I'm pleased to report that TIGHAR has, at long last, received confirmation from Dr. Craig Cook that:
"The previous confidentiality agreement is no longer in effect and you can use the photo as you deem necessary. I retain ownership and the photo cannot be used for sale or given to third parties for usage unless I am informed and agree to that use."
I have posted the entire photo here for your examination and comment. The yellow arrow was put there by Dr. Cook to point out the object of interest in the photo. I trust that everyone will respect Dr. Cook's stipulation. Please do not download the photo or re-post it.
Craig took the photo September 13, 2009 during a New England Aquarium expedition to the Phoenix Group. On that day they were diving off the west end of Nikumaroro. He did not take the photo because he noticed anything unusual at the time - it's just one of many underwater shots he took during that dive. The depth appears to be around 60 feet. Craig does not know, and we do not know, exactly where the photo was taken but he now thinks he may have been just west of the Bevington Object location.
During the June 2012 New England Aquarium expedition (just prior to TIGHAR's Niku VII expedition) Dr. Cook and other divers tried, but were unable, to re-locate the scene depicted in the photo. The marine growth that appears to cover the object of interest is a macro-algae called
halmeda. Craig reports that during the 2012 expedition they found halmeda growth at Nikumaroro to be greatly reduced since the 2009 trip, probably due to an increase in water temperature - so it's possible that the object of interest is just an oddly-shaped clump of veggies that was gone in 2012.
Jeff Glickman's opinion, however, is that the object of interest is probably a man-made object but the lack of anything in the photo from which to derive scale makes it impossible to tell exactly how big it is. There's a fish lurking behind the object which the New England Aquarium has tentatively identified as a "Squirrel fish" (Holocentridae). If the fish ID is correct, the object isn't very big. Still, Craig's recently-expressed opinion that it was just west of the Bevington Object location, if correct, puts it in an interesting place. It was certainly not worth altering the make-up and mission of TIGHAR's 2012 Niku VII expedition to look for this elusive object, but we plan to include scuba divers as part of the Niku VIII team any way to scour the shallow areas west of the Bevington Object location - again - for any possible debris. Craig Cook has agreed to come along as TIGHAR's dive team physician. You can bet that we'll be on the look-out for anything that might explain this intriguing photo.