Temperate diving » Holland May 07 » Cuttlefish breeding by the Zeelandbrug

The main reason we go diving in Holland is to see the cuttlefish breeding. Oddly we heard about this gathering before the similar one in Babbacombe in the UK. In Babbacombe a ring of traps is set by greedy local fishermen which catches the animals and prevents them breeding. This has reduced numbers horrendously and violates all sensible fishery practices. In Holland they are a great attraction, although there is angling, and egg laying 'tents' are setup to make the dark waters around the bridge more attractive to the cuttlefish. It is a very stark contrast. The dives around the bridge aren't trivial, it is very murky with vis often less than 1m and commensurately dark. The strong currents have claimed a number of victims. It is crucial to dive at slack and important, but hard, to keep your bearings. That done you can enjoy an amazing experience, at least until other divers are attracted by your lights - some things are the same whatever country you dive in.

Even though it isn't very deep under the bridge it is...	Erecting the tents is a very simple idea, a local couple...	When you arrive by the 'tents' it always seems to take a...	The first one you see will probably be a small loner,...	Others may have thought they were paired up but have lost...
After the loners you will find pairs still courting or...	They converse casually as they circle the tents of sticks...	The pairs are quite single minded and not too bothered by...	Though they will check you out if they decide to move...	If they are lucky they find a tent and sneak off inside
If they are not so lucky, they will find their chosen...	Then more cuddling and coaxing is required	This is the best time to see them in the open	The male very much protecting his mate against interlopers	The female does seem slightly less keen than the male but...
The starfish gets a grandstand view	This is the most appealing phase of the proceedings as...	The male protecting the female from any unwanted attention	The tents are about 2ft/60cm high, simply made from twigs...	Once they have found a quiet area of sticks they stay...
She takes a fairly firm hold of the sticks and somewhere...	The eggs are pale, almost white, when they are laid but...	Some of the cuttlefish have very, very large pupils. We...	We always seem to miss the mating frenzy where huge...	Again their impatience may simply be because they know...
Eventually the first couple moves off and our newly weds...	At the height of the season there can be 10s of...	The cuttlefish are not alone, there were masses of squid...	The eggs are left to fend for themselves, like bunches of...	As they are only eggs, there's only so much fending they...

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