Bonaire

Declared in 1979, Bonaire National Marine Park was one of the first in the Caribbean to establish complete protection of its entire shoreline — not merely of selected zones — banning from the outset spearfishing, anchoring on live coral and the collecting of marine organisms across all of its coastal waters. That early and strict protection has kept its reefs among the best preserved in the Caribbean, with live coral cover markedly above the regional average, making the island a world-reference diving destination despite its small size.