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PHOTOS: 2-foot long deep sea creature spotted off Victoria shores

91裸聊视频極nce you get your head under the water it91裸聊视频檚 a whole different world91裸聊视频

Smitten with snorkelling in recent years, the hot heat in the final days of winter saw longtime Greater Victoria resident Steph Brulot-Sawchyn dip under the waves of the Salish Sea more frequently.

A fan of exploring outdoor activities such as hiking and tide pools, he discovered the online app iNaturalist during the pandemic. Inspired by Sara Ellison91裸聊视频檚 book Snorkelling Adventures Around Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands: The Ultimate Guide, he eventually got a wetsuit and became a weekend diver.

The recent warm spell meant several days in south Island waters. With the last sunny day looming, ironically the first day of spring March 19, Brulot-Sawchyn headed into the waves near Clover Point wth his brother, who quickly spotted something unusual.

Born and raised in Greater Victoria, it seemed out of the ordinary for the area.

91裸聊视频淚 have not a clue what that thing is,91裸聊视频 Brulot-Sawchyn recalls thinking when he saw the two-foot long transparent creature with a jellyfish look.

91裸聊视频淪o I immediately, when I got home, posted it to iNaturalist and the Field Naturalists of Vancouver Island Facebook page,91裸聊视频 he said. After some back and forth, online experts identified it as a siphonophore and there are only a dozen or so local sightings of the species 91裸聊视频 a deep sea organism 91裸聊视频 listed on iNaturalist.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not a normal species you see here so it was very cool to see,91裸聊视频 Brulot-Sawchyn said.

He was right about it being unusual, the praya dubia or giant siphonophore generally lives in the mesopelagic zone, 300 to 700 metres under the sea, said Moira Galbraith a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

91裸聊视频淭hey are kind of uncommon in our area,91裸聊视频 she said in a phone interview from her North Saanich office.

Though sightings are on the rise, as an El Ni帽o brings warm surface water into the area. The Island is at the northern most boundary of the California Current which moves in this way during winter.

91裸聊视频淲hen the current changes in fall/winter and starts becoming more dominant we sometimes get these guys pushed up against our shelf.91裸聊视频

91裸聊视频淭hese things come in cycles but for this particular animal, we91裸聊视频檝e been pretty much seeing it sporadically in our sampling since 2015,91裸聊视频 she said.

In their usual mesopelagic 91裸聊视频 think middle sea 91裸聊视频 habitat, preya can be 30 to 50 metres long. Being so close to the surface, Galbraith feels it91裸聊视频檚 unlikely the one photographed March 19 off Victoria won91裸聊视频檛 wind up washed on shore.

91裸聊视频淭his is interesting that you see these. There91裸聊视频檚 no way you should be snorkelling in 300 metres, this is not their area,91裸聊视频 she said. 91裸聊视频淭hey don91裸聊视频檛 have the ability to navigate stronger currents.91裸聊视频

Seeing it so shallow, and so far north is indicative of recent heating .

91裸聊视频淭hese are all deep water so there91裸聊视频檚 something in this movement of water that causes some sort of welling that brings water from deep, I think,91裸聊视频 she said.

With more people spotting deep water critters coming closer to the surface, and washed on shore, there91裸聊视频檚 more to see.

It91裸聊视频檚 the only oddity so far for Brulot-Sawchyn.

91裸聊视频淟ots of species out there, but nothing you wouldn91裸聊视频檛 expect to see 91裸聊视频 except some giant sopinophores,91裸聊视频 he said with a laugh. 91裸聊视频淭he thing I saw that was interesting was the amount of people out snorkelling with the weather. especially in East Sooke.91裸聊视频

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Christine van Reeuwyk

About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

Longtime journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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