Roatan
Marine Park December 2007 newsletter
Welcome to
the December 2007 newsletter!
While the engorging of festive food and the over consumption
of alcohol are but a distant memory, apart from what
now resides on people’s waist lines, the occurrences
of December must still be recounted. Grazzia, James,
and I managed to escape the “Rock” for a
short while and celebrate Christmas elsewhere. But while
the bosses were away, operations still continued as
usual. So with the end of the year, it’s once
again time to summarize the previous months, recapping
the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2007.
Finances:
Our financial situation last year resembled something
similar to a roller coaster, with ups and downs, crescendoing
with an obscene, almost calamitous drop when the island
was threatened by hurricanes Dean and Felix. I actually
had nightmares that the organization was in bankrupcy,
with the plummet on par with the Barings Bank crash
in ‘95. It was almost bye bye Marine Park but
luckily there was light at the end of the tunnel and
I for one would like to extend my gratitude to all those
that have supported us through thick and thin. Memberships
and donations were definite life lines at times of need.
I’m happy to announce that the Park managed to
generate over $140,000 in revenue during 2007. Much
of this money came from tags sales (see Figure 1 below),
amassing a total of $68,012 from annual and daily user
fees. A further $30,000 was generated through our membership
program and from donations. A grant from WWF amounting
to $7,500 was also awarded to finance production of
posters and brochures. The final $34,000 was generated
through sales from the shop and snorkel rental. On an
even better note, we actually earned money in 2007,
with expenditures amounting to $133,000, meaning that
we go into 2008 with more stability than in previous
years.
Fig 1: Tag sales for the
Sandy Bay West End Marine Park 2007
Patrols:
While December saw no imprisonments, patrols have been
operating both within the Park and over on the South
Side. Only having one working engine posed somewhat
of a problem. This has now been rectified and we should
have 3 fully functional engines in a day or two so as
to avoid any similar occurrences in the future.
Having a reminisce and looking through the “poachers”
file on the computer, I can summarize that the patrols
in 2007 within the Marine Park resulted in 18 separate
arrests and imprisonments, with the confiscation cache
including nets, spearguns, gaffs, Hawaiian slings and
snorkel gear. This is a big reduction from 2006’s
figures which I sadly can’t recount as they were
on the computer that was stolen at gunpoint from Greg
in Tegucigalpa. I am happy to say that the patrols are
making a difference as the lobster and conch populations
residing within our boundaries have increased, at least
from what we’ve heard from the diving community.
Starting at the end of September, Willard and the police
have been patrolling near Barefoot Key when the weather
calls for it. From these patrols, 11 days have resulted
in the confiscation of snorkel gear and an assortment
of spear guns and gaffs. The boat patrols a large portion
of the southern shore and word is out that illegal activities
are no longer going to be tolerated.
In addition to our efforts, Jimmy, from Camp Bay , with
the help of the Oak Ridge Police, has been patrolling
the waters around the East End . Locals, that until
recently poached turtles for their meat, now comprehend
that their actions are illegal and that if they continue,
they will be imprisoned. The conservation efforts at
Blue Ocean reef are also in need of mentioning and will
be discussed in detail later in the newsletter.
Mangrove clearing:
We are still waiting on the Fiscalia to act on information
we provided them in early December regarding the mangrove
chop which took place directly behind the Municipal
dump. We hope that eventually the guilty party will
be brought to justice, proving that the system really
does work! Watch on and keep fingers crossed…
SERNA inspections:
Last month we were invited by SERNA to be part of the
SINEIA (see November’s newsletter for acronym
explanation), and made an exhaustive inspection at the
Mahogany Bay Project, better known as the cruise ship
docks to be built in Dixon Cove. James and Grazzia attended
both terrestrial and marine inspections and presented
a set of observations and recommendations that will
be included in the environmental mitigation and compensation
plan the developer will be forced to follow. Accompanying
them on inspections was SERNA’s vice minister,
who was told of the impact that the building of the
structures will have on the reef.
I supposedly risked my life on behalf of conservation
by having the responsibility of taking the GPS coordinates
required for the establishment of the pathway of the
cruise ships. The area is rumored to be inhabited by
several large bullsharks, though boat captains do have
a tendency to tell fibs. Fortunately everything went
fine aside from stormy weather and ripping currents.
We would like to thank the staff from Waihuka Adventures
at Las Palmas Resort for providing the logistics required
to make such inspections.
Meeting with the Punta Gorda fishing community:
On December 4th the Marine Park met with the fishermen
of Punta Gorda to discuss the patrols which Blue Ocean
reef had been operating throughout November. The fishermen
were unhappy with recent proceedings as offending parties
had their snorkel gear and Cayucos confiscated. The
fishermen explained that due to the lack of fish in
the surrounding waters, it was necessary for them to
use spears and nets to catch sufficient numbers. After
much discussion, it was agreed that a further meeting
in Punta Gorda was crucial.
On December 8th we met with the Punta Gorda Patronato
and the local fishermen to discuss an alternative livelihood
scheme. As fishing is their sole occupation, it was
agreed that new sources of income would be necessary.
Ideas suggested focused predominantly on eco-tourism
which included snorkel tours, fishing charters, fly
fishing, mangrove tours, kayak tours, guided hikes,
and an iguana farm. It was suggested that once visitors
arrive, they could be of offered local cuisine, souvenirs,
and local handicrafts. Other options included offering
younger fishermen the chance to become dive masters
or work on a conch breeding plan. Everyone agreed that
Punta Gorda has the ability to evolve into a bustling
community, offering a rich variety of goods and services,
encouraging the fishermen to nurture nature instead
of destroy it.
After the success of the meeting, it was decided that
it would be beneficial to both the fishing community
and the Marine Park if a grant for PADI Project AWARE
was written. The focus of the grant was to provide the
fishing community of Punta Gorda with snorkel sets,
life vests, guide books and mooring sets for the boats
to tie to. We are still awaiting confirmation from Project
AWARE and if the project is accepted, we will be working
with not only the Punta Gorda community but also the
tourism board.
Municipal recycling meeting:
With the constant threat of garbage to the health of
the reef and the island, we are once again developing
a proposal to reduce the trash problem. Part of this
is will be a joint effort with the Municipality and
the Cerveceria Hondureña to diminish or stop
plastic bottles from being imported to the island. A
meeting was held at the municipality to coordinate activities
to enforce recycling. Five microcenters, in addition
to the original five, are to be positioned along West
End, Sandy Bay , and La Colonia; once more this activity
will be accompanied by intense environmental education
from our staff to the community and schools. We encourage
all of you to support our recycling program by placing
all plastic bottles in the microcenters!
One issue that we face is the lack of infrastructure
to permit us to deal with the problem. We have the capability
to distribute microcenters throughout the Marine Park
are, but lack the capacity to deal with the bottles
once the microcentres are full. Other than the boats,
our only form of transport is a run-down old red scooter.
Vegas has generously donated the use of one of his vehicles
to transport the bottles once they are collected, but
our final goal is to own a pickup of our own and employ
staff to collect, sort and deliver bottles for recycling.
COLAP creation:
Roatan’s Municipality was the stage of a very
important meeting with the stakeholders from the protected
area of Sandy Bay-West End Marine Park. Local patronatos,
business owners, teachers, National Police, BICA, local
fishermen and the Roatan Marine Park all attended. The
purpose of the meeting was the creation of a COLAP (Protected
Area Local Committee) that will jointly work in the
making of decisions for the correct management of the
Marine Park .
School visits:
As all the public schools are still on vacation, James
returned to the alternative school to teach the kids
about the importance of recycling, and how to use the
new recycling station that we’ve installed at
the school.
A few days later, we received a call from the animal
rescue center at Blue Ocean Reef saying that they had
received 2 young turtles, roughly a year old, that someone
had been trying to sell to various restaurants and hotels.
We gave the kids from the Alternative School the opportunity
to learn about turtle ecology and conservation, by means
of an interactive presentation. Subsequently, Dr. Baird
Fleming from Blue Ocean Reef came and picked up James
and the kids, and took them to the rescue center where
they got to see the turtles first hand and take part
in their release into the sea. It was a very productive
event that really got kids thinking about the threats
these animals face.
 
Dr. Fleming and
James teach children from Sandy Bay Alternative School
about turtles.
Upon release,
the turtles crawl towards the sea and swim away. They
were released as such to cause the least interference
to the way they would enter the sea naturally.
 
Farewell
and good luck!
Well that draws conclusion to December’s newsletter.
Apologies for it being late but we’ve been very
busy this past month. Thank you to all that have supported
us during 2007 and continue doing so this year.
If anyone has any questions
drop by any time, email us at roatanmarinepark@yahoo.com
or give us a call at 349-4138, 445-4206, 445-4208.
Nick, Grazzia, James.
For additional information about
WWF and all of the amazing things that
they are doing worldwide for all of us, visit http://www.wwf.org
Check out the Coral Reef Alliance
and discover how they are helping Protected Areas worldwide
at http://www.coralreefalliance.org
Discover how Project AWARE is "Conserving
underwater environments through education, advocacy
and action" at http://www.projectaware.org
If you want to know more about fish
you see in the park, visit www.fishbase.org, which has
an index of almost 30,000 species of fish.
If you want to know more about the
reefs, go to www.reefbase.org
which contains global information regarding coral reefs.
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