Cod Hole

Big Fishes Reef Sharks Wall

14°39.920S 145°37.500E. North end of Ribbon Reef
'Personal experiences from Peter Stone, author “Diving Australia”'

'What an experience, my first visit to the famous Cod Hole '

'We could see the huge Potatoe Cod lazily cruising near the bottom. Although we were on the inside of the reef, the visibility was at least 30m. Soon after we anchored several Cod came to the surface, obviously in anticipation of what was to come. The first snorkellers in the water made a hasty retreat as we were warned that the cod can be rather aggressive - enthusiastic would be a better description. Skipper Barry May gathered up scraps of food kept from previous meals. We went down. The cod came in - at least 20 of them - all jostling and heaving to get to the bin. Geoff the divemaster, was knocked about unmercifully but we didnt mind to much as it made for excellent photography.'

'We were only 20m down on the bottom, just off the reef wall. Several small coral bombies broke up the sandy seabed, allowing good positioning for photography. The cod appeared very aggresive, with one object only - food. If it happened to be your hand, as skipper Barry found out, then so much for the entre. (The cod have very small teeth which tend to scrape rather than cut.) One cod even upended himself into the bin, much I am sure to the disgust of his companions.'

'Once the food was gone however, the cod realised that there was little else to get excited about. With their aggresiveness gone they became underwater friends, cruising around and laying motionless for the usual arm-around-the-gills photograph.'

'We had several dives at the Cod Hole. The area itself was very interesting, even apart from the cod. A magnificent dive!'

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