Send me nudis!!!

When my partner asked me to send him nudis, boy was he disappointed!! A picture of a flamboyant sea slug was not what he was expecting!

As a well-established member of the macro world, these fascinating creatures never fail to disappoint a keen-eyed diver. 

My love of these colourful gastropods began early in my diving journey. 

I was first introduced to the nudibranch community whilst diving the Poor Knights in New Zealand as a new enthusiastic open water diver and I have not stopped looking since.

On returning to Jersey and continuing my diving adventures with Bouley bay dive centre, I was surprised to discover that nudis were in fact here and were not solely residents of more tropical waters

So, what are nudibranchs? 🤓

Nudibranchs are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs called Opisthobranchs ranging from less than 1cm to just over half a metre!! In other words, a sea slug that has no shell. The name Nudibranch means “naked gill” which refers to their exposed gills appearing as feathery or tentacle like projections over their bodies increasing their surface area for optimum oxygen intake. 

Nudibranchs are carnivores and feed off sponges, anemones, corals, and even other nudibranchs. Their colours are gained by the food they eat and additionally serve either as an advantageous camouflage or a warning sign to predators. Some nudis can produce toxins whilst others are able to use toxic cells from a food source as a defence mechanism.

Nudibranchs, like other snails, are hermaphrodites, which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs. So, in reproduction, sperm is exchanged from both partners where it is stored until the eggs are ready for fertilization. On your next dive be sure to look out for nudi egg ribbons which can be more conspicuous than the nudis themselves.

There are over 3000 species worldwide ranging from the poles to the tropics in both shallow and deep water, with just over 100 that are found within the British Isles. 

Fellow divers have been proved wrong whereby the actual existence of the nudibranch itself was in question.

 Mythical creature? No 

 I can promise you they are not mythical as some might suggest (Will), They are very real and great fun to search for amongst all my favourite dive sites right here in Jersey. Shore, wreck and reef all offer different and exciting opportunities to spot the sometimes slippery molluscs. 

My personal favourite finds are on Jersey’s historical wrecks as I feel these creatures breathe new life into these sunken treasures. However, they are also discovered on our wall dives like Rigdon bank and the newly discovered site Toyah calls Nudibranch City.

As luck would have it, the high season for spotting our extravagant friends coincides perfectly with the Jersey dive season (March to November). 🤩

So why not challenge yourselves and your guides as I do myself to find these beautiful creatures and let us know what you see… Maybe you will spot a new one that I myself haven’t seen in Jersey yet. Post dive, you can pick up a copy of Marine life of the Channel Islands by Sue Daly to help you identify which colourful slug you spotted. 

Feeling up to the challenge? 

Why not check out the Bouley Bay dive centre calendar and book a boat dive or shore dive with me or one of the other guides to see if you can spot a nudi. 

 Also, don’t forget to sign up to the Bouley Bay Dive club where you will meet like-minded divers and become part of the local diving community. We spot the nudis on our club shore dives too. 

Want to share the experience with others and learn to take photos like this? 

 Check out the PADI digital photography specialty and dates here. I am a specialty instructor and can’t wait to show you how to photograph local marine life whilst teaching the fundamentals of underwater photography. 

Thanks for reading. 

Written by  Grace Bailey.