Beautiful Socorro giant manta video by Howard Hall on recent Nautilus Belle Amie trip
Hats off and huge thanks to Howard Hall for sharing a beautiful, stirring video taken during a recent trip to the Revillagigedos (Socorro Island) on the Nautilus Belle Amie. I was lucky enough to be in the water when Howard was shooting the giant manta being cleaned by endemic Clarion angel fish (holacanthus clarionensis). Howard’s art and talent was extremely obvious to me in the difference between what I watched and the same scene shown in the video. WOW!
Factoid on Clarion angel fish. The Revillagigedos (Socorro, San Benedicto Islands and Roca Partida) are the exception to the rule of thumb that giant mantas are generally cleaned by wrasses and butterfly fish immediately adjacent to reefs. Clarion angel fish – which are virtually 100% endemic to these islands with just a very small number of individuals in the Sea of Cortes – will venture well away from the reef structure to clean the giant mantas in blue water. This is very unusual behaviour and something to watch out for when diving Socorro. In Howard’s video, you will see a manta being cleaned hundreds of feet away from the closest reef. It’s easy to take these brightly coloured little guys for granted because we see so many of them in the islands but in fact they need to be carefully guarded as captive bred individual fish sell for $6000 plus in the aquarium trade. I say that we need to love our little friends as well as the big guys like mantas..
Please click here to see more of Howards amazing footage
Safe diving
Captain Mike