Reef status update

[SamFamAustin]

This isn't so much a "rant" as much as asking you regulars how the coral reefs are doing. I'm hearing reports that:


The reefs are going to pot and could die in a few years
The reefs made a surprising come-back in 2008 - 2009

Being that certain areas of the Abacos are like "the canary in the mine" with respect to tropical and semi-tropical coral reefs, I was asking for your opinion.

Bleaching, green/brown slime, turbidity, and loss of diversity has been reported in other areas, such as the Florida Keys (the Tortugas seem OK though).

Let is know what you folks think.

[patw]

Troy would be a good one to answer this. I'll suggest he come on and give his take on your questions.

[big ed]

We only got out on the reef one day on GGC last month, but what we saw was in outstanding condition. No slime or algae. Seemed to be a lot more fish as well. But this was just one hour, on one section of small reef.

Two cents!

[PELLUCID]

Sam, there's a really important saying in the natural and social sciences... "Data is not the plural of anecdote."

Objectivity is always best. With that in mind, a link to NOAA's satellite-based reef monitoring system: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/baa/current/crw_optw_bleachingalertarea_caribbean.gif

As you can see, the entire Caribbean basin is currently under a "No Stress" condition. Look for this to change as the El Nino cycle waxes and wanes.

[dive guana]

Sorry. I tried to post yesterday but after I had typed a rather lengthy post it would send and then i lost it . I did 400 dives last year on the reefs at Fowl Cay and North Guana so i think I can make an attempt a a rapid assesment

Fish life is fairly constant but there are quite a few lionfish showing up but we are trying to keep them in check with a pole spear with a trident tip

We had a bleaching event in 2006 but since then no bleaching due to warm temps. Overall I think our reefs are doing fairly well. We do have some problems with blue green algae in the warm summer months but it is kept in check by the colder water temps of the winter

Generally not much in the way of diseases although I have seen two cases of black band and two cases of white band for the year. All of these have progressed three to 4 inches on the head and then disappeared . The dead coral that was "killed " by the band was overrun by algae but the coral right next to it is till healthy . This seems to be fairly constant and I have not noticed a trend either way

I have been closely monitoring the regrowth of some select elkhorn coral head at reefs i visit often and they seem to be growing and actually regrowing on some old dead elkhorn skeletons

This will be the first year with our golf course and with the start of the rainy season approaching i am interested to see if there is runoff and effects from the fertiliser etc. "They " say there will be no runoff or effects but we will see

Troy
Dive Guana

[dive guana]

by the way the blue green algae is reddish brown in color - go figure !

[SamFamAustin]

Thank you very much Troy. Not sure about the black or white bands, almost sounds like a parasitic fungus?

Overall, a very positive assessment and I think the potential tourists and the people of the Abacos should know this. Other areas have had problems with fuel spills, sedimentation, green/brown/red slime, mechanical failure such as crushing from anchors, and bleaching. I am very pleased to hear this news, especially about the magnificent staghorn!

-sammie

[Tingum]

One very interesting thing that I have noticed is the reappearance of the black spiny urchins. They disappeared back in the early 80's, just about the time the reef got slimy and started to die off. Hopefully their reappearance is good news as I am seeing more and more of them.

[SamFamAustin]

Wow that's interesting, and I snooped around and sure enough, there was a mass die-off of mysterious origin in the 80s and the reefs got slimy! Some articles say that the black Caribbean urchin is the key to the survival of the reefs.

Hm, wonder if they're any good to eat? They say the Japanese go crazy over the roe.

[mp_leahy]

Yes, my wife and I saw them frequently this year. Hadn't seen them last few years. I seem to remember the staghorn at Sandy Cay being looking much more vigorous 5 years ago and Fowl Cay seems to have faded somewhat.

[mp_leahy]

elkhorn...my bad

[DrRalph]

Never thought I'd be glad to hear that black urchins are back in numbers. When I'm down island I always keep the tip of a small knife sharp so I can dig them out of people's feet. Give 'em a shot of rum, pour lime juice on the entry point, wait a few minutes, apologize, and dig away. Folks don't like the process, but they sure are happy when you get that thing out.:eek: