After a day and a half time off in the nearby peaceful town of Mahuhual, I had my antihistamines and cortisone cream supplies ready for round two with the Mosquitoes and Bastard flies. I felt confident I could combat them his time.
Having already passed my fish identification exam early in Week 1, I was well on my way to starting the fish monitoring program. This program has been setup with Amigos of Sian Ka’an for the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve and the University of Quintana Roo to monitor the fish numbers in the area to record how their numbers have been affected by tourism, local fishing and other impacts. The data collected is part of a long-term research project spanning several years. There are 70 fish that are on the initial target list ranging from Parrotfish, Snappers, Grunts, Groupers, Triggerfish, Butterfly Fish, Angel Fish, Filefish and Barracudas. We also report any mega fauna such as dolphins, stingrays and turtles. Although we are yet to see dolphins, I have seen two Leatherback Turtles and a Bull Ray. One diving group saw a massive two meter Spotted Eagle Ray the largest they have reported. We are also counting the number of Lionfish seen as they have become a pest in the area and their numbers are getting out of control. They will predate on any breed of fish and they have no predators in the area. Such a shame to view such a beautiful and highly evolved fish as a pest!
Once I had done two or three trainee fish spots with an instructor, it became evident that the majority of fish on the reef were Ceaser Grunts and French Grunts. You would often see them swimming in large schools, sometimes with Blue Stripped Grunts. On most dives you would see a range of Parrot fish, including the Princess Parrot, Redband Parrot, Stoplight Parrot and Striped Parrot. Occasionally we saw the huge Midnight Parrot and the Rainbow Parrot, at about a metre long. Awesome! Also seen regularly is the very cool Black Durgan, part of the Triggerfish Family. A stunning fish with Dorsal and Anal fins that move from side to side like vertical wings. One of the nicest to be around are the Grey and French Angelfish, always swimming in pairs, can grow to about 20-30cm long and are quite friendly, often coming right up to divers and staring us in the eye, then just hanging around while we continue to look around.
My fish spot dive records are at 100%, so now it’s time to learn the Juvenile fish list! Some of the juveniles are on the adult list and they look completely different. Plus there is a whole range of Wrasse’s and Damselfish we need to learn, as well as the Banded Coral Shrimp and the Long Spine Sea Urchin.
The weather turned bad during Week 2, and we had to goto Plan B for two days. This meant catching up on Lectures on Ecology of the reef, Threats to the reef and Coral. Also it meant time on some base activities such as a beach cleanup, convincing me completely that plastic is humans gift of cancer to planet earth. The amount of eroded broken off small pieces of plastic lying on the beach is truly disgusting and it is killing our marine life as many of them mistake it for food.
Also there was time for some beach volleyball, swimming, snorkeling and laying around in hammocks. Nice!
The last part of week two was not so pleasant for me as I got some kind of stomach bug and was making many visits to the toilet and many visits to the floor as I was regularly feeling faint. I decided to ride it out in the Hotel Nationale in Mahuhual for a day and then continue with my day off here. Once I got enough strength to stand up I looked at my legs and discovered that whilst in my comatosed state, the flies and mosquitoes used me as an all you can eat buffet and feasted on my legs. Up till this point, I was winning round 2, but they got the best of me in my weakest hour.
As I am typing this, feeling a lot better and have my strength back, off to Chetumal on the border of Belize tomorrow for some much desired supplies like more cortisone cream and mosquito repellent, (not sure if it helps that much) tofu, cordial, chocolate and olives.
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Bridgette Gower’s Photostream
Nice one! Send in the photos :)
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