Conch, Coral and Georgie The Loving Fish

Today was day two, and it was honestly breathtaking; we went from learning about coral with Veronica from Coral Vita to feeding and seeing the development of conch. Conchs are pretty special as they are a Bahamian culture staple. We got to understand and see how conch go through different life cycle phases like metamorphosis and reproduction. It was very mind-opening as we got to understand the reasoning behind why the country and the coastal waters need conch. Our favourite part of the conch experience was definitely getting to name and play with the conch. Interesting fact: we named two conchs, one was named Moana as it reminded us of the conch in the movie; That conch was around one year old. The second conch we named was Jim or (Gym). We chose the name Jim because the label on the conch’s shell said F45. As we know, F45 is a very popular gym chain, and we thought it was fun! Needless to say, we are all very fond of conch now.

We also spent some time with our instructor Tony, and learned that conch shells have extremely rare pearls inside of them. Tony told us a bit about the process of extracting and duplicating those pearls, and how they are a part of the few companies in the world that extract the pearls without killing the actual conch animal. Tony also mentioned how they are working to see if they can genetically duplicate pearls, allowing one conch to produce multiple pearls. This was really cool as it was inspirational to learn that there are people in the world whose main goal is not only to make a profit, but instead to preserve the environment as well. Speaking with Tony allowed us to have hope and taught us about a part of science we had never experienced before. Meshing science and business is something we don’t normally think about, but it was great to see it in action.

To end our day, we met this wonderful couple, Fred and Melinda. They opened their business to us like we were family. For nothing in return, they lent us their wetsuits, and took us on a beautiful boat ride to the barrier reef. Fred told some amazing stories about fish and how they genetically change their sex. Essentially, what happens is if there are a bunch of male fish and one female fish, eventually, when the female fish dies, the next largest male takes 48 hours to become a genetically coded female. Once we got into the water, we actually got to hold some starfish and touch jellyfish. We saw sting rays, barracudas, rainbow parrot fish, and so many other things, including Elkhorn coral and other small organisms. Not only was it really educational, it was also a bonding moment. We got to interact with a local family business and experience what they do for their day-to-day lives.  Melinda shared a touching story about a large grouper fish she had become very close with. She named the fish Georgie, and without fail, every time Melinda went diving in the area, Georgie would swim up to her and find her, no matter how many divers were in the ocean. They grew their bond for two years until one unfortunate day, a fisherman speared the fish while recording a video for his social media. The story gave us insight since here in the Bahamas, we have been experiencing such kindness and respect from everyone we meet. It reminded us how important it is to spread positivity, since there are still people who do not have that mindset. The better we do it, the more it will radiate onto others, and create a positive and ecosystem-safe world.