There are certain dive trips that are the Holy Grail to divers. We were fortunate enough to take part in one such trip – Coral spawning at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary with the Women Divers Hall of Fame whose members are the pioneers, leaders, innovators and world record holders throughout the international diving community.
WDHoF Coral Spawning Group
Coral spawning is, well basically, coral sex. This happens during a few hours on just one night each year, typically 7-10 days after the full moon in August in the Flower Gardens. While the general dates are known, the exact date and time is truly a guess to researchers as no one knows exactly how the corals coordinate this between the species and it’s different between reefs all over the world. Every year during the expected dates, the MV Fling makes a trip in hopes of witnessing this spectacular display. Unfortunately, the trip for the spawning dates this year was reserved for a private charter by the Women Divers Hall of Fame.
As you may recall, in June we made a discovery of the first ever Nail Sea Star found at the FGBNMS. That discovery paved the way for a relationship with the FGBNMS Research Coordinator, who is also a member of WDHoF. During our communications over the Sea Star we jokingly asked about obtaining passage for the coral spawning trip as “honorary” scientists with their group. To our surprise, just days before the trip, we received a call inviting us to take the spots of two people who were not able to go. We couldn’t pack fast enough.
In addition to the members of WDHoF, there were scientists and other important members of the diving community on board. This great group of 23 divers had a cumulative total of almost 45,000 dives. We were also joined by the host of Jonathan Bird’s Blue World who was filming for Coral Spawning and Oil Platform Diving webisodes for his show. We even made the credit reels!
The FGBNMS Research Coordinator has been successful for 16 years in predicting the one night a year and time when we were most likely to see the spawning and she was dead on once again. We dropped in on the vast coral field and witnessed a snow storm beneath the waves as the corals released their eggs. Brittle stars and other marine life feasted on the eggs but there was no shortage as the surface was covered when we returned to the boat.
This was certainly a trip we will never forget.
Coral Spawning VideoEast & West Bank VideoStetson Bank Video
