Can’t recall seeing Strongylocentrotus franciscanus in Monterey. Urchins are relatively scarce here, possibly because otters consider them delicious. I do see Strongylocentrotus purpuratus occasionally.

S. franciscanus is a pretty scary critter though. A few years ago in Alaska a buddy of mine ended up flooding the battery canister for his light due to an encounter with one. The battery canister is mounted on the hip and has a switch covered in a rubber boot. The switch is surrounded by a collar to make it hard to accidentally turn it on or off. When we inspected the flooded light there was a huge urchin spine stuck in the switch boot. We’re still puzzled how he managed to do that without hurting himself or puncturing his drysuit.

let’s head to point lobos for a dive and i’ll show you how to marvel at seaweeds!

Congrats on doing the divemaster program. I’m just starting mine too! And really – a crushed neoprene drysuit will make you forget what the water temperature is.

Indeed Monterey has some of the best diving around. I dive Monterey at least once a week and see something new pretty much every time I do. I never tire of it. For best enjoyment I recommend investing in a drysuit. It makes all the difference in terms of comfort; especially if you’re into going slow and looking for tiny nudibranchs as I am.

Pretty sure your crab is Pugettia producta but I can’t tell for sure from the picture. The size and the fact that it’s up in the kelp canopy are consistent with that species.

Lots more pictures and videos of Monterey underwater at my website (a bit dated now) and my dive club’s website which is updated much more regularly.

http://www.metridium.com/
http://www.baue.org/