Tarpon

We occasionally encounter tarpon on our dives.  Often they are deep on the reef.  Sometimes, they come up to shallow water looking for fish carcasses that local fishermen have tossed over the side of their boats.  They are the largest bony fish that we see here, reaching up to 8 feet in length.  Most of the ones that we see range between 4 and 6 feet long.  They have giant scales, that are the color of stainless steel.  They forage mostly at night, eating fish.  Sometimes, they follow divers at night, picking off prey that the divers' lights have illuminated.

This morning, I had to drop down to 70 feet to take photos of a tarpon that was just hanging out below us.  The top 3 photos are today's tarpon.  The lower 3 photos are another fish, on another day, at a different site.  All the photos were taken with natural light.

The discoloration around the mouth is some kind of disease