Bonaire Deep Reef Expedition I

[smits]

CURACAO - For the first time, the deep reef of Bonaire will be examined during the "Bonaire Deep Reef Expedition I '. With The submarine Curasub and research vessel Chapman of the Curacao Sea Aquarium, researchers from the Institute IMARES will map the biodiversity of the reefs.

It is expected that new species will be found in these almost unexplored depths between 60-300 meters. This study is commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the framework of joint management by the islands of the Netherlands and marine biodiversity and fisheries in the waters around the islands from the external border of the marine parks to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

'Curasub'
On Curaçao, the Curasub has completed many dives, amongst others with researchers from the Smithsonian Institute. Several new species of fish, shells and crabs were discovered. The Bonaire Deep Reef Expedition 1 will include clarification whether these species also occur in Bonaire or getting even other species.

'Chapman'
The Curasub is transported from Curacao to Bonaire on the research vessel the Chapman. The owner of the Curacao Sea Aquarium, Adriaan (English) Schrier, purchased this ship from the University of Puerto Rico.
The Chapman arrives tomorrow Bonaire and will moor in the port, from where the first dive will take place on Thursday. The following days will be dived from the pier at Hato WEB and from the pier Cargill respectively.

[ModCecil]

Good stuff and would love to hear how it goes. That is a section of reef that rarely get explored.

[kob]

smits -- agree completely with Cecil ... please post results ... will be very interesting to learn about the deep reef.

[Bob T]

Good Mornin.
I copied and pasted Bonaire Expedition and found the phys org website that is about an hour old. I hope that this expedition will show how delicate the reefs are to the Dutch Government. The new ordinances they came up with could prove negative for the cruise ship area reefs situation. One website was saying that Bonaire might be very last healthy reef in the Caribbean. It would be great if they have video to share on the tube one day.

[tursiops]

Having just returned from a delightful trip on the Nai'a in Fiji, and based on many years of going to Bonaire, I must say that Bonaire's reefs are (a) not what they used to be, and (b) clearly not as healthy as those in the non-developed areas in Fiji. So, they might be the best in the Caribbean, but that is faint praise. Given no baseline on the deep reefs in Bonaire, I'm not sure how their health will be assessed. After all, we have a good baseline on the shallow reefs, and their degradation seems to have had no impact on governmental policies. All we hear is a comparison to the rest of the Caribbean, not to themselves over time.

Feeling kind of grumpy this morning.