Today we did 2 dives from the boat starting at a deep site known as Bonnie’s Arch and then a shallow dive known as schoolhouse. Of the two my favorite had to be Bonnie’s Arch with its amazing arch swim through and wide variety of interesting corals and fish. On the dive today at Bonnie’s Arch I saw a midnight parrot fish out in the blue which can be identified by its huge body and royal dark blue color with turquoise coloration towards its mouth. Even though it was far away I could still see that it was a midnight parrotfish because of its dark blue color and massive 3ft length. Of the corals I saw today I was happy to see the large amount of hard corals which are responsible for building a healthy strong reef. Along with staghorn, hard corals I saw a lot were of the species Orbicella annularis . This coral can be identified by its column like formations growing in clusters with dome tops and a green or pale yellow tint. Small animals such as shrimp, damsels, and chromis rely on this coral for shelter which I saw while diving today as many small fish crowded around this particular coral. Later at night we did a night snorkel off the end of the dock and to my delight more hard corals were present suggesting a healthy reef. I came across a small but very healthy colony of elkhorn coral which i identified by its branching structural formation and bright yellow color. This coral along with staghorn has become very threatened due to climate change warming the ocean temperature, so to be able to see them was quite special and brings me hope for the future of these reefs here in the Caymans.
