Well everyone, at this early stage no real conclusions can be drawn about what we’re going to find in the deeper depths here in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, but so far, we have found more queen conch on one transect than we did on all the transects we did (40) at Lee Stocking Island! We’ve also observed more mating and egg masses as well, which means more reproduction too. More conchs! More reproduction! Could the Park be living up to its reputation?

Ted carefully lifts a mating pair of queen conch off the bottom. If you look closely you can see the male's verge stretching into the female's shell. photo by C. Booker

Our new volunteers are a great bunch of people. Andy and Ted were with us in the Berry Islands in 2009, and Peyton and Jasmine have joined us for the first time. And of course, we still have Adric with us. So, we’re getting everyone trained in the field, and just starting to get into our daily work rhythm. Stayed tuned for posts from the volunteers’ perspectives on the project and the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park!

The dive crew takes a lunch break in a protected cove. photo by C. Booker

Thanks for checking in…

Catherine