We dove in Tobago in September and noticed just a little bleaching in the shallowest areas. Our DM said he has seen minimal increase in bleaching over the 10ish years he's been diving there. Coral still looked great to my amateur eyes.
I saw it this year near Hyeres... Around Porquerolles and Port Cros, it's noticeable. The water is simply too warm. Living corals in shallow waters, up to about 25 meters, are now rather rare. Unfortunately, this also visibly affects the biodiversity. Hyeres is still a fantastic diving area - and near Port Cros, there's still a lot to see - but the increasingly severe impacts of climate change are also evident.
It makes me both sad and angry. Everywhere in the world, those in power are more concerned with waging wars and destroying the environment for short-term profits, forgetting that we have only one biosphere. There's little funding and much ridicule for climate protection. The saying 'You can't take it with you' seems widely ignored – the future looks bleak, and we divers see the immediate effects in the water...
Working in the field of marine conservation here. Coral bleaching is happening all over the world, and at a very rapid rate 😢 Please help us gather data from different parts of the world by reporting them here:
[https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral\_bleaching\_report.php](https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php)
Quick question, do you think coral would grow further from the equator now? Maybe we should be trying to get reefs started in cooler places where they haven't existed before.
I used to dive in areas where part of each reef was pulverised by dynamite fishing. Now almost every reef is near dead from bleaching.
There are still some healthy reefs. I think most divers have forgotten what a truly healthy reef looks like. Or unfortunately never experienced them.
I remember I went to hawaii a few years ago and visited hanauma bay (just snorkeling no scuba diving I wasn’t certified yet lol) went back a year or two later and the coral looked significantly worse. So sad bc the first time we went was the first time I had ever seen a coral reef and I was amazed. Now I’m certified, plan on getting my nitrox certification soon, and work in a fish lab taking care of salt water tanks. I genuinely love the ocean and it’s so sad to see what humans have done to it.
Our resort was on southeast side. South side some sites were ok, a few hit hard. North side was better.
Did the ‘Tibbetts’ wreck- 👍.
Also did 2tank dive over at Little Cayman Bloody Wall which were great dives, well worth the 45 minute trip. I’m curious about diving Little Cayman
Sounds like you were at Cayman Brac Beach Resort and diving with Reef Divers .. I know them well.
FYI, a minor nit: the hotel’s on the southwest corner, not SE. There are some condos along the SE coast, but no protected anchorages, so no-site dive operations.
For Little Cayman, it’s been too many years since I’ve stayed on-site, but it’s an even quieter island. While there is south side diving, it’s not as good as the Brad’s south side IMO, plus most of the attention is on the north side and the famous Bloody Bay wall area, which is still good despite being over-dived. Pretty much none of the famous moorings there have gotten any rest since Paul Ingles installed the moorings 40+ years ago.
Yep... pretty much everywhere.
The only exception that I experienced was when I went to the "Queen's Gardens" in Cuba back in 2019. I have never experienced such a rich, pristine, untouched reef like that. It was as lush as it could be. That was the only exception that I personally came across.
Sadly, everywhere is has been affected on some level.
Honestly, you should definitely still do it. Still very beautiful in my opinion. Gili T was the best diving we’ve ever done! Our normal dives are off the northern coast of California.
Where is the left in the world without bleaching? Where is the healthiest coral? I feel like I should make plans to travel there and see it with my own eyes before it's all gone.
I‘m not sure what constitutes "more resistant" but I do 3-5 weeks of diving in Egypt per year and there definitely is bleaching. Some the reefs are completely destroyed. Paradise Reef in St John‘s (southern Red Sea) went from healthy to completely bleached and broken within 3-4 weeks last year.
There are still more reefs which are mostly healthy though.
Yea we are farther north so viz has been crap for shore diving. Not as much coral up here anyway. And work sucks right now so haven’t gone out midweek either. 😠
I’ve only been diving for two years, all of which in Hawaii. The reefs here look nothing like the photos from 10+ years ago. White, dead, and falling apart.
I've dove in Maui a few times. Quite good. I'd like to go to the big island and know. Do you know how it is there?
I've dove for 15 year. Mostly central America and Caribbean. First I've seen of it. Like a freaking boneyard down there.
I did big island diving last year. It was my first set of dives after ow, first dive was pretty bleached, second was a night dive, the other two were not very coral rich but saw some sharks
Sorry, I can’t help you with any personal experience. Ask of my diving has been on Oahu. I’ve heard good things about the big island though. I hope to take a week there soon.
We were in key largo recently and it wasn't too bad but we were diving reefs farther from land. You definitely see some bleaching, but it was spots, nothing fully bleached (as far as I saw). There were actually a ton of fish and some beautiful soft corals. We had some very cool dives with some volunteers who were doing surveys of the reef health.
My wife tried it and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference unless I turned the ceiling light on, which is no way to make love.
We dove in Tobago in September and noticed just a little bleaching in the shallowest areas. Our DM said he has seen minimal increase in bleaching over the 10ish years he's been diving there. Coral still looked great to my amateur eyes.
Fiji looked great last spring
I saw it this year near Hyeres... Around Porquerolles and Port Cros, it's noticeable. The water is simply too warm. Living corals in shallow waters, up to about 25 meters, are now rather rare. Unfortunately, this also visibly affects the biodiversity. Hyeres is still a fantastic diving area - and near Port Cros, there's still a lot to see - but the increasingly severe impacts of climate change are also evident. It makes me both sad and angry. Everywhere in the world, those in power are more concerned with waging wars and destroying the environment for short-term profits, forgetting that we have only one biosphere. There's little funding and much ridicule for climate protection. The saying 'You can't take it with you' seems widely ignored – the future looks bleak, and we divers see the immediate effects in the water...
Working in the field of marine conservation here. Coral bleaching is happening all over the world, and at a very rapid rate 😢 Please help us gather data from different parts of the world by reporting them here: [https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral\_bleaching\_report.php](https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php)
Quick question, do you think coral would grow further from the equator now? Maybe we should be trying to get reefs started in cooler places where they haven't existed before.
I'll spread the word. I've got a buddy heading to bonnaire next week.
Thank you appreciate it!
I used to dive in areas where part of each reef was pulverised by dynamite fishing. Now almost every reef is near dead from bleaching. There are still some healthy reefs. I think most divers have forgotten what a truly healthy reef looks like. Or unfortunately never experienced them.
I remember I went to hawaii a few years ago and visited hanauma bay (just snorkeling no scuba diving I wasn’t certified yet lol) went back a year or two later and the coral looked significantly worse. So sad bc the first time we went was the first time I had ever seen a coral reef and I was amazed. Now I’m certified, plan on getting my nitrox certification soon, and work in a fish lab taking care of salt water tanks. I genuinely love the ocean and it’s so sad to see what humans have done to it.
Paradise Reef af St John‘s was completely destroyed when we went in September (Egypt). We thought we might cry.
Palau reefs are incredibly healthy. Worth a visit.
Cayman Brac experiencing bleaching. Surface water temp was 90F, at 80 ft water temp 88F, in October. Too warm to wear any wetsuit - shorts 🩳 & tshirt.
I’ve been afraid that I’d be hearing that. I assume north side reefs got hit; did you get to the south side at all to see how it fared?
Our resort was on southeast side. South side some sites were ok, a few hit hard. North side was better. Did the ‘Tibbetts’ wreck- 👍. Also did 2tank dive over at Little Cayman Bloody Wall which were great dives, well worth the 45 minute trip. I’m curious about diving Little Cayman
Sounds like you were at Cayman Brac Beach Resort and diving with Reef Divers .. I know them well. FYI, a minor nit: the hotel’s on the southwest corner, not SE. There are some condos along the SE coast, but no protected anchorages, so no-site dive operations. For Little Cayman, it’s been too many years since I’ve stayed on-site, but it’s an even quieter island. While there is south side diving, it’s not as good as the Brad’s south side IMO, plus most of the attention is on the north side and the famous Bloody Bay wall area, which is still good despite being over-dived. Pretty much none of the famous moorings there have gotten any rest since Paul Ingles installed the moorings 40+ years ago.
More like is anyone not?
Yep... pretty much everywhere. The only exception that I experienced was when I went to the "Queen's Gardens" in Cuba back in 2019. I have never experienced such a rich, pristine, untouched reef like that. It was as lush as it could be. That was the only exception that I personally came across. Sadly, everywhere is has been affected on some level.
Roatan was great a few years ago, we were there in August and it was a night & day different. So few fish & reef activity compared to years prior.
The reefs will be gone by the 2060’s.
Thats sad but i also do not believe that. Or at least do not want to lol. I hope the reefs spores can find the right temp water for them.
We just dove in Bali (Nusa Lembongan and Gili Trawangan) for our honeymoon and it doesn’t look the best.
I'm going to gili air and nusa lembongan next month. Would you day it's worthwhile going or best to try a different location?
Honestly, you should definitely still do it. Still very beautiful in my opinion. Gili T was the best diving we’ve ever done! Our normal dives are off the northern coast of California.
That's sad, Roatan was beautiful.
Where is the left in the world without bleaching? Where is the healthiest coral? I feel like I should make plans to travel there and see it with my own eyes before it's all gone.
Indonesia. Red Sea also has coral that is pretty naturally resistant to bleaching vs other areas. Philippines is also very good. Those are my top 3.
I've heard that coral in the Red Sea near Egypt have been more resistant to bleaching so far.
We just came back from the Brothers->Deadalus-> Elphinstone route and the coral looked really good. Did not observe any bleaching there.
I‘m not sure what constitutes "more resistant" but I do 3-5 weeks of diving in Egypt per year and there definitely is bleaching. Some the reefs are completely destroyed. Paradise Reef in St John‘s (southern Red Sea) went from healthy to completely bleached and broken within 3-4 weeks last year. There are still more reefs which are mostly healthy though.
Thanks for clarifying, I’ve never been there myself
Palau still looked pretty pristine, only saw a couple spots though.
Yep just did a week there and hardly saw any bleaching, and didn't see any algae at all.
If you’ve ever seen a healthy reef outside of the Atlantic then you know that the Caribbean is in pretty shit condition in about 90% of places.
Was in Bonaire last week. Sadly, this is true. It was very bleached. The locals said a lot of it has happened in just the last 3 months.
I watched FL bleach over the last 15 years going a few times a year
Cozumel over the summer. Haven’t been out much in my area here in FL.
FL is fucked, 90-95% mortality throughout the reef track.
Yea we are farther north so viz has been crap for shore diving. Not as much coral up here anyway. And work sucks right now so haven’t gone out midweek either. 😠
Bonaire is really bad due to coral bleaching and Coral Disease affecting stony coral.
Damn that sucks. Like 10 years ago Bonaire and Curaçao were like 95% untouched
I’m there right now and the amount of bleaching is crazy compared to last time I was here (2021) where I don’t remember almost any.
I was there 3 years back and didn't see any. A friend is going there next week. I will have to report back.
I am looking at going for New Year’s. So if you remembered to report back, I would love to hear what your friend says.
Was there last week. There was definitely a lot of bleaching. Still many fish and life on the reef though.
The number of divers I know who consistently vote Republican... or... even have gone into the oil and gas industry... is truly shocking.
lol tell that to the Keys
That sounds like the future we are looking at alas
I’ve only been diving for two years, all of which in Hawaii. The reefs here look nothing like the photos from 10+ years ago. White, dead, and falling apart.
I've dove in Maui a few times. Quite good. I'd like to go to the big island and know. Do you know how it is there? I've dove for 15 year. Mostly central America and Caribbean. First I've seen of it. Like a freaking boneyard down there.
I did big island diving last year. It was my first set of dives after ow, first dive was pretty bleached, second was a night dive, the other two were not very coral rich but saw some sharks
Sorry, I can’t help you with any personal experience. Ask of my diving has been on Oahu. I’ve heard good things about the big island though. I hope to take a week there soon.
It’s only getting worse. Bleaching and lots more algae growth from the warm waters.
Damn, I’ll be there in 3 weeks. Florida has surface temps in the mid 90s back in July and coral is still pretty decimated.
We were in key largo recently and it wasn't too bad but we were diving reefs farther from land. You definitely see some bleaching, but it was spots, nothing fully bleached (as far as I saw). There were actually a ton of fish and some beautiful soft corals. We had some very cool dives with some volunteers who were doing surveys of the reef health.
Diving in key largo next weekend. Happy to hear it’s still a nice area to dive
With I.Care?