First Annual Fish ID Challenge - Bonaire (Aug. 9 - 23, 2008)

First Annual Fish ID Challenge
August 9 – 16 or August 16 - August 23, 2008

Join Sand Dollar and Bonaire Dive & Adventure this summer for their First Annual Fish ID Challenge in conjunction with Fish ID experts Patti & Scott Chandler of ReefNet, Inc and the island of Bonaire’s Dive Into Summer Program.

$100 pp Per week for Sand Dollar guests. $150 pp Per week for visitors staying elsewhere.		Fish ID Challenge Fee includes: Multimedia Fish ID seminars Guided Dives with the Naturalist Printed Guide of the Top 100 Species found on Bonaire ReefNet Inc. H2YO Noisemaker Reef Fish Interactive DVD (one per couple) Introduction to conducting REEF Surveys Prizes Awarded for the most Fish “ID’d” Video reviews highlighting unusual fish behavior Tanks not with any pre paid dive package.
Advanced registration is required prior to June 15, 2008. Toll Free 1-800-328-2288 Email sales@caradonna.com
For many years, Sand Dollar and Bonaire Dive & Adventure have actively supported education and conservation programs designed to contribute to the preservation of Bonaire’s magnificent underwater Marine Park. Join them this summer for their latest endeavor, in conjunction with Fish ID experts Patti & Scott Chandler of ReefNet, Inc. Well known for their work in marine life identification and documentation, the Chandlers have spent the last 17 years documenting fish species, behaviors and creatures for future study and identification. Participants will enjoy multimedia Fish ID seminars targeting novice to advanced fish watchers during their stay. Attendees will receive a Bonaire specific, custom printed Fish ID guide of the top 100 most commonly sighted fish found in Bonaire’s waters as well as a H2YO Noisemaker (underwater signaling devise designed by ReefNet, Inc.) plus one Reef Fish Interactive DVD per couple. During the week, Patti and Scott along with Bonaire Dive & Adventure Naturalist Jerry Ligon will lead guided shore dives on Bari Reef. Several evenings each week, Patti and Scott will share raw, uncut video of these and other dives with participants discussing fish ID and swapping the days “fish stories.” 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.
Image courtesy of Fish Eye Photo	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 into 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 Sand Dollar’s Bari Reef boasting the top position with a remarkable 368 species recorded.
Participants will be further challenged with the goal of locating a “fish du jour” which will be posted on a daily “Wanted Poster.” 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.
Sand Dollar’s “Ride to the Reef Packages” are priced at US $838.00 per double diver plus $100 per Fish ID Challenge participant for seven nights studio accommodation, FREE Nitrox upgrades, 6 days unlimited shore diving, daily breakfast buffet, truck rental with Fish ID Challenge sponsor Budget RentaCar, and government room tax. Packages including boat dives and other accommodation types including one, two and three bedrooms are also available.
Call Caradonna Reservations Toll Free 1-800-328-2288 Email sales@caradonna.com