Salt Pier

Salt Pier sits on the west coast of Bonaire near the salt works south of Kralendijk, beneath the working pier used to load salt onto cargo ships. The site is known for the massive pier pilings encrusted with orange tube sponges and coral growth, which create swim-throughs and columns that divers work through over a reef bottom to a maximum depth of around 17 metres, rated a beginner dive. Barracuda and snapper are regular sights around the pilings, and divers have also reported frogfish, glassfish, grouper, lionfish, octopus, scorpionfish, sea turtles, and seahorses tucked among the structure and the sandy bottom between the columns. As with most Bonaire shore dives, entry is easy, though the site is closed when a ship is docked at the pier, and diving is called off whenever one is present.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• GlassfishGlassfishReported here · unconfirmed
• OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
• Stoplight ParrotfishSparisoma virideReported here · unconfirmed
• Green Sea TurtleChelonia mydasReported here · unconfirmed
• Schoolmaster SnapperLutjanus apodusReported here · unconfirmed
• French AngelfishPomacanthus paruReported here · unconfirmed
• Smooth TrunkfishLactophrys triqueterReported here · unconfirmed
• Western Atlantic TrumpetfishAulostomus maculatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Giant AnemoneCondylactis giganteaReported here · unconfirmed
• Brown ChromisAzurina multilineataReported here · unconfirmed
• LionfishLionfishReported here · unconfirmed
• SeahorseSeahorseReported here · unconfirmed
• FrogfishFrogfishReported here · unconfirmed
• ScorpionfishScorpionfishReported here · unconfirmed
• SnapperSnapperConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed