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February 2008 Newsletter
Introduction
With northerlies hitting
us the last two weekends in a row, we can only hope
that this is the last of the bad weather until next
rainy season. Most of us should have predicted the down
pours were coming as the West End road was graded the
day before the first storm hit, a well known sign to
indicate rain. Weather aside, February was a busy month
with a whole host of meetings and other goings on and
now we have the joy that is Semana Santa to look forward
to this month, hooray!
Patrols
Having spoken too soon regarding
our functioning engines in last months newsletter, I
think it best not to say anything other than we can’t
complain this month. It seems that the continuous incompetence
of Ultramotor will never cease, with the incessant sending
of wrong components even after photographs and detailed
descriptions are sent. We waited for 2 weeks for the
wrong propeller to arrive only to discover that the
fuel pump, starter chord, and hoses had all been pilfered
from our newly purchased Yamaha. Needless to say, it’s
taken all of James’ ingenuity to get the engine
running. The boats are afloat, they can patrol, and
that’s the end of that.
John
Kennedy from Barefoot Key is now the proud owner of
our electric engine after purchasing it from the Park
last week. The engine played its part in patrolling
the local waters but proved too sluggish when the situations
arose that required our boat to move more than 2 knots.
It’s time for us to progress beyond 4hp engines
and aim towards double figures.
Patrol wise, things have been
relatively quiet within the Sandy Bay and West End area
with no arrests occurring throughout the month of February.
It has come to our attention however that a large number
of teenagers have been traveling from La Colonia and
diving around the rocks east of Anthony’s Key.
We found several spears and lobster tails in the water
which confirmed our suspicions. We have increased patrols
around that area to prevent further poaching there.
 
Patrols running out of Barefoot Key
have been operating twice a week and have had several
run-ins with fishermen. The most recent could have gone
a lot smoother however. The patrol had been trying to
apprehend two suspects for several weeks and after finally
snaring them, a dead engine and large swells resulted
in the loss of not only the accused, but a cell phone,
the diving gear, and a rusty dory. Earlier in the month
the patrol confiscated a large gill net around French
Harbor and, on the same day, while returning to West
End via Coxen Hole managed to seize another net in town.
Patrols are now occurring elsewhere around the island,
with other communities jumping on the conservation band
wagon, a great step in the prevention of over fishing
in the waters around Roatan.
Education
With the kids back at the
public schools, the Education Program is once again
up and running. Currently we visit the West End School,
Sandy Bay Alternative School, Sandy Bay School (on the
beach), Colonia Balfate School, Methodist School, and
ESBIR, but this year we will be expanding our program
to include schools in Punta Gorda and Santa Helena.
After meeting with the head of education for the Bay
Islands and discussing the curriculum, our presentations
have been expanded to include topics regarding the reefs,
mangroves, pollution and recycling. Following the presentations
we try and reinforce the topics with class activities
and field trips.
 
During February we worked with the 6th grade class from
both La Colonia and Sandy Bay to enhance the plastic
bottle recycling program at these schools. A cleanup
was organized at La Colonia and, after a morning of
hard work, the kids collected dozens of bags of garbage
and seven large bags of plastic bottles. These will
be sold in Coxen Hole and all the money earned will
be given to the school.
SERNA Inspections
We attended two inspections in February with SERNA.
The first was of a 6-condo construction in West Bay,
and the second was an evaluation of the marina currently
being constructed in Gibson Bight. The permit for this
project is about to expire so the purpose of this inspection
was to ensure that all mitigation guidelines are being
followed. If so, the developers will be able to apply
for the extension of their current permit. Representatives
from the Municipality, Honduran Institute of Tourism,
SERNA, and the Roatan Marine Park attended. As usual,
observations and recommendations for new developments
and constructions were presented to SERNA.
Water Taxis Meeting Henry Morgan
One of February’s important projects for the Marine
Park was the organization and establishment of a board
for the Water Taxis Association. Now that this group
is officially organized, workshops and meetings will
be taking place. In order to address the problems associated
with the pick-up and drop-off of water taxi customers
at West Bay, a meeting was held with the municipality,
representatives from West Bay’s business owners,
the Water Taxis Association, the National Police, and
the Roatan Marine Park. The attendees all agreed it
was necessary to create a shallow swim area for snorkelers
and swimmers. The municipality agreed to pay for the
creation of the swim areas and issued an ordinance stating
that water taxis are allowed to use the docks in West
Bay.
Recycling meeting
The plastic recycling program is keeping us relatively
busy with plastic bottles being collected every week
from the microcenters located along the West End road
and at schools in Sandy Bay and La Colonia. We would
like to thank Vegas Electric for providing the transportation
needed to take the bottles from the Marine Park to the
plastic presser in Coxen Hole. Money made from the sale
of the bottles, 2 Lemps a pound, is put back into the
program and at present we have delivered almost 1,000
lbs of plastic bottles to the compressor.
Fortunately people and organizations
are becoming more aware of the need for conservation
efforts on Roatán. Last month we had the visit
from a representative of Cervecería Hondureña
to show him how the program operates and they have agreed
to support our operation by donating plastic bags and
a truck to pick up the plastics. A meeting was also
held at the Municipality to discuss the ways the Recycling
Program can be enhanced.
West End Business Association
(WEBS):
For those of you that don’t
live or work in West End, this month saw the creation
of a new program by WEBS entitled “The beautification
of West End”. With money from the water-board
and donations from business owners, it was agreed that
West End should be made more cosmetically appealing
before the mass influx of visitors during Semana Santa.
Initial steps included the installation of attractive
dog proof trash receptacles and the painting of roadside
fences and walls. Coming projects include the planting
of Bugambilia plants throughout West End and the placement
of additional trash cans and receptacles.
Thanks go out to the Water Board, Aaron Etches, ReMax,
Kristen and Scott Haynes and all those that have helped.
Infrastructure
Over the past month there have been several additions
to the dive moorings within the Park. After complaints
of over-crowding around Blue Channel from dive shops
and snorkel tour operators, two shallow moorings have
been placed within the lagoon either side of the channel.
This should improve safety in the area as boats will
be able to tie up and not idle while people are in the
water. Two shallow moorings were included along the
sand patch running west from the Luna Beach channel,
amounting to four 8m sites. As Puncher’s Paradise
was named after Greg, I thought it only fair to name
a site after myself, so from now on, the most westerly
site along the patch is to be known as “Slippery
Nic” ;-).
One major concern which has caught
our attention is the failure of boats to comply with
safety regulations when traveling around the point at
Lighthouse and entering the main lagoon channel. A new
channel marker and float line were deployed to prevent
boats from driving directly over divers’ heads,
but sadly this was cut by unknowns. With an accident
imminent, the only solution other than roping off the
area with wire is to remove the closest sites and install
new moorings near by. From the ignorance of few for
the safety of many this may be the best option.
 A
project which has been in the making for some time has
been the installation of yacht moorings in the Park.
The initial ICRAN grant which financed the infrastructure
program included yacht moorings. The majority of the
money however went towards channel markers and dive
moorings, considered priorities by marine recreational
users. Last year PMAIB proposed that they would fund
a yacht mooring program and it looks like they are finally
being true to their words. The rope and attachments
have arrived, the buoys are having the logos printed
on them and the sand screws are in the workshop. They
aim to have the project completed by Semana Santa so
all that is needed now is the buoys and screws.
FADs meeting:
A further project proposed by PMAIB is the installation
of Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) off Roatan, Helene
and Guanaja. A two-day workshop geared towards the West
End fishermen was hosted by European representatives
who specialize in the development of FADs. The purpose
of FADs is to alleviate fishing pressure from the reef
by providing fishermen alternative locations. This will
contribute towards our goal of benefiting local livelihoods
as well as protecting the resources marine park. With
the open oceans similar to a vast desert, floating rafts
act as an oasis to pelagic fish. Initially, FADs attract
the smaller species, but eventually large piscivores
congregate, making fishing much easier, safer and more
economically viable. The Marine Park is also looking
into financing a nearshore FAD which would be attached
to Karl Stanley’s “End of the Line”
mooring if the project proceeds as planned.
Well I think that will do for this
month’s newsletter. We hope you all enjoyed reading
about February’s activities and continue supporting
our cause. For more information please contact us by
phone, email or drop by the office.
Many thanks for your continuing support,
Until next month
Nic, Grazzia & James
If anyone has any questions
drop by any time, email us at roatanmarinepark@yahoo.com
or give us a call at 3349-4138, 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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