Franko’s Bonaire Mini-map and Reef Creatures Identification Guide

This is one of my favorite fish cards because it is all about one of the world’s greatest coral reef ecosystems, and the incredible opportunities it offers to divers and snorkelers. Side 1 of Franko’s Bonaire “fish card” is a mini map of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire with a listing of 86 alpha-numeric dive sites within its underwater National Park. Dive site buoys are installed, numbered and maintained the Council of Underwater Resort Operators of Bonaire (aka “CURO”). Most of the sites around Bonaire (sites 1 through 60 on the Bonaire Franko map) are also accessible from shore. Klein Bonaire sites (sites A through Z on the Bonaire Franko map) must be reached by boat. These sites as they appear on the Bonaire Franko map are listed below. As all divers should know, Bonaire is certainly one of the top diving destinations in the world. Bonaire’s tranquil, clear waters are especially friendly to underwater photography. In fact, underwater photographers like to call Bonaire the “Macro Capitol of the Caribbean”. When in Bonaire, visitors will note that Bonaire automobile license plates proclaim the words “Diver’s Paradise”. This Franko map/fish card is dedicated to promoting Bonaire’s fabulous underwater scenery, and inspires the viewer to love the reef creatures that inhabit Bonaire’s underwater national park, which entirely surrounds the island(s) and extends to 200 feet deep. The colors of my map proclaim “Bonaire is beautiful and fabulous!”; and “I love Bonaire!” Bonaire looks like a jewel within a beautiful setting of descending hues of ocean blues. The shaded relief of the hills, which represents the topography of Bonaire, was actually hand-drawn by yours truly, based on old British Admiralty charts of the island. The map also includes a miniature globe map for a perspective of just where in the world Bonaire sits. Side 1 of this fish card also shows a couple of sea turtles – both the green sea turtle and the hawksbill sea turtle. These turtles and a few other creatures of the reef are a preview for what is on side 2 of Franko’s Bonaire Mini-map and Reef Creatures Identification Guide. Side 1 is the Bonaire Mini-map, but side 2 is the viewer will find nearly 100 or colorful reef creatures constituting the Reef Creatures Identification Guide portion of the fish card. The map is colorful because I simply made it that way, but Side 2 is colorful because that is just the way nature intended Bonaire’s beautiful reefs to be. No artist could imagine so much beauty that is in every single part of and within every single creature on the Bonaire reef. The colors of this side of Franko’s fish card of Bonaire proclaim “Bonaire’s reef creatures are beautiful and fabulous!”; and “I love Bonaire’s reefs!” But this isn’t just a nice picture of Bonaire’s beautiful Caribbean reef creatures. Indeed, it is also a useful tool for divers and snorkelers who are interested in knowing what it is they are looking at when they are down there. This fish card is actually waterproof and durable, so divers can take it with them for underwater fish identification, if they wish. The viewer will note that the fish card has a sampling of approximately 100 of Bonaire’s most common and most beautiful reef creatures. However, there are actually hundreds more! The fish card would be huge to actually show them all! However, this is a great sampling of the usual characters, including a few, but definitely not all of the various parrotfishes, triggerfishes, angelfishes, wrasse, filefishes, groupers, grunts, rays, surgeonfishes, sharks, lobsters, corals, sea fans, sponges, mollusks, and much more. Many thanks go to Trident Diving Equipment, which provides diving supplies and their own fish cards world-wide, because the good people there helped me greatly in my fish artwork. Choosing which 100 or-so reef creatures was a task that was aided by a few scientists who have made it their passion to study Caribbean reef creatures. This fish card has actually evolved since its first edition, with the addition of a few species, such as the peacock flounder, and the replacement of others. I originally intended to depict a few more species of shark on side 1, the Bonaire mini-map side of the fish card. However, they just seemed a bit menacing and didn’t really represent the tranquility of Bonaire’s wonderful reefs. Those are examples of how this fish card and map are actually works in progress, as are all Franko Maps products. There is always room for improvement, and inputs are welcome and often very helpful.