In general, both west and south coast reefs have similar characteristics, but with some obvious exceptions. The barrier reef sites vary in depth from 50 to 100 feet and some of the outer edges drop away to over 200 feet.
Most of these reefs are shaped like an upside down 'U', where the top is 30-50 feet across. There is always plenty to see and divers should keep one eye on the open ocean side in case something interesting passes by like an eagle ray, tarpon or a school of fish such as Atlantic spade fish.
The inner sites on the fringing reefs tend to be shallow, flatter and sandy but are often broken up by large 'islands' of branching or finger coral communities. Soft coral growth such as sea plumes, sea whips and large sponge appear less frequently. These reefs are separated from the barrier reefs by a lagoon of varying depth and length.
Though not as spectacular, it is here that the rarer and smaller species of marine life can be found in abundance. Atlantic squid, frogfish, seahorses, bright red coral crabs, rays, turtles, lobsters and tiny flamingo tongues have all been seen. These are calmer more protected areas to dive and are usually excellent for close-up photography and novice divers.
The undulating barrier reef along the calmer west coast is particularly rich in fish life and sponge growth. Schools of creole wrasse and boga fish congregate in mid ocean above the reefs where they feed on passing plankton.
When diving, it is advisable to travel slowly along the reef so as not to miss the squirrel fish, lizardfish, rock beauties, parrotfish, whitespot filefish, banded butterfly fish, scrawled filefish, hogfish, octopus, spotted drum, French angelfish and barracuda, to name a few regularly seen species.
The reefs around Speightstown are famous for the beautiful falling arms of the brown octopus sponge and some barrel sponges have grown to the size of a bath, but it is the multitude of brightly coloured sponges that really light up this reef. Orange elephant ear sponge grows well along with tall clusters of yellow tube sponge.
Lower down on the reef, long strands of lavender or purple sponge reach out and sway to the movement of the sea. On close inspection, green sponge has tiny bright yellow polyps, called golden zoanthids, which look a bit like mini suns.
The southern reefs of Barbados are more susceptible to currents of varying strengths, but these currents bring the food that is necessary to sustain the forests of sea fans and gorgonias that populate the reefs. The majority of the basket star and crinoid population inhabit these reefs.
Basket stars are a type of star fish and spend most of the day wrapped up in the arms of sea plumes. They unravel at night, their arms reaching up to two feet across to gather passing plankton. Crinoids are much smaller and unlike basket stars come in many different colours. They are a member of the echinoderm family and not as common in the Caribbean as in other oceans. |
