Status Report (1) on Reefs from the Bonaire National Marine Park
On the afternoon of Thursday, October 16, 2008, Bonaire National Marine Park staff began underwater surveys to ascertain the status of the reefs surrounding Bonaire after the tropical weather system Omar passed near to Bonaire on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 14 and 15, 2008. Additional surveying was planned for Saturday and Sunday, 18 and 19 October, 2008.
From Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning, a total of 18 sites were surveyed, mostly in the central area of the western coast of Bonaire and surrounding Klein Bonaire. At this time, there’s no indication that areas south of Kralendijk have been impacted in a different manner, but there are plans in place to survey more southern sites.
Initial results indicate that coral cover below 15 meters/45 feet has not been measurably affected and there’s no significant damage. It appears that this weather system impacted the middle areas of the reef to the greatest degree. In deep waters, (deeper than 15 meters/45 feet) 50% to 60% of corals have experienced siltation and suffered minimal mechanical damage. In the shallows approximately 30% to 40% of the medium size class (30 cm to 1 m) coral heads in this area have been toppled over and no major siltation was recorded. Corals which have been toppled over can be righted and saved since these corals are still living; staff from Bonaire dive operations are assisting the Bonaire National Marine Park with this effort.
It appears that most of juvenile corals in the shallow waters (down to 15 meters/45 feet) have survived.
There is new coral rubble debris deposited in many of the areas of the inter tidal zone which before had sandy areas. This is not new or worrisome, as it is a naturally occurring phenomenon that happens during Caribbean storms. Over time, sand will come back and fill in the areas between the coral rubble, thus returning these areas naturally to beaches.
In summary, all initial indications show that the impacts are far less than originally expected and appear to be much less drastic as occurred in prior storms (i.e., Lenny, November, 1999) when many more corals were stripped away in the shallows. Restoration efforts have already begun. However, it is difficult to estimate exactly when all will be back to normal, as other factors, such as coral bleaching due to extremely warm water temperatures, do also play a role.
Visiting divers who wish to help in restoration efforts are asked to help clean sand from sponges by gently fanning the area near by without actually making contact. Currents will also naturally help cleanse corals and sponges over the coming days. (Source: TCB-Bonaire)
