Declining dive quality?

[Charred]

I just got back from my first trip to Cozumel. I am curious about water quality. I noticed lots of cyanobacteria (it looks like red slime). I was quite shocked. Typically this is associated in saltwater aquariums with poor water quality and low water flow. Cozumel does not have flow problems. So I was curious if all those dive boats are dumping their heads over the reef. Is that allowed; do they do it anyway?

cyanobacteria - Google Search:

BTW, 19 dives and did not see a single lionfish. Very impressive.

 

[Buliwyf]

I saw much of that red stuff last week. I pulled it out. It's just that scratchy green sea weed with the little pea sized seeds that floats around in clumps. After a while it turns red and nasty. I only found it in odd shaped beaches that trap debris.

Water quality was crystal everywhere we snorkeled. (family vacation, not dive holiday)

 

[gopbroek]

BTW, 19 dives and did not see a single lionfish. Very impressive.

Last week I popped a 1/2 dozen of the little b@$tard$, their numbers are greatly reduced but they are still around. The survivors are hiders. That was in 6 dives, 2 years ago that number would be common on a single dive.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Funny you mention John Pennekamp coral reef state park off Largo... I was snorkeling there in the late 80's and returned a few years ago after decades to dive it. These days, it is a dead reef... Nothing but bleached, brown algae-covered dead coral everywhere with little to see. It was shocking to see what has happened in 25 years and we won't be going back. However, further south (or actually west) Looe Key reef off Big Pine was still in pretty good shape and I've no idea why.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have dived the Upper Keys extensively from the mid-seventies to present...forty years later, I barely recognize them. However, the Key Largo vs. Looe Key difference is no mystery. Key Largo's reefs get TREMENDOUS pressure from boaters and divers. I don't even know how many boats go out every day but there are dozens. Remember, Key Largo is just an hour or two from Fort Lauderdale/Miami but Looe Key is another couple of hours south...where do you think most divers stop?

I was fortunate enough to live in the upper Keys yet again in 2016 for six months after being away for a few years. I did all my diving with Conch Republic in Tavernier. Tavernier's reefs get a fraction of the pressure that Key Largo's do.

Back to Cozumel...I have a fantastic opportunity to live there next February and March and will be posting a separate thread about it!

 

[buckled plates]

Looe Key is in pretty good shape but some of the reefs in the Dry Tortugas - like Key Largo's - are in poor condition, yet they receive relatively little pressure from dive boats. Man maybe the cause of the decline, but then maybe not. The Great Barrier Reef has gone through six life and death cycles over the last few million years and Looe Key is only 6-7,000 years old. As with all living things, death is a natural part of existence and Florida's reefs are, sadly, no exception.