Caymans

[wrott]

These are some pix form my trip to Grand Cayman last week.

http://picasaweb.google.com/corn64/Cayman2ndDayNeptune6110?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/corn64/CaymanOFBabylonStingrayCitySnapperHole6210?feat=directlink

I dove w/ Wall to Wall, Neptune and Ocean Frontiers. All were equally enjoyable.

 

[streetjudge79]

Gorgeous photos but where are all the fish?????

 

[wrott]

Not many fish, I wondered why as well. And no staghorn, elkhorn corals at all. I asked fellow divers that had been diving there for the past 25yrs and they said that it has always been this way. I asked a boat captain and he said it was because of the lack of nutrients due to the Cayman trench. But I dove in Hawaii last October, it is very nutrient free water and there are tons of reef fish everywhere. ??? May be someone could chime in w/ an answer.
And thanks for the compliment! I used 2 different rented cammeras w/ strobes.

 

[billsreef]

Hawaii has a very large abundance of fish compared to most places With the Elkhorn and Staghorn corals, they've taking a huge hit in the last decade or so due to warming ocean temperatures. They are also more commonly found in high energy shallow environments where most dive ops don't take the tourists due to the wave action and strong currents that result

 

[hul kogan]

Hmm, the lack of fish is odd.

The week before last I was diving in Grand Cayman for seven days. Dove the North and West sides and saw all sorts of fish. Also, did some snorkeling near our condo on the South side of the island and saw both Elkhorn and Staghorn. The environment where I saw those corals was much as Bill described.

 

[herostar]

FWIW I dove in Grand Cayman on the NW, W, and S sides and saw lots and lots of fish at the end of May 2010. On the NW shore there were semi-truck sized schools of fish at the top of the reef wall eating things as they came up in the current. Maybe you were in the wrong "fish spot".? I also saw several large lionfish, not native to the carribbean and introduced from (most likely) aquarists.

I second the lack of stag and elkhorn corals. I only saw a few, and they were in places I didn't expect. I did see lots of dead hard corals though, presumably from hurricanes a few years ago.

The thing that I loved was the size of the NPS corals. I saw several sponges that I could have swam right into!

 

[wrott]

That's good to know herostar.
My next destination, hopefully, will be Saba island. Anyone been their?

 

[NaClCrocodile]

Saw my name thought I'd check it out. Glad I did - very cool.

 

[bigsink]

NIce pics. There was elkhorn and staghorn when I dove Cayman Brac 20 years ago.

 

[icechimpee]

Good looking pictures.

Just dove for 5 days in GCI's last week...Saw TONS of fish...Heck even saw tons of fish on my night dive, ha.

Just a quick plug to the "Living the Dream" crew for an awesome time last week, highly recommended dive company. :thumbsup:

 

[justinc0708]

nice