CIEE Research Station Bonaire is an organizational member of the American Academy of Scientific Diving (AAUS). All dive activities adhere to a set of standards recognized as the "standard of practice" within the scientific diving community. The dive program is administered by a Dive Control Board. Members include Dr. Rita Peachey, Dr. Lisa Kellogg, Scott Hausmann, and Caren Eckrich as the Dive Safety Officer. All dive activities are supervised by two trained staff members until student divers are trained in first aid, CPR, oxygen administration, advanced and rescue diving.

 

After students have achieved this level of training, one trained staff member is either in the water or topside during all CIEE dive activities. Emergency equipment including transportation, cell phone, first aid kit, and oxygen are present during all CIEE dive activities. Bonaire has a fully operating recompression chamber located next to the hospital in Kralendijk.

Students will be diving extensively with CIEE Research Station Bonaire and, in accordance with AAUS standards, must complete an intense dive physical before arriving in Bonaire. The physical includes a chest x-ray, spirometry, medical history, and blood and urine tests.

Students must also have dive insurance that covers recompression chamber treatments in the event of a dive accident. Very few health insurance policies cover diving-related accidents and most students choose to purchase inexpensive yet comprehensive dive insurance with Divers Alert Network (DAN).

 

Yellow Submarine Dive Friends Bonaire is located one block away from CIEE Research Station Bonaire. Full dive equipment can be rented here.

 

COURSE COMPONENTS

During the Fundamentals of Scientific Diving Techniques course, students receive training in PADI Advanced Open Water, PADI Rescue, Emergency First Response (1st aid and CPR), and DAN oxygen administration for scuba diving emergencies. Upon completion of all the skills and passing the knowledge sections, they may choose to be certified in each of these courses. Each certification costs $26.50.

ADVANCED OPEN WATER

The PADI Advanced Open Water course consists of five knowledge development sections and five dives including: peak performance buoyancy, underwater navigation, night diving, boat diving and deep diving

.

RESCUE DIVER

The PADI Rescue course also consists of five sections, each with its own knowledge development and skills including: self-rescue, tired diver, panicked diver, response from shore, distressed diver underwater, missing diver, surfacing, transporting, and exiting the unresponsive diver, oxygen administration, etc.

EMERGENCY FIRST RESONSE

Emergency First Response is an eight hour course training students in basic first aid and CPR. Dan oxygen administration for scuba diving emergencies is a four hour course familiarizing students with recognizing pressure-related injuries associated with scuba diving, oxygen equipment, and administering oxygen to injured divers.

 

SCIENTIFIC DIVING
Students will be trained in the identification of reef coral, fish, and algae and will become familiar with a variety of coral reef monitoring techniques including:

AGRRA protocol – coral, inverts, fish, and algae
REEF fish surveys
Fish surveys using T-bars
Working with leaded line, transect tapes, and graduated measuring sticks
Point intercept and line intercept
Quadrats
Underwater site mapping, compass work
Manta board sampling
GPS
Underwater photography
Underwater videography, frame-capture, and Coral Point Count software
Plankton nets and tows
Secchi disc
Conductivity, Temperature, Depth water measurements
Point water samples
Timed behavioral observations

Although the majority of these techniques are taught as an introduction to monitoring and as educational experiences, data collected from the AGRRA protocol is being used in a long-term study in which CIEE Research Station Bonaire and the National Bonaire Marine Park are collaborating on to monitor fish protected areas.