Today we moved to a shallower set of sites, relatively speaking. We hit the water at 0730 for a six hour dive to 70 feet at the NE station. Because we finished all the long-term monitoring sites yesterday we are now ready to start our rapid assessment protocols. We are a well-tuned machine when we start the rapid assessments. With over 140 sites already completed throughout the Keys and Dry Tortugas we can really get things done fast. Thus, our nickname - The Scream Team (an acronym for SPA Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring). "SPA" is short for Sanctuary Preservation Area. We completed two sites, one at the NE and one just to the north and off the deeper reef in front of Aquarius. Back in Aquarius, between dives, we transcribed data from our slates to notebooks. This is a daily routine that is pretty mundane, but it can't all be fun. And it has to be done carefully and precisely. Against a backdrop of nitrogen narcosis and a little fatigue it takes a huge mental effort to pull out the data sheets, grab the pens, and get to work. Luckily, everyone is keeping up and maintaining good attitudes. This work literally takes hours each day. So, I need to get back to the grind instead of typing away at my expedition notes. But one more thing before I get to my slates.

It's easy to get depressed about the condition of coral reefs in Florida. Steve's report yesterday just gives a hint of what we're seeing, and what's happened in recent years. Check out a future report from Dr. Gittings that compares data from 1994 and 1998, with this year's observations (if we can find the time and can still think after a week in saturation). That said, despite all the bad news about coral reefs there is some good news too. In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary we have a series of marine protected areas that include "no take" regulations. This means no fishing or harvesting. Divers can still visit most areas and a few places allow catch-and-release fishing, or harvesting bait fish. "No take" sounds severe but another way to think of these regulations is - "Let live." This isn't really complicated science. Expectations are high that we will see more and larger fish before too long, and preliminary evidence is backing up the theory. There are huge management challenges in the years ahead. Issues related to water quality and global warming extend beyond our shores in the Keys, but we can do something tangible and important right now by protecting resources with tools that we know will work. Ultimately, the issues break down to politics and economics. The economic rationale for reserves is strong. For example, the value of a 50 pound grouper at a restaurant is fixed. But what if you can take people out to snorkel and dive a reef to see 50 pound groupers? All of a sudden the value of those fish goes way up when they support multiple businesses that take people out to the reef to see the "wild life." It seems simple to me, but that's because I try and ignore the politics.

Tomorrow we move to the Pinnacle Site. A steep wall area to the SE of Aquarius with well developed spur and groove formations. I'm really looking forward to working the 30 meter site. I've only had a few short glimpses of this deep reef habitat and can't wait to get a closer look. We've seen a number of large black groupers around Aquarius today and they seem to move up and down the reef on a daily cycle. There are also about a dozen large snook that seem to call Aquarius home. It's easy to understand why. Today we had literally thousands of bait fish outside our viewports, including, juveniles grunts, bogas, juvenile jacks, bonnetmouths, blue and brown chromis, and small mojarrahs. The barracudas are fat and move through the water like they have arthritis, until they strike.

Perhaps we'll see something bigger tomorrow, when we go deep again.