Dive Time with Tim Grollimund
Two ways to engage the reef
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Posted - Friday, December 23, 2011 11:01 AM EST
Sealed with a kiss, the underwater engagement takes effect. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)
Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot a couple getting engaged underwater. Although the actual question and answer (a yes, of course) took place the night before, we had a great day on the reef. We set out with the happy couple, David Frisk and Monica Winston, and had Pete “NetDoc” Murray from ScubaBoard — decked out as Santa — and Elena Rodriguez from Florida Keys Dive Center on board.
We dove the Spiegel Grove and Deep French. It was a bumpy day — threes and fours — but no current at either site.
On the Spiegel Grove I had the pleasure of watching a Spanish hogfish and bar jack patrolling side by side on the top of the superstructure. I have never been able to get close to that behavior before. I was so enthralled by the tandem event I did not notice a big stingray in the background until I was processing the images later. I just swam right by the stingray with tunnel vision on the hogfish and bar jack. Makes me wonder how many times I’ve done that and not known what else I missed.
You really had to see the ring to get a feel for the day. It was almost as big as a doorknob. I think it was originally crafted for Paul Bunyan’s girlfriend. And even though it was a prop, it served David and Monica well. It was much easier to show that ring off to the reef dwellers than a regular-sized ring. But even with its enormous carat quantity, the were no attempted snatch-and-go episodes on the reef. That may also have been because we had Santa with us, so the naughty-or-nice variable was in the equation.
As I was honing in on a grouper cleaning station under a little arch near the ledge on Deep French, suddenly Santa grabbed my fin. I thought I’d been naughty, which happens more often than I will ever admit. But no, I was on Santa’s good list this time, and he steered me to a scorpionfish perched right on the ledge edge. Great set up.
Monica presented the ring for inspection to the scorpionfish, but he was not at all interested. Bet he’s been dumped a time or two.
Deep French is a great spot. I am a big fan of the deeper edges of the reef, and when we can’t dive Deep Molasses because the conditions are unfavorable, we scoot up to Deep French. Both mooring balls have a good variety of ledge and slope, and there is even some black coral near the bottom of the drop off on the southern edge.
Most of the time the visibility is a bit less than Deep Molasses, but these are good dives that not many operators frequent. It’s an entirely different experience than the shallow reefs, with large barrel sponges and plenty of angelfish to get your attention.
Congratulations to David and Monica. They are thinking about getting married at the end of the ScubaBoard Invade Cozumel trip in July. The wedding will be underwater — where else? I hope I get to shoot that event as well.
I have to shift gears here to give you an update on the Snapper Ledge petition. You may recall the piece on Snapper Ledge in August (DIVE TIME, Aug. 5) and the positive flavor of the October Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting (DIVE TIME, Nov. 11).
The SAC met on Dec. 13 in Key West. I talked with SAC member Suzie Roebling at the REEF Christmas party that evening. She was quite enthusiastic about the Snapper Ledge petition being addressed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Dave Makepeace, another SAC member, also had a positive feel for the Snapper Ledge topic, saying it’s “potentially encouraging” that some protection from fishing could be accomplished faster through the SAFMC procedure.
I asked Sean Morton, Sanctuary Superintendent, how this process will work. He forwarded the petition to the SAFMC to be considered as an Ecosystem-based Management topic during their amendment process that begins in early 2012. That’s the quickest way to address Snapper Ledge. Sean was also quite encouraged by the SAFMC approach. He put me in touch Myra Brouwer, who is the staff person responsible for assisting the SAFMC for snapper grouper management, one of the categories in their purview.
What I learned was there are two elements in play. A memorandum of understanding exists between FKNMS and SAFMC regarding potential action items that involve fishing. In this case, the SAFMC will only address the fishing regulation for the area, and the full SPA designation is another process that will take more time.
Myra was very gracious and willing to explain to a regulatory-impaired novice like me the next steps. In late January or February — dates to be announced — the public scoping process will begin. There will be a scoping in Key Largo, so stay tuned for the date. I am looking forward to attending this and would welcome some company. Please email me if you want to attend. I hope we can assemble a sizable group to show up in support of Snapper Ledge.
Bottom line, maybe this time next year Snapper Ledge will be a no-fishing zone. That’s the earliest we can hope for. I am very encouraged that Sean has been sensitive to the concerns over the area and escalated it to the fastest track pragmatically available. Those of us that see the unique qualities of Snapper Ledge and support a no-take zone petition should be grateful to Sean Morton for escalating the petition and to Myra Brouwer for placing this on their amendment list for immediate consideration.
Tim Grollimund is a freelance photographer and PADI divemaster based in Key Largo. He can be reached at tim@timgimages.com or through his web site at www.timgimages.com. Keep tabs on his activity for the Coral Restoration Foundation at www.timgimages.com/crlogbook.
