The Great White Footed Shrimp Expedition

Everett M. Turner Jr · Issue 52, Jan/Feb 2010 · pp. 57–61

Products mentioned: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Sea Tool housing, EF-S 60mm macro lens, Inon Z-240 strobe, Olympus E-520, Olympus housing, Zuiko 50mm macro lens

Our great white-footed shrimp expedition was a quest to identify a small-unknown shrimp. My wife, Essi Evans and I have been avid fish and critter watchers (and photographers) since we started diving in 1987. One of our favorite dive destinations is Grand Cayman. That is where this story begins. In February of 2009 we were diving Sea Fan Reef, the house reef at Cobalt Coast Dive Resort on Grand Cayman’s North Wall. It is a great shore dive with plenty of fish and lots of creatures, common and uncommon; enough to keep a photographer busy for a 2-hour shore dive. While poking around near the top of the mini-wall we noticed a brown sponge with a number of little -excruciatingly small, actually- white- footed shrimp sitting in the out pour openings. I took a few photos and later that evening we began our quest to identify these critters. Having no luck, the next day I described them to any o…