Much like most of the month of March, the wind was blowing over 10 knots so we opted to make the short run to Conch Reef to avoid the pounding as much as possible. With the wind out of the southwest, we would have some protection from rollers as the shallow part of the reef would break the waves. Since this was to be a 1 tank dive, I decided to try and explore some new areas of NE end of the reef.
Lionfish
I found a lion fish in a crevice at the bottom . I hadn’t seen one diving for awhile, which is a good sign. I think the lion fish derbies are helping keep them off the dive reefs.
We also came across a stingray with a large scar on his upper body and what looked like a bit out of his side. During the hour long dive, we covered the areas both NE and SW of both buoys #1 and #2. It is so disappointing to see the death of most of the large finger corals located near the mooring anchor. You will see the finger corals in the first part of the video.
Click the link below to watch a YouTube video of the dive.