Turneffe Flats
Registered
Managing the dive operation and doing dive instruction here at Turneffe Flats really allows me to experience some of the finest diving in the Caribbean, and the world. This past week gave us mostly sunny weather, easterly prevailing winds, and some choppy easterly seas. Air temperatures were in a pleasant mid-80s range, and water temperatures were a comfortable 82F.
The great part about diving the Turneffe Islands atoll, is that one can always head for the leeward side of the weather if the surface conditions wont allow diving on the windward side. Surface conditions on the east side forced us to confine our diving activity to the west side of Turneffe where one can find a collection of particularly well-developed sponges, some of which are large Giant Barrel, Yellow Tubes, Elephant Ear, Touch-Me-Not, as well as different kinds of Matting Sponges. Soft coral varieties are prolific, with large individuals growing everywhere. Several types of healthy hard coral growth can be found in shallow areas, and on the deeper walls. A colorful array of small reef fish can always be seen, with angels and triggers in abundance. Green and Spotted Morays show up on almost every dive, and there is a healthy variety of reef predators like Black, Nassau, Tiger and Yellowfin Groupers, as well as Cubera, Dog and Mutton Snappers. Great Barracudas are also spotted regularly on these busy reefs. Hawksbill Turtles, Spotted Eagle Rays, Southern Stingrays, and Roughtail Rays are observed routinely.
Unfortunately, we were not able to go to Blue Hole & Lighthouse Reef for diving this week as seas were too rough for the crossing to the east. However, we were able to do the Elbow at the southern end of Turneffe which can produce some spectacular sightings of big game fish like Wahoo, schools of Horse Eye and Crevalle Jacks, Dog and Mutton Snapper, and occasionally Caribbean Reef Sharks. It was a slack high tide at the time of the dive with very little current, so many of the usual players werent out. This dive site produces the best collection of sightings when the tide is going out and there is a strong current. It was a great dive none the less with Hawksbill Turtle, Spotted Eagle Ray, and large King Fish sightings.
Some of the tiny marine life that we see reasonably regularly, and were interesting finds this week, were Wire Coral and Black Coral Shrimp, Pygmy Filefish in soft coral branches, Arrow and Sailfin Blennies, Majestic Sea Urchin Shrimp and Sun Anemone Shrimp. Sightings like these are an indication of a healthy reef indeed.
Other note-worthy sightings this week were Permit which are seen quite regularly in either schools, or as individuals. Recounting sightings of Permit by divers at happy hour back at the resort can get envious looks from Salt Water Fly Fishing Anglers that also come to Turneffe Flats to enjoy the wild, virgin flats that Turneffe has to offer, and head home with pictures of trophy fish like Permit, Bonefish, and Tarpon, on the catch and release program.
Loggerhead females have been sighted on previous weeks on Turneffe Atoll, and males have been sighted at Lighthouse Reef. Their mating season starts in late March, so it looks like they are right on time. We can look forward to more sightings of these massive turtles going right through to early June.
We had a small, intimate group of 4 divers, one of which was doing his qualifying dives for PADI Open Water Certification. Another beginner diver joined us for one day to do the Discover Scuba Diving Program, and she was amazed at the underwater views she found. She will definitely join the ranks of certified divers soon.
Lets see what the rest of this week will produce in marine life sightings.:cool2:
The great part about diving the Turneffe Islands atoll, is that one can always head for the leeward side of the weather if the surface conditions wont allow diving on the windward side. Surface conditions on the east side forced us to confine our diving activity to the west side of Turneffe where one can find a collection of particularly well-developed sponges, some of which are large Giant Barrel, Yellow Tubes, Elephant Ear, Touch-Me-Not, as well as different kinds of Matting Sponges. Soft coral varieties are prolific, with large individuals growing everywhere. Several types of healthy hard coral growth can be found in shallow areas, and on the deeper walls. A colorful array of small reef fish can always be seen, with angels and triggers in abundance. Green and Spotted Morays show up on almost every dive, and there is a healthy variety of reef predators like Black, Nassau, Tiger and Yellowfin Groupers, as well as Cubera, Dog and Mutton Snappers. Great Barracudas are also spotted regularly on these busy reefs. Hawksbill Turtles, Spotted Eagle Rays, Southern Stingrays, and Roughtail Rays are observed routinely.
Unfortunately, we were not able to go to Blue Hole & Lighthouse Reef for diving this week as seas were too rough for the crossing to the east. However, we were able to do the Elbow at the southern end of Turneffe which can produce some spectacular sightings of big game fish like Wahoo, schools of Horse Eye and Crevalle Jacks, Dog and Mutton Snapper, and occasionally Caribbean Reef Sharks. It was a slack high tide at the time of the dive with very little current, so many of the usual players werent out. This dive site produces the best collection of sightings when the tide is going out and there is a strong current. It was a great dive none the less with Hawksbill Turtle, Spotted Eagle Ray, and large King Fish sightings.
Some of the tiny marine life that we see reasonably regularly, and were interesting finds this week, were Wire Coral and Black Coral Shrimp, Pygmy Filefish in soft coral branches, Arrow and Sailfin Blennies, Majestic Sea Urchin Shrimp and Sun Anemone Shrimp. Sightings like these are an indication of a healthy reef indeed.
Other note-worthy sightings this week were Permit which are seen quite regularly in either schools, or as individuals. Recounting sightings of Permit by divers at happy hour back at the resort can get envious looks from Salt Water Fly Fishing Anglers that also come to Turneffe Flats to enjoy the wild, virgin flats that Turneffe has to offer, and head home with pictures of trophy fish like Permit, Bonefish, and Tarpon, on the catch and release program.
Loggerhead females have been sighted on previous weeks on Turneffe Atoll, and males have been sighted at Lighthouse Reef. Their mating season starts in late March, so it looks like they are right on time. We can look forward to more sightings of these massive turtles going right through to early June.
We had a small, intimate group of 4 divers, one of which was doing his qualifying dives for PADI Open Water Certification. Another beginner diver joined us for one day to do the Discover Scuba Diving Program, and she was amazed at the underwater views she found. She will definitely join the ranks of certified divers soon.
Lets see what the rest of this week will produce in marine life sightings.:cool2:
