Quote:
Originally Posted by fdpaq0580
Agree! Right now corals are a little like the canary in the coal mine. The canary will die as an indication the air is poison. The coral dieoff is an indication the the oceans are not healthy for living things.
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With snorkel or Scuba when on a LIVING Coral Reef as soon as their head goes under the water........a fantastic 3D living light show begins.........the diver is surrounded by vibrant LIVING multicolored coral and on a good visibility day, they will see about 10,000 small brightly colored fish swimming in schools right next to them. You reach out to touch one and the fish and the school move effortlessly and slowly away from that touch as if in NO way do they resent your being there. You may see 3 or 4-lb fish swimming in the coral and protected by it. You WILL see barracuda - small ones around 1 foot long about I every 10 ft. From time to time, you will see a 4 ft long barracuda and you will NEVER forget it. The 2 rows of their deadly teeth move up and down with a scissor-like action and can be VERY intimidating. Many experienced divers will leave the water more often for a large barracuda than even a shark, which are rarely seen. Also rare, for me, was a closeup encounter with a large sea turtle, which are not aggressive, but beautiful in coloration and movement when underwater. There are also sea urchins and Moray Eels that are NOT beautiful and are to be AVOIDED..
........Diving in freshwater is a completely different experience - the fish are dull gray in color and fewer in number. They rapidly swim away from you. It is boring.
Because diving on a Goral Reef is such a SPECIAL fantasy world away from the surface world.........the divers are particularly saddened as THAT wonderful world is SLOWLY dying due to various pollutants such as EXCESS CO2 produced from man's overdependence on burning fossil fuels in IC engines. As long as you see tailpipe smoke from an automobile, a factory, an OIL drilling, or a forest fire you are seeing the demise of the coral reef and all the ocean life that depends on CORAL.