Felicitous Sk8er wrote:

I just returned from a Caribbean scuba diving trip -- took 600+ photos.  I'm deep into the following reference books which, although of limited interest to this group, are fascinating and the gold standards for divers: 


Reef Fish Identification -- Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas   (Humann & DeLoach)
Reef Creature Identification -- Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas   (Humann, DeLoach & Wilk)
Reef Coral Identification -- Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas  (Humann & DeLoach)
   

so Sk8er I’m wondering about the state of the reefs near Belize. Last year I revisited St John after a 40 year absence. I used to go there to snorkel often in my 20s. It was extremely sad, as there had been perhaps a 90% decline in the coral and the fish that used to be so rich and abundant. It was also a weird experience to have a 40 year perspective on something. Age is somewhat unfathomable. I remember James Burke in his Connections tv series in the 80s pointing out that if you asked your grandfather (he said grandfather but it seems to me grandmother is all the more likely given the longevity disparity between the sexes!) about the conversations he’d had with his grandfather about his grandfather, you were all the way back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution…
 

Felicitous Sk8er wrote:

I've dived in Belize 3 times over the past 4 years.  It's difficult to compare but overall, their corals look mostly fine although I suspect they have been damaged.     

Bonaire also looks fairly good -- 2 trips in 3 years -- but you can see areas of dead coral and scattered dead coral heads.  Significantly, Bonaire divemasters disclosed that the island's vast areas of staghorn coral are now reduced to relatively small patches.  The ones we encountered were approx. 1/5 acre or so.  Staghorn is crucial for sheltering small and young fish so the loss has great impact.  Bonaire's scattered dead coral and bleaching wasn't anything like the horrific Great barrier Reef photos I've seen. 

Bonaire, Belize and St. Lucia are actively propagating corals for reef restoration and researching species resistant to warming oceans -- occasionally we encounter underwater "nurseries".  They are clustered stick frames with coral fragments tied to and dangling from the rods until ready for transplantation.       

The most pristine and extraordinary place we've dived is Fiji.  Absolutely mind-blowing.  Table corals 15 feet across -- they are reminiscent of Michael Whelan's cover art for Asimov's Foundation (book 1 / Hari).  I gasped out loud through my regulator when I saw them for the first time -- everywhere, and simply unbelievable.  

Zillions of tiny fish (purple & yellow Fairy Basslets, wrasses and more) swarm everywhere in Fiji.  My favorite was the Clown Triggerfish -- approx 15" long, with distinctive large black and while polka-dots on its ventral side.  Clown Triggerfish are uncommon, and only seen in the Indo-Pacific, so it was thrilling when we encountered one.    

Fiji is famous as the "soft coral capitol of the world".  Compared to the Caribbean, Fiji's stony corals and larger fish aren't as abundant -- but if their pristine soft corals are indicative of what the Caribbean used to be like, the oceans have truly suffered.         

  

my understanding is that no place on earth has escaped heat damage. But I’m glad to hear some still look like they are thriving. In addition to the Caribbean, I snorkled the reefs of the Red Sea in the early ‘80s. Spectacular!