There are so many fascinating parts of nature to explore, and that can be said especially for the marine world. Massive aggregations of schooling fish congregate each year to their transient spawning grounds to breed with one another and continue the fate of their species. Once in abundance around the Caribbean Sea, Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) have been overfished in many of their former ranges and have since become listed as endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list for threatened Species. Their predictable spawning aggregation cycles that occurs annually from the months of January to March a few days after the full moon make them especially vulnerable to fishing harvests. On the promontory ledges of steep walls, rare moments of life occurring unforeseen by most of the human population happen in a rapid dash of color changing fish spiraling towards the surface, followed by a flash of cloudy fertilized gametes. I have been invited to stay in Little Cayman Island for the next ten days by Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, director of science for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), along with her husband Dr. Brice Semmens, assistant professor for Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to assist with data collection for Nassau grouper spawning aggregation. The project is called the
Grouper Moon Project because the event is triggered by the rise of a full moon that coincides with a drop in the water temperature and shift in ocean currents. Fish from around the islands here in the Caymans leave their local residence and travel to meet thousands of other Nassau grouper standing by for courtship. The dive schedule is intense with three dives per day taking survyes at depths of 80 to 100 feet to count these fish and investigate their population size as well as when the spawning will actually occur. Until now, I have seen one Nassau grouper on Molasses Reef in Key Largo that measured about 40 cm. It is incredible to think that I will soon be swimming among thousand s of schooling fish in sizes greater than half a meter in length. I can’t wait for all the action to get started.
