The beauty and silence of the aquatic environment offer a space where we can experience a different side of the world and somehow be party of it, if briefly. Life under water is mysterious and magical.
I am a visual artist, translator and avid snorkeler. I have been snorkeling in Kauai for about 14 years, about twice a year, for about a month. Year after year I see with sadness (and try to document although in an amateur way) the degradation of the environment (less living coral) the reduction in numbers of species and in general the number of fish. Species common 12 years, I haven't seen since then, others only seldom. Some little bays that were full of fish and very diverse are now rubble and almost depopulated of life. The visible recovery in numbers and diversity during the limited access to the island during covid 19 (and prompt decrease as soon as the doors were reopened) surely is a statement for itself.