Grand Cayman vs Isla Roatan

[lardo5150]

Well, looks like I made up my mind, thanks everyone. Going to dive Grand Cayman.
Don, was off the wall divers "time friendly" with you since you were coming off a cruise ship?

 

[billmosel]

If she's not a good shot...I would do both!!!! LOL

 

[j1rubin]

I just got back on Sunday did Celebrity Solstice. Dove Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Roatan. Could have been the dive or the fact that the tender via the ship was a pain, but i thought Grand Cayman was my least favorite of the 3. If i had to rank them, coz and roatan would tie, and Grand Cayman was last. I second one of the previous threads, not much else to do in roatan so you might as well dive there as well.

 

[donhealy]

Yes, they were time friendly for picking you up and for bottom times. They pick you p at 8:30 which is 9:30 boat time. On Carnival I had no trouble getting off the boat and to Hard Rock. In fact I got there a half hour early and got to spend time with 15 or 20 other folks being picked up by other operations. You got to dive your own profile.

I thought GC was a pretty pedestrian dive until I got back and worked with my picts. I didn't realize some of the stuff I saw. The North wall was really kind of neat and the turtles were all around.

 

[jcroy66]

Diversteve,
AFAIK the Turtle Farm barely releases any of their turtles into the wild. They are raised primarily for eating. When we visited the Farm 1.5 years ago, they said that they were only doing "token releases" of like 15 turtles. And I think even that was the first in several years IIRC.

But since the turtle cuisine demand is being filled by the Turtle Farm, wild turtles aren't being caught for food. That helps sustain the turtle population.

 

[diversteve]

That may be true but they've been doing it for 30 years so some of them come back home. Or stay in the vicinity.

Seems like this would be more than a "token" release of 15 or so yearly:

The Farm's captive breeding colony now produces an average of 45,000 eggs per year. Approximately eight thousand hatchlings are needed each year to satisfy current production goals. Excess hatchlings are designated for tagging and release. Over 28,000 hatchlings and yearlings have been released into the waters surrounding the Cayman Islands.

More details here: http://www.boatswainsbeach.ky/conservation/release-programs.cfm And from their FAQ:

What do you do with all those turtles?

About 60% of each year's hatchlings are raised to 3 - 4 years of age to be processed for food that is sold locally (a national delicacy). Out of these, 1 to 2% are kept to become future breeders instead of food. The remaining 40% are released into the ocean when they are around one year old. This "headstarting" gives the turtles a better chance of survival.

How many do you release and how old/big are they?

Since the release programme was started in 1980, we have released over 30,000 turtles into the waters around Grand Cayman. The number released each year depends on the previous year's "crop" of hatchlings (the number of eggs laid by the turtles each year varies). The turtles are released when they are about a year old and weigh 3 to 6 pounds (1.35 to 2.73 kg). The release is a major local event, as the public is allowed to assist in carefully moving the turtles from the transportation vehicles to the water along the Public Beach. This event usually takes place on West Bay's district day during Pirates' Week in the last week of October.

I've personally seen turtles at Turtle Reef and Big Tunnel.

 

[gmanfunk]

when is your cruise I am on the same thing trying to figure where to dive.

 

[lardo5150]

Our cruise is November 28th through December 5th.

 

[stangman1]

+1 Grand Cayman

I've dove both and GC would be a no brainer. Swim throughs and marine life are very entertaining.