15 Eagle Rays Yesterday!!

[PARADISE HUNTER]

We've been having a great week of diving with Aldora.

Yesterday was great. We went north and had a great dive on Barracuda. Decent current, we saw a nurse shark, eagle ray, turtles, a couple rays and killed two lion fish.

But the second dive was something to remember. We dove Eagle Ray Wall and saw a total of 15 rays. The came in 1, 1, 3, 8, 1 and 1. Lots of action as they slowly drifted by. One came down to the sand and rooted around for about a minute.

The weather has been great all week. Sunny, mid 70's to 80's. No rain!

Been a great trip and still have two more days of diving.

PH

 

[CZMDM]

What's sad is that sightings of 20-40 at a time was a very common thing, just a little over 10 years ago.

 

[deeper thoughts]

What's sad is that sightings of 20-40 at a time was a very common thing, just a little over 10 years ago.

I went to Cozumel about 5 times in the nineties and never saw one eagle ray.

 

[CZMDM]

Well all I can say is that it's a shame that you never got to see them, especially when they were running in very large schools. Maybe the op you used did not go to where they hang out or perhaps you came at the wrong time of year. It would depend on the time of year and the location. They are mostly here in the early winter. I have seen about 12-15 in the last week (all inside the park).

To see 15 this late in the season is not very common, even back then and although there are always a few here or there they mostly hang outside of the park near the Barracuda and San Juan up North. Just because you didn't see any is no indication that there were none around. I take people diving that have been diving here for years and still have never seen a nurse shark.

 

[scubawife]

It's been a weird weather year everywhere. I wonder if that has something to do with the eagle rays hanging around later then usual?

 

[parrotheaddiver]

What's sad is that sightings of 20-40 at a time was a very common thing, just a little over 10 years ago.

you are right...I wonder what happened

we always saw squadrons of them up north and always saw at least 2 on every dive inside the park...

 

[Travler108]

That must have been a great day! I dove te same dive with Aldora two weeks ago and there were 9 Eagle Rays in a group. Spectacular creatures! The day before we had three on Punta Sur . Can't wait to get there the end of the month.....hope the Eagle Rays are still around!

 

[robint]

sorry, if you don't have photos I don't believe you!!!
:worthless:

 

[CZMDM]

sorry, if you don't have photos I don't believe you!!!
:worthless:

Guess that would leave you not believing 90% of the total sum of world knowledge.

A lot of people speculate that the decline in populations is due to the plundering of the conch beds in the great sand banks up North. Some blame it on the weather. Whatever...the size of schools and frequency of large schools has been in decline for some time.

It's a real shame as the sight of huge schools is a spectacular experience and one that used to be common in this area.

 

[BTravlin]

I get so excited seeing a group of 3 or 4 that I can't imagine what I'd do if I saw a group of 30 or 40. Probably swallow my reg.