By KEVIN WADLOW

A diver is surrounded by marine life that has enveloped the 'Spiegel Grove' since it was sunk off Key Largo 10 years ago. Now the military says allowing its former ships to be used as artificial reefs no longer will happen.

Four military shipwrecks scuttled in Florida Keys waters to attract scuba divers may be among the last of their kind.

Tighter rules on sinking retired military ships as artificial reefs would prevent reef organizations from acquiring ships like the Vandenberg, Spiegel Grove, Duane or Bibb.

Posted - Thursday, February 07, 2013 01:28 PM EST

Redlip blennies have defined territories which they defend vigorously against other redlip blennies. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

Some fish just have an irresistible appeal to me. While I like the thrill of encountering an animal larger than me, the tiny critters are often just as interesting to observe. All those little folks that inhabit small portions of the reef have an important role in everyday reef ecology.

Posted - Thursday, January 31, 2013 04:17 PM EST

A bicolor damselfish retreats to its core territory. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

This year is beginning on an interesting note. There is a lot going on that is relevant to the diving community and may influence how we interact with the reef. Over the course of the year, we will examine these topics as they unfold.

Posted - Thursday, January 17, 2013 06:30 PM EST

Tim Grollimund

Spadefish cruise among the barrel sponges on the deep side of Molasses Reef. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

When I lived in Virginia Beach I was pals with a couple spearfishermen. About 12 miles off the coast lies Chesapeake Light Tower, where we used go for a festive day on the water.

Posted - Thursday, January 03, 2013 06:41 PM EST

Creole wrasses cruise through the south end of Molasses reef near the pillar coral. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

While I was researching goatfish for the last column, I realized there is another group I have not paid enough attention to in my reef travels. Wrasses.

Posted - Thursday, December 20, 2012 06:38 PM EST

Tim Grollimund

A spotted goatfish digs in while a yellowhead wrasse waits for its share of the findings. (Photo by TIM GROLLIMUND)

DIVE TIME

More often than not, I don’t pay much attention to individual goatfish. Seeing large schools of yellow goatfish at a place like Snapper Ledge always makes for a great dive.

Photographing a spotted goatfish at night with its bright colors on display is also a favorite goatfish observation.

But a goatfish here and there with its barbels flailing away creating a cloud of sand and debris is not my preferred set up for a clear image.

Posted - Friday, December 07, 2012 01:39 PM EST

Pillar coral, found at reefs throughout the Keys, is among the coral species that would be added to the Endangered Species list.

Seven corals found in Florida Keys waters could be added to the list of oceanic species federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The decision announced Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will bring federal officials to the Keys for public comment hearings Jan. 15 and 16.

"We've watched the changes on our reef over the years and the loss of coral has been significant," said Judy Halas of Key Largo, who has been diving Keys reefs for more than four decades as an author and activist.

Posted - Wednesday, December 05, 2012 10:45 AM EST

Courtesy NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

Members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers use tape measures to chart a Key Largo wreck formally identified this week as the cargo steamship 'Hannah M. Bell.' The ship sank in April 1911 while carrying coal to Mexico.

Sunken remains of a steamship lying on the Key Largo reef for more than a century now have an official name -- the Hannah M. Bell.

Archaeologists with the federal Office of National Marine Sanctuaries confirmed this week that everything known about the shipwreck matches up with recorded descriptions of the Hannah M. Bell, which sunk on April 4, 1911.

Posted - Sunday, November 25, 2012 09:00 AM EST

A sharpnose puffer in its night colors finds a divot on a sponge for a bed. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

Back in the 1980s, when I became a certified diver, the handling of animals was viewed a bit differently than it seems to be nowadays. On those early trips I remember the Cheez Whiz cans, taunting an octopus or a turtle, and some other stuff I’d rather not mention in the era of modern etiquette. Among these antics, making a puffer fish bloat was always an entertaining event.

Posted - Friday, November 23, 2012 11:04 AM EST

Tim Grollimund

A juvenile whale shark seeks a handful of shrimp from a fisherman. (Photos by Tim Grollimund)

Dive Time with Tim Grollimund

Anticipation. Like the ketchup falling from the bottle in that old TV commercial, we are anticipating a visit with whale sharks near Oslob, in the Southern Visayas, Philippines. We are on the Philippine Siren running ahead of the wind to a safe harbor.

Posted - Thursday, November 08, 2012 04:11 PM EST