FUNDS AND ACTIVITIES

When the Park was first established in January 2005, it relied solely on generous donations from dive shops and individuals to help finance the patrols. With the help of a grant from ICRAN/CORAL and a large donation from Julio Galindo, a local business owner, not only was the Park able to purchase and fund 2 boats to patrol within its borders, they were able to create informative signs to be placed in key areas around the Park. In an attempt to evolve from a charity, reliant on monthly donations, into a self-sustaining business, the Park developed a membership scheme in which it offers its supporters the benefits of advertisement in all literature and a link on this website.

Marine Park Members

In November 2005, dive shops operating within the Marine Park implemented a US$5 user fee required from every diver. In exchange for this fee, each diver received a dive tag granting them diving access within the Marine Park for one calendar year. A recently introduced alternative to the tag is a fashionable silicon bracelet displaying our name and logo. The user fee also extends to visiting yachts and all maritime passengers. At present the user fee is not mandatory, yet the vast majority of divers are happy to contribute knowing that 100% of the funds generated from tag sales go directly to SBWEMP’s conservation efforts.

With the current $5 annual reef fee being one of the least expensive in the Caribbean, the Park and its board members have planned for the charge to be raised in January 2007 to $10. In addition, the user fee will soon be extended to snorkellers, although at a reduced level.

The Park currently has several additional methods of generating revenue to fund staffing and patrols. Rental of snorkel gear began in August and has been very successful since its initiation. There are numerous benefits of renting directly from the park, including a competitive rate of $5 per 24 hour period, availability of CORAL's multilingual educational pamphlets, helpful advice regarding safety and unique snorkeling opportunities and of course 100% of the rental fee goes towards funding the Park's activities.

Also available in the office is Linda Kay's Body Guard insect repellent, an eco-friendly, non-toxic repellent, an environmentally friendly alternative to DEET, retailing at 140 lmps. Here at the park we recommend the use of eco-friendly products which include biodegradable sunblock/screen and DEET free repellent.

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