David Gauntlett
Senior Member
I'll let Mr Darwin know its just conjecture when I meet him in the afterlife![]()
I think you will find that Mr Darwin didn't believe in all that afterlife stuff Pete, so if you do meet him there, he will probably be totally peed off at being held for perpetuity in a place where his theories no longer work
On a more serious note, I am a bit torn on this issue. I am aware from my amateur diving that as said, fish do not usually seem too disturbed if approached underwater. However, it must be said that they are not too disturbed if approached by a predator such as a pike or a shark either (providing it doesn't attack them of course)....so that kind of muddies the water a bit (excuse the pun) on the 'hiding from predators' bit.
I have also noticed that most fish are a little more disturbed if approached while snorkelling (which, as you are essentially surface viewing, would appear to strengthen the 'predator from above' theory.) However, the manner in which they react to a snorkeller certainly SEEMS to be more annoyance rather than fright, though of course I have no way of proving that. What I will say is that their sometimes highly visible agitation when confronted by a snorkeller is much more pronounced in a 'busy' area than it is in less disturbed areas....signs of learning?
Incidentally, I would assume by the slight though visible signs of agitation of the fish in the video that the camera man involved was probably snorkelling.
There are some very experienced divers on this forum who might like to comment, or add their views, if asked nicely
Cheers, Dave.