'The Silent Evolution' Gains a Car

Scuba divers in the Mexican Caribbean Sea have always had much to delight in. The colorful marine life, mammals, fish and foliage, are top draws at any time of year. However, off the coast of Cancún there is a little more to see.

'The Silent Evolution', a vast underwater art installation by Jason deCaires Taylor, already has 400 pieces in it. Last week, it received a new addition: an eight tonne Volkswagon Beetle car, designed to save the life of lobsters and crabs.


'The Silent Evolution' has been popular with tourists since its inception. The Caribbean Sea is so clear that those travelling on boats, from Cancún to Isla Mujeres, can simply peer down through the waves to view the sculptures on the sea-bed. Snorkellers and divers get the vest views of all though. It's a common sight to find people swimming above or around the area, which just adds to the surreal beauty of the place.

The VW Beetle was lowered into place on June 28th, joining hundreds of sculptures of people going about their daily business. The latest sculpture is called, 'Anthropocene'. It refers to the geological age, which we are currently in.

Anthropocene highlights how humanity has had such a significant presense upon the Earth, that we have actually altered the planet's geology. This may be through climate change or literally, with our capacity to physically reshape the world to suit our needs, in cities, quarries, tunnels through mountains, dams etc.

A car is a strong symbol of that. The metals that craft it and the oil and gas that power it are drawn from the Earth; the exhaust fumes that eminate from it affect our climate. Hence deClaires Taylor's choice to use it to represent the current age.


For humans, 'The Silent Evolution' may be a novelty beneath the sea, but there is a greater purpose here too. The world needs coral reefs. They're not just pretty, but perform a vital function as 'the rainforests of the ocean' (read more here), as well as providing homes for much of the Caribbean's marine life. However, generations of human irresponsibility and hurricane pressure has damaged the coral to the point of endangering us all.

All of the sculptures, including the latest, are made from specially treated concrete. In effect, they create an artificial, man-made coral reef. They are installed as a dull, grey object, but are quickly colonized by marine plant-life. These vibrant colors transform the sculpture into a living artform, which changes with the seasons and maturity. It will never look the same twice, as people visit it months apart.


The evolution of a previous sculpture.
Each sculpture is designed with a certain species of marine life in mind. Some provide sanctuary for fish and others, like the VW Beetle just lowered into the ocean, are for the crustaceans. 'Anthropocene' contains special features, like doorways for lobsters, gaining access to the hollow inside. Therein are places where these creatures can find a home and, more importantly, breed. The whole car is filled with such hidey-holes rendering it much more than unusual art.


To visit 'The Silent Evolution', you need to come to Cancún or Isla Mujeres. Trips are available from both places, where you may choose between viewing from above (boats and snorkelling) or scuba diving down for a close inspection. There are three main sites in the coastal waters here, including one close to the huge natural coral reef of Punta Nizuc.



Read more of our blogs on the subject:

Cancún and Isla Mujeres Underwater Art Museum
'The Silent Evolution': Life-Saving Art

What Is This Reef Tax?!

'Reef Tax' and/or 'Port Tax' seems to crop up a lot. Unsuspecting tourists pay their money for a fishing, snorkeling, diving or sight-seeing trip into the Caribbean, then turn up on the day to be hit with an extra charge. It's not much. Between US$2 - US$5, depending upon the destination, but it's there. Some just shrug and pay it. Others stamp and scream out, 'scam!', as is their wont. But what are these charges and where is all that money going?



Your tour companies and guides are not receiving that money. Both taxes are imposed at a federal level. They are used to maintain the environment in which you are playing nicely. The 'port tax' is common throughout the world, so it isn't peculiar to Cancún. It levies funds from which the ports and beaches themselves can be maintained; as well as paying the people to staff them.

The 'reef tax' is more properly called 'The Federal Marine Park Tax' and can be viewed as your entrance fee into a marine national park. It was imposed after a study instigated, by the Mexican and the World Bank, into the effects of tourism on sea life in the area. In particular, the report was concerned with investigating the condition of the coral reef, which stretches parallel to the Yucatán Peninsula all the way down to Belize.

The report, published as 'The Economics of Managing a Marine Park in Cancún, Mexico', in 2001, was committed to 'attaining an equilibrium between enironmental damage to the coral reef and generating maximum social welfare.' In short, how could we have fun without killing the reef? Unfortunately, it found lots of cause for alarm.

Just consider how many boats and people are out in the strait between Cancún and Isla Mujeres at any one time. There are the speedboats on the Jungle Tours; fishing trawlers in the sea; the party catamarans and passenger ferries; the yachts of the rich and famous; the Caribbean cruises; the snorkelers and the divers; not to mention the navy and the emergency services. The report estimated that, in 1997, approximately 1549 visitors every single day crossed the Punta Nizuc section of the coral reef area. As a result that reef was already showing signs of wear and tear. It highlighted five causes of this:

1, Human contact - visitors diving down to break off pieces of coral to take home as souvenirs;
2, Boat collisions with the reef formations;
3, Hydrocarbon pollution - oil and gasoline leaking from boats;
4, Sunscreen pollution - coral viruses caused by swimmers not using biogradable sunscreen with non-contamining ingredients;
5, Sewage - human waste being discharged into the water, particularly in the Nichupte Lagoon.

The result was that the level of hydrocarbons in the water was ten times higher than that recommended by UNESCO; nutrient levels were too high; and the diversity and populations of marine species in the region had sharply declined.

Something clearly had to be done. What followed was legislation. Article 198 of the Mexican Federal Law states that 'visitors who practice aquatic activities within the National Marine Park' have to pay a tax of US$2. This money is used exclusively for protecting the waters and the coral reef areas. There are many and varied ways that this money is spent. These include:

* The building of an artificial island for the mooring of speedboats over the Punta Nizuc coral reef. There are only a few mooring spots, hence that limits the number of people over it at any one time. It also stops boats colliding with the reef or damaging it with their anchors.



* Staff to monitor the water levels and the condition of the coral reef. Plus staff to inspect all tour operators to ensure that they are complying within the new rules and recommendations.

* The construction of bigger sewage processing plants, better able to cope with the sheer number of tourists.

* All repair work and preventative work, as necessary.

Other measures which came into force included:

* The banning of non-biogradable sunscreen in the Caribbean Sea. Visitors intending to head out on aquatic activities are likely to be checked and all non-biogradable sunscreens taken off them. All tour operators are required to sell biogradable sunscreen, with non-contaminating ingredients, as substitutes.

* A licence required for all boats in the Caribbean Sea. Though there is only a nominal fee for this licence, it can only be gained if the captain/guide has undertaken a two day course in reef ecology and care.

* Restrictions upon the type of oil and petroleum that boats are allowed to use.

* All visitors to the Punta Nizuc coral reef are required to wear lifevests. In addition to being lifesavers, these vests have the added bonus of being buoyant. Those wearing them will find it difficult to dive underwater to break off pieces of coral for souvenirs.

In short, the recommendations and your payment of the reef tax is ensuring that there will still be such beauty, in the lagoons and the sea, for many generations to come.