Kelly presented to the Club on the Flower Garden Banks, the only Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. The Flower Gardens are located from 80 to 120 miles off the Texas/Louisiana coast. The Sanctuary consists of 16 separate Banks that were added over a 16-year period. The Banks are formed on top of mountainous salt domes that form the surface of the seabed. Salt is pushed up through the sediment due to intense pressure from below. The domes normally cover large petroleum deposits at sea, and on land, as well, as we are familiar with here in Beaumont with the Spindletop Salt Dome. At sea, these domes are covered by coral reefs, which the Sanctuary works to protect and preserve.

The Flower Garden Banks are the northernmost reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. Large brain coral and star coral are found there, and they are the healthiest in the Gulf. Coral grow on top of one another in piles sometimes reaching 15 feet in height. The color we associate with coral actually comes from the algae that live on the coral and the wide variety of algae leads to the many different colors which can be seen. Magrill Bank is known for blushing star coral, which change color when they sense activity around them.

There are also many other creatures which call the Flower Gardens home. Some of these are invertebrates, which Kelly said come in three classes – squishy, spiny, and spirally. They are very colorful and very interesting. She showed us pictures of a squishy octopus, a spiny creature related to a sea urchin, and a spiral creature that will completely retract when it senses danger (you really needed to see the pictures to understand). There are many fish in the Banks, including whale sharks, the largest fish in existence. The Banks are also home to sea turtles and manta rays, which appear there in abundance.

Stetson Bank, which is the closest Bank to us at only 80 miles offshore, has many coral communities that also exist in 3 other Banks. These communities do not stack as high as at some of the other Banks, which means the fish are more visible, as they have less places to hide. There are huge varieties of fish at these Banks.

Kelly also spoke about Mesophotic Habitats, which are low-light areas, most out of reach of recreational divers. These can only be reached using submersibles. Much about these habitats is unknown as they have only recently begun to be studied. New species have been identified in these habitats in the last few years. Horseshoe Bank is known for its mud volcanoes, which are not actual volcanoes, but resemble them. At East Flower Gardens, you can observe salt reefs, where there are layers of water with very high salt content. Since this super-salinated water is heavier than normal sea water, it forms small lakes about 10 inches deep on the sea floor. A lake at the bottom of an ocean! Kelly said more information can be found at www.flowergarden.noaa.gov.

These Sanctuaries are a natural resource and should be protected. Many local dive shops offer trips to the Flower Gardens and anyone with a love of or interest in scuba diving should take a trip and visit!