Cozumel Reef Damage Assessments

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scubacoz22

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OK, here is something I am sure everyone has been waiting for. Here is a report from Dave at Aldora Divers on the Reef conditions. Hope this answers a few questions. We are leaving for Coz Nov 17-24 and expect to have some great diving. Kathy in Texas



Conditions of reefs (dated October the 27th.)


Ok guys, here it is. We sent out one boat today and attempted to survey Santa Rosa Wall northward. We felt that all of the deeper reefs to the south were probably in pretty good shape as we found Palancar Bricks yesterday, and our main worry has been the shallow reefs. Lo and behold, the rumors about Paradise Reef having disappeared are not true. I will go through our list.

Santa Rosa Wall: The coral head tops had damage to finger and lettuce corals and I expect that we are going to see that everywhere--but they are not gone. Also some bleaching was evident. Down deeper we found lots of debris in the swimthoughs, mainly some sponges and big rocks of previously dead coral that had fallen from above, but nothing dramatic. Again. like Palancar the base of the Coral heads, even as deep as 100 feet had white bands where the sand had washed off. I didn't think that wave action reached that deep but it must have. However, it was not so strong to hurt anything, just moved the light sand/sediment that had accumulated over a long time.

Yucab and Tormentos: Much more severe damage to the finger and lettuce coral but the overall coral bluffs are still intact and there are still lots of fish. Both dive sites will still be interesting and once debris is gone we suspect it would take an expert on the reef to recognize a difference. This is good news for the critter freaks.

Wreck of the C-53: It sits in the same place but the tower has fallen over and it has a crack in the side. Actually it now looks like a real wreck instead of something from Disneyland!



Chankanaab Balloons: The big coral heads are still intact but the smaller ones are burried in sand. Those that we looked at had the same problems as Yucab and Tormentos.

Dzul Ha: We check this snorkeling spot to see how snorkeling might be for those that do that sort of thing. It is now barren rock.

Paradise Reef: Contrary to rumors we were delighted to be able to find it where it was, and recognizable. Lots of bleaching, and clearly damaged but will still make a nice dive, and all of the fish were there.

SUMMARY

The deeper reefs seem to be as expected, the only surprise has been the presence of bleaching (which we hope to heal soon since the stressor has been removed) and the newly exposed old coral at depth. Compared to Roxanne in 1995 the effect on the deep reef is pretty much the same.

The shallower reefs seem to be better than I would have expected but still show damage that will take some time to heal. But the fish are still there in normal numbers and as some one else suggested, the rubble from the cruise ship piers may make for new dive sites...we just have to find them.

On that thought, it is entirely possible that the movement of so much bottom may have exposed or created some very interesting new dive sites. We will be looking for them, both on the west side and on the east where we might even find some old Spanish stuff.

By tomorrow surely others will be out and about and can add to this thread. I am getting a little tired of the keyboard (I type like I am using my toes) so unless needed for specific issues am going to retire for a while.


Any questions regarding Wilma, follow this link


Regards

Dave Dillehay
Aldora
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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