Our day dawned with a slight orange hue to the sky … the wind was still up and the current stronger with less underwater visibility. Still, my team was ready and willing to assist with a data collection session. 
I was able to collect ~13 minutes of video with dolphins mostly not in view due to the current. Still, we saw play and object play – Trixie showed off the puffer fish she pulled from the bottom (featured photo). She, Kami and Gizmo also wrestled a bit … or maybe just rolled over each other! Gizmo also kept an eye on me with a few close passes to my right. Kami found my weight belt tail and tried to pull on it. All-in-all a good data collection session, even though brief!
Don, Bill and Will did two more dives on the south side of Roatan this morning and saw an Atlantic spade fish, a HUGE lobster, and a scorpion fish to name few. The afternoon was spent rinsing gear, packing cases, and enjoying the last rays of sunshine before an early evening drizzle.
It’s been a good week with 5 data collection sessions yielding about 3 hours of video with the MVA camera and two GoPros. We will be kept busy logging these videos and then coding them for various dolphin behaviors. Our next visit is January 1, 2025, with the CSU group. Until then, happy holiday season to all!
Cheers
Kathleen, Bill, Don & Will – DCP’s 2024 October Ecotour Crew