2005 Yap Critter Hunt

James Michael · Issue 26, Sep/Oct 2005 · pp. 54–56

Products mentioned: Canon 20D, Ikelite Housing, Canon 100mm Macro lens, Ikelite DS125 strobes, Nikon D100, Inon Strobes

2005 Yap Critter hunt by James Michael Again this year, the “Great Yap Critter Hunt” expanded the impressive list of exotic and rarely seen marine life that exists on the reefs and dropoff walls of Yap Island. For a full month, divers followed creature and muck diving guru Larry Smith to the famous and not-so-famous sites to look for the odd, unusual and colorful creatures of the Western Pacific. He was accompanied by Manta Ray Bay Hotel owner Bill Acker, Yap’s diving pioneer. Acker is largely responsible for finding all of Yap’s unique dive sites. Together, this team found some great marine life deep and shallow. Critter Hunt is in its second year and is the brainchild of Acker who reasoned that Yap’s proximity to the highly diverse marine areas like Papua New Guinea and the Philippines was a real plus. He asked Smith to visit Yap and help his staff identify habitat where the odd and co…