Weighing in a Hawhsbill turtle at Lac Bay: Gielmon “Funchi” Egbrachts is assisted by STCB volunteer Tina Lindeken. Acting STCB President Andy Uhr and Lee Bray look on while Dr. Adriana Esmeijer, Director of the Prins Bernhard Culture Foundation from The Netherlands, snaps a photo. photo by Wilna Gronenboom ring passenger for all passengers trans- Table of Contents ferring to flights to non-US destina- End of an Era 4 tions will also be introduced as of Stichting Kids-Hands on Experience 4 April 1. Where to find The Reporter 4 The AAA press release said that Capt. Don’s Reef Windows (Hands Off) 5 “passengers who departed from other Reef Rights Declaration 8 airports (including Bonaire) and are Letters (Dammers Family Cleanup, traveling via Aruba to US destinations No Sharks) 7 are considered to be departing from SGB Students Aboard Ship 10 Aruba and are subject to the full stan- Spotlight on Turtle Conservation 12 dard check-in procedures and therefore Bonaire on Wheels (A Fisherman & a Wheelbarrow) 13 all regular passenger charges are appli- Shrink Studies SCUBA (Panic) 15 cable.” Krusa Laman -Literature Festival 17 Gear Doc (Dive Lights) 17 Ank Bijleveld-Schouten DROB head Mingel Martis and Internet photo Commissioner Jonchi Dortalina in- WEEKLY FEATURES: spect the work. BVO photo Flotsam & Jetsam 2 tate Secretary for Kingdom Biologist’s Bubbles (Parrotfish & reef) 3 Coral Glimpses 3 Relations, Ank Bijleveld- Development Fund. The purpose is to S Picture Yourself (Polish Border) 6 Schouten, will be in the Netherlands create better living conditions for local Straight Talk 6 Antilles and Aruba from March 19 people, said Parliamentarian Anthony Classifieds 14 for 10 days on an official work visit. Nicolaas. Specific target areas are Sudoku Puzzle 18 She will be visiting all the islands of Antriol Pariba, Antriol Pabou, Rincon, Tide Table 18 the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Bario Mamparia Kutu (where road Tiara Air Reporter Masthead 18 Besides getting acquainted with the paving is already underway—see Amigo photo What’s Happening 19 governors, the prime ministers and photo) and northeast Antriol. The Movieland Film Schedule 19 other dignitaries, the State Secretary costs of these projects total NAf7 mil- ► Last Thursday Aruba’s Avia- Shopping & Dining Guides 20 will visit several projects and organiza- lion. tion Administration grounded both On the Island Since (Martina Gerling) 21 tions that do work on combating pov- Tiara Air Short aircraft because ir- Pet of the Week (Volunteer Zahid, erty, providing education, conserving ► One result of the mayors’ meet- regularities were found during an ad- “Lola ” & Fundraiser) 22 the environment, maintaining law, pro- ings in Bonaire two weeks ago will be ministrative investigation of the com- Sky Park (Vernal Equinox ) 23 The Stars Have It 23 moting economic development, offer- pany. One of the planes was already discreet collaboration between the Sudoku Answer 23 ing health care and benefiting youth. two Frisian islands and Bonaire, grounded for routine inspection. When She will be in Bonaire from Friday, Statia, and Saba. The intention is to this paper went to press, the director of March 23, until Sunday, March 25. create state paid trainee posts for civil Tiara Air, Alejandro Muyale, was still servants, according to a story in the in discussion with the Aviation Ad- ► In negotiations for Bonaire’s new newspaper Noordhollands Dagblad. ministration. Tiara Air is Aruba’s only status with The Netherlands, Hans Hil- This was announced by the mayors airline and conducts ABC island and len, advisor of Bonaire, former parlia- of Texel and Vlieland, Joke Geldorp Venezuela flights. mentary journalist and Christian De- and Baukje Galama, who visited Bon- mocratic party member, thinks that it is aire. The collaboration should take ► The 100% drug check at Schi- “Investigation on Investments for Bon- not wise to demand guarantees from shape via the "Vliebes (Vlieland, Bon- phol Amsterdam Airport was not aire Airport,” sent to the press by the the Netherlands up front. He says aire, Statia and Saba) Foundation." affected by the Dutch Customs strike opposition PDB Democratic Party, the that the island is better off negotiating The two mayors as well as executives last week, a spokesperson for Customs Algemene RekenkamerNederlandse well. If Bonaire plays its cards right in of Dutch and Antillean businesses will said. Antillen (Audit Office of the Nether- these negotiations, for one thing, it can form a board to oversee the Founda- They struck for a better collective lands Antilles, ARNA) criticized the easily refuse to perform gay marriages tion. Reportedly, Kees Storm labor agreement. Ten of the 120 Schi- airport expansion project that was (currently an overblown election is- (Chairman of the Board of KLM) will phol Customs officials did not strike. done on behalf of KLM. In 1999 the sue), Hillen told Radio Netherlands. head the Vliebes board. They did the checks of high risk airline brought up the weekly flight “Only five countries accept gay mar- flights. between the Netherlands and Bonaire riage, so you can’t say that Bonaire is ► The Aruba Airport Authority Flights from Surinam, the Nether- for discussion. KLM said flights objecting to something that is normal N.V. has announced new departure lands Antilles, Aruba and Venezuela would only be profitable with 3 to 4 worldwide. It is also not a European tax fees, a new transfer charge and have been subject to 100% checks for flights per week, but for this, the air- law.” parking rates effective April 1. US- drug smuggling since 2003. Not only port needed additional facilities. Be- bound departure tax remains $37 per passengers and freight are checked, but tween 2000 and 2004, a total of ap- ► The European Union is going to passenger and $33.50 (a 50-cent in- cabin personnel on these flights are proximately NAƒ 24.9 million was help Bonaire with infrastructure and crease) for other international flights. also searched. invested in the airport according to the social developments in Antriol, Rin- Children under two years are exempt. Audit Office. con, and Nikiboko via the European A Transfer Charge of $3 per transfer- ► According to a recent report, (Continued on page 3) Page 2 Bonaire Reporter - March 23 to April 6, 2007 (a bit of information about corals presented each week by naturalist Dee Scarr) id You D Know… Parrotfish can make or break a coral reef? Evi- dence presented by Dr. Peter Mumby, a world- renowned coral reef scientist, and others suggest that parrotfish popula- tions can regulate the success of coral reefs. There is a constant battle Stoplight Parrot Jim Brandon photo among corals and algae for space on the reef. If given the chance, fast-growing algal species will overgrow corals. Luckily, on a healthy reef there are urchins, parrotfish and other grazers that act as lawn- mowers, grazing algae down on a daily basis. Dr. Mumby gave a public lecture recently here on Bonaire and presented a con- vincing argument that if parrotfish are overfished, coral reefs suffer. We’re lucky in hese two blennies are barely an inch long, and their weight would be insig- Bonaire since there isn’t a history of intense parrotfish fishing and the local fisher- T nificant to us. Yet all the coral polyps the blennies have touched, and some of men don’t use traps (parrotfish are especially prone to be caught accidentally). An- the nearby ones, have withdrawn their tentacles as a result of the blennies' contact. other reason parrotfish are extremely important is that long-spined black sea urchin Caption & photos by Dee Scarr. populations plummeted in the early 80s due to a Caribbean-wide disease. These urchins were responsible for much of the grazing of algae before their die-off. There is often this type of redundancy (where different animals serve the same func- tion) in coral reefs due to their high biodiversity. Since the urchins are still under- populated, the parrotfish are extremely important. So when someone asks why biodiversity is important, one of the reasons is this scheme of redundancy, so that if one animal suffers from a disease or dies off in a storm, others are there to carry out the same function. When you see (or hear) a Flamingo airport departure area parrotfish chomping the algae, remember that it’s more than just a pretty face!□ CE (Flotsam and Jetsam. Continued from page 2) the second apron; NAƒ 1.9 million for Caren Eckrich teaches Coral Reef Ecology and Scientific Diving to Ameri- Of the NAƒ24.9 million, 5.3 million the new departure hall; and NAƒ 9.4 can University students at the CIEE Research Station Bonaire. She's also the went to the enlargement of the runway; million to the fuel depot. According to Director of Sea & Discover, a marine education center offering interactive NAƒ 5.5 million to the prime apron for the auditors, NAƒ 1.7 million was spent learning programs to kids and adults. You can reach her at 717-5322 □ . wide body airplanes; NAƒ 2.7 million for (Continued on page 8) Bonaire Reporter - March 23 to April 6, 2007 Page 3 he Bonaire Reporter has T been sold to a mystery buyer, rumored to be a well- known physiotherapist on the A lora? island. He granted the following interview on the condition that he not be identified, pending official announcement of the sale. “No, I don’t have any journalis- tic experience,” he admitted, “but George DeSalvo, photographed while for years I’ve been unhappy with spending 24 hours in piedru Bonaire some of the publication policies becoming a true Bonairean. of The Reporter. I feel someone should step in and set matters right.” “First off, “Everyone knows,” the mys- Two views of Laura DeSalvo, a and most importantly,” he continued, “I don’t tery buyer continued, “that eating familiar figure on the island.