On Wednesday morning, the DCP team went about our normal morning routines to prepare for the day. We spent the morning tackling photo ID’s, data entry, and field reports and tried to be as productive as possible before Mathew visited the Bimini Biological Field Station (i.e. the SharkLab) on South Bimini for a tour with some of the Hunter/Manhattan College students. There were no baby sharks for the group to see, but they did learn all about the projects being conducted by the researchers at the lab, including behavioral studies on lemon and tiger sharks around Bimini.
The boat trip for the day was not related to dolphins… However, it was awesome! Captain Al and Captain Kat brought the DCP team and their guests on a snorkel/alternative-sealife trip. We stopped at the wreckage of the Sapona, the concrete ship that ran aground during a hurricane in 1926 after a bit of time serving as a warehouse for liquor during the Prohibition. Now it’s a popular snorkel spot and we saw lots of cool fish, including French angelfish, yellow rays and lots of sergeant majors. Next we headed to Honeymoon Harbor, a cove that is a popular attraction for feeding and interacting with southern sting rays (and remoras, unfortunately). Our trip ended at Triangle Rocks where we got to observe and swim with Caribbean reef sharks. At each site, we saw exciting wildlife and witnessed multiple eras of the history of Bimini. It was a memorable experience and a great glimpse into the ecotourism trips that DCP and Bimini Adventures include in addition to dolphin trips. After returning to land, the DCP team returned home and began working on our nightly stretch of office work. As a break, Mathew went out to try pizza at Edith’s, and it is reportedly the best pizza he has ever had. We are looking forward to tomorrow’s beach cleanup with Hunter and Manhattan Colleges, and to our last boat trip. Wish us luck!
Until then,
Garion, Mathew, Nicole & Kel