Fish TV in Tavernier

13 Active Divers set out on a lovely afternoon to explore the reefs of Tavernier with Conch Republic Divers. 

Dive 1: Alligator Ledge - The first site brought us to the site of the famous Alligator Lighthouse so the ICARE coral restoration professionals could check on their outplants. 

Seas were calm, the water was a balmy 88 degrees and there was an abundance of marine life to explore below at a max depth of 24 feet. 

We saw a lot of lovely creatures on Alligator Ledge, including this beautiful, clean green sea turtle. We also encountered two cuddly eels who were involved in a mating ritual in the rocks. I have never seen eels pay attention to each other before, so love was clearly in the air! 

^{Tavernier divers (from left): back row - Rachel Davis, Mo Smith, John Davis, Annelise Brown, Jeff Roth. Middle row - Kyle Weisenberg, Amber Laureano, Angelica Cookson, Sheila Schlafly, Ralph Doerner. Front row - Federico Quintana, Adriana Campa, Robert Bloomfield.} 

Dive 2: Crocker/Pleasure Reef - We specifically requested the site where Capt. Slate does his Creature Feature to see lots of nurse sharks and eels, and this site did not disappoint. 

A mild current was present on this dive so the boat crew rigged up ropes to pull ourselves along to the bow of the boat and down the anchor line where the action was. It was here that we encountered several huge balls of fish and a few nurse sharks sweeping over the ledge. 

Near the end of the dive Amber called the group over to see a huge Goliath grouper hanging out on top of the reef. It was very friendly and didn't mind the divers close observation. 

At the end of the dive we enjoyed whiling away the final minutes transfixed by the great balls of fish in front of us. I dubbed this "Fish TV" - much more enticing than anything on "Real TV!"

Underwater photos by Annelise Brown and Sheila Schlafly.