Bonaire's Future

[Rick Murchison]

...Does anyone have experience with how mass cruise ship tourism has impacted Cayman, another dive spot? I am looking to become better educated so I can understand the possible merits to this marketing scheme as well as concerns.

Random facts about cruise ships and their effects... Not every cruise shipper fits this profile, but most do...
Boat (pod) people are locusts. Their view is "We're outa here this afternoon; so what?"
Your leeward reefs are toast. There is no way to prevent it. They will stand on 'em, kick 'em, silt 'em out; they (even the environmentally responsible ones) will generate unbelievable amounts of extra garbage and sewage - Y'all do have a massive upgrade to your sewage treatment facility in the wings, right??
But then, the loss of the reef and old divers won't matter much if you bring in enough tourists and newbies who don't know what it was and should be like, eh?
And then there are the trinket vendors who displace the locals - have they started buying up all your downtown shops yet? No sweat, they will....
'Course none of this will make much difference if the rumblings on the mainland have any veracity...
Good luck.
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

...Cozumel is a poor example of an established cruise ship town. Geomorphological aspects for the island make it unusually forgiving regarding pollution effects...

Oh, I don't know, Arch. I cry every time I go to COZ now and remember what used to be. One might argue there are other factors, but the correlation between cruise ship density and reef destruction is direct and undeniable.
Topside, remember the days of all the little local Mexican shops downtown, with genuine Mexican stuff? Hard to find a Mexican shop owner anymore, and all the stuff's made elsewhere.
I don't know if the locals are better off with all the extra money flow or not, but my impression is that they are not. And the reefs... I just cry...
Rick

 

[Andy_G]

Oh no pod people on Bonaire! - Still at least they're easy to spot in those bright white Nike trainers (there must be a rule that you have to have new white trainers to get on a cruise ship!) wearing a path back from a newly built Senor Frogs (oh yes one will appear as if by magic) all complete in their complimentary baloon hats.
If the worst does happen it'll be interesting to see if the locals adopt the same pricing practices as they do on Coz - boat arrives price goes up - boat leaves price goes down, but make sure people know you're a diver and you'll always pay the lower price.

Here's hoping any impact on this fantastic Island can be kept to minimum and that good sense prevails

 

[Rick Murchison]

...Here's hoping any impact on this fantastic Island can be kept to minimum...

You can hope for snowballs in hell, too.
Rick

 

[phelana]

If we get a Senor Frogs..stop making my anxiety rise people...ugh....Rick, are you a Bonaire diver per chance?

Ann Phelan
www.bonairecaribbean.com

 

[Rick Murchison]

...Rick, are you a Bonaire diver per chance?

Ann Phelan
www.bonairecaribbean.com

Yep... every chance I get. May be a "wild side only" diver soon, looks like.
Rick

 

[archman]

I had Bonaire on my "must do" dive trip list. I was also considering the area as a good spot to bring in biology student groups for field studies.

Then last year I heard about the cruise ship plans. I crossed Bonaire off the list. I may end up visiting there personally at some point in the future, but Bonaire's no longer a priority for me. Too bad.

 

[Web Monkey]

I had Bonaire on my "must do" dive trip list. I was also considering the area as a good spot to bring in biology student groups for field studies.

Then last year I heard about the cruise ship plans. I crossed Bonaire off the list. I may end up visiting there personally at some point in the future, but Bonaire's no longer a priority for me. Too bad.

Although it's certainly your call, you're blowing off a really nice island for nothing.

Unless you're downtown, you can't even tell when a ship is in port.

Terry

 

[archman]

Although it's certainly your call, you're blowing off a really nice island for nothing.

Unless you're downtown, you can't even tell when a ship is in port.

Terry

It's neither the town nor the community that factors into my decision. It's the ecological health of the region. I have made a detailed study of the cruise ship industry, and am intimately acquainted with their environmental track record. I'm also well acquainted with the conservation practices (or lack thereof) of most Caribbean island nations.

It is impractical to establish a field program at a naturally healthy area that is on a predicted near-term demolition course. There are other Caribbean islands I can choose from that are just as nice, and with luck, stay that way.

If I want to hold classes at a damaged region, I can do it for much cheaper (and easier) in the Florida Keys. Or the eastern Yucatan.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I had Bonaire on my "must do" dive trip list. I was also considering the area as a good spot to bring in biology student groups for field studies.

Then last year I heard about the cruise ship plans. I crossed Bonaire off the list. I may end up visiting there personally at some point in the future, but Bonaire's no longer a priority for me. Too bad.

I wouldn't cross 'em off entirely, Arch. Bonaire, like COZ, is really two islands, two entirely separate habitats in one. Since the windward side of the island is up-current as well as up wind, the pod people in town and on the leeward side won't have any affect there. Only problem is that you can't always count on divable conditions on the "wild side."
What you can count on is reef the way it ought to be, and that's worth the trip.
Still, it's really a shame what's going to happen on the lee side as the sewage and the trash and the careless pod people trample and poison the reef. I need to get back for a swan song trip quick.
---
'Course, none of it'll make any difference if the pontification erupting a few miles south becomes more than rhetoric.
Rick