The weather seemed like it was going to wreck everything but with Mother Earth we can expect anything. Within an hour the skies cleared and the sun was out again. Members of the Hub car pooled to the Four Seasons Resort at Baie Lazare to spend the afternoon with WISEOCEANS and the marine creatures that lies beneath the ocean surface in the Petit Anse Bay. WISEOCEANS have been congratulated for their reef restoration project which they have set up at the Petit Anse bay. The afternoon started with an introduction to the marine life hosted within the Bay and it all seemed fanciful at first. Would we really see rays, clams, three different types of corals and a white tip shark? The presenters Charlotte and Jo gave us a few fun facts which we will remember forever such as the parrot fish eats coral and then poops a white powder which then in turn is sand. The shocking statistic that 70% of sandy beaches is made parrot fish poop and a large parrot fish can create up to one tonne of sand per year made our day. We were equally impressed with the sea star fish which can grow new limbs if one is detached.
We then quickly made our way to the ocean for our guided snorkel. We were placing our fins onto our feet and the announcement came: an eagle ray was passing by. We instinctively placed our faces in the water and there it was swimming magnificently by. We began making our way out and we were not so far out were the beauty of the marine creatures vividly appeared. Most of the fish we had seen on the photographs were here swimming with us. We had the privilege of seeing a school of eagle rays, a school of parrot fish, a sea star fish, sea cucumber, a clam, and many others. However we were marked by the state of the corals. Many of them were showing signs of stress. They had been either been bleached or turning purple or blue which are colours showing their unhealthy state. This has not been helped by the temperature of the water which has been more than 28 degrees which is not conducive for the growth of corals. With the announcement that March was the warmest month in a hundred odd years make this very worrying. SYAH-Seychelles is rooting for the success of the reef restoration project which is slowly but surely helping the current state of affairs. For everyone who feels like they are not an environmentalist, fact: the more healthy corals we have the more fish we have so it’s all about food security for our growing population. HAPPY EARTH DAY! #education #action #fun View some photos here
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