After a buffet style breakfast in the morning, we got right on our way to doing our first tank dive of the trip. We all gathered up near the dive shop and prepped for our dive discussing the logistics of the boat as well as the do’s and don’t’s. We grabbed our gear, boarded the boat, and were on the way to our first stop at a local reef close to the resort. We were told this reef had a “mini-wall”, basically a small drop off that is the boundary between the shallower reef and the open blue. We put on our snorkel, fins, BCD’s, regulators, tanks, and dive computers. The worst part- if you can even call it that- was over. Next we jumped in and got to work exploring the reef. By about 30ft down we could see the vibrant colors illuminating off the coral and fish. One in particular that caught my eye was the blue headed wrasse. This fish is able to become male or female to fit the needs of the group; it also has two phases: initial and terminal. The initial wrasses consists either of females or both sexes and are able to reproduce; the terminal wrasse is the one dominant male who holds a territory, much like a wolf pack leader. However, different from wolves, the initial and terminal look nothing alike. The initial is bright yellow whereas the terminal has a blue head and a green body. We continued our dive seeing much of the same abundant fish species as we did yesterday on our snorkel. Diving down the mini-wall to about 60ft, we saw where the coral stopped growing, where the deep water began. Under a ledge we saw a large lionfish, easily recognized with its showy pectoral fins, its venomous spiked fin rays, and its red, white, and black bands. This particular fish, also called the zebrafish, firefish, and turkeyfish, is an invasive species that spreads like a disease across the Caribbean. Invasive species are organisms which causes ecological damage in a new environment where it is not from. The lionfish is from the Indo-Pacific region and competes with other organisms for food in the Caymans, it also rapidly grows in population. This leads to less food for other native fish to survive on. We got back on the boat and headed to our next stop located on the NW point at a place called rainbow reef. Here we saw larger fish such as parrotfish. The parrotfish can change genders multiple times over its life. It has a blunt head, elongated body, bright colors, and a mouth that looks like a beak- hence the name parrotfish. The most common one we saw was the terminal princess parrotfish which has horizontal blue and white stripes and an orange-yellow body. Overall we got to witness some incredible fish and coral. There was even a narrow arch 50ft down on the second dive that we got to swim through and see a lobster living there. Looking forward to more dives to come.
Tonight we had a discussion over the ecological, economical, and humane aspects of Stingray City, Decades ago fishermen cleaned their catch over a sandbar which attracted dozens of stingray of all sizes and shapes; the stingrays started associating the sound of a boat with food. Years later divers started taking tourists diving and snorkeling along the area after realizing the stingrays could be friendly. Today, stingray city is the Caymans’ highest source of tourism income. Over tourism has led to party charters in which people take alcohol into the water with them. Often times stingrays are handled improperly and harmed from human contact. The years of promised food has led to the stingrays relying on humans for survival and a weaker immune system. With one group for stingray city and another against it, we managed to find a middle ground. Stingray city should exist for the funds it gives to the island for further reef conservation. However, stricter regulations must be put into place in order to control stingrays from overpopulating and relying on humans.
