After returning from the first dive of the morning, had hot breakfast, eggs, Johnny cakes ( flat biscuits), refried beans.Had the first educational session on the health of the reef, how they have standardized the reef monitoring around the world, how this organization, Reef Conservation International (Reef CI) works with scientists in the US, Reef CI is the ears and eyes on the reef for the scientists. Reminds me of a Chautauqua for scuba divers ( Chautauqua is famous for learning vacations).

Prepared for another dive, returned and had lunch. There was a short rest time, another dive briefing and then the afternoon dive. Afterward, we had a lecture about the lion fish. The story goes, that an aquarium in Florida went out of business or had damage from a hurricane, and let a population of lion fish(LF) into the Atlantic ocean. The LF migrated down to the Caribbean Sea. In the Caribbean they had no natural predators, they are voracious eaters and gobble up baby reef fish. They are beautiful fish, striped with large wings, but at the end there are stinging spines. There are several interventions Reef Ci is going, they got permission to spear the LF eventhough the reef is protected. They are teaching the locals to eat them and sponsored a festive to give samples, ( we ate lots, they are tasty white fish), told us to ask for them in the restaurants, are teaching grouper fish and moray eels to eat them. They are everywhere.