Today we did four dives, the Sand Chute, which is named after a chute of sand leading out to the reef wall. Next we dove Mike’s Reef, where we encountered a feeding sea turtle and a band of Angelfish who gathered for leftovers.
Next we headed to DC-3, a site named after the model of plane that sits on the bottom. This plane was used in the nigh-unwatchable movie “Into the Blue” featuring Jessica Alba. The wreck was tight and it was very cool to see a large plane underwater.
Last, we dove the Willaurie (and the nearby Anthony Bell, a new wreck only weeks under the water). The Willaurie has an amazing trellis/scaffolding type structure that supports a wide array of sponges and corals. All in all, a fantastic place to finish the diving portion of our expedition.
They were in Bermuda when we last went on expedition there and they recently arrived in Roatan, Honduras. They’re beautiful, they have poisonous spines and they eat everything on the reef. With what seems to be no natural predators, the Lionfish (Pterois volitans) is an Indo-pacific species that is taking the Caribbean by storm.
Since their arrival in the Bahamas five or more years ago, they have become extremely common. They reproduce quickly and have no known local predators. We have seen them on every dive and snorkel we have taken since arriving here.
Their insouciance and feathery fins make them an ideal photo-op, but behind each photo is a trail of death and destruction. While we were here a group from the National Aquarium in Washington, DC and reef.org was hunting Lionfish with nets and spears in an attempt to stem their spread. A typical day’s catch was 50-70 fish or more. Some dives were aborted when the local sharks became interested in the activity. Unfortunately, the sharks seemed entirely uninterested in consuming the Lionfish.
It’s hard to imagine these fish not remaining endemic in the Caribbean. One last hope may be to promote Lionfish as a tasty meal, which apparently they are, but even then the odds seem to be against it. In Honduras, where they have just arrived, efforts are underway to eradicate them before they become established. Hopefully they have some success.
Les Fruits de Mer completed five dives today, including a shark feeding and a night dive at the spectacular James Bond wrecks.
After a couple of morning dives, we undertook the first afternoon shark dive on the reef. After seeing a number of sharks who were excited about the upcoming feeding, we took a quick trip out to the reef wall and spotted this turtle.
The shark feeding was quite amazing. Dozens of reef sharks congregated around the bait box and swam within inches of us…and even closer.
It was wonderful to dive with so many sharks, particularly as they are quickly becoming endangered around the world, with hundreds of millions killed each year, primarily for their fins.
We finished the day with a night dive on the James Bond wrecks, so named because they appeared in the films Never Say Never Again and Thunderball. They were full of basket stars, one of my favorite sea creatures.
This afternoon we arrived in the Bahamas for the first time ever. Our lodgings, at Orange Hill are near the Lyndon Pindling International Airport. After checking in we undertook an E.S.S. mission off the beach in front of the hotel and found a wide variety of marine life.
Unfortunately, we encountered four Lionfish, an invasive species from the Pacific Ocean. Although they are ravenous hunters with few local predators (especially with the overfishing of large fish like Grouper). On the other hand, they area a beautiful fish that is unafraid of humans.
Marc AuMarc, with his keen eye for sea life (and creatures in general) also spotted a Stonefish, a poisonous fish that lives on the sea floor, carefully camouflaged.
In the extreme shallows, we found many Mermaid’s Cups, an adorable species of green algae.
After a wonderful snorkel, we enjoyed a beer back at the hotel with local photographer Ben Jamieson, and headed to Provence for a romantic dinner for two.
How awesome is BBC Earth News? Today they have a feature on deep water jellyfish of the arctic. Pretty awesome, and the photos are amazing. From the captions it looks like they were down up to 2,400 meters in icy water.
Madam J and Marc AuMarc are headed to the Bahamas on September 3rd to dive and snorkel their beautiful waters. They are looking forward to visiting wrecks that were featured in James Bond movies and diving with sharks.
Thanks to Dave for introducing me to the World Bog Snorkelling Championship, which is held in Central Wales, where snorkeling is spelled snorkelling. From the BBC photo, it looks like it may be extremely shallow. According to wikipedia, bog snorkelling started around 1976 and world championship was first held in 1985. It seems the sport has also inspired other related events, “including the associated mountain bike bog snorkelling (where competitors must ride through the bog on specially prepared mountain bikes), and the Bog Snorkelling Triathlon.”
It sure looks like fun. Perhaps it’s time to enter your local competition, in Wales or Australia!
In another link sent by Nadia, we get to see the photos of Dr. Mark Vermeij, scientific director of the Caribbean Institute for Research and Management of Biodiversity. It is probably time for a mission to Curaçao. You know, for scientific purposes. According to the web site of their research station, it is a “faunistically interesting region” with “insular fringing reef systems, biogeographically distinct from the rest of the Caribbean.” Plus, they’ve got reef balls.
