Grand Cayman coral - white like snow

[Saboteur]

I have only seen one lionfish on 12 dives. Maybe the culls are working… or they are smart and hang out deeper. If their numbers are down, hopefully the reefs will become “fishier”.

 

[Divedoggie]

It is depressing to talk about. Whatever the causal effect, the results are the same.
Not too many dive shops and Ops talking about it out loud. Many new divers still find the “bones” of the reef interesting to dive on. Booking trips to the Caribbean locales is still our bread and butter.

We have begun to do more Philippines trips. Coral is healthy and abundant, and trips there are still relatively inexpensive. Flights are tough compared to the Caribbean though.

We were in Coz last week and going to Curaçao again next. Neither are in good shape. But, there is fun to be had, and it’s a little more palatable if you know what to expect.

 

[Saboteur]

It is depressing to talk about. Whatever the causal effect, the results are the same.
Not too many dive shops and Ops talking about it out loud. Many new divers still find the “bones” of the reef interesting to dive on. Booking trips to the Caribbean locales is still our bread and butter.

We have begun to do more Philippines trips. Coral is healthy and abundant, and trips there are still relatively inexpensive. Flights are tough compared to the Caribbean though.

We were in Coz last week and going to Curaçao again next. Neither are in good shape. But, there is fun to be had, and it’s a little more palatable if you know what to expect.

For us land locked green crappy 5 foot vis lake divers though it’s still awesome even with less fish and white corals. Someday perhaps a western Pacific trip.

 

[dberry]

Currently in Grand Cayman, diving East Side with Ocean Frontiers. Bone-white coral is the norm, unfortunately. The bleaching is different from the SCTLD that's also clearly killing brain corals and the like. We're seeing temperatures 87.5 F at surface, and maybe 1 deg cooler at 100 ft. A few days ago a guide reported temperatures >93 F in the shallows.

It's possible that some of the bleached coral with a bit of color in spots may recover, but it's very sad.

 

[Joneill]

Currently in Grand Cayman, diving East Side with Ocean Frontiers. Bone-white coral is the norm, unfortunately. The bleaching is different from the SCTLD that's also clearly killing brain corals and the like. We're seeing temperatures 87.5 F at surface, and maybe 1 deg cooler at 100 ft. A few days ago a guide reported temperatures >93 F in the shallows.

It's possible that some of the bleached coral with a bit of color in spots may recover, but it's very sad.

Thanks for the update - I figured that it would be the same (even worse due to the SCTLD that hit GCM) but still sad to hear it.

There is still hope that even the bright white stuff can recover if water temps drop soon - though not sure how long that window stays open before they actually die.

Here is another clip from the shallow reefs in Little Cayman showing the extent of bleaching this year - it’s crazy how bad it is as they said they had no significant bleaching at all last year.

 

[Saboteur]

Thanks for the update - I figured that it would be the same (even worse due to the SCTLD that hit GCM) but still sad to hear it.

There is still hope that even the bright white stuff can recover if water temps drop soon - though not sure how long that window stays open before they actually die.

Here is another clip from the shallow reefs in Little Cayman showing the extent of bleaching this year - it’s crazy how bad it is as they said they had no significant bleaching at all last year.

That is worse than anything I saw on GCM.

 

[vincent54]

Water around Brac cooling and colors coming back to corals. Some of the brains have totally bounced back. 85degrees.

Lettuce coral no go. White as snow. Apparently it is considered a “weed” coral and not an essential reef builder. But I think it is beautiful. Hope it comes back.

 

[Kimela]

It is depressing to talk about. Whatever the causal effect, the results are the same.
Not too many dive shops and Ops talking about it out loud. Many new divers still find the “bones” of the reef interesting to dive on. Booking trips to the Caribbean locales is still our bread and butter.

We have begun to do more Philippines trips. Coral is healthy and abundant, and trips there are still relatively inexpensive. Flights are tough compared to the Caribbean though.

We were in Coz last week and going to Curaçao again next. Neither are in good shape. But, there is fun to be had, and it’s a little more palatable if you know what to expect.

I'm wondering about something. If cruise ships can spread the SCTLD (did I get that acronym right?), can we also spread it via our gear? Would it be a good idea to really sanitize all of our gear upon return from an area with this disease, to make sure we don't have any hitch-hikers to take to other areas of the world that have so far been unaffected? Would Salt-Away be enough of a sanitizer or would something else be recommended? Or am I overthinking this?

 

[Joneill]

I'm wondering about something. If cruise ships can spread the SCTLD (did I get that acronym right?), can we also spread it via our gear? Would it be a good idea to really sanitize all of our gear upon return from an area with this disease, to make sure we don't have any hitch-hikers to take to other areas of the world that have so far been unaffected? Would Salt-Away be enough of a sanitizer or would something else be recommended? Or am I overthinking this?

It’s possible, I guess - In Little Cayman that asked everyone if they’d dived elsewhere in the Carribean in the last 8 weeks (I think that was the timeframe?). If the answer was yes, they sanitized their gear before the first dives.

Bonaire threads have details on the sanitizing solutions used for SCTLD, I believe.

What I saw in Little Cayman was not SCTLD (they claimed it was not present in Little or Brac - only around Grand Cayman (though hard to believe that given proximity) - it was bleaching due to persistent high water temps.

 

[Kimela]

It’s possible, I guess - In Little Cayman that asked everyone if they’d dived elsewhere in the Carribean in the last 8 weeks (I think that was the timeframe?). If the answer was yes, they sanitized their gear before the first dives.

Bonaire threads have details on the sanitizing solutions used for SCTLD, I believe.

I'm guessing anything on the outside of bone-dry gear will be dead. But what might be hanging out inside a BC? Thanks!