Condition of the reefs

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jomcclain

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Location
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I was last in Cozumel around 2019. I’ve seen comments on scuba board about the reefs of Cozumel being overwhelmed with algae now. Is it noticeably worse than in 2019? Is anything at all being done to address the problem? I don’t want to spend my vacation getting my heart broken by the sight of further decline. Thanks.
 
I was last in Cozumel around 2019. I’ve seen comments on scuba board about the reefs of Cozumel being overwhelmed with algae now. Is it noticeably worse than in 2019? Is anything at all being done to address the problem? I don’t want to spend my vacation getting my heart broken by the sight of further decline. Thanks.
This of course is very subjective and site dependent, but I was there in 2019 and 2021. I didn't see much if any difference. I was told bad things about Colombia Shallows by a DM, so we didn't dive there, but I went with my mom on a snorkeling trip to CS and from the top it looked OK. I saw some algae patches on some dives, but I wouldn't call the reefs even remotely close to being overwhelmed.
 
Did 38 dives this April/May and there was some algae but just normal in my opinion from diving Cozumel the last 10 years. Purely subjective as ggunn stated. Nothing like I have experience in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman in 2018 and 2019.
 
I wouldn't say overwhelmed. But the SCTLD has killed some coral and those coral are generally covered in a bit of algae. Its kind of exciting to find a brain coral now. And they are the little ones that are left.

I still love Coz diving and I really think you have to look for it to find the damage. If you just pop in and look at fish and lobster and stuff, you might not notice.
 
Here is a some stuff from the study by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Parque Marine in Coz at the time:


(B) Different coral colonies of highly susceptible species with SCTLD found in Paraiso in January 2019. (C) Colonies with recent mortality: two bare (white coral skeleton) of Pseudodiploria strigosa (left), and one colony of Diploria labyrinthiformis covered by a thin layer of filamentous algae (right). All colonies were found in Paso del Cedral reef in April 2019. (D) Standing dead coral (old mortality) colonies of Montastraea cavernosa with overgrowth of cyanobacterial and filamentous algal mats found in Colombia reef in November 2019. Photo credits: Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip.

fmars-08-632777-g001.jpg


Effects of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreak on Coral Communities and the Benthic Composition of Cozumel Reefs
 
I was there in 2019 and September of last year. I thought the reefs looked much better in 2020.
 
IMO the reefs do not look great but I think that depends on your assessment and what you are looking for.
-in May 2021 it was very common to see cyanobacteria, ie. red slime, on rocks and sandy areas. This is an indicator of poor water quality.
-This was site dependent, but there is a ton of algae growing on the rocks. The rocks/reef should be purple not covered in algae. The algae is worse than my 2019 trip. It is not uncommon to see corals with algae growing on them. This is not a good sign as under good water conditions, corals will outcompete algae growth. Corals simply grow too slow to outcompete algae thus the water quality is key to coral health. The algae is another sign of poor water quality.
-The brain corals are gone and its rare to find them. This is the ultimate outcome SCTLD.

I will still go to Coz but since I go 1-2 a year it is sad to see the slow decline due to poor water quality and nutrient overload. I have only been to Coz in the last 2 years but I suspect the water-quality issues are wide spread in the Caribbean.

None of the algae issues I described above were visible in Hawaii/pacific when I visited in 2019.
 
I was last in Cozumel around 2019. I’ve seen comments on scuba board about the reefs of Cozumel being overwhelmed with algae now. Is it noticeably worse than in 2019? Is anything at all being done to address the problem? I don’t want to spend my vacation getting my heart broken by the sight of further decline. Thanks.
My advice is to go. For one thing, unless things have changed radically in the last few weeks I don't think you'll see a whole lot of decline since 2019; I didn't in the 10 or 11 days I dove there in May. For another, the sooner you go the less decline you'll see; I don't see the trend toward decline turning around any time soon, if ever. For still another, what is happening to the Cozumel reefs is worldwide; you'll see some degree of decline no matter where you go diving.
 
I was in Cozumel in March 2021, having last been there in December 2019. IMO, there is a striking decline in reef health and low numbers of fish. Dead coral and algae were everywhere. You'll need to go to make your own judgment, but for me, I'm going elsewhere. As for addressing the problem, there's multiple factors contributing....all human caused. We can fix it, but nobody wants to.
 
Yesterday our first dive was Cedral Pass and I thought it looked great! We were here in May, and I don’t remember it being that colorful. Second was Yucab and it was good. Day 2 today. :)
 
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