale. Last Christmas I saw a Hump Back. It is spectacular that we can see mammals like this so close to Auckland.

This one is in Hamburg. I went there to observe their fantastic people's waterfront. And took time out to visit an Art Gallery.

And this is a Hapuka, or Deep Sea Bass. That's Sail Rock in the back ground.

You never know what you're going to find. That's the magic of fishing. This Little Nemo was happy to be put back.

And this is my favorite. It's an Orca. I took this photo with a 50mm lense film camera - so that gives you an idea how close it came to my boat. Emily and I had launched at Narrow Neck Devonport, and were heading out to the Noisies (you can see them in the background). We were just crossing the Rakino Channel when Emily said, "I think I see something..." I stopped. It was Boxing Day. There was no-one out but us. And then three Killer Whales surfaced. I think a Bull, Cow and Baby. This is the Bull. I was standing in the boat to take this. The dorsal fin was at least a metre tall. What a sight.