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| Bonaire Marine Park |  The Marine Park covers about 2700 hectares and extends all the way around Bonaire, from the high water mark to the 60m depth contour. Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are encircled by its narrow, fringing coral reefs. Coral reefs here are really much preserved, very diverse, and support a truly amazing array of reef fish. Recent researches showed that Bonaire's fish population is the most diverse in the Caribbean and ranks among the best in the world.
Normally, the reefs begin right at the water's edge and drop off gently to a depth of about 32 feet (10m). This reef terrace is very narrow along the north coast (as little as 20m wide) and rather wider in the south reaching widths of 200m. There are encrusting coral formations in very shallow waters, and which grow close the bottom to avoid wave action. Here you may observe amazing stands of elkhorn and staghorn coral, often with fire coral, patch reefs, and dense stands of soft corals--all inhabited by a stunning variety of reef fish. There are tangs and parrot fish that are out in force, grazing and keeping the algae stands under control. You will also find here lots of damsel fish, with butterfly and angel fish amid grunts, coneys, rock hinds and their relatives--goatfish, hogfish, and a profusion of wrasse. Search for peacock eye flounder on the bottom, as well as lizard fish, and scorpionfish, all of which are so well camouflaged that you may simply overlook them. Though goatfish, by comparison, are difficult to miss. They do not try to hide as they churn up the bottom in search of tasty morsels. You will also encounter the sticky tentacled anemones hiding within the coral.
Then there is a transition to an area dominated by the mountainous star coral, which may form huge pagoda-like formations, pillars, mounds, or even slanting, overlapping, shingle-like structures. It is the drop-off zone, and it starts almost uniformly between 10-12m. Here you may find an abundance of soft corals and delightfully colored sponges, as well as Byzantine stands of mountainous star coral interspersed with clouds of radiant fish. Try to encounter the fierce sergeant major fish (they are actually harmless and approximately 8 inches in length) defending their eggs, and moray eels hiding out in crevices. There are also solitary grouper, large parrotfish, and various snapper swimming the reef; you can also observe the ever-present shoaling chromis, bothersome yellowtail snapper, and passing schools of various jacks cruising by in blue water. You may also meet tarpon, turtle, seahorses and frogfish. And extra-specials over here are nurse shark, whale shark, rays and dolphin.
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