[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ugust is a transition month for many operators in North Eleuthera as many hotels, restaurants, businesses have, or are preparing to, wind down and reopen in November.
For divers it’s a great month as there is very warm water to dive in 85° to 86°, lots of sunshine and flatter oceans to explore the wildlife.
I wanted to alert and remind many of our divers/snorkelers to beware of conservation as a means to help preserve our underwater creatures. This past season I have personally noticed some interesting, but both positive and negative events around our islands: turtle shells from recently slaughtered/speared turtles, very few conch and conch eggs compared to four years ago, fewer sightings of lobster, as well as more deterioration of coral reefs with algae, and sand taking over where once healthy coral prospered.
The fun is there to be had, but education to ensure it’s not at the cost of the balance of nature is a theme we hope will be embraced by more and more people. Although not scientific, after 700 dives personally in over 35 dive/snorkel sites, I am seeing fewer and fewer lionfish.
Hopefully we will see you out in the ocean enjoying the beauty of Eleutheran waters and witnessing the wide variety of aquatic life!