(DiverWire) Bonaire Dive & Adventure has actively supported education and conservation programs designed to contribute to the preservation of Bonaire’s magnificent underwater Marine Park. Join them for their latest endeavor, the Fifth Annual Fish ID Challenge Program. Scheduled for July 28 through August 4, the program is being presented in conjunction with Fish ID experts Scott & Patti Chandler of ReefNet Inc.
Well know for their work in marine life identification and documentation, the Chandlers have spent the last 21 years documenting fish species, behaviors and creatures for future study and identification. During the program, Scott and Patti along with Bonaire Dive & Adventure naturalist Jerry Ligon will lead guided dives on Bari Reef. There will be 2 Multimedia Fish ID Seminars per week targeting novice to advanced fish watchers during their stay.
A Bonaire specific, custom printed Fish ID Guide of the top fish families found in Bonaire waters is waiting for you upon check in at the dive shop. Those attending the seminar will receive a free hand out that shows photos of the top 100 fish found in Bonaire, provides a glossary of ID terms and gives Bonaire dive site codes. Several evenings each week Scott and Patti will show raw uncut video of these and other dives with participants discussing Fish ID and swapping the day’s ‘Fish Tales’ One of Scott’s specialties is shooting in Hi-Def macro, capturing on tape, interesting fishes and creatures too small to be noticed by the naked eye and fish behavior not normally seen by most divers.
Divers will learn how to contribute to Reef’s (the Reef Environmental Education Foundation) fish database through the use of roving surveys. Information gathered in the surveys will be entered in REEF’s public-accessible database and made available to divers, marine researchers and other interested parties. Current reef database statistics site Bonaire as having 7 of the top 10 Reefs in the Caribbean in terms of species richness, with Bari Reef boasting the top position with a remarkable 391 species recorded.
Participants will be further challenged with the goal of locating a ‘Fish du Jour’ which will be posted on daily ‘Wanted Posters’. At week’s end, prizes will be awarded for the guest(s) who accumulate the most points for daily fish sightings. Guests will be encouraged to participate in a cumulative weekly fish sighting tally that will be updated daily to illustrate the vast representation of fish that can be found in Bonaire’s calm waters.
Participation in the seminars, dive with the naturalists Scott & Patti (throughout the program) on Bari Reef and the uncut video reviews with Scott & Patti is FREE. Bonaire Dive and Adventure also offers 25% discount on a H2YO noisemaker and the ReefNet Inc. DVD during these 2 weeks.
Bonaire Dive and Adventure is a PADI Gold Palm Facility and an SSI Scuba Training Facility. For more information or reservations visit the company’s website at http://www.bonairediveandadventure.com/
