It's interesting to me that the 2017 map looks better than the 2016 map. You would think that the bleaching would just get worse year by year, and definitely not progress back within that time frame. Unfortunately the reporter doesn't trust us enough to explain that kind of interesting phenomenon. We just need an Orwellian "double plus bad" when it comes to global warming articles.

2 weeks ago dove in caribbean for first time in nearly 20 years and was disheartened by the drop in life and diversity in general

I've noticed the same thing on a Cuban dive site that we've visited numerous times over twenty years. I'm sure there was more fish life 20 yrs ago. Its an area also noted for seeing whale shark migrations at certain times of the year. The dive masters have told me you don't see nearly as many as you used to.

Did you see any lionfish? Some dink introduced lionfish to the Caribbean and they have no natural predators. Apparently they are houvering up a lot of the smaller fish. Overfishing can decimate areas quickly too especially when done during spawning times. Sucks what people are doing to the oceans.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

yes, we saw many lion fish. The Dive Master reported they spear them when there is no risk of injury to other divers. Local gift shops were selling jewelry made of killed lionfish

The good news is that we're not seeing as many as five years ago where we dive in Cuba. The Cubans have a concentrated effort and are trying their best to eradicate them as much as possible. The dive masters are now always carrying spear guns and shoot one or two on almost every dive. They are also having spear fish tournaments where large numbers of local divers try to catch as many as possible. The upside is that they are quite tasty. I'm sure they can never get rid of them, but at least it helps to keep their numbers down.

Thank God. Of all the problems facing Cuba, it sounds like lion fish is the worst.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

I was wondering how long it would be before someone would show up and try to politicize this thread. Obviously not long. At least you beat windywave. The lion fish problem is not unique to Cuba. The little bastards are effecting the entire Caribbean. But you should give the Cuban government credit for taking the lead in the area by at least trying to do something about it. It may surprise you but Cuba is actually one of the most ecological aware countries in the world. Something like 22% of the island is designated for conservation purposes.

This may also surprise you.

http://www.cubamar.org/

http://www.cubamar.org/...igation-project.html

There was something on CBC radio about a year ago about the lionfish problem on the Atlantic side of Columbia. The gov't and the Catholic church got together and promoted eating lionfish on Fridays. Eventually some local predator will start eating them I guess.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I was reading awhile ago about a project where they are trying to train sharks to eat lion fish. Can't remember which country, might have been Belize.

Dude, you trying to short circuit CG? You can't be talking about a joint government-Catholic solution that would solve Cuba's problem.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Cuba is officially an atheist country although there are lots of practicing Catholics. Fidel himself was brought up by Jesuits. But Cuba was never an official Catholic only country even before Castro. Another little known fact - There are Jews, Protestants, Muslims and Buddhist minorities in Cuba for several generations.

My bad

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I feel bad for the guy who got volunteered to dress up like a lion fish, flop around, and yell "Eat me! I'm delicious!"

In related news, we need a "how to cook an f'n lion fish" thread.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

Not to be flippant but did you ever consider the fact the you and hundreds (thousands) of divers going to this site "numerous times over twenty" are a significant contributor to this problem?

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

As long as reposnsible practices are followed (I know, a long shot) - fixed moorings, DMs enforcing behavior etc, there should be little impact from dive activities. I've seen both, reefs hammered by overuse and reefs I've done dozens of times that remain healthy. My understanding in the GBR (at least as of the last time I was there about a decade ago) was that they would rotate reefs available for diving to help avoid this

But in Cuba, I can't imagine there's a whole lot of responsible management going on. Although at least until now those reefs aren't seeing GBR type numbers

The biggest risk to reefs, especially in Indo, is irresponsible fishing practices by locals (blasting and/or chemicals)

Actually no. Its relatively isolated, not like Cozumel for example. I've read the reason the whale sharks are less frequent is due to shifting plankton patterns (their main source of food) which the apparent suspect is ocean warming.

Yes, of course. It's the warming. How silly of me to think otherwise.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Not silly at all. Everybody knows that global warming is a hoax started by the Chinese. Just ask Don.

The liberal & socialist corals are doing it on purpose to weaken the American economy.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's