Another day in the British Virgin Islands, and another two dives. The day started early in the morning and the teachers cooked breakfast for us. After our breakfast, we headed straight for the boats.
Today’s Events and What I learned today
Todays dives were dedicated towards advancing our projects. We visited two different sites, the first one was called Ginger Hole and the second one was called Back Ginger. The two dives were near an island called Ginger Island. On the first dive, Barrett Lynch and I were in charge of setting up a designated area with a 75%-100% percentage of coral bleaching and the other members in our group did the same in another area nearby with a 25%-50% of coral bleaching. We used lion fish markers to make areas that are 10’x10′ and then proceeded to analyze the area and determine the amount of Doctor fish, Surgeonfish, and Blue Tang throughout a 10 minute time span. The second dive was similar. The only difference was that we switched coral bleaching percentages for these two sites. After we were all out of the water and scuba gear was off, it began to pour outside and we swam and snorkeled for around 20 minutes. Next stop after the swim was an island with no inhabitants, an old salt mining place where no one lives anymore. Because the island used to be a salt mine, there is a salt pond in the middle that is crystal clear, but for some reason, is also extremely hot, like a giant hot tub.
What I look forward to
I look forward to tomorrow, the day we tag sea turtles. Also we learn about invertebrates and see them close up. In addition, I look forward to advancing out project even further and finding some good data to incorporate into out presentation.
