Today’s Events
Today began with a bit of a late morning at 6:25 then we went over to breakfast at the plum cabin and then back to the cabin for about 30 min. Then we got picked up at the cattle guard to be taken to the docks. We all got on the boat and were taken to the first dive site which was bronco billy where Daniel, Marcello, Josh, and I continued to do research on our final project where we saw little of the fish that we were looking for. Then after getting on the boat and enjoying a snack we made our way to the second dive site which was the coral gardens where we finished off our project dives and recorded the moderate amount of fish that we were looking for. Then after we dropped off our tanks at the docks and picked up new ones. We met the other boat out at sea for lunch where we ate sandwiches. Then we went to dive at the coral nursery where we recorded the amount of points and length of the coral that had been planted. Mid recording the length of the coral, I looked over to see Zoltan, one of the instructors, spear two lionfish. He speared one with his little spear gun then he pried it off with his knife and speared the second. We continued to follow the instructors and saw many fish, a lobster, and a boat wreck. Then we got back to the dock, got on our taxi and finished up our slides for our presentation on our project.
What I Learned
I learned why the bronco Billy dive is names what it is, the rock formation looks like a horse from a certain angle on a boat and the flow of the current when going through a crevasse in the dive it rocks you back and forth like you are on a horse. Also Zoltan showed me the proper technique to kill a lion fish because they are an invasive species that is from the Indo pacific and are tearing up the ecosystem here in the Caribbean. They destroy the fish because they have no predators that can be in the area because they have not been introduced. Also we learned about the process of replanting coral. There is a delicate pattern to hanging the coral off of pvc pipe that is arranged into 5 rows of 10. Also you must allow it time to grow and prosper, then you must take it off and replant the coral to make a new reef in the ocean. This process allows us to restore damaged reefs and also make all new reefs in the ocean.
What I am Looking Forward To
I am really looking forward to the deep dive tomorrow on the Rone. It is over 80 feet deep, a depth that I have never traveled before. I a, really exited to see the life not only at that depth but also in an abandoned, sank boat. The presentation for the project worries me but I also look forward to finishing the project for the final. The work is tough but I like the research because I get to see many interesting fish.
