Salt Pier

There is a lot of conflicting information about whether or not you can dive salt pier. The brochures state that you cannot dive salt pier unless you have permission from Cargill, and that you need a permit. However, asking all of our local dive shops, no one was willing to mention how to obtain this permit, and they were not willing to assist. I was lucky enough to have dinner one night next to a local police officer who recommended that I dive there, and when I asked about the permit, he told me it was not needed. So, I decided to drive by, and sure enough there was a tour group suiting up, and even some workers at the salt mill walking around. When I asked how to arrange a tour, the guy basically said that so long as there was no ship in the dock, that it was ok to dive. With that, we suited up and jumped in the water. The dive is quite an easy shore dive, as the entry is a flat beach entry with minimal rocks (for Bonaire), and the dive itself is very shallow. The pier itself has approximately six sections with coral encrusted pylons and schools of fish hanging out underneath them. The depth was only about 40 feet, and visibility was great. Just make your way from one pylon to the next and then work your way back…. The dive plan is just that simple! This ended up being one of my favorite dives on the island because it's different than most of the other reef dives, and it's really easy to get in and out of by shore, which is a big deal if you are lugging a big camera rig with you. I would highly recommend this dive to anyone spending time on Bonaire. If worried about the permit thing, I would scout out the location and just go in at the same time as another organized group. Worst case scenario, you could just play the 'I didn't know' card. But like I said, we dove with employees on site, and they didn't seem to mind at all.