Fast Moving Coral Disease Alert on Bonaire

[tursiops]

Sounds like that is Buddy's take.

More accurately, it is Charred's memory and reporting of what Buddy Dive allegedly said.
STINAPA labels the dives sites Green, Orange, and Red (not "closed"). There are alos closed dive sites, but those are in the far north of the island (in the National Park), and after 2pm on Klein Bonaire.

 

[Charred]

Cozumel never recovered. All the corals the disease could impact were wiped out. They are covered in other growth now. This also happened very fast and the reef closures didnt help. We were there in the Spring and nearly all the corals were infected to some degree. By a return in Fall they were gone.

My long term concern is the rotating reef closures Cozumel implemented to help slow the disease were never lifted. I hope Bonaire lifts theirs when this is over.

 

[scuba127]

What do you mean when you say "they are covered in other growth now." Coral growth or something else?

 

[Charred]

What do you mean when you say "they are covered in other growth now." Coral growth or something else?

They are just a dead rock on the reef. So they get covered with the macro algae and the purple coralline algae. I am just stating it isn't a bleached white coral skeleton sitting there. Its almost as if the corals never existed and the disease never happened.

 

[tursiops]

New statement from STINAPA on their website:

After much research and conversations with specialists, we recently began to treat corals by applying a special mixture of amoxicillin and Base2B coral ointment to some infected corals. We will continue to inform the community of our findings and will do so to the best of our abilities.​

 

[JoeTPhilly]

New statement from STINAPA on their website:

After much research and conversations with specialists, we recently began to treat corals by applying a special mixture of amoxicillin and Base2B coral ointment to some infected corals. We will continue to inform the community of our findings and will do so to the best of our abilities.​

Hopefully it helps. I have been watching the Harbour Village live webcam on YouTube and have seen how rapidly it overtook the brain coral.

 

[Nemrod]

Just came back from Bonaire. It is as has been stated, there are color charts. You can dive green to yellow to orange but not the reverse on the same day. The resorts have disinfectant tanks (that have a small amount of bleach) to dip your gear between dives and the allow to dry overnight supposedly kills the infectious agent.

It is a losing battle and divers are likely the most minor vector of spread. The fish are not getting in a bleach tank and drying out overnight. And then there is the big one, cruise ships. They take in ballast, they dump ballast and they use their control jets to maneuver to the dock and away and in doing so spread the infectious agent into the water column and blow it all over the place. Kind of like cutting the rain forests down to strip mine for battery raw materials, we are just spinning our wheels foolishly. And I mean by closing dive sites. As a cruise ship goes by blowing up sediment with infectious agent pulls in .

 

[scubadada]

Current STINAPA map. Red infected, Yellow caution, Green OK

Infected/Red: Something Special, Town Pier, Calabas Reef, 18th Palm, Windsock, Bachelor's Beach

Caution/Yellow: Small Wall, Cliff, La Machaca, Reef Scientifico, Buddy's Reef, Bari Reef, Front Porch, Jerry's Reef (Klein Bonaire), Just a Nice Dive (Klein Bonaire), Corp Meiss, Chez Hines, Lighthouse Point

 

[tursiops]

Current STINAPA map. Red infected, Yellow caution, Green OK

Infected/Red: Something Special, Town Pier, Calabas Reef, 18th Palm, Windsock, Bachelor's Beach

Caution/Yellow: Small Wall, Cliff, La Machaca, Reef Scientifico, Buddy's Reef, Bari Reef, Front Porch, Jerry's Reef (Klein Bonaire), Just a Nice Dive (Klein Bonaire), Corp Meiss, Chez Hines, Lighthouse Point

View attachment 787079

This map is dated May 13. STINAPA says they will have new one at the end of this week.

 

[scubadada]

This map is dated May 13. STINAPA says they will have new one at the end of this week.

Thanks, we should all check back again soon