Shortly after arriving in the caymans at the resort we gathered our gear and went snorkeling off the dock. We quickly became acclimated to the water temperature and then started to snorkel near the shore of the island. My buddy and I quickly saw many different species of fish and coral that we were able to identify from the classroom learning. We saw four-eye, reef and banded butterfly fish at the bottom near the coral. We also saw queen angel fish and some grey angel fish swimming through the coral. We saw a large group of French grunt in the shallower waters swimming through the coral as well as seeing some Nassau grouper.
Many of the fish we encountered when swimming in the near area would become very defensive and start to rapidly swim away. By observing the colors, behavior and location of the fish my partner and I were able to determine the specific species of fish we were observing. Through the knowledge we observed and knew about the fish we were able to be careful to not harm the ecosystem around us. It was a good first snorkel and I look forward to our first dive tomorrow morning.
