Big animals in Cozumel, anyone seen any?

[sasscuba]

I have been to Cozumel about 10 times over the past 25 years and used to love seeing the very very large groupers before they were hunted out. Anyone ever see any whale sharks, sharks besides nurse, maybe a marlin? Any large animals and what sites? Thanks.

 

[jlyle]

We've seen black tip reef sharks on a number of occasions. You'll find the big groupers have moved off the more heavily dived reefs to the walls. They are still there. Of course the eagle rays, southern sting rays, turtles, etc. Although I wasn't there, trusted people have reported a hammerhead.

Goliath grouper:

Grouper:

Black tip:

And don't forget, the submarinefish!

 

[rje634]

When we were there this past December we saw 2 bull sharks at Columbia Deep while we were doing our safety stop.
Hree is the thread containing my original post..http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=121369

 

[divingjd]

We've seen black tip reef sharks on a number of occasions. You'll find the big groupers have moved off the more heavily dived reefs to the walls. They are still there. Of course the eagle rays, southern sting rays, turtles, etc. Although I wasn't there, trusted people have reported a hammerhead.

Goliath grouper:

Grouper:

Black tip:

And don't forget, the submarinefish!

Nice pics, love the submarinefish. I have a similar photo (of much lesser quality).

 

[RV]

The first time I went to CZM, on one dive I beat the DM to a sandy bottom area. I was watching the DM drift down, as he got near the bottom I notice he was about to land on something.... it was a very very large grouper. It was as big as he was. On that same trip I saw a lobster head (tail was gone). The head was the size of a large wiener dog and the antennas were about 5' long. I'm guessing the thing was 5-6 feet long when it was alive...

 

[sasscuba]

When we were there this past December we saw 2 bull sharks at Columbia Deep while we were doing our safety stop.
Hree is the thread containing my original post..http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=121369

Never seen a bull, that would be nice.

 

[alcina]

Don't forget the tarpon and big guy turtles near the mainland...that's a trip worth doing.

 

[sasscuba]

Don't forget the tarpon and big guy turtles near the mainland...that's a trip worth doing.

Any info on the net? Off Playa or Cancun?

 

[Christi]

Never seen a bull, that would be nice.

Actually, that's a shark you really DON'T want to see.

As far as big animals, they are here...not like they are in more remote dive areas like Cocos or Galapagos, but if you dive with a smaller group and get off the beaten path, you will/can definitely see some different things. Even on the regular sites, the large grouper are coming back, reef sharks (black tips) are no longer that uncommon, large green morays have come back, and of course we've got turtles, eagle rays, the very occasional manta ray, and the very occasional hammerhead. We've also seen lemon sharks...but not on the busy reefs. I've seen at least a dozen sailfish in the last five years, and even a sunfish on a couple of occasions.

Whale sharks can be seen in Holbox during the summer months...but you can't dive with them...only snorkel.

Don't forget the tarpon and big guy turtles near the mainland...that's a trip worth doing.

That trip is longer permitted for Cozumel operators. It was ok when just a few small boats were going over there and offering it as an exclusive trip, but apparently the PDC ops got tired of too many (and big) Coz boats being over there on a regular basis dropping too many people on the turtles and complained to the harbor master there. Our last trip over there was on the 20th and we heard the news later that week. I confirmed the rumor with the harbor master here and it's true. Fines are hefty, hefty for Coz boats going over there now. I guess it's fair though...we wouldn't want a bunch of boats from PDC coming over and crowding our special places either.

 

[abitton]

Whale sharks can be seen in Holbox during the summer months...but you can't dive with them...only snorkel.

Why not? (Just curious)