Question Condition of Pickles Reef in Pennecamp?

[Green Frog]

Many years ago Pickles’ Reef in John Pennecamp State Park was legendary for its beauty. However, when I went back in 1998 it was muddy, very few fish to be seen, and one could almost walk above the whole reef on the gunnels of the boats there and never touch water, or so it seemed.
So now that time has passed and times have changed(?) I have to wonder whether the state of Pickles’ Reef in particular and JPSP in general have improved? When first I went down there in 1973 it was such a beautiful place!

 

[Cryptid9]

Many years ago Pickles’ Reef in John Pennecamp State Park was legendary for its beauty. However, when I went back in 1998 it was muddy, very few fish to be seen, and one could almost walk above the whole reef on the gunnels of the boats there and never touch water, or so it seemed.
So now that time has passed and times have changed(?) I have to wonder whether the state of Pickles’ Reef in particular and JPSP in general have improved? When first I went down there in 1973 it was such a beautiful place!

Not sure if such a late reply is ok, but unfortunately Pickles and most of the reefs down here are practically completely dead. Summertime temperatures pushed into the 90s and killed vast swaths of our reefs.

 

[Green Frog]

Late or not, I appreciate you candid and informative reply, @Cryptid9. I’m hoping to get down to the Keys, perhaps in July. Is there anything worth seein in close or does one have to go way out from shore? Do you have any dive ops you can recommend?
Thanks again for your reply.
Froggie

 

[ABay Diver]

Horizon Divers in Key Largo has a good rep. Dove with them on the Spiegel Grove last year and they were very good.

 

[FullThrottle]

Reports of the demise of the Florida Keys for diving are a bit premature. While SCTLD has decimated brain corals and many star corals throughout the Caribbean basin that's not a problem unique to the Keys. Luckily stag horn and elk horn are unaffected by the disease and those fast growing species are thriving, and are being out planted by the various reef restoration projects. Molasses Reef has absolutely lost some huge brain corals but considering it's the most dove reef in the world it's still got some very nice sections. French Reef isn't as lively but has some pretty cool caves to swim through. Dry Rocks (Christ of the Abyss), Elbow Reef, and Horseshoe Reef have lots of healthy coral. And there are many unnamed reefs without mooring bouys that are healthy and unimpacted by diver traffic. Here's a link to a video I took two weeks ago at a reef with really nice healthy big star coral heads, lots of diversity, and some healthy but smaller brain corals, plus a nice cave with a resident Goliath Grouper over 4 feet.

 

[FullThrottle]

Almost forgot to address the bleaching event of last summer, and the condition of Pickles-
Re: bleaching- there definitely was quite a bit of bleaching apparent, but it seems the casualties were mostly the coral farms of the restoration projects. The bleached reefs that I dove in summer have recovered.
Re: Pickles Reef- I haven't dove the wreck, only the pillar coral site where there are two bouys. Sadly, it's a graveyard. Pillar coral was already rare before SCTLD, and it is very susceptible to the disease. There are supposedly some healthy stands elsewhere in the Caribbean basin, and hopefully some disease resistant remnant population, but pillar coral may be extinct in Florida.

 

[The Chairman]

I always loved Pickles, More soft corals than hard. Here's the thing, the fish often stay even when the corals are decimated. Maybe one day I'll make it down there again and see. I'll never forget where I left my Keys.