Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

[TeaOom]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

...I don't know a whole lot about the causes of the reef problems in Negril myself, but I believe JTgogo1 touched on about everything that I know that is going on that has caused the deterioration of the reef over the years ... it's the extremely delicate balance of nature of a living coral reef and it's ability to survive the harshness of Mother Nature and the gross impact of man upon the reef [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

In the old days a snorkeling or dive boat could take people out to any part of the reef and drop anchor anyplace ... and upon dropping anchor ... the anchor's of the boats tore up the reef terribly over the years by the anchor's of the boats dragging over and tearing up the reef ...

Now, each boat is required to anchor to one of the many buoy's on the reef, thereby addressing at least the problem of the boat anchors ... and that is having a big positive impact on the reefs recovery ... as well as diver/snokerler/boatCaptian education about NOT touching the reef or damaging the reef in any way while diving or snorkeling ...

Even Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering these days because of environmental issues ... some of which have been attributed to 'Global Warming' by some scientists ... so Negril's reef is no exception ... it's a worldwide thing about our planets reefs suffering from harsh environmental damages due to planetary weather patterns and the negative impact of man ... some of which are simply 'out of our control' ...

[gmarieggers]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Tea,

Glad to see your words and that you had a great time! Hopefully I'll do some snorkeling when I'm there next.

Murry

[natzach]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Even Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering these days because of environmental issues ... some of which have been attributed to 'Global Warming' by some scientists ... so Negril's reef is no exception ... it's a worldwide thing about our planets reefs suffering from harsh environmental damages due to planetary weather patterns and the negative impact of man ... some of which are simply 'out of our control' ...

I wish I could agree when you say "it is out of our control"....but the environmental damages, including the crazy planetary weather patterns, are all attributed to the the negative impacts of MAN, and MAN ALONE. So, this is why I say it is directly within our control.

[gmarieggers]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

I don't know alot about this but didn't one of the articles here discuss the fact that it's also due to the water conditions and how they are changing? Have all the resorts taken the proper precautions?

Murry

[markanking]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Somewhere I read something about sediment from manmade erosion coming down the river and covering the reefs, in effect, smothering them.. Another negative influence of man...

[TeaOom]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

...I agree that MAN is the main culpret to damaging earth no doubt ... but how does one controll and un-do all of the damaging forces that man has caused by our centuries of existance on this planet?

The damage and continued damage is so deep and I am keenly aware of this because I am an environmentalist myself at heart ... I guess everyone must work together to raise the conscieneness of people on earth, particularly people in political power and also identify everything that is causing the damage ... a point of which no one really agrees ... Not everyone even agrees that 'Global Warming' for example, exists.

Take another example ... over-population ... this is a man-made problem that when trickeled down does effect the reefs of which we speak ... when we speak of controling population ... we get into all sorts of ethical, social, moral and religious issues ... This isn't an easy task to control the negative impact of man on the environment!

The program that I saw on The Great Barrier Reef had to do with things that were occuring around the time of El Nino and how that had effected the reef ... Yes, I do believe that Man is a cause of the weather patterns a.k.a. 'Mother Nature' ... true Nat & Zach ... but how does one help on a personal level?

We just do the best we can on a personal level by being environmentally conscience...that's all that I know to do and support organizations that support environmental efforts and the same with the political system ... I try to make my vote count.

[markanking]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Ahh it finally came to me...the Negril Reef Preservation group has a website where I read about the sediment and other problems affecting the sea. Unfortunately, I don't have the url to the website. Perhaps someone else more organized than myself could lead us to it.

I agree Tea...we can all do our small part.. a journey begins with one step...

[BND1999]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Very nice story Tea.. I havn't been snorkeling in a few years and have never done it in Negril..like you I thin if I try it again I'd prefet to go out to the reefs and not on the cliffs.. Did you just hop one of boats on the beach with a group of people? How long were you out there?

[sunshinegal]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

I saw an article about the reefs around Cuba in a recent National Geographic. The photos were gorgeous.

[hcs3]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

i have dedicated a large portion of my life towards studying and photgraphing marine fish and corals. so, just for clarification...

a king angel aka Holacanthus passer is not located in the caribbean. they are eastern-pacific water fish. i suspect the fish you are refering to is the queen angel aka Holacanthus ciliaris. they are caribbean fish and i have photographed them on the reefs off negril. here is a pic i took of a queen angel (blue/yellow fish in the center).



to view more of my photos from my negril diving trip follow this link.

as per the recent destruction to reefs around jamaica, i suppose the largest impact is the harvesting of fish. spearfishing off the coast of jamaica can be seen everyday by most divers/snorkerls. also, fish traps can be seen on most dive sites. it doesn't take a genius to figure out why jamaica has pathetic amounts of fish life. large fish are nearly non-existant. when you upset the balance of a reef, it is doomed. hopefully jamaica figures this out sooner than later.

HTH

henry

[TeaOom]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

...Thanks for the beautiful photograph Henry [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

So it was Queen Angelfish that I've been snorkeling with in Jamaica and Cosumel? Wow...I never knew, I thought they were Kings ... thanks for enlightening me ... they are like little pets in the water, they remind me of little puppies, I love them and miss them SO much off of the coast of Jamaica ... I wonder if they are still prevalent in Cosumel as they were in the early 90's? Do you have any idea?

Thanks again Henry [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[hcs3]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Tea'Oom

if they look like the photograph i posted, then they are queens. FWIW, they are considered among the most beautiful of reef fish. i would contribute spearfishing and fish trapping to be responsible for 99% of the loss of this fish around jamaica. they are plentiful on most caribbean reefs outside of jamaica. look for a second when you spot one adult. they are most commonly found in mated pairs. the adult pair will defend a home range larger than a football field (100 yards by 53 yards for the non-americans). don't expect to see a second pair once you spot the first pair unless you swim a fair distance. did you know that the juveniles look completely different than the adult (adult pictured above, juvenile below)?



FYI, a king is most common off the coast of california. this is a juvenile king angel...



and the adult...



the last photo i'll share as anohter common angel off the coast of jamiaca. once more common. it is called the rock beauty angel aka Holacanthus tricolor. below is a picture i took off the negril coast of one (there was a pair)



HTH

henry

[markanking]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Wow..many thanks for the info and pictures Henry. Maybe we could hook up for a snorkle sometime when we are there this summer. Snorkling is what my son is looking forward to most. Would love to go with someone who could show and teach us a thing of two.
Much Respect...Markdad

[hcs3]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

markdad

i can understand your sons desire to snorkel. it's my favorite part of the trip as well.

where/when are you staying in jamaica? i will be there from june 22 - 30. i'd be happy to snorkel with you, but for the most part i will be diving with the sandals crew in negril. i plan to kayak over to booby-cay island and snorkel there a couple times, however.

snorkeling can be exciting near shore. i had a blast of a time last year. find rockwork of any type and you'll find congregations of various fish. the larger the rock structure the better. open sandbed will have lots of cucumbers, starfish, and urchins. all very cool. they get boring quick though cause they are everywhere. there are many neat marine algae just off the coast. be sure to check in there for crabs and small fish. plenty of small stingrays. if you see any anchor lines under water or alga mats on the surface, look for trumpet fish.

if you can snorkel a bit farther off shore, perhaps 15 - 20 feet of depth, you'll find the variety of corals and fish is larger. many more gorgonians, tube sponges, and tunicates; also the life forms that live on said corals - sea slugs, gobies, grammas, and nudibranchs. i was snorkeling around 20 feet last year when i saw both pairs of angels.

of course, if you get the chance to scuba, it only gets better [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

HTH

henry

[markanking]

Re: Snorkeling In Negril ... A Story and A Few Pointers...

Hey Henry..Jesse and I will be in Negril from June 18th-July 6...so we overlap your stay. We will be staying on the beach at Secrets from 25th -July 1. Sea kayak to booby cay is something we wanted to do. So perhaps we could tag along with you on one of your snorkling days. We are certainly flexible on times. As neither of us are certified divers, we probably won't do any dives this trip. Not really interested in the resort courses. I was certified years ago and have appreciation for the potential dangers of making a rookie mistake. But maybe this snorkling trip will get me back to an instructor once I get back home. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) Many thanks...Markdad