Sharks, Dolphins and Whales

Attended a presentation last night by researchers from the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment. They're in Little Cayman for a few weeks doing research on sharks, dolphins and whales. Although the Caymans aren't a tourist destination known for these animals, they're definitely here. We have a variety of sharks, but the ones we see most often are Caribbean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks (pictured at left) and Blacktip Sharks. The researchers are tagging sharks, so it was fun to tell them last night that we'd seen one of their tagged Caribbean Reef sharks on one of our dives that day at a site called Mixing Bowl on the north side of the island. They've asked divemasters and divers to report back to them when we see tagged animals. The bad news: They've seen Honduran fishing boats finning sharks in the Caymans, and they're worried about declining populations of sharks. They've also been hearing some dolphins in our area with their hydrophone (they heard one just last week). The Cetaceans in our area include Bottlenose Dolphins, Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, False Killer Whales, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales and Sperm Whales.

Yesterday, I guided my first divers. We had 2 great dives and all returned to the boat safely. Whew! We saw Caribbean Reef Sharks, a seahorse, a turtle, a huge barracuda, several big lobsters, and many other fish and creatures. The resort is up and running for a new season and is filling up. Now it's go, go, go!