By Dwayne Miller (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Saturday, November 5, 2005 - 5:23 pm: |
I just returned from Bonaire November 3. The amount of fish present was extremely high. The coral seems to be suffering from some damage from something as it is only about 50% alive. New growth can be seen, but there is a high volume of dead coral. There were a lot of parrot fish which do eat a lot and the temperature of the water was warm all adding to the problems of the reef. If you are a camera person it was a bust as there was too much material in the water for good pictures. No current and visibility was about 60 feet.
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By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5342) on Saturday, November 5, 2005 - 6:40 pm: |
Thanks for sharing your trip with us, Dwayne. Sorry to hear about the tanks and some of the conditions. Glad to see you still enjoyed Bonaire and have no regrets about visiting her twice. It is as if one were swimming in an aquarium in Bonaire's waters...we just love it.
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By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #403) on Sunday, November 6, 2005 - 10:23 am: |
50% of the coral on Bonaire is currently dead? We were just there in late September and the coral looked about the same as it has for the last 5 years to us. Are there any locals out there that can verify this coral damage? Thanks in advance - Bonaire again in June!!
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By Dwayne Miller (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Sunday, November 6, 2005 - 12:55 pm: |
I just tried to guess at the percentage and it looked closer to 50% than 60. I wish I could answer the reason for the decline as I said there was lots of new coral growth. I would like to see the money paid into the marine fund go to sites up north that are not allowed to dive and set up a grid system to watch the coral growth. The biologists could do a systematic scan of the area and possibly see something happening before it gets too severe. Temperature, pH, dissolved minerals could all be monitered to help see if any trends shift too soon. I love the diving there and from our experience of two years ago the coral seemed to be hurting. One thing we did notice is the color of the reefs seemed to be monochromatic or brownish. Is this a indicator of the fall or are certain brightly colored corals getting the brunt of some outside influence. It is still the cheapest dive location when everything is figured in and the cost per dive tallied up. As I said getting old and probably won't make the long trip again. I hope it all works out for others. I would definately go there over Cayman, and with Cozumel getting hit so hard it would be my first choice over the next year.
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