Today was such a great day. Our project of the day was trying to determine what common parrotfish species eat on or outside of the reef. We first snorkeled off the dock where Sam and I (snorkel buddies) looked for stoplight parrotfish. We found a few small female parrotfish and one large male, but they were very hard to watch eating since they kept darting between coral. I did however see a large nurse shark though! It was on the outskirts of the reef hanging on the sea floor beneath some coral. 

After lunch I was hanging around the dock when I saw another nurse shark! Like the first day at Glover’s Reef, this shark was swimming under and beside the dock. It was relatively large and very majestic. After watching for a few minutes I also saw a small lemon shark swim by! This shark was seeming just wandering around the sea grasses. 

(lemon shark)

Our second snorkel of the day took us further into the lagoon. We snorkeled two sites in search of stoplight parrotfish and we got some great footage of them eating. Tomorrow we will compare our findings with people analyzing other parrotfish! On these reefs I also found multiple anemones, saw many wrasses, and found gorgeous conchs. 

(Analyzing parrotfish data)

I’m looking forward to getting back on the water soon! 

Claire C