Exciting and successful first Palau Spawning trip

The Siren Fleet is teaming up with Paul Collins and Richard Barnden of Sam’s Tours Unique Dive Expeditions to offer our guests some extraordinary encounters in Palau; the spawning aggregations of Bumphead Parrotfish and the Red Snapper.

Divers joining us aboard the S/Y Palau Siren on these cruises have a chance to see these amazing natural events, where they can see literally thousands of Bumphead Parrotfish spawning, or huge aggregations of Red Snapper which also bring forth exciting shark encounters with Oceanic Blacktips and Bull Sharks preying on the snapper! These massive aggregations only occur during New and Full Moon, respectively. For night dive lovers, Paul and Richard have pioneered “Blackwater” diving. Watch, miles away from the shallow water of the reefs, as one of the largest migrations on earth of weird and wonderful creatures from the depths head closer to the surface to feed. From post larval fish to Cephalopods, most smaller than a fingernail, these amazing dives present some of the weirdest creatures you are ever likely to see without a submarine.

Paul and Richard will deliver a number of presentations during the trips about these unique dives. They will cover the ecology of the dives as well as how to photograph them.

The best news is that there is no additional charge for this extraordinary adventure!

The amazing underwater phenomena occurring in Palau has only been witnessed by a few divers… The Palau Siren guests that came on our first Palau spawning trip on the 13^th of February were some of the lucky ones!

“There were hundreds of Bumpheads gathered around the reef, ready to participate in a typical spawning fusion. Loud bangs, sounding like big guns, erupted around us as male Bumpheads banged heads like buffalos to gain superiority over females with colour changes taking place as the fish prepared to spawn. From the deep, rising from the sandy bottom to the surface like a firework display the fish released their gametes into the water column over and over again as we all looked on in amazement. A truly unique spectacle!,” said Richard Barnden.

The Blackwater night dives were no less disappointing. “Copepods and plankton started arriving attracting bigger predators like miniature squids and the show was on. […] Bobtail squid, larval stage mantis shrimps hunting cocopods and several species of cardinal fish harbouring fully formed eggs in their mouths were among the candidates. Ninety minutes later and nearly a full SD card the dive was a success!!”

As we all know, Palau hides under its pristine water incredible underwater action that especially increases during Full and New Moon. If you would like to know more about their dives with sharks, mantas and Nautilius, please read our full trip blog here.

For the chance to participate in this once in a lifetime experience, visit our website and contact the reservations team for further details and ask about the following dates, but be quick, as spaces are limited!