Stony Coral Disease Closes Bonaire Dive Sites

Because many Bonaire dive sites are being ravaged by Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), the organization that manages Bonaire's nature parks, STINAPA, has taken drastic steps to mitigate the spread of the disease.

Diving is no longer permitted on the island's north side, from north of Karpata to Malmok, including Washington Slagbaai National Park, until further notice.

And while it's yet to be published, we have learned that as of May 15, no divers, snorkelers, swimmers, or even walkers will be allowed on or near the small island of Klein Bonaire after 2 p.m. daily. And that may change since SCTLD has just been discovered there.

Bonaire has plenty of dive sites still open, but STINAPA's contagion map reveals that many sites around the capital, Kralendijk, are badly affected.

SCTLD is raging throughout the Caribbean, killing at least 22 species of hard corals. It's suspected that an unknown bacterium or virus causes it, one most likely carried in the bilges of ships but conceivably picked up and transported by humans in local waters.

While volunteer divers have partially stemmed the disease by applying an antibacterial ointment to infected coral, scientists have discovered a new tool. In a study published in April in Communications Biology, scientists have found that a bacterial probiotic treatment effectively stopped or slowed SCTLD in nearly two-thirds of tested infected coral fragments. It also prevented the infection from spreading in all transmission experiments. It could be used preventively to fortify healthy corals against an "unprecedented" disease.

Wherever you dive in Bonaire - or the Caribbean, for that matter - rinse and clean your dive gear well, including the inner compartment of your BC, and dry it in the sun to eliminate the possibility of transmitting the infection on your next dive, whether it's on Bonaire or in other parts of the world.

Probiotic Study: https://tinyurl.com/2yh2fy4a

Bonaire: https://tinyurl.com/bdn3znk8