Bonaire
Bonaire, the eastern most of the three Dutch Leeward Antilles, is an island of austere beauty formed from ancient fossilized coral reefs and sits on the lip of a deep ocean trench that separates it from the South American mainland.
Turks Cap Cactus
(Melocactus azureus)
Photo by: © Christian Koning
Nature Park Management
Member Organization
Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire) is a non-governmental, not for profit foundation commissioned by the island government to manage the two protected areas of Bonaire: the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) and the Washington Slagbaai National Park (WSNP).
Contact information
For general questions
Email: info@stinapa.org
Phone: (+599) 717 – 8444
Visiting address
Barcadera 10, Kralendijk,
Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean
Visiting hours
Mon-Fri 08:00-16:00
Bonaire National Parks
Bonaire Key Species & Ecosystems
Caribbean Flamingo
Photo credit: © Alexes Photos
Queen Conch
(Lobatus gigas)
Photo credit: © Mark Vermeij
Green Iguana
Photo credit: © Aline Dassel
Red mangroves
(Rhizophora mangle)
Photo credit: © Christian König (SHAPE/DCNA)
Blue-tailed Emerald Hummingbird
(Chlorostilbon mellisugus)
Photo credit: © Rostislav Stach
Hawksbill turtle
(Eretmochelys imbricata)
Photo credit: © Brenda Kirkby
Pair of yellow-shouldered amazon
(Amazona barbadensis)
Photo credit: © Rudy van Gelderen
Divi Divi
(Caesalpinia coriaria)
Photo credit: ©
Northern crested caracara
(Caracara cheriway)
Photo credit: © Marjolijn Lopes Cardozo (SHAPE/DCNA)
Blue Parrotfish
(Scarus coeruleus)
Photo credit: ©
Kibrahacha tree
(Tabebuia billbergii)
Photo credit: © Diego Marquez
American kestrel
(Falco sparverius)
Photo credit: © Diego Marquez
Spinner dolphins
(Stenella longirostris)
Photo credit: © Mark Vermeij
Other Nature Organizations
Latest updates from STINAPA
What is Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease? 🐠
Watch this video to learn more about this lethal coral disease and learn how to help.
Divers, please report your sightings here:
www.agrra.org/coral-disease-outbreak/
Thank you for making this video. I have shared it with the Info Bonaire and the Bonaire Insider community.
This video is very informative! Could you please post it to Instagram so it can be shared there as well? Thanks so much.
So once you find it can you treat it? How can you help the affected coral colony?
So do really believe that SCTLD is spread by dive gear and there are no environmental influences or degradation from expansive development on the island or from ship bilges or otherwise?
Thanks for the information, now the big question, what happens if SCTLD is not controlled and keeps spreading???
Would it make sense to close the confirmed sites of Skittle D?
Mark Posey
Geert Cremers
Jilly!!
Jolyn Hardam
Happy Ranger Day to our hard working employees who take care and help maintain our national parks in Bonaire beautiful. 🐠🌿
___
Felis Dia di Ranger na nos empleadonan ku ta traha duru pa kuida i mantene nos bunita parkenan nashonal di Boneiru. 🐠🌿
Masha danki to all Stinapa Rangers, you do a great Job.
Thanks for all the great work that you do!
⚠️ Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) Updates - In an effort to limit the spread of SCTLD from the site Karpata to the rest of the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP), we closed dive sites Karpata & La Dania's Leap until further notice. 🪸
We will continue to monitor and keep you updated.
_____
⚠️ Update di e malesa di koral : Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) - E sitionan Karpata i La Dania's Leap ta será te próksimo aviso pa evitá ku e malesa di koral SCTLD ta plama na otro sitionan den nos parke marino. 🪸
Nos lo sigui investigá e situashon i lo mantené bo(so) informá.
Not nearly enough! To make a clear and definitive statement Stinapa should at least close everything north of the Andrea’s. This is not something to sneeze at.
For folks not familiar with SCTLD, here’s a good, albeit disturbing, starting point: www.agrra.org/coral-disease-outbreak/
STINAPA Bonaire now is the time to show what is done with the money of the marine tags. Please print flyers and spread them among the visitors.
Excellent and responsable decision from STINAPA. Let’s hope everyone respects this and stays off those reefs.
Question to stinapa. Why are affected pieces of pillar coral not being removed. The disease obviously came in by currents or foreign ships. I would think by closing a dive site it will still spread. Lets say soon it is found south or klein bonaire. Are you going to close all dive sites. I am really wondering.
I agree the situation should be addressed swiftly and with the health of the ecosystem being priority #1. I would rather see a closure of a larger area early in the progression of spread. Study how the ecosystem naturally recovers. Then develop best practices for future outbreaks.
Glad that someone worked that la danias leap needed closed too
I Just drove past Karpata and the caution tape was gone and an AB dive truck with no one around standing there... Maybe New tape?
Hi STINAPA Bonaire hope it is ok for me to reproduce this on Bonaire Talk Forum for those few that do not have Facebook accts ? I'm sure you agree this info has to be spread quickly through all channels
Sorry not familiar with coral diseases..What is SCTLD and how did it start?
Oh no. Two great sites.
Vingers gekruist dat het in te perken is inderdaad!
Erardo Kea geen drift duik dus als je er bent vanaf la dania naar Karpata. Maar laten we hopen dat dit genoeg is om het te beperken.
Espero se recupere para Septiembre
Stroba hende di kwe gutu swa?. wow.
Trisha Baird
Stephanie Lynn Stokes 😔
Toni McElhaney 🙁
Saw that
So sad
Lineke de Kler-Philippo
This is so sad but we were told over 20 years ago that in 20 years this reef would be dead. Too bad something couldn't be done then.
Klaas de Jong . Johan van der Meer .
Kasandra Nielsen
Zal niet helaas helpen. Opname CO2 door de oceaan veroorzaakt verdere opwarming. Koraal raakt door verhoging water temperatuur in een stress. Al jaren gaande wereldwijd. Great bartier reef binnen 8 maanden al voor 67% afgestorven. 0,2% van de zeeën is bedekt met koraal maar deze bergen 25 % van al het leven. Het zou interessant zijn als Stinapa eens data zou kunnen delen hoe het staat met het niet toegankelijk Alexander rif! Zal daar niet anders zijn. Einde verdienmodel Bonaire in in zicht!
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a highly lethal coral disease has been detected on the reefs on Bonaire.🦠
SCTLD impacts over 30 species of hard corals, many of them important reef builders. Once a coral reef is infected, over 70% of corals die. Preliminary surveys done on July 22nd and July 23rd 2022 confirm the disease is present and spreading at Karpata (dive site 9). As such, we will be closing Karpata until further notice in hopes of limiting the spread of SCTLD from this site to the rest of the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP).
What can you do to help?
🤿 We urge all divers in the BNMP to follow recommended gear decontamination protocols to limit spread. All non-sensitive gear should be rinsed in a 1% bleach solution. Sensitive gear should be soaked for 10 minutes in a disinfection solution before being rinsed and allowed to dry fully.
📧 Keep us informed: if you observe any signs of infection at other sites in Bonaire, please report your sightings, if possible with pictures and directions to the location, to info@stinapa.org
What will we do?
STINAPA staff will monitor and track the disease at Karpata and other sites in the BNMP to determine the best path forward. We will be providing updates via our social media platforms. We kindly request your help in getting this message out to all the users of the BNMP. There are few effective treatments for this disease; it’s crucial we try and limit the spread as much as possible.
Video credit: Tadzio Bervoets
Oh no, I hope that the disease does not spread or kill too many corals. I love diving in Bonaire. It is a beautiful place.
Has anyone done any testing to see if it’s even possible to prune out the infected portions of coral to preserve what’s left of it?
Is it possible to remove the affected corals to prevent further spread? Has this ever been tried and tested?
Taken at Karpata, 13 July 2022
Ive seen this more often on brain and boulder corals I believe. How can you distinguish with bleaching or other things that may look kind of the same?
I don't know if this is also SCTLD..this was taken at Klein Bonaire last week.
I’ve seen this starting in oktober of last year… I was so sad
Klein Bonaire as well
I think Nico hit that one the head. On the picture i commented on the coral still had structure just bleached out. Happens with high temp
Is it possible to remove a piece of infected coral to save the rest?
Dianna Gentry Thought you should see this since you have a trip planned to there.
Marcel van Putten we need your expertise
Mir Jam en Paul Buskermolen
Cathleen Chance Whillock
Remmert Artemesius Houmann-Drijver
Vianco Serberie
Jose Russa
Linda Kubicsko Teresa Hattaway
Alicia Vollmer Stephanie Schopmeyer
Jeroen de Veld 😭
Greg thought you’d want to check this out
Oh no!😯
Noooo...! 😳😢
Bert Ali Elly John
What causes the decease?
Long-spined sea urchins are getting sick, and YOU can help!
Long-spined sea urchins (Diadema antillarum) play a critical role in maintaining healthy coral reefs. 🪸
Unfortunately, this species was decimated in the mid-1980s, when a disease spread throughout the Caribbean, nearly wiping out their entire population. Alarmingly, since February 2022, new reports identify similar extensive die-offs. Within the Dutch Caribbean, die-offs have been already been recorded on Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Curaçao. 😟
Help protect sea-urchins:
1. Wash your gear between sites
2. Dive on "clean" sites
3. Be careful not to step on or touch or remove the urchins
4. Report any sightings of live, sick and dead urchins
Tous decimés en 15 jours au mois d avril entre case pilote et anses d arlet en Martinique, quelques jeunes spécimens commencent à être observés à nouveau
Long-spined sea urchins are getting sick, and YOU can help!
Long-spined sea urchins (Diadema antillarum) play a critical role in maintaining healthy coral reefs. By grazing on algae, these sea urchins keep algae growth in check while also providing settlement space for corals.
Unfortunately, this species was decimated in the mid-1980s, when a disease spread throughout the Caribbean, nearly wiping out their entire population. Alarmingly, since February 2022, new reports identify similar extensive die-offs. Within the Dutch Caribbean, die-offs have been already been recorded on Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Curaçao.
Help protect sea-urchins:
1. Wash your gear between sites
2. Dive on "clean" sites
3. Be careful not to step on or touch or remove the urchins
4. Report any sightings of live, sick and dead urchins
🔎 For more information, please check out the Special Edition BioNews dcnanature.org/special-edition-diadema/
Sadly these things escalated after allowing cruise ships..I'm not a marine biologist. Just someone who remembers the pristine island pre-cruise ship pollution