Deep Blue Sea

My friend Tedd just got back from a trip to Hannibal Bank and has shared his story and pictures with me.  The Bank is an under water sea-mount rising out of about a thousand feet of water to within 120 feet of the surface.  Tedd and his friend would enter the water at the high side of the bank and had plenty of huge snapper to choose from. Taking only what they would eat, they enjoyed swimming with hundreds of pelagic fish and mammals that hang out there.  When you see huge pods of porpoises grey-hounding across the water chasing the tuna, you want to get out in front and toss artificial lures or in Tedd’s case, get in the water quick.  Tedd describes it as a rather shallow shot at 45 feet as apposed to the hundred foot deep shots they had at the snapper.   This time he got a 150 pound yellow fin and that was the fish of the trip.  Can we get some sushi please!!

Here is a Google Earth shot of the location of Hannibal Bank.  It is just under 50 nautical miles from Boca Chica and Quebrada de Piedra that host fishing lodges we use regularly. It sits just inside the deep drop off that runs down the Pacific Coast of Latin America.

Isla Montuosa holds a lot of fish and we run between that Island and Coiba Island to the East chasing tuna this time of year and it look like tuna season has started.  The Bank is a great place for Black Marlin as well and I hope that I can hook my daughter up to a double this year, Marlin and Yellow fin.  Honey,  start working out, it is sushi time!!

Here is an illustration of Hannibal Bank which occupies a really small piece of real estate in a huge Deep Blue Sea.  Speaking of real estate, we have some nice properties on this part of the coast if you are interested (PLUG).

I saw a great article in the Panama Guide covered by Don Winner and this is going on right now.

Since 3 March 2012 Panamanian scientists have been conducting the first ever exploration to depths of 300 at the Hannibal Bank, located in the Special Marine Protection Zone of the Coiba National Park. The scientists, who will finish the expedition on Saturday, 10 March 2012, expect to be able to preliminarily describe the fauna of the depths of the Hannibal Bank sea-mount, to conduct a bio prospecting analysis, and increase the list of species of soft corals and other invertebrates known so far to science. Hector Guzman, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian in Panama, said the information generated from this examination will serve the country’s authorities as support to ensure adequate protection of this habitat. “This first study on the fauna of the Hannibal Bank seeks to fill a void of information that today makes it more difficult to protect and manage,” he said. During the exploration they will conduct traversals from depths of 300 meters to the highest point located 45 meters from the surface, recording high-resolution video to study the diversity, abundance and distribution of sessile organisms and macro invertebrates, and aggregations of fish. (Siglo)

From the STRI Webpage: “Panama’s Coiba National Park, part of a major migration route for marine animals in the Tropical Eastern Pacific–from the Galapagos to Costa Rica’s Cocos Islands– remains largely unexplored. From Mar. 4-10, Mission Blue, founded by Sylvia Earle, oceanographer, environmental advocate and National Geographic ‘Explorer In Residence,’ will explore Hannibal Bank, the top of an undersea mountain near Coiba Island. Mission Blue aims to use films, expeditions, the web and new submarines to create a campaign that ignites public support for a global network of marine protected areas—Hope Spots–large enough to save the blue heart of the planet. Scientists from the Smithsonian and from Panama’s government research institute, INDICASAT-AIP, as well as representatives of Panama’s Environmental Authority, ANAM and Marine Resources Authority, ARAP join the expedition. Follow our web posts and the links on this page for daily updates from the expedition.”