Banded Rudderfish

Rudderfish

Seriola zonata

Size
to 24"

Habitat
Coastal surface waters, congregating around any floating objects

Description
Juveniles ( shown, up to 12" ) are attractively patterned with six or seven dark bars; these are lost in adults, which are also much slimmer. Schools of small Rudderfish can often be found around boats, and even around divers hanging on the anchor line. Pilotfish are similar, but larger and retain dark bars throughout life.

Rudderfish
Herb Segars Photography

Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant

Now, most people would look at the heading on the page and think that I was crazy for diving near a nuclear power plant. Just to calm your fears, this power plant was never brought online, so there is no chance of getting radiated at this location (barring a nuclear war while you're diving). With that said, Shoreham can be a very interesting dive. Located on the north shore of Long Island (I don't know the name of the town, look on a map), it is a shallow dive with an average depth of around 16 ft. Visibility tends to be anywhere from 3 to 10 ft.