Today was our last day out in the Cayman Islands and we dove 2 sites the first called Trinity Caves which was another amazing wall dive that looked out into the blue and a shallow dive called Chain Reef named after the anchor chain that covers the reef. Of the two dives I would have the say Chain Reef was my favorite because of the large amount of coral and the history behind it. This dive site used to be a place where ships would come in and drop anchor on the reef which is why the long anchor chain was there when a ship had to abandon it. However that was 30 years ago and now surprisingly the reef looks very healthy with large amounts of hard corals such as boulder star coral, brain coral, and the occasional colony of staghorn coral. The presence of big predatory fish such indicated the reef was in good health as well. One specific predator I saw a lot of was the white margate, a fish part of the grunt family which can grow up to 50cm and is usually found swimming alone. I identified this fish by seeing how they hanged out alone off to the side of the reef and their pale white coloration along with a black tipped tail and relatively large size. What I took from this dive site mostly though was hope for the future of coral reefs. Despite being destroyed by anchors and chains over the years, only 30 years of protection later the reef was already a thriving ecosystem with large amounts of coral. This comes to show how little things humans do can make big impacts on the coral reef ecosystem. For example using mooring lines instead of anchors to secure ships has greatly reduced the amount of coral being destroyed by anchors. What I hope for the future of reefs in the Cayman Islands and all around the world is just for humans to do the small things. Small things like reducing pollution in the water, using biodegradable sunscreen, following fishing regulations, and supporting governmental policy to help better the environment can have huge impacts on the health of the ocean. Humans can do remarkable things and we are capable of changing the environment for the better or worse. I only hope that we make the right choices and don’t destroy the fragile and beautiful world we live in…
-Henry Hallam 2019
