Coral Reefs of the Caribbean

Dr Anjani Ganase, coral reef ecologist, shares her favourite Caribbean reef experiences

 

In 2013, I had the luxury of travelling to many destinations across the Caribbean as part of the global coral reef mapping project known as the Catlin Seaview Survey (https://www.catlinseaviewsurvey.com/). During this time, we spent eight months diving in 13 countries in the Caribbean, including Bermuda in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Being able to view so many reefs – about 40 dive sites per country - in a short time, painted a picture of the incredible variety of reefs that the Caribbean had to offer. All are uniquely shaped by the environments where they occurr: the hurricane belt of northern Caribbean countries, temperate ocean conditions, swirling currents, proximities to rivers, the edge of continental shelf. Each reef is special and singular.

 

Here are five favourite reef experiences in the Caribbean:

 

Coral reefs of Belize. Photo courtesy XL Catlin Seaview Survey

Belize

The reefs of Belize form the largest section of the barrier reef of the Mesoamerican Reef System. The barrier reef sits about 30 km offshore from the mainland and there are several coral cays built offshore west of the reef. One of the most memorable places is Glover’s Reef – an offshore reef atoll – home to some of the richest marine life in the Caribbean. Glover’s Reef spans an area larger than Tobago and is home to over 800 patch reefs within its lagoon of the atoll.

 

Found within the lagoon of another Belizean atoll – Lighthouse Reef - is Belize’s Great Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a cave that filled with sea water when sea-levels rose. In contrast to the brightly light shallow reefs that rim the hole at a depth of five metres, descending into the waters of the hole quickly turns dark and eerie. While not all visibility is lost, you cannot see the sides of the hole which is 300 m in diameter. When descending we’re only able to explore down to 40 m where the roof of the cave can be viewed with large stalactites extending down. The depth of the hole is 108 m and requires special diving gear for safe exploration. Here we found the odd Caribbean reef shark cruising the depths, probably seeking refuge from surface threats. 

 

Mahahual Reef, Mexico Photo courtesy Philip Hamilton, Ocean Image Bank

 

Mexico

 

The northern section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef runs much closer to the mainland of Mexico. The northern section of the barrier reef close to Cancun are popular dive destinations including Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, two offshore islands.  Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy are home to underwater sculptures of the people of the island, designed to be an alternative to reef diving, to give coral reefs a break from the impacts of high numbers of divers and snorkellers. I would argue that the reefs in the Southern Mexico around Mahahual that are sheltered by the offshore shore atoll Banco Chinchorro are some of the best reefs to dive in Mexico. Mahahual reef runs just offshore from the small coastal town which only comes alive for a couple months of the year. The reef formation resembles underwater cliffs covered in coral with deep, narrow channels where schools of fish gather obscured by large overhanging sea fans.

 

Google Street View of underwater sculptures, Mexico. Photo courtesy XL Catlin Seaview Survey

 

Curaçao

 

Curaçao is a special place for novice divers because there is little current and most of the reefs line popular beaches and can be explored on your own. Navigation underwater is also straight forward because these are distinct fringing reef with no coral outcrops or spurs to confuse divers. Located in the southern Caribbean, Curaçao has been immune to hurricanes that have wiped out many reefs in the rest of the Caribbean. Favourite dive sites include Sea Aquarium, and East Point. If you ever wanted to know what reefs looked like in the 1970s you should dive these reefs, as they have retained the same coral formations.

 

Sea Aquarium Reef., Curacao Photo courtesy Anjani Ganase

St Vincent and Grenadines

 

We dived many sites around St Vincent the main island, and the Grenadines including Bequia, Union Island and the Tobago Cays. Similar to Tobago, the sponge communities of St Vincent and the Grenadines were impressive, especially along the submerged rock areas around St Vincent Island. The reefs of Mayreau Island in the Tobago Cays are stunning with lots of fish life, eagle rays and sleepy nurse sharks. Mayreau Gardens is home to an underwater carbon dioxide vent that makes the immediate reef conditions more acidic. Rather than being barren, the sponge communities have blossomed and some of the corals that grow close to the vent appear to have adapted to the acidic conditions. St Vincent and the Grenadines is the film destination for the Pirates of the Caribbean including the scene where Jack Sparrow is deserted on Petit Tabac in the Tobago Cays. Wallilabou Bay on the west coast of St Vincent is the set for Port Royale in the Pirates movie. 

 

St Giles Tobago. Photo courtesy The Maritime Ocean Collection

St Giles Island, Tobago

 

“Everything looks supersized!” is a comment that aptly reflects the dive site Melville Drift off St Giles. The dive site is wild both above and below. Before you hit the water you smell the bird guano from the colonies of Magnificent Frigatebirds and Booby birds nesting on the island. Below there are large schools of fish that swirl around the tops of large rocky bommies. The fish are larger, the brain corals are huge and grow over each other as they compete for space. The reef extends to the deep with visits from pelagic marine life. It’s one of the few places where there is such vibrant marine life in Tobago.