Our Oceans
24 April 2012 | Hope Town, Abacos
Rick
Reflecting back on all the areas we visited this past winter in the Bahamas the underwater sights were, by far, some of the most spectacular. As soon as you dip your head under the sea the diversity of life, the vast array of colors and the unique reef structure combine to provide a constant stream of “entertainment”. Throw into the mix the possibility of scoring food for dinner or encountering a fish who is considering me for dinner and it’s easy to visualize how one often experiences adrenalin rushes while snorkeling. In all the days I spent spear fishing, snorkeling and swimming I was only “driven” back to the dingy on two occasions, once by an 8 foot stingray and the other by an 9 foot lemon shark.
However our reef systems are in a sad state. Very little health coral is left under the sea, some of the most disturbing were the vast areas of dead Elkhorn coral which were often lifeless and covered by algae growth. There were areas where we encountered healthy reef systems but they are becoming the anomaly not the norm. One of the most disturbing was the reef we snorkeled last week off Pelican Cay in the Abacos. Two years ago we drifted the ½ mile reef on an outgoing tide and were treated to canyons of Elkhorn, Sea Fans, Brain Coral, Fire Coral and tons of fish. This year all the Elkhorn was dead with the exception of a few small heads and the reef fish were far and few between. And this reef is one which is protected as its in Bahamian National park. The above picture of a healthy Elkhorn was taken in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. If you want to see what a healthy coral reef looks like you better make plans to visit one soon!