Not The Same Bonaire

[darook]

I returned from Cozumel two days ago and while I saw some bleaching I did not see it to near the extent I saw on Bonaire. The reefs definitely appeared more healthy there than Bonaire. I am not hating on Bonaire, I really enjoy the island but there is something wrong there that is degrading their reefs at an alarming level. My suspicion is that it has more to do with inadequate sewage treatment vs. other issues. Again, just my suspicion.

 

[vladimir]

Having never been to bonaire, this may be an obvious question...

What is the suggestion for somebody diving with a DSLR. I would imagine that i would want to bring a bag with extra batteries, memory cards, and possibly a change of lenses/ports.

In Bonaire I can leave the 105mm on all week. An 8 GB memory card lasts me a couple of days shooting RAW. (You can buy 16 GB cards.) My camera battery lasts at least all day. Strobe batteries are the limiting factor for me, but I can usually go at least two dives before changing them. You have to eat, right? Set up your camera for the two morning dives and do a pit stop at your hotel during the lunch break.

I'm thinking a small locked pelican case would do the trick (i usually bring a small pelican case on boat dives with extra camera equipment) and even chain the pelican to the truck somehow. Would thieves find a way to get it or would this work?

It sounds like a challenge to the casual thieves that seem to be the problem. They might just break your windshield out of frustration though.

I returned from Cozumel two days ago and while I saw some bleaching I did not see it to near the extent I saw on Bonaire. The reefs definitely appeared more healthy there than Bonaire. I am not hating on Bonaire, I really enjoy the island but there is something wrong there that is degrading their reefs at an alarming level. My suspicion is that it has more to do with inadequate sewage treatment vs. other issues. Again, just my suspicion.

It might just be a function of the local water temperature.

 

[highlandfarmwv]

I go to Bonaire for several weeks every winter and the worst thing I had taken was a good pair of shorts taken off the clothesline off the 2nd floor patio where I stayed. That being siad, I do little dumb things like: take a bite out of my sandwich, cheese, apple or anything I may take to snack on in the truck; reuse old pop bottles with crystal lite or something and not fill all the way so they know they have been drank out of; take my old paint-stained shorts and top that I wear every day over bathing suit; keep one old shoe in the car and one in back of truck; keep paper money in camera strobe; use double end snap to snap lodging and car key to you as you dive.

 

[lmorin]

I returned from Cozumel two days ago and while I saw some bleaching I did not see it to near the extent I saw on Bonaire. The reefs definitely appeared more healthy there than Bonaire. I am not hating on Bonaire, I really enjoy the island but there is something wrong there that is degrading their reefs at an alarming level. My suspicion is that it has more to do with inadequate sewage treatment vs. other issues. Again, just my suspicion.

Not what I am seeing in Bonaire. Are you seeing fatal or non-fatal bleaching? Most corals recover rapidly from most bleaching events. In addition, the marine environment just is not stable, varying year to year and decade to decade.

As to what is causing the supposed demise, there is no question that sewage has been leaching through the limestone walls of underground holding tanks. Probably even from the tanks that temporarily hold the sewage until it is trucked away. The good news is that one new sewage treatment plant has been in operation for months and receives the trucked stuff. A second treatment plant is under construction as is the installation of the main sewage line to transport the stuff directly to the second treatment plant. Don't know the expected start date for that operation.

 

[beaverdivers]

We had a dive group in Bonaire in late Oct. The diving was better than I had seen it in a decade. We were lucky, no crime problems.

Our best dive was right in front of Buddy Dive. So easy!

 

[gert7to3]

I found the coral health really hit or miss last November.

Andrea II was just devastated, everything looked bad there. And that's one of the sites where the whole shore has been built up over the past decade.

There were also a lot of patches of red/brown algae affecting corals at some of the first reef drop offs down south. The outer reefs down south looked much better. Made me think there might be polluted runoff, but would a polluted aquifer be able to run under the salt pans?

While the new sewage treatment plant is a step in the right direction, just remember that for years and years sewage was simply dumped in open trenches. The volume increased with population and with cruise ship visits. That sewage will be leaching through the aquifers for years to come.

 

[chauncy19]

Was there this summer and thought Andrea II the most disappointing of all sites I dove. Visibility was awful. Other sites were fine from Karparta to salt pier. As gert7to3 mentions there has been alot of new development in the area.

 

[muzicgirl]

This is why we have decided to stay away from Bonaire as well - it's just not worth the hassle anymore.

 

[drrich2]

Been to Bonaire 5 times; love it & hope to go back. That said, was there 12-10-11 - 12-17-11, dove Andrea II as our last dive 12-16-11, and oddly enough, the viz. was bad (by Bonaire standards). I also noticed the reef was 'patchier' if memory serves; more sand bed area between coral growths, in other words. Thought that was odd; I've historically enjoyed the Andreas, both I & II.

Of the sites we hit this trip (Buddy Dive's house reef several times, Windsock, Alice in Wonderland, The Cliff, Andrea I & II, Oil Slick Leap, Tolo/Ol'Blue, 1000 Steps & Karpata, off the top of my head), Karpata has the most beautiful, lush-looking reef.

It was our first time staying at Buddy Dive Resort, which we liked. Really liked how they picked us up from & returned us to the airport, and breakfast buffet (a good one) was part of the package deal. Nice house reef, too.

Richard.

 

[DeputyDan]

A recent hurricane trashed the dive sites including the Andrea sites up to Ole Blue.

The Andrea sites used to be beautiful with all the big sea fans and other life on the reef.