Bear Cove of Port Hardy: Scuba Diving Pictures

Links to photographs
Bear Cove in Port Hardy, B.C.
Bob's Spot in the Plumper Island Group, B.C.
Braemar Ave in North Saanich, B.C.
Breakwater Island near Gabriola Pass, B.C.
Browning Wall near Port Hardy, B.C.
Copper Cliffs near Campbell River, B.C.
Deep Cove near Sidney, B.C.
Dolphin Beach near Nanoose Bay, B.C.
Elliot's Beach Park in Ladysmith, B.C.
Fathom Five near Port Hardy, B.C.
GB Church near Sidney, B.C.
Henderson Point near Sidney, B.C.
Madrona Point in Nanaimo, B.C.
McKenzie Bight near Victoria, B.C.
Neck Point in Nanaimo, B.C.
Northeast Pearse Wall, Telegraph Cove, B.C.
Ogden Point in Victoria, B.C.
Porteau Cove Marine Park, B.C.
Port McNeil, B.C.
Rocky Point in Nanaimo, B.C.
Row & Be Damned near Campbell River, B.C.
Saltery Bay near Powell River,B.C.
Saxe Point in Esquimalt, B.C.
Sidney, B.C.
Ten Mile Point in Victoria, B.C.
Wall Beach near Nanoose Bay, B.C.
Whytecliff Park near Vancouver, B.C.
Willis Point near Sidney, B.C.

International
Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA

Scuba Diving Pictures from Bear Cove Boat Launch near Port Hardy of northern Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada.
These are medium quality jpegs. But I have the RAW images as well.
Email tjfidler@telus.net
Directions to this dive site can be found at the bottom of this page.
Type of dive: shore dive
Rating for this dive site: 7/10 for the abundance of life
Parking: Not much parking at boat launch, but there is plenty of parking at the park only about 200 feet [60 metres] away.
Boat ramp: Yes
Ease of entry: 9/10 due to the boat launch. [Wheel chair access: You can certainly use the boat launch to do so.]
Abundance of life: 7/10
Accommodations: There are several places in Port Hardy that you could find lodging at. Including Inns and Campgrounds.
Attractions: A variety of life, and I've seen thousands of Hooded Nudibranchs here in the fall.
Bottom and depth:
Facilities: Washroom in park nearby. Picnic tables.
Hazards/Obstacles: Boat traffic. But current is not an issue here.
Sensitivity to tide/current: Current is not an issue here.
Terrain: A combination of rock, sandy bottoms, and some solid rock out croppings.
Tides, transportation and weather: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tide Page., BC Ferries Schedule and Sailings. , The Weather Network

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The following images are thumbnails. If you click on them a larger image will open up and the picture will take up most of your screen. Again these are medium qualifty jpegs. Higher quality images can be purchased directly from me via paypal using my email address tjfidler@telus.net And many of these photos can be found for sale on Cafepress through the Calendar link and Photo CD link.

A few people have already asked me about "What is that pink stuff on the rocks in some of the pictures?" Well, they're usually Pink Rock Crust (aka Encrusting Coralline Algae) or in some cases might even be Encrusting Hydrocorals. They're eaten by a variety of animals - apparently as a good source of calcium.

Unfortunately the water quality was not very good on July 8, 2006. But instead of not showing most of the images as they were below the quality I normally would post I decide to post at least one shot of each type of animal.

Bear Cove in Port Hardy - the boat launch near the B.C. Government Ferry Terminal

Crustaceans


Northern Kelp Crab ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide for the arms. (July 8, 2006)	Sharp Nosed Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide with the legs. (July 8, 2006)

Helmet Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide with legs. Even though I have seen them in the past at this dive site, I was not able to take a picture.	Red Rock Crab ~ 4 inches [10 cm] wide across the face. Often I find them partially buried as this one is. Possibly to hide from potential predators.


Irish Lord ~ about 16 inches [40 cm] long. ( July 8, 2006)	Irish Lord - note that its left eye is missing. ( July 8, 2006)

Goby of some kind ~ about 4 inches [10 cm] long. ( July 8, 2006)	Goby of some kind ( July 8, 2006)

Quillback Rockfish ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. ( July 8, 2006)	Copper Rockfish ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. (July 8, 2006)

Quillback Rockfish ~ 8 inches [20cm] long and Clown Dorid (July 8, 2006)	Buffalo Sculpin ~ 16 inches [40 cm] long. They seem to be fairly common here.

Sailfin Sculpin ~ 8 inches [20 cm] long. These fish are not that common from what I've seen at this site.	Sailfin Sculpin - a baby ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]. This is the only baby fish of this kind that I have ever seen. I even tried to take a video, but then realized the video lights were almost dead. And of course the fish stopped moving, while only a few seconds earlier its main dorsal fin was undulating.

Whitespotted Greenling ~ 14 inches [35 cm] long. This is one of the first times I've ever seen one of these fish. And in the photo below you can see what appears to be its eggs. It seemed to be protecting them, as it was not afraid of me.	Whitespotted Greenling - close up of the fish to the left of this image.

Eggs found near the Whitespotted Greenling. Note the transparent tunicate located just left and up from the center of this image.	Sea Perch ~ 5 inches [12.5 cm] long. There were several of these fish that seem to be following me during this night dive.


Clown Dorid ~ about 6 inches [15 cm] long ( July 8, 2006)	Clown Dorid ( July 8, 2006)

Opalescent Nudibranch on Lettuce Kelp. ( July 8, 2006) This image also appears on the ocean-life calendar 2009 for Mollusks Life of the Pacific Northwest. North America 2009 Calendar v01	Opalescent Nudibranchs ~ each about 2 inches [5 cm] long. When I came up to them they appeared to be using thier orange appendages to fight each other. But once they sensed me they stoppped fighting and separated. ( July 8, 2006)

Giant Dendronotid ~ 10 inches [25 cm] long. These are very common here. (July 8, 2006)	Spotted Aglaja, a nudibranch about an inch [2.5 cm] long (July 8, 2006)

Striped Dogwinkles - a type of snail. Very common along the break water of this boat launch. ~ 1.5 inches [3.75 cm] long. (July 8, 2006)	Two Hairy Tritons laying eggs - about 5 inches in length (July 8, 2006)

Hoooded Nudibranch. ~ 5 inch [12.5 cm] wide mouth. Notice the one on the far right and that its mouth is open. I think they should have called these the Venus Fly Trap Nudibranch.	Same group of Hooded Nudibranchs as the photograph to the left. But now notice the closed mouth of the nudibranch on the far right. Cycle time to open and close was as short as around 4 to 7 seconds. Others seems to keep their mouths open.

Top view of a Hooded Nudibranch. Clearly shows more details about their bodies, including their rhinophores - the horn-like projections.


Sand Rose Anemone ~ 6 inches [15 cm] ( July 8, 2006)	Buried Anemone ~ 8 inches [20 cm] ( July 8, 2006)

Sand Rose Anemone ~ 12 inches [30 cm] (July 8, 2006)	White Spotted Rose Anemone ~ 16 inches [40 cm] wide. ( July 8, 2006)

Tube Dwelling Anemone ~ 8 inches [20 cm] across with arms. (July 8, 2006)	Tube Dwelling Anemone ~ 8 inches [20 cm] across with arms. First time I've seen them with this colour for their bodies. (July 8, 2006)

Columbia Sand Anemone ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. (July 8, 2006)	Clinging Jellyfish ~ 2 inches [5 cm] across its bell. (July 8, 2006)

Zoanthids ~ 1 inch [2.5 cm] in diameter. (July 8, 2006)	Red-Eye Medusa ~ 2 inches [5 cm] long. (July 8, 2006)

White Spotted Rose Anemone ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. I've seen a few of these here, and in fact I've seen more of these here than any other dive site I've been to.


Sea Cucumber (July 8, 2006)	Sunflower Starfish - about 2 feet across (July 8, 2006)

Sunflower Star - about 3 feet [1 metre] across ( July 8, 2006)	Sunflower Star - regrown from fragment? Its arms seem to be of the wrong sizes given the size of the sunflower star - about 10 inches across ( July 8, 2006)

Juvenile Sunflower Star - about 6 inches [15 cm] across (July 8, 2006)	False Ochre Star - about 16 inches [40 cm] across (July 8, 2006)

Spiny Pink Star - about 3 feet across (July 8, 2006)	Sunflower Star - over 3 feet [1 metre] across (July 8, 2006)

Purple Starfish - about 12 inches [30 cm] across (July 8, 2006)	Orange and Brown Sea Cucumbers ~ 10 inches [25 cm] long. Depending on the time of year here, I've seen dozens of these fairly close to one another. (July 8, 2006)

Painted Star ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide. (July 8, 2006)	Orange Sea Cucumber ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide. (July 8, 2006)

Hybrid of Orange and Brown Sea Cucumbers ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. (July 8, 2006)	Brown Sea Cucumber ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide.(July 8, 2006)

Orange Sunstar ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide.


Stalked Tunicate ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (July 8, 2006)	Stalked Tunicate (July 8, 2006)

Transparent Tunicate ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm] Note the little shrimp at their bases, and the Calcareous Tube Worm.


Sea Sacs or Halosaccion glandiforme ~ about 3 inches [7.5 cm] tall. ( July 8, 2006)

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