April 2017

Pez Maya

Incidental Sightings at Pez Maya

Objectives

To inspire volunteers to be more aware about the oceans current threats and encourage
them to spread awareness after the project.
To raise awareness about different species that can be seen in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
By entering the data collected; making long term, sustainable contributions towards key
global and local issues.

Summary

SCUBA diving is a sport unlike any other. For those that are lucky enough to call it their job, the number
one thing that you go underwater for is to enjoy the underwater world. Though mostly our studies
here at Pez Maya are directed specifically at either fish or coral, we do occasionally see other sea
creatures that we record and get excited about seeing. These include sharks, eels, turtles, dolphins,
and rays. We also record the amount of lionfish that we see, but record them differently than we do
for the other incidentals. This month in particular; we have seen a spike in incidental sightings, both
increasing moral to an even higher level amongst volunteers and staff, as well as raising the amount
of data that we are collecting and sending off to our partners.

Figure 1 Dolphin sighting

GVI.2017.1
Report
When we see any of the above animals, we record the size (in cm/meters), the depth (in
meters), the location it was spotted and what time during the day it was seen. By collecting
this data, we are able to send it off to our various partners. Most of our partners are focused
on tracking the biodiversity of the reefs in different areas of the world. As most of these
organizations are based solely on citizens sending in data, we are directly contributing

To the end results of their data base findings. Amigos de Sian Kaan look at data from various
areas of the world, as well as using the data to try and promote different public policies,
like the decree of protected areas and mandating urban development.

This month in particular, we have been fortunate enough to see an abundance of incidental
sightings. We have seen five turtles (three Loggerheads, two Hawksbill), seven rays (six
Caribbean, one Southern), two Moray eels (one spotted, one green), two Nurse sharks and
three Bottlenose dolphins. All of these animal sightings are great indicators for the health
of the reef systems; as well as increasing moral amongst the volunteers. Volunteers have
been beaming from ear to ear after leaving the water, sharing stories with the others on
base and their friends back home via social media.

Figure 2 Loggerhead Turtle Figure 3 Invasive Lionfish

We also have been looking out for Lionfish. Though an amazing fish, the Lionfish is an inva-
sive species in the Caribbean. Theyre an absolute nuisance to the ecosystems here; eating
juvenile fish at an incredible rate and reproducing even faster. The biggest problem is that
they do not have any natural predators On base we run an eradication programme. This
involves training volunteers to use Hawaiian slings in a safe manner to eliminate the Lionfish
we see. This month weve seen 19 lionfish and killed 6.

Even after volunteers have left Pez Maya, they continue to share different stories via social
media promoting the health of various marine organisms and new policies to further protect
the ocean. When you are face to face with such amazing creatures it is easy to understand
why so many people devote their lives to helping them. At Pez Maya base, we are trying to
inspire our volunteers to do everything that they can to help. Introducing them to these
different organizations, having them experience real life interactions with these animals
and educating them on ways that they can help protect them, all contribute to a world
where more people care about the ocean.

For more information on the projects here in Mexico, visit:

http://www.gvi.co.uk/location/yucatan/

GVI.2017.1