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. INSIDE OUT AND GETTING WET IN ANTIGUA (repost request) By Stephen Weir As spectator sports go, Antiguan Starfish Flipping has a very small fan base. That is because you have to be a certified scuba diver, have the patience of Job and a high tolerance for low jokes to appreciate watching a Oreaster Reticulatus turn itself inside out. Antigua is a small vibrant island of 67,000 English-speaking people. Situated on the Eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea, the former British colony is within sight of the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis, volcanic Montserrat and its political partner Barbuda. Although this popular scuba diving destination is not blessed with an abrupt deep coral wall drop-off, it does have a rich healthy ring reef system that is close to shore. These shallow reefs are almost untouched and are filled with unusual sea life including a vast number of bottom dwelling starfish. “ If you came back from a dive and said you didn’t see anything, then you didn’t really dive, you just go

. CUSHION STARFISH FACT FILE • Starfish is a name that is beginning to fall out of fashion because they aren’t really fish. The species are now called seastars. • Cushion Starfish or Seastars range in colour from brown to orange, red, and yellow. They grow to a diameter of 10 inches and lives at a depth to 50 feet. • As a natural defense mechanism, the starfish is able to change its body colour to hide or escape from predators. • The arms of the starfish are used for movement, catching prey and digestion. It is able to grow a new arm if one is lost. • It feeds on slow-moving or stationary animals. Clams, oysters and snails are the usual prey, but it also eats fish eggs and mollusk. The starfish stomach extends through the mouth to snare food. The meal is then transported to the starfish's digestive glands within its arms. • Cushion Starfish live up to 8 years in captivity and can survive up to two hours out of water.