Coral Bleaching in Dominica!
OH NO! We’ve recorded temperatures of up to 89 degrees, and coral bleaching at Tube Reef in Toucari Bay!
This brain coral was surveyed at a 4/5 color score just 4 weeks ago, now it is completely bleached scoring a 1/2. Photo taken by one of our divers on October 19 at Tube Reef
In the time between AWARE Week and the beginning of October (barely 2 weeks) some of our previously surveyed corals have taken a turn and are showing significant signs of bleaching where there were none before. This is a drastic change in such a short amount of time, that is visible to the naked and even untrained eye.
There has been a drastic change in water temperatures and the pigmentation of our corals particularly the lettuce corals, brain corals, encrusting gorgonian, fire corals and mustard hill corals. We have seen 95-100% bleached corals in water as shallow as 12 inches and as deep as 95ft!
It’s times like these when the air temps are hot, there is little to no rain or runoff to cool the waters that our shallow corals really suffer, and we are seeing that first hand in this bleaching event.
Kayla recording her data on the Coral Watch survey Slate
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Divers & Snorkelers can get up to 15% off regular price dives/snorkels and even coral watch specialty certifications if they survey corals during their in water experience! The more data we get the better we can track coral health, and scientists and researchers around the world can get a better idea of the impacts of rising sea temps on coral health and bleaching events like this!
Taking part in citizen science like Coral Watch is a great way to give back, be an eco tourist, or just do something cool on your next dive / snorkel!
Book your coral watch dive at the button below and learn how you can earn the Coral Watch Specialty as a diver or snorkeler - this offer is good on dives until December 31 2019.
(sale prices already applied to click through link- cannot be used with other promotions / discounts or event pricing)
You can also receive a 10% discount on any other Project AWARE specialties certifications including: against debris, coral reef conservation, peak performance buoyancy and project AWARE specialty through the end of the year! (non divers can participate and receive certification for coral reef conservation / coral watch & project AWARE specialty) by using the code TEAMOCEAN10
