Time to meet your fellows underwater withEric Riesch

May 30 – June 20, 2026

Join us for a week full of fun, presentations, and guided dives to learn about life on the reefs and the underwater fauna. Marine Life Education, set up and supported by Fish ID expert Eric Riesch. His presentations will focus on marine life identification and reef fish behavior with an emphasis on species found right off the dock at the resort. Activities include Fish ID classes and REEF surveyor dives, a guided mangrove snorkel tour, presentations, Guided Fish ID boat dives and more!

The second diver dives for free and you will receive a discount on the Reef ID books.
The special is valid from May 30 – June 20, 2026

*There is limited availability on the guided dives & mangrove snorkel, so sign-up at Buddy Dive Resort is required. For the mangrove snorkel please sign up at the dive shop. Transport is not included. A minimum of 4 people joining the guided dive or mangrove snorkel applies.
For guests with pre-booked boat dive packages, these dives are part of the package and will count toward the total dives.
Marine Life Education Schedule
Book now promo code: MARINE
Photos shot by ©Eric Riesch

Eric Riesch about Marine Life Education at Buddy Dive Resort

I am excited to be hosting the Marine Life Education Program at Buddy Dive for 2026! This will be my fourth consecutive year hosting the program that began with Ned and Anna DeLoach as hosts in 2002. I try to make it a FUN week starting with a topside presentation focused on fish, creatures, and behaviors you can see right off the dock, a few simple introduction to Fish ID classes during the week, a couple of boat dives to look for species with Buddy Dive guides and a mid-week mangrove snorkel to get into a different habitat and see some new stuff.

This year I will focus on hunting for small things (blennies, gobies, nudibranchs, etc.) during my Sunday presentation. I will continue the “dockside chats” on Tuesday before sunset to discuss spawning hamlet behavior, with an option to dive off the dock afterwards to try to see the behavior yourself.

Buddy Dive has a fantastic staff that is keenly aware of the importance of marine life education and how much that adds to keeping divers active for many years. I have met divers that have been diving more than 40 years and still smile ear to ear getting in the water, in hopes of seeing a new species or behavior they have never seen. I hope to encourage you to have that same enthusiasm and keep hunting for new species to add to your personal life list.

Eric Riesch

Eric Riesch is the photo editor and managing director of New World Publications, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. Riesch has been making underwater photographs for more than 20 years during trips to Indonesia, the Philippines, Galapagos Islands, and throughout the Caribbean. He has traveled annually to Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire since 2005.