Environmental Page

December 12th 2009

THE University of the West Indies (UWI) has come to the aid of the Caribbean's dying coral reefs.

In collaboration with the European Union (EU), UWI officially launched an almost 1.5 million-dollar project yesterday on board the Atlantis Submarine's vessel, Atlantis 15, that will seek to use higher education and professional training to empower Caribbean people to save their rapidly dying coral reefs.

Read the full article here.

Atlantis Submarines Barbados has launched their Friendly, Educational and very Entertaining mascot, 'Subby' the seahorse. Subby will bring focus and attention to our beautiful creatures underwater and how our lifestyle can affect them, and our environment by teaching and reminding everyone to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Subby was launched at our first monthly birthday celebration on the 30th of May, 2009 on our 11:00am Submarine dive. The guests were treated to complimentary Birthday cake, drinks and photos with Subby. The kids and adults really enjoyed frolicking with Subby. Daniel Arthur celebrated his 9th birthday on this day and had a fantastic time with family and friends and Subby and the Atlantis Submarines staff.

December 8th 2008 – Green Certification

December 8th 2008 – Green Certification website reads "Congratulations to Roseanne Myers and her team for successfully reaching the Green Certification in alliance with Green Globe Int. Atlantis Submarines Barbados is the first to have reached the new combined award in the Caribbean. The Green Globe Award is the only certification recognized by tour operators worldwide." Roseanne Myers General Manager for Atlantis submarines Barbados says, "This is a fantastic achievement for us and it signals that we have started down a positive path to measuring and eventually reducing our carbon footprint as well as increasing our overall positive impact on the social and natural environment. We already had a number of safety, quality, preventative maintenance, programs in place but we did not realize that the Green certification would include an assessment of these as well environmental education and management systems. Most of all it was paperless and painless though we have lots more work to do!"

The management of Atlantis submarines Barbados seized the opportunity with the slowdown in business due to the economic crisis to make good use of this unusual gift of time and it has certainly paid off. A number of areas where we can improve our environmental responsibility and save money have been identified. There is the added benefit because Atlantis Submarines Barbados is now part of the Green Certifications Inc. ⁄ Green Globe Int. team and will be included on all of their websites, appropriate press releases, trade show, collateral, mail or e-mail to the travel trade, consumers, general public, corporations and meeting and incentive planners.

Atlantis Submarines in Barbados is an authentic submarine which is part of the largest fleet of recreational submarines in the world and daily takes guests to depths of 130 feet and deeper to explore the natural reef off the west coast of Barbados

Check out some fun facts about coral in Barbados

Boulder Star Coral

Photographer: Ramon Roach

Many different lobes comprise one colony of this coral. The Boulder Star Coral (Montastrea annularis) is a scleractinian (hard) coral with a skeleton of limestone. Each Circular bump on the surface of the coral is a corallite, and the home for an individual coral animal (polyp).

Brain Coral

Photographer: Ramon Roach

A close up of the boulder brain coral. The Boulder Brain Coral (Colpophyllia natans) is a scleractinian (hard) coral with a skeleton of limestone. In this species, the corallites of each polyp are joined to create the valleys and ridges seen here, which produce a pattern similar to that of the brain.

Brain Coral rain Coral

Photographer: Leigh Weatherhead

A Blenny peeks out from a starlet coral. Blennies (Family Clinidae) are usually difficult to spot as they change colours to blend in with their backgrounds, and usually only their heads are visible. Each individual corallite of the starlet coral (Siderastrea sp) can be clearly seen.

Pink Tipped Anemone

Photographer: Ramon Roach

The Giant Anemone waves its tentacles. Anemones belong to the same Class as the corals, and like them, their tentacles contain stinging cells called nematocysts. The Giant Anemone (Condylactis gigantean) is the largest of the Caribbean anemones. Contact with them tends to result in mild irritation of the skin.

Magnificent Feather Duster

Photographer: Ramon Roach

Feather Duster living amongst a colony of Yellow Pencil Coral. The Magnificent Feather Duster (Sabellastarte magnifica) is a sessile (stationary) marine segmented tube worm. The flexible tube, which is composed of glued-together fine sand, is hidden within a colony of Yellow Pencil Coral (Madracis mirabilis). The head of the worm is encircled by featherlike radioles which serve a dual purpose; they act as gills and capture plankton for food.

Green Turtle

Photographer: Gregory Sealy

A Green Turtle nestled within a coral reef. The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), the largest of all hard shelled sea turtles is listed as threatened in the Caribbean. It is unique in that it is herbivorous, feeding primarily on a diet of algae and sea grass, which gives its fat a greenish hue. Green turtles are observed regularly in our nearshore waters; however their nesting population numbers less than five.

Spotted Moral Eel

Photographer: Renata Goodridge

Moray looking out from the reef. The Spotted Moray (Gymnothorax moringa) usually hides in dark holes in the reef during the day. Normally they are not aggressive animals, but when provoked they can inflict painful bites.

Fuzzy Pillar Coral

Photographer: André Miller

A tube worm lives within a pillar coral colony. The Pillar Coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) is one of the few hard corals in which the tentacles of the polyps are extended during the daytime, giving the animal a fuzzy appearance.

Sea Rod

Photographer: Ramon Roach

A Sea Rod colony bends in the stiff current. Sea Rods (Plexaurella sp) are corals, but not the reef-building kind. They are called gorgonians and have a central skeleton made of a protein called gorgonin from which they derive their names and their flexibility. All Gorgonians filter the water for the plankton on which they feed.