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Bonaire Talk: Environmental Action: Attention! Contact Anthony Nicolaas Now!
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Posted by Tom Reynolds on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 11:53 am:

(Sent via email)


Attention divers.

I am the USA Program Manager for the Light and Motion Sensor Progran
(LMSP). I work at the US Clab (University of Southern California,
Biology Dept.) for Prof. Burt Jones. We work with the BNMP on Bonaire.

We would be happy to provide you input on the state of Bonair's reefs
and the likely economic disruption should the reef degrade should you
so desire. We are recognized experts in both areas and we have
extensive knowledge of Bonaire through our LMSP efforts.
(http://www.bmp.org/lightandmotion.html)

In summary, without immediate action there is a strong likely hood that
coral coverage will decrease by 50% in 3 years from about 47% (March
2008) To about 23% (March 2011). This degradation will likely cause
The demise of shores diving on Bonaire, as we know it today. The Bonaire
SCUBA industry would need to convert to a boat-based service much like
The Red Sea or other Caribbean islands. The estimate is that a
boat-based service could only handle about 50% of the SCUBA visitors
that Bonaire can handle now. The primary losers would be restaurants,
resorts, rentals and other businesses that depend on the mobility of
SCUBA visitors.

Regards,
Tom Reynolds
LMSP Program Manager (USA)

Why would shore diving be more invasive then boat diving?

The reefs along the shore will be dead. The only way to get to "healthy" reefs would be by boat.

May I add that whatever portion of reef does remain intact/healthy along the shore will be swamped with shore divers as there won't be nearly as many sites that currently exist.

What is the estimate, in geographic/dive site name terms like 'north of', 'south of', 'from...to', etc., of where the reefs will live and where die?

How about Klein's reefs? Is there a significant 'down current' plume west of 'the big island' toward Klein?

Where will dive boats need to go to reach reefs like the ones we know today?

I must have missed an earlier discussion. What is going to cause such a rapid loss of coral? What is the corrective action they are recommending?

Sailor..In a word; eutrophication. Please read the past threads on this topic.

I have some problems with this email that evidently is a response to Capt Don from Tom Reynolds at USC.

First, the provided link does not provide any conclusions or new information for Tom's declarations of doom and gloom - it simply goes to STINAPA's LMSP pages with a group of readout-based graphs and no further explanation of the eutrophication disaster Tom refers to with such alarm. How did he make the jump from this unexplained data to such drastic conclusions, even getting down to the coming catastrophe for resorts, restaurants, etc. The 50% drop in divers with only boat diving - how was that figure calculated?

Since the sensors are all on "town" reefs, how do they lead to such sweeping conclusions that include all the island's reefs? And he doesn't refer to the recent thorough reef health study that looked at a scattering of reefs in depth (literally and figuratively). And where is the data that supports his specific timetable of disaster? From all I've read, it doesn't exist.

For a man of science, Tom's remarks just don't resonate with me (my training is in molecular biology, so resonance has significance to me). And all the spelling and grammar mistakes from a scientist? Even the smartass title has a false ring to it.

I'm seriously wondering if some alarmist troll sent that email to Captain Don. It feeds into the emotional aspect of Don's concerns, concerns shared by most of us who know and love Bonaire's reefs. There certainly is a serious problem with the proven release into the sea of eutrophication-favoring nutrients from sewage that is not treated beyond the secondary level (incl seepages from totally untreated in-ground systems, notably in the hotel zone ("town" reefs). We all hope the new sewage treatment plans will be executed soon and will work as planned. This bad sewage situation may indeed benefit from a little alarmism, but it needs to be thoroughly examined, rationally described and explained at a layman's level.

For the record, we are serious marine environmentalists - we have donated/raised money for funding a sensor array, we have met with STINAPA's manager Ramon on several occasions to discuss these problems, we are active members of DEMA and several reef organizations, we attended the International Coral Reef Symposium last July, and we played a role in the recent banning of all spearfishing for groupers in the Cayman Islands, and we totally support complete tertiary treatment of all sewage on Bonaire.

Bill and Donna, Are you aware of the Wastewater Statement released by Ramon on August 1, 2008, which highlights the following:

1. Wastewater from tourist accommodations and other properties on the shoreline is being leached from septic tanks directly into the sea, causing the nitrogen loads to double and macroalgae to increase every year.
2. Studies confirm that the reefs of Bonaire are in a serious decline and can not wait for the sewage plant of 2011 to be built.
3. Action needs to be taken now! Bonaire's wastewater practices are no longer sustainable; they are killing the reef.

As a result of Ramon's statement, as well as corroborating science from Brian La Pointe's studies from last summer, etc., an SOS Campaign To Save Bonaire's Reefs was initiated to lobby government officials, including Queen Beatrix, the Dutch secretary for the transition Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Lt. Governor Hubert Domacasse, and Commissioner Anthony Nicolaas to halt immediately wastewater being spilled and leached from oceanfront resorts, hotels, rental properties, etc.

If you want to help, please browse the other threads on this subject in Environmental Action so you can read the assessment and analysis also of Jerry Lignon, a naturalist living on Bonaire for years, and Detlef Schweger, who is a sewage expert. Ramon is correct; if the sewage is not stopped, the reefs will be dead by 2011, and the dive-based economy of Bonaire will be in serious decline. The time to act is now

Friends of Bonaire's Reefs
SOSBonaireReef@gmail.com

We read Ramon's report of August 1 and the corroborating work from last summer's study, and discussed some of the details with Ramon at the International Coral Reef Symposium. The alarm has been sounded. It is gratifying to see that the government officials have finally awakened to the problem - thanks to the ongoing efforts by BNMP, SOS Bonaire, Jerry Lignon, Capt Don, and so many others. There is no doubt about the gravity of the situation, and the need for urgent action to avert near-term continuing increases in eutrophication.

My basic point regarding the email from Tom Reynolds, remains valid. "Converting to a boat based" diving economy is an exaggeration and alarmist (regarding the diving economy, not the very real increasing eutrophication). On Curacao the eutrophication and macroalgae problems are truly awful, and Bonaire could reach that point if the important steps clearly presented by Ramon and others are not implemented immediately. Curacao has not converted to only boat diving, there is a lot of diving from shore there, and I see no sign that businesses have suffered because of the obvious and extensive decline in coral health.

This does not imply that the situation in Bonaire does not require a big, fast, expensive, far-reaching response - obviously the science has shown that it does. And that response is best encouraged by accurate reporting of the facts, as Ramon's and La Point's reports do.

So, when are the trucks going to start hauling sewage water, as Ramon suggests, so the discharge into the ocean will be at least mitigated some until the tertiary treatment plant comes online in 2-3 years?

I searched high and low for Tom Reynolds, Thomas Reynolds, T. Reynolds, etc. and was unable to find any mention of such person with relation to the USC and Professor Burt Jones. Also, didn't find any mention of an LMSP or any noted association with Bonaire. Meh.

Anyway of checking the sender and IP address?

Branwen,

Click on the link in Tom's post (the first on this thread) and it will take you to the LMSP (Light and Motion Sensor Program) section of the STINAPA website. It isn't totally current, but will provide basic info about the LMSP.

If you search Bonaire Talk archives there are many previous threads about the Light and Motion Sensor Program over the last year or so, mostly under the "Diving" topic, as the "Environmental Issues" topic had no yet started.

The Bonaire Reporter also has quite a few articles about the LMSP in its archives.

Blue

Blue, thanks for the heads up. I have followed this a bit as a lurker--just was looking for verification sources outside of the first post with regards to the veracity. (It's too bad that the USC page doesn't have a link to it as well, but I suppose since it's not on their books, it doesn't exist-university research lab humor- ba dum ching!)

I don't think there is any question as to the obvious need to keep the sewage off the reef. I was just irritated at the specious nature of the email to Captain Don, based on what Bill had noted.

On our last visit(May of this year) my husband and I were quite dismayed by the algae growth and the fact that an enormous amount of development has occurred, without any actual protections for the reef occurring.