How are the Reefs?
Global Climate Change is effecting coral reefs through bleaching and in addition our Cayman Reefs have recently had to stand up to the forces of Hurricane Ivan - Many divers who have never been to Cayman or have not visited since our big storm are very keen to learn about the conditions of the reefs.
All the images shown here were shot post Ivan and clearly demonstrate how alive and well our reefs are. Within the Caribbean region, the Cayman Islands is well positioned due to the very, very deep waters of the Cayman Trench which help to moderate our water temperatures between 79-86 degrees. If the water temperature increases above 88+ degrees, the hard corals are the first to show signs of stress.
The reefs and walls along the North Coast of Grand Cayman and East End did not suffer any damage from Hurricane Ivan and will be exactly as beautiful as you remember them. The South coast of Grand Cayman took the full force of the storm and did lose some sponge life- the hard corals, sea fans and other marine life were not effected in anyway. Now 3 years after, much of the sponge life (much faster growing than coral) has reestablished with new sponges growing out of the old root of the ones that were lost.
East End is well known for the blooms of Silver Sides that crowd dive sites such as Snapper Hole, Grouper Grotto and Iron Shore Gardens in our summer months. Even more happy than the divers, are the Tarpon and Jacks that wait year long for this feast.